ikkuyo

Something aesthetically pink and blue for your timeline > 3 < featuring my oc Minty!

My theory is that Riku is Sora’s light in the darkness, and Sora’s eventual realization may be less about choosing between two love interests and more about finally understanding who he’s loved all along.

I think Sora may have had a childhood crush on Kairi, influenced by the romantic expectations surrounding them, but has potentially loved Riku since childhood without understanding those feelings +

I have a slightly different reading! I’m hesitant to call Kairi and Riku “equally important” love interests bc I think they serve different narrative functions. +

I theorize that ppl recognize Sora as Kairi’s romantic protector bc he’s the protag, but overlook Riku fulfilling the same role for Sora, despite his arguably more romantic arc. If K’s yearning for S reads as romantic, why doesn’t S yearning for R? What if R was the protag?

I’m questioning the criteria we’re using to assign these roles, especially when Riku is the deuteragonist whose entire character arc revolves around his feelings for Sora.

I dont disagree that Sora and Kairi have romantic framing, but that’s not really what I’m questioning here. U say Riku definitely has romantic feelings for Sora, so why wouldn’t that qualify him as a love interest? Does a love interest have to have their feelings reciprocated? +

If we’re assigning characters the role of “love interest” based on romantic framing and narrative function, on what grounds would Riku not qualify? I’m genuinely asking what the criteria is here. LOL.

Then we have Riku, the deuteragonist, whose entire character arc revolves around understanding his feelings for Sora, finding strength through his desire to protect him, and whose relationship with Sora repeatedly draws on romantic tropes and parallels. +

We have Kairi, whose romantic framing with Sora is often established through conventional signposting and other characters’ comments. +

“Canon” is doing a LOT of heavy lifting in these assertions about love interests. I wanna know what the criteria is for establishing one. Are romantic implications, narrative framing, and other charas’ assumptions enough? And if so, are we applying those standards consistently?

The ENG dialogue makes it seem like sora was thinking about Kairi when considering a gift. In JP, Sora doesn’t refer go any gender/name. Goofy assumes sora is talking about Kairi + brings her up. Donald associates her with Sally, which prompts sora to imagine the dance

The way I learned about the JP version of that scene 💀

That’s fine if that’s how you interpret KH3! But I think we’re talking past each other a bit 😅 I’m questioning the premise that Kairi is the established endgame, not whether there’s romantic coding between her and Sora. I don’t think those are necessarily the same thing.

Its a shame how conditioned we r to automatically identify the main female chara as the male protags LI, simply BC that’s how so many stories traditionally unfold. We end up treating that expectation as a narrative certainty, even when it might not be the story being told at all.

Meanwhile, his relationship with Riku has extensive emotional development and romantic tropes of its own. So I’m not sure what establishes Kairi as the clear endgame when the story hasn’t actually resolved that question.

Oh I get what you mean!! I just think the assumption that Kairi is the “canon” or “endgame” love interest is interesting in itself. She definitely has conventional romantic coding with Sora, but I don’t think Sora has ever explicitly expressed romantic feelings for her? +

His relationship with Sora is developed through many of those same conventions across the series. So what makes Kairi’s romantic implications canonical while Riku’s are treated as merely interpretive?

I think what’s interesting is what actually qualifies someone as a “canon love interest.” If we’re determining that through romantic coding, tropes, and narrative development, then Riku absolutely qualifies for consideration. +