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Face My Fears

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Maybe Even could make another Riku Replica that Naminé can brainwash into loving her like the first one.
I don't see what Namine did as brainwashing to love her. She just planted fake memories into him. That didn't guarantee Riku Replica to love Namine. His heart (replica of Riku's) naturally fell in love with her. Even if the memories weren't there, he would have still loved her.
 

*TwilightNight*

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I refuse Roxas shipped with anyone. I want King Roxas and Queen Xion to be on their own and shine on their own. I'd much rather they both have stories that don't relate to other people and the focus on them because they fought so hard to be their own people. They deserve so much better than relegated to "just the boyfriend/girlfriend" role. Also Namine and Roxas is just a no for me. They're basically related.

Riku/Namine is the way to go. I need to see Riku be dark and brooding, combined with Namine's sadness and loneliness. But I think it might be too late for this because Riku isn't that dark and brooding anymore, so I guess Namine will have to find someone else that she can be sad/lonely around... I'm thinking and if she can't be with Riku, then just be on her own.

No offense, but not everyone is Kairi, a character that's relegated to the "love interest" role and not much else for two decades. Roxas and Naminè had implications, and I was the one that defended them when everyone else thought they were inserted romance when I felt their bond was obviously more about understanding each other's thoughts and feelings. That's irony I guess. I don't remember Naminè feeling comfortable enough with someone to the point that instead of having to talk about Sora's progress (i.e. Riku and Diz), she can finally talk about herself and how unsure she is in how to use her powers and if there's a right way to use them. Her doing that with Roxas stuck out to me, personally. It's like a good basis to start from. I just know it's not going to be done that well if Sora/Kairi are an example.

Also, I'm trying to process this right. So, you claim that Naminè, literally Kairi's shadow/Nobody born of her Heart with Sora simply acting as an intermediary to allow her to gain physicality, is related to Roxas? Naminè, who does not contain or have Sora's body, or any part of him (or Kairi for that matter), that Naminè? Where is the relation? Did I miss some scientific concept in biology in high school? Or is this an example of a weak argument to denounce a ship? Those tend to be pretty funny.

I don't care for Riku/Naminè, if that's what you want, whatever. But this whole "if she can't be with the guy I want her to be with then she can stay alone" is exactly the type of ridiculous, toxic shipping mentality that everyone looks down upon. I doubt this thread is here for that. You should take that to Twitter or something.


Kind of glad that Nomura killed Rikunami in Ultimania, lol. It would feel wrong after Repliku sacrificed his second chance at life for her. Interesting that Rikunami is the only ship Nomura ever debunked

He wouldn't have had to go that far if he actually put more thought into how that scene would appear. He only debunked the ship outright because it undermined Riku Replica's sacrifice and the reason why that scene was there in the first place. Which was more important to him than caring about keeping things to the fans' imagination apparently.

I don't find Riku Replica's end result sweet whatsoever either though. He was brainwashed from beginning to end, he knew nothing of Naminè and who she really was, they didn't even have any heartfelt conversation. Girl didn't breathe his existence after CoM. Yet based on the false memories and manipulated feelings that coincided with it (like she did with Sora), he held unto what he deemed to be "true" (to protect her) but they wouldn't have been there in the first place if he wasn't mind screwed. So to paint this as saccharine and warm, where the brainwashed left over a vessel for the brainwasher, felt so off to me. That scene wouldn't be really fixed for me anyway.


Maybe Even could make another Riku Replica that Naminé can brainwash into loving her like the first one.

That's absolutely villainous!

...I dig it.
 
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Hedginka

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There is no finer example of a potentially angst ridden love/hate relationship than Demyx and Larxene. Ever since I initially began 358/2 Days and took note of how regularly they bring each other up, my shipper brain begun to wonder and I've loved them ever since. It feels like one of those ships that so many people have thought or joked about at least once, but no one's really gone all the way with the idea. Except for me, apparently. I just adore the concept of them being uncomfortably obsessed with one another, while everyone around them gets sick to death of hearing about it.

Some people may insist that Demyx is too weak or wimpy to keep up with Larxene, but I've always had the headcanon that he's infinitely more sociopathic than he lets on. You even see him drop the facade moments before the fight against him in Hollow Bastion. Besides, to get into Organization XIII, unless your name is Roxas, you have to be pretty evil to begin with.

In addition, their elements go pretty well together. Thunder and water? The perfect mix for causing chaos. If I ever get good at drawing, I am definitely visualising a fight scene with those two at the centre.

I don't really want to talk about why I loathe Marluxia/Larxene, so I'll keep it quick. In CoM, they never share a word on screen, despite being supposed partners in crime; in fact, Marluxia honestly doesn't have a great deal of personality at all. But more importantly, Marluxia being Larxene's motivation for becoming a disposable minion is loathsome and awful and takes away her agency and I can't stand it.

I have other ships, but this is apparently the one I felt like talking about. People who ship rare KH pairs are real ones and I wanna be besties with all of them.
 

2 quid is good

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When it comes to shipping potential, I find Days to be a really good launcher in general for a host of different pairings mostly because everyone at some point gets cut loose from their trios and are forced to interact with other characters. You can't tell me that it's not interesting to wonder what Riku and Namine talked about for a year, even if you don't ship them at all, or Xion and Namine's interactions. Honestly, Namine is one of my favourite characters, and in hindsight, it's probably because she never really fit in anywhere and thus forced more like.... Organic conversation to happen whenever she was around. I never really thought of her as a Kairi clone, or as RokuNami as a forced pairing, in fact if anything their time together in KH2 is probably the more sturdier base off a relationship to move up off of.

But for damn near a decade she's just not been used well at all, probably because she's so difficult to place in a trio, even Naruto wasn't this bad with unattached characters.

I agree a lot with @*TwilightNight* on this point - that the trios are actively ruining KH's potential for character writing - and in turn any potential friendships or relationships.

Basically, what I ship most of all is Namine/Some Damn Good Friends PLEASE
 

Face My Fears

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No offense, but not everyone is Kairi, a character that's relegated to the "love interest" role and not much else for two decades. Roxas and Naminè had implications, and I was the one that defended them when everyone else thought they were inserted romance when I felt their bond was obviously more about understanding each other's thoughts and feelings. That's irony I guess. I don't remember Naminè feeling comfortable enough with someone to the point that instead of having to talk about Sora's progress (i.e. Riku and Diz), she can finally talk about herself and how unsure she is in how to use her powers and if there's a right way to use them. Her doing that with Roxas stuck out to me, personally. It's like a good basis to start from. I just know it's not going to be done that well if Sora/Kairi are an example.

Also, I'm trying to process this right. So, you claim that Naminè, literally Kairi's shadow/Nobody born of her Heart with Sora simply acting as an intermediary to allow her to gain physicality, is related to Roxas? Naminè, who does not contain or have Sora's body, or any part of him (or Kairi for that matter), that Naminè? Where is the relation? Did I miss some scientific concept in biology in high school? Or is this an example of a weak argument to denounce a ship? Those tend to be pretty funny.

I don't care for Riku/Naminè, if that's what you want, whatever. But this whole "if she can't be with the guy I want her to be with then she can stay alone" is exactly the type of ridiculous, toxic shipping mentality that everyone looks down upon. I doubt this thread is here for that. You should take that to Twitter or something.




He wouldn't have had to go that far if he actually put more thought into how that scene would appear. He only debunked the ship outright because it undermined Riku Replica's sacrifice and the reason why that scene was there in the first place. Which was more important to him than caring about keeping things to the fans' imagination apparently.

I don't find Riku Replica's end result sweet whatsoever either though. He was brainwashed from beginning to end, he knew nothing of Naminè and who she really was, they didn't even have any heartfelt conversation. Girl didn't breathe his existence after CoM. Yet based on the false memories and manipulated feelings that coincided with it (like she did with Sora), he held unto what he deemed to be "true" (to protect her) but they wouldn't have been there in the first place if he wasn't mind screwed. So to paint this as saccharine and warm, where the brainwashed left over a vessel for the brainwasher, felt so off to me. That scene wouldn't be really fixed for me anyway.




That's absolutely villainous!

...I dig it.
No toxic shipping here.

I'm not demanding that Namine be with Riku, that's what I would prefer if they ever do actual relationships in KH. I just rather Roxas be alone and be a star on his own, and not get pulled into a Nomura-written relationship that will devalue him because Roxas is the best (this applies to Xion as well).

And even though the "biology" behind Namine's creation is still vague ie "she's a special nobody", she is obviously connected to Sora somehow since she can control HIS MEMORIES. She can't even control Kairi's memories. Also, if it was so horrible of Namine to "brainwash" Riku Replica into loving her, then why isn't the same mentality applied to Namine brainwashing Roxas into probably the worst existence possible - believing that your normal life is your normal life, then pulling the rug out from under you and revealing it was all a lie, and that you only had 7 more days to live. That is probably the biggest reason I don't want Roxas/Namine to happen because I will always remember what she did to precious Roxas.

The fact is that the only person that saw through all of Namine's brainwashing and manipulation (albeit she was forced into it) was Riku. He wasn't a subject of her manipulation and saw her for more than just a tool (like DiZ did). Granted, Riku was more obsessed with fixing Sora than really caring for Namine at that point, but he was going through his own struggle at that time. But Riku still cared for her WITHOUT being controlled by her in some form.
 

Elysium

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I don't see what Namine did as brainwashing to love her. She just planted fake memories into him. That didn't guarantee Riku Replica to love Namine. His heart (replica of Riku's) naturally fell in love with her. Even if the memories weren't there, he would have still loved her.
I agree. The bubble was burst at the end of CoM, and he still chose to embrace his feelings for her. That's a conscious choice on his behalf.
 

Hedginka

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No toxic shipping here.

I'm not demanding that Namine be with Riku, that's what I would prefer if they ever do actual relationships in KH. I just rather Roxas be alone and be a star on his own, and not get pulled into a Nomura-written relationship that will devalue him because Roxas is the best (this applies to Xion as well).

And even though the "biology" behind Namine's creation is still vague ie "she's a special nobody", she is obviously connected to Sora somehow since she can control HIS MEMORIES. She can't even control Kairi's memories. Also, if it was so horrible of Namine to "brainwash" Riku Replica into loving her, then why isn't the same mentality applied to Namine brainwashing Roxas into probably the worst existence possible - believing that your normal life is your normal life, then pulling the rug out from under you and revealing it was all a lie, and that you only had 7 more days to live. That is probably the biggest reason I don't want Roxas/Namine to happen because I will always remember what she did to precious Roxas.

As someone who has loved Riku/Namine for almost a decade, doesn't like Roxas/Namine and straight up hates Repliku/Namine, I feel I gotta say somethin here.

Namine actively went against Ansem's wishes by interacting with Roxas at all. While she wasn't immediately explicit about his life being a lie, she did repeatedly try to reach out to him and attempt to savour the wound. I know some people like to get up in arms over her telling Roxas he was never supposed to exist. I don't understand why; we know Namine is not well informed in regards to social norms and she's factually correct. Then again, this fanbase is very talented at misinterpreting lines if a certain moment from the end of 358/2 Days is any indication.

Was it ever canonically stated that Namine messed with Roxas' memories before sending him into Data Twilight Town? I know it's a logical conclusion to draw, but from the way the cutscene is framed, I always assumed Ansem took it upon himself to fuck with him, using whatever wicked machinery he had available.

Even if you want to follow this train of thought to believe that Namine brainwashed Roxas, it's not as literal and overpowering as it is with Repliku. You can say that Repliku would love her, even if she hadn't planted those fake memories, but do we not remember what he was like when he was first introduced in Reverse/Rebirth? He was an arrogant psychopath. His personality was Vanitas before Vanitas became a thing. You really think someone like that would care about Namine in the slightest? I for one will never agree with that.

Side note, I respect @*TwilightNight* for still shipping Rokunami all these years later. Most people seem to have abandoned that pair altogether, as it's been pretty much erased by every game since KH2. I admire him/her for sticking by it.
 

Oracle Spockanort

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Not that I want it to become canon but I think it'd be hilarious if Aqua took up Zack's offer to go on one date(if Nomura ever remembers him).

I can easily imagine how silly the whole event would be. Zack would be shocked she called his bluff. Their date would essentially end up being two friends hanging out. Terra and Ven would invite themselves on said date, too.

I also want Zack and Aerith to meet.
 

May-Jor

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Shipping or not, it feels strange that Namine doesn't interact with Roxas at all in KH3.

Heck, there's a whole lot of characters that should've interacted in KH3. Kairi and Riku barely spoke with each other, they seemed to have dropped the Xemnas + Aqua's armor plot point for some reason (a bit dissappointed because I did ship Xemaqua). etc. Also, wasn't Xemnas trying to look for Ventus or am I remembering things wrong?
 

MATGSY

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Gratuitous fan art post!

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Also, wasn't Xemnas trying to look for Ventus or am I remembering things wrong?
You're right. In the KH3 Ultimania, Nomura said that Xemnas was looking for the Chamber of Awakening in Days because he knew Ventus was an ancient Keyblade Wielder. So I guess it was made to not be about any personal connection between Xemnas and Ven.
 

gulava

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And even though the "biology" behind Namine's creation is still vague ie "she's a special nobody", she is obviously connected to Sora somehow since she can control HIS MEMORIES. She can't even control Kairi's memories.

We don't really know the extent of Naminé's abilities since they have never been explained or explored properly in the series so far, but in every game she has been described her as "a witch with the power to manipulate memories" indicating her power isn't only limited to sora's memories. She, herself, says she has the power over Sora's memories and those connected to him in kh2. Also, CoM shows us clearly how she can manipulate different set of memories, from Replica Riku, before his first encounter with Sora, to Donald and Gofy. Therefore yes, Namine can control Kairi's memories.

Nevertheless, Naminé's power over sora's memories doesn't prove she is a part of him or related to him in any aspect. Despite Naminé's existence itself not making sense even by kh logic, she is 100% Kairi. We saw how she coexisted just fine with sora in CoM, unlike Roxas and Xion, whereas her existence started to fade away the moment she came into contact with Kairi and she went back to Kairi at the end of kh2. Thus, she is 100% Kairi

Also, if it was so horrible of Namine to "brainwash" Riku Replica into loving her, then why isn't the same mentality applied to Namine brainwashing Roxas into probably the worst existence possible - believing that your normal life is your normal life, then pulling the rug out from under you and revealing it was all a lie, and that you only had 7 more days to live. That is probably the biggest reason I don't want Roxas/Namine to happen because I will always remember what she did to precious Roxas.

I take it you aren't very fond of Naminé from the way you talk about her and accuse of manipulating Roxas when it's far from being the truth. It was Diz who inserted Roxas into the data twilight town and the fake memories were also his doing, not Naminé. Naminé had no hand in Roxas's fake twilight town memories. It was evident in her attitude when she rebelled against Diz and hacked his data twilight town, which he responded very aggressively to.

Additionally, I don't think Naminé had any intent of manipulating roxas as you imply because it goes against her character development in CoM. The Naminé at the end of CoM shows remorse for messing with Sora and Replica Riku's memories and for manipulating them. It would be out of character for her to repeat it with Roxas. Naminé simply told Roxas the truth, the cruel truth both Axel and Xion didn't want to tell him fearing it would hurt him or he wouldn't accept it. She also wanted to give him the choice to choose his fate, like she did with Xion, knowing fully well she could risk the chance of Sora ever waking up. Moreover, she could have opted to not talk to roxas and simply brainwashed him to go back to sora if namine had been the evil manipulator you think she is.


But Riku still cared for her WITHOUT being controlled by her in some form.

Cared? You mean when he manhandled her? Or when he stood there and watched Diz manhandling Naminé? Or when he showed no concern for her when she was fading out of existence? I'm sorry, but I fail to see when or how Riku cared about Naminé. I tried to give this pairing a chance. I really did. However, all of their interactions conissted of Naminé guising herself as Kairi to help Riku; Riku saying she smells like Kairi; Talking about Sora; Talking about Sora again; Riku manhandling Naminé; Riku sparing Naminé's life (no it doesn't count as saving her). Their interactions left much to be desired when Riku barely showed any understanding of Naminé's character, much less concern for her as an individual or as her own person.
 

*TwilightNight*

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No toxic shipping here.

I'm not demanding that Namine be with Riku, that's what I would prefer if they ever do actual relationships in KH. I just rather Roxas be alone and be a star on his own, and not get pulled into a Nomura-written relationship that will devalue him because Roxas is the best (this applies to Xion as well).

And even though the "biology" behind Namine's creation is still vague ie "she's a special nobody", she is obviously connected to Sora somehow since she can control HIS MEMORIES. She can't even control Kairi's memories. Also, if it was so horrible of Namine to "brainwash" Riku Replica into loving her, then why isn't the same mentality applied to Namine brainwashing Roxas into probably the worst existence possible - believing that your normal life is your normal life, then pulling the rug out from under you and revealing it was all a lie, and that you only had 7 more days to live. That is probably the biggest reason I don't want Roxas/Namine to happen because I will always remember what she did to precious Roxas.

The fact is that the only person that saw through all of Namine's brainwashing and manipulation (albeit she was forced into it) was Riku. He wasn't a subject of her manipulation and saw her for more than just a tool (like DiZ did). Granted, Riku was more obsessed with fixing Sora than really caring for Namine at that point, but he was going through his own struggle at that time. But Riku still cared for her WITHOUT being controlled by her in some form.

Naminè can control Sora's memories and those connected to him because Kairi's Heart and his interacted within him. It's the reason why he at times could see a phantom vision of her and feel things are "familiar" in KHI. Of course, considering how much of an anomaly Naminè is and how mysterious her powers still are (and why it had to be about memories in the first place), that may be retconned later. But fact of the matter is she posseses no part of Sora, and therefore can't be related to Roxas (who is Sora's body).

Also, it took Naminè a long time to brainwash Sora and pick apart his memories. Riku Replica was a blank slate she could work with, but with Sora, she had to redirect his feelings for Kairi towards her by replacing her position in his memories and throw Kairi off as a normal friend of the group. It took days. So to expect that she'll be able to erase and replace Roxas' memory bank in legit a few hours is prepostorous. I'm pretty sure it was implied Diz covered up his memories of his time in the Organization with data. It's why it was such a bad job. Roxas himself was converted to data to be in data Twilight Town. We see this being done in a scene.

On top of that, it makes no sense that Naminè will then not only risk Sora's recovery, but disobey Diz's orders, by hacking into said data town all for the sake of attempting to help him figure things out. It's contradictory.

Which brings me to the obvious logical conclusion that she hadn't done anything to him in terms of memory altering.

Trying to paint Riku as the only source of possible romantic companionship is also flimsy. The one scene we see of them in 358/2 Days was him just straight out being professional about Sora's progress. He didn't talk to Naminè as a person there, but as a business partner of sorts. Not to mention he had to be updated by her, which means that they have hardly seen each other throughout the year. And this was in what, Day 250 something. I think he spent more time gallivating off with Xion for a month (if we are to believe that official Days timeline) than spending time with Naminè.

The whole "they spent a year offscreen together" is a myth.

Then in KHIII he didn't breathe her name or cared until Riku Replica reminded him she existed, and now had to see through his last wish. At least Sora, Kairi, and Roxas remembered her in their own way without needing to be told. Even Aqua got more of his attention. That's not the behavior of someone that loves or wants to be with another person.

And in all these moments, there's legit zero romantic interest on Riku's end. And Naminè's too for that matter. For 8+ games. Pack that with Nomura himself debunking RikuNami, and there has to be a certain point where it's like, okay, it's not a thing.

Shipping or not, it feels strange that Namine doesn't interact with Roxas at all in KH3.

Heck, there's a whole lot of characters that should've interacted in KH3. Kairi and Riku barely spoke with each other, they seemed to have dropped the Xemnas + Aqua's armor plot point for some reason (a bit dissappointed because I did ship Xemaqua). etc. Also, wasn't Xemnas trying to look for Ventus or am I remembering things wrong?

They haven't been in physical existence since KHII, so stuff post-KHII has been more meta than anything aside from DDD and KHIII (for example, those 2.8. ending credits and KHUx art). And I put DDD here because Roxas shared her pain with Sora in that scene with him as the memories of data TT flowed into him. You even see Naminè a few times. Sora himself confirmed it in KHIII with the flashback added in to boot. Cause you know, we need to make sure we get the point and all.

I think the set up with Roxas was great. You see him being triggered emotionally to the point that he flashes over Sora and Sora feels his sadness. This happens both in San Fransokyo (and we visualize HPO) and when Roxas within Sora is gazing at Naminè's room window. The problem comes in when there is no delivery on it. In writing, when you build up things like that, there's expectations of a payoff to come eventually. Otherwise, why do it at all? Yet we never got to witness Roxas reunite with HPO or Naminè. Once the black hole trio returned, it was like nobody remembered they had relationships with other characters. And Lea. Not only did he not react to her taken away or react to hearing about what occurred to her, having him see Xion in her at the start made it look like he's just compensating for something missing. His own friendship with Kairi got cheapened as a result if you ask me.

It's the same with Kairi and Naminè. You had this fantastic, meaningful rendition about her Nobody's right to exist at the very beginning...and nothing. At one point I thought that she was to embark on a journey to help her. But she doesn't. They don't talk, they don't even hug. Nothing. She was just Sora-focused and got fridged to give him man angst.

KHIII sucked narrative wise, but the worst part of it were the characters. It seems Nomura cared more about wanting to close the door on trios and leftover, hanging threads than do anything with the characters at present time. He also views this as not the end of KH, so he's also in the mentality that interactions will occur in the future. It screws everything up when you have characters being so non-reactive however. They could have at least freaking blinked. I mean, shit, I know death means nothing in KH, but we have to buy that these people give a damn about one another here. And then we skip to Roxas having a race with Riku of all people on the beach. Did the dude even apologize?

We don’t know!

They're just BFFs now.
 
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Idreamaboutcats

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Sora and Kairi, because, well, she is his most precious memory given Xion's voice and visage, so her very presence definitely affects him.

I'm up in the air with NRX because it's like ACT 2.0 and God that was such a disaster back then that the argument still lasted 20 years later and turned me off from even buying the Remake since I can't deal with it. Also, it makes me think of twincest (Rokunami) and a really, really weird form of narcissism (Rokushi) if I think too much into it. I will admit I used to like one of the two very much, but I won't say which one.

The canon Disney couples because they're canon.

You all already know how I feel about the ACT debacle.

Player and Strelitzia, because Strelitzia really makes her crush on him obvious and I think it's adorable. Yes, I think the player is a he because BC, Xehanort's dreams, and novel, but anyone could still believe player is a girl, doesn't really make a difference unless Nomura directly says so.

Lauriam and Elrena, she followed him and stayed beside him even into the Age of Prophecy.

That's about it. I don't see any other characters that have chemistry between them. I have to admit I'm more inclined to ship canon couples like the Disney princesses and their respective princes, because it's canon, so why bother messing around with it in my head.
 

*TwilightNight*

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Side note, I respect @*TwilightNight* for still shipping Rokunami all these years later. Most people seem to have abandoned that pair altogether, as it's been pretty much erased by every game since KH2. I admire him/her for sticking by it.

Aw, thanks for the shout out :3.

I've seen RokuNami shippers though. I think rather than abandoning the ship, they are just biding time silently and doing their own thing. There's not much they can say or do when Roxas and Naminè haven't interacted since KHII. With Naminè heavily implied to live in Twilight Town, it'll be interesting to observe what happens to say the least, if anything.

I like the set up of Roxas and Naminè and its potential. They aren't romantically interested in each other unlike what everyone thought back in the 2000s. There was a bit of narrative subtext (that tied with main couple SoKai), but I'm certain the characters themselves weren't thinking about such things at the time and their bond sprouted from mutual apprehension and acceptance of what their fates are. I was so annoyed back then that this was overlooked because they exaggerated the romantic aspect. It's like, they didn't get it.

And unlike Sora/Kairi, these characters had the chance to grow and evolve independently of one another. Therefore their agency will be intact and a relationship will be an extension of their lives/themselves rather than their entire personality. I'm not ragging on Kairi, I swear, lol.

I see Naminè as a wild card really. She's not tied to a particular person or group like Kairi, and so she has options available.


We don't really know the extent of Naminé's abilities since they have never been explained or explored properly in the series so far, but in every game she has been described her as "a witch with the power to manipulate memories" indicating her power isn't only limited to sora's memories. She, herself, says she has the power over Sora's memories and those connected to him in kh2. Also, CoM shows us clearly how she can manipulate different set of memories, from Replica Riku, before his first encounter with Sora, to Donald and Gofy. Therefore yes, Namine can control Kairi's memories.

Nevertheless, Naminé's power over sora's memories doesn't prove she is a part of him or related to him in any aspect. Despite Naminé's existence itself not making sense even by kh logic, she is 100% Kairi. We saw how she coexisted just fine with sora in CoM, unlike Roxas and Xion, whereas her existence started to fade away the moment she came into contact with Kairi and she went back to Kairi at the end of kh2. Thus, she is 100% Kairi



I take it you aren't very fond of Naminé from the way you talk about her and accuse of manipulating Roxas when it's far from being the truth. It was Diz who inserted Roxas into the data twilight town and the fake memories were also his doing, not Naminé. Naminé had no hand in Roxas's fake twilight town memories. It was evident in her attitude when she rebelled against Diz and hacked his data twilight town, which he responded very aggressively to.

Additionally, I don't think Naminé had any intent of manipulating roxas as you imply because it goes against her character development in CoM. The Naminé at the end of CoM shows remorse for messing with Sora and Replica Riku's memories and for manipulating them. It would be out of character for her to repeat it with Roxas. Naminé simply told Roxas the truth, the cruel truth both Axel and Xion didn't want to tell him fearing it would hurt him or he wouldn't accept it. She also wanted to give him the choice to choose his fate, like she did with Xion, knowing fully well she could risk the chance of Sora ever waking up. Moreover, she could have opted to not talk to roxas and simply brainwashed him to go back to sora if namine had been the evil manipulator you think she is.




Cared? You mean when he manhandled her? Or when he stood there and watched Diz manhandling Naminé? Or when he showed no concern for her when she was fading out of existence? I'm sorry, but I fail to see when or how Riku cared about Naminé. I tried to give this pairing a chance. I really did. However, all of their interactions conissted of Naminé guising herself as Kairi to help Riku; Riku saying she smells like Kairi; Talking about Sora; Talking about Sora again; Riku manhandling Naminé; Riku sparing Naminé's life (no it doesn't count as saving her). Their interactions left much to be desired when Riku barely showed any understanding of Naminé's character, much less concern for her as an individual or as her own person.

200.gif


Also, "gulava"?

Some taste too, goddamn.
 
D

Deleted member 252753

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A ship I did like the idea of when looking through KHX scenes was Player and Skuld. They spend a lot of time together in the run-up to the war and I thought it was nice that she and and Player were friends as it seemed like Skukd's friends had a tendency of ditching her. The moment I thought seemed kind of romantic is just after they talk to Gula and Skuld pleads with Player to not fight the war and come with her and Ephemer and then they take each other's hands before she runs off. The description of it in the novel is quite sweet.

I liked to think there was something significant in Player not joining the Dandelions then but Skuld and Ephemer taking them from the battlefield anyway but maybe not. I have a dwindling hope that there will be some twist with Skuld which explains why her personality apparently died in the Keyblade War but maybe Nomura just got bored of her like everyone else.
 

Ultima Spark

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Unless indicated otherwise, this post applies to basically any fanbase of whatever property.

To an extent I understand why people are drawn to the idea of shipping (I have my own personal preferences that I indulge in privately). What I do not understand is why shipping, above all else, seems to draw so much more drama than any other aspect of a work. Quite frankly, the poor reputation of shipping and shippers exist with good reason; more than anything else, the more fanatical ones can't seem to (or don't want to) temper their fantasies with realistic expectations.

In the case of non-heterosexual ships in particular; I cannot take you seriously if you start accusing others of homophobia or other politically-charged insults just for not liking or not caring about such, or prance around insisting it's canon and then saying "oh we were just joking" when the evidence indicates that it either isn't, or probably won't be focused on any further than subtext.
 

Hedginka

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Aw, thanks for the shout out :3.

I've seen RokuNami shippers though. I think rather than abandoning the ship, they are just biding time silently and doing their own thing. There's not much they can say or do when Roxas and Naminè haven't interacted since KHII. With Naminè heavily implied to live in Twilight Town, it'll be interesting to observe what happens to say the least, if anything.

I like the set up of Roxas and Naminè and its potential. They aren't romantically interested in each other unlike what everyone thought back in the 2000s. There was a bit of narrative subtext (that tied with main couple SoKai), but I'm certain the characters themselves weren't thinking about such things at the time and their bond sprouted from mutual apprehension and acceptance of what their fates are. I was so annoyed back then that this was overlooked because they exaggerated the romantic aspect. It's like, they didn't get it.

And unlike Sora/Kairi, these characters had the chance to grow and evolve independently of one another. Therefore their agency will be intact and a relationship will be an extension of their lives/themselves rather than their entire personality. I'm not ragging on Kairi, I swear, lol.

If Rokunami fans are being quiet, they might be the most silent entities to exist since that one Doctor Who alien from Series 6. And from the direction the series is headed, they may be remaining quiet for quite a while.

I like that you separate Roxas/Namine from Sora/Kairi, as my primary problem with the ship is when people treat both pairings as one and the same. I also like that you agree the over exaggeration of how romantically invested in one another they supposedly were was exhausting. Man, KH2 feels like decades ago when I talk about it like this. It's depressing.


To an extent I understand why people are drawn to the idea of shipping (I have my own personal preferences that I indulge in privately). What I do not understand is why shipping, above all else, seems to draw so much more drama than any other aspect of a work. Quite frankly, the poor reputation of shipping and shippers exist with good reason; more than anything else, the more fanatical ones can't seem to (or don't want to) temper their fantasies with realistic expectations.

In the case of non-heterosexual ships in particular; I cannot take you seriously if you start accusing others of homophobia or other politically-charged insults just for not liking or not caring about such, or prance around insisting it's canon and then saying "oh we were just joking" when the evidence indicates that it either isn't, or probably won't be focused on any further than subtext.

For every extreme shipper, there's an extreme ship basher; two sides of the same unbearable coin. For example, it's no secret that Soriku has a very dedicated set of fans who will analyse every single line of dialogue for 'evidence' of their OTP being canon. But there are also tons of people who get phenomenally upset at the idea of anyone shipping them (or any gay pairing really). I don't know if anyone here visits the KH subreddit, but that place is generally welcoming of all pairings, until you mention Soriku and everyone loses their minds, breaking out the "They're just friends!" card and claiming that they're ruining the beauty of their brotherly bond and yadeeyadeeya.

Basically, people can't separate fantasy from reality. Which explains why people who ship Axel/Roxas are paedophile enablers or some crap. The more woke social media grows, the less inclusive it becomes. But when all is said and done, virtually every single human being on planet Earth is a shipper. Everyone has watched at least one movie or played one game where they've looked at two character and gone, "Huh, I kinda want them to kiss." Because it's natural as people. Especially when you're growing up.
 
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phoenixmiko

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Ships I love: SoKai, RokuNami, RikuShi and TerrAqua.

Ships I like: RepliNami, HayNette, Marluxia x Larxene, Ventus x Strelitzia, Ephemer x female Player, Ephemer x Skuld, Isa x Skuld, Isa x Project X, Gula x Ava and Yozora x Nameless Star.

Ships I like the idea of: VaniShi, RepliShi and Axel x Larxene.

Ships I don't like: SoRiku, SoRoku, SoNami, SoVen, RokuShi, NamiShi, KaiShi, AkuRoku, AkuShi, AkuSai, VenAqua, TerraVen, VanVen, NamiKai and VaniKai.

Meh ships: XehaQus. I can take it or leave it. I see them more as brothers than lovers but if it turned out they were the latter, it wouldn't surprise me. I'd be okay with it.

Ships I'm okay with in fanon but not in canon: RiKai and RikuNami. There are some lovely AUs and fanart out there.

If the ships I don't like became canon, I'd accept it because I respect Nomura's decision. It's his story after all.

There are quite a few characters I don't ship with anyone, such as most of the Organisation. I may have a lot of ships but I'm really here for the lore, story and cast.
 
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Violet Pluto

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Basically, people can't separate fantasy from reality.
There are some more categories to this. Some people know it is fiction but because they support it, they find any detracting thought as an attack against them personally. Others are just too caught up in a character or ship or idea to acknowledge anything else. And even others just want to attack those who don't ship the "Right People". Finding out which you are dealing with is half the battle in talking to them. I'm not even talking about arguing with them, just talking. It gets worse when they start arguing with each other, because it will not end until a fight breaks out or until someone's pulled away.

I don't know if what I'm talking about is the majority or minority but it sure is vocal.
 
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