Simbiara

Simbiara
GENERAL
The Lion King
Character	Simba
Character	Kiara
Canonical?	Canon
Status of Relationship	Father and Daughter
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Family

1

Simba – “If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do. One day, I won't be here, and I need you to carry on in my place. You are part of the great Circle of...”

Kiara – “Circle of Life. I know.”

Simba – “Exactly. And you need to be careful. As future queen...”

Kiara – “But what if I don't wanna be queen? It's no fun.”

Simba – “That's like saying you don't want to be a lion. It's in your blood...as I am. We are part of each other.”

Simbiara is the family ship between Simba and Kiara from the The Lion King fandom.

Canon

Kiara was born to Simba after reclaiming his birthright as king of the Pride Lands. He watched and helped her in growing up and making sure she would be okay. However, Kiara started getting exasperated by his overprotectiveness to the point she can finish her father's listing off of things that can happen to her as it's being said. During one particular day, Simba warns Kiara about the "Outlands", stating that it wasn't wise to turn one's back on anyone from there. Kiara ends up confused by that but Simba simply tells her she'll learn when she's older before letting her be off. With Kiara off, Nala points out to Simba that their cub is acting much like he did at that age before assuring him that she'll be okay. With Nala gone, however, Simba disregards that assurance and has Timon and Pumbaa tail Kiara. The pair are discovered by Kiara and they make it clear her father sent them to keep her safe. Kiara, however, is able to lose them and eventually makes her way into the Outlands.

Simba and some of his pride soon find Kiara near the Outlands alongside an Outlander cub. He protectively jumps in front of Kiara and roars at the mystery cub - which is met by a lioness doing the same to him. Kiara watches on as her father converses with the lioness - a former follower of his uncle Scar named Zira - as well as him showing disgust upon finding out the cub, Zira's son Kovu (who Kiara's been with since entering the Outlands), is Scar's heir. Eventually Simba grows tired of talking with Zira and takes Kiara with him back home. Before arriving there, Simba takes Kiara aside and admonishes her for putting herself in such danger, telling her he'd be devastated if something happened to her and that she's meant to be queen of the Pride Lands. Kiara tries to make a point that she just wants to have fun instead of being queen, but Simba tells her that ruling is just as much a part of her as being a lion - making his own point that "we are one".

As time went by, Kiara continued to grow until the day she would partake in her first hunt. Simba was still worried about his daughter's safety but she made him promise that she could do it on her own, which he acquiesced to. When Kiara leaves, however, Simba breaks this promise and again has Timon and Pumbaa trail her. Much like before, Kiara discovers them following and - despite them trying to say otherwise - Kiara realizes her father sent them and broke their promise. Despite Timon trying to tell her that Simba just wants her to be okay, Kiara bitterly comes to the conclusion he wasn't going to give her a chance and runs off to hunt away from the Pride Lands - accidentally running into a wildfire that was burning there. Simba - still worried about Kiara's safety - notices the fire and immediately realizes her daughter was in that area. He sends Zazu out to find her while gathering Nala and the other lionesses to save her.

Simba eventually finds Kiara with another lion - a grown-up Kovu - and tries to protect her by roaring at the intruder. Kiara immediately calls out her father for breaking his promise, which he claims was good as he forbids her from ever hunting again. Angry, Kiara points out she was doing fine even before Kovu came, but this only makes Simba roar at the Outlander more before Nala and Rafiki admonish him since he saved Kiara's life. Simba is suspicious about Kovu saving his daughter, even moreso when he wants to join the pride, but he's forced to accept since the laws of the Pride Lands means the king owes him a debt. With that, the group heads home and go to sleep - although Simba calls for Kiara when he notices her with Kovu (who Simba is forcing to sleep away from everyone since he still doesn't trust him).

Over Kovu's stay in the pride, Simba sees how happy Kiara is with the Outlander and eventually decides to give him a chance. However, while walking with Kovu, Simba gets ambushed by a group led by Zira. Kiara finds her weakened father and he incorrectly tells her Kovu led him into a trap - something she couldn't believe given how they've gotten to know each other. The two make it back to Pride Rock so Simba can recover when Kovu also returns. Kiara wants to talk to Kovu about the attack, but Simba refuses and - with his trust broken - exiles Kovu. With Kovu driven away, Kiara tries to get Simba to reconsider but the king goes even farther and tells her that she'll never leave without escort to make sure the two never reconnect. Kiara continues pressing the issue but Simba won't budge as he sees Kovu walking Scar's path so he has to follow his own father's - which makes Kiara scream in anger that he will never be Mufasa before managing to sneak off to find Kovu.

Losing Kiara hits Simba hard but he's given no time to rest as word comes to him that Zira is leading her pride to assault the Pride Lands. Simba meets them with his own pride and the two leaders are ready to fight when Kiara and Kovu suddenly appear between them and hold them off. Simba tries to make Kiara stand aside but she shocks him by saying "we are one" - the very thing he told his daughter years ago. Pressing on, Kiara implores her father to look at both sides and realize that there isn't anything different between them. Simba soon realized Kiara was right and reconciled with his daughter, which also causes the Outlanders to stand by the king. Zira, however, refused to let go of her hatred for Simba and tried to attack him - only for Kiara to leap into her, causing them both to fall into a nearby gorge. Simba quickly makes his way to the gorge and manages to save Kiara while Zira plummets to her death. Following this, Simba proudly watches as Kiara and Kovu are recognized as mates by Rafiki before he and Nala join them in a roar.

Songs

We Are One | Cam Clarke and Charity Sanoy

A song in The Lion King II about Simba telling Kiara her future duties as ruler of the Pride Lands.

Fanon

Simbiara is a well liked ship in the Lion King fandom. From the beginning of The Lion King II, Kiara showing how similar she was to Simba, and how Simba takes it, quickly hooked fans. However, the real noticeable element is Kiara's struggles to move out from under her father's suffocating worry of her and her defiance of his will in doing so. At the same time, Simba's overprotectiveness to the point of intentionally hurting Kiara's feelings is clearly noted by fans to be his fear that things would play out like him and his father. Kiara ultimately accepting and using the lessons Simba gave her to make him see his wrongs and Simba seeing how Kiara grew as a result at the end is considered the biggest appeal to this ship's fans. The fact they risk their lives to save each other almost immediately afterward also helps things. Many fans of the ship weren't too thrilled about The Lion Guard having Simba focus less on Kiara and more on Kion. However, the fact the series ends with the aftermath of The Lion King II, including showing the good bond Simba and Kiara gained, helped make it a bit better.

On AO3, this ship has minimal support with only 9 tagged works.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Kiara & Simba tag on AO3