I Just Wanna See Them As A Happy Family... Please...

Rei - Pregnancy Study

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So this started off as a pregnancy sketch study, but it kinda turned into me thinking, "We need more art of Rei being a mood."

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Touya: I've been a menace since I was born.

Rei: You've been a menace since you were conceived.

While I don't like forming super specific theories on what will happen in this series, I personally suspect Shoto and the Todofam in general are ultimately not going to get a bleak ending. I just think that after the story showed what it looks like when a dysfunctional family DOESN'T love the especially troubled oldest kid and are willing to wash their hands of them completely as with Toga's family, I can't see the Todorokis getting a 'realistic' gloomy ending when it's already happened with so many other characters in similar situations. ESPECIALLY after what Shoto and Rei were willing to do.

(plus, this seems more obvious to me after the Todofam Cuddle Pile Of Primal Devotion, and how this type of thing never happened with the other screwed up nuclear families in this manga. Exceptional narrative actions tend to create exceptional narrative outcomes).

Todoroki themed inner covers

In another universe

Varying representations of responder PTSD symptoms in MHA characters:

MHA does a really good job at realistically showing how people who work in response fields might manifest PTSD. It shows a variety of ways this can occur and hits on a lot of the less palatable symptoms or more nuanced symptoms that aren’t really shown in media often.

Enji:

Ok, I know he’s a controversial character but I’m starting with Enji/Endeavor bc I love this character and his arc. His character is shown having some of the less palatable symptoms of PTSD and it really reminded me of my experiences with it. I think it’s really cool to see that representation.

Intense Anger

Functions perfectly at work, but cannot function outside of work (if my brain cannot find the threat, it will make one- I.e. hypervigilance)

Lashing out at loved ones

Feelings of guilt and shame over the anger

Intense mistrust of others

Reliving negative experiences and ruminating on them constantly

Inability to rely on others

Inability to verbalize or identify negative feelings

Fear that you are a burden on loved ones

Fear that your loved ones will get hurt or die

Fear that loved ones will betray you or are lying to you

Obsession with having control over negative outcomes

Unreasonable standards/expectations for self and others

Fear that you cannot save everyone/are not good enough

Self-isolation

Deliberately sabotaging your relationships

The ‘death of self’

All Might:

Overwork

Lack of a personal life

Inability to rest

Working through injury

Inability to rely on others

Keeping experiences and feelings a secret because you believe them to be too burdensome to share

Unsupported belief that you will die young

Flippant about own safety and mortality

Deku:

Working through injury

Putting self in dangerous situations

Obsessiveness about work and replaying situations over and over

Flippancy about own safety and mortality

Inability to rest

Self-isolation

Keeping experiences and feelings a secret because you believe them to be too burdensome to share

Existential horror/dread about the state of humanity

Apathy

Losing parts of your personality/losing joy/losing idealism

Nightmares

Hawks:

I also really love this character and how Horikoshi explores him. I relate to a lot of his symptoms as well even though they are much more subtle.

Using sarcasm and dark humor to eschew real negative feelings

Refusing to process negative emotions or intellectualizing your trauma

Loss of affect

Belief that your sole value is in your usefulness to others/belief that you have no inherent value

Overwork

Fear that you cannot save everyone/are not good enough

Moral injury

Unrealistic expectations of self

Flippant about your own safety/mortality

Unfounded belief that you are secretly a bad person

Splitting: i.e. views on good and bad becoming overly simplistic

Anger and resentment about systemic failures/leadership failures

Feeling that your were not adequately trained or equipped to do your job

Mistrust of others

Trauma bonding to coworkers

Belief that other people cannot understand your experiences

Emotional distancing

Wanting to escape your present reality/focus on a ‘future’ where things are different and inability to be in the present moment.

Dissociative traits- I.e. disconnecting from the self to complete difficult tasks & acting out ‘performative’ emotions for the benefit of others

did you know red snapper can live for over 50 years…. whatre they DOING down there ( this used to say 100 because i CAN NOT read )

Know what really pisses me off? When people try to devolve Rei's character as a mouthpiece for Enji. Trying to say she's easily forgiving Enji when it's clear her feelings are (rightfully) conflicted.

In this scene, she makes it clear that she's still too afraid to face Enji yet has optimism. That flower signifies that Enji doesn't forget that he still has a family that he has a lifetime to make up to, even if he's never forgiven. And the idea that the narrative is trying to make Enji easily forgiven when one of his best moments is him dropping this iconic quote

Next, the scene in the hospital.

She doesn't let Enji drown in self-pity, reminding him that everyone in that family has suffered more than he is right now. But she still knows her husband is actively trying to change and doesn't take the chance to fucking put him down unnecessarily like so many people want her to. Enji needs to get back up and help not just his family but also those in need from the 1st war's aftermath.

People who think she's someone suffering from Stockholm Syndrome are full of shit. This is a strong woman, someone who can see a former hateful person wanting to change and gives them the words they need. Trying to use that chance to be full of vitriol and hate will not break the cycle that the Todorokis are trying to escape from. And finally, the Todoroki reunion. She showed up not just to save Toya but Enji as well. She knows he wants to atone and she makes it clear she's saving them both.

And btw, this shows how much Enji regrets what he did and despite the marriage being arranged, he still loves Rei. He doesn't want to lose her too. But Rei doesn't want him to die either. People think that having faith in your former abuser is akin to forgiveness is just...ignorant. She wants him to live to continue atoning and she still has faith that he has changed and wants to do what's right.

Rei Todoroki has my respect for all this.

[Failure]

>>BNHA / MHA Spoilers!<<

Drew this in reaction to Chapter 350! If Touya heard Enji call him an almost perfect creation, I get that he wasn‘t ecstatic about returning.

fun fact, the font used for this is called „I know a ghost“