#and sacrifice themselves just for the sake of getting them out of the narrative

[flufflecat]

can writers stop amounting their characters to such a husk of themselves that them literally killing themselves for no reason is considered a good death

[pikahlua]

In regards to your post on Izuku’s self sacrificial traits, how do you think the dark hero arc plays into this? I thought the point of it was to sort of pull his self sacrificial nature back a bit with the whole “you can’t do it on your own” and “don’t kill yourself for the cause” thing. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive, i get that “bakugou looks up to Deku’s self sacrificial nature as a positive trait he doesn’t have” and “Deku should rely on others and not hurt himself” can both coexist. But they also give mixed messages narratively. Is one not condemning it while the other puts it on a pedestal?

THANK YOU!!! For taking the bait.

I've been ranting about this theme a bit because, from what I can tell, it might be the biggest point MHA is trying to make to answer the question "What is a hero?" Because of MHA's length, the points of the argument have been rather spread out. I think people's understanding of the argument has been distorted by the length of time between the points. Overthinking is the enemy here.

But really, why are people coming away from MHA with the message "Heroes shouldn't sacrifice themselves"? The message is coming from somewhere. The problem is it's probably coming from a conflation of concepts. What is self-sacrifice? That's the question that gets at the root of the problem here.

In the west, "sacrifice" has negative connotations. "Something is lost." "Someone suffers for the sake of a goal." "Someone gives up something." The focus is entirely on the pain experienced by the one sacrificing.

But the point MHA is trying to make is that there's a difference between "suffering loss" and the sacrifices a true hero makes. Izuku isn't a remarkable hero because he's willing to destroy himself at the drop of a hat. The focus is not on his drastic behavior but on the recipients of his drastic behavior. The point is, sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice is meaningless, but sacrifice for the sake of others, well, now we're getting somewhere.

It's the "for the sake of others" part that matters here. Izuku is a hero because he cares for others, because he wants to save others, and what he's willing to sacrifice to accomplish that is merely the measure of his conviction, of his heart.

The quality of self-sacrifice is a core trait measured just to gain enrollment at UA, the most prestigious hero school in the country. Self-sacrifice is fundamental to being a hero. Do you really think the point of the MHA story is to demonstrate how self-sacrifice is a bad thing, that heroes shouldn't sacrifice themselves? Do you think the rest of Class 1-A wouldn't be willing to sacrifice themselves should the need arise so long as it's in order to save someone?

The difference between Izuku and the rest of the world, at least at the beginning, is that he is sensitive to calls for help. He is able to perceive those in trouble that others cannot perceive. Others get confused by the context or are not in a constant state of listening for cries for help. Others cannot always tell when is the right time to act or if acting is the correct choice. Izuku never wavers in the face of such questions. He always acts, because he cannot help but act. It is who he is. It's his nature to be this way. And this is the spirit that slowly influences his classmates and the rest of society, this is the spirit Katsuki fears and later comes to emulate, this is the ideal Izuku admires in his hero All Might for which he always strives.

Heroes want to save, but some of them just don't know how--and Izuku teaches them how. Izuku teaches them that, for true heroes, to save others is more important than anything else they could ever want. It is more important than their self-perceived weaknesses, than their egos, than their desires for vengeance, than their small-time dreams, no matter how noble or justified or important any of those things might be. To be called a hero, one must be prepared to risk it all.

These are the traits Hero Killer Stain wishes to promote in society. These are the qualities he exonerates from assassination. A person who lives for the sake of "service to others" is the sort of person who has more right than anyone to "cling desperately to life." Society needs such people, and for that very reason such people need to stay alive. This is the collectivist ideal. If everyone is concerned for the well-being of others, then everyone is looking out for everyone else. If you're ready to save others and risk yourself to do so, others will risk themselves to make sure you make it out alive too, and thus everyone is protected. If you do end up perishing due to self-sacrifice, it is a tragedy, not self-determination, but then your actions still protected the whole, and the whole will continue to protect everyone in it to the best of their abilities because your self-sacrifice was appreciated and the spirit of your goodness carries on in others.

But that's a whole lot of waxing poetic about self-sacrifice. I did acknowledge that people are picking up a critical message. Where then is the criticism?

It comes from Shouta Aizawa.

Aizawa is the major proponent of rationality in this case. Self-sacrifice = good is not the end of the philosophy. It is as you say, something must balance it out.

People often think Aizawa's philosophy boils down to "I don't want heroes to be self-sacrificial," but that's not actually what he's saying. Aizawa's philosophy is to make the distinction between self-sacrifice and self-destruction.

"Being self-sacrificing isn't the same...as being suicidal. Many kids confuse the two. So I'll give them what they want. A 'death,' so to speak."

The hallmark of heroic self-sacrifice is that it's done for the sake of others. Self-destruction is different; it is for the sake of the self. Some people would take the chance to mask their self-destruction as self-sacrifice by looking for a way to die while saving others. That's not the point of heroic self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is a last resort. You save a person in trouble because you care about preserving their well-being no matter the cost, but some sacrifices are not in balance. Say someone is trapped in a room and you want to get them out, and you have a battering ram and a bomb. Should you strap a bomb to your body and explode open that door to let the person out? Wouldn't that be a heroic sacrifice to save someone? No! It's certainly a sacrifice, but it's not a heroic one. You should act to preserve ALL well-being, including your own. Use the damn battering ram.

Consider the circumstances at play in the quirk assessment test. Izuku was ready to sacrifice his entire arm, his physical constitution, for the sake of demonstrating his power. What does Izuku incapacitating himself achieve were Aizawa to let him do so? It would merely be to prove his strength to someone. No one is at risk here. No one needs saving. Izuku has no person to receive the good will of his self-sacrifice.

"Whatever you were planning...it would have inconvenienced those around you."

"You're totally useless after saving just a single person."

Self-sacrifice is still a sacrifice, which means it has costs and consequences. Who loses because of self-sacrifice? Many people. The person who sacrifices themself loses their life or well-being, which, if others asking for help are worth saving because you believe all people are equal, then you are also worth saving and in just as much need of help. Additionally, your loved ones are harmed because they care about you. And the rest of society suffers because it was better for having you in it; you can no longer save anyone else. To save the most people possible, a hero should strive to survive. A hero should strive to win.

Taken all together, you get the philosophy that allows Katsuki's team to triumph during the Joint Training Arc, which was the entire point of this match. Note how all the above logic is summed up quite succinctly by the gremlin himself.

Katsuki is dedicated to winning the match and leads the charge, but that puts him at risk of being targeted. However, he's willing to be in that vulnerable state because he trusts others to save him. That's what empowers him to put himself on the line. His goal is a complete victory, which means that self-sacrifice is considered a loss. There are costs and consequences, and heroes should do their best to mitigate them. Katsuki is doing everything in his power to reduce the necessity of self-sacrifice, but not because he thinks self-sacrifice is bad. He thinks needless self-sacrifice is bad, and so he strives to eliminate the need for it.

But that means he does acknowledge that there are times self-sacrifice is necessary. He's grown up afraid of Izuku's heart because Izuku demonstrates how easily self-sacrifice comes to him, and that puts Katsuki on the spot. Katsuki doesn't know if he is capable of self-sacrifice. Because he's so competent and strong, he's never noticed a need for sacrifice in his life. He's never had to demonstrate self-sacrifice, and if that's such a fundamental part of being a hero, Katsuki doesn't know if he really is a hero at heart.

But as I mentioned above, the reason he never had a chance to display self-sacrifice as a trait is because he lacked the ability to tell when people need saving. He looks around and sees a bunch of people who are wasting their potential. He thinks some people who seem to ask for help are much more capable than they behave.

Note how Katsuki failed his hero license exam. If Katsuki had stuck around the triage center and fought Gang Orca when he showed up, Katsuki likely would have passed. But Katsuki decided to forego battle to run around and save people. And hilariously enough, the bystanders who dock Katsuki points point out that Katsuki correctly identified them as low-priority targets to save. He's pretty good at figuring out who DOESN'T need saving. They end up docking him points because of his inappropriate tone, which is possibly the funniest way they could have said "Well you're technically right but also holy crap you're bad at this."

And that's the point. Katsuki knows saving people is important, and he perceives Izuku is the absolute best at it. Katsuki is constantly looking for a way to compete with Izuku in this realm because he has to. Katsuki wants to be the best, and to do so he has to improve in this area. Izuku pisses him off because he is extremely adept at perceiving calls for help from those who truly need it, and Katsuki notices every time Izuku is faster on the uptake. It happens at the sports festival with Shouto, which is why Katsuki considers the sports festival a loss.

Katsuki does get better at this, and that's what allows him to eventually get his hero license. Think of his behavior during the school cultural festival, where he sees his classmates trying to appease their peers out of guilt. That's people pleasing. That's ego. Katsuki won't have any of it. From his perspective, if Class 1-A wants to make sure everyone has a good time, then everyone means everyone. Class 1-A has to enjoy the festival too, and the best way to do that is to throw a badass concert. By enjoying themselves and being proud of their well-earned accomplishments, by thriving, Class 1-A demonstrates to their peers how to best win against all those tragedies that tried to bring them down. Self-deprecation for the sake of appeasing others' ill will when that ill will is unjustified is just self-gratification. It's just a way to stop feeling guilty, but the only purpose that serves is to debase yourself. Class 1-A didn't do anything wrong to the other classes, so Class 1-A does not need to atone to them. Self-sacrifice in this case brings no benefit to anyone. Instead, the classes should all be thriving together.

All of these lessons converge in the Dark Deku arc. Others express worry for Izuku's behavior because they see him as engaging in self-destruction. They want him to rest, but Izuku perceives there are people in need of help, so he can't help but save them. And not everyone condemns Izuku's behavior.

Kudou encourages it.

The problem at play in this arc is the question of power. Izuku has power, which means he is capable of saving people. And many people are in need of saving. How many people can one finite Izuku save? That is the question he is set to answer. He is facing the same question as All Might, but All Might's example was to save people while he was losing One For All. All Might had a finite amount of power that he was going to lose in time, so he decided to spend that dwindling power on saving as many people as he could. That would be the more virtuous use of his finite power.

But All Might's flaw was in rejecting the help of others when others were capable of helping him. Izuku falls into the same trap. He thinks he has to save people alone because he's the only one capable of it.

This is Kudou's spoken caveat. "Inaction is not an option," so yes Izuku needs to be acting in this moment. "That said...if there's anything that could bolster Izuku Midoriya now, it would be..."

The answer is not merely "friends." We are given the answer that Izuku needs friends at first, but this is a special type of friend. Izuku needs friends who "share his resolve," who "can match his pace...and keep running alongside him." Izuku needs comrades (nakama)! He needs friends who want to save just as much as he does. He needs friends who are just as capable as he is. That's why Class 1-A has to first demonstrate their capabilities to Izuku so that he can be convinced.

Katsuki doesn't criticize Izuku's ideals either. In fact, he openly praises them.

All Katsuki is saying here is "You're doing the right thing. Saving people, even at cost to yourself, is the right thing. We want to help. We can help. Don't reject us.

"Don't pay a price when you don't have to."

tl;dr

In a collectivist society, the ideal is that everyone looks out for each other, thus is everyone protected.

Self-sacrifice has costs to the self, to one's loved ones, and to society. The price paid must be worth the good achieved.

The virtue in self-sacrifice is that it is done when necessary for the sake of others. Anything less is self-destruction, which is harmful to society.

Heroes have a duty both to be prepared to self-sacrifice and to mitigate the need for self-sacrifice.

Rejecting the help of others who are capable of helping is to reject the collectivist ideal.

Izuku's self-sacrifice is virtuous BECAUSE IT IS FOR OTHERS' SAKES. Izuku's self-destruction and rejection of help from others are what the story criticizes.

Izuku Midoriya's nature represents the ideal of self-sacrifice because of his innate desire to save others, and Katsuki Bakugou recognizes that trait as core to being a hero and thus admires Izuku for it--but he's also afraid he doesn't have that trait for a large chunk of the story. Izuku's journey to accepting the help of others, Katsuki's journey to discovering his self-sacrificing spirit, and their mutual admiration of each other all provide the perspective for the audience to understand this ideal: heroes are those who live in service of others.

[rottenprincessshura100]

Chapter 144 Notes; Love, longing and Lightning...near the end of days.

In this chapter, we get some more personal content and we get some great character development.

Kato also drives it home that the BIG END is coming. The kids are all reminiscing about the last time they had a meal together. In the woods camping. Remembering the good times helps bring them a strong sense of togetherness.

The adults meanwhile eat at a separate table. Shura equates the meal to the last supper, meaning they are preparing to sacrifice themselves to save humanity.

And of course, she has regrets. Shura just got a new lease on life, only to have that life stolen from her. She won't get a chance to be married, nor will she have children. It's bothering her.

One thing I gleaned from this discussion, is how little Shura knows about Neuhaus even though they were both True Cross Academy teachers. She didn't know that his wife was killed during the Blue Knight. Neuhaus is willing to die. He wants to be reunited with his wife.

Lucy meanwhile, has been married and had a bunch of kids, grandchildren and grandkids. And the woman is tired. She's worn out from all of that family and all of those kids. When she dies, Lucy wants a new life and to move on.

However according to her relative from the Taiwan Branch. Liu. She would have a hard time dying because her familiar keeps her alive. This is why she survived that mortal wound during the previous battle. For some reason, this tidbit will become an important narrative element.

After all, the Illuminati is always on the lookout for a resilient body to house a demon king. I wonder if an exorcist can willingly give up a body and still have their spirit move on?

The next exorcist is Liu. He has no wishes for children or family. This is a plot point that may prove significant. This is a manga based on family and its strengths. So...what does this mean? Or is it nothing?

Osceola is just a sweet, gentle giant of a man. His marriage didn't work out when he was young, but he has no regrets. He had a chance to raise/mentor Lightning. And that weirdo is like a son to him.

Lightning is very much like Shiro in some ways. He has difficulty showing emotions and possibly has a demon-like heart. He's also incredibly smart and most likely had issues communicating with normal humans. But like Mephisto said...nurturing, love and empathy can stop a demon heart from becoming monstrous.

Osceola taught Lightning how to love Assiah and all of the things in it. Just like Shiro learned to love Rin and Yukio, Osceola found meaning in his life. Lightning like Rin finds a balance within his demon heart.

Shura then takes a moment to consider Osceola's words. She's spent her short life as a mentor to Rin and Yukio. She loves the boys. Maybe that's enough for her too. Maybe.

But she still has work to do...because Yukio....

Getting back to the kids, they aren't focusing on death but life. Instead of the end, they all focus on normal things they will do once the battle is over. Shima, meanwhile, announces that he will be a pop idol.

What makes this so worrying? In the future, we see, Shima as a pop idol and all the other exorcists are nowhere to be found. Is Shima the only survivor? Does he live because he's the double agent and saves himself? Is he like the Judas character in this Last Supper analogy?

Speaking of regrets. We have Shiemi an entire year older. She's finally caught up to everyone and still refuses to tell Rin how she feels. Shiemi for shit's sake....use your words..!!!!

On to the bad guys

They're setting up camp in Mordor...I mean...Satan's heart. The bad demon kings have all survived, and Homaire has also survived. Astatroth was late to the party, he's got a human body but no class and no idea what's going on. (I swear this guy smells like Cheetos and farts.)

Lucifer is like...father's ego is dead. So sad, anyway...his heart is still intact. Satan's power is taking over Assiah, and I guess a slimey mudhole, combined with fire and brimstone is paradise to demons or something?

They proceed to give a detailed description of the different sections of the lair. Luckily, Lightning is there, spying like a pro. He distracts them with sylphs and then uses a ghost to possess an Illuminati guard. Very slick.

Lightning had a great one-liner too. ( I was having a shitty day at work...and yes. That's a mood.) The guy loves a challenge and is a bit of a masochist. Well, okay...

Oh and one more thing.

Little boy Egyn...cute like a baby Amaimon....

[artist-issues]

Could you elaborate on your “you can make your wish come true” =/= Disney’s true message idea? I really like it and want to incorporate the sentiment into my Wish rewrite, but I’m having a hard time finding a solid idea that makes it so different from the aforementioned “believe in yourself and it’ll come true” concept

The idea is not to believe in yourself. Thats super counter-characteristic to Disney heroes. It's all over their merch and songs, but in the actual story, the character isn't usually rewarded for doing things their own way and making it happen. They're also not usually rewarded for chasing their own dreams. They really aren't. Hear me out.

Tiana is not rewarded by the narrative for all her hard work. She's actually scolded by the narrative for being so focused on her dream, and her own way, that she forgets more important things.

Pinocchio, too. The narrative won't let him, or Geppetto, have their dream of Pinocchio being "a real boy." Instead, he has to be brave, truthful, unselfish. Again, the story puts more emphasis on "more important things" than the character's dreams or abilities.

Instead, Disney movies usually reward the character for giving themselves (what they want, what they like, what they dream of) up. For just doing the right thing. More examples and fleshing out here and here.

When I sit down to try and "script doctor" what went wrong with Wish, I change the message from: "You alone have the power to make your wishes come true, so keep trying!" to "Have faith to do what's right, and even more than what you wished for will come true."

Break it down like this:

"Have faith" - Focus on a truth outside of yourself and what you want and what you like, and keep focusing on it no matter the circumstances or how bad you feel. (Think Cinderella "finding the good points" of her stepfamily, or Belle sacrificing her dreams for her father's sake.)

"To do what's right" - This is where faith means taking action. Cinderella doesn't just daydream about things being better, she makes them better for her household by doing her work cheerfully. Aladdin doesn't just finally tell the truth: he gives up his chance at being with Jasmine and sets the Genie free. Tiana doesn't just change her mind about wanting love more than her restaurant; she breaks Facilier's necklace and won't let Naveen marry Charlotte. Faith = action based on that faith: the character focuses on doing what's right. Even and especially when it means giving up their "dreams."

"And even more than what you wished for will come true." - Usually, the characters dreams actually change. They no longer wish for a thing or a set of circumstances, like living in a palace or having their own restaurant. Instead of wanting a thing, they want a Good. Belle goes from wishing for more out of life to getting true love, which is "more out of life,"—and a way better version of "more" than just vague adventures in the "great wide somewhere. Tiana goes from wishing for a restaurant to wanting love. Pinocchio goes from wishing to be a real boy to wishing to be good, for his father. And then it turns out, that's what being "real" meant all along.

See?

The reason the "power to make these wishes come true yourself" is never mentioned is because in most Disney movies, it's not ABOUT you. The main character learns to just do the right thing and stop focusing so much on what they want. They usually sacrifice something, in the name of something bigger than themselves. And when they do that? They're rewarded.

By what? What are they rewarded by? (The narrative, yes, but what does that mean?)

The first Wishing Star Disney ever had come down to reward a main character for doing good was Pinocchio's Blue Fairy. When Pinocchio did the right thing, she literally rewarded him. And the same is true in Princess & the Frog: Tiana finally humbles herself and wishes on a Star, and instantly meets Naveen, who turns out to be better than what she wished for.

The idea is that the power to make your wishes come true is actually NOT in you. The power to make your wishes come true comes from something or someone outside yourself: the Blue Fairy and the Wishing Star represent that. It's like a higher power. Thats exactly what it is.

There's no reason for Tiana to be turned human, or get her restaurant, after she smashes Facilier's necklace. None at all. She broke the thing that could've gotten her to her goal. She gave her goal up. She thought she was choosing to "stay a frog." In fact, she also wasn't even wishing for love on the first place: she humbled herself and wished for her restaurant. Even though she didn't believe in wishing stars. That step of humility was seen and rewarded by a higher power—and the reward wasn't what she would've picked out. But it was exactly what she needed.

And she couldn't have done it herself. In fact, originally, she didn't even wish for the thing she needed, herself, in the first place. The star sent her on a journey to not only get what she needed, but want what she needed. The star did it all. All Tiana did was take one or two faith-based steps that, from her point of view, were actually giving up on her wish.

I hope that clears it up.

[tinylantern]

It's interesting how some of the criticisms I've seen over on r/runefactory concerning RF4's writing--specifically those surrounding Act 3--are serving as inspiration for a potential AU to explore in fanart (and maybe fanfiction as well, if I ever get around to it.)

So, you know, even as someone who adores Rune Factory 4's cast of characters and the individual character arcs everyone goes through, I am not without my criticisms of the writing. One thing I am definitely not a fan of is the fact that all three acts of the main story are essentially "save Ventuswill: Parts 1, 2, and 3." It's not that "save the Divine Dragon" is a bad plot to have, but that it never really switches up the formula enough to keep it consistently interesting across the length of RF4's story. You can easily describe the three acts of RF4's story as "Ventuswill is secretly dying! You must save her! Oh, now she's dying again! Get the Rune Spheres back from Ethelberd and save her! Surprise! She's not actually dead! Let's save her for real this time!" And because of that lack of variation, the most interesting aspects of Act 2 and Act 3, at least for me, are not saving Ventuswill, but the stuff that happens with the other characters who are involved in the plot. Arthur, who cites frequently in his dialogue how much he dislikes having been born a prince, utilizes the resources he has at his disposal to get Selphia the support it needs from the capital because as much as he may complain about his position, he knows he has a responsibility as a member of Norad's royal family and the true prince who was supposed to run Selphia. Doug, who was revealed earlier in Act 1 to actually be a spy for the Sechs with a personal vendetta against Ventuswill, feels immense guilt for having believed in a lie that ultimately hurt the people he cares about, and he actively seeks to redeem himself to the point of getting injured multiple times across Act 2. And during Act 3, we finally learn that Frey/Lest is a surviving descendant of the Earthmates who have spent literal centuries trying to find a solution to the runes in the land dying out so that Ventuswill will no longer have to rely on the sacrifices of the Guardians in order to live.

However, a post by u/KamenRiderSekai, who I believe goes by @avenger-concerto here, highlights that Act 3 does, to an extent, potentially ruin the narrative themes of Rune Factory 4's story. Even as someone who generally prefers happy endings to sad or bittersweet ones (hell, the whole reason I originally bought Rune Factory 4 Special was because I needed a more lighthearted game after the literal rain of depression that was Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights), Act 3 does feel very... out of place. A lot of RF4's themes revolve around those of loss, grief, loneliness, and self-isolation, and how you need to make the most of the time you have with those you love instead of shoving them away because life is so short. Although it was upsetting to see Ventuswill die at the end of the Act 2 despite all the crap Lest/Frey went through trying to save her, it feels... fitting, especially since Frey/Lest's ending narration solidifies that although they and the rest of the town were in mourning for some time, they resolved to move forward with their lives because all Ventuswill wanted was a bright future for her friends and for Selphia, and she was absolutely tired of people sacrificing themselves for her sake.

But Act 3 comes along and you learn that Oh, not only was Ventuswill not ready to go just yet, but we still have a chance to save Ventuswill despite the fact that she's literally dead. I get that although it has its "dark" moments, Rune Factory is overall a fairly lighthearted series, but it just seems very shoehorned in for the sake of giving players a happy ending where Ventuswill is alive and well. And when you do complete Rune Prana and save Ventuswill, there is so very little fanfare to the point that there isn't even a credits roll like the first two acts; all you get is a commemorative illustration featuring Ventuswill in her human form down in the trophy room. It makes Act 3 almost feel like one big afterthought despite the important lore it contains, especially in regards to Frey/Lest.

With all that said, KamenRiderSekai did briefly bring up an interesting, alternate concept for Act 3, one that has been gnawing at my brain off and on again since I originally first read it. Taken directly from the original reddit thread:

"A more apt arc would have been maybe the birth or succession of a new "Ventuswill", which is something I've always thought of as an alternative for years on end."

This makes so much more sense to me on so many levels. First off: Ventuswill does state during Act 1 that, when she expires, the runes her body gives off will be enough to sustain the land for another 1000 years, during which a new Native Wind Dragon will be born to play their role as she did. A new "Ventuswill" being born, possibly as a result of the influences of the Rune Spheres as well as whatever efforts the protagonist and the Guardians put in, would 100% make sense from a lore standpoint. However, it also makes sense from a thematic standpoint in regards to the franchise as a whole.

A major theme prevalent in the Rune Factory series is the cycle of life, death and rebirth. In almost every game, the protagonist loses their memories, resulting in the "death" of their past self. They wake up in a new town that takes them in, where they create a new life for themselves; eventually, they fall in love with someone, get married, and start a family with their spouse. This lines up so well with the idea that even though the old Ventuswill is gone, she is not forgotten and her spirit will live on in the new Wind Dragon who will one day guide and protect the land like their predecessor.

If I were to make this into a full blown AU, there are other things I would like to explore as well. I highlighted in a post from August about how Arthur's Another Episode reveals that Selphia's relationship with the royal family is complicated because it is not actually ruled by the king, but by Ventuswill herself, and that her death should have had more implications in terms of Selphia's political status as well as in regards to Frey/Lest and Arthur's switch... which it doesn't because a major point of RF4's gameplay is that you're in charge of Selphia and even Arthur returning to his position briefly during Act 2 doesn't affect your ability to manage the town through the Order Symbol.

There is also the matter of the Guardians; although they willingly allowed themselves to have the Etherlink spell cast on them because they wanted to save Ventuswill, all four of them had lives prior to their centuries-long slumber and with her death, it seemingly renders the sacrifices they made pointless. So, you know, there is an incredibly great potential for angst as well as character development if this becomes a "Okay, we failed to save Ventuswill, but we can speedrun the birth of the new Ventuswill" plot.

I'm sorry for the massive ramble. It is just strangely satisfying knowing that some genuinely valid criticisms of a game I adore have the potential to result in some incredibly tasty fanwork scenarios.

[absolutely-not-my-main-blog]

It’s so hard to explain the appeal Sunny has for me to someone who hasn’t experienced the brain rot themselves because yes, it’s a very funny show, but in a way most people wouldn’t associate with me/my usual interests, so they’re scrambling to reevaluate their perceptions and figure out what exactly about it I do like, and when they try to recommend me “similar” media, they end up honing in on all the wrong things because the thing is they were right the first time about me, this type of humour usually isn’t my cup of tea at all and when other shows do it, it’s never going to hit the same because it’s not the same. People think Sunny is one thing, and sometimes it is, but it’s also a million others. It’s a comedy, it’s a tragedy, it’s a silly show with fun silly jokes and it’s an in depth character study of people with different kinds of trauma, and it never compromises or sacrifices one for the other, it just is. They do all these seemingly wild and ridiculous things, yet they always have a reason. They also make horrible or horrific decisions and do terrible things, but it doesn’t try to justify them, and it’s usually not just for the sake of being horrible (or the creator wanting to have a medium to be horrible.) Most of the time they’re more clueless than cruel, not self aware while the narrative and audience are (or are supposed to be), but more importantly, most of the time, they’re really truly just... human. Even when things get cartoonishly out of hand, they are just so ridiculously painfully flawed and messed up and over feeling and human, it hurts. And it drives me up the wall because yeah they also had an entire episode about finding out who pooped the bed! And any other number of weird ass plots and dick jokes and lists of crimes! But sometimes mixing a little bit of silliness and stupidity among the horrors and vice versa is the most incredibly human thing of all.

But uh... try saying that to a normal person without them looking at you like you’ve grown two heads because idk maybe you have, maybe the radioactive sound waves they emit through your screen while watching the show have finally transformed you, but two heads means two brains, which means more brain power to analyze all the nuance of it, so either way !!!!

[songbird-is-crying]

Good Omens 2 may have wrecked my heart and soul and I may not recover until season 3 is released but believe me when I tell you it DELIVERED. I am a sucker for a good confrontation in a love story, and but I (personally) so rarely find them. It is a miscommunication trope, but it’s just a lack of understanding and innate differences in character that are keeping them apart!! rather than someone overhearing something and getting the wrong idea (looking at you, Shrek and the Fiona Sunflower scene). But when it is derived from programmed ideals and nurtured habits and beliefs it is so interesting when they conflict, i mean…

Do y’all understand how narratively SATISFYING it will be when aziraphale and crowley come together in the end and learn how to be with each other?? Just be?? The catharsis we will all experience because these two motherfuckers will have gone through the abyss or the bottomless pit or whatever the rock bottom stage is called in the hero’s journey only to come out of it?? And still choose to love each other?? Do you know how strong their love has got to be to pull that off??

Because this show is all about how love wins. LOVE WINS!! Not in some low effort, poor design quality slogan to grab your attention as well as your wallet in a target pride merch section, but in a real sense that love conquers all. Ok, that is still cheesy, but it really does!! The lengths that people go for each other because they love, it can’t be beat!! Like, the fact that Crowley’s and Aziraphale’s Miracle Magic Time is strongest when they work together because they are in LOOVVEEE. Good Omens is not about choosing a side and fighting to the death for loyalty’s sake, it’s about loving someone to the extreme that you will go to any lengths for them, fight to protect them, care for them, want to make the world better for them!! That is a force that cannot be beaten because love refuses to bow to anything!!Because love is bloodthirsty and raw and domestic and charming, and the breakup basically guarantees that we WILL see this force in action because we already KNOW their love is strong and deep enough to withstand this…

GIRL…

When these two come together in the end, I will fall to my knees in worship and make a god out of Neil Gaiman Himself because they will have earned it, because they will have come to a better understanding of themselves and be prepared to love without hesitation and without barriers. And it will be so beautiful.

Can you honestly sacrifice this future just for the instant gratification of them getting together at the end of season 2?? Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you prefer them living in unresolved, nonverbal ignorance because you’re too afraid of making them face their fears of being alone and being without purpose first??

Season 1 made me realize my personal philosophy on the nature of humanity and choice and sides, but now I really see that it’s about choosing to be on the side of what you love, and how that loyalty is the only true thing and the universe.

(But before you think “well, Crowley was ready to give up everything and love Aziraphale, but Aziraphale chose not to be on his side and love him” you forget that Aziraphale wants to fix the system to be fair to people like Crowley because he loves him and believes him to be the most “good” out of anyone he’s met, even himself! He loves him so much he wants to fix the world for him, and he did what he thought was right by not wavering and committing to his mission, even if that meant losing him!!)

God, I love this show so much. The book, the radio, my precious vinyl records of the soundtrack (love you David Arnold, muah), and even the graphic novel I will never see for at least a year, it’s just all so incredibly important to me. Good Omens has helped me realize what I truly believe in and has really influenced my outlook on life. And wow that is cheesy, but it’s ok that this show makes me insane, how it makes me ramble on tumblr at midnight because of the appreciation it has given me for the world around me, because I feel so much love doing so.

I wish I could express everything this show has made me feel. But my feelings are simply ineffable.

I LOVE LOVE!! I LOVE LIFE!! I LOVE EVERYTHING!! THE WORLD IS GOOD AND KIND BECAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE AND THINGS AND PASSIONS TO CARE ABOUT!!!

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch.54 thoughts

[Turnabout Academy]

(Contents: thematic analysis - Friendship: self-sacrifice/survivor's guilt/solidarity, creative choices - narrative utility)

You've done it again, Nisio, you're scaring the ever-loving out of me by making it look like your series has been canceled, and as usual, I can't tell if you're messing with me or not

On the basis that he's done this half a dozen times across this series and Medaka Box, I'm inclined to believe that Nisio is being very deliberate with skipping the latter 248 floors of the dungeon, even though it looks like he's rushing towards a conclusion due to low rankings. As the narration says, Iroha's trial on the courtroom floor was the climax to the roguelite section of the story, as it was the culmination of the themes of self-sacrifice and survivor's guilt

Karigane tried to push everyone else away so she would be the only one in any danger, Oboro sacrificed herself so that Iroha and Kasuri could continue on without losing any time, Namasu was determined to solve the collapsing room puzzle even if she was alone, and Omomuro allowed herself to experience death multiple times just so she could pass any information she learned onto Toshusai. Just about everyone that Iroha interacted with in this arc was in some way sacrificing themselves for the sake of someone else, something that doubtlessly resonated with Iroha

Iroha's goal has been complete victory through unification and solidarity, but everyone else keeps trying to pick themselves off. This is exactly what he's been wrestling with ever since the overseas trip gone wrong; all of his friends sacrificed themselves for him, and now he's watching it all happen again. Oboro likely hit him the hardest, since that was the only one that was explicitly for his sake, but he surely recognized that it was happening all around him as well

The problem isn't really the sacrifices, though, it's the lack of cohesion. His team didn't just sacrifice themselves for him, they elected him as the only one to survive without considering what he wanted. Without considering the effects that would have on him going forward. Iroha didn't just watch his friends die, he was left alone. Abandoned, in a sense. Sure, he was saved, but his salvation came with the profound anguish of isolation - did he achieve salvation through damnation, or damnation through salvation? What's the point in surviving if you're going to feel guilty about it?

Kasuri's dilemma of whether to use the pledge wasn't a matter of self-sacrifice, but a matter of solidarity. Sure, it's proof that everyone has decided to stand by Iroha no matter what, but that's everyone else rallying behind him rather than actually being with him. That may seem like silly semantics, but it's a very Nisio Isin philosophy. Iroha's desire here is to face his survivor's guilt; to make amends to the people who were sacrificed for his sake, to feel what they felt and get his just desserts for leaving them behind. If everyone bailed him out here by saying they don't care that he left people to die, that'd be like saying they don't care how he feels about it. That his guilt is invalid, that he should just get over it

But even if the court found in his favor there, the weight would never be lifted. Iroha would never feel like he's been forgiven, just that his opinion has been swept under the rug and that no one understands what he's feeling

This is why Kasuri's final decision to accept the verdict with Iroha is what ultimately saved him: it's not that Kasuri was willing to sacrifice herself, it's that she was willing to stay. She didn't cut and run by fighting on after his death, nor did she ask him to cut and run by offering to die in his place, but instead declared for all to hear that she would stay by his side regardless of the outcome. If victory through sacrifice is meaningless, then defeat through solidarity must be meaningful

And meaningful it was, as it not only moved Dekiai's heart, but lifted the weight from Iroha's. It is important to note that Dekiai did not find Iroha not guilty, but instead, she suspended his sentence - in other words, she did not tell him that he was innocent and invalidate his feelings of guilt, but left it up to him to live in a way that would make him feel like his friends' sacrifices weren't in vain. With friends like Kasuri vowing to stay by his side, though, I think there's a good chance that he understands the value that his continued life holds, at least on some level

So with that character arc complete, what would have been the point of going through the other 248 floors from a narrative perspective? The final challenge was clearly always meant to be this 13-way battle, so no one else was going to be eliminated on the way here, and any further one-on-one interactions we could get were probably being saved for this battle anyway. Nisio skipped tons of floors on the way to 250, so it's not like he ever implied he was planning on showing all 500 floors in the first place. The virtual Cipher Academy was always meant to be set-dressing, a means for the cast to have these interactions, so asking to see more of it is kind of like missing the trees for the forest. Sure, the dungeon sounded cool and unique, and I wish it had been a bit more visually interesting in and of itself, but what we got was a compelling, character-driven narrative rather than one that was mired in world-building for its own sake, and in my opinion that's one of Nisio Isin's strengths as a writer

Iroha's trial was the conclusion of this section of his character arc, how his feelings of guilt isolate him emotionally from the people who care about him. The completion of that character arc is what proves he's ready for the final battle of the current story arc, so putting off that conclusion for the sake of showing off the ideas Nisio came up with for the different floors would just be needless stalling that could only serve to dampen the emotions we feel from this character-based conclusion. I'm willing to bet that the game that's to be played next chapter will somehow be informed by the lessons that Iroha has learned here, so separating the two events would likely be counter-intuitive

Or I'm wrong and Cipher Acadmey's been canceled and Nisio just wants to get through this arc at least. Time will tell, but until we're explicitly told that it's over, I'm confident that this is Nisio being Nisio

Until next time

[seventeenlovesthree]

Quick analysis on how Taichi and Daisuke are similar - but still very different.

This will not be a full analysis, but I’ve been wanting to compare them for ages and finally got around to write down a few of my thoughts.

What do they have in common? 

Not going too much into detail in regards to the fact that they're both TURNED into designated leaders/goggleheads, because that's just the main premise that Digimon keeps using, even if all goggleheads are distinctively different, despite sharing certain attributes. 

Daisuke is the heir of the Crest of Courage, hence the narrative tells us he is Taichi’s heir as well - they both have the tendency to jump right in(to trouble) and to sacrifice themselves for the sake of protecting their friends. Despite them having their moments of fear and self-doubt, they will act when it matters, with their hearts on the right spot. Both of them are learning that there’s a fine line between blind actionism and doing something for the sake of doing the right thing. Also despite knowing that there are moments when it cannot be avoided, they both hate to let sacrifices happen (thus they tend to sacrifice themselves instead).

They're both brothers of sisters, even if we know that plays out VERY differently, with Taichi being the protective big brother (who is traumatized for having almost killed his sister, resulting in self-esteem issues towards the fear of "hurting others by being inconsiderate") and Daisuke being the annoyed little brother (who is developing competitive self-esteem issues because of it, feeling "inadequate and having to prove himself all the time"). 

They love football and see it as a valuable thing in their lives; Taichi uses football metaphors in the novels all the time and even if it isn't implied in the same way as it is for Yamato, giving it up must have been painful (hello there, depression, leaving your hobbies behind). For Daisuke, it's also something he pulls his self-esteem from, a.) by wanting to be as good as his senpai, b.) maybe even impressing him and his other friends and c.) generally having fun despite its competitive nature (which we see when he approaches Ken - sure, he wants to win and he was beaming after getting praised by him, but in general - it's just a lot of FUN).

They actually do not exactly claim to be leaders, but are seen as those by their respective groups; while Taichi is the better strategist when it comes to conducting plans, he trusts his intuition a lot and - especially the older he gets - thinks things through more. Daisuke DEFINITELY trusts his intuition and gut more the longer the series goes on, but just like Taichi, his will inspires the others and so they kinda naturally gravitate towards thinking of them as leaders (even if that takes time in both cases).

What differentiates them? 

Despite both of them having self-esteem issues as mentioned above, the root-causes and coping strategies are very different. Daisuke, as mentioned, really wants to prove himself (as a younger sibling who gets into fights a lot), he adores Taichi and Hikari. And he overcompensates by wanting to impress them at all costs, by talking big, wanting to win against Takeru in general, but also in terms of getting Hikari's affection. It may even become a self-fulfilling prophecy, because people call him names (implying him to be “dumb”), and he actually ends up doing dumb stuff because of it. So as soon as he finds another purpose (such as integrating Ken into the group), all his good qualities eventually come through, because he thinks of somebody else first and doesn't want to prove himself there. He has a good heart, he may appear to be more simple minded, but it's because he actually values his simple, peaceful life and the people he surrounds himself with.

With Taichi, I may not want to repeat everything all over again, but we know he is afraid of hurting others, of being inconsiderate, making the wrong decisions and facing the consequences, thus getting him into a spiral, making him feel weak and like a coward; because he hurt Hikari, because he was told by Yamato repeatedly that he was doing things the wrong way, because he was the reason Sora got captured due to his own recklessness, etc. He IS (and learns to be more) considerate, but his actionism often gets in the way and (similarly to Daisuke), he may not always find the right words (yet), but he means well. He HAS to make decisions to snap out of all of that, and he is (probably?) aware of that due to his past experiences. So he should also know that he cannot (and shouldn't) do everything alone (as his strategies have often proven that relying on the others’ strengths is important, such as Yamato’s fighting prowess and Koushirou’s intelligence). Yet he has a tendency to burden himself with the pain on his own and isolates himself because of it. As much as he loves his friends (and suffers from the isolation), him upholding that mask for his own and their sake (especially as he gets older) is something he has to overcome.

(On a more “headcanon-y” note, I also still believe that Daisuke’s crush on Hikari was an extension of him kinda crushing on Taichi, but being in denial about it because "That's gay", and since Hikari was kind to him, he projected onto that, because "wow, a girl who is nice to me!!!!". Especially seeing how her older sibling is actually nice and protective instead of bullying her - and Daisuke aspiring to be like Taichi may actually have an influence on him wanting to protect Hikari as well. Additionally, you may argue that Hikari is also his type physically, since Ken has basically the same haircut, but is actually a guy. Of course Daisuke’s sexual orientation is presented to be hetero and Daiken will probably always just be fanon; however, Daisuke’s character development starts the moment he wants to get closer to Ken and abandons trying to impress Hikari, so his ambitions can technically be read as performative heteronormativity. But as mentioned, that is purely headcanon based and can be taken with a grain of salt.)

[crusherthedoctor]

Do you think Sonic games flip-flopping back and forth between "serious" stories and lighthearted stories have harmed the franchise or helped it? I believe the games constantly flip-flopping between tones has caused another large rift in an already fractured fanbase. So when a new game has a darker tone, you'll have Classic era fans upset because it isn't like the games they grew up with. And when a new game has a lighter tone, you'll have 2000's era fans get upset because it isn't like the games they grew up with. Sega and Sonic Team have unintentionally made things harder on themselves by not having a consistent tone, because now they have to cater to fans of both the lighter stories and "darker" stories. I personally lean more towards more lighthearted and simple stories when it comes to Sonic, but I wouldn't mind a "serious" story if it was well-written. Unfortunately, Sonic Team consistently struggles in the writing department and all their attempts at trying to tell a serious story only gets them laughed at, so I think they should just stick with lighthearted, simple stories because it requires less effort.

I think In order for serious moments to work, the story needs to have lighthearted moments mixed in. Balance is key here. Many fans of the 2000's Sonic games believe a story has to start off serious and remain that way for the entire game, but having a balance of lighthearted moments makes the darker moments stand out and hit a lot harder. If the story is just non-stop melodrama and seriousness from start to finish, hardly anything stands out and the more emotional or darker moments don't hit as hard as they need to. Everything just slips off your brain afterwards. Just look at Shadow the Hedgehog, a slog of over the top edginess and melodrama where no moment stands out (not even the few moments of good character writing), and when it does, it's all for the wrong reasons. Or look at Sonic 06, which has some of the same problems as Shadow, but not as extreme. Blaze's sacrifice is easily forgotten by most players and even the narrative itself, as Silver makes zero mention of her afterwards, not even in the last story. If the story itself doesn't care, why should the player? Another example is when Sonic dies on-screen, but this moment falls flat because it has zero build up and the whole story has been filled with melodrama, which is why Sonic's death prompted more laughs than shock or sadness from the audience. Shadow saying "If the world chooses to become my enemy, I'll fight like I always have." is remembered well but only by people who were fans of the character in the first place. To most casual players, this line doesn't stand out.

Compared to other problems born out of the divides in the community, I don't think this problem would be that hard to rectify. All they'd really need to do is be more consistent with maintaining a relatively balanced tone in the long term. Some people will still complain, but that'll always be the case.

This is why I keep bringing up Tumblr's recent overcorrection with wanting everything to be edgy for edgy's sake because "at least it's not S A N I T I Z E D". Because when that mentality is left unchecked, we get them declaring the zombot arc Peak Writing, and we get them aggressively pushing for Maria to get shot onscreen.

[theoriesbrainrot]

The similarities of Todoroki Touya and Bakugo Katsuki: Continued

Note: You can read this meta on your own, you don't need to read the first part to understand it. However, the first part does add more info about this dynamic. The first time I saw this scene, I was immediately reminded of how Katsuki told All Might he was never going to accept defeat, even if it meant dying. The frantic expression, the desperation, the sheer rage, all reminded me strongly of Katsuki. Just like Katsuki, Touya is prideful. He is obstinate and temperamental. He continuously pushes himself far beyond his limits even when everyone warns him of the consequences. He continues surviving and thriving, even when everyone expects him to die. To me, Touya is the very epitome of "never give up" just like Katsuki represents victory. The two times Katsuki comes close to death, it is made in sacrifice to another person and for a cause he believes in. Touya/Dabi also faces death twice, but he faces it due to the actions of others and his own self destructive rage. Notice how different the consequences are between them. The first time Katsuki almost dies, someone else heals him completely. The first time Touya almost dies, someone else heals him, but not completely. Katsuki lashes out at everyone, desperate to get back to Izuku. Touya lashes out at everyone, desperate to get back to his dad. But both find themselves being thoroughly ignored by said person. Endeavor acts like he's moved on, and Izuku won't even talk to Katsuki. This enrages both, and both are determined to command said person's attention again. Katsuki does so by saving Izuku, meanwhile Dabi does so by attacking Endeavor's favorite child. The second time both nearly die, they are on their own. Katsuki dies alone on the battlefield, for the sake of winning. Touya seemingly dies alone on the battlefield, for the sake of winning one more time. However, Touya/Dabi comes back to life, rage carrying him forward once more. Other people have hinted at his quirk having a phoenix aspect to it, and while that is not the focus of this meta, I find it an appealing idea. It would explain why Dabi alone breaks the rules of "characters who work alone don't win" so often. Especially with his tendency to never give up on anything he puts his mind to. When he seemingly dies the second time in the manga, he's kept out of the picture for a long time before finally appearing unexpectedly. With Katsuki, the narrative has hinted that he'll be stuck for a bit before being revived. However, whereas Dabi's body was left alone and abandoned, someone takes notice of Katsuki and seeks to help him. While Dabi is able to keep himself alive, he suffers every time he does. He becomes increasingly bogged down by his failing quirk whenever he tries to operate alone, only staying in the battle out of sheer spite. With both during their second "death" the story has hinted that their quirks are evolving. Dabi's quirk is rapidly reaching new heights and he's kept going in the battle past any rational extreme. Katsuki's quirk showed signs of still evolving, even as he was testing out his new limits. He even gave signs of tapping into ofa at the end. There's a moment in Dabi vs Shoto's fight that particularly reminded me of Katsuki:

The way Dabi calls Shoto a damn golden boy automatically reminded me of the way Katsuki always called Izuku a damned nerd. Same type of tone, same type of reluctantly impressed disdain. Along with this, there's another scene that parallels Deku vs Katsuki Part 2.

Just like Katsuki used to disparage Izuku constantly, telling him he'll never become a hero, Dabi repeats the same words to Shoto. He spends the entire time raging at everything Shoto was given but never took advantage of, telling him that clearly people had spent too long coddling the kid and it was time for someone to tell Shoto the truth. The fact that Dabi considers Shoto to be coddled speaks volumes to his mental health honestly. This battle and it's arguments parallel Deku and Katsuki's arguments in many ways. How Deku was fine taking the pain but hated it when Katsuki took it out on others, how Katsuki always hated Deku out of insecurity and jealousy, how Katsuki hated Deku but Deku adored Katsuki. NEXT: FRIENDSHIPS Just like Katsuki, Touya has trouble opening up to and being friends with the league. Out of all the villains, he's the one who keeps people at arm's length the most. He is shown displaying empathy a couple times, but they are hard to find. Speaking of friends, there's a comparison here I want to point out: When Kirishima becomes depressed thinking about his past and his poor chances of going far, Katsuki's the only one who decides to make him feel better and points out everything he has done well. When Toga visits her old home and is feeling depressed over the past and her failed attempts at love, Dabi of all people is the one to ask if she's alright, telling her that the world won't care if they laugh or cry, so it's better to have a good time. Even so, he still does her a favor and burns the house so they don't have to see it anymore. Coming from anyone else, this seems like a fairly miniscule moment of empathy, but coming from Dabi it seems like one of the few times where he actually went out of his way to help someone.

Just like Kirishima, Toga is a bubbly and affectionate person who Katsuki and Dabi initially disliked. Katsuki insults Kirishima while Dabi does the same, calling her a maniac despite the hypocrisy. However, as time goes by both find themselves unexpectedly warming up to these unfailingly cheerful characters over time. Every time I go looking for Touya and Katsuki comparisons it seems like I find more and more. Even if Katsuki never interacts with Dabi, I think their narrative arcs parallel each other strongly.

[rappaccini]

There's just so much wrong with gwiles as a pairing, yeah it sucked in the comics but the movies aren't much better despite what the fans try and tell you. It's lowkey forced. Why does gwen have to be shoved back in the box of being Spiderman's love interest and why is Miles not getting his own original stories? Like there's so much to Unpack

Like one thing the movies did is completely erase the characters who are important to their respective stories? Gwens important relationships such as the maryjanes (mj especially cause hello they have so much going on), cindy, HARRY, they completely erased Harry from the story all together, are non existent. Miles's friends from the comics, Ganke, his best friend is practically a stranger, Barbara, Tiana. He also has a bunch of other superhero friends. But they had to erase them in order to push the whole "isolation from everybody but each other" thing which is gross but...sacrifice important key characters for the sake of their precious ship I guess! I just hate it!

hm i've got mixed feelings about this.

there's only so long a movie runtime can be, and given how packed atsv was, there's a limited amount of time that could've been spent on miles and gwen's social circles. gwen especially because this is still Miles's Movie. it's a movie, not an ongoing comic, so you have to condense a lot to stay efficient. and since the point of this trilogy is to be about the spiderverse and explore lots of different universes (you can't make movie one all about the spiderverse and say 'no more of that!' in movie two; once itsv was decided, it was a given that atsv and btsv would have to be multiverse movies too), the tradeoff is we only have so much time to spend in each.

and fwiw, i think gwen and miles having trouble relating to other kids and closing themselves off makes sense. they're two teenagers who've been through trauma that they think kids their age can't relate to. it's true to character for them to withdraw, and vital to the plot, so those vulnerabilities can be preyed on by the spider society.

but. there are some differences in the ways their supporting casts were cut down in the movie.

for gwen,

idk which cindy you're referring to so i'll touch on both: earth-65 cindy moon not being in gwen's backstory i'm fine with, bc that'd require diving deep into how gwen got her powers and We Don't Have Time For That. we also don't need it either, because the source of gwen's powers is irrelevant to her plotline. it gets a pass.

earth-616 cindy moon, aka the superhero gwen is friends with, being cut, is a mixed bag. it's not fucking great that gwen has no female friends anymore. it would've been so easy to swap pav out with a female hero who could've served the same purpose in the narrative.

the loss of harry osborn though, is a problem. cutting him out of gwen's backstory scrubs out the incel aspect of peter's character, which in turn removes gwen's emotional baggage about being in a relationship. removing him also gets rid of a romantic rival for miles, and the obvious path through which gwen gets her symbiote (which i bring up because gwen's comics have a whole meta subplot where a writer stand-in is angry that she's venomized because it would make her unattractive to miles. gwen not having her symbiote, and therefore her actual powerset, keeps her appealing and makes sure she can't outshine miles in a fight scene).

as for the mary janes.... gwen being cold and hostile to them at this point is true to the comics (as a result of grief and guilt, since peter was their friend too, and she was directly responsible for his death) and makes sense. a teenage girl dealing with a serious loss she can't tell people about is going to withdraw and be snappish.

em jay having a small role works for that point in gwen's arc. plus her and gwen's friendship is a rollercoaster so they didn't actually have to change anything about their dynamic.

gwen not being friends with the girls outside the band is the issue. gwen's end monologue pretty much confirms she doesn't see the mary janes as friends or feel like she could ever belong with them, and that she needs a new band that Does Understand Her. like, the shift in gwen's preference is from 'all-female band made up of alternate versions of peter's various girlfriends, who in this world get to be gay with each other and bond without a guy motivating them at all' to 'band that's almost entirely dudes and two-girls-who-are-only-here-for-a-boy, that gwen only forms for a male love interest'...

the vibe's that gwen gave up on being her own person and finding companionship with other girls and women, crawled back into the male gaze, and is relying entirely on that to give her validation. thanks i fucking hate it!

as for miles,

ganke being built up as his best friend who knows his secret at the end of itsv and then proceeding to do... nothing in atsv is just odd (like, at least bring him to the party so he can cover for you while you're stuck on the train with the cakes?). i guess there's a chance he could factor into btsv given that the spot's fucking his world up and he knows his roommate's said villain's nemesis, but who knows. either way, yeah. ganke feels underutilized so far.

however the exclusion of his superpowered friends, the champions especially, makes sense. if the central theme of this story is that miles feels lonely in his own world and wants to find other superhumans, if he has an entire team of superhumans at home, he has no need to seek out the spider society. therefore, his friends can't be here or we have to totally rework the plot.

the same applies for barbara. there's little time to spend in miles's world before he jumps universes, so she wouldn't have much of a presence, and the story's stronger if she isn't around so his isolation is consistent.

also in terms of timing, it took 5ish years to make atsv. the script was probably completed before tiana toomes was even created. she's a very new character. (just look at how gwen's still calling herself spider-woman in the movie, when she's been ghost-spider in the comics for four-ish years; there's a creative lag). so leaving tiana out gets a pass from me because the writers can't time travel or see the future.

[spiderverse miles could still have a unique love interest, but to keep the story consistent and efficient, she'd have to be a fellow spider-hero. margo kess is easily the best option here. i doubt she'll be more than a bit player in btsv, but my tinfoil hat fever dream is that she's miles's mj and that's why their spider-senses went nuts around each other.]

so the difference i'm seeing is that gwen's supporting cast was gutted to make her dependent on a romance with miles, while miles's was gutted to make him ready to engage with the plot as a whole. gwen's a part of that, but even if she weren't around, he'd still be longing to reunite with peter and find a team of heroes to join.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[2n2n]

selfishness.

the Aidairo-declared theme of volume 18.

我欲を知りたい18巻、よろしくお願いします

Volume 18 is about coming to know selfishness.

A beautiful theme for this volume. I want to unpack it! So, let’s read it together....

Selfishness, in Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun.... is not actually a negative thing. Characters suchas Hanako and Teru, live their lives in atonement or dedication, in miserable discipline. It’s not often available to them, in a broad sense, selfishness. Hanako and Hakubo are two beings who long struggle to understand their own feelings... 

don’t express themselves emotionally towards others......and are only just recently, understanding desire within their hearts.

the volume opens with Yashiro having pulled Hanako away from Teru and Akane's assault.

She slaps Hanako, who is attempting to selflessly let himself die, in his plan to extend her life, risking himself. He sounds selfless, but...

....then he expresses a profoundly selfish desire.... the desire to impart influence onto Nene's life, to get to own for himself, the satisfaction of it being his action.

...a possessive urge he has been subtly feeling (towards Kou in particular) since Picture Perfect... 

A possessive feeling.

.....and then, while knowing it is truly for Nene’s own good to stay away from him.... he experiences the other mysteriously selfish emotion, of being happy to see her. An emotion he cannot understand. He feels he’s sick, or crazy, for how it makes no sense to feel.

Hanako has lived in atonement for years. He owes his entire existence to his guilt, and duty. He has never prioritized his own desires, as a mystery beyond being a pervert. His dogma itself dictates that as a Kaii, satisfaction is impossible for him. It is not his lot in life, to be fulfilled in a way he was not in his life.

As a Kaii, Hanako has never asked to be happy, or asked what it would take to make himself happy.

Neither has Hakubo.

nobody asks this of Kaii.

Kaii exist to fulfill the expectations of the humans around them, and disappear if they do not abide them. Their mythology is inherently without rights.

of course, Hakubo also lived his life without any selfish desires, simply carrying out the orders of the village.

and then, carrying out his duties as a Mystery, in the same loyal manner Hanako has. ...perhaps actually more diligently.

...one could say that Sumire expresses more known, willful, selfish desires... imposing a narrative onto Hakubo, insisting despite his resistance on their relationship, and finally, expressing her ultimate dream of control, in her own life of destined sacrifice for the ‘greater good’ of the village’s prosperity.

in her own way, not dissimilar from how Nene’s pressing desires and romantic heart, seeks and states that which Hanako himself cannot dream of. It is Hakubo and Hanako who are lost to their own wants.

in the end, Hakubo honors Sumire’s wish, still abiding her dreams and wishes, even cluelessly so, after her death.

even now, it is Sumire’s desires being carried out... not Hakubo’s own.

His final thoughts are not with respect to what he wanted, were not selfish at all... they were wishing still to have done more for Sumire.

...Hakubo’s desire to save Sumire mystifies him... as he’s never wanted anything of his own accord. He has never thought, “I want to do this thing.” He has simply said “ok.” to the commands of others.

His first desire of his own heart, is to save Sumire. But he doesn’t understand this selfish desire-- because Sumire herself didn’t ask it of him. Hakubo does not know how to want to do anything.

for Hakubo’s story.... he would have to forego the spoken will-- the autonomy-- of his charge-- and choose, for his own sake, to take her fate into his own hands.

An inversion of that, Hanako foregoes the spoken will of Nene, removing her fate from her own hands, and refusing to let her join him as a Kaii, subjecting her to his will for her to remain alive, regardless of what she is saying.

Nene is saying she wishes to die, while Sumire is not asking to live. To make Sumire or Nene live.. involves wanting that for their own selfish reasons. The desire to have them alive, for themselves.

Tsukasa is keen to point out this disregarding of Nene’s own choice. 

and he is not going to leave it at that-- it isn’t enough to simply say what you don’t want to happen, what you don’t want Nene-chan to say.

It’s time to consider what you want her to say.

Tsukasa is right, Nene-chan is saying what she wants, and Amane is disregarding it, for his own reasons.

and maybe Tsukasa has a good reason to feel sorry for Nene-chan, as a person who got to experience the unrivaled joy of giving up his life all for Amane. 

Both Tsukasa and Nene-chan are happy to throw their souls into oblivion for Amane. Nene-chan is being barred from it.

The honor of stating this volume’s thesis goes to TSUKASA!

blushing and wet-eyed with excitement! How long has Tsukasa been waiting for Amane to express selfishness, personal desire? How long has Tsukasa waited for Amane to wish for something, in his long, bleak existence as a school mystery, devoid of dreams, devoid of a future, devoid of hope?

Perhaps this entire series has been Tsukasa attempting to stoke such an emotion in Amane,

given that the entire destruction of Yorishiro, and the construction of rumors, were all his personal orchestration. Tsukasa even oversaw the Misaki stairs as a black paper crane! He has been working for so long, perhaps just to see this.

Perhaps what God needs, and wants, to see.... is your selfishness!

We have had enough of Kaii and humans serving duty, and the law and order of this world being grimly carried out by stoic figures who cast aside their own dreams! Teru, Hanako, Sumire, Hakubo.... all of them, need to be broken free of their noble, suffering servitude to greater powers and some bogus honor of the systems in place!

Kaii forego their own whims, constantly! It is... their whole deal!

Having seen everything, can’t we all understand how a little selfishness could be a good thing, for such deeply abused and self-hating beings as those in our cast? Don’t we all want to see them indulge, fight the system, find happiness somewhere they were never meant to-- never asked to-- to carve that happiness out of the cold hard miserable world, all for themselves!?

This volume’s theme is selfishness... the selfishness that would enable you to maybe, finally, escape a lifetime of misery! The selfishness you deserve, after being held down your whole life!! THATS WHAT I THINK, AND, IT RULES!

I’M EXCITED TOO, TSUKASA!!!!! AND I WANT TO KNOW TOO, NENE-CHAN!!

We ALL want to see what Amane’s dream is! We all want to know what Amane truly wants, if only he could let himself imagine his own happiness, his own fulfillment! He has spent so long being noble... let’s hope we can see him being completely unrestrained.

[elkian]

So I’ve been going back over Homestuck a bit and something has struck me:

Why does Spidermom exist? (Worldbuilding-wise, not narratively.)

Like, narratively, yes, she’s huge. She had an enormous impact on shaping Vriska’s personality and thus character arc, which in turn had similarly massive effect on much of the narrative. (Between her, Mindfang-via-journal, and Doc Scratch, Vriska was functionally raised by these three and no WONDER she’s so fucked up... anyways.)

However, from a worldbuilding standpoint, we have a giant monster that explicitly feeds on (young) trolls. As far as we can tell, she either cannot or will not consume anything else. Maybe she can eat adults, but we’ll cross that bridge in a moment, hopefully.

Spidermom is from a predator species that eats trolls. She’s functionally the equivalent of handing a baby to a tiger and expecting a functional member of society in return rather than like... the tiger acquiring a taste for human flesh. She should have been hunted, possibly to extinction, not made (actively or passively) part of the lusus system, however it may work. I can sort of see her being a stealth reverse-cuckoo situation but... surely someone would have noticed.

Vriska at one point refers to killing, in her 6 sweeps/13 years of life, thousands of fellow trolls to feed this thing. Thousands! Even if we’re being conservative and calling it 2,000 max, that’s still, what, a troll every day for 6 years solid? That is bonkers.

And it’s not like the Empire is getting a good troll adult out of the bargain! Sure, the Serkets end up being driven, ruthless, and clever... but Mindfang participated in the rebellion that lead to Alternia being forbidden to adults and Vriska personally decimated her social group and endangered them for the sake of her own ego. Neither of these are boons to the war machine or even the sparse troll society we have at the end of the Sgrub session.

Now, Glybgolyb is a slightly different story, but Doc Scratch claims he deliberately planted her! She’s not natural to the Alternian environment, it seems, and even then... it’s heavily implied if not outright stated that orphaned trolls are culled by default, but it’s similarly so that adult trolls don’t keep their custodians once they leave Alternian soil. If the Empire chilled out (lmaoooo) for all of .5 sec, they could at least add those trolls to the ranks of cannon fodder.

But a dead troll is a dead troll. And yeah, it’s not exactly like Alternian society is particularly tender or merciful, particularly to the young, but they need trolls to reach adulthood so they can kill and/or die in battle as the Empire sweeps the galaxy. There has to be a cold calculus of basic input-output or they would have gone extinct long before the Glub.

Sure, it makes sense for Lusii to be able to kill trolls, to protect their wards and themselves, but one regularly dining on them is an entirely different matter.

So why the fuck is Spidermom here? Vriska is a cheater with a cheat power, it’s not really a fair or worthy judgement of her opponents’ skill, to die to her. Hell, some would consider Tavros and Aradia to be the best sacrifices to her altar of dinner time, but they both survived most FLARP sessions with her, and the one Aradia didn’t live much past, she was fucking disintegrated, not leaving behind, as far as we can tell, much of a body for the table.

So yes: She’s key to the narrative, particularly in shaping Vriska’s destiny and personality, but if you think too hard about it, it makes no sense why an avid consumer of trolls has been granted the position of guardian of a troll. I suspect if Vriska slacked off and/or died (one possibly preceding the other), Spidermom would wander off on her own rampage and kill plenty of trolls herself. Unless she doesn’t actually need to eat that often and was just tormenting Vriska this entire time.

(Obvs the most obvious answer is “Hussie thought it’d be sick and moved on bc this story is enormous” I just overthink a lot lol)

[haleigh-sloth]

Sort of to bring some positivity in the situation, NOT downplaying anyones opinion on Spinner dying since I see the flags too… But a strong part of me believes that he will survive!

Twice was already a tragic death, one that made sense to the story dying in trying to protect his friends which was a key part to his character. But Spinner? Killing him narratively wouldn’t make sense, he has no self worth and if not resolved, his death is just straight up tragic. Even through self sacrifice if it were to go that direction, it really wouldn’t resolve his character since it his lack of self worth causing the sacrifice, not a choice similar to that shield guy dying in saving Aizawa. I just don’t see MHA as that type of story to kill ANOTHER character after Twice, who already filled that role of dying for people he thought as friends. I think Spinner’s arc will wrap up to him realizing he is worth something without needing to fixate on others, and maybe a character who assists in saving Shigaraki (not being the key element of course, but I’m on the mend on this theory since reading these recent chapter) and become a character who leads the heteromorphs on the right path of seeking equality. It is a hopeful story after all, and killing off Spinner would negate that. But I could be wrong, and will have to see where the story goes, but I’m pretty hopeful on his fate!!

Personally, I am not convinced he'll die.

I never really was. And that's WHILE I've been eyeing those red flags for months, saying he's gonna unintentionally make things worse with the best intentions at heart, and then use his position as the face of a movement that he keeps rejecting--despite how closely it is associated with his personal issues--to help things in the end. That's still my prediction.

If he were to die, it'd be for the reasons transhawks listed in his post. And I agree 100%.

But right now, I'm just not convinced he'll die.

This chapter we saw Spinner remember Tomura as a regular guy, on his level. Not above, not some god, not just some pathway to a destructive dream with a blank horizon. To me, that's progress on the "stop idolizing people and putting them above yourself" front. He is still lacking in the self-worth front. I feel like because he passed out this chapter (at least, that's what it said happened) maybe he'll be left to face the aftermath of the rioters stopping in their tracks, and he'll figure some things out about himself through that. Idk. But he's got to, because he's in the same dark hole of spiraling self-hatred that Tomura, Toga, and Touya are all in. He's gotta get out of it too.

Yeah, I think he'll help. I've said it before that there are a lot of people assigned to the "save Shigaraki" task force. Aizawa is in there, Bakugo too, Spinner and Kurogiri, Izuku also. But my personal guess is he'll help by becoming a hero alongside the rest of the League not for Tomura's sake, but for his own. "For Tomura's sake" is the same shit AFO and Ujiko parrot when they talk about Shigaraki. Repeating the same language and being associated with it is not good--so I'm assuming that the end goal is for Spinner to help his friend by deciding to help himself first.

My hang up is him holding onto that hand. Do I see potential/a likelihood for the hand to be a positive thing for Shigaraki later? Absolutely. Is it right now though? Can it possibly be right now? Absolutely not. If you look at what we know about Shigaraki, he can't view that hand differently til he views himself differently. That's his biggest obstacle, and I feel like that's Izuku's challenge to counter that. His first impression of Shigaraki was that he destroys because he wants to. Funny enough, Shigaraki thinks that about himself too. They need to work that shit out.

As I said above the League members are all in the same spiraling hole of self hatred and despair and I don't see any of them, even Spinner, being able to pull Shigaraki out of that when they can't pull themselves out of it. Can't save someone from drowning if you are ALSO drowning. And they are all drowning.

[seasaltmemories]

I posted 3,536 times in 2022

85 posts created (2%)

3,451 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@staroftara

@xivu-arath

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I tagged 1,013 of my posts in 2022

#penguindrum - 169 posts

#seasalt talks - 69 posts

#princess tutu - 48 posts

#revolutionary girl utena - 47 posts

#fruits basket - 45 posts

#kingdom hearts - 34 posts

#berserk - 32 posts

#arcane - 32 posts

#ahiru - 30 posts

#arc v - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and recently i've gotten to come across stories that actually have a variety of different couples and was so stunned that we could actually

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Thinking about the parallels between Ringo and Kanba

While their direct interactions in the narrative are limited, by the end of the story their arcs mirror each other in similar ways.

First off, out of the main four, they are the most active protagonists, Ringo drives much of the first half of the story with her plans to seduce Tabuki while Kanba's fall from grace ends up fueling the climax, in contrast to Shouma and Himari's passivity and fatalism, they are the ones who chase after love as described in the Frozen Heart scene, when faced with their family failing apart, they choose to get their hands dirty and do whatever they can to save them

Not only does this drive them towards criminal and unethical behavior though, it also gives them both a tendency for delusion. Ringo believes that following Momoka's planned future means her parents will get back together. Kanba thinks bombing a subway will save his terminally ill sister. The more obviously futile their path becomes, the more they cling to their fantastical beliefs, bc realizing the truth is beyond their emotional capacity, in fact it takes again the more passive yet kind and morally-focused half of the quartet to ground them, often through a personal sacrifice

Yet as prone to danger as this activeness makes them, it also provides them a bit of fluidity to the most common notions of the nuclear family, even while they long for that traditional structure. Both Himari and Kanba are adopted into the Takakura family, yet Kanba still keeps his ties to the Natsume family. Some of this can be attributed to Masako's pursuit of him, but it is telling that for all his ruthlessness, when he discovers Mario is also possessed by the Penguin hat/terminally ill, he gives up on retrieving Momoka's diary. While he prioritizes the Takakura's he still extends his protective man of house role to Masako and Mario, even taking a bullet for the former and risking his entire goal of saving Himari

Meanwhile not only does Ringo learn to carry on Momoka's legacy in a less destructive way, but she becomes just as part of the Takakura household as the siblings themselves. It is telling that she first meets and befriends Himari as opposed to her love interest, Shouma. Being a part of the Takakura meal times provides Ringo the familial love she so desperately craves, and even with faced the impact of the Takakura parent's actions, she still chooses to align herself with them, even by the end choosing to take on a punishment herself for the Takakura's sake. While she does open up to meeting her father's new wife and kids, she chooses to be with the Takakura's just as much as the siblings chose to be with each other

Their fluidity and strong-wills might also explain how the two of them are able to interrupt the Princess of the Crystal's usual rituals. Multiple times, Kanba is allowed to linger in her realm and interact privately one on one with her, even going so far as to enter it through his own volition, rather than wait to be summoned. In contrast, not only does Ringo reject being eject from the Princess' realm but is able to fight back and even incapacitates her. Shouma can do little more whine and receive orders. Himari is an unknowing vessel. But Kanba and Ringo defy even a supernatural, semi-force of nature.

It's fitting they're both identified with the symbol of fire. Kanba is asked if he will burn himself until he is nothing but ash for Himari's safety. Ringo goes on to take on the flames of punishment for her during the finale. Perhaps they both possess a scorpion's heart, capable of poison and causing immense harm towards others, but also able to rekindle that selfishness into selflessness under the right circumstances

44 notes - Posted May 20, 2022

#4

No thoughts, brain has been replaced with a penguin

53 notes - Posted March 23, 2022

#3

Hot Take: but as a fanfic writer I hate the attitude that the only way to transformative engage with a work through the written media is through fanfic

People go on and on about how fanfiction gives mythology back to the masses and other really flowery pretentious things but like even before commercial IP existed, artist’s works weren’t just in response to one singular thing

Yes Paradise Lost uses Biblical figures, but honestly what it is more in conversation with than the Bible itself is with epics like the Odyssey, Aeneid, Beowulf, or even Milton’s own experience with the English Civil War. He wanted to create a modern epic for the English language and his culture specifically, the Biblical backdrop was just equivalent mythological base that those other works used

Yes the Aeneid is a commissioned sequel to an already popular work, but the most powerful connections to Homer comes through Virgil’s original characters like Dido. Rather than plop down just any already established "delaying seductress" like Calypso or Circe, he crafts a sympathetic and compelling figure that humanizes Rome's greatest enemy and gives complexity and conflict to Aeneas' fated conquest

Ppl argue for the end of copyright by saying we can get queer Harry Potter and Star Wars adaptations quicker but like why must we be so tied to fundamentally limited texts? Why cant we use those works as springboards for how we think about wizarding schools and space mystics without feeling beholdened to play in another creator's world

For example this video recounts all of New Hope purely by using footage from Lucas' influence. Yet despite this unavoidable lineage, Stars Wars is not Flash Gordon or Kurosawa fanfiction. It stands on the shoulder of giants and wears its influences on its sleave but it is able to go to incredible far off galaxies by being an original project

Transformative media is about more than just namedropping an iconic character or retelling a story from a different POV. Literature and media is always in conversation whether you want it to be or not. Dont think the only way to comment on your latest passion is to demurely play with your dolls in the creator's shadows

62 notes - Posted September 24, 2022

#2

For those of y’all familiar with Hold Me Now, the amazing editor Nekokitkat has put out a Princess Tutu AMV to rival it

68 notes - Posted November 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Didn’t notice until I rewatched Penguindrum with a friend, but in both Kanba and Himari’s flashback episodes (5 and 9 respectively) one of their parents guards them from a flying/falling mirror.  My first response was to see this as a way the show was planting the symbol of broken glass, considering both the child broiler and the finale rely on that imagery.  But on top of getting your brain to connect shards of glass with pain/sacrifice, i think those moments go further in characterizing how Kanba and Himari became the people they are at the start of the series.

In episode 5, Kanba was chasing after his father during a typhoon, while he tried to get Himari to a hospital, since no ambulances were available.  When the mirror comes flying, not only does his father immediately shield him from the blow, but soon afterwards he gets up again and instructs Kanba to follow him.  The next morning, when Himari is safe in the hospital, their father tells Kanba, “No storm lsts forever; but you can’t protect the people you love if you just wait for it to pass.”  This is also the first episode we see Kanba take jobs with the Kiga Group and promise to do anything to keep the family together.

In episode 9, Himari gets in a fight with her mother over not getting the right ribbon she needed for her audition.  During the altercation, a mirror falls and before it can hit Himari, her mother takes the blow instead.  In the hospital, they learn that she will be scarred for life.  Himari is overwhelmed with guilt, but when her mother wakes up, her only response is to be relieved that Himari wasn’t hurt or scarred either, especially if she is to be an idol someday.  Himari is visibly shaken by this unconditional forgiveness in the face of such a mistake.  In fact this episode is the first time in the series we see her act anything beyond the ever-cheerful, precious little sister.

Separately I gathered that these were formative experiences for the two.  But on closer inspection it is painfully obvious not just how deeply this affects their present day coping mechanisms (Kanaba the ever-strong provider who will bear every hardship, no matter the cost; Himari, the ever-patient saint who never complains and smiles even up to her dying breath) but also how gendered these responses on.  They learned each behavior from the parent that shared their gender, and it adds another way the Takakura is desperately trying to replicate the structure of a nuclear family, despite how incompatible it is with their needs.

We see these mechanisms come to a head several times.  During Tabuki’s little death game, Kanba risks losing his hand to keep Himari alive, while she steels herself to jump to her death with a smile to protect him in return.  While in the Kiga base, Himari begs Kanba to leave.  Yet Kanba swears to burn the world to ash because Himari is his world.  Once he leaves, Himari prays to have every good thing taken from her in exchange for Kanba being saved from a life of crime.

It is only during the finale, that any sort of resolution comes.  Himari for once expresses all the pain her life of tragedy has caused her, baring her soul for the world to see.  And Kanba similarly gives into all the burden he has bared and has to be taken care of and protected in turn.

112 notes - Posted March 15, 2022

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[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!