Blue Ice Backbone

:warning: TRIGGER WARNING :warning:

:warning: MENTIONS OF ABUSE :warning:

:warning: POSSIBLE SPOILERS :warning:

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I want to start off by saying that this post is based on personal opinion, and I will be referencing concrete moments in the anime that have been presented to us. I'm strictly sticking with the anime, as it is my preferred media, so if any manga readers come at me, you've had ample warning.

Accompanied by my own speculations and opinions, I will only be using the concrete information that has been provided via the MHA anime. Specifically the English dub, because I prefer to hear the voices of the characters in said language, as it aids with my writings.

Without further ado, I present my submission for the No. 2's Desk prompt for March

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Powerful Woman

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For this, I have chosen none other than Rei Todoroki, formerly Rei Himura.

Now, I get what a lot of you may be thinking. But hear me out. While Rei is not shown nearly as often in the series as the rest of the Todoroki family, she deserves the same recognition and respect.

She has an unnamed ice quirk, which is ed on to Shoto, alongside Enji's fire, and previously to Fuyumi and Natsuo. Other than seeing her in flashbacks from Shoto when he was a child and later in the series when he goes to visit her in the hospital and reconcile, we don't really see anything of her. So a lot of people assume she's not strong enough to warrant any recognition beyond being Shoto's mother and the unfortunate primary recipient of her husband's abuse.

#1

This is where I strongly disagree. Rei is much stronger than she's given credit for.

In the English dub of the anime, in one of the flashbacks of Shoto's childhood, she's seen on the phone confessing to her mother that she "just can't take this anymore". From my own personal experience, it takes a lot to it to someone else -even if it's just someone in the family you're really close with- to it that you're not okay. For a lot of people I know, myself included, it's twice as difficult to it it to your own parent(s), especially as an adult.

I'm going to pause right here and run through with all you lovely readers the math behind that specific flashback, wherein Rei snaps and pours boiling water on her son's face. There were a total of four children to which Rei gave the blessing of life. In order, and each two years apart from one another, they are as follows; Toya, Fuyumi, Natsuo, and Shoto. Four by two is a total of eight years.

Now, to my knowledge, it's never specified if she endured Enji's wrath for that entire time, but for the sake of argument, let's say that she did. This woman, who is shown smiling for ninety percent of her given screen time, withstood the tyranny of Enji Todoroki, her husband, for EIGHT YEARS. Four pregnancies. The loss of her firstborn child. The "failure" of her two middle children. The abuse of her youngest child, and herself. All of that before she finally snapped.

#2

When we see Rei next in the series, she's shown smiling at Shoto when he comes to visit her in the hospital. Yes, she looks tired and older than she might be if she hadn't been under all that stress, but that's to be expected. But she is happy, as we see her. This seems to suggest that her mental instability was mostly fueled by the environment and being in the same household as her ab for so long. That also makes perfect sense. When removing the stressor, the stress typically tends to be removed as well.

But this woman is stronger still for not divorcing her husband on the spot. Though that could come later, I'm starting to speculate that it may not, for a few reasons. The strongest of those, in my opinion, being that she feels his retribution is at hand. Perhaps she's decided it's better for good old-fashioned Karma to deal the return damage to her husband. Which we've partly seen with Natsuo's rebellion against his father in the latest season. I especially commend her for not pursuing Enji with legal action thus far. You can never be too sure, though. It could happen in future, or it might not.

In conclusion, Rei Todoroki is a very strong woman. It takes a lot of willpower to withstand that much stress and abuse and heartbreak and come out on the other end smiling, let alone come out at all.

#1

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#No2Official

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