#which is just unsatisfying for everyone involved

[ofswordsandpens]

imagine writing this. imagine writing percy increasingly losing himself to his anger and his resentment, sympathizing with Luke, spiraling, being immensely powerful, burning away at his mortality, and not knowing how to deal with any of it. Desperate for help and the one time he breaks down enough to try and get it (Jason) his worst thoughts and perceptions of himself are inadvertently affirmed. He never talks about it to Annabeth. He never talks about it to his mom. Oh but everyone is aware of it. Aware of his anger. Afraid of his anger. Concerned for him and by him. They give each other looks, worried, because they recognize what a danger he could be — to himself, to others, to the gods. But no one says anything, at least not to Percy. No one helps him. No one intervenes. They don't know how to, it seems. (Or maybe they're afraid to). And so they all pretend everything is fine. Percy pretends, bottling it all up inside until the pressure gets too great and that anger boils over and he loses it all over again. He's so desperate for normalcy that he'll take anything, believes in all of the sweet, sugar-spun tales of New Rome and looks away from the rotting underside. He lets himself believe that once he's there the gods will have to leave him alone, because he's done with it all, he's retired (and the gods always keep their promises don't they?).

Imagine writing what is arguably the well-plotted, compelling, and tragic beginnings of a fallen hero arc for percy and none of it being intentional.

RR's penchant for Percy to be explosively angry and scarily powerful, alongside characterizing him as jaded and resentful and desperate, mixed with his refusal to write any in-depth emotional resolution to any time Percy snaps has created an enthralling narrative of a hero just about to fall from grace. and it's all seemingly an accident.

Oh, and another, amazing, unintentional coincidence? if you're taking RR's word that Percy is still 17, that's also the age Luke was when he failed his quest, marking the beginning of his fall as a hero. Like. The narrative parallels are all there. And without any meaning for them to be.

[favroitecrime]

anyway thinking back to riley though. she was done incredibly dirty by the writers in a lot of ways. like i know we discussed at length the 'maya became riley' storyline (which.... another day) but we don't discuss how they belittled riley so, so much and never offered her a chance to grow in the eyes of those around her. her parents weren't even good parents to her lmao and a lot of their dismissive nature is brushed off for gags and giggles which is crazy. peak riley moments that come to mind were her in girl meets stem. in stem she's the brilliant riley who's top of the class right next to farkle and we can see why. she's brave, loud, proud, and refuses to be belittled and i needed more of that. anyway fuck you michael jacobs

[cruyuu]

What really gets me about the Sukuita dance is Sukuna's face, I know most of the fandom is using that to say "Sukuna hates it, Yuuji is forcing Sukuna to dance" but, even if we ignore that Sukuna could just... let go of Yuuji (he's so addicted to that waist man), I don't see the anger or hate everyone is saying he feels. To me, Sukuna looks distressed, surprised, and almost vulnerable. Especially his eyes. Idk I think he's emotionally conflicted about his feelings for Yuuji and that's what his expression is conveying 👀

Hi anon!

Ah... the dance and the vehement rejection of "Yuuji and Sukuna do care for each other". Idk why some people are so against them being happy tbh but then again I never understood this fandom.

It's a given that Sukuna can let go of Yuuji, anon. Hell, he doesn't have to do shit. If he's unsatisfied and he despises Yuuji, he would not be shown dancing with him. For that matter, why are we arguing about character's choices when Gege wrote these two and released this art? The right question is why in the hell's name, if this if that, did Gege think that drawing them dancing would be the right thing to do?

Unless...

If you know, you know lol.

Honestly, the takes to justify this art (that it totally means nothing) I've had seen just make me laugh. Some had also stated that Yuuji doesn't technically really care for Sukuna but that he's just too compassionate for his own good and therefore tolerates him which... hmm. Yuuji is compassionate, sure, but if he's as compassionate as these ppl claim he is then why didn't he also try to understand and accept Mahito too? Sukuna and Mahito were the same in Yuuji's eyes and both deserved death and yet look at here we are. Why when both live to cause ruin and also caused great suffering to Yuuji? It doesn't add up and never will. The dedication that Yuuji showed to Sukuna in the end was... rather something. He unleashed his Domain to try to change his mind and get him to come back and live with him. Like... how crazy is that? When he saw that couldn't work, he vowed to be there for him in the next life even if nobody accepted him. Like... what more do I have to say????

But, back to the art, yes! Sukuna does look he's five seconds from sprinting away in embarrassment or fear (if only he wasn't holding Yuuji's waist lol). He does appear like he's scared/uncomfortable rather than angry. Some of my friends had even pointed out that he appears similar to when he and Yuuji talked in 265 and how he was highly on guard there and just how much he tried to flee from saying anything that involves feelings. Maybe he's just uncomfortable with being open? Being caring? I wouldn't be surprised considering we know him as someone who never gave a fuck and now that he does... he doesn't really know how to process that.

[sloshr]

After watching through Side Order... I have a Few Thoughts.

[Spoilers ahead]

My Review of the Side Order DLC - Its little more than Gameplay.

Initial Opinion

- - - - - - - - - -

Overall; I like the gameplay mechanics initially, but the story absolutely feels lacking to me, imo. It feels like they were really banking on Side Order being Hard but... multiple of my friends finished it on their 2nd or 3rd run through the Spire.

That in itself isnt a problem! But... everyone felt sort of unsatisfied? There were no developments in the story, as we, Agent 8, were just assigned the task to Get to The Top of the Spire -> The Player Does That -> You beat a Boss -> Credits Roll (?)

On my watchthrough I literally said Please Say Sike 😭 because, dont take this poorly, but they were advertising Side Order as;

• Difficult (stated Multiple Times in basically every Trailer)

• Story Driven (You Uncover things as You Climb)

• Character and Lore Intensive (as shown by the trailers with all the concept art as well as promo art)

I dont feel like it was wrong to expect more based on how it was advertised.

But... if you complete the DLC in 1-2 runs, which is Very Much Possible, no buildup happens at all. The story was banking on the player struggling, and putting all the content behind repeat runs, which falls through and Doesnt really work/feel satisfying if the main goal is achieved in such a short time. I Feel like anyone who regularly plays Salmon Run will likely have a similar experience. And I feel kind of cheated? Because what we got was something that was Tell Not Show rather than the Show, Not Tell formula. And in my opinion, it really doesn't work as well at all. It puts all the major lore that the game has set up behind repetetive climbs (which never change btw, despite each climb being generated differently, its the same after a while) and you get about 1 Sentence of Exposition, with a Modlog from Marina if you are Lucky.

Side Order was (to me), after watching it all;

• Not Difficult, But Repetetive Gameplay (This easily runs people down, which would be fine if the tower had more than 1 setup or phase)

• Inital Story Setup with no complexities or stages. You climb the first Tower, Save Marina, Climb the Second Tower, Beat Order, and the credits Roll. In its most complex, you could fit what Side Order's Story is in 2-3 Sentences. Rather than Lore being revealed During the story, it feels Pushed to the Side as all of it is either in Text the player may never see (different climbs) or care to read (Marina's Mod Log)

• Use of Character Drops with no explaination / mention (The Agent 4 Boss, Anyone?) (This felt very Bait-y, with No Payoff)

Rating

- - - - -

If I had to give Side Order a Rating

4/10. At Best.

I am a bit disappointed with this as I feel like I was promised more, Storywise, and honestly a bit gameplay wise. I think it fails where other DLC has succeeded Due to being Built in such a way where anything engaging is stuck behind barely changing gameplay. It is not built in a way where the experience cant fail to show you whats important to the characters and the worldbuilding. It relies too much on telling you whats happening rather than the world showing you. Its too Simple, and It Doesnt Work, personally, in a series that contains Octo Expansion.

Which is Sad to me!! It had so much wasted potential and I really hope this isn't the last we're going to see of the concept, we get to see ideas actually built into the story, and... maybe find Agent 4.

Conclusion

- - - - - - - -

Tldr; Side Order had a good concept, but failed in execution for being simple and gameplay dependent, which was ultimately disappointing due to it being advertised as something more for all involved.

It was an alright attempt. The experience will just be known to me as... well. Baby's First Rouge-like. Nothing worldbreaking.

(PS, this isnt meant to be mean spirited or overly critical, I just love the Splatoon Series so I give it Tough Love. This is just my personal view on the DLC)

Thank you for Reading! Feel free to share or add any thoughts!

[destinysbounty]

This is by no means an original take but I shall say it all the same: the majority of Cryatalized's issues could be easily resolved by having both halves be separate seasons - or at the very least getting the s11 treatment where they are both distinct arcs that are connected yet not necessarily the same plot.

Hear me out. Plot threads from part 1 that never got resolved, like the new ninja thing orHounddog McBrag's arc or Nya's reunion being unsatisfying, and the ninja still technically being wanted criminals? Have that be its own separate, contained story. Even if they save Nya in the first few eps, they dont get to see her properly until the very end due to them being on the run, which makes that eventual reunion much more cathartic as well as giving them an emotional motive that still carries over from the season's beginning energy involving the ninjas' grief. We'd get more time to explore everyone's grieving processes in greater depth, and actually give Nya a satisfying arc of coping with her newfound powerlessness and feelings of guilt. Maybe it can be a more grounded storyline - corruption within Ninjago's justice system, or the prisons were planning to do something awful to them, or they realized the judge had no intention of ever letting Nya visit them again so they break out of jail just to reunite with her one last time. Or, yeah, maybe some villain shows up and they have to try and stop them. Either way, if Pt1 had been its own season then that would allow all the storylines and arcs for that part to be resolved much more satisfyingly.

Then, with the Nya and ninja crimonal situation resolved in one way or another, Part 2 as a separate season could have much more effectively dived into stuff like Overlord lore, Harumi's redemption arc, Lloyd's oni form, and general Garmafam drama.

On top of that, thia new two-season system would also fit into the Wildbrain season theme in a fun way. We had Fire and Ice, Electricity, Earth, Green, and then Water. The Pt1 season could then be Creation, with the Pt2 season being Destructuon.

Ultimately, the biggest problem with Crystalized was that it tried to bite off more than it could chew, and tried to juggle too many ideas at once without affording enough time for each of those individual storylines enough time to be effectively resolved. By splitting them into two distinct storylines with their own antagonists, climaxes, and resolutions, the plot threads introduced in both halves would have much more space to get the conclusions they needed.

[inbarfink]

I will admit that before F&C came out I was a bit worried about the Simon stuff. Because I was one of those folks who really appreciated Betty’s arc in ‘Adventure Time’ as a really beautifully tragic parable about obsession and love and the need to embrace change. 

Betty was giving so much of herself to this quest to bring back Simon as she remembered him, and despite every possible sign and omen telling her this was impossible and she should just accept him as the Ice King now - she succeeded. But in the process she was irrevocably changed into someone else and then into something else. Something who couldn’t even be on the same plane of existence as her beloved newly-restored Simon. 

I always thought it was a wonderfully executed arc, so I was kinda worried about the possibility of continuing it. I mean, I wasn’t against giving Betty and Simon a happier ending - I was just worried about how they could pull it off without weakening the themes of the original Betty arc. Or on the other hand, a story where the ‘Come Along With Me’ status quo for these two doesn’t change has the risk of coming out as, well, kinda unsatisfying. 

But I held out hope that, like many times before, the AT Crew were going to come up with another option I wasn’t even considering at the time and this one will just totally knock it out of the park and…. Yeah, that’s basically exactly what happened. They managed to turn Betty’s tragedy into something more bittersweet, not really by adding in a new resolution - just by taking her situation ever since the finale and recontextualizing it.

Because while expanding into an incomprehensible goddess of Chaos beyond any mortal understanding was certainly not a fate Betty ever wanted. It turns out becoming a grand cosmic being to which any mortal life, including Simon Petrikov, is a mere speck is….. Exactly what she needed to outgrow her unhealthy codependent obsessive mindset that got her in the situation to begin with.

After giving up so much of her life for his sake, because Simon was her ‘everything’ - now her perspective and existence has expanded so much that she can finally see Simon as she should’ve seen him from the start. Not as her entire life, but as a lovely and wonderful part of it.

I mean... obviously it would’ve been better for everyone involved if Betty didn’t need to become a literal eldritch abomination to get this perspective, but with all the various Bad Choices Simon and Betty have made over the course of their lives, this still adds a bittersweet streak of relief and peace to what was originally a very straightforwardly tragic ending for a character. 

[firestorm09890]

On Wuthering Heights and Canto VI (complete)

wow.

move over “Call me Ishmael” line, this is the Canto that most resembles its source book. We’ve got direct quotes! We’ve got scenes playing out like the original, beat for beat! I’m so glad I read Wuthering Heights beforehand, because unlike the previous ones where it just enhanced the experience a little (or even left me unsatisfied that they didn’t adapt certain things), I can’t imagine what it might’ve been like to not know everything in the book.

It’s kind of uncanny, actually, the extent to which things are similar. At the end of part 2 I was thinking about how there could’ve been a universe where the events of the book continued to stay the same if not for Erlking Heathcliff learning about the alternate worlds, and hey, after looking at so many universes of Catherine and Heathcliff making each other miserable, Dante (*edit: I wrote Cathy here first. I forgot it was Dante who saw it) found one where they’re happy together, both as ghosts, which! Is just the end of real actual Wuthering Heights!

We continued to have canon divergence in that way of "what if [character] had done something different?" which is always my favorite, even if some of it was just visions into a timeline where things were different. What if Heathcliff recognized he was just as bad as Hindley when it came to Hareton? What if Heathcliff and Cathy hadn't gone to spy on Thrushcross Grange that night? What if Heathcliff had stayed to listen to the rest of what Cathy had to say?

It's a tragedy, and Erlking Heathcliff, and our Heathcliff, and every other Heathcliff believed that it was the type where he was doomed from the start, because of who he is, and nothing can change that. But Dante knew that no, actually, it's a tragedy because of the choices that were made, and they can't be changed now, but you can change, and that's how you change your fate.

Individual characters

Not surprised Hindley distorted. I think this one had a lot more hate within him than the original

RIP Isabella Linton, I mean Isabella Edgar. She found someone who wasn't Heathcliff and her brother STILL stopped talking to her, and ended up being used by Erlking Heathcliff anyway

Speaking of Linton (Edgar). I don't have much to say because if I'm being honest I don't like him very much and everything he said was kinda overshadowed by his absolutely disgusting death. Catherine saying he looked like a prince out of a fairytale is very interesting considering how much he looks like the Black Swan guys

I'm sad Josephine died. It makes narrative sense but it would’ve been funny if she outlasted everyone else just like in the book

Cathy! There's a lot to say about Cathy but I'm not sure I can be the one to do it. I like her. I'm glad she was fucked up and we got our "everyone sucks here, you're perfect for each other, never involve anyone else in your business" but of course other people are getting involved because this is fucking Wuthering Heights

SPEAKING OF GETTING INVOLVED! NELLY!! I'm sooo glad they gave her the unreliable narrator trait, and managed to put the whole "burning letters" thing in there too. I'm also glad that when she did inevitably betray the team, she stayed exactly the same in personality. It's like she said herself, the happy moments in the past were real. I hope she stops associating with Hermann and goes to do something else with her life. Imagine finding out that in every universe you're wrapped up in Heathcliff and Cathy's bullshit

no Hareton or Catherine II, but Catherine I and Heathcliff did a fine job breaking the cycle themselves, I think.

there's probably more things to say about the Erlking and the Wild Hunt but I'm so tired

[rei-ismyname]

For your choose violence ask game, 1 and 12, please!

Hey there, this is fun!

1. Character that everyone gets wrong. Funnily every ask has included this, but I'm not going to repeat myself. Instead I'll find a different way to vagueblog about certain of my fellow X-Men fans.

Hank McCoy, aka the Beast, specifically his tenure as Director of X-Force. One group of people simply choose to ignore the run entirely (which is valid - if you don't enjoy then ignoring it can be healthy,) and many reduce him to war crimes memes, which is also valid. I'm definitely not defending his actions at all, but I don't often see the complicity and accountability of the Quiet Council and his subordinates mentioned. Ben Percy's choice to reboot him from factory settings was one I found unsatisfying as it short circuited any kind of trial or reckoning - and everyone else's guilt has been forgotten.

There was a teeny bit of subterfuge

Firstly, every single member of the Quiet Council was there for X-Force's formation and received reports. His first act was torturing a prisoner. There's no arguing that Krakoa needed some kind of security apparatus, but they failed to provide any guidelines, zero checks and balances. They told Hank to protect Krakoa by any means necessary and handed him a morally blank check. He chose to do the things he did but he was enabled by those who knew even after he left Krakoa. They chose to keep him out in the world as a deniable asset. Again, not to diminish his culpability but the monster that was Hank McCoy had many parents. The simple fact that he wasn't very effective at protecting Krakoa should have been cause for review, even if the ethical calculus is non existent.

His team didn't have all the information but they had enough to know better and were involved in the team in the first place. 'Just following orders' should be odious to modern readers, and even Jean chose to quit while leaving the system in place rather than do anything about it. They eventually moved to a better model, but after genocides were met with light scoldings I wasn't surprised at the degree of sunk cost fallacy Beast fell into. I wish we got a serious meditation on how you can't be the director of the CIA without damaging your soul irreparably, but I think we got enough to illustrate my point. I often wondered how he felt about everything - during the first Hellfire Gala he asked Xavier if he'd disappointed him and heard 'not yet' back - I got the impression he was outsourcing his morality and it's unsurprising that he was able to reconcile it with his actions.

Solicits for X-Men #8 show the President of Terra Verde at Graymalkin to see Beast punished for his crimes. It's a shame he can't remember any of it because it was done by someone else. There's no Quiet Council or Krakoa to punish anymore, and I'm disappointed that accountability never came for any of the guilty people.

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them.

EXODUS, baby. Two of the big themes of Krakoa were compromise and community, and Exodus' previous publication history showed he was not well suited to either (except for that bizarre time he worked for SHIELD but I ignore that.) Up to that point he'd been an obscenely powerful religious fundamentalist and mutant supremacist but hadn't had enough page time to explore that in any depth.

Seriously, his style is out of this world.

When he arrived on Krakoa and was given a seat on the Quiet Council he was absolutely both of those things, though he proved himself committed to good governance without any agenda. By being part of an ostensibly egalitarian community for the first time he became a true believer and slowly ditched his old methods of blunt force for community-building and fiercely protecting it from outside threats. He compromised while looking fabulous.

Exodus had frequent campfire educational sessions with kids, he rewrote scripture as his theology evolved (Jesus as the Nazarene Mutant is everything to me,) he put his faith in Hope and Krakoa as a polity but moreso as a people. He tried to convince Doug to die temporarily so he could take his place in X of Swords, risking permanent death. His labelling of Wanda as The Pretender was pretty uncomfortable, but after The Trial of Magneto he invited her in to tell her own story.

Then Immortal X-Men began and the 3 event comics put him through the wringer. First was Judgement Day where he fought and killed towering death machines while simultaneously leading the psychic countersiege on the Uni-Mind. He was tested by the Progenitor with a public simulation of his old boyfriend in hell. He stuck to his code and passed, but he also bumrushed a demon to free Garrington from his grasp. Exodus objected to humans being resurrected, but he still accepted Nightcrawler's argument. When Syne the Memetaur was resurrected for the last time, he rushed to fight her but lowered his fists when she started to talk about poetry. He ended up collaborating with this cthulhu that had torched Krakoa and killed countless mutants to fight a celestial and save the world for everyone. Compromise.

After Sins of Sinister, he accepted his capacity for evil and submitted to very unpleasant measures to ensure Sinister's influence was purged. When the fight kicked off he stuck to the agreement and didn't join the fight, even at Hope's request. His breakdown after he tried to kill the very obvious bad actor Selene highlighted the flaws of Krakoa's government, and played a crucial part in transition to democracy.

Fall of X prevented that being implemented, and after thrashing a ton of sentinels he pivoted to the safety of everyone else, especially The Five. When the Krakoan diaspora ended up in the desert of the White Hot Room, he wore a midriff and stepped up for 250K scared and leaderless mutants - choosing to inspire and protect instead of his old methods - he'd come full circle. His actions after that are a whole other post, but I hope I've made my point. I don't trust religious fundamentalists, generally speaking. My kneejerk reaction to Exodus was 'fuck, he's going to ruin everything' but he avoided the hypocrisy and selfishness, the refusal to allow change that underpins my experience with IRL fundamentalism. He compromised and grew, and definitely walked the walk.

Is he unhinged? Yes, fortunately. Does he have some bizarre beliefs? Absolutely, but they weren't based on nothing and he ended up being right. When Hope was prepping to sacrifice herself to rebirth The Phoenix he begged to die in her place. He was the only adult to level with Kafka and be honest with him about the reality of the White Hot Room. More than most he committed to the promise of Krakoa and put everything into making that a reality. He's also not fooling anyone with his vow of celibacy not being related to his true love dying 900 years ago.

[maxwell-grant]

Do you have any thoughts/opinions on Batman: Caped Crusader and its trailer? It's already giving me the vibe of "Batman wants to the The Shadow so badly".

(Spoiler for Batman: Caped Crusader, I guess)

Well now that the whole show is out I might as well talk about that instead, and I already wasn't very sold on the trailers. I'm mostly just gonna touch on the show here instead of certain particulars of it like Clayface or Two-Face and so on, which I do have more thoughts on it, but anyway. Regarding you bringing up The Shadow, I don't think this Batman wants to be The Shadow, I think this show is just what happens when you boil Batman back to the basics as much as possible, which inevitably means he's going to be doing what people might think of as Shadow material (and very boring Shadow material at that - again, I'm of the opinion that approaching The Shadow as a "noir" character is a lame idea, and I think that also holds true to a lesser extent for Batman). Problem upfront is, back-to-basics Batman is boring. Pre-Robin Golden Age Batman is just not a very interesting character, certainly not by Batman standards, he lacks charm and identity. It's not a coincidence that Batman started achieving success when he stopped ripping off The Shadow, when he started fighting Dick Tracy villains, when Robin joined in. Batman kinda sucks at being The Shadow, they've made a bunch of books about it even, and honestly, if Caped Crusader had been a Shadow cartoon, I would be incredibly depressed.

See, I love 1940s Golden Age Batman, I love Bill Finger's wisecracking Sherlockian bruiser who solves impossible cases with his fists and peerless trivia knowledge, but people don't love that Batman, people love the 1939 Golden Age Batman they've heard about, they love the idea of a grim and gritty and murderous epic Golden Age Batman that simply did not exist and if it did, was painfully and mercifully short-lived. There are very good reasons why Hugo Strange had to die to make way for The Joker and The Penguin, there are very good reasons why Batman throwback projects are either short, short-lived, or only really start as a throwback before settling on a new identity. Problem is, there is functionally very little difference between Golden Age Batman and Silver Age Batman, so if you adapted that guy, people would call it an Adam West throwback, so yes I get why everyone who says Golden Age Batman just does the first or so year when he gunned down a vampire or cracked a goon's neck against a windowsill and, basically just that. That was the basis they were working off for Caped Crusader, so what did they do with it?

Well, they were very faithful to 1939 Batman, in that the show is also just nothing but a basic skeleton of ideas that can and will be done better elsewhere, if not by other creators then hopefully at the next seasons for this thing. I was not very optimistic regarding Bruce Timm's involvement because I largely don't like Timm's work (although it's a good thing the show had other character designers, which you can tell because the women characters have different body types and facial features amongst themselves). The Greg Rucka episodes are decently written, and despite a truly horrendous start at the pilot, the show does get better and picks up as it heads to the finale.

But it only does so incrementally, never as good as it could be or should be, and the best it has to offer is too often just mediocre and unsatisfying. It's not visually interesting, it is so cheaply animated and presented that you would lose virtually nothing by experiencing this as a radio show on another tab (and at that point, you might as well listen to The Batman Audio Adventures), it's rushing past every plotline and emotional beat it grasps for and yet it moves at a glacial pace, and it doesn't seem to be a show made with any kind of clear intent in mind. I don't imagine any kids getting any enjoyment out of actionless, dull drama, but it's not committing nearly enough to being this dramatic and complex and nuanced show for adults that it keeps presenting itself as. It's terrible at threading the needle between what it wants to be and what it can afford to be. I don't think it's terrible, but I also don't think it's better than any other Batman cartoon other than Beware the Batman, the one nobody talks about. I wouldn't even say this is better than The Batman. At least The Batman took some weird new swings that it had to commit to and had great action and some genuinely really strong episodes, where as thislargely fails to deliver on the action and it's not doing nearly enough work on the writing and drama side of things.

The closest it gets to anything new are in it's new takes on Firefly, Gentleman Ghost, Harley Quinn and Two-Face, and while Firefly I thought a really solid, even great usage of a historically underwhelming half-baked character (and the strongest episode of the show, albeit one that barely features him), and Gentleman Ghost a decent twist on the character to make him more viable as a Batman villain (if still an abject downgrade from the regular character), Harley and Harvey I thought were incredibly unsatisfying and undercooked, the peak example of how much the show fails to deliver as compelling character drama in spite of having some legitimately fresh and strong new ideas at play here. As is, I'd say the best villain is Clayface, because his is the episode that convinced me to keep watching, and because while he is just Golden Age Clayface with not much of a twist on it, he was really fun, and delivered exactly on what was promised, where as the rest mostly range from mediocre and lackluster to outright terrible (again, I hate how dissappointed I am at this version of Penguin - I'm glad you are all having fun making fan art of her, I hope she has a better showing if she comes back, but goddamn man they really fumbled the ball on that episode).

I'd call Caped Crusader like a 6/10, and frankly that's me being generous, the more I talk about it after having watched it, the more I feel like it doesn't deserve past a 5 (but not anything below a 5 either, again it does get better, it isn't terrible, it's just not very good either). There is a good and exciting version of the show, and it is not the one they put on Amazon for me to watch, and frankly, I doubt there was ever going to be a great version of the show. I'm dead sure this is gonna get at least another season and because you guys ask me for Batman opinions, and because I gotta have my Batman, I will watch it, and I will hope it's more satisfying than this one.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

DANGANCEMBER: Honorable Mentions:

//Okay, so tomorrow is my birthday, but it's also the day that Dangancember finally begins, and I have all the posts ready to go.

//But after leaving a vote for people, the majority requested that I talk about the honorable mentions before I get to the actual list.

//Although, I suppose DISHONERABLE mentions would be more accurate for these trials.

//While Danganronpa is known for its gripping courtroom drama and mind-bending twists, not every trial hits the mark, and by god these one's certainly don't for me. Whether it’s due to weak mysteries, frustrating mechanics, or unsatisfying resolutions, these trials fell short of the series’ usual high standards.

//Now, I need to remind you all of a few things before we get into it.

This honorable mentions catagory will cover ALL the trials that didn't make it onto the list. So if you read through them, you will effectively be getting rid of half the fun of guessing which trial and what trial makes it on. Still, everyone wanted to see these first, so I can't really stop you. Just keep that in mind.

These trials will not be in order of how much I like/dislike them. They will be in chronological order, so DR1 Case 1 to SDRA2 Case 6 kind of. I don't really want to show bias towards any particular case because these didn't make the cut in the end, and I don't feel like ranking them because that defeats the objective of the Top 24. But I still feel like I owe it to the readers to give explanations on why these trials didn't make the cut.

I won't be going into depth on these as much as I will do for the actual Dangancember posts. Just brief thoughts and feelings and a quick summary of why I think these cases kind of suck.

//So, without further ado, let's see which areas had room for improvement.

#HM1: Danganronpa 1 Case 1

//Sometimes I do think I'm a little harsh on this case, because to be honest, it's a really good introduction to the mechanics and the concept of the class trial, and is a decent opener that sets up for how crazy the rest of the game can get.

//Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for it as a mystery.

//Sayaka’s death is predictable, and Leon being the culprit is too obvious thanks to the infamous 11037 clue. While the twist about Sayaka's manipulative plan and how she tried to frame Makoto out of desperation adds depth, the trial's resolution feels unengaging.

//The chapter successfully introduces the game’s tone, rules, and tension as the characters grapple with their confinement, making the murder feel realistic and emotionally charged but while the clues connect well and offer some intrigue, Leon’s very bleedingly obvious status as the killer and how the clues are kind of laid out in a really obvious way undermines the investigation's excitement.

//The trial is straightforward, with a solid yet not groundbreaking twist involving Sayaka’s role in the events. Leon’s execution is iconic, but the overall immersion is limited. In summary, while the trial is foundational and provides a good starting point for the series, it lacks the complexity and engagement seen in later cases. Which is unfortunately enough to stop it from making the list.

#HM2: Danganronpa 1 Case 5

//This one is...kind of tricky.

//My main issues with this case is that it stands out so much compared to the Case 5's in the rest of the series because while the rest of those cases are among the greatest cases in the series, this one is short, uninteresting, and poorly executed despite its potential.

//But at the same time...that kind of feels like it was done intentionally.

//The case introduces Mukuro Ikusaba as the victim; a twist that has potential but feels rushed and underdeveloped. Mukuro’s lack of screen time and the mystery surrounding her name undermines her overall impact on the narrative. And god, later games don't really fix this.

//The case centers on Kyoko and Makoto as the two main suspects, with Kyoko’s enigmatic nature and Makoto’s absence at the crime scene creating tension.

//The trial is rushed, with characters skipping critical discussions, and generally, it primarily serves as a setup for the final trial rather than standing on its own. Kind of like this is Part 1 for the finale while Chapter 6 is part two where it all goes to a head.

//Good structure, I'll give it that, but this trial then just feels like a plot device instead of an actual victory.

//Monokuma’s actions break the rules of the killing game by manipulating the trial to frame Kyoko, which feels out of character and undermines the integrity of the trial system. It also really is taken away from when Junko is established to be a tactical genius later in the series, which makes me wonder how she could come up with such a poorly cobbled together plan that didn't even work out for her, and then the final trial kind of makes it seem like "Oh yeah, I knew it wouldn't work out. I was betting on it."

//Like, fuck off. This is why I didn't really like Junko in Game 1.

//One thing that makes this trial unique is that unlike the other games in the series, it features two outcomes: either Makoto accuses Kyoko (leading to a "bad ending") or defends her, resulting in Makoto being framed and nearly executed.

//The bad ending depicts disturbing implications, including Toko’s potential death and Hina having children with the remaining male survivors. The image, coupled with the music, is just unsettling.

//Okay, I know it's the BAD ending and all, but still, it's such a wtf moment.

//This trial had potential, but feels like an unnecessary placeholder to transition to the final chapter. While the concept of Monokuma’s desperation is interesting, him breaking his own rules, feels forced and damages the narrative, and makes the overall execution fall flat.

#HM3: Danganronpa V3 Case 3

//Yeah, in case it wasn't obvious, there are no cases from Danganronpa 2 that made it into this catagory, because genuinely they are the best cases in the franchise and I will die on that hill.

//I know I said I'd try to remain relatively unbiased with these HM's, but actualy? FUCK THIS CASE man!

//I could genuinely write an entire essay for this stuff talking about ALL the problems I had with it, but I'm gonna try and bullet point it for the sake of brevity. For starters, there's the characters.

//While Angie's motivations are genuine, her brainwashing and cult-like actions make her less sympathetic, and ultimately it means her death fails to evoke emotion. Tenko, despite her flaws, almost redeems herself in this chapter, showing genuine care for others, but the moment she does, she dies. Her death, occurring DURING the investigation, is honestly pretty creative and surprising but ultimately unnecessary and kind of dumb. Himiko is a major player here as well, and her grief and subtle redemption are meaningful, but the repetition of her being a prime suspect feels unoriginal.

//But none of these pale in comparison to fucking KOREKIYO. His character is IRREPERABLY ruined by the introduction of an incestuous motive, which breaks from his established personality, something that I find distasteful and nonsensical.

//The chapter is scattered with plotlines that go nowhere. Namely, Angie’s cult arc ends abruptly with her death, the Necronomicon motive isn’t explored and is reduced to a clue, Monodam's coup against Monokuma fizzles out without impact, and the potential twist of two killers (where one walks free) is squandered by making Kiyo both murderers.

//To its credit, the investigation is a highlight, with engaging clue-gathering and creative moments like Tenko’s mid-investigation death and Kokichi’s fake death scene, but all benefit of that is squandered horribly by the Class Trial.

//Angie’s murder sidelined in favor of Tenko’s until late in the trial, the double murder horribly overcomplicates the case, resulting in a loss of focus, and then there's Kiyo's fucking seesaw trap, which, while creative, has been memed to death so horribly that I can't even take THAT seriously anymore.

//Ultimately, I think the thing that REALLY makes me despise this case is everything that happens with Kiyo. Because I genuinely liked him for most of V3, and he goes out in the most horrible, and STUPID, way imagineable, given a motive that is not only so abhorrent, but makes no sense for the kind of guy he has been established to be.

//Kiyo’s elaborate setup for the séance trap was, in every sense, unnecessary. If he had only killed Angie and not gone through with the seance, which directly puts him in the view of suspicion, he would have likely escaped with his crime. Instead, he proceeded with the seesaw trap purely because he had spent time preparing it, even though it wasn’t required.

//His motive for the murders is deeply unsettling: he believed he was sending girls to his dead sister, with whom he had an incestuous relationship.

//(Before anyone says it, I do not give a fuck that the subtitles read "No Physical Connection," they are CLEARLY FUCKING and that was obviously the intended effect, and I hate incest so much why does V3 DO THIIISSSS!?)

//This rationale is grotesque, and the story provides no meaningful exploration of the psychological or abusive dynamics that may have led to it. While disturbing, the lack of deeper analysis on his trauma and actions weakens the narrative impact, and the incestuous element feels unnecessary and only diminishes V3's overall story.

//The chapter fails due to its predictable setup, nonsensical decisions by Korekiyo, and a distasteful motive that lacks meaningful context or resolution. These flaws make the chapter frustrating, despite its initial promise.

//And I fucking hate it for that.

#HM4: Danganronpa Another Case 3

//I generally think that, for the most part, the Another series relies very heavily on shock value and gore for the impact it has on its audience. It's something that I generally disagree with, but for the Another series, LINUJ is a good enough writer to make it work, and show the real horror of the killing game.

//He always includes horrific imagery in his games, but succeeds on capitalizing off of it. But this is one of the situations where he tried to do that, and it kind of didn't work out.

//To be fair, while the third cases are almost universally poor across the DR and another series, this one is still the middle ground between what I consider the good shit, and the bad shit.

//It's kinda just...shit.

//Although, I mainly mean this from a narrative standpoint, because the actual investigation and trial is fine. It's just the logistics and circumstances behind it that totally ruin things for me.

//The culprit of this case is the Ultimate Priest, Kinji Uehara, who was forced to act as a mole and kill to protect a group of orphans under the church's care. His situation mirrors Sakura from DR1, but unlike her noble sacrifice, Kinji succumbs to pressure and commits murder, making him a more tragic but flawed character.

//Interesting enough on it's own, BUUUUUUUUUUUT despite his sympathetic backstory, Kinji’s murders of Kanata and Kakeru are shockingly brutal. Kakeru walks in on Kinji attempting to kill Kanata, tries to stop him, and is then fatally slashed across the throat. He then makes a dying wish to Kinji to spare Kanata, but...Kinji fucking ignores him.

//And not only does Kinji kill Kanata anyway, but he does it in the WORST HUMANLY POSSIBLE WAY! She's subjected to excessive cruelty, including electrocution that burns her organs. And THEN, he FURTHER compromises himself by attacking Rei and Tsurugi, escalating the situation unnecessarily and leaving more evidence of his guilt.

//Kinji is a decent guy with a decent motive behind his actions, but these methods are needlessly sadistic, making his actions feel wildly out of character, and casting doubt on what kind of morals he has for a guy who's main character trait is that he is passive and religious.

//The big problem is that not only did Kinji ignore Kakeru's dying words like a bastard, but he legitimiately had NO reason to! Kakeru was already dead, and Monokuma didn't tell Kinji he had to kill more than one person, so he had already fulfilled his quota. Meaning more than likely, the decisions he made were influenced by the tradition of how Case 3 HAS to have two people be killed, and similar to Kiyo and THAT shitshow, he was reluctant to abandon his ongoing course of action because he had already invested heavily in it, even when it's clear that abandonment would be more beneficial for EVERYBODY, including himself.

//Kinji’s actions are somewhat redeemed by his genuine remorse and apology, and the revelation that the orphans he sought to protect were already dead adds a tragic layer, making his sacrifices not just cruel but futile.

//The fact that this case sucks honestly makes me more sad than angry. Kinji’s case balances a compelling backstory with a deeply flawed execution. While his ultimate goal was noble, his extreme and unnecessary cruelty undermines his character, making the tragedy of his situation feel hollow despite its emotional weight.

#HM5: Danganronpa Another 2 Case 2

//Ugh...Fuck this case especially.

//This is easily one one of the worst Danganronpa trials I have ever fucking seen because there is no mystery solving element to it AT ALL. And it's sad because Emma is genuinely an interesting killer, and it's interesting to see how her past trauma actually affected her actions.

//She is the only part of this that deserved better. The rest of it can go to hell.

//This trial was the first sign I got that...yeah, maybe SDRA2 isn't gonna be that good.

//I've never really been against characters in the class trials, like Byakuya or others, who kind of take charge of the case, and goad you into answering the plot points that they've already figured out in advance. Because realistically, the protagonist WOULDN'T be the only one doing everything; and all the other characters would be figuring out stuff on their own.

//It's different when the protagonist basically do fucking nothing.

//In Danganronpa, class trials are most engaging when the characters actively piece together evidence, debate ideas, and collaboratively unravel mysteries. But unfortunately, Kanade FUCKING Otonokoji just LOVES to suck the fun out of this game, doesn't she?

//Kanade effectively solves this entire trial on her own, and explains almost every plot point to you instead of you discovering them. And that undercuts the interactive and deductive appeal of the trial. This approach feels like the game is spoon-feeding solutions, which can makes the mystery feel less dynamic and immersive, and diminishes not just Sora's, but everyone else's role in piecing together clues, andd reduces the thrill of watching characters grow or clash as they work through the mystery.

//Emma is outed as the killer way too early. The trial is about 20% trying to figure out who killed Kokoro, and 80% trying to prove how she did it.

//And FUUUUUUCK it DRAAAAAAAAGS.

//Also, while I like Emma as a killer and character, her motivation is so...bleh. There's elements of her past trauma triggering, which is great, but ultimately, the main reason she killed is because she's part of VOID, and VOID does that for some reason. Despite the fact that they KNOW at this point that they are not spared from the execution.

//Side note, the way that she is first implied to be the killer is SOOO DUUUMB! Okay, so...the fucking ICICLES! In the freezer! Just so happen to spell her name or some shit!

//At least writing Leon's name on the wall in blood in a place where he couldn't see it MADE SENSE! HOW the FUCK was Kokoro supposed to expect anyone to catch on to that clue, and how the fuck DID THEY!?

//Speaking of Kokoro...Kokoro just SUCKS!

//Even before she's revealed in Chapter 5 to actually be a terrible human being, she's just nothing and nobody in the part of the game where she's relevant. It WAS a good idea to kill her off here because ultimately, her powers of deduction and human analysis are FAR too busted to have in a trial, so at least the VOID learned their lesson after that.

//And then knowing what kind of person she really was just takes away from this death even more. It WAS pretty shocking though, I will be nice and give it that.

//If there is one thing that I will give this trial major props for, it's the fact that Emma used her talent so well during her murder scheme, using her talents as an actor to pretend to be Kokoro. Like, it feels like this is a missed opportunity that they COULD have done with Tsumugi, but wrote it out of her the first chance they got. And I honestly feel the trial would have been way better if we had somehow discovered that someone was pretending to be Kokoro FIRST, because then THAT is a good segway into talking about Emma being the culprit. Not some bullshit ice cube fucking crap.

//I always like it when the killers use their Ultimate Talents as part of a murder scheme, because for me, it justifies them HAVING them in the first place. It's largely the reason why I believe Danganronpa 2 has the best trials because all the killers in that game use their talents one way or another for their crimes:

Teruteru uses kitchen tools as part of his plan, and hides the weapon inside food.

Peko uses her sword and her training as an assassin to escape from the beachouse.

Mikan uses her status as a nurse to manipulate everybody and feign an autopsy.

Gundham uses his animals to disable Nekomaru.

Nagito's luck is the biggest reason why Case 5 even happened, and it brings the full scope of its power front and center.

//Anyway, you get my point. Again, Emma is such a good killer, but she doesn't get a chance to shine.

//What if you wanted to be a decent killer with a cool overall plan to your murder scheme and a potentially really fun trial to figure out, but Kanade FUCKING Otonokoji said "nuh-uh!"

//And speaking of whom...

#HM6: Danganronpa Another 2 Case 3

//Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh...

//To be honest, I used to be...okay, with this trial. I thought it was a pretty good step up from the Case 3's of the canon games, but then I kind of had an epiphany upon rewatching it.

//Mod Bubbles hates this case and everything about it with such a burning passion, that a lot of my complaints mirror his, and he can go into a much longer rant about it than I can...

//...In fact he...did...

//But yeah, I'm gonna bullet point it and show a bit more brevity while discussing the same points.

//Let me just start by saying that, if you're planning on making a Fanganronpa where two of the characters in the killing game are siblings, for the LOVE OF GOD, do NOT do that if you are planning on doing it for no reason other than to have two killers/a killer and their accomplice.

//For THE! LOVE! OF! GOD!

//I still kind of like this a TAD more than Case 3 of V3 because Kanade is kind of the same as Kiyo, but handled and written a little better.

//But...a Kiyo emulation is still a Kiyo emulation, and of ALL characters from the core series you COULD have emulated, why the fuck is it HIM?

//It really disappoints me as well, because LINUJ changed his plot so that Kanade could emulate Kiyo, but the one thing that makes Another stand out is what it does DIFFERENTLY from the core series. But here, it blatantly copies from the original V3, and not just from V3, but the WORST PART of V3!

//I don't want to talk about this for a long time, so here is everything wrong with this trial in a very quick list:

As already mentioned, this case tries to copy V3’s Chapter 3, which results in a disappointing outcome. It also uses all the tropes from the previous Third Chapter cases that make those chapters notoriously bad among the community.

The trial lasts for SIX GODDAMN HOURS! Not only does that make it the longest trial on this list, being two hours longer than the longest case in the core series (V3's final trial), much of the time spent in this trial is completely wasted on petty arguments between characters that end in nothing.

The trial relies on heavy exposition and plot conveniences, such as synchronized murders and unexplained character traits and abilities that are introduced without prior demonstration, making them feel unearned. The biggest example is the Otonokoji twins incredible syncronization, and Kanade's supposed skill in throwing that never was established before.

The chapter is written to try and get you into Kanade as a killer, presenting her as a genius, overcompetant, badass killer. But not only does it fail show real emotional depth or humanity in her character, Kanade makes critical mistakes, such as leaving behind crucial evidence (antibiotics and pins), which ultimately renders all of this pointless and contrived.

The chapter heavily relies on shock value, such as Kanade's serial killer reveal, but this diminishes its effectiveness over time.

Kanade's actions and motivations feel disconnected from the broader narrative, making the chapter feel irrelevant. And after Kanade and Hibiki's deaths, the chapter’s events are barely mentioned, and the overarching story is not significantly impacted.

This chapter single-handedly features one of the worst-written characters in Dangan and Fangan history, being Hibiki. She is brainwashed by her sister into killing somebody who she genuinely had a connection with, it faced with the realization that Kanade not only killed everybody she loved, but her parents and the rest of their family as well, and is on the verge of getting executed alongside her for something she had no control over. Yet she is given next to no sympathy from others and faces an absolutely horrifying end...to NEVER be mentioned AGAIN.

You can completely miss everything in this chapter, and the only significant thing that happens is Kanade, Hibiki, and Setsuka are no longer part of the story anymore. Absolutely NOTHING happens in this chapter that leads to any hint to the overarching plot, or any steering towards the ending.

//Again, all of these points are kind of me parodying Mod Bubbles, so read this post if you want an actual good review of this.

//There are parts of this that I like, but ultimately, this all culminates into the absolute rock bottom of Danganronpa cases, and does almost EVERTHING wrong somehow.

//Anyway, that's the wholly negative shit out of the way. Now let's get into the actual one's that made the list, and the trials that I think are actually sort of good...

[draw-you-coward]

doomed to repeat

a lil write set very late pact, pre-silverwastes. uhhh tagging for disordered eating, and light praise k!nk ig lmao (nonsexual)

Winter brings with it many things. The cold. Unsatisfying trysts in Fort Trinity’s storerooms that everyone above can definitely hear. A lack of sunlight.

All things pertinent to Roza at the moment, in ascending order. He has been shifting his seats closer to the windows, but he can do little to catch the sun when it flees in the middle of the afternoon. Also, Trahearne had seem mildly hurt exactly once when Roza had moved the chair in his office away from him, so of course he can never do that ever again. And now misfortune is collecting its weary toll from him in the form of an assault on his wellbeing.

Roza is feeling mostly fine, save the fatigue and dizziness and bodily aches. He faces a conundrum: whether or not to tell Trahearne. On the one hand, it is not yet severe enough that he requires rest. On the other, Trahearne has explicitly expressed that Roza is to be honest about his health when questioned. The solution to this, of course, is to not be questioned, and thus not be noticed. This poses a further point of contention, since Roza’s high station in the Pact necessitates his presence in a variety of matters, half of which involve the marshal. He has decided to write everything down in order to work it out plainly, and is currently mulling over his journal as he lets his breakfast sit uneaten.

A messenger deposits herself in front of him. “Meeting with Marshal Trahearne in fifteen, Sir.”

“Is it urgent?” Roza asks.

She hesitates, perplexed. “I… didn’t ask, Sir.”

“Tell him I am indisposed.” Roza scribbles down: Avoided third meeting – suspicion low. “I will review with the transcriber later.”

The messenger stares at him as if he has just cost her her job, but eventually runs off. Roza adds a question mark—nothing has happened yet, but he will adjust as needed.

The words in front of him blur into each other, and he shuts his eyes his headache returns with a vengeance. He opens them when someone clears their throat in front of him.

It is the same messenger. Nervously, she says, “Er, Marshal Trahearne wants to know why you are indisposed. Sir.”

“I am still working on that very important project from last time.” Roza stirs his breakfast bowl aimlessly. When she doesn’t leave, he pauses. “Is that all?”

“He… wants to know why what you are working on is more important, Sir. He wants to know what it is, because you didn’t tell him last time.”

“Oh, for fuck’s—” Roza tears a page out of his journal and scribbles down a handful of jargon that have a vague relevance to Pact political matters. He ends it with, I am sure you are competent enough as Marshal to handle the Pact without me to hold your hand, because the headache is making him irritable. He folds the paper, hands it to the girl, and waves off her and her trepidatious stare.

Suspicion medium, he rectifies. Warded off for now. Will have to come up with outside project. Fitting rockets to battlements? Return to giant cauldron idea.

This time, he sees the poor girl coming from across the hall. She is nibbling on something in one hand, and clutching the torn journal page in the other. She reaches him and stops. Takes a deep breath.

Roza spreads his hands. “Begin.”

“Marshal Trahearne requests you come to his office immediately,” is all she says. She thrusts the paper towards him.

Roza takes it from her, flipping it over. On the other side, Trahearne has written,

Commander,

Your progress on integrating an ancient Krytan blood-letting ritual into a Nornic spells of warding for the spirit world to strengthen the Veil in Jormag’s territory would be impressive, were it actually possible and not simply many random words mixed together that make no sense arcanimically. Your presence is required here, now.

T

Below the note is his signature and seal. Roza hides a wince. Alright, ‘Medium’ might have been a bit of an understatement, but he is still working out the kinks in his plan. Underestimating Trahearne’s ability to perform basic logic might have been one of them.

He makes his way to the office slowly, taking in the sights and trying to absorb as much sunlight as he can along the way in a futile attempt to mask his condition. If he acts normally, he can dial the suspicion aroused all the way back to nil. It is maths, really—one variable affects all the others. Roza is a master at deception and manipulation. If he stands exactly five or more yards away, he should be able to conceal any sign of illness. If he raises his speaking voice by about five decibels, it should remain in its regular range. He straightens his back as he reaches the door and raps on it. Yes. He knows what he is doing. Nothing can go wrong with his plan.

Trahearne himself opens the door, and makes direct eye contact with him. “You’ve been avoiding me,” he says.

Damn it.

“I am sure I do not know what you mean, Marshal,” Roza says in his most aloof voice. He strides to the window, gazing out of it with a pensive and mysterious air.

“Why have you been staring out the window all week?” Trahearne asks. “Are you waiting for certain weather? A flash snowstorm? Hail? Another Elder Dragon? A messenger bird bearing a royal decree to excuse you from all meetings forthwith?”

He sounds a tad piqued. Roza clears his throat delicately, folding his hands behind his back. “Such injurious remarks do not become your station, Marshal.”

He can feel the ripple of Trahearne’s reaction to that in the Dream, and he winces. Oops. Perhaps he should attempt to speak in a more modest tone, to soothe his marshal’s humours—

“Do not become my station?! What exactly do you call this, then?” Trahearne snatches the paper from him and holds it up.

Roza is calculating a perfect response, which is a brave endeavor with his current mental afflictions, though he is a precocious sylvari who rises readily to any challenge—when the piece of paper violently waggles itself in front of him as if to make a point of its existence. Roza resets, changing his response—and Trahearne dangles the paper again.

“Stop that.” He snaps his head to the side, aborting the gesture halfway.

“Finally, you are acknowledging me.” Trahearne throws up his hands. “What in Pale Mother’s name is going on with you? You have been avoiding me all week. Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” Roza says instinctively, and then, “I haven’t… been avoiding you.”

“Then explain to me why you are suddenly too busy to meet with me.” Trahearne crosses his arms. Lowering his voice, he adds, “Both on and off duty.”

Thorns. This is going to turn into another immovable chair situation, isn’t it? Roza swallows and begins, “I have been inspecting our battlement artillery and I believe that replacing them with rock—”

“Roza,” Trahearne says flatly.

Roza’s eyes dart around, searching for another excuse. Trahearne steps closer to him, boxing him in against the window. He lowers his head, and Roza desperately tries not to notice how purposeful the movement is, or how it feels to be the focus of his attention. He fails.

“Tell me the truth,” Trahearne says. He shouldn’t say that, not like that, not while Roza can barely form a coherent thought. Or while he is ill.

His meticulous mind falls back on a singular equation. Give Trahearne what he wants, and get what Roza wants in return. “I am sick,” he reveals, his desire for the thrill of the end result overtaking him.

“You are sick.” Trahearne sighs, his breath fanning out over Roza’s face. “And so…?”

“Didn’t want you to notice,” Roza admits, and quickly rectifies, “Couldn’t lie to you about it if you caught me.”

Is that enough? That must be enough. Trahearne looks him up and down, most traces of his annoyance slowly draining away.

“Why couldn’t you… ah, it matters not. Thank you, Roza. You did well to tell me.”

It is not quite Well done, but it has the same soothing effect on Roza regardless, and he calms, feeling much like a cat that has been pet.

Trahearne is examining him with a frown. “Follow my finger,” he requests, and Roza sluggishly complies.

They run through more basic checks, and Roza tries his best, confident that his marshal will deem him fit for duty. This is simply a slightly worse version of his normal, after all. He cannot very well go on leave for the entire winter.

“The season is harsh on you—I should have foreseen this,” Trahearne mutters. “You have not been eating well either, if I were to guess. At least you are sleeping fine. Are you experiencing any weakness or fatigue? Loss of cognition?”

He should open Roza’s shirt to touch him again, like he did last time. He undoes the top button of his collar, and Trahearne’s gentle hand stills his wrist.

“What are you doing?” he asks softly.

What is he doing? Executing another brilliant plan. “Helping you,” Roza explains.

Trahearne looks confused for a moment, before he says, “You can help by answering my questions, my dear Roza. Tell me your symptoms.”

The endearment melts some of his headache. “I… am tired,” he decides. “Even more so than usual.”

“Yes?” Trahearne’s hand sweeps past his temple, and he leans into it with a heavy head. “You feel tired. Are you hungry?”

There is a small tray of biscuits on his desk, but they are not appetizing. Roza shakes his head.

“Can you tell me the difference between extracting a soul’s essence for corporeal reanimation as opposed to meta-physical? How do the two operations differ?”

Roza groans. The words make sense, in a distant corner of his mind that he cannot be arsed to access at the moment. “The fuck do you mean? Go act out your mentor fantasies elsewhere.”

“I will take that as a no.” Trahearne moves away from him—o dreary day—to his cupboard, taking out a bottle that he presses into Roza’s hand. “This is the medication I used when I roamed this land. Take a double dose minimum, and more if you need it. I will get you your own prescription. You do not need to spend a quarter of your life feeling like this.”

An unexpected bubble tightens Roza’s throat. “I… don’t?”

“No, dear one.” Trahearne’s touch returns to his weary bark once more. “In fact, I’d wager that you are deficient for most of the year. We will attend to that come spring. For now, I’m giving you the rest of the day off. Go get some rest.”

Roza wrinkles his nose. “I am not an invalid.”

“No, but it would put my mind at ease. Would you do it for me?”

Roza tugs at his sleeve. Yes, of course he would. He nods, and Trahearne rewards him with a smile. “Thank you. I will see you in the evening.”

The rush of endorphins is halted by a feeling of uncertainty. “Do I—” he says, and stops, worrying at his lip.

“Retire to our—to my chambers, yes, if you’re comfortable with it,” Trahearne answers. “I would like to keep an eye on you, if that’s alright.”

It is more than alright. Roza nods again, and reaches out for—for something. Trahearne squeezes his hand. It is not enough—he holds his breath and initiates a tight embrace. Trahearne is warm and has a comforting smell. Roza scurries out of the office when his lungs fail him, cheeks aflame.

~*~

He thinks about it, in the space between dozing and staying awake. Our chambers, Trahearne had almost said. Like our house. Our Pact. My dear Roza.

Roza presses his face into the mattress. It is ridiculous. He is not owned by anyone, and his marshal would never hold him hostage. But—My Marshal. My Trahearne. He wants it. More than anything, he wants that.

He gets up and opens the drawer where Trahearne keeps his extra blankets. There it is—the blue woollen one that he had given to Roza almost two years ago, when they had barely known each other. Roza has tried to give it back many times without success. Now it is only here because he is, too. He hasn’t slept in his own bed for nearly a month.

But what does it mean? Trahearne does not make him do anything. He only offers, and Roza takes. And then he offers more, and Roza takes that too. And Roza pushes, and he gives. Now they practically share a suite.

He is reading when Trahearne enters later, some text about skritt anthropology that makes less sense the more he stares at the pages. It is early in the evening, hours before he would usually retire, and Roza does not mask his surprise at seeing him.

“What, can’t I mind the clock like a normal person?” Trahearne takes off his outerwear, hanging it by the fire Roza has started with an appreciative nod.

“You? Never.” Roza dog-ears the page and sets the book aside. “You should be in your office at this hour, ignoring your dinner in favour of some stuffy old scroll.”

“Without my evening’s entertainment?” A smile and a glance in Roza’s direction.

“I—wh—,” Roza stammers.

Trahearne laughs softly. “I mean nothing so crass. ’Tis boring at work without you, my dear Roza.”

Roza is keenly aware of how this separates them from their morning selves, even from the marshal that had touched his cheek so gently and told him to take rest. He wishes there was no separation. He is afraid of there being no separation, and of what that would mean for them. He would not know how to behave, or how to react to how Trahearne would behave, much like he does not know how to react now.

Trahearne kneels at his side and beckons with one finger. Roza obligingly lets himself be examined, fueled by some feeling he cannot quite identify. It is different than the morning, somehow. Trahearne is more purposeful with him, more firm, yet somehow indelibly softer. He releases Roza’s chin after a minute.

“It is hard to tell after barely a full day, but I believe you are doing better,” he says. “Did you finish the lunch I sent up?”

Roza looks away, ashamed.

“It’s alright,” Trahearne says, in a way that he wants to trap and keep forever. “You don’t have to force yourself. Dinner is coming in half a bell. Are you hungry?”

Roza sighs. “I do not know,” he says truthfully.

Mischief twinkles in Trahearne’s eye as he puts his boots away. “Would it help I handfed you?”

“Hardy har.” Roza rolls his eyes, puzzling at the odd turn in his stomach. It is probably from his illness.

“I wish to shower,” he announces. “I have been surrounded by your germs all day and I feel disgusting.”

“No one was forcing you to stay here,” Trahearne reminds him. He dips his head towards the ensuite. “Go on, but don’t take too long. I have been surrounded by my germs too.”

Roza sniffs disdainfully and plods off towards the shower. The hot water melts into him and he closes his eyes, pretending for a precious few minutes that he exists only in this moment. Then it is over, and he shuts it off. His towel and sleep clothes are draped neatly over the changing screen.

“I’m naked behind here,” he calls out, for what purpose he doesn’t know.

“So am I,” Trahearne replies.

Roza quickly pokes his head out. Trahearne is sitting on the bed, fully clothed. He looks up.

Roza darts back, scoffing to himself. Firstborn and their little games. Roza can play games too. He prances out, half dressed, and Trahearne breezes past him, pausing to plant a small kiss on his forehead.

“I hope you didn’t use up all the hot water,” he murmurs, and then he is gone.

Roza gapes at the bathroom door. That… he… what was that? How in Tyria is he supposed to react to that?

He sits heavily on the bed, touches his forehead, and thinks about it for the entire ten minutes it takes Trahearne to shower and get dressed. Soon enough, their dinner arrives, and he pushes him to go answer the door. He has no wish for them to be the talk of the fort.

Trahearne brings the plates over and lounges on the bed. It is unusual—he is ordinarily meticulous about crumbs.

“We are going to make a mess,” Roza points out, making himself comfortable. He is thankful Trahearne is taller than him sometimes—sometimes—since it means he can be fully used as a backrest. (He is also useful for reaching high shelves, but Roza will only admit that on pain of death.)

“Mm?” Trahearne’s arm settles over his waist. “That’s alright. You are taking a sick day.”

“Does that mean you are going to handfeed me?” Roza asks.

Trahearne chuckles. “Do you want me to?”

“If you are tending to me tonight, I do not see why not.”

Trahearne considers him, amused, and then tears off a piece of bread. He holds it to Roza’s lips. “Open.”

Roza feels that gut-clench once more, that rare feeling that tickles the corners of his brain. He wonders if Trahearne can sense it from him. The thought makes the feeling squirm its way further into his insides.

Trahearne lowers his hand. “You do not have to—”

Roza gently bites the bread from his fingers. They make an odd moment of eye contact, before he forces his gaze downwards, chews, and swallows.

“I am sorry,” Trahearne says softly, needlessly. “I shouldn’t have—”

“Oh, shut up,” Roza grouses. “I wanted you to.”

“Still,” Trahearne insists. “I never want to take advantage of your…”

He pauses. Roza pointedly jabs his bread in his broth. “You don’t,” he says, and then, “Of my what?”

Trahearne’s prolonged hesitation only makes him more curious. “Trahearne,” he asks, prodding him in the chest. “Of my what? Go on.”

“Your, ah… desire to please,” Trahearne tells the far wall. His cheeks darken a deep green.

Roza feels as if someone has lit a match inside his head. He stares, and Trahearne diligently refuses to look at him, and he provides both of them with a three-second lightshow.

Trahearne winces. “I-I—didn’t mean to embarrass you. You, ah… I appreciate it. I try not to take advantage.”

“It’s not a sex thing,” Roza blurts out.

Trahearne breathes out a small laugh of relief. “No, I gathered. Even if it were, that would be alright by… I mean, if you were alright with it, then I would be as well.”

“Oh,” Roza says.

“It is, ah, just you,” he admits a minute later. “I do not know what that means.”

“That’s alright. We do not need to decipher everything about ourselves. Roza… I truly do appreciate being given your trust. There is not a day that goes by where I do not treasure what you have placed in my hands.”

“You deserve it,” Roza replies without a thought.

Trahearne looks at him achingly, and Roza is driven by a strange compulsion to kiss him, which he does not follow through.

“Thank you for being here,” Trahearne says eventually. “With me.”

Roza relaxes into him, and the arm around his waist tugs him close. “Thank you for taking me.”

~*~

[squipedmew]

well, since the Dream SMP has officially come to a close, I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to for the past 2 years - making character designs for every single one of the characters!

 I really wanted every character to look distinct, with really distinct color pallets, unique weapons for each and every character - basically like each one of them could be the protagonist of a wildly different story from one another. Feel free to steal them (with credit) if you want!

I kinda dropped off working on it in late 2022, so I think I missed a few characters, as well as going back and re-doing some of the oldest ones (that’s why some of them are more detailed - those are the 2023 versions)

As strange as it is for me to say this, DSMP had such a big impact on me, especially over COVID. I haven’t had a piece of media fill me with such a passion to create art and improve probably since Undertale all the way back in 2015, if you can believe it. I owe a lot of my art improvement to this silly little Minecraft series, and though I may have lost touch with it near the end, it will always hold a special place in my heart. 

o7 you crazy, wacky, depressing, stupid, unsatisfying, joyful, hilarious, and amazing series. I wish everyone involved in it the best!

(A few extra designs under the cut!)

This is a 2020 Pogtopia Wilbur I made, and if I were to draw it now, I probably wouldn’t change a thing. This design fucking slaps imo, I’m still super proud of it. 

Exile Era Tommy. Wilbur’s old Pogtopia coat has been passed around so many times between so many different interpretations of characters, so I thought it made more sense for Tommy to take the L’Manberg era coat from Wilbur, since that was the version of him he idolized (This is an old version of Wilbur’s coat btw)

Post Dream-Getting-Sent-To-Prison Tommy! I wanted to emphasize how Tommy was trying to move past his trauma, so he shaved off the grey streak he got from the Withers in the L’Manberg explosions (I gave him the grey streaks before Revival canonized it - don’t ask me why)

Las Nevadas Quackity. It’s basically a 1 to 1 for his skin, save for the really ugly blue patches and hoodie I gave him. If I were to do it again, I would def change that. 

Snowchester Tubbo. Also still holds up, though I’m not 100% on the pants. This was kinda before goat Tubbo got super canonized, so I just decided to have the eyes. The scars are from the execution. 

Revivbur. He looks pretty good for a dead bitch - though I messed up the L’Manberg flag colors on the bandanna on his ankle. Guess he’s french now. 

Team Rocket era Niki! She took custody of Wilbur’s Pogtopia coat, albiet cutting off the parts that were covered in blood and soot (which was most of it) I also made her a fire-born like Sapnap, though you can’t see from his design - her hair is on fire when she feels strong emotions, and she’s basically going through it 24/7 during this part. 

Syndicate Niki! She’s calmed down and is no longer on fire, but her hair is still pink from all those weeks of constant rage and sadness. Also dressed more appropriately for the snow. 

Dream Post Prison. Mask no longer has invisibility enchantments, so he doesn’t bother hiding his face. Gotta wonder how it’s staying on though. Get this man some moisturizer. 

[lurkingshan]

Boys Be Brave is a show I want to love. I find the characters endearing, the show has a lot of visual style and great music, the actors are charming and funny, and the plot set up for both romances is intriguing. But some of its storytelling choices are getting in the way for me.

The biggest issue is this show is trying to exist in the nebulous space between a bubble and non-bubble show, and it's not working. It’s distracting that they keep subtextually alluding to queerness being part of the conflict between Jin Woo and Gi Seop but won’t actually come out and say it. Instead they are giving different textual explanations for Jin Woo’s reticence around relationships, like his withholding dad. I think this whole story would work better if they had him openly say he is gay and that is part of his struggle.

This week's episodes were a perfect example of why this is a problem. We have Gi Seop playacting as Jin Woo's ideal type, which explicitly involves feminization, and Jin Woo meeting and going on a date with a girl who fits his ideal type. Am I supposed to be reading Jin Woo as gay or not? Does he actually like girls or is he just trying to convince himself to like a girl? Has Gi Seop only dated girls before because that was his preference, or just because a guy has never asked him out? Is everyone in this show bisexual by default, or does the fact of their same sex attraction matter? Does either of them have any feelings specifically about being attracted to another boy? I have no idea because the show is avoiding the issue, and it's making it impossible to grasp the core of the characters' psychology.

They've basically designed this so you can read it either way, which I'm sure some people will be fine with but I personally find deeply unsatisfying. Choose your story and tell it with conviction! Don't leave your characters and their struggles vague and ill-defined so you can straddle a line that we are long past the point of needing to straddle in this genre.

[odditycollector]

okay, I got around to watching the umbrella academy, 4th & final season

I went in unspoiled and to pass on the favour I'm putting my reaction under the cut.

high level & non-comprehensive thoughts on themes only.

short version: As an ending to the whole of the story, it did not work.

This is not a controversial opinion. It felt unsatisfying! It was Unearned! The moral of the story is now either "broken people have no place in the world and they fuck it up for everyone else just by existing and their attempts to heal are futile and counterproductive" or "please, please let us stop making seasons of this show. please"!

but then i thought about it and actually. the end of season 4 could be a really meaningful part of the story. thematically.

…as long as you didn't stop there.

-

so the umbrella academy tv show is a story about cycles of family abuse and trauma and trying to escape them.

An incomplete list of questions it's explored:

Can the destructive fallout of family trauma simply be suppressed. No. (s1)

If someone had simply done one thing different in the past could the family trauma have been fully avoided and everyone involved would have been happy and functional. No. (s2)

Can we exist as separate from our histories? No. (s3)

Can the cascading effects of complex family trauma be cleanly navigated? No. (s4 - not even with a map)

Can damaged individuals reconnect and despite their individual flaws - if all are truly putting in the effort - form a connection/safety net from which they might draw the strength to forgive and actually find healing? …i feel like we were stumbling towards a yes. (s4, Allison & Klaus, Viktor & alt!Hargreeves)

AND THEN

the ending of season 4 posits:

Since the destructive fallout from family trauma can't be prevented, is it Better(tm) for the world if the traumatized individuals and all their impacts on other people were removed wholesale.

and y'know what? Thematically? this is a powerful question to ask.

but like. the answer has to be "no" though.*** because otherwise what is the point. we've invested years into rooting for these siblings to find recovery!

***["isn't it possible for "no" to have been a satisfying answer?" Of course! tragedies exist! there aren't any rules for what is allowed in stories! but the umbrella academy tv show did not set itself up to be a story where that is a satisfying answer. (Source: I Am Good At Themes.)]

Season 4 as an ending point implies the answer to 'healing from trauma is too hard - let it consume and destroy you y/n?' is 'yes', which as an ending note is. well. let's go with sudden and discordant.

[ALSO IT CHEATED! ON A MECHANICAL LEVEL! ERASING ALL YOUR INFLUENCE FROM HISTORY MEANS ERASING THE GOOD TOO! MEANS ERASING YOUR DESCENDANTS FOR WHOM YOU WERE TRYING TO DO BETTER TOO!]

but if this 'yes' had NOT been the end, but had been set up to be a proof by contradiction..

if there had been a Season 5 showing us that actually the world was NOT better for the absence of the Hargreeves family, that they were needed, that a single clean timeline is not better than an infinity of messy possibilities, that if there can exist no perfect version of you that is untouched from trauma the you that DOES exist is still capable of being loved and of healing and worth the effort involved, that you were not wrong to ever try…

That's an ending that could have been satisfying.

[cobaltscribe]

Shadow of the Erdtree final boss spoilers below:

Deciding to put my thoughts in one semi-coherent post on my own blog.

Like pretty much everyone else has said, Promised Consort Radahn is not what I expected to be the final boss going into the DLC. By the time I got to the Shadow Keep and progressed Ansbach and Freyja’s quest lines, I realized that was the direction it was heading.

Full stop, I don’t care for Radahn’s involvement in the plot of the DLC. The fight itself was actually very fun! Probably harder than Malenia on the whole, albeit without a sole waterfowl-esque move that defined the entire fight. Phase 2 and it’s lasers add far too much visual clutter and extra hits to an otherwise good moveset, and some of his attacks I simply couldn’t figure out how to consistently dodge (specifically the gravity shockwaves he follows up a successful pull in with, and especially the phase 2 variation).

I did use the Sekiro parry cracked tear, so I’ll be interested to see how my impressions end up when I fight it further and attempt to purely dodge.

Back to the story and lore relevance, however, it just feels like an odd and unsatisfying choice. Radahn was a figure never very closely associated with Miquella, and was honestly not much of a compelling character in his own right. He serves his purpose in the base game as this force of a man who, even as a shell of his former self, was once the strongest demigod, but I don’t think there was enough there to warrant final-boss status alongside Miquella.

It makes pragmatic sense for him to be Miquella’s chosen lord, sure. He was frequently toted as the strongest of the demigods, he’s a warrior, and he’s loyal. Considering Miquella can compel affection, having their interests or goals align doesn’t really matter. But that doesn’t really change the fact that it felt odd. They didn’t feel like significant characters to each other before the DLC, and even within it, we barely get any history on their vow or relationship outside of simply knowing that Radahn promised(?) to be Miquella’s consort. It’s not a narrative choicenInhave seen anyone excited about outside of brief surprise that Radahn is back.

I initially thought about Godwyn being the obvious replacement, partially due to the fact I simply wanted to see more of the other main demigod not to be interacted with directly in the base game. While he does have a fairly complete story with Fia’s quest line leading to his eventual resurrection, if they were going to use an existing demigod, why not the one who we don’t already fight in game? His soul is dead, of course, which complicates his involvement by probably preventing his resurrection, so I understand not using him in the DLC, particularly in place of Radahn. But I still also don’t think Radahn is a particularly better choice, since he also had a very complete story!

Mostly, though, he already had a complete fight! The Radahn fight is generally seen as one of, if not the best fight in the game, and it’s personally in my top 5. The music, the arena, the spectacle, the moveset, the festival and summoning aspect: basically every part of the boss is nailed and top notch. Some of he best work Fromsoftware has ever done on a boss. Promised Consort Radahn, no matter how good it is in its own right, will simply pale in comparison since it’s treading old ground.

As far as Miquella goes, I rather liked how his story played out. I figured he would likely end up being someone we have to stop, rather than aid, and the confirmation of his ability to compel affection was so interesting! Especially the confirmation of Mohg’s bewitching by him, which so completely changes my perception of Mohg as a character and boss! I don’t think Miquella was character assassinated or ruined, and if anything I think he’s more interesting this was as opposed to actually being a clear, morally pure savior.

Still, I can’t say that the choice of involving Radahn in his story was to the benefit of either of their characters, and if anything is more of a distraction than anything. Instead of wondering about their connection as characters and why Miquella chose him as consort, I’m wondering why the writers/devs chose Radahn to be involved at all! It is, at least, a relatively small blemish on an otherwise great DLC, and one that I think largely surpasses the base game in quality.

[faejilly]

i always liked the thought that outside of the persona that he presents, magnus is terribly domestic bc he seems that he would curl up on a couch with his lover and just be yk? like i bet that he has had relationships that were just sex and partying but i bet if he was given a choice he would choose to spend the evening in and watching a movie

Quite possibly.

I do think that Magnus, (much like Alec in fact, if in a slightly different way), is very good at giving anyone he is with the experience that they most want.

He enjoys performing, whether he is highlighting or subverting expectations, I believe he loves putting on a show and he is perfectly capable of tailoring that show to his audience. Part of this is survival, part of this is avoiding conflict, part of this is politics, but it seems clear he does actually also like it or he wouldn't have chosen such an extravagant persona (or bothered with all the necessary closet space to hold his wardrobe 😅).

He likes planning parties which is a different skill-set than just attending them after all. He wants to create an environment, set the stage, organize the comforts and attractions and entertainment and etc.

Magnus does in fact also enjoy people. He likes parties and dancing and afternoon tea and anything else that gives him that jolt of interaction and appreciation. He does seem to legitimately be an extrovert who feels recharged after social interaction; especially if he knows he's the one who made it a good experience for everyone involved. (Or a bad one, if he's intimidating people. There's some pride involved, I think, in knowing he can have whatever effect he wants, regardless of what anyone else is expecting.)

He is much better at grand gestures of devotion and friendship (and money and power) because that ties back into him being in control of his interactions and his vulnerabilities and other people's expectations.

So I don't think he dislikes being a party person, or his extravagant High Warlock persona, or that he was at all unsatisfied with whirlwind dramatic relationships full of parties and dancing and shows and travel. Those are all things he can do, and do well, and gets a kick out of.

However satisfying it is to do the things you're good at, and know that you're sweeping someone else along with something they enjoy, I do think sometimes he hid himself within those extravagances; avoided smaller intimacies of domestic chores and quietly reading on opposite sides of the couch, etc. because then he'd have to share control, which is terrifying when you're as aware as he is of all the ways an intimate friend or partner can (purposefully or not) betray or hurt you.

He offers the high life because he can, and once upon a time he couldn't, and most people enjoy it and are impressed by it. HOWEVER, I do agree that that's not really the point for him, and sometimes it was definitely another layer of armor between his bruised heart and the world.

All he needs from a partner is their attention. (I know the love languages book is nonsense, but, it will be a useful framework for my rambling, so! Let's imagine it's not.) I think his personal love language is simply quality time. Someone who wants to be with him, regardless of time or place or consequences or conveniences, who doesn't just want his money or magic, but will not flinch from those parts of him either. Who may not need him to take care of them, but won't push him away when he does anyway.

Which is of course exactly what Alec offers with his single-minded focus and devotion to the partner he's chosen, and which most of us cannot do to at all the same extent. (Which is why Alec feels vaguely useless to Magnus most of the time, because everyone else he's ever known or loved has required his actions not just his presence, and is also why Magnus cannot understand that insecurity at all, because no one else has ever just looked at Magnus without all the trappings and been enraptured.)

But! Back to the original premise.

Alec is not an extrovert and hates putting on a show and does not trust large crowds of people to avoid being stupid, so in fact once they are together I do believe they are usually very quietly domestic at home, because the setting, for Magnus, is incidental to the fact that they're spending time together, so he is perfectly content making sure Alec is comfortable wherever they are, and that they have that quiet time together reasonably often.

(I do think Magnus and Alec spend a lot of time in physical contact, cuddling or hand-holding or working on similar projects in shared space, because Alec's love language is very clearly physical touch. He is more than capable of showing his love and care to people in their own languages, time or gifts or words or service, but all he really needs is for the people he's worried about to be close enough to hold onto.)