My best friend and I have had Tyler the Creator on the mind since his recent album release, Don't Tap the Glass. Tonight, though, my friend mentioned how Tyler went on record to say he was surprised 'Like Him' from his recent Chromakopia album ended up being the most popular by far, and I guess I'm not that surprised. It's really personal, almost frighteningly so, but I think it's also relatable and compelling. For context, Tyler's mother tells him he bears resemblance to his father, an absent figure in his life, and he's left to grapple with that, among other more difficult things she admits to him.

I wrote a recent ficlet(?)— or rather, quintuple drabble— surrounding the topic of parents, grief, and identity. In like mother, like son, Goro Akechi writes a journal-style letter to his deceased mother. He apologizes for not writing sooner because he cannot bear to think about her long, and then updates her on his life. It's largely unremarkable except that it is— in small ways, he's healing from the trauma endured even if it's invisible to him. There's also something so sad about life going on without your loved one; y'know, that an update even has to be given is painful.

I've made Goro Akechi a trans man in his story. I wanted to play off the concept of resembling your parents since bearing resemblance to your parents, specifically when your relationship with them is wrought, can be distressing and confusing and angering. Especially when your parent isn't a good person, or someone who continually acts in poor behavior, a child wants more than anything not to become that. So, to look in the mirror and still see your parent instead of your own individual person?

I'm sure Goro Akechi does not want to become his father. It's slightly the inverse here with his mother. He adores his mother and can't bring himself to hate the feminine parts of himself that remind him of her. The implication is that he experiences gender dysphoria related to the feminine parts, as those feminine parts may make it more likely for him to get misgendered. I could see Akechi being agitated at being percieved the wrong way.

The thing with his mother's resemblance also plays into grief, drawing from fond (now bittersweet) childhood memories. To be honest, my mom used to sit in the bathroom sink and do her makeup, (tell me she wasn't the only one. She couldn't be, right?) and it's one of the fonder memories I have of her. It played on a sense of shared girlhood, which I had very little of; it never belonged to me.

There's more I could share, but I think this is sufficient. I'd like to write sometime why I like to portray Goro in such a soft light. I think some people flatten his character a little by making him senselessly mean. No judgment there at all. I just sit on the other spectrum. If anything, I overlook some (or a lot) of his sharp edges.

Edit: I also wanted to point out how I set the letter to two days after his birthday. I think it's one of those things that'll get overlooked and for good reason. There simply isn't enough information there, but I was coming from a place that assumed Goro Akechi does not like his birthday, and that he struggles with that.

This is also informed by my own experience. I do not like my birthday for undisclosed reasons. But also, as another year passes, a birthday has the distinct ability to connect you to your own, and others', mortality. I'd like to think Goro Akechi was thinking about his mom on his birthday. He says he doesn't know why he's writing this letter, but his mind's been heavy with these thoughts. And then at the end, he says, "I don't know why, but this week has been exhausting and it's only Tuesday. I feel completely wrung out." It's because of your birthday, Akechi. I do like when the characters lack a certain awareness about their lives.