For ages, the Facebook page Fantasy Fandom Battle Royale has pitted beloved fantasy characters against one another in a series of brackets: Battle of the Blades, Most Endearing, and most recently, Best Non-Human Companion. With Onos T’oolan’s latest victory, fans are rewarded with a Malazan Book of the Fallen-specific bracket—their last chance to see their favorite characters from that series duke it out. Because once a character from a certain series wins, those books get one last hurrah before being “retired.”
Fantasy Fandom Battle Royale recently posted the retirement bracket for Malazan Book of the Fallen, after taking nominations for which 32 characters to include. Contenders include Onos T’oolan himself, Lady Envy, Caladan Brood, Bottle, and more. Fans are calling some of the nominations, like Fiddler vs. Whiskey Jack in the first round, cruel; but the admins reasonably responded, “If it doesn’t hurt, then it’s not a good bracket.”
The way it seems to work is, the Battle Royale page will post artwork of the characters in each matchup; whichever gets the most Facebook likes proceeds to the next round. Fans are already weighing in in the comments with their predictions for each bracket, so don’t miss out on your chance to vote!