Maybe recreate the scenes but in different context because butterflies. A scene that had 4 characters now has 2 or 7. A meeting at noon is postponed to night. A hallway argument is moved to WcDonalds. Random events that could have but didn't happen in Canon interrupts a Canon moment even if only slightly.
"Hm. Okay, I'm glad to hear that. Are you certain you'll be able to accommodate her?" There was a slight pause. "Alright. I'll forward you the specifics."
Ryuko Tatsuma set her phone down on her desk, rubbing her temples. That was the tenth call this evening. Why was she doing this again?
I know the offer seems sketchy. If you think it won't work out I'll understand. But… I do want to do it. It's not even about me, it's about people like me. People whose lives could be helped by this, who would be able to live more normal lives, who wouldn't have to feel crippled by the Quirks they got given by random chance. If I can help at least one person not have to go through what I felt, then it'll be worth it. So… I'm just asking you to give it a fair consideration.
Ah, right. That.
There was no way Ryuko would ever have been able to follow her initial instinct to deny the whole proposal outright, not after that. But she'd be damned if she wasn't going to pull out every last stop to ascertain that the offer was 100% legitimate.
And if she found out that this Mizutani fellow had been stringing her beloved little sister along, getting her hopes up on false pretenses, she would end him.
Ryuko sighed, leaning back on her chair and pinching her nose. She was getting worked up again. It was getting late anyway, and she was struggling to focus.
She slipped her phone in her pocket and pushed her laptop shut, leaving her alone in the darkness, the room only lit by the streetlights outside the window. Leaving her with nothing but her thoughts to occupy her mind.
Ryuko sighed again.
It was true that she'd been working overtime making sure every aspect of Ryuuzaki's trip was above board and taken care of, from the legitimacy of Mizutani's story to the hotel accommodations to whether the plane they'd be taking was prepared to handle a dragon.
But what had really been bothering her… it was that.
That thing that had been worming its way around the back of her mind ever since that conversation a few weeks ago. A sneaking suspicion, an intrusive thought that just wouldn't leave her alone.
Ryuko leaned back on her chair. She knew that there was only one thing to be done about it, she'd just been putting it off. But it was clear now that she needed some kind of resolution, one way or another.
-----
Ryuko pulled the door to her mother's workshop shut behind her, the heavy oak making a hefty thud. The room was filled with shelves and displays of woodcraft, carved figurines of animals, buildings and people, Ryuuzaki's and her own likenesses proudly set on positions of honour. Normally they would have brought a smile to her lips, but right now she could only feel a churning in her gut.
"Mom."
"Oh, Ryuko? Did something come up with Ryuuzaki's trip?" Ryutsuki Tatsuma asked without taking her eyes off the figurine on her desk or even so much as pausing her work.
"No, not yet. This is about something else entirely. There's something that's been bothering me, and I was hoping that you could clear it up." She spoke calmly, keeping her tone even.
The sounds of chiseling abated, and Ryutsuki spun in her chair to face her elder daughter, putting her tools on a side table.
"Well, what is it?"
"It's about that discussion."
"...I see." Her mother's expression did not waver, but her posture stiffened as she brought her hands together on her lap. "Is Ryuuzaki…?"
"Zaki is out training. She can't overhear us."
"Good. That's… good."
Ryuko sighed. No use delaying the inevitable.
"You always told me that I was an accident, and my father left us. And I'd accepted that. But… you never told me about the arranged marriage. And I know that it's a difficult topic for you. I understand that. But I can't stop thinking about it. How those two events just happened to coincide. How I broke off that marriage plan."
Ryutsuki shifted in her seat, but Ryuko continued.
"And another thing. Why didn't you go after my father for child support? We were completely destitute. Going from meal to meal." Ryuko sighed. "And sure, there's plenty of reasonable explanations. Maybe it really was a coincidence. Maybe the courts couldn't find him. But… I'd like to hear it from you, Mom."
"..."
Ryuko took a step back, her hands gripping the table so hard her knuckles were turning white. "Mom. Please. Tell me you didn't do it."
The flinch in her mother's face told her all that she needed to hear. She screwed her eyes shut for just a moment, taking a few deep breaths.
"I see. Did he even know?"
"No." Ryutsuki shook her head, her eyes glossy. "I'm sorry."
"A "sorry" doesn't really cut it."
"You don't understand-"
"Of course I don't understand." Ryuko snapped. "I don't understand how you could bring a child into this world for the purpose of spiting your grandfather, knowing you weren't able to take care of them."
"It was the only way I saw."
"The only way? You could have simply refused. It's not like he could force you to marry Endeavour."
"How easy for you to say, having grown up in a world in which laws actually matter." Ryutsuki replied, and Ryuko flinched. "You have no idea what it was like back then. Even with his failing popularity Ryuunosuke Tatsuma was still one of the most influential and well-connected men in Japan, and he'd made it clear my consent was not a factor. I was only a year older than Ryuuzaki. My mother was dead and my brother turned against me. I felt the walls closing in around me. Until one night I broke down and made a mistake."
She clutched her hands tight against her lap as she looked up at Ryuko.
"I am sorry. By the time you were born, I realized what I'd done. I swore that I'd do the best I could for you. I know I wasn't the ideal mother, but I always loved you. I always tried." She sighed. "I tried to do better for Ryuuzaki, and then failed again."
"And why you couldn't come clean with this until now? Why I had to figure it out for myself?"
"I… tried." Ryutsuki averted her gaze. "I meant to do it when you were older. But I couldn't go through with it. Revealing the lie. Causing an argument. Tearing our family apart."
This is why. After the restaurant, I just… didn't want to have an argument. I didn't want you to have to worry about this too.
Ryuko scowled.
"I'm... going to need some time to process this until I can decide whether I can forgive you." She let go of the breath she'd been holding, gazing out of the window. "I'm going to need two things from you first, though."
"Name them."
"First, I decide when and where to tell Ryuuzaki."
"Agreed. And the other?"
Ryuko stepped away from the window and marched over to Ryutsuki's desk, grabbing a note and a pen before throwing them on the bench in front of her mother.
"His name."
After a moment's hesitation Ryutsuki scribbled something on the note and handed it over to her daughter.
Wordlessly Ryuko took it, turned around on her heel and walked out the door. As it closed behind her she glanced down at the note in her hands.
Hideaki Kaminari.
Chapter 37 featuring the final exams is also very nearly completed, it should probably follow either tomorrow or within the next few days.
Even with his failing popularity Ryuunosuke Tatsuma was still one of the most influential and well-connected men in Japan, and he'd made it clear my consent was not a factor.
The Tatsuma family is a hot mess due to her mother never bothering to clear the air--and, in the case of this topic, outright lying. The father seems like a nice guy, but is perhaps too nice when it comes to the mother's sensitivities. Leaving shit unspoken for so many decades is not conducive to a next generation that doesn't, say, assume the absolute worst of everything that's been vaguely hinted.
I roughly remember that they didn't even know who Ryuko's father was, which would be inconsistent with the "father left us" line (making it not only a lie, but a transparent lie). Then again, I couldn't find the line on review, so maybe it's that that Ryuuzaki never bothered asking in all these years
Ryuko's offended that she was intentional, to get out of a forced marriage, as opposed to accidental, from random fun. It's an interesting distinction to make, I guess. Personally, I'm not seeing it.
The Tatsuma family is a hot mess due to her mother never bothering to clear the air--and, in the case of this topic, outright lying. The father seems like a nice guy, but is perhaps too nice when it comes to the mother's sensitivities. Leaving shit unspoken for so many decades is not conducive to a next generation that doesn't, say, assume the absolute worst of everything that's been vaguely hinted.
I roughly remember that they didn't even know who Ryuko's father was, which would be inconsistent with the "father left us" line (making it not only a lie, but a transparent lie). Then again, I couldn't find the line on review, so maybe it's that that Ryuuzaki never bothered asking in all these years
Ryuko's offended that she was intentional, to get out of a forced marriage, as opposed to accidental, from random fun. It's an interesting distinction to make, I guess. Personally, I'm not seeing it.
Accidentally bringing a child into this world, wildly unprepared but doing everything in your power to make the best of a bad situation vs deliberately having a child to use as a tool against your father knowing you wouldn't be able to take proper care of them.
Accidentally bringing a child into this world, wildly unprepared but doing everything in your power to make the best of a bad situation vs deliberately having a child to use as a tool against your father knowing you wouldn't be able to take proper care of them.
I would go further and say that combined with the rest of her past actions/choices it paints Ryutsuki's character in a very negative light as a flawed but very human person who can and does prioritize herself over others despite knowing and regretting it and trying to be better after the fact. She choose not to be a hero despite the good she could have done because she didn't want to be one, She choose to violate both Ryuko and Hideaki (because he certainty didn't know and may still not know) in order to try and save herself suffering, she actively correlates her effort in raising Ryuko with her choice heavily implying that she did her best just as much out of guilt and shame as love and responsibility, and lastly she burdened her family by refusing to tell them anything dealing with the situation because she'd rather it not talk about because she feared how they would respond to the information despite the fact that waiting would just make things worse in the long run.
All considered it no wonder Ryuko basically demanded the right to tell her sister whenever she decides to, and why Ryutsuki basically stopped engaging on the issue given how Ryutsuki responds with deflections unless pressed. Ryutsuki isn't evil persay, but she definitely isn't what I would call a saint.
I agree with you to a point, but I do think you've painted some of her actions in a worse light than needed. Is she a saint? No, absolutely not. Still, her not being a hero shouldn't factor at all. She has zero responsibility to be a hero if that isn't what she wanted to be. Just because I could be a firefighter but chose not to be one doesn't mean I have any responsibility for fires in my city.
As for the way she went about having a child? Yeah, that's a shitty thing to do no doubt, and if Ryuko decides to hold it against her that's her right, but she could also decide that holding the actions of a dumb, panicked teenager against her years later would not be fair.
Still, most of that is just different perceptions of the same events, you can look at it however you want. The only part I actually disagree with you on is the guilt and shame section. I don't see why that's a bad thing, she should feel guilt and shame for her actions, she did wrong after all. As long as the love and affection is also present I don't see how feeling justified shame for wrong actions is, well, wrong. Basically, I would feel more worried if there wasn't guilt and shame in her motivations.
I agree with you to a point, but I do think you've painted some of her actions in a worse light than needed. Is she a saint? No, absolutely not. Still, her not being a hero shouldn't factor at all. She has zero responsibility to be a hero if that isn't what she wanted to be. Just because I could be a firefighter but chose not to be one doesn't mean I have any responsibility for fires in my city.
As for the way she went about having a child? Yeah, that's a shitty thing to do no doubt, and if Ryuko decides to hold it against her that's her right, but she could also decide that holding the actions of a dumb, panicked teenager against her years later would not be fair.
Still, most of that is just different perceptions of the same events, you can look at it however you want. The only part I actually disagree with you on is the guilt and shame section. I don't see why that's a bad thing, she should feel guilt and shame for her actions, she did wrong after all. As long as the love and affection is also present I don't see how feeling justified shame for wrong actions is, well, wrong. Basically, I would feel more worried if there wasn't guilt and shame in her motivations.
The thing is is that in MHA people are not equal in capacity or nature, the level of good Ryuuzaki could do as a hero far outweighs what a firefighter could do because she is a freaking dragon. It is still her choice of to be a hero or not of course but that doesn't remove the consequences of that choice in that by choosing not be a hero and that its ultimately a selfish choice that comes at the expense of others. Random Firefighter A deciding to be an artist instead has far less impact than a literal dragon deciding they'd rather make sculptures than save people. Its basically the same issue with Clark Kent deciding not be Superman and instead be a farmer. People make choices like this all the time, it the issue of scale that matters.
Life isn't fair and people get judged on poor/stupid choices all of the time. Again actions have consequences. Just because she was a dumb teenager in duress doesn't change how it effects those involved.
At this i give you its a matter of opinion, in my mind the way its worded implies that Ryuuzaki comes awfully close to using her successfully raising Ryuko as an absolution for her choice and/or that she had to raise her right because of what she did rather then it being what a good parent should do. That isn't directly stated but that i feel its implied is bad enough.
It is still her choice of to be a hero or not of course but that doesn't remove the consequences of that choice in that by choosing not be a hero and that its ultimately a selfish choice that comes at the expense of others.
It's a zero on the morality scale, but not a negative number; it doesn't come at the expense of others, she's just not altruistically mitigating those expenses.
Like, obviously it's not good, but there's a certain proximity on malevolent negligence that most arguments for 'people are selfish if they don't do everything to help' don't consider, and I feel like it degrades the sacrifices of the people who do make the decision to help. It stops being a service above and beyond the norm, and becomes an expectation.
It is still her choice of to be a hero or not of course but that doesn't remove the consequences of that choice in that by choosing not be a hero and that its ultimately a selfish choice that comes at the expense of others
This is unfair, not only are you putting an incredible burden on her, you're also not considering that she didn't consider herself suitable for a hero and that there could have been negative effects of forcing her into that career. If she would have made the wrong call and people died because of that then surely by your same logic Ryutsuki deserves credit for not letting that happen by being an artist instead.
Additionally I believe there is a moral difference in making things happen and not stopping them. She is not responsible for thefts that she could have hypothetically stopped in a different reality, the hypothetical thief is.
Insinuating that someone has done something wrong for living life the way she chose instead of serving the public interest is a pretty shit moral high ground.
It's pretty entitled, the thought that those 'specially gifted' have a duty to use those talents to serve society in leu of living their own life.
It's akin to saying that if Albert Eienstien had wanted to become a painter, or an actor, he would have been wrong, because he wasn't using his incredible intellect to further human knowledge as a whole. That's exactly what you're saying.
Insinuating that someone has done something wrong for living life the way she chose instead of serving the public interest is a pretty shit moral high ground.
It's pretty entitled, the thought that those 'specially gifted' have a duty to use those talents to serve society in leu of living their own life.
It's akin to saying that if Albert Eienstien had wanted to become a painter, or an actor, he would have been wrong, because he wasn't using his incredible intellect to further human knowledge as a whole. That's exactly what you're saying.
Its not even a standard that I imagine anyone genuinely meets (No, just because you might be capable of a lower level of good doesn't mean you are less responsible to do good).
Especially not when different people have different views on whats achieving good. What if instead of being a artist or hero she'd been a politician and pushed through a lot of policies that affected far more people than she ever could have as an individual in a larger way that stopping their purse being stolen that one time.
So we're measuring good on a standard thats entirely dependent on everyones independent utilitarian calculus.
Insinuating that someone has done something wrong for living life the way she chose instead of serving the public interest is a pretty shit moral high ground.
It's pretty entitled, the thought that those 'specially gifted' have a duty to use those talents to serve society in leu of living their own life.
It's akin to saying that if Albert Eienstien had wanted to become a painter, or an actor, he would have been wrong, because he wasn't using his incredible intellect to further human knowledge as a whole. That's exactly what you're saying.
I didn't say it was wrong I said it was selfish and i mean that in the most literal sense as it was a decision made with her personal best interest in mind, morality has nothing to do with it. Comparing her to Eienstien is a bad comparison, she has a clear and visabile power/ability in a world with a clear need for said power/ability capacity and a system in place to assist people in meeting that need, Eientstien had none of this and would have had no idea what he could/would accomplish, being smart doesn't imply changing physics on a defining level for all civilization. This issue here isn't a matter of right or wrong its a matter of scale, I referred to superman for a reason as comparing her to a normal person in capability doesn't work because the effort/outcome from both are so wildly different. One day in the past Ryutsuki stood at a crossroads and had to make a choice between being a hero which given her abilities and resources available to her she would be above average at minimum at but probably better given it would have pretty dam hard not to given dragon or not being a hero, and she decided not to be a hero. Again nothing wrong with the decision but it is one where she weighted what she could have accomplished versus her desire/comfort in doing so. And in all fairness I would probably made the same decision to not be a hero if I were in the same position, given that my personality is not suited for it as i would second guess myself into decision paralysis, though I would have probably tried to find some way to leverage my ability to help others in a different capacity, if only on the side. The fact that the law makes that difficult to impossible is a big point of contention i have.
And you're taking for granted what Ryutsuki could have achieved. What if she would have been a shit hero are you considering the scale of badness she could have done? Like she (Probably the best person to make that judgement) obviously thought.
Theres something we need to clear up here. Her quirk didn't give her the capacity to be a good hero, it gave her the power to be a powerful hero. And those are different things.
Ryutsuki might have had a good Quirk (though for the record it's quite a bit weaker than Ryuko's and Ryuuzaki's) but not only did she hate the idea of becoming a Hero due to her disillusionment with her father's actions she wasn't the type who could handle it.
I mean, Ryuko talks about this very subject back in Chapter 4. It's easy to burn out and break down if you're not able to deal with the stress and constant, intensive training of becoming a Professional Hero. Some people simply find it easier to deal with whilst others just aren't the type that can handle combat and frequent life or death situations, whether that life be yours or others'. Strong motivation can go a long way towards helping, but Ryutsuki didn't have that either.
And yeah, not every Hero goes all-in, but you have to remember that this was around the time when Pro-Heroes were making their big resurgence after All-Might single-handedly equalized the scales, and Ryutsuki was the daughter of one of Japan's most famous Pro-Heroes, tasked with restoring the family name and prestige. Oh, and you know, her Quirk is the ability to turn into a dragon.
Laying low and becoming just one of those local Heroes who help out here and there was never on the table for her. She would have been under immense societal pressure to go Plus Ultra and get into exactly those high-stress high-stakes combat situations she's not equipped to handle. I mean we can see it right here that people would judge her for not even becoming a Pro-Hero, how many more would judge her for becoming a Pro-Hero and then chickening out of the "real" work? A dragon can do fine enough on rescue or evacuation work but it's glaringly obvious to everyone that it's real application is in combat.
And what happens then when Ryutsuki has a breakdown in the middle of a villain fight and people get killed? Or if she tries to become a small-name rescue hero or something and doesn't go that big villain fight that levels a few city blocks even though they could've really used a heavy hitter like her there? As someone on the autistic spectrum who went through a conscript military service, let me tell you, people don't have a lot of understanding for those they don't perceive as "pulling their weight", even if they're simply being overwhelmed by everything. And this being Japan, you know, the place with a bit of a history regarding dealing with mental health issues?
Bottom line is, you wouldn't want to force someone to become a firefighter or police officer against their will either, so Pro-Heroes are probably an even worse idea.
Ryutsuki just breathes fire/smoke, that she isn't immune to, when she is angry and is not a dragon. Only her kids are dragons, even all the older dragon heroes were not actually dragons and just had things like 'can see and smell real good'.
Her superpower is less useful than a gun, so she's not any more useful heroing than anyone else in the world.
I still think the thought that someone is selfish for not risking themselves is wrong, but I'm wrong in her being less useful than a gun; It's not mentioned in the story that I can find, but the Media threadmarks say she can go dragon. Still 'You were born strong, so you have to go out there and die for me!' is kind of a selfish thought process.
Ryutsuki just breathes fire/smoke, that she isn't immune to, when she is angry and is not a dragon. Only her kids are dragons, even all the older dragon heroes were not actually dragons and just had things like 'can see and smell real good'.
Nope, I'm wrong and you're right. It's never mentioned in the actual story that I can find, but my wife reads this too and corrected me; There's a Media post that says she turns into a dragon, so apparently she does.
Ryutsuki just breathes fire/smoke, that she isn't immune to, when she is angry and is not a dragon. Only her kids are dragons, even all the older dragon heroes were not actually dragons and just had things like 'can see and smell real good'.
Her superpower is less useful than a gun, so she's not any more useful heroing than anyone else in the world.
Ryutsuki's Quirk is called "Dragon", and as mentioned all the way back in Chapter 1 it indeed allows her to turn into a dragon. Breathing fire/smoke is a side effect of it, and while she is not immune to fire in her human form she is immune to smoke inhalation (as discussed in Chapter 4 within regards to her cigarette addiction when Ryuko was young).
The older Dragon Heroes had a Mutant-type Quirk called "Dragonoid" that made them into draconic humanoids (think something like DnD Dragonborn) with enhanced senses, strength, durability, speed, etc. This is the reason Ryuuzaki has sharp teeth, for an example. Ryutsuki's mother had a Transformation-type Quirk called Restructuring that allowed her to shape her own body into any shape she wanted as long as it retained the same mass.
Now, when two people with Quirks have a kid, the most common end result is what in my headcanon is called "Inherited Merger", that is to say, a Quirk that takes on characteristics from both parents, the most obvious canonical example being Shoto's Half Hot Half Cold. In Ryutsuki's case, the power to be a draconic humanoid and the ability to change your shape into whatever you want combined into the ability to turn into a dragon. Ryutsuki's "Dragon" then combined with Hideaki Kaminari's "Electrification" to create Ryuko's "Storm Dragon" and with Kenshin's "Rhinoceros" to create Ryuuzaki's "Horned Dragon".
But there is another possibility, which is what I like to call "Evolution", a Quirk that only takes after one of the parents. For an example in canon, using the Todoroki family again, Touya got an even stronger version of Endeavour's "Hellflame" with no trace of his mother's ice Quirk. Similarly, Ryuo (Ryutsuki's younger brother) got a specialized variant of Dragonoid that massively boosts his senses but has only minor physical enhancements, which is the root of his animosity with Ryutsuki as he feels resentful she got the way better Quirk despite wanting to have nothing to do with Pro-Heroes while he had to make do with what he had.
