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well 🧍‍♀️ as a reminder this blog is NOT a safe space for trump supporters but it IS a safe place for women, queers, trans ppl, people of color, undocumented people, and any marginalized group.

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it's not a reach anymore nameless star and riku are 100% parallels. these lines are slightly different in English but EXACTLY the same in japanese just with a differently gendered "I" pronoun.

Riku says 「俺の夢―」 /"ore no yume.."/"My dream..."

Nameless star says 「和の夢―」/"watashi no yume..."/"My dream..."

and you bet it's in the most wistful tone of voice you've EVER heard.

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look for the light in the darkness

what sora is seeing in this moment. this is what i think ,

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everyone in the realm of light: gee i hope sora and riku are ok, they've been in quadratum for a long time

sora and riku in quadratum, meanwhile:

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I was thinking about Sora's interaction with Santa Claus where Sora is asking him if he knew where he could find Riku. The moment in general is super duper sweet and cute but while thinking about it a thought struck me.

Santa Claus is telling Sora to believe in Riku and that really stood out to me. It instantly reminded me of the Beast's Castle's Story.

Even though Sora still doesn't really get love yet he is realizing the power to believe in someone is to love them.

Santa Claus was literally telling Sora If he loves Riku he will find him.

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like literally what other conclusion am i supposed to draw here

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the quality hates me im sorry 💔

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Callum the Protector

I've always been a fan of the theory that Callum was motivated primarily by duty or by his desire to be "the hero" in a given situation. This is a trait he shares with both his mother and his aunt, and what ultimately leads to his use of dark magic (both times he's driven by his belief that he has to be the hero who comes in to save the day).

And I think the new graphic novel really does support that view - wanting to jump into the thick of things because, as he puts it:

"I'm a Prince"

His reasoning is this would be "good experience," and that he'll "need to know how to handle things like this." The primary driver for him in these scenes is duty, and his belief that he has to jump in to help.

There are a handful of fans who portray Callum as primarily a caretaker (usually à la Viren for some reason), and who only cares about a so-called "inner circle" that is simultaneously very narrow and specific yet extremely difficult to define. And that lowkey gets unraveled in this story, specifically by moments like:

and:

In these moments, we see that Callum doesn't immediately want to look after Ezran. It's actually something he really strongly wants to avoid, and then starts doing it primarily because he wants to make the king (not his father, the King) proud of him. It's only by the end of the story that Callum realize that he has to care for Ezran because he's his brother, not because he is his duty or his mission. That's his entire character arc this story.

Thus, caring for and being loyal to Ezran isn't something that automatically comes to Callum in the story. Instead, it comes by way of him learning that sometimes being a prince, being a protector, being a hero, doesn't mean jumping in to save the day or displaying great feats of strength and power.

Sometimes it's just sticking around.

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The ironic thing about Callum telling Rayla that she was always does things for everyone but herself is that this can also be said about Callum. In all of s6, he never does a single thing for himself and is driven entirely to help others.

He is the only person to suggest destroying the pearl and constantly laments how Aaravos is a danger to the entire world.

He pushes to go to the Starscraper, mainly to find a way to defeat Aaravos.

He runs into the ship to save Rayla.

He asks Rayla to kill him should Aaravos take control of him.

He pushes for them to "defeat" Esmeray, mainly in order to get Rayla the quasar diamonds she needs to bring back her parents.

He undergoes the ritual to purify himself, mainly to prevent Aaravos from ever using him (see above desire to defeat Aaravos).

He sets up and performs the ritual to bring back Runaan.

Callum basically lives for other people. Everything he does is ultimately either about protecting the world, or about protecting those close to him. And if that means sacrificing his own life, he doesn't hesitate.

Hopefully Rayla explains to him he shouldn't have to do this, and actually do something for himself once in a while!

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me, watching my mutuals post ceaselessly about a fandom i’m not in:

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Well said

Anywho, the last anon ask I had before my previous blog went down was "what's the issue with thinking Callum is morally dubious?"

I personally think he's not, for two reasons:

First, Callum's case is treated uniquely among the main cast, as his failings are judged as extensions of his morality rather than mere failures to live up to it. Soren almost going through with killing the princes, Rayla lying to Callum, and Ezran giving the throne to Viren, are shown to be characters failing to live up to the morals that they believe in. Yet while these are framed as momentary lapses in judgment, Callum's is treated as reflections of his inherent moral character. This is completely arbitrary - either all of their mistakes are reflections of their morality, or none of them are.

Why is this important? Because if Callum's use of dark magic are the result of his shortcomings, and these shortcomings are furthermore highlighted in later seasons, then this strongly suggests that his character arc will culminate in overcoming these flaws rather than succumbing to temptation. This is something a very vocal cohort of fans finds unacceptable, and so working backwards Callum's use of dark magic must be something he will always justify because it must be something he will always do no matter what (which, ironically, means that forcing him to face this choice again would be completely superfluous...unless he chooses differently this time).

Second, if Callum will - just like Claudia, Viren, and Aaravos - pull out all the stops for those they care about, then there is absolutely no difference between the main hero and the main antagonists. It would strip away the nuanced exploration of morality, reducing complex ethical dilemmas to simplistic choices based on personal allegiances. The distinction between protagonists and antagonists would be erased, making it impossible for the audience to understand why they should support Callum & Co. over Claudia/Aaravos. It would lead to a nihilistic viewpoint where no moral stance is truly superior, only different in terms of who benefits from it. The show would struggle to present viable alternatives to dark magic, limiting its ability to explore themes of personal growth, ethical decision-making, and the consequences of one's choices. Finally, it would negate Callum's potential for growth beyond the moral failings of the antagonists, limiting the depth of his character arc.

In short, the conflict would be rendered pointless. Nothing would be gained. Unless of course, Callum is morally superior to the likes of Claudia, Viren, and Aaravos, is capable of doing the right thing and making the right choice where the other three mages could not. Then maybe, just maybe, we'll have something interesting here.

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Can we talk about how insane it is that they literally prompt the audience to remember here that no, it wasn’t Namine that Sora came searching for, nor was it Kairi, it was Riku. And yet two seconds later the revelation that would bring is misdirected once again by bringing the focus back on Kairi- who again, Sora was NOT searching for and has nothing to do with why he’s there.

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This was like the 10th time this happened.

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Adoooooooooore this book!!!! I wish it had a big fandom and fanfiction cause omg do I need post canon continuation fics! Also yes! It’s super gay!!! And very very cute!

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People act like Kingdom Hearts is so damn complicated when really all it boils down to is that line from The Haunting of Hill House.

“I loved you completely. And you loved me the same. That’s all. The rest is confetti.”

Everything about the lore, the world-building, the Heartless and the Nobodies, they’re all just the medium through which a love story is told. Once you accept that, once you stop getting hung up on immediately trying to understand how something works right away and look more at how it impacts Sora and Riku’s relationship, it all just slides together. You understand the pieces organically the more you see how they connect to the core of the story, which has always been, and will always be, Sora and Riku.

Riku loved Sora completely.

And Sora loved Riku the same.

That’s all.

The rest is confetti.

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Callum & Rayla + being two dorky halves of a whole

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What do you mean about there being a "hierarchy of loyalty and devotion" for callum?

Basically, if you believe in the idea that Callum consistently prioritizing those he cares about over the greater good, one of the largest challenges to that is the fact that, when he had to choose between Harrow (someone he loved) over returning the egg to Xadia (the greater good), he chose the latter. To reconcile this, some fans have proposed a complex moral hierarchy governing Callum's loyalties.

According to this theory, Callum's highest loyalty lies with Rayla, Ezran, and sometimes Zym. For these individuals, he would allegedly sacrifice the greater good. A second tier includes figures like Harrow and Amaya, whom Callum cares for but not enough to prioritize over larger concerns. Beyond this, the theory suggests Callum is largely indifferent to others' welfare, despite evidence to the contrary throughout the series.

The issue here is that if you think about this for even a few seconds, it doesn't really make much sense. Even if Callum prioritized Ezran's safety over Harrow's during the castle attack, it doesn't explain why he would then lead Ezran into the far greater dangers of Xadia. Multiple opportunities to return Ezran to safety (Banther Lodge, Moon Nexus) were bypassed. These actions are more readily explained by a simple, overarching desire to do what's right rather than a complex, arbitrary moral hierarchy.

Additionally, if you're wondering who gets to be in which tier, and why are, for instance, Ezran is in the highest tier and Harrow isn't, unfortunately that's not the point of the theory. The point isn't to provide some speical insight into who Callum is or how Callum thinks, it's to retroactively explain all of Callum's actions (particularly his noble ones) to justify a very specific headcanon about his actions.