Would that make riku the first gay Disney prince? Mickey has basically become like a surrogate father to him which would make him the Prince while also being the prince to kingdom hearts. And thinking further, then there’s potentially three x-blades. The x-blade of legend forged in the conflict of light and dark, the kingdom x-blade of both keys that might be combined later down the line, and the combined key of their hearts.
There are a lot of "First Gay Disney Character" contenders, even without going into live-action films or Disney Channel shows, and as much as Disney's take on Herakles was painful in its inaccuracies (i.e. using the Roman name 'Hercules' but Greek names for everyone else)... Greek Mythology is VERY GAY.
Like, labels of sexuality are anachronistic to the period but EVERYONE was queer: the gods, the heroes, the IRL poets. Herakles was only able to defeat the Hydra during his Labours because his boyfriend Hylas was there to cauterize its necks before it could grow new heads.
(on a sadder/more ominous note, Hylas is also noted for his role in Mythological Greece's Epic Crossover Event, the quest for the Golden Fleece: his disappearing mid-quest caused Herakles, the strongest hero of all, to ABANDON THE QUEST. Herc left the crossover event to look for his boyfriend... but failed, Hylas having been dragged off by nymphs while fetching water.)
The whole "Mythological Greece was REALLY queer" Thing makes the consistent use of Disney's Hercules within the KH series feel very Deliberate: Riku is alikened to Hercules quite consistently, if only through the Colisseum enabling Sora's competitiveness (with Riku) and his need for Validation (from Riku). Herc, like Riku, is considered the BEST of The Best, the Ultimate Hero, the Peak of Masculine Perfection... this already sounds gay & KH3 dialed that energy up to 11 by directly connecting Riku with Herc & with the Sun.
Onto the matter of x-blades... it WOULD fit within the greater mythos of KH if there were 3 x-blades but I suspect that each "version" would simply act as a stepping stone toward manifesting ONE "true" x-blade that incorporates the Kingdom Keys, the Gayblade, & the "balancing of Darkness & Light". SoRiku only have 4 hands between them after all.
Regarding the Light/Darkness part, I strongly suspect that a big factor in how previous attempts have FAILED by manufacturing a war beyween Light & Darkness is due to a Misunderstanding on what the x-blade is FOR.
The x-blade was never meant to be some Ultimate Weapon (though it can act as one): it was meant to be a Key to Kingdom Hearts. And what is the truest method to 'unlocking' a heart? Love.
That a meeting of 'Light & Darkness' is referenced in the forging of a x-blade seems, to me, something 'incidental' to the x-blade being a manifestation of Love: 'True Love' in the Disney Worlds tends to feature people embracing each other wholly, Darkness & All. The primary "Disney Couple" that the KH series uses when referencing Sora & Riku is Belle & Adam: it is Belle's embracing Beast, his Light (as a man) AND his 'Darkness' (as a beast), that makes their love story so Iconic. It's also how they end up breaking Adam's Curse.
Embracing and Balancing the Light&Darkness in oneself & in one's beloved is an Act of True Love: Love is how Riku was able to balance his own Darkness & Light, Riku's journey through Dream Drop Distance being one of 'Self-Acceptance'. Self-acceptance enabled Riku to be empowered by his love of Sora, to reconnect with Sora without pulling away because of Riku's insecurities & his self-loathing.
If not as an incidental component to 'Love', the Light&Darkness aspect of the x-blade may be in service to its actual Purpose. Not only of 'unlocking Kingdom Hearts' but perhaps also... a Reconciling of Light & Darkness?
Xehanort sought to use the x-blade & Kingdom Hearts to create a [blank slate]. The Master of Masters seems invested in DESTROYING Darkness (and its vessels with it?). Yet the Disney Worlds & the Resolution of the Seeker of Darkness saga have all kind of implied that 'reconciliation' is what everything is ideally building up to: Belle & Adam, Herc & Meg, Eraqus & Xehanort, Riku, Sora, Sora AND Riku.
Acts of True Love often show Light overcoming Darkness but, since Kingdom Hearts was recognised by Sora & Riku (in KH1) as being "light"... since Riku has been steadily taking a thematic role of 'the Sun'... since the WORD 'sora' does not only translate to 'sky' but ALSO to 'void'?
Kingdom Hearts might be a complementary 'Light' (or Sun) to the Darkness of the 'One Sky': the 'sora' shared by all Worlds, the Night Sky that is the void of space beyond each World's atmospheric sky... the quiet Darkness of the universe within which all Light is made visible. Light & Darkness as elements of the universe, not just thematic symbols of love & acts thereof.
Afterall, 'sora' does not just/only refer to the atmospheric [sky] but to the "sky" of space: ENG typically translates THAT meaning of 'sora' to [void]. It's a double meaning that was kind of lost on International audiences but might be explored through Yozora's whole "[true king] of the [night sky]" thing.
This Ask REALLY imspired me! I got pretty caught up in how Riku's Designated World has always been Disney's Hercules (and how Gay that is) but! i think i came back to all the points? I definitely like the idea of there being 3 parts to manifesting 1 x-blade: the 'physical body' of joining the Kingdom Keys, the 'heart' made by love & dreams, the 'soul' made of Light&Darkness... any of these roles are interchangeable, given the whole "keyblades are manifestations of the heart" thing but joining the 3 parts of personhood laid out in KH1 (body, heart, soul) to the forming of the x-blade would be Very Cool. Thank you, Anon! <3
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