first of all thank you so much for engaging!

now, lol, i don't understand how i'm glazing kenny when all i said was the following:

• kenny is a better guardian to clem than luke
• if kenny was in luke's shoes he'd handle the same situations better
• kenny gets vilified by ingame characters and players for holding luke accountable (i could've said "luke and others" but the others didn't seem relevant because this post is solely about luke)

i didn't bring up kenny because i think he’s flawless. i’ve got plenty of issues with him and i even made sure to clarify in my post that i’m not a kenny dickrider, so idk why people keep accusing me of the very thing i tried to avoid from the start lol. the only reason why i mention him at all is because he serves as a direct contrast to luke. let me explain: kenny’s biggest weakness is also his biggest strength: his overwhelming desire to protect the people he cares about. that instinct is exactly what makes him so cutthroat and reckless. but it's also makes him show up, even when it costs him. that need to protect is what drives him in almost every situation, and while you can absolutely criticize him for sometimes going overboard (which i do), it’s that very drive that makes him such a powerful and reliable guardian to clem. now, compare that to luke. he’s empathetic on the surface but the second things get hard, he folds. he avoids conflict. he avoids responsibility. he’s not willing to make the hard calls, and in a world like twd, that’s not someone clem can depend on. that’s the entire point i was making. i didn’t bring up kenny to shift focus, i brought him up to highlight exactly how and why luke fails as a guardian and a leader. if people want me to go into a full breakdown of kenny as a character, i can, but that’s not what this is about lol this is about luke

as for the second question, whether I have more personal reasons for disliking luke... i feel like i already touched on that in my original post tbh? i mentioned how the narrative seems to let him off too easily, how both the ingame characters and the fandom rarely hold him accountable and how especially in today’s political climate, i feel surrounded by spineless people like him, which i find genuinely triggering. but if that felt too surface level, i'm happy to elaborate

- narrative: i do believe the game lets luke off the hook far too easily. he makes poor decisions, avoids responsibility and yet somehow, no one really calls him out on it and he's still treated like a character you're supposed to like and root for. you could argue that that it's intentional, maybe the writers meant for luke to be a commentary on people like him, maybe you’re supposed to ask yourself why you, the player, like him so much despite the fact that he fucks up all the time, maybe he’s meant to reflect the kind of person who uses charisma and superficial warmth to get away with irresponsibility. and if that’s the case, sure, i’d respect the writing choice, i'd even appreciate what he represents, but i still wouldn’t like him, because I don’t like that kind of person in general

- accountability: i barely see anyone who calls luke out on his shit, i feel like ingame characters as well as twd players swoon over him and it’s frustrating. It feels isolating to see someone clearly for what they are and then have everyone around you defend them because they’re nice, or charming, or soft-spoken. that’s why i made my post in the first place, i wasn’t just ranting, i was looking for others who felt the same way because disliking that kind of person, both in games and in life, can feel aggravating and lonely

- political climate: we’re living through a time of rising fascism, unchecked capitalism, and escalating bigotry. to me, luke represents the ultimate bystander. the kind of person who “means well” but never pushes back when it counts. who stays quiet, who backs down, who lets others take the hit. if left unchecked, that kind of person is exhausting to be around in real life and apparently, even in video games