Darksides are and always have been Sora’s shadow, literally and figuratively. That is why they are depicted with tear lines streaming down their face as though they are crying, with their mouth covered and gagged by their own body, unable to express their emotions, and a hollow chest. In this essay I will
While deep sea diving in the web archive I stumbled upon some neat bits of Kingdom Hearts fandom history, like this— what may be the first ever “Riku is Gay” essay (in English).
The first snapshot of the page is from 26th November 2002, just after the international release of KH. Soriku really been out here since day 1…
The purple prose dates it a lot but I didn’t notice any blatant Kairi bashing, which is impressive. It’s interesting that Riku’s complicated feelings for Sora have been documented even as early as 2002, pointing to the same subtext fans discuss even 20 years later.
Here’s a link to the essay: Dissertation on Riku x Sora by Ruaki
“In the end, Riku fell into the 'as long as he's happy' mentality. A much needed noble gesture on his part, but who can say what the future holds for him?“
The fact that in the manga Riku briefly "sees" Xion as Kairi when she asks if he hates her for taking Sora away from him is absolutely heartbreaking...