#also why can't Riku be Sora's most important person

[mythicalartistx]

How Riku has no idea that Riku means so much to Sora

An Analysis through mom

Riku has always been afraid of being forgotten and left behind by Sora. And this is how he is able get manipulated by Maleficent. She tells him his greatest fears, that Sora found new friends and doesn't care about him anymore. She gives him proof letting him watch Sora being silly and argue with Donald and Goofy.

But from day one as soon as Sora is separated, he wants to find Riku. All on his mind is finding Riku (and Kairi too) and when he finds Riku in Traverse Town he is happy and to make sure he isn't dreaming he goes up to him and pulls on his mouth.

Riku is glad he had found Sora and wants to continue to play the role of protector but when it seems Sora can handle himself he doesn't know where he is supposed to fit in. Sora has these new friends and now can handle himself, Riku is afraid of being forgotten.

But throughout kh1 Sora keeps trying to reason with Riku and it's important that his friend sees what's right. And when they close the door Riku tells Sora take care of Kairi.

COM

He doesn't exactly do that.... The first thing he does is wanting to find Riku. That's on his mind. He ventures through castle oblivion in hopes he can find Riku. And when he faces Repliku he is so happy even though his thoughts of trying to find Riku is almost replaced with Naminé.

This Repliku is bitter about that and upset even saying how Sora never care about that or cared about him (being Repliku). But Riku hates how he feels towards his friend and how he wants his friend still even though he believes Sora has forgotten about him saying, You always have wormed your way into my heart," and Sora is confused by this statement.

And once Naminé tells Repliku to stop and he falls back Sora is completely overwhelmed by what happened to Repliku and what did Naminé do to him. This scene is especially good in the novel where it shows Sora holding Repliku.

Later Repliku realizes how true Sora's feelings towards him are (how he cares for him as an individual not being a Riku) before leaving, still Sora is sad he is leaving and still wants to find him.

During Rebirth/Reverse when Repliku fades away into darkness he doesn't mind if he fades away but what he actually cares is that Sora remembers him. He doesn't want to get forgotten by Sora or get mixed up with the real Riku.

Kh2

Sora wakes up and forgets everything in Castle Oblivion and still has the same desire to find Riku. Throughout kh2 all on his mind is where is Riku, is he okay, I really miss him. And it's the most precious thing. He integrates Mickey about it and it isn't until Mickey accidentally slip up that Sora is so happy and jumps for joy.

Another time during land of the dragons when he finds out Riku been there he is excited because it meant he is okay and nearby. He didn't care that he might be with the organization, he just cares about Riku. During the novel, Sora talks about fighting Riku was so fun.

And finally when he actually sees him he goes on his knees crying because he misses him and is happy to finally be with Riku. In the novel he states how happy he is to be fighting by Riku's side and is just bashful about this.

Riku doesn't care that much about himself and thinks less of himself on why anyone would actually care for him. And is surprised when Sora helps him up and brings him through the dark world. He admits in the novel, he is sad Sora is there and didn't want him to fade into the darkness but is glad he isn't alone. Sora seems to precious and important to Riku that he doesn't believe he deserves his friendship.

He is afraid of being forgotten but he accepts that he might not be worth it and as long as Sora is happy that is all that matters. He doesn't realize how much Sora truly cares about himself. They come to the conclusion they both will be okay because they're together.

RC

Even though it's technically not them in recoded data Riku doesn't believe in his worth after how he messed up everything in the data worlds. Sora is sadden by how little he thinks of himself and thinks he is the only one trying to maintain their friendship.

When Data Sora hears him talking to him in the Olympus Coliseum worlds, he is glad to hear Riku's voice. Even when his keyblade gets destroyed Riku comes in and Sora is just happy that he is there. It means everything to him and he doesn't care that he has no way to fight, Sora was determined to save data Riku

BBS

Even ten years prior when Terra gave Riku the ability to wield a keyblade, Sora immediately wants to know about Riku. He wants to know who that man was and if he knew him. In BBS it has them both care for each other. Riku admit how important Sora is to him and wishes to get stronger to protect him while Sora blatantly tells Aqua he likes Riku, he is his best friend. He seems to want to do everything with him and wouldn't hesitate to help him from darkness.

When Ven goes to Sora's heart, Riku notices something is wrong and knows how to help him. Without questioning it, he takes his advice even if it is strange.

DDD

He goes through the exam because Riku felt like he needed to be tested, Sora didn't think either of them needed to. Sora really wanted to take the exam by his side and is a bit sad that Riku isn't there. However through his heart he feels connected to Riku and when things happen Sora knows Riku will be there.

Joshua asks Sora if he wants to give Riku a message, he tells him there's no need because he knows they will see each other soon. On Riku's side he goes through a personal journey of accepting himself despite everything he has done. He doesn't know if he deserves everyone but knows he is lucky to have Sora.

KH3

Riku still doesn't see the full extent to how much Sora cares about him. Sora just wants to be with him through out the entire game. He is constantly worried about Riku especially going into the dark world. Sora wants to join him. And once they lose connection with Riku, Sora is sad and is like see this is why I should have gone.

And since discovering the Gummiphone being able to talk to Riku, Sora constantly thinks about calling Riku and just telling Riku about how cool this place is, when they went to Fransankyoto.

Riku is surprised when Sora comes in to save him the the dark realm. He's glad he is there but doesn't think much of it. At the pre battle Riku doesn't think he means that much to Sora, he's just like any of his other friends. He talks to Repliku and allows Sora to spent time with Kairi.

However Sora is questioning why Riku is alone there and seems to want to spend time with him. Then Riku and Sora are the only ones left. Sora breaks down. Riku wants Sora's happiness beyond anything else and reassures him with his words something only Riku can do. He feels better but still Riku doesn't think his life is that important and sacrifices himself. The expression Sora makes during this scene tells you everything. Sora is hurt that Riku is too doing this.

Riku is extremely important to Sora that when trying to recover him, he is floating in Olympus like he is the most important person ever to Sora.

Riku doesn't believe he means much to Sora. He doesn't see how he's the one that Sora just wants to spend time with and searching for. He rather put Sora's happiness before his own and believes in Sora. He let him save Kairi because he believes in him and his own happiness.

Mom

Riku thought it was Kairi who meant so much to Sora. He didn't believe it was him who was supposed to find Sora. That's why he was so shocked when the fairy godmother told him his dreams were the key and it was him who was supposed to dive to the Quadratum by following Sora's heart.

He didn't realize how important he was to Sora. He kept being selfishly selfless about this. Until he realizes it was him. He is the key. And Riku means so much to Sora, but he doesn't realize how much.

This could be a deep friendship or possibly something more, but he's very important to Sora and Riku just needs to realize it...

[scouting4love]

Please talk about it so bad this tangent sounds so interesting

Omg... I will go on my bipolar, brain rot rant for you 🫵

I do think that Roxas & Riku are really good narrative foils for each other, especially at the end of Days, tragically so! I think it's also looked over and brushed off quite a bit, my reason being that, in the game, Roxas and Riku only interact once on a meaningful level and that's the fight at the end.

Days, as a game, is about the emotions that make us human. Throughout the game, Xion and Roxas see things like love (Beast's Castle), friendship (Aladdin), and experience those things along with sorrow, desperation, etc. On the flip side, Riku is "real", he was never split in half. He doesn't have to learn all of those things and he knows what he's feeling; e.g. when Xion tries to cut him deep and asks if Riku hates her and Riku answers with "No, I'm just sad." (He's so fucking emo during this game.)

Riku also has a purpose during this game and that is to wake Sora up. He's working with Naminé and DiZ to do so. Roxas is collecting hearts for "kingdom hearts" so everyone in the organization can be "complete again." Throughout the whole game, we read in his diary, hear him talk to his friends, and hear in his inner thoughts that he doesn't know what the fuck that means. He doesn't know what a heart is, he doesn't know what having a heart means, and he doesn't know why he's doing what he's doing. He just knows he was given an 8-8 blue collared job, a roof over his head, and he's part of a cult now.

Personality wise, during the game, Roxas is very curious and sweet. He wants to know more about having a heart, he's always concerned when his friends are hurt, and he's always trying to cheer them up. His temper does flare (especially concerning Saïx) and he's a shit talker. At the end of the game, he is fucking PISSED, as is his right! One of his friends has been lying through his teeth to him, the other is dead due to work place negligence, no one is telling him the truth, and he wants answers! Riku is in what I like to call his "Zoloft Era" because he needs it. Since he's gotten, basically groomed in the first game, dealt with all the shit in Castle Oblivion during CoM (watching his clone die and killing people), and now he has to put up with DiZ's grown ass throwing a hissy fit, he has mellowed out considerably. He makes level headed decisions, like giving Xion time to decide on what she wants to do and has confidence that she will do what's right and doesn't pressure her. He also doesn't shit talk like he does in the first game, he has learned his lesson.

So, at the end of the game, when it all comes to a head, it does so in the saddest fucking way. Roxas understandably upset because his best friend just fucking died and he's the only one who even remembers her (sound familiar?) is going to destroy "kingdom hearts". If he does that, he's gonna get his ass kicked! He's acting on sheer impulse and anger but can you blame him? He's 15. DiZ tells Riku that the only way to get Sora to wake up is to bring Roxas over so Riku leaves to do that and he stops Roxas before he gets to the castle where they fight. When Riku asks what Roxas is doing and he tells him, Riku can remember Xion but just barely like how he can remember Sora just barely but she's slipping away. Riku understands what Roxas is trying to do but he can't let him go through with it.

The end of the fight is the most important part, in my opinion. Roxas beats Riku's ass twice, breaks his fucking wrist, and is sick of his shit. He also shit talks Riku which Riku does not participate in. Riku knows what he has to do at this point and takes off his blindfold, accepting the darkness in his heart, and taking on the appearance of the man who possessed him in the first game. Doing this, allows Riku to win and they put Roxas in the VR Twilight Town. The whole reason Riku won is from taking off the blindfold, by resigning himself to looking like Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. He is willing to give up his sense of self, his identity, his existence, just to get his best friend to wake up. Roxas isn't willing to, isn't able to do that and that's why he lost.

Roxas' character is about identity, personhood, what makes a person a person. "I feel this, so surely I exist, so surely I am meant to be here." The things he is being told, i.e. you're not supposed to have a heart, you're not supposed to feel, don't line up with what he is experiencing and he has to find out what it means to "be" by himself. That's what being a person is, figuring things out, finding out things for yourself, finding out who you are, what you are supposed to be. It is inherently selfish and there is nothing wrong with that, I think it's good for his character. The problem is that it's a double edge sword, it is his ultimate downfall. "My heart belongs to me."

Riku's character is about sacrifice. We have seen it plenty of times throughout the whole game series. He puts himself in the realm of darkness, he spends a whole year trying to wake Sora up, he becomes Sora's dreameater, he sacrifices himself for Sora in KH3 (gay ass). The point is, he is a protector. He puts himself in harms way without a second thought for the sake of his friends. He doesn't want to look like his fucking groomer from the first game but if it'll help his friend, he's gonna fucking do it! "To protect the things that matter."

I think the line, "Forgive me, Roxas," is probably one of the most heartbreaking in Days and it's so so so so depressing that it's not in the game (it's in the manga). If they had put it in the game it would be more clear that they are narrative foils and give the audience more sympathy to Riku's character. In the end, both of them just want to save their best friends but Riku knows he has to take away what Roxas is fighting for not only himself but for Xion as well. He doesn't want to, he's fucking 16 but in the end, he is willing and able to give up is personhood to save the thing he cares about most. Even though Roxas wants to save Xion, he is unwilling to give up his agency and as an audience, technically as Roxas' friends (cause we have been playing the game and reading his diary, etc.), we understand that he had every reason to fight. We also understand that Sora needs to wake up and we understand why Riku needs to do what he needs to do. It's kind of a lose lose because both of them don't end up on top at the end of the game either. Riku may have won, yet he gave up the thing that Roxas was fighting for, his agency, his personhood, his sense of self and identity but he got his best friend back in the end. Roxas lost and had to go back to Sora but ended up keeping himself separated (as we see in kh2 and DDD) but he lost his best friend in the process. They are really good narrative foils and I don't think it is talked about enough..!!

[eradicatetehnormal]

Oh Lord, I'm Going Off Again

I used to agree with SoRiku shippers when they said that SoRiKais need to stop coming onto their posts and saying that SoRiKais is the answer to the ship wars. At this point though, I've seen them complain about it so much all in a way that tries to inflate the importance of a ship war, that I'm just on the side of SRKs at this point. Say what you want to about the way that they're acting, but most of them are far more emotionally put together than *some* of these SoRikus are. Like, I usually try to put it more nicely because I genuinely love SoRiku and its moments both in text and within fanworks, but goddamn, SoRikus are some of the most bitch-made people in fandom.

like, THIS:

Is one of the most cope posts I've ever read. It starts off overly defensive and assumes things about people who don't want to deal with ship war bullshit anymore. I know the shippers of this caliber are incapable of believing this as they cannot fathom this thought process (deadass, I was in a SoRiku server and someone defended information told with a bias), but a lot of people, regardless of whatever ship they think is canon, believe the problem to be a result of both sides. Which is true by the way. Doesn't take too much scrolling to see a comment section for a soriku or sokai post devolve into a debate over which ship is canon, the importance of queer representation, and the likes with many arguments taking homophobic or misogynistic overtones. "Why do you guys always have to make everything about you, What's wrong with being normal?", "Kairi contributes nothing, Sora and Riku are better off without her", and "Why do you keep making this kid's game about gay sex?"

"Which ship will be endgame" is an argument by its very nature. You can't discuss that without debating, you absolute dumbass. You're presenting a theory? Well, girlie, hate to tell you, but this is the internet. Anything you say is open to criticism, including your theory. If people find things they feel like are holes, they will point them out, and it's not always malicious. There are times when people just assume that they're getting attacked when in all reality, people were just disagreeing with them.

That ending though. It's like, the inability some SoRikus have to perceive a bi, pan, or ace Sora and Riku is insane to me. Like, some of them, such as Steam, to her credit, has her reasons as to how she arrived at that conclusion. A lot of the time, though, the reasoning is just "Sora and Riku like each other so they must be gay."

This made me appreciate the TenelleFlowers video even more. SoRikus needed SOMEONE to get all their good talking points in one place. Because the Twitter alternatives are crazy.

This also made me appreciate Baloney's first SoRiku video as he straight up says that he hates SoKai and Kairi because she represents every person some queer teen's crush left them for (Not saying this is the case for the person in the tweets. I just like the fact that he came clean about hating SoKai and Kairi.)

[boysourroy]

Okay I was thinking about it and I'm gonna actually engage with the post and explain what the heck is going on here.

Full (spoilery) explanation below the cut (I do recommend experiencing it for yourself), but TL;DR: two sets of "evil twins" but one isn't exactly "evil" and the other isn't exactly a "twin", multiple cases of possession and relapsed Evil Sides, and a sentient AI made by a cricket and two chipmunks.

So! First image! I'll start with the "are the same" because that's easier.

Sora (far left) is the main protagonist of the series and of several of the side games. In Kingdom Hearts, Sora sacrifices himself to release his girlfriend Kairi's heart (closer to what we might call a soul) from where it was sleeping within his own (long story). This releases Sora's heart from his body, and the hollow husk left behind becomes Roxas (middle left). Because Roxas lacked a heart upon his creation, you could call him an "evil twin" of Sora, but Roxas wasn't ever really "evil" even when he got "recruited" (read: abducted) into an evil cult minutes after his creation. This also ignores that he grew his own heart within a few months anyway. This was not a good thing for him. Sora gets resurrected minutes later by the Power of Friendship, but Roxas still exists separately from him for a whole year, which leads to some problems later (longer story).

Ventus (far right) is one of three protagonists of Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep (BBS). During his industry-standard tragic backstory, he's training with his master, Xehanort, who wants Ven to unleash the darkness within his heart (bad idea; makes you highly possessible). When Ven fails to do this, Xehanort uses his Evil Keyblade Magic™ to physically remove the dark half of Ven's heart from his body. This "empty creature" takes a physical body without form and is given the name Vanitas (middle right). He calls Ventus his "brother" enough times in the story that the Evil Twin label seems like it would be appropriate. It's not, but that would take way too long to explain (murder and amnesia).

As for why they look like the people they aren't, Vanitas looks like Sora because Sora's unborn heart connected with Ventus' damaged one, helping him heal the damage done by the removal of his Darkness. This connection bled backwards into Vanitas, and shaped his appearance into being a dark reflection of Sora. Roxas' situation is still not fully explained, but the prevailing theory is that Ventus' heart, which was healing within Sora's (very long story) during the Stabbinening that created Roxas, influenced the development of the hollow husk with his presence.

Phew! Second image time!

These are, in fact, all the same person from different stages of the games! I'll explain them in the order that makes the most sense, which isn't left to right.

Riku (far left) is the Lancer to Sora's Hero, his boyfriend heterosexual life partner, and a protagonist of two of the side games. He's had some trouble controlling the darkness in his heart, but he's a good person and has overcome his past to become one of the Seven Heroes of the Light. It's important to note that this is his most recent appearance; all of the others are younger versions of him by about two years.

Ansem-Riku (middle right) is Riku possessed by Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. Ansem tricked Riku into allowing Ansem to posses him, and he goes to fight Sora so that Ansem can open the portal to the Realm of Darkness (Hell). Riku seems to have very little control over this form, but he is able to stop Ansem from killing Kairi after Sora's Stabbening.

Riku (far right) is from after Ansem dumps him in Hell for the above stunt and after Riku leaves Hell and fights a cult of evil scientists (long story; he is tired of dumb riddles and black leather). He's accepted the darkness as a part of himself, but he can't see himself as ever being an agent of the light again. This is both metaphorical and literal; if he takes off his blindfold for too long, the darkness in his heart overtakes him and he becomes...

Over halfway done! Now onto the "Not Rikus"!

Riku-Amsem (middle-left) is Riku after the darkness in his heart overtakes him. Ansem's possession of him twisted his darkness so much that Riku's physique is affected when this happens. Riku spends most of the third game (confusingly titled Kingdom Hearts II) in this form because he had to fight Roxas to force him to commit suicide to rejoin with Sora (this was the aforementioned "problems").

That's still Riku on the left, so will proceed with the rest from left to right.

Ansem (middle left), aka The Seeker of Darkness. He's the one who possessed Riku back in Kingdom Hearts, leaving him with a boatload of angst. Appropriate, because Ansem's final boss form is sometimes called a boat (dumb story).

The Riku Replica (middle right) is exactly what it says on the tin: a clone of Riku, specifically of his most emo moments right before Ansem possessed him. He's created by the aforementioned Evil Science Cult to mess with Sora while they try to make him forget his boyfriend and girlfriend (sad story; they stopped doing science and started abusing children). He also ends up fighting Riku, because apparently Nomura (series creator) thought that there wasn't enough angst in his Angsty Silver-haired Teenager.

And finally, the weirdest entry on this list: Jiminy's Journal (far right). You heard me right, the dude on the right is actually a book in a trenchcoat. The information in the book (written by Jiminy Cricket (yes that one)) was extracted into a computer simulation (by Chip and Dale (yes those ones)), and then converted into simulations of people and locations from the contents. Unfortunately, the mind-meddling shenanigans mentioned above also affected the journal (somehow), corrupting the data. In order to protect the program from further damage, the data was stored in the simulacrum of Riku. The data would slowly be restored thanks to the help of a data version of Sora, who is also not the same as the Sora we know and love.

Wow, Re:Coded is weird (still worth playing).

Last one! It's also the easiest.

This one is just a case of simple possession. Xehanort (far left) wanted to destroy the universe and remake it in his image. However, he knew that the image of a balding seventy-something wouldn't exactly be the best thing to build off of, so he looked for a new body he could use to complete his plan. He tried using Ventus, as mentioned above, but Ven refused to channel his darkness. He also couldn't use Vanitas for complicated, spoilery reasons (ah sweet, man-made horrors beyond my comprehension). Thus the target shifted to Terra (far right). Terra was goaded over the course of his adventure into unleashing his darkness, leaving him vulnerable to being puppeted by Xehanort (a phenomenon so common it's known as Norting in the fandom). This creates a being with Terra's body and Xehanort's heart, who is called Terra-Xehanort.

And that's it! That took longer than I thought to type...

play Kingdom Hearts

[luffythinker]

Is there any way shape or form that i can get you into Kingdom hearts? it has a manga and novel but the best experience is playing the game. I know you've probably heard about how crazy and confusing it is but it really isn't so confusing. but you gotta do it in the correct order to understand everything.

You wanna play final mix cause it has the first 3 important games in it. first game: kingdom hearts the very first installment. where the journey begins, you are a little boy name Sora and you and your three friends want adventure and off the island you've lived on your whole life and Sora is like 13 years old he's a lil bab, Riku your bestie who may or may not be jelly of you cause he has a crush on you or something is like that super cool guy whos always so cool and better at everything and Kairi obvious love interest character but she has her things about her that are interesting in it's own shes not super super nice but shes just a scrappy young girl whos your friend. Something wild happens when you guys are building a raft which Riku offers if you race him you get to name it whatever you wanna name it (yes this is a real game mechanic but it's hard to win the race against Riku cause he's like a year older and taller and faster and stronger and- you get it) Riku also wants to wooden sword fight you later on and you guys fight for the right to give Kairi a fruit that binds your lifes together and whoever wins gets to be with Kairi forever or something, you guys don't end up making that raft cause night comes and you guys were goofing off. SOMETHING HAPPENS and you can't find Riku or Kairi in the night so you go and look for them and these creatures are attacking your island, RIku is talking nonsense about how he's not afraid of the darkness and gets taken away by a darkness portal you go in the cave you guys always play in and you see Kairi she like fades away.

This is not extremely detailed i was super into Kingdom hearts but my memory is shit but i do and don't remember the most important things.

ANyway Donald duck Goofy from mickey mouse, final fantasy characters and other disney characters show up and now your pulled into somebody elses mess trying to find out what the shit happen to Riku and Kairi.

Chain of memories is the next game, im not gonna spoil it for you if you do decide to read/play Kingdom hearts but hot guys in black cloaks show up in this weird castle, one guy is really pretty there is a girl whos a bitch but we love her for it and a guy with super long hair, a guy that can smell you by your darkness and a hulk of a man whos going to end your life. Also a little girl in white ALSO RIKU IS HERE but he's acting weird where is Kairi you ask? who is Kairi? i've never even heard of that person in my life before are you sure you didn't just dream Kairi up? i don't think Kairi is a name of anyone i know.

At the end of this game you are met with another character he's a boy and he's blond, whos this kid? he's important character watch kingdom hearts 358/2 days cause this was a ds game that they remastered you can also watch it on youtube if you want

anyway the next game is Kingdom hearts 2 where mystery adds on another mystery and only like 3 questions get answered while it raises 7 more questions

Kingdom hearts birth by sleep, opening is a absolute head banger. Anyway there are these 3 teens Aqua, Terra and whoa this guy looks like that other guy, i wonder why??? is this the guy or is he another guy?? anyway 3 stories play either character but to get to the final story you have to finish all 3 YOU NEED TO PLAY/WATCH THIS

At the end of Kingdom heart 2 Sora and does find RIku and they are going to take a test to see if they can be masters of the weapon they have this game is Kingdom hearts Dream drop distance which also sets up a lot of stuff for Kingdom hearts 3 a also NEED TO WATCH/PLAY The world ends with you characters show up in this game

Now you think your ready for Kingdom hearts 3 don't you? well yes and no, see there was this game on the phone where you could make your own character and it took place a long time ago there is important stuff for Kindom hearts 3 in this game you can't really play it anymore cause the online service ended but you can watch it on youtube it's called Kingdom hearts union X

still not ready, there is a short movie thing it's Kingdom hearts back cover, it sets up stuff for Kingdom hearts union X

NOW can we play Kingdom hearts 3 after playing all these games? YES yes we can i never finished Kingdom hearts 3 but i know what happens in it cause i watched the spoiler when it came out

Kairi has DLC so we know how she got to the island in the very first game it's a musical game where you tap to the beat of the songs

They are making kingdom hearts 4 and we have some things we need to do before that there is Kingdom hearts dark road a ipad game i believe is still being updated, and Kingdom Hearts Missing Link a game they are still making

i left out one it isn't super important but there is Kingdom heart kingdom hearts recoded it's just about Data Sora and Data RIku it goes between kingdom hearts 1 and chain of memories i think?

Please consider playing the games, reading the novels or watching a playthrough i love this series it's so crazy we got powerful old people and gay guys basically divorced couple silly guys Disney characters and places Lion king, beauty and the beast, tangled,pirates of the caribbean, sleeping beauty, snow white you name it with weird anime hair characters, we got kids in war, blue icecream that is super important, darkness and light getting mentioned 24/7 final fantasy characters left and right anything you can think of we got it

sorry anon i really don't think games are for me, but I shall indulge you in this!! let's see what this is about

[I actually have never heard about it before, like I knew the name but nothing else]

guys wait i'm a little shocked, I didn't know games had this much depth in the stories (I'm obviously not familiar with it but!!!), like I thought it would be missions and quests only, I didn't know there were this much storytelling into it

WHY ARE THERE DISNEY CHARACTERSKJFDKJKJFDK

this might be a bit embarrassing to admit but since the other anon also mentioned this and you did it too, I had to google wtf a ds game was fkjdfjfjk and now I know that I knew about it but never really knew they were named ds ~anyway~

how many Kingdom Hearts games are there, like how did we get on 3 of these??? Are they like novels with a bunch of books?? and a bunch of spin-offs??

you did so well explaining everything to me i feel so bad i wish i could start right now, i will consider reading the novels/manga you mentioned though!!

i'm sure this will push somebody into playing the game!!

[coffeegeck]

Yozora Theory

Yozora states in LCE (LimitCut Episode) that he does not look like what we perceive (as Sora), which leads me to believe that he is, actually, a different person than what is expected.

Yozora is a blatant reference to VS. XIII Noctis, even down to his red eyes. Or, well, eye. This is important, trust me.

Near the end of KH1, Kairi uses her abilities of a Princess of Light to regenerate the Shadow Heartless that is Sora into his normal form again (which allows Roxas to co-exist with his former self, of course).

I believe that this did not bring back Sora, but rather, just his memories of who he is. Sora's heart was never truly restored, and it wandered freely between KH1 and KH2.

At some point in KH2, Sora's heart is moved to Quadratum through Unreality, and I believe this was done by Luxord (because we know that Luxord is from Quadratum thanks to the LCE ending, and he clearly had agendas working behind the Organization's back, much like Luxu, ala Xigbar). This isn't important right now.

Much like how Ventus' heart in BBS asks to take refuge in Sora's, Sora's heart takes refuge in Yozora's. We'll call the Yozora pre-Sora's joining 'Noctis' for ease of speech.

With Sora's body back in 'Reality' devoid of his heart, this explains why he is able to hold the hearts of so many other people (Roxas, Xion, Ventus, Kairi, and even Naminé and Riku, if you want to count them). He was like a replica, and we see their hearts influencing him much more than they should, namely when Ven influences him to blurt out that he'll go save Aqua from the RoD in KH3.

Meanwhile, 'Noctis' and Sora's heart fuse to form Yozora, seen most noticeably via his heterochromia; he has one blue eye from Sora, and one red eye that he kept (which, yes, is much akin to Noctis in VS. XIII). Furthermore, if we assume that this indeed is KH1 Sora's heart, then it hasn't gotten any more powerful since it was separated from him, surely meaning that 'Noctis'' heart is more influential.

Since Sora's heart was saved by Kairi at that point, and her Light removed all of the Darkness in his heart, Sora's heart is a heart of Pure Light (furthermore, this is why Antiform and Rageform have Sora's body shape; they aren't normal Heartless because they were separated purposefully, much like how Ansem has a human form despite being a Heartless; Xehanort willingly split himself apart also).

This Pure Light heart combined with 'Noctis'', who is the antithesis to Sora and therefore has a more powerful Pure Darkness heart, culminates in a power ratio of 13:7 in Darkness and Light, essentially turning Yozora into a sentient X-blade. We know this thanks to the X-blade symbols on his shirt.

Moreover, Yozora says that Sora in LCE "can't be Sora", because he believes that Sora is inside of him, fused with 'Noctis' (this fusion, by the way, is probably akin to Terranort, or Venitus).

I believe that the canon ending was that Yozora wins the LCE fight, and Sora's lingering memories are defeated and therefore return to Sora's heart, much like how Xion's death in Days leads to her memories returning to Sora.

This, in turn, allows Yozora to remove the newly completed Sora from his body at the cost of 'Noctis'' life, much like how Roxas gives up his life so that Sora may awaken in KH2. This also explains how Sora ends up in Quadratum in KH4; he was always on that side of Unreality since his separation from 'Reality', Yozora just needed to pull him out.

[smartzelda]

Okay *Demyx voice* Arendelle time!

Poor Sora😂

That gust of snow just moves in and he's like "Coat! Please! I'm an islander!"

Donald just shrugs it off like "That's not how it works. Go and freeze."

This is where I bring up the "kh3 is self aware thing" again because now we actually have Sora dying from the snowy area, and then when Sora just like completely forgets about it, Donald and Goofy are like, "Islander my butt. He's not even feeling it anymore, is he?"

Sora getting the first puzzle piece to the situation when Elsa runs away, a sad look on her face. Y'know, the beginning of that Riku to Elsa and Sora to Anna parallel, Elsa running away because Anna and the whole Kingdom are better off without her

Elsa: *uses magic*

Sora, Donald, and Goofy: *surprised pikachu face and slightly fearing for their lives*

If I'm remembering correctly, there's a section right here where you basically fight a bunch of enemies in the huge area

I distinctly remember running around, (and Xion could vouch for this) fighting the enemies, and very monotonely voicing that I was about to die

So...ice maze.

In my proud runthrough I really had to get to a save point so I zoomed through the ice maze as fast as possible. This time I took the time to explore every room and beat all the enemies. I still hate light rails with a passion.

So, the avalanche gets started at the top once we reach the palace, pushing Sora, Donald, and Goofy off

I... The ice dragon thing was so bad. I spent forever, dying and dying and dying to their stupid laser beams. It happened so many times that I had to go to bed and try it again the next day. I would get to the part where all three flew in the air and shot beams, and it felt so unpredictable and stupid and impossible because I would dodge beams from two, and the third's would appear right under where I was landing, which was impossible to judge. It was here I learned a lesson: Use the Kupo Coin when you need it

Bless the kupo coin for saving my stupid butt

The sled part after that stressed me out cause it wasn't hard, but I had a bad habit of bumping into things, so...😂

I pretty much just abused shotlocks, ultimate form, light form/double form okp, and thunder or thundara or whichever I had at the time and I finished those dragons off

Spiky brown grass 😂😂😂😂

Poor Sora is so frustrated that he didn't get a color like green or blue like Donald and Goofy

The part where Anna talks to Sora about Elsa and he finally puts some pieces together and relates it to him and Riku really gets me every time because their situation is a big Soriku parallel. I know this is one of the scenes that's probably been soriku analyzed to death, but like

Elsa and Anna used to play all the time when they were really little like best friends

Baby Sora and Riku, best friends, used to play together all the time

One day, Elsa shuts Anna out because she doesn't want to hurt her

Kairi enters the scene, Sora starts paying a little more attention to her, Sora and Riku's duo relationship isn't terrible, it just does a little decrease. The literal shutting out in which Riku and Sora close the Door to Darkness. Then, the shutting out when Sora wakes up in kh2 and Riku alienates himself because of his guilt over what he did, and what leads into the next part of the parallel

Elsa accidentally uses her ice magic and flees the kingdom to the north mountain. She alienates herself so she can't hurt anyone (especially Anna) and because she thinks the kingdom and Anna are better off without her

Riku feels like he can't win without using the power of darkness and is weak. He is ashsmed that he relied on darkness and it showed in his appearance as Ansem. He alienates himself from Sora and everyone because he feels like he can't show his face as Ansem and because he thinks Sora is better off without him.

Sora, of course, puts these pieces together with Anna's story and makes the parallel connection between him and Anna, then Elsa and Riku in his head. I like how he says, "If anyone can help her, it's you," because I feel like that's him remembering his situation with Riku when he wanted to find him and that because of the reason for Riku's actions, only he could help.

And I think it's interesting that it's first Anna saying "I have to bring her home" and then Sora saying "I'm sure she knows now much you love her" for him to make these parallels. I think that implies that Sora gets that Elsa and Anna are siblings that love each other and he's thinking over what Riku means to him and even what he means to Riku.

Also Sora (in jap ver dialogue) realizing that maybe Riku pushed him away because he's someone precious to Riku is like...

My heart bro...

Ngl, so many times here I moved up the mountain fighting enemies and died that I'd go halfway up the mountain, then backtrack all the way back to the save so I wouldn't have to keep completely starting over every time I got oneshotted by an armored body. I did that multiple times for this area.

So, we get to the point where Sora finally reaches the top of the mountain again. For whatever reason I couldn't remember if it was like that before, but the Elsa freezing Anna's heart scene and it flashing between that and Sora, and then Sora holding a hand to his heart in pain right after we see the shot of Elsa putting ice into Anna's heart.

I think it's a parallel and Nomura's tryna tell us/foreshadow something

Okay, so big oof on the Marshmallow fight. I think on my proud run I got a bunch of times to use the team attack with the tree. I swear I only got to use it twice counted up from all my attempts on this run

The suckiest part was armored mode. I did a lot of trying to let Donald and Goofy do the work here cause I didn't wanna get oneshotted, but that didn't always quite work out... I eventually did it though, snd of course Sora, Donald, and Goofy are knocked off the mountain again

Idk how mant times I'm gonna keep saying this, but poor Sora. He's just so done and frustrated. "I could do this a hundred times."

And then Donald and Goofy both take him seriously 😂

"Please don't."

"Yeah, we should do it again!"

Awwww, Marshmallow. He just wanted to protect Elsa. I know that's what he was created to do, but that's still sweet

Sweet Sora boy making friends with anything that moves and we love him for it

Marshmallow made my life with enemies a little easier ngl

At the save point right before seeing Kristoff, I did some meteorite farming in gummi space and took a trip to the bistro. By this point I had excellents on all but 3 dishes because I didn't have the ingredients yet.

Also, by this point I was blessed with adorable remmy and Sora getting presents. Remmy got his own tiny present!

And I'm sure you know this already, but like...I have a soriku obsession right now, so I enjoy making things into little personal Soriku references

Exhibit A: My gummi and Teeny Ships

They are both named after Yozora and contain the colors for Sora, Riku, and Yozora

Okay, so back in Arendelle, Sora, Donald, and Goofy temporarily leave Marshmallow behind, and we come upon Kristoff and another Soriku parallel

Kristoff: "No, Sven! We're not going back. She's with her true love."

Riku: "You mean Kairi. To Sora, she's someone very special."

Sora: "Where'd Anna go?"

Kristoff: "She's back at home."

Sora: "Something happen?"

Kristoff: "Anna was struck in the heart by Elsa's ice magic. If the ice isn't removed, she'll freeze forever. Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart. So I took her back to Arendelle and to her true love, Hans."

Xion: "Do you know where Sora is now?"

Riku: "That secret stays with me."

Xion: "Why's that?"

Riku: "Xion...your memories...they really belong to Sora."

Xion: "So you mean...I'm like a part of him?"

Riku: "When his memories were scattered, some of them...found their way inside you. Now, Sora has been put to sleep so that we can piece together his memory."

Sora: "But...what about you?"

Kristoff: "What about me?"

Sora: "Uh, I sorta assumed you guys were..."

Kristoff: "Nooo! I just keep her from getting lost."

Xion: "So, do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?"

Riku: "Nah, I guess...I'm just sad.

Sora: "Really? Oh, but you seem so..."

Goofy: "Perfect together!"

Donald: "Yeah, like me and Daisy!"

So let's talk this over.

Point one, both assumptions on who the person in question's (Sora and Anna) true love/most important person is. This may have to do in part with some surface level stuff and Kristoff/Riku's anxiety that the person in question (Anna and Sora) probably doesn't like them like that.

Point two, the person in question has had something bad happen to them such as their memories being "erased" or their heart being frozen, needing some sort of action to save that person.

Point three, neither Riku nor Kristoff factor their feelings into the situation, Kristoff because he just feels the duty to save Anna and doesn't believe he is her true love, and Riku because he feels the duty to save Sora snd similarly does not believe himself to be Sora's special person (which didn't exactly factor in in Riku's case, but it's true he too pushed his feelings aside in all areas except saving Sora).

Point four, "I just keep [him] from getting lost" is totally something Riku or Sora would say about the other.

Point five, I added the last part because despite the insistence that Hans is Anna's true love, Sora, Donald, and Goofy agree that it seems Anna and Kristoff are perfect together, and it especially helps to know that on their side, they've seen that Anna and Kristoff work well together. They haven't seen her with Hans, and even in the movie, she and Hans don't get much screentime development. This is a parallel more to the soriku experience. On our side, we see Sora and Riku get a lot of screentime and development together, and it's clear that they care for each other. So when someone, even in game, insists that Kairi is most important to Sora, it feels like, "Oh, but Sora and Riku seem perfect together" and "But Kairi and Sora don't really get development like that or really much screentime together."

So, resuming the story (and the parallel), there's a gust of wind amd Kristoff looks towards Arendelle. He obviously feels something is wrong and says Anna's name before rushing off. I'm being completely honest, we've seen Riku too rush off, feeling that Sora's in danger. Prime example I remember though would be in the keyblade graveyard when Riku just gets a feeling and runs over to Sora, giving him a pep talk sorta just before everyone else gets swept up.

So, Marshmallow too, just like Kristoff, feels something is wrong, and gestures in the direction of Arendelle, saying Elsa's name, and the group is off to save Elsa and Anna.

And then, another parallel! Yes, Arendelle is Soriku parallel city over here!

Before Hans' sword reaches Elsa

Before the demon tide reaches Sora and Riku

Anna stands between the sword and Elsa

Riku stands between the demon tornado and Sora

Anna puts her right hand out to block the blow

Riku thrusts the keyblade in his right hand forward, directing the darkness around him and Sora into a tunnel

Anna completely turns to ice and saves Elsa, an act of true love

Riku attempts to save Sora at the expense of his own life, an act of true love, and is swallowed by the darkness

Anna gives one clear final breath

Riku gives one clear final breath

Elsa, alive due to her sister's act of true love, realizes the power of love and is able to save/unfreeze Anna

Sora's heart and body persist, arriving in the final world, his heart likely persisting due to Riku's act of true love, and his body due to Kairi, and he believes in himself and is able to go save Riku's heart

Just...ya know...food for thought...

And now, boss battle time! I believe I didn't have too much trouble on it when I dodged correctly. I beat it fine. One of my favorite shots I saw though was Sora using subzero impact with Ultima, but his clothes were the formchange color because I had just hit Ultima form right before. It was literally so epic!!

No, Marshmallow! You can't die this way! I need you to battle things for me-! Uh, I mean, you need to be alive because we care about you!

Just kidding Marshmallow! I love you and you're actually a nice snow giant with a big heart!

Cue Sora getting the example of the power of true love when Anna unfreezes.

THE PRETTY ANIMATION

Pretty animation Sora, I looooove you

Poor boy caring so much about everyone. He just wants to keep everyone safe.

And after Elsa gives another demonstration of the power of love, Arendelle is over.

[blowingoffsteam2]

Part 1: I would like to apologize ahead of time, this might be a bit long. I can't help but feel a bit confused by Square Enix/Nomura as well. For me, it is pretty clear that Sora's feelings for Kairi were not much more than a crush, and it did not really become much more than that. As of Kingdom Hearts III, it seems that Sora's feelings are starting to change, that he possibly does not feel that way for Kairi anymore/he is getting over (or has gotten over) that crush.

Part 2: Or, at least, Sora is not sure of his feelings yet (for Riku or Kairi), and he is starting to figure it out. I hope that this may not mean anything, but I heard that at one of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra shows recently, there was an encore performance of Don’t Think Twice. During the encore, they showed footage of Sora and Kairi from KH1 to 3, ending it with Sora fading away. I honestly do not know what Square/Nomura is trying to get at when it comes to Sora’s “relationships.”      

Part 3: There has been major development and build up involving Sora and Riku’s relationship throughout the series as whole. Sora and Kairi’s “relationship,” not so much. Riku’s character grew more (in KH3) by expressing and accepting his feeling for Sora for what they (taisetsu na hito), Sora’s heart lead him to the worlds he was visiting in KH3/he went to these world to learn things about himself and his true feelings.      

Part 4: Then there are Riku’s actions he has done for Sora prior to and during Kingdom Hearts III. (His sacrifice for Sora cannot be downplayed as not an act of true love, especially with that focus in KH3 itself). Sora is now close to to realizing the things (for the most part) that Riku has done for him, how Riku feels about him, that Riku is Sora’s light, and how Sora might feel for Riku. I refuse to believe that all this was for nothing. 

Part 5: I understand that KH3 was for wrapping up the Xehanort Saga, but, before Sora went to face Xehanort, he went on this journey of self-discovery for a reason. I do not want Square to pull the rug out from under our feet and say Riku recognizing his true feelings for Sora and Sora’s journey was pointless in the end.       

Part 6: Besides Xehanort’s story arc coming to a close, if Sora’s adventures and soul searching leading up to that  moment is (possibly) not going to amount to anything, then why would Square even have Sora go on this journey to realize these things about himself? To have us, the audience, pick up on non-verbal cues and a deeper meaning to what is presented to us, for it to mean nothing? Don’t get me wrong, I love the Kingdom Hearts series.  

Part 7:  I loved and enjoyed KH3 and discovering these things involving Sora and Riku on my own, through you, databoy-reekoo, and the Sleeping Realm Theory, etc., but if it possibly amounts to nothing in the end, then is KH3 only good for wrapping up Xehanort’s story and not Sora’s “self discovery” journey in between? I know you don’t have a full answer yourself (since we can’t look into Nomura’s mind), so I guess I am just wondering what you think?

Part 8: I also cannot help but be a bit concerned over how SENA will handle Sora and Riku’s possible relationship from here on out. For Riku’s true feelings getting extremely downplayed and with the romantic angle between Sora and Kairi that is still being pushed in the English version, in which these aspects were going relatively untouched in the Japanese version. Things are not quite as “romantic” for Sora and Kairi and Riku was free to express his true feelings.

——————————————————–

I understand it can be confusing when we can’t know exactly what Nomura is planning, and for so long we’ve all been under the impression that while Sora and Riku’s relationship was developing beautifully, we all expected it would never lead anywhere more explicit, while the main games continued with a mediocre,undeveloped straight romance.  After all, we have seen this pattern many times in media, haven’t we?  As I’ve said before, the bar for straight romance is so low it’s in the ground, and I honestly thought this was what we’d have to deal with in KH in the end.  But then KH3 came, and boy was I wrong.  Almost everything Nomura had been setting up thematically, primarily since the end of KH2 (but some things even from the very beginning), culminated in KH3.  The question of “what is true love”, what is light, what is the power that comes with being able to protect someone precious to you (the power of waking).  These were things Sora himself was learning in KH3, and will continue to learn.  But for Riku, KH3 was the result of having learned those things- he reached the break of dawn when he realized the strength to protect his most precious person came from love.  And the climax of this was his sacrifice.

So, Nomura knows very well how to set up themes and follow through with them even across multiple games (even through the mobile game!).  We have no reason to think that he would all of a sudden do a 180 on everything he’s been building slowly and deliberately between Sora and Riku.  If Nomura really was as bad at writing romance as people like to say he is, there’s no doubt in my mind that he would have confirmed a romance between Sora and Kairi in this game. It was what everyone was expecting anyway, and being so bad at romance, would he really care that he hadn’t properly developed their relationship, that Kairi had been virtually absent from all the games since KH2?

Yet instead what we got was very transparently uncomfortable and hesitant looks from Sora in the paopu scene, where he didn’t move to take the paopu until she essentially downplayed it as “just a lucky charm” (in jpn), and very big parallels on the themes of separation and fading connections.  Which, again I have to remind everyone that Nomura explicitly stated it was his intent to show how childhood friendship change and don’t stay the same as we grow older (And specifically with Kairi, the theme of friends growing apart has been on his mind since KH1, as shown in the KH2 Ultimania). So we can at the very least know without a shadow of a doubt that changing connections (or rather, fading connections, taking into account the Pooh parallel) was a theme of the game and 100% intentional.

My point here being that I would be very shocked at this point if all of this was thrown down the drain in the future, as long as KH is under the direction of Nomura.  Could it happen?  Sure. But I would say it’s not a 50/50 chance if we are taking an honest look at everything.  Not even close.  But hey, that’s just my onion :)  All we can do is wait and see to be sure.

As for the orchestra encore, I’ve said this elsewhere but having watched the montage myself, it really does come across as a heartfelt farewell montage. It starts off with the ending scene, up to Sora and Kairi on the tree, then cuts to scenes of them together through KH1, KH2, and KH3, and ends with Sora fading away. Certainly doesn’t end on a happy note.  And important to know: the tunnel scene is not included.  What an odd choice this would be, if that scene were really meant to be Sora’s grand realization that she is his light and if those flashbacks to “true love” were really about her.  (and don’t forget that Sora and Riku got their own montage during the “Always on my Mind” section of the KH1 medley- which was actually just the Dearly Beloved part).  In any case, the orchestra is nothing to be concerned about.

And as far as the English translations go in the future, all we can do is hope that Nomura and team have a sit down with them and make it clear what their intent is.  And hopefully not have such a haphazard process with translating as we know they did with KH3.  Besides…if things keep progressing, there will only be so much they could do to obscure the truth.

So yeah, I guess those are my thoughts.  So much is continuing to be uncovered about kh3 and Sora and Riku’s relationship, I can’t wait to see what comes next.

[sorakairi]

Sora and Kairi are both dying to get together, but... Riku. They don't want him to feel left out, so they hold out. At the same time, Riku doesn't understand why those IDIOTS can't get together and he tried everything to tip them into a relationship. A clusterfuck of bad decisions and misunderstandings later, Sora and Kairi finally get together and they realize... some things are different, but they aren't and neither is Riku. They worried over nothing/Riku totally shipping them :'D

Ahhh yes. This is something I think about. I’m all for these two getting together, but leaving Riku out is also…a no-go for me. It’s weird. I want them together, but sometimes I feel, knowing Kairi is already known (and proven) as Sora’s most important person, is enough for meEdit: But yeah, those two can be such fools. Completely oblivious on how to confront their feelings

[eradicatetehnormal]

Thinking About Soriku

While it's no longer my OTP, SoRiku is and likely always will among my favorite KH ships. I admit that part of that is because I went in with a bias, due to a fan comic type thing that I read, prior to finishing the first KH game. After playing the games and seeing the community I shipped it more.

To be completely honest though, I didn't really see the ship outside of THE scenes in KH2 and through that symphony of sorcery scene in DDD. It was when I interacted with the community more that I realized how much there was to the ship. How they pointed out details like Riku technically sharing the paopu with Sora and that being the keychain on the combined keyblade dubbed "the gayblade" by the community. How jealous Riku acted in KH1 while suspiciously being more focused on one-upping sora than actually saving Kairi. How Riku did everything in his power to make sure Sora can come back safely in KH2 and 179 days, and of course the entirety of how their relationship is portrayed in DDD, with how Sora is disappointed with having to be separated from Riku and Riku always talking about Sora with almost nothing but positive things to say. All the other pieces of evidence that could point to hints of romantic attraction. From what I hear, people having a better understanding of the ship after interacting with the community is actually kinda common.

Soriku is one of those ships where the implications are subtle. If you're not looking for it, it's blink and you miss it, outside of a couple of stand-out scenes. If you ARE looking for it, it's extremely obvious to the point of almost coming off as intentional, especially post KH2 if you're looking at it from Riku's pov. I bet it's the work of the event planner:

Here's like, the thing with the community though. It's been at odds with a certain other group of shippers and they go at it A LOT, and it can make the community unbearable to be in sometimes. Not to mention how oversensitive some members of the community can be and how unwilling some of them are to live up to their past. The past of Sorikus being yaoi-obsessed fangirls who wrote and drew smut is real is very real and is a legacy that still lives on, even if it's not as bad as it used to be. There were consequently, children who saw that content. I understand Sorikus not wanting to acknowledge that past because

A. a lot of them consider it something that was a part of their cringy teen years and don't want to acknowledge it

and

B. Many Soriku shippers are genuinely queer and either aren't responsible for that content or fit into the prior category

And to be fair, a lot of the times when Kaisos bring this up, they do tend to have bad intentions and try to dismiss their own homophobic behavior, but at the same time if the yaoi side goes unacknowledged, especially when it comes to the older fan content, then it does seem like we aren't owning up to the fact that some of us are fetishy and it can leave and unwanted mark on the community. Also, yeah, going back to what I said earlier. Some of us are over-sensitive and do have a habit of calling people homophobic for saying that Kairi is Sora's most important person on their own platforms, and that's an issue too.

That being said, despite the community I still like the ship and it is still an S-tier pair for me, not GOD-TIER, but S-tier. When I actually remember how good their relationship is in the series, and good some of the fan content is, I can't bring myself to hate it.

Here's the other thing though. What if it actually happened? What if the series ended with Sora and Riku in an embrace saying that they'll always love and be there for each other, and then a strongly implied off-screen kiss? Regardless of how people feel about it, or what the intentions on Square and Disney's part, Sora and Riku ACTUALLY getting together would be a huge fucking deal. Not just for the KH community but for JRPGs and gaming in general. Hell, it'd be a huge mark in Disney history, as they would be among the few confirmed MAIN LGBTQ+ characters in a Disney property. Because of that people. will. riot. There will be many calling it the product of an agenda. There will be idiots saying that this ruined their childhood (which honestly if THAT's their argument, they didn't have a childhood worth ruining) and there will be people angry at Disney and ALL OF JAPAN for "forcing" children to see homosexual content. Probably giving prejudiced conservatives who like to be controversial, leeway to the yaoi argument as means of racism and homophobia. There's also the question of narrative meaning in Kingdom Hearts. First off there's the obvious, which is the writers will have to address Sora's relationship with Kairi else it feels disingenuous, and that can get messy rather quickly, especially because a lot of Kairi's relevancy is linked to her relationship with Sora. Pairing him with Riku can risk undermining his relationship with Kairi and if she doesn't do anything with Aqua and the other characters, can reduce her down to nothing but wasted potential, nostalgia, a cute design, and a cool backstory. As sad as it is, a big part of her appeal is her romantically coded relationship with Sora.

The series has always been about friendship first and foremost before everything else, even if it does value other types of relationships. Sora and Riku are considered by the creators, to be what the series is all about. What does it say about the power of friendship if the two leading characters were in love the entire time? This is less of a narrative issue with Kairi because she was never portrayed to be Sora's friend. She was always written to be a love interest to him in some way. Whereas with Riku, he was always written to either be Sora's rival, or embarrassingly close "friend", at least on a surface level. Sora and Riku getting together romantically could work to undermine the theme of friendship being the most powerful form of magic. Both Kaisos and Soriku's would probably just say "WELL IT CAN BE ABOUT BOTH", but part of what makes it so special in the eyes of many people is that it's NOT about both. That it consistently keeps its friendship theme and never safely comes out of it by making overly big moments with the love interest (except for Kairi single-handedly being the most important person to Sora. Why wouldn't it be Kairi AND Riku). So that initial message getting underplayed can risk taking the series down a peg for a lot of people.

[smartzelda]

Throughout the whole time between Riku's entrance in days and the end of com, Riku puts energy in finding a way to conquer his darknes before Sora awakens. He specifically thinks that he wants to rein it in before Sora awakens. The fight with Roxas is nigh and he's not sure he has to win, but he's doing this "all for Sora".

(I'm sure I don't need to say it again)

Then of course Riku gives up his body to win for Sora

In kh1 and from the CoM novel, one of Riku's greatest fears is being replaced by Sora. Repliku relieves Riku's memory of the scene from kh1 where Maleficent tells Riku that Sora found new friends and replaced him.

The CoM novel too gives us Riku's side for the scene where Riku gives way for the islands to fall to darkness. When the robed guy talks to Riku here and tells him he can leave, Riku asks if he can take Sora and Kairi with him, so again it's evident he does care for them both, but in those two shots of the CoM novel, Riku also makes clear his preference to Sora just as Kairi has a preference to Sora. He doesn't manage to get Kairi, but it doesn't matter because Sora is so close and just as long as he can bring Sora with him-

You get the point?

Then in kh3, Sora realizes that Riku pushed him away to protect him.

My point is that he cares about both Sora and Kairi, but based on all his actions and thoughts, it's clear that he has this preference to Sora--that Sora is likely the person most precious to him. Of course Riku wants to protect most of his friends, but most of all he wants to protect Sora, do better to prove it to Sora, see Sora (during com).

So that's why I find it weird when he goes "Sora and Kairi" when the topic of the one who matters most comes up in the DDD novel because everything else points to Sora, not Sora and Kairi.

Why do I think this is? I can't prove this, but I personally think it might have to do with the denial of the crush. I know from experience that when you have two best friends and you have a crush on one and you don't realize it, you'll think of one person for something like "Oooh I have all of these ideas because I just want to get [person A] the best present. Oh yeah, why am I only thinking about [person A]? I care about [person B] too. I have to find a present for them."

So what I'm thinking is that in these moments, it's true he does/did wanna protect Kairi and Sora, but it's possible that he's in deep denial and afraid of putting one over the other cause they're his both best friends. I think him recognizing that he does care about all of his friends, but that Sora is the one he cherishes most in kh3 is part of his character growth and coming out of that denial. Sora is Riku's most important person, the one he wants to protect the most. He wants to protect all his friends. Both of those things are true, it just takes till kh3 for him to fully realize and settle on it.

Okay, so I'm reading the DDD light novel, and I may or may not have noticed something. There are moments so far where I've read that you'd expect Riku to think about Sora cause they're lines about protecting the one person who matters.

The catch? Two times so far where I've read, instead of thinking of a person who matters, he thinks of Sora and Kairi.

For example, when beat says "I just wanna protect the one person who matters", the novel says he thinks of Sora and Kairi's faces.

Then, later, Riku is talking to either Quasimodo or Quasi, Esmeralda, and Phoebus at the end, and he thinks about when he was wearing Ansem's face, and interestingly when he talks about it, he puts up Kairi and Sora as the sole people he was trying to keep from seeing him that way and the ones he was alienating to protect them.

Now, I just need to add that I'm not saying that Riku doesn't care about Kairi. He may not get much interaction with her, but they are still friends and they both do care about each other.

I just think it's a little odd that Riku threw Sora and Kairi up in these situations like both matter most to him, but his actions don't add up that way.

In kh2 he specifically asks Mickey not to let Sora know anything about him. Riku kept his distance from Sora to protect him, but he also stalked Sora through his journey to guide him and to make sure he was okay.

In the CoM novel, Riku goes "Yeah, I wanna see Kairi and Sora and make up for all I've done, but most of all, I wanna see Sora. I wanna tell him I'm sorry." Sora is someone who he'd rather die at the hands of. And even when he thinks of stuff like, "Oh, I just wanted Kairi for myself back then," it circles around to Sora and how maybe he just wanted to get Sora's attention and their rivalry. He makes it clear that he wants to protect all his friends and make it up to them, no doubt, but he wants to make it up to Sora most of all.

(Click on pictures to see all the words)

In the days novel, it's first that Xion is part of Sora that makes him unwilling to lie to her, it's because she reminded him of Sora and looked like Kairi as they saw her, and he continues to think into how Xion and Sora are alike.

(Click on pictures to see all the words)