Official Shipping Discussion | ships ahoy | sharing is caring: fan creations (fic, art, etc.)

[PrettyGuard]

Fans do get a bit obsessive with ships, i suppose its not necessary for the story but it would be interesting to see how the relationships would evolve. Though to be fair romance is in the series, just mostly with the non original characters.

 

[yamibakura95]

Fans do get a bit obsessive with ships, i suppose its not necessary for the story but it would be interesting to see how the relationships would evolve. Though to be fair romance is in the series, just mostly with the non original characters.

ships are life fuel

 

[AegisXIII]

Yes, ships are what sells. Ambiguity is the key to keep the fandom alive. If they go in one direction or another, it can cause massive damage and some people might lose interest. That's why they only care about friendship. it's pure marketing.

 

[yamibakura95]

Yes, ships are what sells. Ambiguity is the key to keep the fandom alive. If they go in one direction or another, it can cause massive damage and some people might lose interest. That's why they only care about friendship. it's pure marketing.

FFIX had romance betwen zidane and dagger but it was done better (see the ending where dagger and zidane hug and dagger stomps his chest). kairi and sora never did somehing similar

 

[Elysium]

I think the kissing scene of Sora and Kairi will be portrayed in final game.

I agree they will wait until a proper end before that happens. This is how queerbaiting always happens--they string the shippers on all sides along for years and years with breadcrumbs and nothing with the main straight couple happening until the final episode, when everyone's married off.

The only thing is, who knows if there will ever be a "final" game in this series? Even once Nomura loses interest, I'm sure Square Enix's and Disney's bank accounts will not, which means the series will continue without him at some point. The only way we get a final game in some sense where SoKai is finally given full spotlight is either, 1.) They decide to retire Sora altogether (which I hope never happens, 'cause it's not KH without him and Riku, imo) or 2.) The games start performing poorly in repetition, and they decide to end the series because there is no longer any financial gain from it continuing. Only in those two cases will they finally pull the band-aid off and really shove it down the gamers' throats.

FFIX had romance betwen zidane and dagger but it was done better (see the ending where dagger and zidane hug and dagger stomps his chest). kairi and sora never did somehing similar

Zidane and Garnet were a great romance and that's part of what I love about IX--the game definitely has an almost fairy tale quality at times. But part of why it works is Garnet was a great character individually. Kairi isn't, imo.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

I don't know if we'll ever get romance handled properly in the series and I'm not sure if Nomura is emotionally mature enough to do so. The handling of romance in KH2 in particular is rather awkward in more ways than one. I understand that Sora might get embarrassed when the idea of romance is brought up, he's a 15 year old boy and his friends are teasing him. But for the life of me I can't understand why the Disney characters, who all have pre-established relationships, would react the same way. Belle and Beast, Hercules and Megara, Mulan and Shang, they all get embarrassed and I don't understand why. Did Nomura just assume that his fanbase was still in a "boys rule, girls drool" (and vice versa) mindset? And that was 15 years ago, how come nothing has really changed? Maybe one day he'll realize that he can't just tease fans anymore. When that time comes, hopefully he'll take the plunge and we'll all be jumping with him.

 

[Sign]

I don't know if we'll ever get romance handled properly in the series and I'm not sure if Nomura is emotionally mature enough to do so. The handling of romance in KH2 in particular is rather awkward in more ways than one. I understand that Sora might get embarrassed when the idea of romance is brought up, he's a 15 year old boy and his friends are teasing him. But for the life of me I can't understand why the Disney characters, who all have pre-established relationships, would react the same way. Belle and Beast, Hercules and Megara, Mulan and Shang, they all get embarrassed and I don't understand why. Did Nomura just assume that his fanbase was still in a "boys rule, girls drool" (and vice versa) mindset? And that was 15 years ago, how come nothing has really changed? Maybe one day he'll realize that he can't just tease fans anymore. When that time comes, hopefully he'll take the plunge and we'll all be jumping with him.

I get what you're saying but talking down to Nomura as if he's not a 50-year old man with much life experience under his belt is so bizarre to me.

All of the characters you listed are young and haven't actually known each other for very long. Disney may like portraying them in perfect fairytale relationships but it's not like it'd be unnatural for them to be nervous or embarrassed around their partners. Herc and Meg, and especially Mulan and Shang have behaved that way around each other even in their own canon.

 

[Keyblade Knight 1st Class]

I get what you're saying but talking down to Nomura as if he's not a 50-year old man with much life experience under his belt is so bizarre to me.

I meant no disrespect to Nomura. Admittedly my statement was poorly worded and I take full responsibility for it. I know Nomura is capable of tackling mature content and themes, and I also realize that if he chooses not to explore these aspects in KH then, as a storyteller, that's his decision and I respect that 100%.

P.S.
Nomura-san if you're reading this, then please accept my apologies. Sometimes I can be a real ass that doesn't think before posting.

 

[Willow A113]

P.S.
Nomura-san if you're reading this, then please accept my apologies. Sometimes I can be a real ass that doesn't think before posting.

Doubt it lol

 

[Deleted member 246005]

Sora and Kairi would benefit from a game like FF13-2. Most shonens fail at romance because they don't develop it in the present. The journey is often more important than the destination etc.

Kingdom Hearts is too dependent on the childhood friend connection but they didn't give it that "lived-in" quality that Cloud and Tifa have in FF7R. Compared to them, Sora and Kairi might as well be strangers.

Ironically them being strangers to friends to romance is an easier love story. Final Fantasy has mastered the art of falling in love not already being in love.

 

[Zetta slow]

Axel x Isa!

 

[flyingtails]

Well I'm pretty new to this fandom, and I haven't played all the games or watched playthroughs of all of them yet. But I started to like Roxas/Namine after CoM and KH2... I know they don't have a ton of interaction, but they are my favorite male and female characters respectively... at least at this point but that's a superficial reason to like them together XD More concretely, during their short interactions together, I just felt like they resonated well with each other. They both have a sadness to their characters and they share the questioning of their identity, their autonomy. And they open up to each other about those fundamental questions. I know that most Nobodies are likely to struggle with those questions at some point, but you see Roxas and Namine being the first two in the series (I think?) to really be puzzled and bothered about who they are, questioning their purpose in the world. So that really struck a chord with me and I thought, well they would be good for each other because they can understand what the other has gone through, and support each other.

I dunno, I can just imagine them being high school sweethearts, growing up in Twilight Town together. They would be the skater boy/artsy girl couple who are kinda misfits but they don't care because they have each other. Wouldn't that be sweet?? Seriously, my heart is melting

As for Sora/Kairi vs. Sora/Riku, I have an opinion on this too.... while playing KH 1, I thought that Sora and Kairi had some very cute moments. Like I teared up at Kairi's, "Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you." (Who didn't though XD) I also think it's really cute how Sora thinks of Kairi as his light, and she gives him strength to overcome hardships. It's the sweetest T_T however, I actually also got the impression that Riku was a love interest for Sora in KH 1. It just felt like, as the game progressed, Riku was trying to save Kairi but he was also trying really hard to get Sora's attention. So I was like, "Hm. Maybe he likes Sora?" And then at the end of the game when they get separated and there's that whole montage of when they were younger, back on the islands, I was like, "Wow, these two had a bromance." LOL.

Looking at more recent games, especially 3D, I got the distinct feeling that Riku is in love with Sora? Not sure if the writers intended to write him that way, but there were so many moments where he would just think of Sora, kind of like how Sora thinks of Kairi, as 'his light.' It seems to me like Sora/Kairi is requited while Sora/Riku is one-sided. It's kinda sad though, because I really liked Kairi's character in KH 1. She was so spunky and cheeky while also being adorable. But as far as I can tell, writers dropped the ball on her characterization, starting as early as KH 2. On the other hand, Riku has gotten some very consistent development, not just his character but also his relationship with Sora. At the end of the day, I don't even know which one I prefer probably Sora/Riku because Kairi feels so flat now compared to KH 1. But that will never be canon. You can never truly win

OMG this is so long o__O I have a lot of thoughts about shipping I guess XD

 

[palizinhas]

My main issue with literally every ship is that we don't really... know... what their relationship is like beyond "these two care deeply for each other and are willing to do whatever it takes to find each other". The characters spend such a long time searching for each other we never get to see them. Actually together.

Even Sora/Riku has this problem. DDD is their game but they only have like four scenes together in the whole thing.

Do more flashbacks! Adventures where the cast gets to play off of each other! That one group fight in Re:Mind isn't even that great, but it's just so much fun to see their little dialogue moments that I really wish we got more of that sort of thing.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

Well I'm pretty new to this fandom, and I haven't played all the games or watched playthroughs of all of them yet. But I started to like Roxas/Namine after CoM and KH2... I know they don't have a ton of interaction, but they are my favorite male and female characters respectively... at least at this point but that's a superficial reason to like them together XD More concretely, during their short interactions together, I just felt like they resonated well with each other. They both have a sadness to their characters and they share the questioning of their identity, their autonomy. And they open up to each other about those fundamental questions. I know that most Nobodies are likely to struggle with those questions at some point, but you see Roxas and Namine being the first two in the series (I think?) to really be puzzled and bothered about who they are, questioning their purpose in the world. So that really struck a chord with me and I thought, well they would be good for each other because they can understand what the other has gone through, and support each other.

I dunno, I can just imagine them being high school sweethearts, growing up in Twilight Town together. They would be the skater boy/artsy girl couple who are kinda misfits but they don't care because they have each other. Wouldn't that be sweet?? Seriously, my heart is melting

As for Sora/Kairi vs. Sora/Riku, I have an opinion on this too.... while playing KH 1, I thought that Sora and Kairi had some very cute moments. Like I teared up at Kairi's, "Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you." (Who didn't though XD) I also think it's really cute how Sora thinks of Kairi as his light, and she gives him strength to overcome hardships. It's the sweetest T_T however, I actually also got the impression that Riku was a love interest for Sora in KH 1. It just felt like, as the game progressed, Riku was trying to save Kairi but he was also trying really hard to get Sora's attention. So I was like, "Hm. Maybe he likes Sora?" And then at the end of the game when they get separated and there's that whole montage of when they were younger, back on the islands, I was like, "Wow, these two had a bromance." LOL.

Looking at more recent games, especially 3D, I got the distinct feeling that Riku is in love with Sora? Not sure if the writers intended to write him that way, but there were so many moments where he would just think of Sora, kind of like how Sora thinks of Kairi, as 'his light.' It seems to me like Sora/Kairi is requited while Sora/Riku is one-sided. It's kinda sad though, because I really liked Kairi's character in KH 1. She was so spunky and cheeky while also being adorable. But as far as I can tell, writers dropped the ball on her characterization, starting as early as KH 2. On the other hand, Riku has gotten some very consistent development, not just his character but also his relationship with Sora. At the end of the day, I don't even know which one I prefer probably Sora/Riku because Kairi feels so flat now compared to KH 1. But that will never be canon. You can never truly win

OMG this is so long o__O I have a lot of thoughts about shipping I guess XD

Welcome to the fandom and welcome to shipping haha

It is always surprising when your suddenly have a lot of strong feelings about something and didn’t realize. Your words absolutely sum up my own feelings on the whole Soriku vs Sokai thing.

 

[Face My Fears]

I ship Riku/Namine and Riku/Aqua. I always liked that Riku was the one to tell Aqua that she was in the Realm of Light and that he respected her space by not hugging her... although that scene also supports SoRiku because Riku puts his hand on Sora and Sora puts his on Riku lol.

 

[WaltK]

Pretty sure Riku/Aqua is against the rules.

 

[Elysium]

Pretty sure Riku/Aqua is against the rules.

? ...Maybe if it takes place during BbS when Riku was a five-year old.

 

[Absent]

At this point I don’t actively ship anything. The only thing I honor is the fact that Riku is definitely not straight.

 

[Face My Fears]

Pretty sure Riku/Aqua is against the rules.

How come? Riku is like 15 or 16 and so is Aqua... I think.

I mean it's the same as Roxas/Axel - Roxas is literally maybe 1-2 years old.

Riku/Maleficent would be ew, but the nature of the KH storylines sort of blurs the line on the ages of some characters (like Aqua and Roxas). I just view them as whatever age they seem to physically present as, since Nomura never gave an actual explanation or age.

What are the guidelines for characters like Roxas and Aqua in here? Even Terra/Ven... it's pretty confusing especially because Ven is like thousands of years old.

 

[Oracle Spockanort]

How come? Riku is like 15 or 16 and so is Aqua... I think.

I mean it's the same as Roxas/Axel - Roxas is literally maybe 1-2 years old.

Riku/Maleficent would be ew, but the nature of the KH storylines sort of blurs the line on the ages of some characters (like Aqua and Roxas). I just view them as whatever age they seem to physically present as, since Nomura never gave an actual explanation or age.

What are the guidelines for characters like Roxas and Aqua in here? Even Terra/Ven... it's pretty confusing especially because Ven is like thousands of years old.

Aqua is 18. And she lived over ten years wandering the RoD so she’s about 30 chronologically and physically 18.

Riku is 16.

Ven isn’t really thousands of years old since he was sent through a portal to the future. He is 16, chronologically 28 but he slept all of that time away.

Roxas is like 2 years old but physically 15.

Terra is 20. Chronologically…32? Physically his Xemnas body was 30 then KH did some weird shit so Terra’s body that he got back is 20.

Aqua/Riku is…weird but it’s technically allowable since their existing age difference is only 2 years, but I doubt Aqua would ever see characters like Kairi, Sora, and Riku as more than the bright kids she met because she’s a sister/mom type character.