Clint

Clint is a side character in Echo. He is a resident of Echo and one of Brian's associates.

## Appearance

Clint is a ringtail with disheveled gray fur on his head and arms and brown-yellow fur along his neck, hands, and stomach. He has a white muzzle with black markings that run from his eyes to his nose, as well as white eyebrows and black eyes.

Due his frequent drug use and rough treatment at the hands of others, Clint appears much older than he actually is and is said to have a near-skeletal build. He is covered in injection marks, missing patches of fur, and has scabs across various parts of his body. Most notably his black and white banded tail lacks much of its fur and is covered in bare pink skin. His right ear also has two small holes in it near its tip and some of his teeth are missing.

Clint wears a soiled gray undershirt with noticeable stains, and similarly stained jeans held up by a brown belt.

## Personality

Clint is rude and combative, as well as notably homophobic and bigoted. He has been aggressive since childhood, but his violent tendencies and short temper are made worse by his frequent drug use and the cruel treatment he receives at the hands of others in town.

## Story

### Prior to 2015

Clint was most likely born in or near Echo, and seems to have lived in the town all his life. Clint was a childhood bully to much of the main cast, though once Leo moved to Echo and began defending the group he was frequently forced to back down.

Clint lives in what the main cast call the 'Tetanus Alley' part of Echo and has a sister. Clint's father went to prison two years before the events of Echo for unspecified reasons, but based on Clint's reaction to Leo's taunts it is implied to be because he sexually abused Clint's sister. Clint also says his father 'liked to tell him things he didn't want to hear.'

Clint's drug use started early in his life. Chase recalls being nine years old and watching Clint huff something from a rag that he knew was 'not good.' By young adulthood Clint has received multiple DUIs and been banned indefinitely from driving. At some point, Clint agreed to allow his dealer Brian to regularly torture him, usually by asphyxiation, in exchange for drugs.

Like many of Echo's residents, Clint is haunted by visions, including one of a legless man from a story his father told him when he was a child. Based on conversations he has with Chase, he sometimes seeks out these visions because they break up the monotony of his daily life, and even attempts to magnify them with his drug use.

By the time they cross paths again during the events of Echo, Chase hasn't seen Clint in years and observes that he has gone far downhill in that time.

### Leo's Route

After Chase and Leo share an affectionate moment in the Echo diner on Wednesday, Clint insults them and expresses shock at seeing the two back together. Clint hurls slurs at Leo and Leo brings up the sensitive subject of Clint's sister, causing the confrontation to escalate into violence. Leo easily overpowers and humiliates Clint, who storms out. That evening, Clint reappears wielding a crowbar and attacks Leo and Chase while they walk home. Clint gains the upper hand over an intoxicated Leo, but is ultimately knocked out after Chase and Kudzu come to Leo's aid. The next day, Kudzu strongly advises Leo and Chase to be careful around Clint and to stay away from him if they can.

On Thursday evening, Clint confronts Chase while he is filming at the railyard. He is volatile and most likely high, and rants to Chase about the abuse he has been receiving from Leo, even saying that what Leo has done to him recently is far worse than what he ever inflicted on Leo and his friends as their childhood bully. Chase defuses Clint's anger by talking about his project, and Clint takes an interest in the history of the area. He tells Chase about a story he repeatedly heard from his father as a child, about a man who once tried to hop on a train as it was leaving Echo but fell on the tracks and had his legs severed.

On Saturday, Chase stumbles upon Clint hanging in a forest clearing, in a state of near-asphyxiation that is revealed to be the work of Brian. When Chase tries to help him down, Clint violently rebuffs him and tells him to leave. Chase flees as Brian returns with a whipping switch, apparently to be used on Clint. Later, once the Hysteria has reached its peak, Chase hears Duke mention that he hopes Brian didn't kill Clint because they can 'use him.' While Chase is being held captive in Brian's trailer, Clint comes to the door to ask Brian for drugs and is evidently distressed enough at seeing Chase's situation that he alerts Kudzu, setting the stage for Chase's rescue.

At some point afterward, Clint breaks into Leo's house and falls asleep in his bed. On Sunday Leo finds him, cowering and disheveled, and reacts with hostility, immediately pointing a gun at him. Kudzu talks Leo down by explaining that Clint helped him save Chase. After Leo leaves the room, Clint shares with Kudzu that there may soon be a train passing through Echo that they can board to escape the Hysteria. He is then left alone in Leo's room and escapes out the window. In the good ending of the route, Chase sees Clint again after successfully boarding the train out of Echo, curled up in a seat in the caboose.

### Jenna's Route

Clint is partly responsible for Carl's disappearance, the mystery of which takes up the early part of the route. Upon learning that Carl caught sight of Micha sneaking around his house on Tuesday night, Clint notifies Brian, which leads to Carl falling into Brian's clutches.

On Thursday,Heather brings Clint over to meet Chase, Jenna, and Flynn when they come to Tetanus Alley in search of Carl. Clint immediately reacts to them with hostility, and threatens to get his gun and kill them as they scramble to leave. On Friday, Clint is attacked by Leo over his involvement in Carl's disappearance. When Brian arrives and begins beating Leo in turn, Clint flees with Jeremy.

After Chase, Leo, and Jenna are restrained in Brian's trailer along with Carl, Clint offers to bring in TJ and Flynn as well. Jeremy mentions that he hasn't seen Heather, and he and Clint go to check on her. Clint responds dutifully to Brian's order to take Carl along, and leads the ram out of the trailer at gunpoint. Carl is later found by the main cast in Heather's house, and Heather presumably manages to get ahold of Clint's gun, but Clint himself does not reappear.

### Other Routes

Clint appears in Carl's route in a childhood flashback, in which he and Jeremy viciously bully Carl before being beaten down by Leo.

During Flynn's route, the gang hears Clint singing, screaming, and firing a gun outside of the town hall as the Hysteria begins to overtake the town. He is not seen physically, but Duke later mentions during the town meeting that Clint is among the residents experiencing hallucinations.

## Relationships

### Leo

Clint and Leo have a deeply antagonistic relationship. The two have been at odds since at least middle school and their frequent physical and verbal clashes seem to have only gotten worse in the years leading up to the events of Echo. Clint routinely slanders Leo's ethnicity and sexuality, and Leo is disgusted by Clint's drug addictions and bigotry. When Clint begins to present a danger to Chase, Leo becomes even more vicious towards him.

Clint is physically outmatched by Leo and has been afraid of him since they were kids, but he hides it with aggressive posturing. Likewise, Leo seems to relish the opportunity to fight with Clint despite having the clear advantage in strength. Multiple characters express exasperation that neither Leo nor Clint show any interest in de-escalating their repeated conflicts. Kudzu and Clint himself also remark that although Clint may have bullied Leo and his friends when they were kids, Leo has done plenty to abuse and antagonize Clint in the years since.

As Leo's route progresses, Clint is portrayed more sympathetically as Leo becomes more and more violent, and it becomes less clear which of them is the aggressor and which is the victim.

### Jeremy

Clint and Jeremy have been friends for most of their lives, and bullied the main cast together as children. Jenna describes Clint as a bad influence on Jeremy.

### Brian

Brian is Clint's dealer and supplier, and Clint's addiction means he is frequently coerced into enduring Brian's torment in exchange for his fix.