some taiyang headcanons because its about time i showed him my love:
tai had a really ... rough childhood. he never knew his parents, both of them dying in a grimm attack when he was really young. he was taken in by his great aunt who, for all her best intentions, wasn’t the most fit to look after a young child, dementia growing worse the older taiyang became -- often forgetting to do the grocery shopping, forgetting to give taiyang his medicine when he grew sick, refusing to turn on any heat.
he had to learn very quickly to fend for himself once he was old enough, after spending several years malnourished and ill for weeks on end. the roles reversed quickly, and it was he who looked after his aunt, unlocking his semblance extraordinarily young, which came in handy at prolonging the onset of some of his aunt’s symptoms.
but she died when he was 14, and taiyang spent time in a group home, which came with a number of its own challenges. he saw the huntsman academies as his opportunity for some kind of home, and when he was old enough, he passed the entrance exam and joined signal academy. tai quickly proved himself as a talented young huntsman, and entered beacon one of the top of his class.
tai has always been resourceful. he found ways to care for himself and his aunt that were never the most obvious -- and the same could be said for his team. he figured out ways to teach summer rose english (hi snow), made efforts to make the branwen twins feel at home in such a formal setting. his determination and dedication to his team was fierce.
which made the the truth about salem so much harder. he was always the one least interested in ozpin’s plans, distancing himself from the harsh realities while others like qrow and summer dove in deeper. he was so focused on his team, his family, on keeping them safe, that he couldn’t stand the thought of them risking their necks on such a big scale. it seemed that the fractures in their team would undoubtedly lead to collapse.
a few other little things:
taiyang’s fighting style is a mix between a tank and a healer -- he uses deer horn knives, and tends to swoop in when needed, deal some heavy hits and draw attention away from his teammates, but then hangs back to keep an eye on his team and heal them when necessary.
he’s really strong, and his hits pack a punch, which is why it seems like he’d be on the front line dealing damage, but he much prefers to play a more support role while other brutes like summer and raven deal crazy damage to any enemies. his semblance is strengthened by the sun (though can be used any time, just less effectively) and “heals” auras and/or wounds. it works on himself, but is always most powerful when used on another person in direct sunlight. thanks to @thcrned for this one
tai suffers from really bad anxiety and depression, and always has, but this was heightened once his kids were born and summer and raven both disappeared. zwei is his PSD and is specifically present to help with the severe panic attacks tai is prone to.
he teaches history at signal and is known as the “Chill” professor because he often comes to class with his baking and lets students go early
