MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! ❄️⛄️🎄 this is a repost of my holiday ishimondo art from last year! I'm wishing you all a comfortable and safe Christmas. I am keeping people who struggle during the holidays in my heart, I understand you and wish you the least amount of conflict during these holidays 🥺❤️🙏
More Ishimondo musings because this would definitely happen. Mondo thinking he's going to ruin Taka's future if they were to get together even though they love each other
I absolutely HC Chihiro as a Trans Woman. The whole "He was so brave to want to work out and be more mainly" plot line reads to me like desperation to not be perceived. Like literally stating, "he was happy as a girl, and good at it too." And then back tracking with uh oh everyone is gonna know your secret better beef up so no one makes fun of you... Or worse...
And then she outs herself to Mondo who immediately kills her. Like valid fear.
People don't want to admit Chihiro is legitimately trans because DR is so checking bad at representation and is in many cases actively homophobic (especially in THH). Admitting the nature of Chihiro's relationship with gender identity and expression asks some really tough questions about the rage Mondo felt that caused him to commit murder. Not to mention the clearly queer subtext happening between Mondo and Taka, can easily be implied as internalized homophobia brought on through social expectations and his role in his gang being brought into question.
Suffice it to say, I feel a personal pinch in my heart when people refer Chihiro as he. Although it isn't explicitly stated in Canon I feel like to continue to call Chihiro he actively goes against what the character is and is implied to represent