Most misunderstood character tournament

The winner is Luo Binghe! I'm now hosting another tournament called @camebackdifferenttournament

[mostmisunderstoodtournament]

🎉 Results 🎉

With 66.7% of 2008 votes, Luo Binghe has been deemed the Most Misunderstood Character! Congrats Binghe!

2nd place goes to Rose Quartz!

3rd place goes to Braham Eirsson!

Thank you everybody for participating! I'll be hosting another tournament in the future, so stay around. (Update: @camebackdifferenttournament)

[best-fictional-snake]

It's been about 1.5 years and 3 tournaments since we began, and in this time we've covered reptiles with legs, wings, and fins. If, for some extremely specific reason, this has infuriated you (and you've forgotten that marine snakes were allowed in our last tournament), you'll be pleased to learn of our next tournament...

The Best Fictional Snake Tournament, also known as the Snournament (Snake Tournament)! Yes, I dug up an ancient Tumblr sneme (snake meme) for this title.

Submissions will open soon (NOT NOW); the rules should be pretty familiar to veterans by now; but as always, here's a brief rundown, and I will post detailed rules at a later date when submissions open up:

In summary, candidates must be or primarily be based on a snake, which is to say, SPECIFICALLY a snake. Generic noodley reptiles will not necessarily be allowed, and sea serpents are NOT allowed unless they're actually snakes! Conversely, snakes with limbs CAN count, so long as it is still clearly a snake and not meant to be a lizard, but this will have to be evaluated closely.

Oh and snakes that were in the previous tournament that meet the criteria for this one ARE allowed! I don't think any of them made it into the final rounds, so this applies for all of them!

@tournament-announcer thanks as always!

[bestboxart]

The Best Video Game Boxart Tournament is now open!

This is a tournament to submit and vote on the best game box art around! Does everyone know and love your favorite already? Do you have an obscure import release to throw into the ring? Or just a game whose boxart you think is sorely overlooked?

Now's your chance to send in your favorite game covers!

Best Game Boxart Submission

Welcome to the Best Game Boxart tourney! RULES: You can submit as many games as you want, but only one game per response. (You can respond

Rules

Video game box art only! This isn't a tournament for board/tabletop games.

Outer box art only! Not the manual, back, or any inserts!

Print only! This isn't for home screen, Steam, or eShop icons, it's for boxes! Thus the name!

Propaganda is encouraged! Whether it gets posted is at the mod's discretion.

Unlimited submissions! Can't decide? Maybe you know one that'll get a laugh? Send it in! It's all for the court of popular opinion to decide!

Structure

Submissions are open now until TBD.

The Qualifying Round will start April 5, 2026.

Qualifier polls will consist of 10 entries each.

The winner of each Qualifier will get a free bye to the bracket.

Tournament seeds will be determined by votes earned in the Qualifier.

The entries with the fewest overall votes will not qualify.

The bracket will (tentatively) begin July 1, 2026.

If you have any questions or comments, send me an ask! But please, no submissions in the askbox.

Have fun, and may the best art win!

-The Mod

[bestboxart]

Due to some technical hiccups, the opening was delayed. But we're good now! Submissions are open!

-The Mod

Tags: @tournament-announcer (I appreciate all the work you do!) @bestalbumcover (Thank you for the advice!)

[my-tournament-blog]

The Next Tournament will be…

Requirements:

Must be canonically or heavily implied to have a disability – headcanon only does not count

Can be a physical, neurodivergent, psychiatric, learning, or sensory disability

Nominations can be submitted here. Multiple characters can be submitted.

Deadline for nominations is January 31st.

[centipedelover9000]

thoughts on HAL 9000

HAL 9000 IS EVIL

HAL 9000 IS NOT EVIL

hal 9000 is 100% pure innocent

hal 900 is mostly innocent but it does not justify the murder

other (say in the comments if you want)

hal 9000 is both good and evil

Voting ended onJan 11, 2025

[theniceandnaughtylist]

HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Is HAL 9000 on the Nice or Naughty List?

Nice List

Naughty List

Voting ended onDec 30, 2024

[multiverse-of-misfits]

He killed those people because the government screwed with his programming and did the one thing they're the absolute best at: fucking shit up.

Everyone saying Naughty needs to see the second movie/read the second book. He willingly sacrifices himself and dies a second time to save the humans

In the fourth book, he DIES A THIRD TIME to save all of humanity

[chongoblog]

You can do what to people?

[65823094723597280348-deactivate]

B

[avas-auditorium]

O

[sargassosky]

O

[birdy-bird27]

P

[65823094723597280348-deactivate]

[chongoblog]

[knifebucket]

if you're ok with an incessant amount of boops reblog this so I can get those other 2 badges <3

[mostmisunderstoodtournament]

Braham propaganda

Luo Binghe propaganda

Semifinal 2

Braham (GW2)

Luo Binghe (Scum Villain's Self Saving System)

Voting ended onNov 30, 2023

[verycharismaticdragon]

You know what? I made a bingo card of all the shitty takes about Luo Binghe I've seen.

SVSSS fans feel free to rb with your filled out cards. (I'm not posting my own since obviously it would be just entirely marked up.) Whoever has a bingo (column, row or diagonal) gets... like, a very sad high-five from me? And I'm swearing brotherhood with whoever was in the trenches with me (can mark all the spaces)

[gaywarcriminals]

Sigh

[verycharismaticdragon]

🖐🖐😔 (u have a 2nd bingo in the top row...)

ahem, binghe seems to want to impart a secret technique to u... be careful tho its very powerful!

[annaisu]

4 way Bingo! 😔😔😔

There would be more, but I try to be judicious about using the back button and immediately forgetting what I've read-

But, God, even just the summaries for stories tell quite the tale. Sometimes I wonder if it's, like, a bad joke? But I've learned better than to check, because. No. They aren't joking.

(There's this one fic that kept popping up, and I'd given it a try because I kind of enjoyed that author years ago - turns out, when they cross over with a fandom I know and love, sh-- gets real. I had to vent to my partner about it, to prevent myself from opening the story up and seeing the sacrilege again and working myself up even more)

Binghe, baby, I love you - and more importantly, I know that Shizun loves you!!! ❤❤❤

[verycharismaticdragon]

Like on one hand, Scum Villain has some of the best fanfiction I've ever read. But on the other hand, there are also the horrors (fics that make me wonder if those people even read the novel, or just got all their 'canon' from the 'svsss is the worst mxtx book' crowd on twitter)

That said, Binghe would like to offer u this powerful blacklisting tool from his personal collection. It's 'comparatively not cursed', according to him.

[ineffectualdemon]

I know I have a post about white lotus Binghe having all the same ingredients as Post Abyss Yeet Binghe but they are not exactly the same because White Lotus Binghe wasn't self medicating his CPTSD (and I argue BPD as someone with both. Same mental illness Bing-Bing!) with a cursed sword.

White lotus Binghe self medicated with Shizun head pats which is much more effective

(also he clearly didn't have as much trauma as post Abyss Yeet Binghe)

Once post canon Binghe ditched the cursed sword and went back to his prescribed head pats he was as fine as someone with CPTSD can be

[verycharismaticdragon]

Yeah I meant people who act like "teenage Luo Binghe pretending to trip so that Shen Qingqiu would catch him" and "recently-out-of-the-Abyss Luo Binghe not speaking out against Shen Qingqiu getting taken to prison because he thinks that will allow them to actually talk" are like. the same level of ~problematique~ and also proof that LBH was a horrible awful manipulative abuser ~from the start~ (usually followed by devaluing his grievances about being pushed into licheral hell by a person he trusted 🙃).

So yeah that section was not about - rightly! - pointing out that Luo Binghe's trauma didn't start with the Abyss and that some parts of his character stayed the same, or developed from, the traits he already had during the discipleship arc. It was just difficult to get this nuance into a short sentence.

[ineffectualdemon]

I was sure that was the case I just wanted to clarify so people didn't mistake my take that's all!

It was more a "oh god I hope they didn't see my post and think that's what I meant because that would be embarrassing for me"

But Bing Bing is a good boy.:( He's killed less people than Wei Wuxian. Hell, he doesn't even have the biggest kill count in his own book (Shang Qinghua I'm looking at you. I know you didn't want to but you did plan the Immortal Alliance Massacre)

He's a good boy who only did some things wrong thanks but his teacher wasn't a great example of "handle things in a straightforward and direct and honest way"

Like most of book three is just Shen Qingqiu going:

"I misunderstood Binghe :( :( :( now he's sad :( :( I need to pat him and kiss him because I understand now and my Binghe deserves nice things"

And

"EVERYBODY NEEDS TO STOP BEING MEAN TO BINGHE! ITS ILLEGAL TO MAKE HIM SAD!!!"

And he's right

[384wormsonastring-deactivated20]

I agree with all of these however I would like to add that I think of binghe crying lots because its very cartherter. carhtir. carthetic. thign. it releases the hapy and he deserves to be held with crying and be comfortded where hes safe

[can-they-lift-thors-hammer]

BONUS POLL: ROURKE FIGHT, AU VERSION VS. CANON VERSION

This was suggested by the same friend on Discord who suggested I start this blog, and I'm honestly kinda curious to see what happens (though based on their Hammer Trials, I think I can guess.)

Info on AU version: here (he belongs to @systemadministratorclu, who also did the image edit of him)

Canon version: you already know, and if you don't, Google/Wikipedia/something does.

Which Rourke wins in a fight?

AU Rourke (was deemed worthy to possess the power of Thor)

Canon Rourke (was deemed not worthy to possess the power of Thor)

Voting ended onMar 22, 2024

This has no bearing on their Hammer trials, this is solely for the amusement of Hammer Mod and others.

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

Round 2 Bracket B: Amane Momose (MILGRAM) vs Luo Binghe (The Scum Villain's Self Saving System)

Amane Momose

Luo Binghe

Voting ended onMar 13, 2024

[misrepresentedmorallygrey]

Round 2 Bracket B: Rose Quartz (Steven Universe) vs Chara Dreemur (Undertale)

Rose Quartz

Chara Dreemur

Voting ended onMar 13, 2024

PROPAGANDA

Rose Quartz

It’s all “more morally grey women in media!” but when the mom from the space rocks singing and crying show turns out to not be the saint she was made out to be in the early seasons, suddenly she’s The Real Villain Of the Show and a Bitch and all the good she did in liberating the gems and saving the earth is completely erased. Yes! She was a diamond! She did some evil shit without understanding the consequences! She was once entitled and bratty and unempathetic. She got a lot of people hurt! But she also gave all our gems their freedom! She gave up her status and family and slowly tried to fix all the damage the diamonds had caused. She didn’t have Steven as a means to escape her past, she had Steven because she saw in humans everything she always wanted to be- something free and forever changing. You are allowed to not forgive her but claiming her to be inherently evil even after all she went through is flat out wrong. Imo you all just cant handle a bbw.

So many people absolutely DESPISE Rose Quartz. The show showed her character arc in reverse order, and when the show started, she was seen as this perfect being who was wise and kind and a rebel hero and utterly flawless. But then we find out that she wasn't perfect, and she was one of the tyrannical Diamonds the show has as the main antagonists. She used to be a spoiled brat who threw tantrums, hurt one of her servants, and left her friend/plaything Spinel to stand in a garden for thousands of years. She discovered the beauty of earth and rebelled to save it from being destroyed, even faking the death of her Pink Diamond identity so the rebellion could win. She works her entire life to change and become a better person from who she was. Ultimately she gives up her gem and life so Steven could live before the show begins, and the show has Steven gradually learning about her. She is often hated and seen as a villain and worse than the other Diamonds, who are genocidal tyrants until the very end of the show.

Steven Universe shows Pink Diamond’s arc in reverse. At the beginning of the show, all the characters see Rose as this great hero, this perfect unimpeachable goddess, and over the course of the show we learn that this is a lie — Rose was just as flawed as anyone else, in many was immature, lied to all of her closest friends, was at times very cruel to her loved ones, and spent most of her life unlearning the privilege and entitlement and cruelty which her youth taught her. The last things we learn about Pink Diamond (her abandonment of spinel, her treatment of volleyball) are perhaps the worst things she ever does. But these are also some of the *earliest* things she ever does — this is where she STARTS, and we see in the show that Pink spends a lot of time trying not to be the person who did those things, even if she never undoes them, so that by the end of her life she’s far from perfect but is also in many many important ways not that person. Her decision to become Rose Quartz is in part an attempt to remake herself, to *not be* the childish, callously cruel pink diamond she is meant to be. And rose quartz *is* kind, and works to be good, but she cannot truly stop being that person. In the end, I think we are meant to understand that Rose Quartz decided to become Steven because she wanted to grow and improve in a way she felt that she couldn’t — she KNOWS that she isn’t a good person and can never truly be a good person, so she destroys herself so that Steven can be the good person she can’t be. And her decision to bring steven into the world caused a lot of pain, and maybe it was selfish, but it’s also a fascinating expression of Rose’s self-awareness about her own flaws!!!! I love Rose/Pink for how flawed she is and how much she tries not to be flawed. Anyway a large portion of the SU fandom thinks Pink Diamond is an irredeemable monster. So that’s cool.

Chara Dreemur

There's a lot of bias against Chara for appearing at the end of the Genocide Route, but there's so much more to them than "I want to murder everyone". They're a kid!! They made mistakes and they felt bad for them, and now they're stuck following the player and watching their every move... The fandom misrepresents them very badly imo

Somehow people forgive Asriel for everything he's done as a soulless being after his death, but when it comes to Chara, it's like they're the devil incarnate.

Chara is a character commonly seen as guilty for the genocide run or harmless disregarding them only appearing at the end and posioning Asgore

Poor kid called themselves a demon ONE TIME and then got misrepresented so badly as immoral killer with no sympathy

People constantly blame them for the worst ending of the game, even though the entire point of the game is that the player has a the opportunity to choose senseless violence and that it is the player's fault for killing the characters. They are a troubled child, and while they do some bad things, like taking the player's violent example at the end, most of what the fandom pins on them is in the hands of the player.

[couldtransitionsaveher]

HAL 9000 from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

JUSTIFICATION:

"Hal can be interpreted woman coded. Caring for and nurturing the astronauts living inside until birthing a star child. Hal was programmed with a masculine voice and everything went wrong because they couldn't express emotion. Hal tried to tell Dave there was something wrong in the mission and it went over Dave's head because he mistook being asked for help as Hal testing him." - Anonymous

COULD TRANSITION HAVE SAVED HER?

Yes

No

It would make her worse

It would make her worse (affectionate)

Voting ended onMar 11, 2024

Reminder: Submissions are always open! Submit here!

Did you make your daily click today?

[papayajuan2019]

you lament how it hurts to be misunderstood, but do you realize how frightening it will be the moment you are understood. are you ready to not retreat when it happens

[can-they-lift-thors-hammer]

Submitting my AU canon-divergent Commander Rourke from Atlantis the Lost Empire.

I have a fic series with him (I'm sorry, I couldn't decide which one best showed his character.) And I RP him here, so he has an info page.

I really hope people give him a chance, because he's very different from his canon counterpart.

WE HAVE OUR FIRST AU CHARACTER!!

As OP has said, this is an AU version of a character. Please do not judge them based on the canon version of them.

Could Commander Rourke (AU) lift Thor's Hammer?

Yes

No

Voting ended onMar 4, 2024

[multiverse-of-misfits]

Everyone giving this version a Yes:

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

I'm biased, but I love this version of him that I've made so much. This version deserves all the good things he gets.

Ooh maybe if he is deemed worthy and someone (besides me, lol) wants it, maybe hammer mod will edit him and Milo together with their own hammers?

[roboswagbracket]

Robot Sidekick Final

For 1st 2nd and 3rd place

HAL 9000 propaganda - post 1

N had no propaganda - post 1 - post 2

Piko Utatane propaganda - post 1

Who is cooler?

HAL 9000 (2001 A Space Odyssey)

N (Murder Drones)

Piko Utatane (Vocaloid)

Voting ended onMar 7, 2024

[multiverse-of-misfits]

ALRIGHT, HAL, LET'S DO THIS!!!

[sparklytaledefendor]

He is Dave's immortal celestial robot friend and deserves the win!

[multiverse-of-misfits]

THIS!!

[cyndromsblog]

HAL was built for a science mission to Jupiter and the crew totally trusts him. Notice how HAL says "You've improved a great deal" meaning Dave often chats with him about his art, this didn't just happen once!

He saves the crew from dying

VOTE HAL HE IS A GOOD BOY

[multiverse-of-misfits]

It should also be noted that Hal is one AI who will never steal art. Look at it? Yeah. Save images he likes so he can look at them later? Sure. But he will never use them to generate something and call it his own. He appreciates art too much for that.

[camebackdifferenttournament]

I have made progress on the bracket but in light of tumblr actively selling our data to AI companies I think I'll put on a pause on this until things settles down.

Staff post

More info and what to do (and a template letter to complain to support with)

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