#raltd

Rewatched Raya and have forgotten how much I love her!!

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Namaari grew up with a cat and absolutely loves them. Raya, having grown up with dogs, doesn’t really have much experience with cats, but seeing how happy Namaari is whenever they visit the rescue at the local mall makes her agree to get one. They are pretty cute. And so soft.

A week or so before Namaari’s birthday, the girls visit the rescue again and find bonded littermates, about four months old. Namaari is absolutely smitten with them. When they leave to continue shopping, Namaari won’t stop talking about them and how sweet they were. Raya can tell how badly she wants them and calls the rescue the next day while she’s between classes and Namaari is at work. The lady on the phone remembers them visiting the day before and is happy to have Raya stop by and fill out all the necessary paperwork for adoption. Raya doesn’t bring them home right away, though, planning to surprise Namaari.

A few days later, the day before Namaari’s birthday, Namaari drags her back to the rescue, only to see the note “We’re adopted!” on the kittens’ crate. Namaari is heartbroken and Raya spends all night comforting her, reassuring her that there will be more. She feels a little bad about how disappointed Namaari is, but she also knows it’s temporary and how excited Namaari will be when she brings them home.

The next day, the girls are planning a nice night in and Raya is planning on surprising Namaari first thing before dinner, retrieving the kittens and their supplies on her way home from class. She texts Namaari that she’s running a bit late due to traffic and that she’ll start dinner as soon as she gets home. Namaari takes Tuk Tuk for a walk and is hanging out on the couch when Raya gets there. After putting Tuk Tuk in their bedroom with his chewy bone, Raya hands her girlfriend a small gift bag, from which Namaari pulls two small break-away collars and a few toys.

“No,” Namaari whispers, her heart starting to pound. “No way, Raya.”

Grinning like an absolute fool, Raya brings in the box she drove the kittens home in, placing it on Namaari’s lap. “Oh my god, babe, you didn’t,” Namaari says, trying not to cry. When she opens it, the black male kitten immediately pops his head out and lets out a loud meow, making both girls laugh. He climbs out and starts sniffing Namaari and the couch while his calico sister stays in the box, a little scared.

“Hello, sweetheart. You’re okay, baby,” Namaari murmurs, her eyes shining with happy tears. Talking softly and sweetly to the wary kitten, Namaari gently holds out the tip of her finger for the kitten to sniff. “Remember me?”

Evidently, she does. Raya watches in delight as the kitten starts rubbing her cheek on Namaari’s hand and purring. After the kittens gain a little more confidence and are fully out of the box, the girls put them into the spare room/office and bring in the rest of the immediate supplies from Raya’s car; litter boxes, food, bowls, a scratching board, and a few more toys.

Once they’ve got the room all set up, they close the door and let Tuk Tuk out of their room. He’s immediately all over the kittens’ scent, tracking it through the living room and to the door of the spare room. A little black paw appears under the door and swats at Tuk’s nose, making him play-bow and bark. The paw immediately disappears and the girls laugh.

“Careful, buddy, you’ll scare your new friends!” Raya says. Over the next few days, the girls carefully introduce the new kittens. Feeding all pets by the door, mixing scents, and even cracking the door so they can see each other under supervision. Namaari also buys a cat tree, a second scratching post, and borrows a baby gate from a coworker. That way they can keep the door open but still allow the kittens some protection from Tuk in case he gets too excited while they get acquainted. Soon enough, the kittens are playing with him through the gate and seem comfortable enough to be introduced without barriers.

To both girls’ delight, their slow and careful introduction pays off. Though the calico kitten, now named Jazz, puffs up slightly when Tuk sniffs her backside, the first contact goes smoothly and the kittens are allowed to roam the house with Tuk under careful supervision from both girls. Namaari is thrilled when, that evening as the girls settle down to watch a show, both kittens curl up on Tuk Tuk’s bed with him and proceed to knead and groom him.

“I’d say that’s a pretty good sign,” Raya says, watching the animals with a smile while she lays against Namaari.

“Definitely.” Namaari agrees. Leaning over, she gives Raya a kiss on her temple. “Thank you so much, babe, I love them.”

Raya hums happily. “I knew you would. And honestly, I was pretty excited for them, too. They’re so cute, and their different personalities are so funny.”

“Cats are great, babe, I’m so happy you get to experience that now, too. Dogs are definitely different, but Tuk Tuk is my buddy now, just like these cats will be yours. Variety is the spice of life!”

“For sure,” Raya replied, turning her head to meet Namaari’s lips. “Love you, ‘Maari.”

Raya has the gem fragment so she's pretty safe from the Druun, bonus points that she travels by boat on water for most of the film.

Nammari doesn't have any of that. The Fang gem piece is with Virana. Yet Namaari still risks going out and braving the Druun with nothing but riding her Serlot. Every outing she makes could be the last. She tracks Raya through Tails and Spine which is an incredible distance from Fang while also probably dodging Druun. Wonder why the Fang royal army is so small? Casualties along the way maybe? If Namaari never comes back it's because she's stone or dead (I'm pretty sure the other tribes have a 'kill on sight' rule for Fang).

I know it was emphasized how much Namaari tries to do right by Fang, but damn she was willing to die for Fang long before the climax.

While I find Virana and Namaari interesting characters for being so objectively pragmatic it hurts my moral compass sometimes, I feel like it's kinda sad. It feels like Namaari was raised to be a general or leader rather than a daughter and it shows. It's definitely a foil to Raya's character who lived a pretty idyllic childhood by comparison.

My thoughts can essentially be summed up into the text message I sent right after finishing it:

“I know Disney’s always played around with queer tropes but JESUS THAT WAS GAY”

headcanons are fun, and self-projection is valid but don't lose sight of the fact that without the writer's input, canonically raya is not queer. and before anyone wants to come for me at this, i'm a SEAsian sapphic myself. i don't want us to be let down, and i don't want there to be discourse or some misguided uproar bc you all decided the people behind RALTD were "queerbaiting" when it's not confirmed they're even going for romance in the first place.