It really saddens me that people seem to wanna avoid the possibility of Riku being bisexual.
I 100% agree that there is no heterosexual explanation for a LOT of the scenes where Riku talks about Sora, or interacts with Sora, or how you can 100% read into a ton of the staging and framing of scenes between them throughout the series. While I don’t necessarily think the writers intended it with a romantic slant, that doesn’t change the fact that there is genuine chemistry and heaps of onscreen development throughout the series that makes it one of the more believable shipping dynamics to latch onto, especially when media on the whole pushes heteronormativity and there’s so little positive queer rep in JRPGs.
My problem is like... I think sometimes when people discuss this, they wanna sidestep or erase everything about him caring for Kairi, too. The fact that she was his motivation for leaving the island. The fact that he was SO adamant about saving her that he thrust himself into a deep and dangerous darkness. The “Soon, Kairi. SOON.” moment coupled with everything else- the teasing over paopu fruits, the way the other kids talk about how Kairi can depend on Riku, the “take care of her” moment, and Naminé assuming Kairi’s form to reassure Riku in Reverse Rebirth about facing and accepting darkness as a part of himself.
The fact that one of his cries when he runs outta HP in KH2 is Kairi’s name.
What I’m saying is... it just really bothers me when people brush this all off as “comphet” when another completely feasible interpretation is... dude’s just bi. Bisexual does include mlm, and him having potentially had a crush on Kairi in KH1 doesn’t rule out him also having a crush on Sora.
I dunno. I just feel like bi erasure is a real problem in fandom spaces, and I see it SO much with Riku. I’ve even seen cases on social media where headcanoning him as bi is somehow seen as bigoted which is really confusing to me.
Idk, comp het is a real thing that can happen, but too often I see it used as a way to undermine bisexual headcanons or other ships, so I squint really hard, and I feel like a lot of Riku’s arc makes a lot of sense with him being a confused bisexual teenager who has a lot of insecurities and confused and messy feelings regarding both of his best friends.
(Note: this isn’t meant as an attack on gay hcs so much as my frustration of how people act like bisexuality isn’t even on the table.)
I wanna vent about kairi and sokai a bit if you don't mind!! your blog is right about everything and honestly I'm tired of sokai fans pretending to be feminist for liking the most bland ship where the girl is just the GIRL in the relationship
but yeah pretend that everyone who dislikes the ship is sexist >_>
Right about everything, huh? A dangerous power you’re giving me, there. XP Anyway, I do not mind, so rant away!
Well, there probably are people out there who hate Kairi and subsequently SoKai bc of sexism, or at least out of internalized misogyny (I know for a fact that there definitely were back in Ye Olde Fandom Days, but admittedly I don’t know how much has shifted in the cultural landscape of the broader fandom in the past few years). And it’s always a good idea in general to keep track of exactly where your salt is coming from, bc sometimes things like misogyny, homophobia, racism, and the like can seep in through cracks that we didn’t realize were there.
But on the other hand, it’s silly for them to refuse to admit to the obvious flaws in canon SoKai, and to equate genuine criticism with just bashing. And how is it sexist to say that Kairi deserves more narrative respect and better treatment by the writers? Like, can all you SoKai shippers look me in the eye and tell me that you’re perfectly happy with the current state of affairs? That you don’t want better writing and development and more screentime for the relationship? Can y’all honestly tell me that you think it’s 100% perfect as is, with absolutely nothing that you’d change? Really? Because that’s the part that I genuinely struggle with to understand, myself. I don’t understand how you could possibly be content with the scraps you’ve been given for this main canon romance, especially one that’s literally never had any barrier standing in its way. And that’s the part that really kills me, bc it’s not like this is a queer ship fighting against homophobic censorship, so they’ve had all the time and opportunity in the world for this ship to flourish, and they could’ve reserved all of the best writing for SoKai, and they just........didn’t. And I will literally never understand why.
I guess, what I’m trying to say here is that.....as an open message to SoKai shippers, y’all can’t paint all “detractors” of the ship with the same brush. Sure, I’ll bet that there some out there who are just haters, bc there always are. But there are a lot of ppl bringing up valid points of criticism. There’s ppl like myself, who while not inherently against the ship, can’t bring ourselves to fully ignore the subpar writing, and who maybe can never fully forgive the years of frustration over the writers’ insistence on digging an even deeper hole instead of making any effort to climb out of it. And burying your own heads in the sand and refusing to recognize or own up to the flaws in writing for SoKai (and Kairi as a character)....isn’t really going to help endear the ship to us any better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Sorry for bothering you again. I wanted to ask you whether or not Sokai is canon. I was under the impression that it was official after viewing several clips from the third game and Remind. But now I'm seeing a lot of people on tumblr and online forums say it's not canon? I'm a bit confused.
Not a bother at all!
This goes for more than just fandom stuff, but it’s a good rule of thumb for fandom, too:
When anyone makes a claim, ask yourself: why are they saying this, and what do they have to gain from saying this? Are they qualified to speak about this topic? Do they have any ulterior motives? What is your gut telling you? Why do they want you to question yourself?
Okay, let’s apply this to the current situation:
When it comes to people claiming So/Kai isn’t canon, who is saying this?
Well… there’s no other way to say it. A certain subset of toxic So/Ri/ku shippers.
Why are they saying this?
They (the subset of toxic So/Ri/ku shippers) don’t like So/Kai, and they want So/Ri/ku to be canon. That’s all there is to it. Some of them have crafted their entire online identities around So/Ri/ku being canon, and they have a lot to lose if it isn’t.
What do they have to gain from saying this?
Gaining clout within the fandom, especially with other toxic So/Ri/ku shippers. The more they can tear down So/Kai and So/Kai shippers, the better they look to their fellow toxic So/Ri/ku shippers, and the more popularity they gain.
While I say this, though, I want to stress that there are plenty of So/Ri/ku shippers who do not do this and find the ship wars horribly toxic. They are not the ones pouring time and energy into tearing a pairing they don’t like down. It’s the toxic So/Ri/ku shippers who are doing that, and they’re the ones whose posts you’re seeing. The live-and-let-live people are not the one harassing So/Kai fans, and it’s not fair to put them into the same box as the people who are being rude and harassing others.
Are they qualified to speak about this topic?
Fandom is a community activity and it’s meant to be something anyone can join in. I don’t want this to turn into gatekeeping, either, because fandom meta and analysis and discussion is one of my favorite things about fandom and I always want to encourage people to do it.
That being said, not everyone who writes an analysis post has any formal training in literary/character/media analysis. Not everyone who translates something has the cultural knowledge and linguistic skills to create a professional-level translation. And while this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it encourages people to just have fun with it and get experience doing something they love, it also means that there are a lot of people running around who don’t have the skills, knowledge, or expertise to analyze media texts accurately. It’s a hobby for most people in fandom, and that’s okay. But it also means that you shouldn’t just buy anything someone claims without any evidence, or with very shoddy evidence.
Without knowing someone’s age, education, qualifications, etc., you should be very reluctant to take everything someone says about the “real secret HIDDEN TILL NOW WHEN I OH-SO CONVENIENTLY CAME ALONG TO ENLIGHTEN YOU!!!” interpretation of XYZ at face value.
Do they have any ulterior motives?
Ship wars get nasty and bring out the worst in people. This leads to some people doing whatever they can to “win” a ship war, including tearing other people down. So there are definitely ulterior motives at play here. And keep this in mind: someone who felt secure in their ship would not go to such lengths to tear a rival ship down. They’re lashing out at So/Kai so hard because deep down they know it’s what N/omura is going for, and they’re not happy about it. If they can make So/Kai shippers miserable though, they feel like they get a little something back, a little control back. Don’t give them the satisfaction.
What is your gut telling you?
That So/Kai is canon, right?. Notice how you didn’t have an issue accepting this until someone else told you you were wrong and that you should question yourself. The question is, why are they telling you to question yourself?
Why do they want you to question yourself?
Because if they can “turn” a So/Kai shipper, they feel like they win. If they can get a So/Kai shipper to stop making So/Kai content, or to start making So/Ri/ku content, it feels like a “victory.” Heck, if they can even just silence you, that’s a win in their book because it means one less happy, “pesky” So/Kai shipper to be annoyed by.
So… the moral of the story is, don’t doubt yourself without a good reason. Don’t believe someone unless they have good proof and evidence to back it up. And don’t let the toxic ship wars get to you. Block and mute tags and people as need be. Avoid going into areas that you know will have lots of So/Kai bashing.
And again, this applies to more than just fandom stuff. Always evaluate the credentials of someone making a claim, as well as the validity of the claim itself.
One of the biggest disappointments from KH III is that they legit put two songs in Arendelle; the entirety of “Let It Go” almost shot for shot with Sora and the gang fucking around in the background and “Do You Want To Build A Snowman” with Anna talking over the damn song almost the entire time
But they couldn’t put one song in Kingdom of Corona??
// If Nomura REALLY wants to have his own revenge final fantasy 15 game with a riku/noctis clone and luxord (possibly demyx and someone else serving as the rest of his ff15 boy squad)
Does he really have to do it in Kingdom Hearts?????
shoving your ip in a different series because you can’t get it made?
Also there is a big line between taking inspiration from something else/referencing something else in stuff and flat out copying or “piggybacking” off of it. I wonder how close to that line we’re going to get
But stop generalizing people who like Sokai or Soriku.
Both are valid. Neither group is bad.
And some of us support both.
Stop picking battles. Stay in your corners if you cant find love and enjoyment on some neutral ground, or have some common decency and leave the others alone. Both have bad apples, but dont group the orchard together, they get their own basket.
