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Jiralhanae Bracket Submissions

anyway, I can't guarantee when I'll be able to get to it, but I decided to open up the submissions for the Jiralhanae Bracket now. no deadline currently.

Note: I am aiming for a 64 bracket like last time. If there are less than 64 unique submissions (which I suspect will happen), I will fill the rest of the spots myself. This is more to give priority - so if you know any obscure / minor Jiralhanae, this is the time to guarantee a spot for them in the bracket.

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Sangheili Bracket Wrap-Up

To the surprise of absolutely no one, our first place victor is Thel 'Vadam while our second place victor is Rtas 'Vadum. Let's give it up to the boys!

Our third place victor is Usze 'Taham while our fourth place is Henry. Henry is also distinguished for being the least known of the final four and for making it the furthest out of the "book-original characters", although due to the existence of the motion comics the furthest "book-only" character (as of this wrap-up) is actually a tie between Lak 'Vadamee and Tul 'Juran.

The female Sangheili to make it the furthest was Tul 'Juran, who reached the Quarter-Finals.

The last of the 'Mdama family to be voted out was Raia, while Rhu 'Vrath and Cham 'Lokeema are tied for making it the furthest out of all the background Swords of Sanghelios characters. Round Two was where 2 out of the 3 Banished Sangheili in the line-up was taken out.

Round Three was the furthest any of the antagonistic characters reached, these antagonists / villains being Sesa 'Refumee, Zhar, and Xytan 'Jar Wattinree.

Shout out to some of our underdogs who succeeded more than I expected: Unnamed Shipmaster of Righteous Vigilance (he literally has no name, not even a nickname, how did he make it pass the first round?!) and Meduu the Fierce (she exists in only a sentence in the encyclopedia yet she made it to Round Three).

And finally, I wanted to give a special shout-out to possibly the two most humiliating Round One defeats: Nizat 'Kvarosee and Inslaan 'Gadogai. They were clearly not welcome in the second round, although at least 'Kvarosee has the excuse of going up against Rtas; 'Gadogai, you literally lost to a nameless character, how the-

And actually, since this is my blog, a final shout-out to my obscure blorbos: Jat (thank you for carrying him past the first round) and Crei 'Ayomuu (my poor little meow meow they were ruthless against you).

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Finally got the Rtas v Nizat oneshot done! It capped off at 15,460 words!

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Rtas ‘Vadum, Nizat 'Kvarosee, Stolt (Halo), Melody Azikiwe, Tul 'Juran, Amalea Petrov, Tam 'Lakosee, Meduz 'Ra'ashai, Vul 'Soran, Original Characters, Thel 'Vadam | The Arbiter Additional Tags: One Shot, Not Beta Read, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Elites | Sangheili, Based on a Tumblr Post Series: Part 62 of Works by “Prank” (Pseud Series) Summary:

In an alternate timeline, Shadow of Intent is sent to investigate the destruction of UNSC corvettes at the planet N'ba / Netherop, while carrying on the rescue of castaways those ships failed to complete. Alongside the human envoy Melody Azikiwe, can Rtas 'Vadum peacefully resolve the continuing war on the planet’s surface? And how will the self-proclaimed Worldmaster - Nizat 'Kvarosee - react during the inevitable confrontation between Swords and Defenders?

(Based on the round 1 match between Rtas & Nizat during the Sangheili Bracket, in which Rtas won with 100% of all the votes. That overwhelming victory has led to the interpretation of this scenario as a series of Nat 20s on Persuasion and Deception.)

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Usze is our third place winner!

Sangheili Bracket Third Place Match

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I was expecting a closer result, but not even Rtas is safe from Thel’s sheer popularity.

Sangheili Bracket Finals

Special propaganda below:

Thel's mind was still on the textual transmission sent to him when a sudden visitor broke his train of thought. It was one of his staff, letting him know that Admiral Lord Hood was making a sudden call request. Already suspecting what brought that on, he gave his approval. Only a few moments later, he was connected to Lord Hood via small holographic messaging - and couldn't even get a greeting out.

"I sincerely apologize for the overreach in boundaries that intern caused. I swear, the unauthorized decision to send that does not reflect at all what the UNSC stands for, and we greatly respect our alliance with the Sangheili."

Thel raised a hand. "I can perfectly see that, Lord Hood. For what other reason would your people be holding an... 'popularity tournament', if not out of respect?"

The grim line Lord Hood's mouth formed suggested there were other reasons, but Thel chose not to pry. Although, admittedly, it did make him curious on just how somehow could intend disrespect over a popularity contest. Perhaps because the nature of only one winner could be seen as an insult to all the losers? Even if most Sangheili did not particularly care about humans' opinions on themselves - either as a species or as individuals - it was probably safe to keep this secret, just to be safe.

"Civilians can take matters down... interesting routes, on social media," Lord Hood continued. "It was already a trend to run these contests over everything imaginable. When someone got the idea to do this with all the known Sangheili individuals, it was decided to hold off on addressing it. No need to bring further attention to it.

"But no one could've imagined someone trying to actively bring it to your attention."

He was clearly mortified. A bit embarrassed, too. And while Thel would love to throw him a bone and allow him to quickly put it out of mind, there was a thought he just couldn't leave unspoken. It was all that had been on his mind in between receiving the "tip" on the contest and Lord Hood's call.

"I see it as a compliment, that so much of your population can see me - and others of my people - so positively, in spite of how young our alliance is. There is one piece of feedback, though, that you could perhaps forward to... 'social media', on my behalf."

Thel could almost swear the shading of Lord Hood's holographic face got brighter, lighter in color. "I can try and pull some strings. Depending on the message."

Leaning closer on his desk, resting his elbows on the surface and interlocking his hands, Thel began, "I can understand why so many humans would vote for me in the case of a popularity poll. I am the one with the closest relationship to your kind, with the most cases of notable - peaceful - interactions, outside of my Covenant career. I am possibly the only Sangheili much of your kind even recognizes on an individual-level.

"But I must make a case for my opponent, Rtas 'Vadum. His leadership and diplomatic abilities surpass my own. He has a way of connecting with those hostile to him in ways I have yet to replicate - the Prelate that initially sought personal vengeance being one such example. It is the reason I trust him so much with the task of searching for the lost San'Shyuum - he is perhaps the only one capable. Capable in finding them and capable in forging peace. And while I am sure his crew are loyal to the Swords of Sanghelios, if they ever had to choose between myself and their shipmaster, I am also sure what their choice would be. And he has earned that loyalty.

"I also must point out his accomplishments - which hold less awkwardness than my own, particularly in the context of relations with humanity. He is the reason the Flood did not infect my fleet at the first discovered Halo, emerging the sole survivor of a perilous situation. His actions at the second Halo, I truly believe, ensured the strength of the Separatists that went on to aid humanity. It was him that did a lot of the rallying, it was him that claimed the crucial Shadow of Intent, and it was him that held our forces together in my absence. Again, his ability with words were valuable in maintaining morale, during the final hours of the Covenant. And his tactical mind, in emerging victorious when the odds were 3-1 against him.

"In conclusion... I feel the victor in this little contest should be him. Not me."

As Thel had explained his reasoning, Lord Hood had crossed his arms, eyes intently focusing. Maybe not necessarily on the Arbiter. When he finally had the opening to speak again, it seemed that he had become the one who couldn't help but let a pressing thought out.

"Really? Him? You're arguing he is the better leader, military man, diplomat - than you? And humanity should recognize that?" His arms uncrossed and went to his sides. "Do you know that to some, laying even a finger on Earth is more egregious than glassing dozens of colonies - even glassing Reach?"

"That is why I said less awkward." He should have braced for this skepticism, especially from Lord Hood. After all, he and Rtas did have a verbal spat that one time. Perhaps Lord Hood could never forgive Thel, but he certainly could maintain peace around him. There were valid reasons - not related to duty - as to why those two's paths never crossed again. Surely, Rtas would feel a bit of the same - he was not apologetic for Africa's partial glassing back then, he certainly wouldn't hold any regrets now. Not with anything related to the Flood.

"Although..." He sighed. "I can see why having a Sangheili other than you receive positive recognition is diplomatically valuable. If the peace between our species is centered solely on you, then it risks falling apart as soon as you're gone."

"Yes... there is also that angle to this."

"I will forward your argument to my colleagues and leave the choice up to them. They're the ones who deal with civilian matters more, anyway."

A funny thing about jointly occupied territory, is that it sometimes meant alien access to humanity's Waypoint - the interstellar network where the current iterations of social media called home. Such access would mean becoming aware of discussions of aliens online - including a certain popularity contest. And such awareness might warrant, to some, the passing of knowledge via word of mouth or transmissions. Even if no one directly told the Arbiter about the contest, it would have reached his ears eventually.

Just like with the Arbiter, there were those curious as to what Rtas' reaction would be like, and it thus reached him, too.

"Of course the Arbiter would win their approval," he said. "He deserves it. His higher reputation amongst humanity aside, he deserves it. He is the Arbiter, the one who freed our people from the Covenant's lies, the one who resurrected the Swords of Sanghelios, the one who proposed the Concert of Worlds. There is nothing I could do that he could not do better.

"Why is this even a contest? Amongst humans, no less? It was his word that kept me from glassing their entire planet, just to stop a Flood outbreak. It was his word back then that caused many Sangheili to ally with humanity, rather than fight both the Covenant and humans. It is his word now that continues to keep many Sangheili from seeking another war. Because he has proven his wisdom, and he has proven his honor. Those who continue to doubt either are fools that hold our people back. And their leaders cannot even match him."

"Well, hold it right there," Stolt, one of his most prominent subordinates despite being an Unggoy, cut in. "Have you seen the rest of this? The Arbiter is trying to convince these humans to vote for you."

Admittedly, he barely even started. When he saw it was nothing but a meaningless popularity poll human civilians were running, he stopped giving it much thought. Partially, it was due to already being convinced of the outcome - that the Arbiter would reign supreme and he would hardly been given notice. The only reason he wasn't questioning the fact that he was even named in this poll in the first place was due to there not being very many notable Sangheili in the human public eye, as far as he could tell. But he and the Shadow of Intent had played an important role in the end of the war, after the alliance had been forged. It wasn't completely out of the question that he garnered a bit of human attention over that - and not just from ONI spies.

It also wasn't out of the question that the Arbiter would speak of him around humans and make them more aware of his existence... such as now. He skimmed through what had been sent until he reached that part, quickly absorbing it.

Then he shook his head. "He is far too humble. A good chunk of this is mere exaggeration. How he even got the impression I was this grand, I have no idea. I am only doing what he asks of me to the best of my abilities. He deserves no less than that, and that does not make me superior. He would excel at all the same tasks had he the time to do them - it is only I who succeeded, because someone had to in his place.

"Besides, he is forgetting some of his own accomplishments that have nothing to do with humans. When he first became Arbiter, he passed his first mission with flying colors. I honestly did not expect him to even survive, pulling off the stunt he did - selflessly cutting the safety cables of that mining facility to draw out his target, while allowing all my men to retreat to safety. He did that knowing I would not come back for an Arbiter - he did it unaware that anyone would."

"Ah, but that was a mission to kill 'Heretics', right?" Stolt said again. "I'm sure the bitterness of knowing they were right all along and didn't need to be killed is why he would never even think that a merit."

"The target is irrelevant. The sentiment of his actions is what matters." Leaning back into his shipmaster's chair, he continued with a softer voice, "And he is wrong. About his talent for speech. And Infinite Succor... The fact I was the only survivor should say enough regarding my leadership in that moment. And the fact I was able to go back into the field, to command troops again... should say enough regarding his ability to speak to those under him. He has earned more loyal soldiers than I - and not entirely because he meets more people than I."

Clearing his throat, his voice hardened again. "Take the colony of Om'a'Varo, for instance. Those who settled on Rak. I believe it is not just him being humble that he's selling himself short - he takes the cases where his words are not enough to be a failing on his part, and not the failing of the other's mind. There are some who will just not listen. But he has gotten many to do so."

"So what I'm hearing is... we need to send in our own message to the humans to counter his?"

Rtas huffed. "That will not be necessary. Even with his endorsement, the humans will still choose him. I am certain of that. In the time we could draft a pointless transmission, we could be using our time and systems for more important tasks. This conversation, too, holds little worth - the only value being a stronger reiteration of what is already known."

With that, Rtas was finished with the subject. Well, almost, maybe. It crossed his mind to maybe, instead of sending his passionate argument to the humans, sneak a bit of the sentiment in his next report. Not obvious enough to distract from the report's actual content, but subtle enough to let the Arbiter know fully well that Rtas had heard him - and strongly disagreed.

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consider this a bonus thing while waiting for the polls to end

I have written 12k+ words in this oneshot and Rtas is finally about to actually meet Nizat, the entire point of this whole thing. the end is in sight. have some out of context bits to celebrate:

(hilariously wrong theories #1)

Shadow of Intent had other goals - mainly the search for a San'Shyuum flotilla - but that search was taking an eternity to bear fruit. In between the hunt, the ship would take part in defense of Sangheili territory, diplomatic matters, and even urgent combat operations if desperately needed. This mission was a bit of all three, and it helped that Shadow of Intent had already been a good distance close to this system. Who knows - maybe the culprit they'd unmask would in fact be the missing San'Shyuum, attempting to use the "cursed" planet as a hiding spot nobody would dare check.

(hilariously wrong theories #2)

But what if they were all wrong. What if there was some third party or unknown factor playing against both sides? What if this thing was the reason for this planet's dreadful name?

In the deep recesses of his mind, Rtas could not help but think of the Flood. Remnants of the parasite were still hidden across the galaxy, imprisoned by the Forerunners but just as capable of returning to its former conquest if underestimated. There were a few rare occurrences, barring the encounters on the Halo rings, that the Flood was said to have appeared during the war. It was not impossible to imagine that these ship casualties were due to the crews trying to prevent the parasite from breaking free from this system. Even then, it did not have to be the Flood themselves - there could other horrors that the Forerunners kept hidden on the old worlds.

Were there truly castaways waiting for them on the surface? Or was it something else that was just as eager to travel to the greater galaxy using their ship?

(Tul & Vul getting along + Rtas' having a good unstressful day)

"Shipmaster!" Another voice broke through COMMs, but this time from Tul. "We have located the humans-"

Both Rtas and Vul whirled around, facing the cave.

"In there?!" he asked, incredulous on the stroke of luck. "So the envoy has-"

"Throw your weapons towards the cave entrance first. Or else they will shoot."

Vul scoffed. "And why would we fear a few-"

"Not at you, fool!" Tul fired back.

With that declaration, Rtas could only wonder how things went wrong.

(suspicious slip-up #1)

"Hold on..." the leader said. "How do we know this isn't a trap? That all you're saying is a lie? Mo-"

Despite possibly being a subordinate, one of the humans at his side slammed a shoulder in his side.

"The Lieutenant Commander said Innies sometimes tried working with the Covenant!" Melody took note at the correction there.

(suspicious slip-up #2)

"We're not letting either of you out of this cave just yet," the leader replied back. "Not with your buddies right outside. The Lieutenant Commander is on her way."

One of his buddies faltered then. "But... When she gets here, she's gonna-"

"Not in front of them, idiot!"

(uh-oh Rtas)

And Rtas had just landed a majority of his ground-side forces on the mouth of a super-weapon. Now he had a second reason to worry for Stolt.

(Energy Sword Sunday)

The only thing Stolt found that was familiar with them were the Energy Swords at their sides. Couldn't be Sangheili without them.

(Rtas propaganda)

"And this Shipmaster? Can you vouch for him as your Rangers have for you?"

"Can I? His renown is second to only our founder! The sole survivor that quashed one parasite outbreak, the leader that sprung up to quarantine High Charity when another hit, the commander that won against a Covenant fleet with a 3-1 disadvantage, the one who bested a Prelate and saved a colony world from destruction!" If Rtas could hear this, he'd surely be shutting this down, but Stolt knew that playing him up was the best play here. He could see it in 'Lakosee's eyes - Rtas' worth was being tested right now, and he wasn't even here to defend himself! So it'd have to come down to the words of a subordinate, just as it worked for Stolt; and even if Stolt was exaggerating his tone a little, he truly respected Rtas more than possibly anyone else. Maybe even a bit more than the Arbiter himself, although it helped that Stolt saw Rtas every single day in comparison to the mythological-levels the Arbiter had taken on to everyone outside of his immediate vicinity.

(uh oh Stolt)

Stolt blinked once. Then twice. And for the rest of the wait time for Rtas' arrival, he debated on whether these were a better or a worse kind of crazy cultists.

(heheh i'm kicking my legs)

"There is no deal sweet enough to make me betray the Arbiter," Rtas said.

(Rtas' day goes from good to great)

So, this had to be it - the full and honest truth. This Worldmaster could do miraculous things with his mind somehow and everyone believed it was due to the divine.

How the hell do you respond to such a situation?! Even with all the time in the world, how do you formulate a plan to counter this? He had only minutes to figure that out!

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The whole ficlet collection is up on AO3 now!

The oneshot at the end is the Thel v Rtas propaganda, which felt too long to call a ficlet. The actual intended oneshot of the blog - Rtas v Nizat - is still a WIP rn.

Chapters: 15/15 Fandom: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Bero ‘Kusovai, Jega 'Rdomnai, Fal 'Chavamee, Jeht 'Lcmutee, Avu Med 'Telcam | The Bishop, Unnamed Field Marshal (Halo: Reach), Mahkee 'Chava, Crei 'Ayomuu, Vari 'Damat, Zhar (Halo), Xytan 'Jar Wattinree, Sali 'Nyon, Raia 'Mdama, Dural 'Mdama, Inslaan 'Gadogai, Unnamed Shipmaster (Halo: Evolutions), Thel 'Vadam | The Arbiter, Tam 'Lakosee, Lak 'Vadamee, Meduz 'Ra'ashai, Ripa 'Moramee, Rho 'Barutamee, Asum “Bakar” 'Mdama, Meduu the Fierce, Rhu 'Vrath, Ayit 'Sevi, Ernicka the Scar-Maker Additional Tags: Ficlet Collection, Not Beta Read, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Inspired by Tumblr, Character Study, Relationship Study, One Shot Series: Part 61 of Works by “Prank” (Pseud Series) Summary:

While running the Sangheili Bracket on Tumblr, I got the idea to write a few ficlets based on some of the match-ups. This is serving as an archive for them.

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All I'm gonna say is that Rtas is the blueprint. Your favorite things about Thel came from Rtas.

If you like Thel's attitude towards women, you have Rtas to thank for allowing Tul 'Juran to join his crew. Thel only considered accepting women into the Swords of Sanghelios after Rtas vouched for her.

If you like that the Unggoy are treated better and given leadership positions in the Swords of Sanghelios, you have Rtas to thank for his empathy towards them, recognizing Stolt's talent despite his species, and giving him a leadership role.

And if we really want to split hairs:

You know who risked his life killing a fanatical San’Shyuum who threatened the galaxy first? RTAS!!!

And he did it while still in the Covenant, where he would undoubtedly be executed if discovered. He was always a leader first, zealot second.

Thel might be the shiny finished product, but only because Rtas did the groundwork.

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Sangheili Bracket Finals

Special propaganda below:

Thel's mind was still on the textual transmission sent to him when a sudden visitor broke his train of thought. It was one of his staff, letting him know that Admiral Lord Hood was making a sudden call request. Already suspecting what brought that on, he gave his approval. Only a few moments later, he was connected to Lord Hood via small holographic messaging - and couldn't even get a greeting out.

"I sincerely apologize for the overreach in boundaries that intern caused. I swear, the unauthorized decision to send that does not reflect at all what the UNSC stands for, and we greatly respect our alliance with the Sangheili."

Thel raised a hand. "I can perfectly see that, Lord Hood. For what other reason would your people be holding an... 'popularity tournament', if not out of respect?"

The grim line Lord Hood's mouth formed suggested there were other reasons, but Thel chose not to pry. Although, admittedly, it did make him curious on just how somehow could intend disrespect over a popularity contest. Perhaps because the nature of only one winner could be seen as an insult to all the losers? Even if most Sangheili did not particularly care about humans' opinions on themselves - either as a species or as individuals - it was probably safe to keep this secret, just to be safe.

"Civilians can take matters down... interesting routes, on social media," Lord Hood continued. "It was already a trend to run these contests over everything imaginable. When someone got the idea to do this with all the known Sangheili individuals, it was decided to hold off on addressing it. No need to bring further attention to it.

"But no one could've imagined someone trying to actively bring it to your attention."

He was clearly mortified. A bit embarrassed, too. And while Thel would love to throw him a bone and allow him to quickly put it out of mind, there was a thought he just couldn't leave unspoken. It was all that had been on his mind in between receiving the "tip" on the contest and Lord Hood's call.

"I see it as a compliment, that so much of your population can see me - and others of my people - so positively, in spite of how young our alliance is. There is one piece of feedback, though, that you could perhaps forward to... 'social media', on my behalf."

Thel could almost swear the shading of Lord Hood's holographic face got brighter, lighter in color. "I can try and pull some strings. Depending on the message."

Leaning closer on his desk, resting his elbows on the surface and interlocking his hands, Thel began, "I can understand why so many humans would vote for me in the case of a popularity poll. I am the one with the closest relationship to your kind, with the most cases of notable - peaceful - interactions, outside of my Covenant career. I am possibly the only Sangheili much of your kind even recognizes on an individual-level.

"But I must make a case for my opponent, Rtas 'Vadum. His leadership and diplomatic abilities surpass my own. He has a way of connecting with those hostile to him in ways I have yet to replicate - the Prelate that initially sought personal vengeance being one such example. It is the reason I trust him so much with the task of searching for the lost San'Shyuum - he is perhaps the only one capable. Capable in finding them and capable in forging peace. And while I am sure his crew are loyal to the Swords of Sanghelios, if they ever had to choose between myself and their shipmaster, I am also sure what their choice would be. And he has earned that loyalty.

"I also must point out his accomplishments - which hold less awkwardness than my own, particularly in the context of relations with humanity. He is the reason the Flood did not infect my fleet at the first discovered Halo, emerging the sole survivor of a perilous situation. His actions at the second Halo, I truly believe, ensured the strength of the Separatists that went on to aid humanity. It was him that did a lot of the rallying, it was him that claimed the crucial Shadow of Intent, and it was him that held our forces together in my absence. Again, his ability with words were valuable in maintaining morale, during the final hours of the Covenant. And his tactical mind, in emerging victorious when the odds were 3-1 against him.

"In conclusion... I feel the victor in this little contest should be him. Not me."

As Thel had explained his reasoning, Lord Hood had crossed his arms, eyes intently focusing. Maybe not necessarily on the Arbiter. When he finally had the opening to speak again, it seemed that he had become the one who couldn't help but let a pressing thought out.

"Really? Him? You're arguing he is the better leader, military man, diplomat - than you? And humanity should recognize that?" His arms uncrossed and went to his sides. "Do you know that to some, laying even a finger on Earth is more egregious than glassing dozens of colonies - even glassing Reach?"

"That is why I said less awkward." He should have braced for this skepticism, especially from Lord Hood. After all, he and Rtas did have a verbal spat that one time. Perhaps Lord Hood could never forgive Thel, but he certainly could maintain peace around him. There were valid reasons - not related to duty - as to why those two's paths never crossed again. Surely, Rtas would feel a bit of the same - he was not apologetic for Africa's partial glassing back then, he certainly wouldn't hold any regrets now. Not with anything related to the Flood.

"Although..." He sighed. "I can see why having a Sangheili other than you receive positive recognition is diplomatically valuable. If the peace between our species is centered solely on you, then it risks falling apart as soon as you're gone."

"Yes... there is also that angle to this."

"I will forward your argument to my colleagues and leave the choice up to them. They're the ones who deal with civilian matters more, anyway."

A funny thing about jointly occupied territory, is that it sometimes meant alien access to humanity's Waypoint - the interstellar network where the current iterations of social media called home. Such access would mean becoming aware of discussions of aliens online - including a certain popularity contest. And such awareness might warrant, to some, the passing of knowledge via word of mouth or transmissions. Even if no one directly told the Arbiter about the contest, it would have reached his ears eventually.

Just like with the Arbiter, there were those curious as to what Rtas' reaction would be like, and it thus reached him, too.

"Of course the Arbiter would win their approval," he said. "He deserves it. His higher reputation amongst humanity aside, he deserves it. He is the Arbiter, the one who freed our people from the Covenant's lies, the one who resurrected the Swords of Sanghelios, the one who proposed the Concert of Worlds. There is nothing I could do that he could not do better.

"Why is this even a contest? Amongst humans, no less? It was his word that kept me from glassing their entire planet, just to stop a Flood outbreak. It was his word back then that caused many Sangheili to ally with humanity, rather than fight both the Covenant and humans. It is his word now that continues to keep many Sangheili from seeking another war. Because he has proven his wisdom, and he has proven his honor. Those who continue to doubt either are fools that hold our people back. And their leaders cannot even match him."

"Well, hold it right there," Stolt, one of his most prominent subordinates despite being an Unggoy, cut in. "Have you seen the rest of this? The Arbiter is trying to convince these humans to vote for you."

Admittedly, he barely even started. When he saw it was nothing but a meaningless popularity poll human civilians were running, he stopped giving it much thought. Partially, it was due to already being convinced of the outcome - that the Arbiter would reign supreme and he would hardly been given notice. The only reason he wasn't questioning the fact that he was even named in this poll in the first place was due to there not being very many notable Sangheili in the human public eye, as far as he could tell. But he and the Shadow of Intent had played an important role in the end of the war, after the alliance had been forged. It wasn't completely out of the question that he garnered a bit of human attention over that - and not just from ONI spies.

It also wasn't out of the question that the Arbiter would speak of him around humans and make them more aware of his existence... such as now. He skimmed through what had been sent until he reached that part, quickly absorbing it.

Then he shook his head. "He is far too humble. A good chunk of this is mere exaggeration. How he even got the impression I was this grand, I have no idea. I am only doing what he asks of me to the best of my abilities. He deserves no less than that, and that does not make me superior. He would excel at all the same tasks had he the time to do them - it is only I who succeeded, because someone had to in his place.

"Besides, he is forgetting some of his own accomplishments that have nothing to do with humans. When he first became Arbiter, he passed his first mission with flying colors. I honestly did not expect him to even survive, pulling off the stunt he did - selflessly cutting the safety cables of that mining facility to draw out his target, while allowing all my men to retreat to safety. He did that knowing I would not come back for an Arbiter - he did it unaware that anyone would."

"Ah, but that was a mission to kill 'Heretics', right?" Stolt said again. "I'm sure the bitterness of knowing they were right all along and didn't need to be killed is why he would never even think that a merit."

"The target is irrelevant. The sentiment of his actions is what matters." Leaning back into his shipmaster's chair, he continued with a softer voice, "And he is wrong. About his talent for speech. And Infinite Succor... The fact I was the only survivor should say enough regarding my leadership in that moment. And the fact I was able to go back into the field, to command troops again... should say enough regarding his ability to speak to those under him. He has earned more loyal soldiers than I - and not entirely because he meets more people than I."

Clearing his throat, his voice hardened again. "Take the colony of Om'a'Varo, for instance. Those who settled on Rak. I believe it is not just him being humble that he's selling himself short - he takes the cases where his words are not enough to be a failing on his part, and not the failing of the other's mind. There are some who will just not listen. But he has gotten many to do so."

"So what I'm hearing is... we need to send in our own message to the humans to counter his?"

Rtas huffed. "That will not be necessary. Even with his endorsement, the humans will still choose him. I am certain of that. In the time we could draft a pointless transmission, we could be using our time and systems for more important tasks. This conversation, too, holds little worth - the only value being a stronger reiteration of what is already known."

With that, Rtas was finished with the subject. Well, almost, maybe. It crossed his mind to maybe, instead of sending his passionate argument to the humans, sneak a bit of the sentiment in his next report. Not obvious enough to distract from the report's actual content, but subtle enough to let the Arbiter know fully well that Rtas had heard him - and strongly disagreed.

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Sangheili Bracket Third Place Match

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we're in the final stretch

later tonight, the match for third place will go live (~3 hours from now)

tomorrow the final showdown between Thel & Rtas will release, and I really encourage people to click "read more" on it, 'cause weeks ago I prepared a special surprise for it :)

hint: it's based on some posts and tags that were floating around towards the beginning of the bracket

after the poll goes live, either tomorrow or sometime in the week, I'll post the AO3 compilation of all the ficlets written. still working on the Rtas v Nizat oneshot; anticipating that it's gonna be on the bulkier side of my oneshot lengths, so it might take another several days, really hoping to get it done before the year is over tho.

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honestly thought this would be a 100% fatality, thanks for showing Henry a sliver of mercy tho

Sangheili Bracket Semi-Finals Match 2

Thel needs no Halopedia link, but please go show Henry's some love!

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patting the backs of the one or two Usze fans who stayed loyal 'til the end

Sangheili Bracket Semi-Finals Match 1

not even gonna put Rtas' link this time 'cause like. c'mon. we all know him. he needs no propaganda.

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Ayit v Ernicka

This was a bit of an unusual job for Ayit. His usual assignments involved infiltrating religious and mercenary factions hostile to the rest of the galaxy. However, such fractions were being snuffed out, one by one, with those remaining having a good deal of already existing intelligence on them in ONI's archives. There was always more to learn, of course, but there was also the secondary issue of Ayit becoming a bit too known. It wouldn't do for anyone to recognize a secret agent. So for now, he'd lie low, conducting a minor job instead, in an area of space where surely no one would have any reason to hear rumors of a Sangheili working for ONI.

That's how Ayit found himself in the Refuge, aka Shield World 0673. An entire civilization of Sangheili, cut off from the greater galaxy for milennia, had re-established contact at the end of the Human-Covenant war. While some had migrated to Sanghelios - the homeworld of their far-off ancestors - plenty still remained and continued on with their own ways.

It went without saying that ONI wanted to stay on top of any developments within the Refuge. They wanted to know if any splinter factions formed from the fall of the Covenant were attempting any recruiting or propaganda within the impressionable space. That included the Swords of Sanghelios. If the atmosphere started to lean towards anti-human sentiments, they wanted to be prepared. Well, even if it didn't, they still wanted to be prepared. If possible, they'd even attempt filling discourse on the Refuge with pro-humanity views and somehow take advantage of these Sangheili.

Again, not Ayit's usual target for infiltration, but one he'd carry out regardless. All he really needed to do was gather as much intel on the Ussans - the residents of the Refuge - as possible. That included both modern knowledge and historical knowledge. Anything could be used in information warfare, after all.

One such research binge brought forth to Ayit's attention the legendary figure Ernicka the Scar-Maker. He had been one of the founders of the Refuge, the right-hand man of the first kaidon Ussa 'Xellus, and was even known a little in the late Covenant's and main Sangheili's early history. Such a name suggested he'd been a fearsome warrior - definitely someone Ayit wouldn't want to get on the bad side of. Fortunate that he was long dead - as well as his most recent reported descendant.

But he was not a scholar - at least, his true identity outside of his current cover, wasn't a scholar - and neither was he here to dilly-dally. Once he'd learned all there was to learn regarding Ernicka and his bloodline, Ayit continued on with his research, occasionally sending discreet reports back to ONI.

These poor Ussans had no idea the titanic eyeball that was glaring at them from across the galaxy, nor that Ayit 'Sevi - under a different name currently - was its loyal hand.