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Taiken is the slash ship between Taiga Kotaki and Ken Shiraishi from the Project SEKAI fandom.
Canon[]
Many years prior to the main Project SEKAI storyline, Ken and Taiga met in middle school. The two of them didn't get along when they were younger, which sprouted rumors around Vivid Street as to why RADder broke up before the truth about RAD WEEKEND is revealed in the Light Up The Fire event.
Ken and Taiga were both born and raised on Vivid Street, so they often saw each other even before they teamed up. In their middle school years, Taiga found Ken to be "the most boring guy on earth", since he was more interested in getting a scholarship and doing sports. Ken would always give Taiga a disinterested look whenever they passed each other. Taiga believed that Ken had no passion for anything, always making everything look easy while also looking detached at the same time. It infuriated Taiga to the point he couldn't even stand Ken since he had been singing since he was just a kid with a passion to make it big, whereas Ken was not serious about anything.
Eventually, Taiga decided to sing to Ken with full power. His song, voice, and passion was effected. It ignited a fire in Ken's eyes. Taiga describes the event as Ken's cold gaze finally melting into something passionate. After that event, Ken began singing around the town because he had finally found something to be passionate about, all thanks to Taiga. When Taiga saw Ken taking singing seriously, it also lit a fire within himself. Taiga describes this feeling as being "comforting." Before he noticed, he was working alongside Ken, and they eventually became singing partners. Later, in high school, the two of them teamed up with Taiga's little sister, Nagi and formed the music group RADder.
Taiga often teases Ken. The only time Ken is ever shown to be flustered in the game is when Taiga teases him. Normally he is composed, cool, and calm.
The two have some similarities. Ken and Taiga both mentor members of Vivid BAD SQUAD. Ken mentors Akito in the Burn My Soul event, and Taiga mentors Kohane from the Bout For Beside You event up until the On Your Feet event. Both made questionable fashion choices when they were younger, Taiga wearing ugly Hawaiian shirts to important gigs and Ken wore socks with little cream sodas embroidered onto them to shows. The two of them poke fun at each other because of this in An's second card story for her card in The Vivid Old Tale event. However they are direct opposites when it comes to school, as Taiga dropped out of high school while Ken went on to graduate from college. Akito also mentions that Ken and Taiga's singing styles are polar opposites: Ken's style of singing is calm, whilst Taiga's is overwhelming and powerful.
Fanon[]
The ship is not very well known in the fandom due to some fans disliking Taiga, not paying attention to a lot of Vivid BAD SQUAD side characters, and due to the fact that Ken is already married. Nonetheless, the ship is still slightly popular on Twitter.
Both Ken and Taiga are commonly mischaracterized by people in the Project SEKAI fandom. The fandom views Taiga as a villain due to his actions in the Light Up The Fire event and Ken as "the only good parent in Project SEKAI." These claims have bled into how the fandom views them. Many fans have portrayed the pair as having an unyielding hatred towards each other, when really they have been friends for almost thirty years with a long history that is overshadowed since both Ken and Taiga are not playable Project SEKAI characters.
Fans of the ship have theorized that after RAD WEEKEND, as a way of saying goodbye before Taiga left for America, Taiga and Ken traded necklaces because in Ken's younger model, he wears a dog tag necklace and Taiga wears a normal chain necklace. In their present day models, Taiga wears a dog tag necklace and Ken wears a normal chain necklace.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Taiga/Ken tag on AO3
- Taiga & Ken tag on AO3
Trivia[]
- The ship is referred to with the 🐯🍵 emojis.
- Ken is being represented by the Tea emoji because he owns WEEKEND GARAGE, a live music cafe, and Taiga being the tiger emoji because in the 4koma that came out alongside the Kick It Up a Notch event he is portrayed as a tiger wearing shades. It may also be due to "Taiga" sounding like "tiger."
- After RAD WEEKEND, Ken retires, but Taiga continues to sing and achieve RADder's original dream of becoming the number one singer(s) in the world.
- Taiga is easily able to see through Ken's facade of being cool and easygoing.
- Ken and Taiga both have stage names, whilst their other teammate does not. Ken's stage name is KEN, and Taiga's stage name is WALKER (though he develops the stage name once he is touring in America).
- Both Ken and Taiga are famous on Vivid Street for their past feats while active as RADder and because the residents have been watching them grow as singers since they were kids.
- They both wear sunglasses in certain game models.
Variations[]
- RADder — the ship between the ship between the two and Nagi Kotaki
