I do think Tartah and Custas's story is that of children being denied further education due to ableism and classism and therefore they'll rise against it, I really need people to lock in & see these two outside of their relation to Coco. Not that Coco isn't an important presence to Custas & Tartah, but moreso lots of fans only boil the boys down to Tartah having/had a one-sided crush for Coco and Custas is that one boy she took pity on & wanted to help (some even blame Custas of being 'ungreatful' to Coco smh). I like TarCo in the sense that it's the heteronormative route they were 'supposed' to take but ultimately didn't, imo it's a normal experience of being a bi/pan kid exploring themselves. On reread, I noticed a lot of queer subtexts from Tartah and Custas. It might just be bc Custas spent more time w Tartah than w Coco, but I like to read him being more hung up on Tartah as him maybe already having a crush on Tartah back then haha. Like, the panel where Custas on the sealchair ran to headbutt Tartah bc he thought Tartah stopped visitting him was so cute & Tartah's always so gentle w Custas too gosh I just know the CusTah stock will skyrocket in future arcs
It's not an issue of people viewing Tartah and Coustas's characters through the lens of their relationship with Coco, but it's that they expect those two to be undoubtedly loyal to Coco.
Coco plays a significant role in both coustas and Tartah's character. She is our introduction to coustas and Tartah. It's reasonable that a lot of the fan perception of those two comes from Coco's own experiences with Coustas and Tartah because our first impressions of them come from Coco herself. The friendship that Coco develops with Tartah and Coustas further allows us to see those two through her perspective. It allows us to see how Coco relates to these two, how similar or different their experiences are, and the role society plays in the positions they are all in. These 3 are all outsiders in one way shape or form, and while that leads to them bonding, their reactions to the discrimination they face and how they grapple with societal oppression create fractures in their relationship.
Coco, Tartah, and Coustas have all been failed by witch society and suffered from the witches code. However, their suffering is not the same, and the manga makes sure to highlight this clearly through the tense interactions that this trio has. Being an 'outsider' (coco) , having an invisible disability (Tartah), and being both an 'outsider' and having a visible disability (Coustas) are all very different experiences.
There are layers to the systematic injustices that these characters face. As a result, they all bear widely different reactions that lead them to the places they are. All the characters share a theme of being prohibited from education, and this leads to traegdy. Magic isn't a hard tool to master if the resources are available: ink, knowledge of spells, and paper. Anyone can do magic, but the societal frameworks limit this to only a certain kind of people. This limitation results in tragedy for Coco, who loses her mother because she was unaware of the dangers of the spell she cast. While Tartah was born into witch society, he was still unable to learn magic because of how unaccomadating witch society is. In this case, abelism directly forbid Tartah from progressing as a witch even though he had the talent and desire to be one. On the other hand, Coustas's is limited from accessing both magic and rudimentary education due to classism. It's a cruel fate that coustas is aware of and expresses his anger towards in his conversation with Tartah and Coco. Without access to education, all of these characters are significantly hindered. If Coco had access to magical education, then her mother would still be here. She would be able to help her mother even more at their shop. If Tartah had access to magical education, then he could further aid Nolnoa. He could master his craft and learn so much more like the sourcing of ink and the silvertree present at the starry sword. If coustas had access to an education, then he and Dagda wouldn't be so dependent on being minstrels. If coustas had an education, then he would be able to take on less risky jobs. It's classism, which resulted in Dagda's severe injury and later on death.
Coustas's rage and anger against society and inequalities present is refreshing to see. The fact that the author doesn't dismiss his rage or try to demonise it is again very refreshing for me because I have gotten used to narratives that do. I love the consideration taken when it comes to the depictions of Coustas's perspective. While he and Coco share very obvious parallels, it's ironically what they have in life that separates them. Picking up the pen for Coustas came from a place of necessity, a desire to rid himself and Dagda of their horrible fates granted to them by an unjust system.
Coustas, Tartah, and Coco are all friends who found the joy and wonders of magic through one another, with Coco being the one to present said joys to Coustas and Tartah. It's important to note that Coustas and Tartah play active roles in Coco's journey as a witch: Tartah gives Coco her own customised pen and Coustas's branch is used by Coco to complete her spell in chapter 87. Coustas and Tartah become active ideological contrasts to Coco. Coco's trauma from being a victim to forbidden magic, as well as watching others she knows fall victim to it makes her more willing to adapt witch society's customs. Her not telling Coustas about magic or the small child about magic or her calling Tartah out for the study of medicine and magic as well as ruling out any forbidden spell as something to never be done is evidence of that. However, both Tartah and coustas bring up valid points. Magic is simply a tool to be used by the people. It isn't inherently evil, and what spell is performed can both harm or aid people. Coustas's talk with Coco highlights this quite well. Personally, I believe that Coustas and Tartah have valid points, and I am interested to see how Coco's beliefs are challenged later on.
On a different note, I love how you can see how all these three characters challenge and alter eachothers world views, specifically Coustas and Tartah. Coustas's worldview is changed by Tartah, who helped teach him letters and medicine. Tartah's worldview is altered by Coustas, who helped him see and understand just how inaccessible society is for those in need of motor aids. The knowledge about the silvertree changes how Tartah viewed the silvertree at the starry sword, and it altered Coustas's life as he became a vessel of it.
There is a lot of queer subtext between Tartah and Coustas. From the parallels, they have to other coded relationships orufrey and Arcko to the uncanny similarities between Coustas and Coco and what it means for Tartah to choose to leave everything behind and join Coustas. There's also a lot to be unpacked with Coustas's anger being directed towards Tartah, how betrayed he felt by him, how some of his anger mellowed out after learning that Tartah's study of medicine was a violation of the witches code and for Coustas's sake. I hope we get to see more of them soon!!! And I know the fandom will thrive when we get their interactions animated! Those two have so much angst potential, I fear. Tartah can't lie to Coustas and if Coustas ever gets too relaxed with Tartah then he just turns into a tree.
