Characters / Hello From Halo Head

Work in progress. May not be up to date.

Character are ordered by appearance.

Residents of Halo Head

Chloe

"Good job, Halo Head"

The protagonist of Hello from Halo Head. Probably.

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Provides examples of:

• Berserk Button: Gets defensive when pressed over her relationship with Clair.

• Broken Bird: Her snarkiness, thrill-seeking and general recklessness may be her way of coping with her Dark and Troubled Past.

• Character Tics: Her left eye is always closed. When she's remembering her Dark and Troubled Past, it opens very slightly.

• Child Hater: When Clair presses her to give the new town a motto, just so she's left some mark on it, she responds "No goddamn kids allowed."

• Deadpan Snarker: When she isn't being a Troll:
  [Chloe is lying in a grass patch, taking in her new home]
  Clair: Nice out here, huh?
  Chloe: Yep.
  Clair: Your hands look idle. Mind if I fill them?
  Chloe: I'm actually busy.
  Clair: Oh.
  *Beat*
  Clair: With what?
  Chloe: Getting you to take a hint. It's going super well.

• Exposed to the Elements: Often sleeps outside at night, despite her Stripperific attire.

• The Hedonist: Has shades of this.

• In Harm's Way: Is constantly putting herself in dangerous situations, much to Clair's frustration.

• Innocently Insensitive: Blithely asks Pepper, a dog, if he eats dog food.

• Laborious Laziness: Clair created Halo Head for Chloe to do whatever she wanted with. Chloe decides to sit around doing nothing all day.

• Out of Focus: She haven't been in the comic for the grand total of 114 pages (from #174 to #288 respectively), which is almost a year and a half! To mark her return to the comic, she lets out a flat "What" to Achilles when he finally meets her again.

• Rebellious Spirit: Will often do things just because Clair asked her not to, or vice versa.

• Stepford Snarker: Puts on a sarcastic, laissez-faire front to cope with her past.

• Stripperific: Wears only a sports bra and very short shorts. Due to her cartoony proportions, it's not really Fanservice.

• So Proud of You: Downplayed, but one of Chloe's first actions on seeing Halo Head is commenting on its beauty and genuinely praising Clair for her work. From a guarded Deadpan Snarker like her, it's extremely high praise.

• Thrill Seeker: Often puts herself in dangerous situations, much to Clair's dismay.

• Troll: Absolutely loves pushing Clair's buttons. She's really good at it, too.

Clair

"Look, you constantly underestimate how much I do to create a cohesive community!"

The beleaguered creator of Halo Head and Chloe's caretaker of sorts.

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Provides examples of:

• Affectionate Nickname: "Halo Head" from Chloe. Subverted in that she hates it.

• Ambiguous Situation: Her relationship to Chloe is never made clear.

• Being Good Sucks: Is absolutely determined to keep Chloe happy and to keep Halo Head running smoothly. This also means putting up with the hijinks of various other characters.

• Beware the Nice Ones: When she's pushed too far, she can be uncharacteristically vindictive. When Chloe spent the night at Pepper's, she gets back at her by introducing Peachykeen to the village.

• Character Tics: Will often rub her upper arm with the opposite hand when being defensive. And, like Chloe, she always keeps one eye closed (her right as opposed to Chloe's left).

• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Will do anything to keep Chloe safe. Even if it means putting herself under enormous amounts of stress.

• Clingy Jealous Girl: Becomes jealous when Chloe spends the night at Pepper's house

• Control Freak: Her biggest flaw. In her attempts to help Chloe she often ends up smothering her.

• Desperately Craves Affection: Or at least approval. Clair is so eager for approval from Chloe that she's still thinking about a compliment Chloe paid her in the second strip hundreds of strips later. Chloe subtly tells her to knock it off in #56:
  Chloe: Nice wall.
  Clair: Yeah, well, I had to do something with all those rocks you dumped outside my house.
  [...]
  Clair: You really like it?
  Chloe: *sigh* I don't need to like it to know it's good.

• Don't Look At Me: When Pepper catches her crying with both eyes open, she slaps a hand over her eye and yells at Pepper that she's busy.

• The Dreaded: Despite many attempts at provoking her, it's implied in some strips that Chloe is scared of her to some extent. Or at least of making her mad.
  • Since #253, she's becoming this for Pepper, too.

• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Not to the same extent as the cats. But in early strips her halo was slightly smaller.

• Expressive Accessory: Her halo sweats when she's angry or nervous and changes shape when she moves quickly. It gently rest on her head when she's asleep.

• Forgiveness: No matter how many times Chloe angers her, she's always prepared to make amends afterwards.

• Gold and White Are Divine: She created Halo Head (and probably its inhabitants) and has this color scheme.

• Good Is Not Soft: She will physically wrangle Chloe if she has to.

• Guardian Angel: She tries to be one for Chloe.

• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Has this aesthetic, and tries to be as patient and understanding as she can when dealing with the residents of Halo Head. That said, she frequently snaps when pushed too far (usually thanks to Chloe).

• High-Pressure Emotion: Clair quite literally turns red whenever Chloe pushes Clair to her limit.

• Holy Halo: As befitting her (usually) angelic personality.

• I Can Change My Beloved: A platonic example. Clair is determined to fix Chloe, no matter what:
  Clair: I can change her. I can fix everything. If it takes a thousand tries...
  Clair: I just have to try harder.

• The Maker: Not a god in the traditional sense, but she created Halo Head.

• Nervous Wreck: The trials and tribulations of keeping Halo Head running take their toll on her from time to time.

• Nightmare Fetishist: References gruesome documentaries, suggesting she watches them in her spare time.
  Clair: You cannot sit in a tub of ice!
  Chloe: Why not?
  Clair: Because I saw a documentary once about people who want to become amputees and this guy put his leg in a bucket of ice for hours until it was so frostbitten that they had to cut it off like he wanted.
  Chloe: What the fuck is wrong with you?

• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When she (correctly) suspects that Pepper has seen things he shouldn't and confronts him about it, she doesn't use her normal happy and patient front, nor does she turn red and scream at him. Instead she keeps a neutral expression and an even - but accusatory - tone.

• The Perfectionist: The one time Chloe comes to her with an order, she runs herself ragged making sure it's just so.

• The Resenter: Towards Pepper after Chloe spends the night at his place. She is always slightly snippy when talking to him since and seems irritated by his presence.

• Stepford Smiler: Dealing with the antics of Halo Head's denizens often leaves her like this. Plus, she's as much of a Broken Bird as Chloe is.

• Stripperific: Like Chloe, she only wears a tiny slip that would be considered Fanservice in a less cartoony work.

• Undying Loyalty To Chloe, even if it's not reciprocated.

Mars

"Pay me, bitch!"

A red cat who Clair specifically picked to be the perfect companion to Chloe. As a result, she shares many similar traits to Chloe and the pair quickly strike up a friendship.

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Provides examples of:

• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: By #187, she has definitely more than a few heated words for Achilles when he returns to finally pay for that punch, although it's more out of worry. She finally gives Achilles that black eye he's been waiting for.
• Anger Born of Worry: Becomes incredibly enraged when she finally meets Achilles again after he was missing for a few days, due to finding his leash by the shore, and thinking that a weak little wimp like him tried swimming in the ocean. Also doubles as Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other.
• Cats Are Mean: Angry, self-centered and mean-spirited. Mars fits this trope to a tee.
• Cats Are Snarkers: Her default mode of speech.
• Can't Live with Them, Can't Live Without Them Spends most of the comic trying to avoid Achilles. When she doesn't see him for a few days, she goes out looking for him.
• Curtains Match the Window: Hard to tell with her slit pupils, but Mars has red eyes to match her fur.
• Cute Little Fangs: Her personality isn't that cute, but she's still a cat and she almost always has a single fang protruding from her mouth.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Just like the other cat early in the comic, her ears was taller and had a pointy triangular look, her ears eventually shortened down and rounded out a bit with time to look more like a actual cat ears. She also gained a bulkier body with more detailed muscles, to emphasize how strong she really is.
• Even Evil Has Standards: She's not evil, per se, but her expressing disdain at Pepper pushing Achilles to lie to Clair has shades of this.
• Fiery Redhead: Quick to anger, and has red... fur.
• Jerkass: Constantly threatening and insulting people, self-centered and won't do anything for anyone without being bribed.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Goes from 0 to 100 in a heartbeat, especially if someone suggests she has feelings for Achilles.
• Kissing In A Tree: Not the exact song, but Chloe mocks her for her feelings towards Achilles. She almost loses a finger for her trouble.
  • Later on, when bonding after being trapped together all day, she and Achilles are literally sittin' in a tree.
• Limited Wardrobe: Averted. Unlike every other character to date she uses the money she got from punching Achilles to buy a new outfit, swapping her t-shirt and ripped jeans for a full leather punk look.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The masculine girl to Achilles' feminine boy.
• Meaningful Name: Mars is the same name of the Roman god of war, a worthy name for someone who's the strongest out of the entire cast.
• Perpetual Frowner: Thanks to being angry most of the time.
• Red Is Violent: A red cat with a mean temper.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Literally described by Chloe as a "cat who swears." She is easily the most foul-mouthed character in Halo Head.
• Sore Loser: Shoves Achilles to the ground after losing the crab race, even though he wasn't even participating. This comes back to bite her, though, as it turns Achilles into a "little freak" who follows her around pestering her to hurt him from then on.
• Stronger Than They Look: Hard to tell due to the art style early in the comic, but she can effortlessly swat a small weight high into the air, and reduce a tree into pieces, just with her bare hands.
• Suddenly Shouting: Zig-zags wildly between this and Deadpan Snarker.
• Toxic Friend Influence: She and Chloe bring out each other's worst traits, to Clair's annoyance.
• Tsundere: Begins to soften towards Achilles after being forced to spend a day trapped in the lighthouse with him.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Chloe.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Gives one of these to Pepper when he pushes Achilles to lie on his behalf.
• You're Cute When You're Angry: Achilles certainly seems to think so.

Achilles

"Hey, wait a minute... I'm a useful resource!"

A good-natured cat Clair picked out to balance out Chloe's and Mars' personalities. He is very Literal-Minded and naïve, which combined with his small stature lends him a very childlike appearance.

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Provides examples of:

• Abhorrent Admirer: To Mars, who wants nothing to do with him, but played with as it becomes increasingly clear that she does care for him in some extent.
• Berserk Button: When Pepper tries to convince him that Clair might not be as benevolent as she appears, he becomes enraged.
• Casual Kink: Absolutely obsessed with hurting himself. Much of his screentime is devoted to begging Mars to hurt him.
• Crush Blush: Constantly blushing around Mars.
• Cute Kitten: He doesn't seem to be that much younger than any other character, but he is very childlike and very cute.
• Cute Little Fangs: Typical for a Cute Kitten, he has them.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Just like the other cat early in the comic, his ears was taller and had a pointy triangular look, his ears eventually shortened down and rounded out a bit with time to look more like a actual cat ears.
• Fatal Attractor: To Mars, a bad-tempered, mean-spirited cat. He's actually into that, though.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: Was chosen to balance out Chloe and Mars, but after his moment with Mars (see Only Sane Man below), he quickly became more freaky.
• Gone Horribly Right: After Chloe and Mars remarked that he was boring, Clair quickly took advantage of it to rub it back in their faces.
  Clair: Weren't you just complaining about how boring he was? Well, you "bitches" got your wish.
  Clair: [while walking away smugly] Enjoy!
• Literal-Minded His defining character trait. He doesn't understand metaphors or sarcasm, or really any nuance at all.
  Pepper: Hey, can I ask you something?
  *Beat*
  Achilles: Um... I think you just did.
  Pepper: Well I guess I walked right into that one.
• Hidden Depths: Is passionate about gardening. He also organized Clair's files in a way that makes more sense to her than the system she created herself.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Doesn't have a bad bone in his body. Even his Casual Kink moments come off as not knowing any better. When Pepper pressures him into lying, he physically cannot do it.
• Love at First Punch: Falls head-over-heels in love with Mars after she shoves him to the ground.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The feminine boy to Mars' masculine girl.
• Nice Guy: Friendly and good-natured - when he isn't begging people to step on him.
• Only Sane Man: Was initially presented as this, until that ill-fated moment with Mars shoving him onto the ground, due to her losing the crab race with Chloe, turning him into a "little freak", becoming harshly subverted.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He loses his temper when Pepper suggests Clair is hiding something. He grows a spine and actually gets into a heated argument with him.
• Peer Pressure Makes You Evil: Gets peer pressured by Pepper into lying for him. He doesn't go through with it, fortunately.
• Power Dynamics Kink: Fantasizes about all the ways Mars could hurt him.
• Sarcasm-Blind: Thanks to his chronic literal mindedness.
  Achilles: Hey, remember the time you were up on that branch after you tied me to the door of the lighthous?
  Mars: Who could forget?
  Achilles: Not me. I just remembered it.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Toward Mars.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Despite a 27-strip run where he didn't appear in the strip at all, he still (as of writing) appears in more strips than any other character. He features prominently on batshaped's Twitter and is the only character so far to have official merch modelled after him. It's safe to say Achilles has become the unofficial mascot of the comic.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Initially at first with Chloe and Mars, due to his nerdy appearance and extreme and obvious masochism, but becomes downplayed as his friendship with Pepper develops.
• Those Two Guys: With Pepper.
• Too Kinky to Torture: Achilles is this for Mars and occasionally others. She mentions that she would like to beat him up for constantly following her, but that he probably would enjoy it too much. The only expectation to this is Peachykeen, as to him there's no way to make it fun.
  Mars: You know I can fuck you up way worse right?
  Achilles: Uh-
  Achilles: ...Prove it?
  Mars: Maybe I w-
  Mars: Wait no fuck.

Pepper

"Good luck with that."

A friendly dog picked by Clair to be a good influence on Chloe. He initially started out as a frank Nice Guy, but as the strip goes on he begins to show a different side...

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Provides examples of:

• Big Brother Instinct: Has this towards Achilles. He has more than a few words for Mars after she punches him in the face hard enough to leave him concussed.
• Brutal Honesty: His no-nonsense personality often leads to this:
  Chloe: "The yellow wallpaper."
  Pepper: You'd like that [book].
  Chloe: What's it about?
  Pepper: Female repression and insanity.
  Pepper: [Noticing Chloe's Death Glare] ...I call it like I see it.
• Establishing Character Moment: When Clair introduces him to Chloe, he tries to diffuse the tension with a joke at Clair's expense. He walks it back when Clair almost has a nervous breakdown. Also sets up his relationship with Clair.
  Clair: Guess I forgot to say you're also funny... apparently.
• Eyes Out of Sight: His eyes are rarely visible. Like the girls, if you can see his eyes, it means he's not okay.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference: Downplayed, but when he was first introduced, he had a slightly lankier body with a more clean look.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: Poor Pepper hasn't been the same since Achilles revealed that Halo Head is a layered world. Ever since, he's shown a much colder, more manipulative side.
• Jerkass Ball: The poor guy just wants things to go back to the way they were before his walk with Achilles. His attempts to control things just lead to him harming his friends emotionally.
• Manipulative Bastard: Develops this as the strip goes on.
  • He manipulates Achilles into lying to Clair, even as the latter made it clear how uncomfortable it makes him. He does so in a way that's eerily similar to an abuser.
    Pepper: I know she's your friend.
    Pepper: But you're my friend.
    Pepper: I want both of us to stay safe... That's important to me.
    Achilles: [Clearly uncomfortable] I... I guess... that wouldn't be lying.
    Pepper: Yeah?! Sounds good?! Shake on it?!
  • He coldly attempts to use Chloe's Stepford Snarker coping mechanism against her to get information about Clair. Fortunately she's having none of it.
• Mellow Fellow: At least before his Sanity Slippage, nothing really seemed to get to him. This made him the perfect foil to Chloe's Rebellious Spirit personality, and the two quickly hit it off.
  • While he does care about his friends, if they are completely determined to follow a certain path, he'll just shrug and say "good luck with that."
• Nice Guy: At least initially. He still is deep down, hopefully.
• Odd Friendship: With Chloe.
• Oddly Visible Eyebrows: Thanks to his blinding bangs.
• Only Sane Man: Inherited the role from Achilles after he becomes a freak for Mars.
• Sanity Slippage: Ever since the reveal that Halo Head is a layered world, Pepper's Nice Guy personality has given way to a more Machiavellian manipulative side. He is also afraid of stairs and elects to sleep downstairs in his conversation pit.
• Seriously Scruffy: Becomes increasingly dishevelled as the strip goes on, representing his Sanity Slippage.
• Skeptic No Longer: By #222, once Achilles shows him the same staircase off the island to prove that what he was saying was in fact real, Pepper starts to question what is real anymore, and seemingly develops Bathmophobia (the fear of stairs).
• The '70s: His appearance and mannerisms evoke this era. He also has a 70s-style conversation pit in his house.
• The Shrink: Usually the to-go guy when someone needs some insight, help with their problems, or just be a shoulder to lean on.
• Those Two Guys: With Achilles.

Peachykeen

"All paths lead to Peachykeen!"

A fruit bat ostensibly picked by Clair to serve as Chloe's friend. On the other hand, Clair may have chosen her to spite Chloe. Who knows? Either way she's a little eccentric.

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Provides examples of:

• Antiquated Linguistics: Speaks in an antiquated pseudo-biblical fashion. Though she can speak (somewhat) normally when she wants.
  Clair: Go ahead, don't you want to ask her name?
  Chloe: Not really, dude, I-
  Peachykeen: MY NAME? IT IS UNKNOWABLE, FOR HOW CAN YOU DISTILL THE ESSENCE OF ONE WHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN TO THE FLEETING LANGUAGE OF THE EARTHBOUND??
  Peachykeen: SHOULD YOU WISH TO CALL UPON ME, SPEAK FREELY TO THE TREES AND SOIL. EVEN SO, I HAVE NO OBLIGATION TO ATTEND.
  Peachykeen: But u can call me Peachykeen if u want.
• Catchphrase Interruptus: When Pepper is looking for Achilles, he irritably cuts of her Character Catchphrase. She calls him "dog" and knocks the can opener he's carrying to the ground out of spite. This is also one of the rare times she doesn't smile.
• Bat People: She's a fruit bat.
• Cape Wings
• Ceiling Cling: Being a bat, she can hang from branches by her feet. All the better to swoop down and startle people with.
• Character Catchphrase: "All paths lead to Peachykeen!"
  Pepper: She sure likes saying that.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Very much so, although she fits right in with the other residents of Halo Head.
• Creepy Child: Her age isn't given, and she was probably created by Clair anyway, but her toddler-like appearance and strange mannerisms give her this vibe.
• Cute Little Fangs: As appropriate for a bat.
• Hammerspace Well, where was she keeping that peach?
• Large Ham: To say that she's dramatic is a bit of a understatement.
• Mad Oracle: Behind her eccentricities, many of her comments end up being relevant to a character's situation. It seems she has more knowledge about the world that any other character, beside Clair.
• Perpetual Smiler: Almost always has a creepy grin on her face.
• Plant Person: Depending on whether she's more fruit or more bat.
• Plant Hair: Has a large leaf poking out of her head.
• Pun-Based Creature: She's a peach-themed bat, a fruit bat if you will.
  Chloe: So you're what, some kind of-
  Chloe: Oh. I get it. Fruit bat.
  Chloe: [sarcastically] "Cute."
• Puny Earthlings: She seems to have this attitude towards "Earthbound" species.
• Small Name, Big Ego: She's convinced she heads a cult and has followers when everyone either bails immediately (Achilles) or tells her to buzz off (everyone else).
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Absolutely loves springing up out of nowhere and startling people.
• Third-Person Person: Always refers to herself in the third person.

Residents from the Previous Islands

Ares (Unmarked spoilers before #250)

• Expy: In-Universe, she's certainly quite reminiscent of a certain red-furred cat... even lampshaded by Achilles.
• Meaningful Name: Ares is name of the Greek god of war, fitting for someone very similar to Mars.