Ok, the tournament is finally over. Congratulations to the winner, Isabel Lovelace from Wolf 359, getting a very narrow victory over Beatrice from Umineko, with the other semifinalists being Faulkner from The Silt Verses and Akane Kurashiki from Zero Escape. Hopefully this will inspire me to finally finish Wolf 359 past the beginning of the second season!
The next tournament I'm planning to host, as I've said before, will be an alien species tournament - I will be making the official start of submissions for that soon! Thank you everyone for participating in this tournament!
Complex Character Tournament Final: Beatrice (Umineko no naka koro ni) vs. Isabel Lovelace (Wolf 359)
Beatrice
Isabel Lovelace
See results
Voting ended onSep 6, 2025
Propaganda:
Beatrice:
[big spoilers below] Are we talking about the legendary witch of the island? Or Sayo Yasuda, the teen who feels trapped in the island, and projects to kill the entire Ushiromiya family? Or the alter that was born to keep the love from Battler? Or the teen who finds confidence in performing magic with her apprentice Maria? Who is Beatrice? This question can only been answered in a VN longer than the Bible.
2. The second epilogue of Episode 1 of Umineko tells you that the true mystery of the story is understanding Beatrice's heart. I'm not sure how much I can say, even behind spoilers
Isabel Lovelace:
She is a woman full of grief and rage and determination. She is the antagonist of season two, but in my opinion she's never a bad guy. From her perspective she found out her last living crewmate had offed the rest, knocked him out, escaped on their self-made shuttle that was supposed to hold all of them, went to sleep in cryo, and when she woke up she was right back at the space station she had just escaped from. So yes, she rigged a bomb to her shuttle hooked to a dead man's switch based off her heart rate. It wasn't personal, she didn't know who she would be dealing with. And then she saw three strangers in the station she lived in with amazing people for years, and the person who killed those amazing people and she went, okay, I'm getting the good humans out, and blowing up the station and the bad human and unfortunately the good AI but this station cannot continue to exist. At some point she decided she would not kill the AI but did she tell anyone? No. She gives her blood to save someone. Later she gives her life (she gets better). But she doesn't give an inch if she can help it. She finds out she's a clone and has to decide if she wants to be Isabel Lovelace, and who that would be. The original Isabel Lovelace also wanted to burn the corporation to the ground, yet this one worries she'd not be true to her past self if she continues down the path she's been on. She's funny. She's sad. She demands that people help her help them but she doesn't open up enough to get them to understand. She conspires with the person she hates the most to manipulate someone she actually likes alright.
Before I post the final, here is a preview for my next tournament in case anyone is interested in it:
Best Alien Species Tournament
This tournament is going to be for alien species from any media (must be an alien as in it comes from another planet besides earth or wherever humans are from in that fictional universe). "Best" can be whatever you want - most interesting, most biologically unique and truly alien, most developed and unique culture, explores the best philosophical themes, whatever makes you like this fictional species most! This time I will be asking for images because the appearance of an alien species will often be important, if your species in from a non-visual media with no images available I will have a section in which you can describe their physical appearance to help make it a bit more of an even playing field.
Complex Character Tournament Semifinal: Isabel Lovelace (Wolf 359) vs. Akane Kurashiki (Zero Escape)
Isabel Lovelace
Akane Kurashiki
See results
Voting ended onAug 29, 2025
Propaganda:
Isabel Lovelace:
She is a woman full of grief and rage and determination. She is the antagonist of season two, but in my opinion she's never a bad guy. From her perspective she found out her last living crewmate had offed the rest, knocked him out, escaped on their self-made shuttle that was supposed to hold all of them, went to sleep in cryo, and when she woke up she was right back at the space station she had just escaped from. So yes, she rigged a bomb to her shuttle hooked to a dead man's switch based off her heart rate. It wasn't personal, she didn't know who she would be dealing with. And then she saw three strangers in the station she lived in with amazing people for years, and the person who killed those amazing people and she went, okay, I'm getting the good humans out, and blowing up the station and the bad human and unfortunately the good AI but this station cannot continue to exist. At some point she decided she would not kill the AI but did she tell anyone? No. She gives her blood to save someone. Later she gives her life (she gets better). But she doesn't give an inch if she can help it. She finds out she's a clone and has to decide if she wants to be Isabel Lovelace, and who that would be. The original Isabel Lovelace also wanted to burn the corporation to the ground, yet this one worries she'd not be true to her past self if she continues down the path she's been on. She's funny. She's sad. She demands that people help her help them but she doesn't open up enough to get them to understand. She conspires with the person she hates the most to manipulate someone she actually likes alright.
Akane Kurashiki:
Literally Schrodinger's catgirl. Has incredibly complicated and questionably valid reasons for everything she does yet often gets simplified in fandom as "woman who is deceptive (see: not a perfect love interest who, again, does morally questionable things) that I therefore don't like"
#AKANE GO GO GO#she's literally complex and just wants to save herself / save the world but hurts so many people along the way#but her reasons for doing so are interesting and legitimate and she's never going to be that perfect love interest girl#because she's so much more complex#and she really loves the guy she kidnaps twice and includes in her schemes but it won't stop her#because she'll do anything for her goals. she's on a mission and it doesn't matter what he wants#she's deeply flawed in suchhhhh a fun way. the best character of all time#also. i saw that she won against renga 18trip... rip renga i saw that the propaganda was long as hell for him#akane may be my favorite character ever but i like renga a lot (<- i loooove his character novel) and i admire the propaganda a lot#but now akane has won and i don't need to feel bad for calling for an AKANE KURASHIKI SWEEP FOREVER#zero escape spoilers
Complex Character Tournament Semifinal: Faulker (The Silt Verses) vs. Beatrice (Umineko no naku koro ni)
Faulker
Beatrice
See results
Voting ended onAug 29, 2025
Propaganda:
Faulkner:
He has a lot of internal conflict or at least thatās how I understood it, heās a religious zealot and a prophet and wholeheartedly believes in his god but heās also trying to get into a leadership position within his faith and (spoilers start here I guess?) the more power he gains and the more people heās responsible for the more disillusioned he gets, he really only has one real friend in Carpenter who is, basically, his sister but when he loses it and kills somebody important he pins it on her and the guilt and conflict of all of that kinda make him lose it
Beatrice:
[big spoilers below] Are we talking about the legendary witch of the island? Or Sayo Yasuda, the teen who feels trapped in the island, and projects to kill the entire Ushiromiya family? Or the alter that was born to keep the love from Battler? Or the teen who finds confidence in performing magic with her apprentice Maria? Who is Beatrice? This question can only been answered in a VN longer than the Bible.
2. The second epilogue of Episode 1 of Umineko tells you that the true mystery of the story is understanding Beatrice's heart. I'm not sure how much I can say, even behind spoilers
Quarterfinal: Beatrice (Umineko no naku koro ni) vs. Hera (Wolf 359)
Beatrice
Hera
See results
Voting ended onAug 22, 2025
Propaganda:
Beatrice:
[big spoilers below] Are we talking about the legendary witch of the island? Or Sayo Yasuda, the teen who feels trapped in the island, and projects to kill the entire Ushiromiya family? Or the alter that was born to keep the love from Battler? Or the teen who finds confidence in performing magic with her apprentice Maria? Who is Beatrice? This question can only been answered in a VN longer than the Bible.
2. The second epilogue of Episode 1 of Umineko tells you that the true mystery of the story is understanding Beatrice's heart. I'm not sure how much I can say, even behind spoilers
Quarterfinal: Buddy (Cinderella Boy) vs. Faulkner (The Silt Verses)
Buddy
Faulkner
See results
Voting ended onAug 22, 2025
Propaganda:
Buddy:
I love him. Hes so neat. He is such a cunt in the best way possible. When we are first introduced to him he seems to be a cookie cutter villain/antagonist to the main character, but hesso much more! He's mean and petty and treats the main character, Chase, like he's a dumb kid for a good chunk of the story. He reviels in inconveniencing Chase and completely leans into his role as the Villianess (long story), BUT he also helps Chase out way more then he has to, guiding him through the story and answering his questions, he's being snarky the while time but still. The fandom came to the realisation that Buddy not only claims to hate liars, but he himself never lies. On top of that Buddy is fair and plays by the rules, he never half asses anything and will admit when he's inthe wrong. He love chocolate and physical affection and being the center of attention. He gets jealous easily and has complicated feelings about Chase. If you view the story from his pov after completing the first season his actions suddenly make so much sense and it becomes clear why he was being so aggressive towards Chase. He loves books and storytelling and has the most cunty ass outfits and he cares so much about the unspoken fashion contest him and Chase are having. I love him so much he is so traumatised and needs a hug.
Faulkner:
He has a lot of internal conflict or at least thatās how I understood it, heās a religious zealot and a prophet and wholeheartedly believes in his god but heās also trying to get into a leadership position within his faith and (spoilers start here I guess?) the more power he gains and the more people heās responsible for the more disillusioned he gets, he really only has one real friend in Carpenter who is, basically, his sister but when he loses it and kills somebody important he pins it on her and the guilt and conflict of all of that kinda make him lose it
Akane Kurashiki: Literally Schrodinger's catgirl. Has incredibly complicated and questionably valid reasons for everything she does yet often gets simplified in fandom as "woman who is deceptive (see: not a perfect love interest who, again, does morally questionable things) that I therefore don't like"
#AKANE GO GO GO#she's literally complex and just wants to save herself / save the world but hurts so many people along the way#but her reasons for doing so are interesting and legitimate and she's never going to be that perfect love interest girl#because she's so much more complex#and she really loves the guy she kidnaps twice and includes in her schemes but it won't stop her#because she'll do anything for her goals. she's on a mission and it doesn't matter what he wants#she's deeply flawed in suchhhhh a fun way. the best character of all time#also. i saw that she won against renga 18trip... rip renga i saw that the propaganda was long as hell for him#akane may be my favorite character ever but i like renga a lot (<- i loooove his character novel) and i admire the propaganda a lot#but now akane has won and i don't need to feel bad for calling for an AKANE KURASHIKI SWEEP FOREVER#zero escape spoilers
Akane Kurashiki: Literally Schrodinger's catgirl. Has incredibly complicated and questionably valid reasons for everything she does yet often gets simplified in fandom as "woman who is deceptive (see: not a perfect love interest who, again, does morally questionable things) that I therefore don't like"
Round 3: Isabel Lovelace (Wolf 359) vs. Norman (The Promised Neverland)
Isabel Lovelace
Norman
See results
Voting ended onAug 20, 2025
Propaganda:
Isabel Lovelace:
She is a woman full of grief and rage and determination. She is the antagonist of season two, but in my opinion she's never a bad guy. From her perspective she found out her last living crewmate had offed the rest, knocked him out, escaped on their self-made shuttle that was supposed to hold all of them, went to sleep in cryo, and when she woke up she was right back at the space station she had just escaped from. So yes, she rigged a bomb to her shuttle hooked to a dead man's switch based off her heart rate. It wasn't personal, she didn't know who she would be dealing with. And then she saw three strangers in the station she lived in with amazing people for years, and the person who killed those amazing people and she went, okay, I'm getting the good humans out, and blowing up the station and the bad human and unfortunately the good AI but this station cannot continue to exist. At some point she decided she would not kill the AI but did she tell anyone? No. She gives her blood to save someone. Later she gives her life (she gets better). But she doesn't give an inch if she can help it. She finds out she's a clone and has to decide if she wants to be Isabel Lovelace, and who that would be. The original Isabel Lovelace also wanted to burn the corporation to the ground, yet this one worries she'd not be true to her past self if she continues down the path she's been on. She's funny. She's sad. She demands that people help her help them but she doesn't open up enough to get them to understand. She conspires with the person she hates the most to manipulate someone she actually likes alright.
Norman: Where do I begin with this asshole. Right off the bat he's introduced as incredibly calm and collected under pressure, but in reality he is just as scared of death as everyone else, he just pretends not to be and stays strong because he thinks sacrificing his life, his soul and his morals is the only surefire way to save everyone he loves. As a child raised to be food who was also experimented on by being fed weird drugs and hormones, he's been surrounded by people who hate the demons (humans' natural predators in this world) that caused them so much suffering with all their might. He develops a plan to drive them to extinction but not out of hate, out of what he views as necessary. He doesn't want to sacrifice any more human children and he will kill as many demon civillians as he needs to to stop the cycle of bloodshed (trust me guys the cycle of violence ends with me). Even though he knows what he's doing is wrong, he keeps doing it. Besides, the drugs that were fed to him gave him long-lasting effects, and it's not like he'll be around much longer to witness the pain he caused. Anyway here's a fansong: https://youtu.be/IJDtHeUQKzs?si=_YHRSLslL11kjMsY
Round 2: Hera (Wolf 359) vs. Rosa Ushiromiya (Umineko no naku koro ni)
Hera
Rosa Ushiromiya
See results
Voting ended onAug 12, 2025
Propaganda:
Rosa Ushiromiya:
Rosa Umineko
More seriously, you first meet a kind mother. You then discover that she's deeply lacks confidence, especially in presence of her siblings. Then, you discover that she's abusive towards Maria, her daughter. She was traumatized by the bullying of her siblings. She got pregnant from a man who left her with debts. This is an extremelly shameful situation in 80's japan. She tries to be a good mother. But at some points, she can't control her anger and hits her. She escapes her issues by leaving her house and neglecting her daughter. But she loves Maria. When she's out of anger she regrets what she did. She developped anger as a trauma response and turn against every people that she loves. She's sometimes interpreted as having BPD.
Once again, it looks like I'm not giving justice to her
Round 2: Beatrice (Umineko no naka koro ni) vs. Heathcliff (Limbus Company)
Beatrice
Heathcliff
See results
Voting ended onAug 12, 2025
Propaganda:
Beatrice:
[big spoilers below] Are we talking about the legendary witch of the island? Or Sayo Yasuda, the teen who feels trapped in the island, and projects to kill the entire Ushiromiya family? Or the alter that was born to keep the love from Battler? Or the teen who finds confidence in performing magic with her apprentice Maria? Who is Beatrice? This question can only been answered in a VN longer than the Bible.
2. The second epilogue of Episode 1 of Umineko tells you that the true mystery of the story is understanding Beatrice's heart. I'm not sure how much I can say, even behind spoilers
Heathcliff: So he starts off as a brash, vulgar, unruly guy who literally answers everything with violence. Literally kills his coworkers. Then... you see softer sides from his alternate universes. He talks about getting back to/at someone. You're not quite sure.
By the time it's before his chapter in the story, he assists the one he's constantly been butting heads with. He comforts her. He reminds her what this company, these people, how they want to help her. How they don't want her to drown.
Then his chapter is revealed. The woman he loves is dead. And she married another man... victims of circumstance and silence, neither wanted to hurt the other, and in turn tore the other apart. A version of him wants to kill all those who hurt his love, especially himself as he travels worlds to destroy them and add them to the Wild Hunt. His lover wishes to destroy herself, so Heathcliff stops hurting... He's incredible.
Round 2: Akane Kurashiki (Zero Escape) vs. Renga Nishizono (18Trip)
Akane Kurashiki
Renga Nishizono
See results
Voting ended onAug 10, 2025
Propaganda:
Akane Kurashiki: Literally Schrodinger's catgirl. Has incredibly complicated and questionably valid reasons for everything she does yet often gets simplified in fandom as "woman who is deceptive (see: not a perfect love interest who, again, does morally questionable things) that I therefore don't like"
Renga Nishizono:
Renga Nishizono is a 23 year old celebrity talent and model who puts on an air of superiority, going so far as to call others around him peasants and just generally be insulting. His catchphrase is "I only want the real thing." However, breaking even a tiny bit under the surface we see he just wants to be loved and accepted. The facade he puts up is something he believes the real him* should have, not who he really is deep down. When Kafka Oguro takes over Hama Tours and keeps Renga on as mayor, Renga's resolve for the facade starts cracking. He comments on "pauper" food like tissues (no, seriously, tissues are sweet according to him) and cares for his grandmother's roses despite feeling like when she died, she hated the way he was tarnishing the Nishizono name. It's only while on a study trip to Kobe that he learns that she loved him and didn't want to push him away and the facade finally crumbles away. The real Renga Nishizono is a little naive but hard working, he wants to do his best not just for Hama's guests, but for his new friends in R1ze and Hama Tours. He loves Hama and even when he has to step down as the Renga Nishizono the world at large knows and go back to being Ren the street rat, he can leave knowing that the real Renga will have a place to belong (ignore that Kafka would get really mad at Ren for running away like that. "I hired *you*, not the guy you're waiting on.").
Okay *cracks knuckles* Renga Nishizono the man that you are. I've already written a decently extensive essay on just one chapter (Sun Will R1ze Side A-10) about how just the one scene focusing on his internal monologue and his relationship with his butler and his father can show so much beyond his initial appearances. And with Renga, the literal first time we see him is when the MC (referred to as Shuunin from here on) is trying to return his luggage to him after they got mixed up. They have the same suitcase but Renga's has a little dog charm (cute) on it and Renga just loses it, he's calling Shuunin a peasant and interrupting them every time they try to speak up and at the same time, he's in a verbal argument with a man named Lu Liguang. The two of them have never really gotten along for reasons that are way too complicated to delve into here.
Also can I just say this is so silly cute of him. I love the detail that he calls his sunglasses puppies, really adds to him as a dog boy. Anyway I digress.
Really great first impressions here Ward Mayor 3, but he has this front that he puts up and he doesn't want to let anyone get too close, pushing them away all the way until the very end of Side A (I will note here just for future reference that the main story chapters of 18trip are done like cassette tapes, Side A and Side B, each showing a different side of the trip and exposing different conflicts within each group, so Side A is bringing the group together for the first time and going on a study trip somewhere, in this case they go to Kobe).
Sorry for the screenshot dump but I think its important to see him working through everything on his own. This happens on their trip to Kobe where Liguang confronted Renga about his grandmother's actual feelings for him, Renga still feels like a failure and like he only has one thing going for him, his fake ego and celebrity status that came from it. He struggled in school and ran Ward 3 into the ground because he didn't know what he was doing. He's partially illiterate* and struggles with expressing himself and getting along with others. He's so deeply lonely just to protect the identity of his only friend to this point. Vote Renga Nishizono and maybe try reading 18trip if I've compelled you enough with him.
*I say partially, it's implied that he struggles to read and he definitely struggles with speaking, often tripping over words and misspeaking with similar words and has to be corrected (often by Liguang), since he didn't start formal schooling until age 11, I wouldn't be surprised if he had a hard time picking up reading so late in his adolescent development which led to his troubles in school later on.
alright i am. well aware that this may be a futile fight as i'm aware of how akane is (have not played 999 or any of the other games she shows up in but i've Heard About Her very much) but! that doesn't mean i don't want to give it my best here for renga my renga.
going to preface this before we go further that fandom wide mischaracterization of renga as a like. uke in a typical yaoi dynamic is mainly what made me submit him for this and he's so much more than that and i want to show people all sides of him. he has so much going on AND we're about to get another huge lore drop on him in literally a week with his 1.5 novel update for his birthday.
and secondly, this will contain spoilers for his first character novel, The Preppy and the Pauper, as well as liguang's novel, May Luck Be Upon Your Friend's Next Life, as the two of them are very intertwined and i swear reading them for the first time was insane. also this will include past lives and reincarnation cycle stuff so it might get confusing and uhm. well that's not my fault.
Okay now that you've consented to seeing spoilers, we do have to establish some naming conventions. As mentioned above briefly, the Renga we know is not the original Renga Nishizono. That title on paper belongs to a character that we will call Kiba, and this is the name you will see referenced in most of these screenshots, and I will try to clarify when needed which Renga a screenshot is talking about. Our Renga will be referred to alternatively as Ren, especially when talking about his childhood self. Liguang was a childhood friend of Kiba and is locked in a fated reincarnation cycle with him and the two of them are trying to kill each other. Kiba is currently away plotting something in the main story and is widely associated with thunderstorms (by Liguang) and the sun (by Ren).
So. Ren. Ren is an orphan at the start of his story, abandoned by the brick factory that gave him his name*, and he's considered an outcast even among street kids. He kinda just does his own thing, picking up trash and sticking to back alleys so as not to be seen dirtying the streets. Until he was about 11 years old, he was just existing on the margins of society.
And then Kiba enters the picture.
Kiba and Ren are dopplegangers of each other. I personally feel like Ren was some sort of glitch in the timeline and isn't supposed to exist, but he does. And at this moment in time as pre-teens, Ren is a starving street kid just trying to get by and Kiba is a kid from a prominent family in Hama that's beginning to lose its status. Kiba is starting to piece together a plan to replace himself with Ren, Ren who is so trusting, so willing to do anything for the only person who sees him, innocent, bright.
And Ren is very aware of how his own reputation as an orphan on the street can and will reflect on Kiba and he's crying about it. He can't ruin the life of his only friend just by existing. Yet Kiba, rich, loved, Kiba, makes a promise to Ren, that Ren is the only person he wants to make sure knows he, Kiba, is still alive through their secret signal.
Their symbols are the sun, which Ren compares Kiba to the sun as it rises over Hama's harbor, gently shining down on the city with love and adoration. He's always drawn to the light despite being raised in the darkness, and that's something others will notice about him too. His harsh upbringing and circumstances around his existence can't stamp out his kindness and warmth. Though Kiba smiles sadly at this (which we'll get to later as to why), of course that's what his best friend would pick.
Before Kiba takes off for his mysterious mission and has Ren take his place, they have a day out together and Ren says he wants to go to the top of the tallest tower that overlooks the harbor. This is Ren's defining moment as a child, being able to see Hama from above, as if he were the sun itself, as if he were Kiba... This trip being a treat from Kiba as well, something that he paid for entirely and worked so hard for really does show how much Ren meant to him. They go into a tower that's been blocked to Ren by virtue of being homeless and unable to meet the dress code and they get blue soft serve ice cream and they're just like two kids having fun.
Now this is where I'm going to do some speculation on their relationship. Although Ren at this time is malnourished and definitely not able to take care of himself very well on account of being homeless, he bears a striking resemblance to Kiba. This has not happened before as per Liguang's novel:
But I also don't think Kiba is intending to put Ren in the crossfire, he cares too much and seems genuinely attached to him. As Kiba is Ren's sun, so too is Ren Kiba's sun. I think if Ren actually manages to salvage his relationship with Liguang (which I'm hoping we see some of that in the next feature event, and I believe it will be Liguang and Renga). Ren, I think, accidentally ended up in the wrong timeline, becoming both Kiba and not Kiba, and having to figure out who he really is outside of the fake Renga personality he put up to keep people from finding out he isn't the "real" Renga. Despite the fact that he's been carrying that name for like twelve years now and arguably is the real Renga more than Kiba ever was.
As for the smiling sadly, Kiba knew that he was going to leave Ren eventually, even if he was setting Ren up to have a roof over his head and food in his stomach, he was still going to leave his friend behind. And he knows that he is Ren's only friend and will be leaving him entirely alone physically in this world, maybe doesn't know how bad it'll be in school (I'm honestly not even sure Kiba thought that one all the way through. Ren cannot read??? He barely graduated high school man t-t), but it's still better than being homeless entirely. Maybe he can find someone else to be friends with, maybe he won't, but they still keep in touch through the stone. Two lonely suns orbiting each other.
One last thing because I really don't want this to get too long, but Renga hasn't forgotten his roots either, volunteering with Shuunin at soup kitchens and donating money to help the people in the same position Renga was, which Renga was very lucky to be able to escape with the help of Kiba and the Nishizono family (I'm not about to go looking for it at the moment but Papa Nishizono, when asked why he let Ren stay with the family despite knowing that he wasn't his son, says that Ren looked like his son but hungry and dirty and very much in need of a place to live. Paraphrased, of course.) and he knows that not everyone is.
Round 2: Faulkner (The Silt Verses) vs Arbiter Thel'Vadam (Halo)
Faulkner
Thel'Vadam
See Results
Voting ended onAug 11, 2025
Propaganda:
Faulkner:
He has a lot of internal conflict or at least thatās how I understood it, heās a religious zealot and a prophet and wholeheartedly believes in his god but heās also trying to get into a leadership position within his faith and (spoilers start here I guess?) the more power he gains and the more people heās responsible for the more disillusioned he gets, he really only has one real friend in Carpenter who is, basically, his sister but when he loses it and kills somebody important he pins it on her and the guilt and conflict of all of that kinda make him lose it
Thel'Vadam (broken up into paragraphs because it exceeds text block limit):
Thel was raised to be the best, coming from a legendary and powerful family line on his homeworldās most prominent nation-state. His prodigal rise was marred only by a training accident that sent him to a secret doctor visit, as his warrior people shun the shed of blood anywhere that isnāt the battlefield. He was voted to be the kaidon of his keep at a young age; literally the next morning, he fought off three assassins, then used only his wit to figure out the mastermind (lying about keeping one alive and the survivor telling him who it was, all to analyze the reactions of the council of elders for the culprit). Shortly afterward, he would be sent on a mission where he got his first taste of the corruption of the Covenant his people served - and he failed this test of character, ignoring all the warning signs that something was wrong with the empire, choosing to kill his friend to defend leaders he knew were about to execute them both as scapegoats, and was thusly rewarded by his overlords with a new title and life.
Over the years of war with humanity, he became the sharpest weapon in the empireās genocide, killing billions of humans and destroying over a dozen planets, to the point he was singled out as one of the factors for imminent human extinction. Yet it all came to a head at the first Halo, where his struggle to command the battlefield alongside an overzealous, uncompromising religious leader cost everything; he eventually would sneakily kill the prophet to get him out of the way, but it was too late, and Thel chose the continued safety of the galaxy over safeguarding the Halo from the Flood parasite. He was condemned as a colossal failure, his punishment made a public spectacle, his own name stripped from him; yet, when given the choice, he continued to serve the Covenant empire as the suicidal Arbiter.
His first mission was to strike down a heretic telling apparent lies about their religion, where he once again failed to take in all the red flags and warnings. Yet he also displayed a noble heart, as he ordered all his other fellow soldiers to retreat, while he plunged the station out of atmosphere to lure out their target, knowing heād die in the process. Having been extracted just in time to survive, though, his next mission had him scouting the second Halo for its activation key, where his loyalty was rewarded by betrayal - he was launched into the depths of the parasite, ordered by the highest leaders of the Covenant.
Now his journey of deconstruction truly began; although he still desperately clung to his faith, his revenge required stopping an important religious ceremony, where it finally hit him - all the lies, the enormity of the truth, the weight of what he had done in service to lies. He attempted to convince the Chieftain that had betrayed him under orders, but could not, and solemnly killed him to save everyone else. He allied with humanity and fought to protect their homeworld, to the point that when the parasite touched down, he successfully pleaded for his people to *only* burn the surface that the parasite had hit, sparing the rest of the planet. During the course of the end of the war, he became close friends with his greatest enemy, the Master Chief, to the point he delved into parasitic hell to help him escape. He finally solidified his changed heart by personally killing the Hierarch he had once killed his own friend to protect, and then he returned home to petition his people to become more than allies of convenience with humanity.
Unfortunately, his efforts caused a bloody civil war, where his values were tested further - by rumors that humans had manipulated his people into this war. He did not condemn the entire human species for these actions, though, showing his matured temper. And while many of his people clung to hatred of humanity, even among those that did found themselves eternally grateful and loyal when the Arbiter helped them in times in need - in one instance, he helped an entire colony find a new home after the war made theirs inhospitable. Thel realized the new destiny of his people and sought to make it reality - to unite his whole species, and eventually the others, in a new alliance, different from the theocratic empire theyād freed themself from. His stated motivation is that its the right thing to do, but even he cannot deny the drive to solidify his legacy, of a little bit of ego still existing within. Thel believes himself to be responsible for the fate of his people and of the galaxy, to be their savior, and to still be the atoner for all he had done for the Covenant. To this day, he still tries to reason with dangerous elements of Covenant remnants, because he knew what it was like to be in their shoesā¦ but he is also not averse to eventually drawing his blade against them. Even when one heart wants to cling to old grudges, the other knows the wisdom in diplomacy with old enemies like the Jiralhanae species and tries its hardest to win their leaders over.
The man who once nearly doomed humanity to extinction now has a mural of the Master Chief painted on an ancestral wall, swelling with pride when humans learn the Sangheili language and culture, and speaks fondly of Earth. The warrior once the pinnacle of the old ways, now seeks to reform his people, such as allowing female enlistment and shedding the shame of doctors, although he himself still may yet have areas of improvement. Halo fans, despite the Master Chief being the face of the franchise, have fallen in love with the Arbiter for his journey of deconstruction and redemption, for his honor and wisdom, and for his characterās themes of continued self-improvement even when one has seemingly reached the top.
Round 2: Buddy (Cinderella Boy (webtoon)) vs. Flynn (Echo)
Buddy
Flynn
See Results
Voting ended onAug 11, 2025
Propaganda:
Buddy:
I love him. Hes so neat. He is such a cunt in the best way possible. When we are first introduced to him he seems to be a cookie cutter villain/antagonist to the main character, but hesso much more! He's mean and petty and treats the main character, Chase, like he's a dumb kid for a good chunk of the story. He reviels in inconveniencing Chase and completely leans into his role as the Villianess (long story), BUT he also helps Chase out way more then he has to, guiding him through the story and answering his questions, he's being snarky the while time but still. The fandom came to the realisation that Buddy not only claims to hate liars, but he himself never lies. On top of that Buddy is fair and plays by the rules, he never half asses anything and will admit when he's inthe wrong. He love chocolate and physical affection and being the center of attention. He gets jealous easily and has complicated feelings about Chase. If you view the story from his pov after completing the first season his actions suddenly make so much sense and it becomes clear why he was being so aggressive towards Chase. He loves books and storytelling and has the most cunty ass outfits and he cares so much about the unspoken fashion contest him and Chase are having. I love him so much he is so traumatised and needs a hug.
Flynn:
Oh, Flynn. So much I could say about him, the fucked up little Gila lizard that he is.
There's not much I can say about him that's *not* super spoiler-y. On the surface level, he just appears like a complete dick towards his friends, being borderline hellbent on finding out the circumstances surrounding the death of one of their friends, Sydney Bronson (someone who was his own best friend), when they were kids to the point where his attempts at questioning another member of the friend group (TJ Hess) could very easily come off as borderline, if not outright, harassment. He just comes off as an asshole obsessed with something that happened as kids instead of just putting it behind him and move on.
However, things are not as they seem in the dying, southwestern town of Echo.
This is the section that gets into full spoilers as, since Echo is a visual novel with multiple routes, you don't get much focus on Flynn until his very own route.
There are two main things you need to know as context for the explanation of his character and the complexities within: 1) There exists an entity, referred to as Socket Man (due to his face looking like that of an electrical socket), that has been tormenting/psychologically terrorizing/otherwise haunting the main characters for a good portion of their lives. What's relevant for this, though, is that TJ saw him at the lake where Sydney drowned. Put a pin in this as it will be important later down the line. 2) Flynn, as he was growing up as one of the few openly gay men in the small southwestern town of Echo in the early 2000s, had a lot of shit thrown his way, including having a rather promiscuous reputation and, ironically enough, having a scat fetish. Only one of these is true but, again, put a pin in this.
So, Flynn Moore. His obsession with finding out what happened to Sydney? Largely due to how close they were, especially since, 6 months before his death, Flynn had to help Syd bury the dead body of his abusive (and homophobic) dad after he killed himself in front of his son. Not only that but, as it turns out, it was none other than Chase Hunter, the protagonist of Echo himself, who killed Sydney, out of a misguided notion that Sydney was going to kill TJ (the idea spurred on by rumors that Sydney was the one who killed his dad).
His promiscuity? Largely true, but, might as well play into it since A) there really isn't any other way to hookup with men in Echo outside of the local gay bar (known as The Smoke Room) and B) it's his personal way of coping with the trauma he has since he's not really emotionally close with *any* of the other main characters save for one member of the friend group, Carl Hendricks (who's plenty complex in his own right). It might not exactly be the *best* coping mechanism but...certainly better than others, I suppose.
As for Socket Man? You might think the two are unrelated beyond the both of them residing in Echo but you'd be very, very wrong. See, near the end of Flynn's route, after Flynn gets separated from the rest of the main characters due to a completely separate entity possessing him (that previously possessed Chase), he's made to think he's walking into The Smoke Room where he sees an adult version of Sydney. He converses with this adult Sydney a bit before it's revealed that not only was this all a fabrication by the entity possessing Flynn but also he actually walked straight into the burning mines of the town.
Furthermore, preying on Flynn's endless thirst for knowledge and, because Echo itself is a whole host of weird time bullshit, he's thrown through different violent incidents in the town's history including, but not limited to, the day that Sydney died as he's becoming the very entity that indirectly contributed to both his best friend dying and him becoming the complex, traumatized, fucked up character that he is at the start of the game.
Also, if Flynn does get in and when you tag all the fandoms, can you use the tag "echo vn"? I only ask because that's the tag the fandom uses as opposed to just a generic "echo," probably to differentiate it from the MCU show of the same name. Thank you! :]
