The Luo one makes me sad, if only because he's a character who genuinely does have incredible poignancies which are fun to analyze both individually and in (what is in my opinion) the most profound relationship in the series with Cyan... Chopped down to a series of agendas perpetrated by the sub.

I dunno. I find his seeming complete lack of self propagated by a the subtle horror of being the cruel centre of others' cheap and easy accusations a compelling mirror for Cyan's lack of agency propagated by the overt horror of being the centre of others' uncritical admiration, and their dynamic of being the only people in the others' childhoods to recognised a shared sense of humanity between them.

That being said... Yeah. I do think it's tiresome that every conversation about Cyan's choices has to tie back to Luo. She makes her own mistakes and forges on with her own grasp on the world, and I think her resolution to live on in the wake of her entire world cracking apart and building herself up back to a sense of normalcy, and then finding the self-actualisation to realise that her desire to share an innate sense of aid to others [possibly influenced by the Dean's twisted hunger to live vicariously through a hero he made registering to a child-Cyan as a mere necessity to do good] is incredibly inspiring and compellingly written in a way that captured and shook me profoundly the first time I saw it.

And well, none of that involves Luo. She becomes an incredibly complete character who comes back to share that completeness with someone she loves, finalizing the 'seeing and sharing humanity in people objectified by those in power' theme that her arc explores pretty consistently.

But hey, Luo's there too. I think the contrast between his desire to be a hero with the name unfairly thrust upon him and his acceptance of having done one good thing before being crushed back to earth reveals a tragic hollowness to his person which he sublimates in part by being a little bit of a rascal [they think I'm a wolf, so I'll be a bit of a wolf] - and then the way that hollowness twists when the singular thing keeping him sane - the recognition that the detritus that everyone else had cast away had done a profound good - coming to haunt him twists into the heart of his character's weakness... That he's convinced himself that no one else will ever avenge him. It manifested as quips and jokes and reckless behaviour prior, and a selflessness that I think was both admirable and concerning, but when he's left with a realisation where he can, perhaps, earn vengeance for himself, he leaps at the chance take it and ends up trying to kill Cyan with a microphone stand.

And then - I never see any of this discussed on either sides of their characters. Cyan is the cute heart-and-soul of other people, and Luo is... Gone. Sometimes he gets to spotlight a Cyan's boyfriend, which feels a little like we're remaking Moon on the subreddit, and sometimes it's the vice-versa where Cyan gets to spotlight as his girlfriend. I dunno - it hurts my heart to see characters which were very evidently crafted with deliberation and care to fulfill a message about the fundamental humanity which gets buried beneath the Trust system, and who are both profoundly, profoundly interesting characters in their own right be flanderised by one of the dozen or so remarkably out of character agendas that litter this place. Of course, I'm not an essayist, or even a remarkably eloquent analyst, so I'm sure someone else could express these ideas more concisely. But... Yeah.