#there's such good lessons/food for thought in their characters and arcs that i just DHDGGB NEVER SEE SO WELL REPPED ANYWHERE

[7-oh-ta1]

It took the main tag for me to see your post about taichi and I am losing my goddamn MIND over it that was so well put-

It really makes me see how he contrasts to yuki (them being literal OPPOSITES color and character wise) and then putting it together that ever since godza it literally made him think that being the opposite of whom he adored and wanted to be like was his destiny, he was always told that being that way was deliberately unmanly and wrong. (Added that Godza is toxic masculine represented literally)

That makes me cry even more over taichi because societally he knew what he had to do to roundabout him being queer coded like yuki (queen coded/of another representation in general iykyk) and that influenced his actions SO MUCH that his facade really did make me think stereotypical teenage boy shenanigans until we saw more of his character! He masked so hard

I want him to be the best of friends w yuki (who's my fav) and get into showing themselves authentically. And then winning right in Godza's face.

Safe spaces like Mankai r so good and I just have to give u love in the inbox because this made my analysis brain so happy omg

I'm sorry bestie I saw this when I answered the other one but I wanted to be able to use my whole brain cell !! I'M SURPRISED ANYONE SAW IT GHHJH my taichi veiled queer-coded villain? post <3

But YES that's the thing, Taichi's foil to Yuki goes so much deeper than energetic/low energy!!! They both face struggles that mirror each other, even without implied queer struggles, both Yuki and Taichi are villainized. Taichi's is more obvious, literally being a villain. Yuki's is his defense mechanism to lash out and hurt the world before the world can hurt him first, which effectively is "villainizing" himself to a degree. Just like Taichi he never wanted to be harsh either, but he grew a rough shell to protect himself. In their own ways, they both don a different face to protect themselves, the only difference is that Yuki wasn't desperate. Taichi appears to wear his heart on his sleeve, Yuki hides his heart in his chest. In reality, it appears that way because it's the opposite. That's why they work well as foils together! When they have scenes together (even that snowy scene in the manga that had me MESSY SOBBING) it's usually about one glimpsing through the guise of the other, Yuki sees that Taichi hides everything behind a smile and Taichi sees that Yuki truly has a sweet heart he displays in his own way. But they respect the mask and don't push further, which gives their dynamic stability without permanent development.

"You can't hide from who you really are." | "You can create the person you want to be!"

I got carried away but WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THEM BEING AUTHENTIC ON STAGE AND SHOVING IT TO GOD TROUPE IS EXACTLY WHY THE LAST RUNWAY IS SO GHFHFHFGFHF!!!!!! I'm so upset it didn't get an official translation (not that I've found when I looked long ago) though I have been able to read some through friends.

As I remember my original thesis and thought being Taichi's personal arc resembles the struggle of queer representation in media and how regardless of how good our representation may get our history lies in being casts as villains lingers and prevents real growth until we release the label from our identity despite what we owe it. (Like Taichi releases the villain label from his identity in the Fiery Mantou Fist event)

A person releasing themselves from the guilt of their "crime", growing identity... even though that's not the intended message from A3 I'm sure, as a queer person it feels so familiar. 🤌

After all, don't most of us feel a guilt for a crime we repeatedly beat our miserable selves over? Something that was inescapably part of who we are and we cannot change? Wrong actions, maybe, we took in desperate defense of that part of us? Learning that the self is ever-changing and our guilt isn't integral to our identity, that we're allowed to forgive ourselves for perceived sin? That we no longer have to put pressure on ourselves to appear as invisible as the world wants us to? That after all this time, we're allowed to feel desire and guilt no longer for it?