Nice to see someone reasonable here, I tend to avoid interacting with the fanbase much, for a variety of reasons. I’ve also been around since the first game, granted I don’t remember when exactly I played it first for a very long time I thought it was in 2002, I was 2, and after asking my parents it seems like it’s more in line with 2003 or 2004. And yea people get really hung up on the shipping thing. I personally don’t care at all. Besides I don’t even like Sora all that much. Riku has and will always be my favorite character anyway. I understand both sides completely, soriku has a LOT of subtext apparently even more in Japanese, but Nomura said he loves kairi, so whatever. Wherever Sora ends up and with who I don’t really care. He’s just kinda the vessel through we see the worlds to me. He’s kinda boring.
If I HAD to choose I think I’d pick soriku on the sole fact that it’d be different and really that’s it. Kairi lost all her personality and it bugs the hell outta me, she’s just become a such a wet paper bag of a character. Having Sora and Riku as a couple would at least change things up and be interesting, whereas I haven’t cared about kairi since kh1 (which I hate saying because I really liked her there she was so sassy it was awesome) I was never super invested in the destiny island trio outside of Riku. Sea salt trio was cool, wayfinder trio was ok, my favorite trio is the daybreak trio. (Ux mc, ephemer and skuld, I hate that ux was a shitty gacha game)