Fan Essay: Shipping Riku-Kelsi

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or High School Musical.  This is strictly an essay/editorial explaining why I like the fictional pairing Riku/Kelsi.  So, without further ado...

"Why I Ship Riku/Kelsi"

Until the release of High School Musical 3, Kelsi Neilsen was one of the few important characters in the franchise without a significant other.  Troy had Gabriella, Chad had Taylor, Sharpay had Zeke, and though Kelsi was apparently with Jason, this was never officially confirmed in the movies and Jason has never been a very significant character.  Kelsi's character was important as a mutual friend of Troy and Gabriella's, the one who always encouraged them to sing in the shows that she composed, and even going so far as to write songs specifically about them for them to sing together.  In other words, Kelsi existed as the Ultimate Troy/Gabriella Shipper, and as a supportive friend to the Wildcat gang.  Such a role did not require her to be in a romantic relationship with anyone, so that element was never used with her character until Ryan came along and asked her to go to the prom with him in HSM3.

Likewise, in the Kingdom Hearts series, Sora's best friend, Riku, has never been officially paired with anyone either.  Well, none of the Kingdom Hearts characters have ever been officially paired up with anyone; it's a series with friendship as its core theme.  But that hasn't ever stopped fans from shipping, myself included.  The problem was that I couldn't find a character that I liked with Riku, and only Riku.  I like Riku/Kairi, but I like Sora/Kairi and Demyx/Kairi (long story) A LOT better, and I'd waste no time kicking Riku to the curb if either of the other two couples became a remote possibility in canon.  All the same, I felt bad and I wondered who would be a good partner for him.

Well, in cases like that, when you can't find a suitable partner for a character within the canon, there's only one thing left to do: turn to crossovers!  And that's more or less what happened when my friend Madammina (aka Clubtail) introduced me to Riku/Kelsi.  But why Riku and why Kelsi?  Seeing as how we're part of a handful of people who ship this couple, I thought I might do a little advertising here and explain why I got converted!

At first glance, Kelsi's story couldn't be more different from Riku's.  She started out as a shy little nobody who was befriended by Troy and Gabriella, and the duo soon began to include her in their group.  However, if you go up to speak to Tidus and Wakka at any point in the Destiny Islands level of Kingdom Hearts, it soon becomes obvious that they outright idolize Riku, and his best friend Sora is constantly competing with him.  Riku is the cool kid on the block whom everyone looks up to, and his social status is the farthest from Kelsi's as it is possible to be.  Additionally, while Kelsi has always proven to be a kind-hearted girl who would never think of betraying her friends, Riku's actions in the first Kingdom Hearts game lead him to side with the villains, betray his best friends, and almost get them all killed several times.  He eventually repents of course, but his adventures are still more dramatic and developed than anything Kelsi's ever experienced.

Yet deep down, Riku and Kelsi share several personality traits that consistently show up within their stories.  The main one would be the support they show for their friends.  Even after Riku had turned to the Dark Side, he still believed he was doing it all to save his friend Kairi.  After he sees the error of his ways, he spends the year after Chain of Memories and the whole of Kingdom Hearts 2 working endlessly to set things right and protect his friends.  And like Kelsi, he rarely takes credit for his actions, particularly after he's matured in Reverse/Rebirth.  He secretly protects Kairi from Axel by forming a portal that would take her to safety in Twilight Town, only allowing her to catch a glimpse of him as a mysterious hooded figure.  He leaves Sora clues and protects the worlds without revealing himself.  Yes, this was mostly because he was ashamed of the fact that he had to use dark powers to help his friends, but even after Kairi discovered him in the World That Never Was, he was prepared to reunite her with Sora and then disappear.  He probably would've gotten away with it if she hadn't grabbed on to his arm.

Kelsi isn't as secretive as Riku, but her role as the composer shows that she prefers to stay in the background and help other people get the opportunity to shine.  At first this was more of a hindrance for her because it allowed people like Sharpay to walk all over her.  It took some encouragement from Troy and Gabriella before she started sticking up for herself and going out of her way to make sure that they got a chance to audition, something that was strongly against Sharpay's wishes.  Likewise, it took encouragement from Sora and Kairi to prove to Riku that they would always be his friends and stick by him through the thick and thin, thus giving him the courage to stop beating himself up and come out of his shell.

That's all well and good, but how does it prove that Riku and Kelsi are the Next Greatest Crossover Couple Ever?

Well, for starters, I should probably point out that I generally don't ship a couple unless I see some jumping-off point to show that they're compatible in some way.  It's clear that this is the case for Riku and Kelsi: they both care deeply about their friends and they're both introverts…but don't ever make them mad or you will soon regret it!  Also, both of them have a dry sense of humor that pops up occasionally.  Riku's got plenty of examples from when he teases his friends: "So, I guess I'm the only one still working on the raft?" and "That figures.  Sora always did as he pleased.  No matter what we were doing, he'd find a way to slack off!"  And quiet though she may be, Kelsi's been known to make a snarky remark or two about Sharpay behind her back.  "Our summer pianist is evidently moving!"  "Or hiding."

More importantly, they would both be well-suited to help the other battle his/her inner demons.  See, while Riku is quiet and withdrawn, he also possesses an inner confidence in his own abilities.  He knows perfectly well of what he's capable of.  If you were to suggest that you could easily beat him in a fight, he would probably prove you wrong in a matter of seconds.  By Kingdom Hearts 2, Riku doesn't show off because he doesn't need to.  He goes in, gets the job done, and leaves.  The angst factor comes into play once he starts worrying about whether he should be using his powers the way that he does.  This is where Kelsi is needed.  She generally sees the best in people (unless that person is Sharpay) and is quick to come to Troy and Gabriella's defense because she can see their potential when no one else can.  She's the only one who never had a problem with them acting differently from how they were supposed to.  Therefore, she'd be a good candidate to help remind Riku of the good qualities that he does possess if he was ever feeling down.

Likewise, Riku's a good candidate to help Kelsi, because he's got the inner self-confidence that she lacks.  Though she does come to stand up to Sharpay on her own, just like Riku comes to accept his darkness as a part of him, they're both the kind of characters who would be willing to continue supporting each other through the thick and thin, like a healthy couple should.  Plus, they're nice characters in general, and don't have the type of personalities that would get on each other's nerves after a while.

So there you have it.  They might be from different fandoms, but if High School Musical ever became a world in Kingdom Hearts (and I doubt it will, but I'm speaking hypothetically) I think Riku and Kelsi could hit it off very well, and that's why I will continue to ship them as one of my favorite crossover couples!