Destiny Islands Rant.
Yo. I've been iconing and photoshop and decided to put up some Destiny Islands themed icons in
kh_icons. Which led to me thinking about Destiny Islands and thus, this rant.
1.) Destiny Islands = Exist
Destiny Islands exist people. Our three main characters have family and homes there, so they aren't going to just get up and leave and never think of their island home again. Yes, Even Riku. Remember that line in the beginning of KH? I think Riku says it, but one of the characters definately says "If it doesn't work, we can always go back home." or something along thoses lines. They don't intend to leave forever- Destiny Islands is important to them.
2.) It's Destiny Islands, as in, more than one island.
This one just plain confuses me. Do people actually think that those 6 kids live on that tiny island? Where would they sleep? what would they eat? We know from KH2 that Destiny Islands consists of at least two islands, probably more. (since we don't see a school and Kairi's not going to wear a uniform if she's homeschooled.)
3.) Destiny Islands =/= Japan.
Ditto with the confusion. We don't see a single person in Destiny Islands that could be described as or that acts Japanese. And last time I checked, Japan wasn't tropical. I read a fic recently that had Riku speaking fangirl japanese because it was his 'native language'. WHUT. Granted, it was AU, but of all the KH characters Riku is probably the least japanese. Mickey is more japanese that Riku.
4.) Living on an Island =/= Living on the mainland.
The few fics I have found that take place on Destiny Island don't really have the feel of Island or seaside life. There are little details that get missed that ruin that atmosphere for me. Details like:
a.) the food they eat. They live on an Island. That means two things. First, they're going to eat a lot of seafood. I'm a cajun girl, and I do like my seafood, so when I draw the trio on Destiny Islands, they eat a lot of seafood/cajun-esque food- crabs (hard and soft shell), seafood soups and stews, shellfish, shrimp, fish, lobster, crabcakes, ect. One thing I don't see them eating a whole lot of is processed foods, like chips, candy, and snacks. Why? Well, we've seen the size of the two islands in KH from Destiny Islands. There isn't a whole ton of room to build up the supply base, and the factories, needed to produce that kind of food, nor does it seem there is the labor needed for such a thing. It's possible that such food could be imported from the mainland, but as far as we know, Destiny Islands is the mainland of that world, and even if it isn't, imported food is going to be damned expensive, and thus, not common.
b.) Economy. This is going to have a drastic effect on stories based in Destiny Island. Do most people work in tourist-based industry? As fishermen? As seagoing merchants? Pearl Divers? As farmers? As beachcombers? Some other occupation? Any combination of the above? I personally think canon points to a more fishing based-economy, given the noticible lack of parents in the first part of KH and Kairi's comment about the thalassa shells. But if it were tourist-based, you'd have a lot of industry and hotels and the local economy would probably be very rich. But, if Destiny Islands was reasourse poor, which everyone beachcombing for a living, you're probably going to not have a very healthy economy or people with a lot of spare money or leisure time. If they were farmers, Destiny Islands would have to be pretty big, and the people and government very decentralized. But if they where fisherman, I'd expect Destiny Islands to be small, with people living very close together. And on and on. The point is, the economy's going to have a large effect on the setting of your story if it's in Destiny Islands.
c.) Mythology and History. You remember the paopu fruit and the stuff about intertwining destinies? I bet there's a really neat story behind that. Maybe a Destiny Islands' version of Romeo and Juliet? Or maybe it's something more sinister- Like the Destiny Island's God of Fate had his hands cut off and those became the first two Paopu fruits or something. Why do Thalassa shells protect sailors at sea? Is Riku's Island named after Riku, Sora's friend, or some other Riku? What other myths exist? Could you have several different cultures on Destiny Islands, as one person here suggested, and could they're myths have mixed? Do some of these myths have natural explinations? Can they be explained by other things in KH? (like the Darkside being the basis of a Shadow God) Can these myths be taken literally? The last two are the basis of a crossover AU I'm thinking to writing where at the end of KH2, when Sora and Riku are sitting on the beach of the Dark Version of Destiny Islands, Riku has to make a bargain with a particullary nasty and tricky death god to get him and Sora back home.
And speaking of Paopu fruits-
5.) It's Paopu fruit. Not papou, not popou, not paupo. Paopu fruit.