questbedhead:

A while back I remember seeing a post about Taako and Lucretia’s relationship post-canon, basically about how op (and several commentators) thought that the idea of them never reconciling was stupid and shitty and Taako eventually forgiving her was the only real right option. 

I’m exaggerating a bit, but that’s the crux, and it’s been low-key bothering me since cause I feel like that attitude does a disservice to both their characters. 

Firstly I think a lot of people overestimate how petty Taako actually would be in this situation. Yeah, Taako is in general petty as hell, but he’s also very non-confrontational and, you know, a bit of a coward. He’s not the kind of guy who’s gonna risk a fight he can’t win, and poking at his feelings re:Madame Director is a losing battle. Confronting Lucretia means opening himself up to vulnerability and Serious Conversations About His Feelings, and I think he’s far more likely to stonewall her than be snide. 

Like, even during the finale, when the wound was freshest and the stakes were highest, Taako’s not really all that snarky with her. He scoffs at the group hug and gets a bit miffed when Jeffandrew calls her powerful, but he never insults or provokes her. When she asked him to listen, he listened, and when he proposed his third option, it’s based on Lucretia’s plan. Taako worked with Lucretia constructively and without complaint all through the Apocalypse. I don’t see why fandom insists he’d purposefully antagonize her after it, especially since just not engaging with her would be easier. 

And then secondly, a lot of the fics I’ve seen that deal with Taako and Lucretia ‘working through there differences’ kinda conflate the two sides of the conflict. Lucretia lied and stole his memories and sent him out on dangerous missions knowing he’d forgotten the skills she took from him and Taako…. was mean to her at family functions? Those aren’t equatable grievances. 

Taako not wanting to forgive someone who violated his trust shouldn’t be put on the same level as Lucretia violating his trust in the first place, even if he was being overtly petty about it. If Lucretia’s presence is that triggering for Taako than the onus should be on Lucretia to stay away from him. 

Yeah, that means the family is probably gonna have to find some creative solutions to spend time with both of them, but hey, that’s a story. And I refuse to except that a story about creating and respecting boundaries is inherently less valuable then “Everyone has to forgive Lucretia because she had good intentions and she’s trying real hard”.