echocord did a character poll and guess who won >:3 🚩

in order of votes:

1) Leo @ 21 votes

2) Chase @ 19 votes

3) Flynn @ 13 votes

4) Carl @ 12 votes

5) TJ @ 10 votes

6) Jenna @ 8 Votes

Jenna and flynn can be so cruel sometimes

Just finished Carl and Leo's route in Echo and I have some thoughts.

Spoilers for those two routes specifically!!

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Right off the bat, I didn't enjoy the horror in Carl's route very much. I thought it was an expertly written piece of fiction, the reveals were on point, and I really cared about Carl by the end, but the spooky ghost mansion and Jenna's posession just weren't all too scary.

The big twist really feels like it came out of nowhere, and there aren't really any stakes. They kind of just stand around and get attacked over and over while the ghost backstory stuff is playing out. It gets old pretty quick.

Plus, it's not really related to the main point of Carl's route, that being Carl. Its kind of just a traumatic experience that makes him magically learn the moral.

Then I played Leo's route, and it made me cry for the first time in years. This goddamn piece of writing fundamentally changed how I view people and relationships.

The reason it had such a profound effect on me is partially because Leo's hot, but also because I felt a genuine connection with him. The entire route was focused mainly on Leo's obsessive tendencies and how they affect those around him, and the horror played into that perfectly.

When you start off, Leo's described as capable and dependable, and he shows that whenever the horror starts. You begin viewing him as a symbol of security, but as you continue, your view of him shifts, and you lose that security.

It's really effective at making you feel helpless, which is only amplified by the ending.

Good shit. Well written. 10/10

I was talking with some folks on Discord about Leo’s route, specifically the relationship between Chase and Kudzu. But during this discussion, someone asked: ‘how different would the story have been if Kudzu had been a love interest for Leo, rather than for Chase?’ And I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Now for the record, I really like Chase and Kudzu’s relationship. For one thing, Kudzu is important in terms of contrasting the toxicity of Chase and Leo’s relationship with a more healthy supportive one. Kudzu goes out of his way to make sure Chase is safe, not out of obsession or because he needs Chase to function. But because of genuine compassion and selflessness. And they’re able to mutually support each other in the aftermath of the trauma they’ve undergone. He also serves to enhance Chase’s own character arc of being less passive and more decisive across the route. As Leo descends deeper into paranoia and jealousy as the hysteria takes its toll on his mind, he lashes out against Kudzu and kicks him out of the safety of Leo’s house. Chase making the choice to reject what Leo wants, and go and help Kudzu cements that he is steeping out of that noncommittal enabler role. Actually putting his foot down about what he wants by going to help Kudzu just as the raccoon has done for him. I know some people find their dynamic to be a little too ‘knight in shining armour’ adjacent. But Chase has honestly become more self actualised and so is in a better place to start a relationship on even ground.

But he’s also a foil to Leo in that they’ve both lost someone important to them in the past in a way that still affects their behaviour. Kudzu’s grief for his deceased boyfriend manifests in his aloofness and flashes of anxiety. While Leo is still struggling to get over Chase. But contrasting how Kudzu manages his sense of loss compared to Leo, who gets swallowed up in it causing him to hurt other people, is an interesting parallel. There’s also the fact that Leo stays in Echo as a way to hold onto his nostalgic memories of the past, while Kudzu goes there to get away from his.

Keeping that parallel in mind, let’s talk about Leo and Kudzu. They’ve spent two years as friends and neighbours. They’re both dealing with the fact that they lost their romantic partners. In particular Leo is kind of starved for any solidarity with other queer men, since the only out people he knew growing up were Chase (who has now left town on bad, uncertain terms) and Flynn, who is cagey and distant at the best of times and who Leo himself kind of ignored after he and Chase started dating (keep in mind Carl is still closeted/questioning at this point so he doesn’t really apply to this case). Suddenly here comes this new guy who he gets on well with, is going through similar experiences to himself, and who he can relate to as some of the only queer people in a bigoted, backwater town.

Even their personalities are potentially a good match. Leo is highly affectionate and protective, which could be good to help Kudzu, who’s still closed up emotionally due to his grief, out of his shell. Kudzu meanwhile is selfless, protective in his own right, but he’s also willing to put his foot down and, as Leo’s friend, tell him when he’s crossed the line (he knows about Leo’s enmity with Clint and has repeatedly tried to help Leo stop and see fighting with him isn’t healthy). On paper, they could be a good match.

So what if Leo thought the same thing? What if he had considered a deeper relationship with Kudzu? But he couldn’t bring himself to. Because he’s still holding out hope to rekindle his relationship with Chase. To go back to the good old days of how things used to be. It would make for a character arc very similar to Chase’s own across Leo’s route. Of learning to put down the nostalgia goggles and learn to let go of something unhealthy. And Kudzu would play the same narrative role as a healthy alternative relationship, to this deeply toxic one. But the focus would be on Leo outgrowing his worst tendencies and obsession with the past, with a partner who could not only help him make a fresh clean start, but also challenge his behaviour and inspire him to be better, to be worthy of the love he seeks.

Do I think this would be a better direction for the story? Not necessarily. True, it might make for a slightly more believable pairing since Leo and Kudzu had two years to get to know each other while Chase and Kudzu had a week. After all one of my only complaints with Leo’s route is that I’m not entirely sure why Kudzu likes Chase (sorry, my otter trainwreck. I love you but Kudzu can frankly do better). But I do think it was the right decision to end both Leo and Jenna’s routes with Leo on his own. Leo’s unhealthy idealisation of romantic relationships is one of the things he has to overcome. In his ending, he’s slowly making the first tentative steps to recovery by himself (albeit in an extreme, cold turkey way). And in Jenna’s he’s actively atoning for his mistakes, supporting a friend who he hurt in the past, Micha. Leo probably should end the story by learning to be comfortably single. But I can’t help but think about the idea of him and Kudzu as an interesting ‘what if?’ direction. So if any of you fanfic writers out there see this post, I mean…Free real estate.

Lunchtime doodle!

TJ NO!!!!

Red Fur flag

I decided to rewatch the good end for leo. Just for goofs, I kinda forgot how exactly it went

Silly me

I decided to remake my leo playlist because I can get a certain someone Off my mind for some reason

Leo is to the Echo fandom what Vriska is to the Homestuck fandom. I will not elaborate.

Leo doodle I did on lunch break.

Don't mind him, he's just enjoying his diner sandwich.

"Even the gloomiest days were brighter with you guys."

In another time, maybe things could be better.

Not my ship, but a gift from me to those who like it ❤️

An attempt at drawing Mr. Alvarez