Revan is totally ready fo make Amar suffer for suggesting that. Under the guise that Revan is already from a well off family and there is literally nothing Amar could offer that Revan wants or couldn't get himself.

Besties while dating to explain the polyship is honestly amazing. I love that. Yes.

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Garvin is completely serious, and Akira can try to argue but Garvin is stubborn. And just like, certain that it's best. Like, sure, whatever, fine, Akira can keep an eye on him too if they want. But everyone else comes first. Including Akira. He'll be fine though, so Akira really doesn't have to, obviously. He'd managed without the protection before, he can totally do it again, no worries. No reason for Akira to stress over him, of all people.

Plus, again, safety and survival don't always go together. There's going to be risks. There always seems to be risks. So, all Garvin's saying is that he can handle those risks. No one else should have to handle/deal with those risks.

I love that so much.

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Akira is also stubborn. Honestly, they may agree to Garvin's terms and then turn around and risk themself for Garvin anyway. They refuse to let Garvin get hurt, lmao

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Alsooo, here's Akira's old family, the one that they were thrown into upon arrival at the home.

Plus baby Akira... They really did do a complete 180 after gaining severe trauma and then being put into a position where they were supposed to help people, haha

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All credit goes to lof@[email protected]

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Maximus Figiro, 17 (nearly 18). He graduated from the system a month after Akira arrived. Head of Akira's "family." A total dick. It wasn't uncommon for children in the home to backstab each other, but it was very rare for people within the same family to be cruel to each other. That was your little group, you cared for each other. Except Max, apparently. He only really cared for himself and Kennedy. Akira and Lou were burdens and thrown to the side. He would physically and verbally abuse them and steal food from their hands.

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Kennedy Burner, 13. She wasn't nearly as bad as Max, but she did play along with him. He favored her and she took it to avoid getting hurt. She would be hostile toward Akira and Lou, but only ever when Maximus was around. Her goal was only ever survival. When Max left, she took up the role of head of the family and, though she was never directly abusive, she was very neglectful and never did anything to help the other two.

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Lou Simmons, 10. Lou was the youngest of the family for a full year until Akira came along. He was a sweet kid, but very jumpy. He was beat down and pushed around just as much as Kira was, but, anytime he managed to get a few scraps of food or a blanket, he didn't hesitate to share with them. He became Akira's protector of sorts, he taught Akira that affection and care was an option, even in such a hostile enviroment. Unfortunatly, he died after two years of Akira being there from starvation and was replaced by Hugo (who I didn't even make because he's not really important, lmao).

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Akira Tovio, 5. You know Akira, right? Laid back, helpful, sociable, protective, sometimes a menice but mostly just a lovable person? Yeah. They didn't start off that way at all. Little Akira was very panicky. They were shy and quiet, accepting of the fact that the world fucking sucked and there was nothing they could do about it. They never fought back or stood up for themself. In fact, the only reason they survived for as long as they did was because of their power and Lou taking care of them. Now they shove all their trauma down and pretend like everything's fine, but little Akira couldn't do that. They were a total mess who was thrown into an incredibly unfair situation. And, if you want proof of just how lucky they are to be alive, only 15% of children under the age of 12 who entered that home ever survived. And most of the time it was because they were adopted while the rest typically survived because they had good families (take Leo for example, dude would've died real quick if he didn't have Kira). So, uh... Yeah. Akira was always strong (thanks power), but also, seriously, thanks Lou!

Haha, if only it were that simple, right?

Garvin's going behind the group's back so much during that arc in order to uphold the whole 'keep them alive' thing. Why behind their backs? He'd rather them not know what it all entails, haha...

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I love those designs and all the information

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Also, I find it hilarious that the age that Akira was put into the 'home' is the same age that Garvin was kicked out of the orphanage he'd been in.

Nooooo, Garvinnnnn!

He's going to force Akira into their "chaotic overprotective parent" mode, I can already tell

You thought normal protective Akira was bad enough, just wait until you trigger their "oh shit, my loved one is in danger, and being an idiot, and thinking they can do so without me noticing, and being self deprecating enough to think that I won't care?!?!" Mindset. That'll be fun XD

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That's so funny, lmao

I love how they're both gaining trauma that should probably be the total opposite of each other but is probably really similar in reality-

Fun fact, Akira actually preferred the streets to the home (and they hated the streets... Obviously.), if that doesn't tell you how shitty the home was- lmao

Garvin totally will be causing Akira into that mode haha-

It's not that he's directly in danger all the time during it... He's mostly just doing things that aren't the best for him to do. That will cause rather a lot of issues with his already terrible mental state.

He's totally self deprecating enough to think none of them will notice/care though. Of course, he's still going to try and hide it. Because, again, he doesn't want them to know.

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Fun fact, Garvin managed to gaslight himself into kind of regretting escaping Andi that first time around. So his perceptions on what's better or worse might be screwed over. Which, they are. If a situation gives him food, shelter, or literally just even one necessity for survival then it's great. And that's about where his ranking ends. The actual situation he's in doesn't matter as much to him. Especially if it gives him more than one necessity checked off.

But, honestly, Garvin doesn't rank what he prefers. Kind of pointless to do so, in his opinion.

Of course, of course. Honestly, if these two ever fight about anything, it's going to be about food or safety. Otherwise, they are literally so chill. Those two things though? They might kick each other's asses XD

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Nooooo, Garvin stopppp! Don't regret escaping that bitch, just kill himmmm! :'(((

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Also, I'm actually so pissed at my little sister rn-

Like, she literally stole my fucking computer, without permission,

and signed me out

I lost all of my progress on my story and my post. I was almost done with that story too :(

Imma punch her-
(For legal reasons, that last part is a joke, I won't hurt her, but I will shout at her :D)

Oh for sure. Food and safety.

And probably July. But like, that's a given. No one agrees with Garvin when it comes to July. Probably.

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Haha... Yeah. He shouldn't regret it. But like... His standards are so screwed. And Andi didn't help any given all of his tactics, haha...

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I am not legally allowed to condone violence, but as someone with siblings, I can relate to the sentiment.

I have finished the Simon short story, so I will post that soon.

I'm not completely satisfied with it but that's more so because of the scene it is and all.

Oh yeah, that's true. July will probably stress Akira out a shit ton.

I think the only one that will handle July decently at all is Ingall, which feels weird to say since he is nothing but paranoia, but, well, he's surprisingly good with stuff like that, lmao

(I mean, at taking care of people from a distance and minding their space, haha)

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Poor guy. That's so sad.

Though, admittedly, Nico's kinda the same way, so I don't have much room to talk XD

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Haha, yeahhh

Ooo, awesome! I'm sure it'll be amazing!

Yeah- July is going to be a doozy. For everyone.

I've shifted up the timeline quite a bit actually... I'll repost the outline so that you can see how I much I have now haha-

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Ha, great. We're great. We obviously love our characters. Mhm.

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Yep! I'll post the short story and then the outline

Here's the short story! Enjoy!

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Short Story; Drifting

Simon/Horkos, age 19

Anna/Enyo (twin sister), age 19

Chile/Kyle/Lutatius (mentioned), age 18

Clio, age 13

Aries/Khorne, age 17

TWs include mentioned character death, implied dehumanization, and implied past dehumanization. That’s it, actually.

*~*~*~*

Simon had, of course, known what today was for the arena. It was hard not to, when the audience and workers had whispered about it for the past week in hushed tones and quick glances. It wasn’t anything new either, a routine sweep of the floor to get rid of those unwilling to kill in the arena. A planned event. One he had decided not to attend since he wasn’t a part of the ones fighting this time around. His sister had gone, of course, because of those they knew that were on the roster to fight and because she was still looking for Kyle, whom they hadn’t seen in days. He tried to keep the dread from what he was sure that meant at bay.

-

So, he had stayed home, in the apartment he shared with Anna. He would hear about what happened when he next went to the arena. Or Anna would tell him when she got back. There wasn’t anything to do about it anyways, he couldn’t stop anything from happening. Watching it happen would only make it harder to deal with, it was better that he didn’t go. That he stayed and tried to find things to keep himself busy with.

-

It was rather late when it happened, Simon in his room and trying to read a book that he’d been meaning to read for a while now. He’d heard the front door opening, telling him that his sister was most likely back now. He’d heard it close behind her too. And he paused, because Anna had always made it a habit to come in as loud as possible. No matter how he wished it to be because she’d managed to learn some form of manners while she was out, he doubted it. His twin couldn’t be taught manners even if it were the only way she could save her life.

-

He stood up, placing the barely begun book on the nearby stand and made to go check on her. He opened the door to find her standing there, crying. A scene he’d never expected to see, a scene he was sure he’d never seen before. And yet, it felt so familiar, like a memory just out of reach. The feeling was unpleasant, so he ignored it, and looked at her. A hand on the wall beside her, a hand ever slightly outstretched like she’d been about to knock but he beat her to it. It seemed wrong, because she didn’t knock. She’d never knocked. He took a breath regardless though, and stepped out of his room, closing the door behind him softly.

-

He kept his voice soft, overly aware of how stilted it was. For as good at people he was, he wasn’t used to this. He needed more to work with than whatever this was. “Anna?”

-

Her face twisted, grief stricken and almost unsure, her tone didn’t give much else. “He- Kyle’s dead.” He didn’t react to the expected news that he’d been dreading to hear. Her tone shifted with her face as anger brewed, something he knew how to respond to better. “He– They killed him, Simon.”

-

He nodded, slow and careful, and kept the dread off of his face. He took a second to process, took a steadying breath, and began to lead her to the couch. Tentatively, he spoke again, ignoring the dread. Kyle hadn’t been on the roster, so it’d have to have been a later fight. “Does Aries know yet?” He’d been on the roster, but there was a chance he didn’t know if he’d left right after his fight. Someone would have to tell him, he’d been the closest to Kyle and his little sister, after all.

-

Anna’s face only twisted up more at the mention of their other friend. She spoke, strained and simply wrong to hear from her, the anger was the only thing right about it. “He–” She paused, taking a breath, and the anger disappeared. He almost wished it’d stay. “Yeah, he- he knows. He had to fight him.”

-

Simon sucked in a breath through his teeth, keeping his voice calm. “...I see.” He paused, watching as Anna seemed to settle into anger now that she’d said it out loud. He couldn’t… There wasn’t anything they could do now. “Whatever you’re planning isn’t a good idea, Anna.”

-

“I– It isn’t right, Simon. We have to do something!” Anger tainted her voice, as expected. He’d had to say it though. She paused, and huffed out a quieter, “I’m tired of my friends dying. I’m tired of seeing people suffer.”

-

Simon glanced away for a moment, trying to think through his words quickly, eyes narrowed and sighing. He looked back over. “And I’m not? Anna, please, there isn’t anything we can do. At least right now there isn’t. We have to think about ourselves first. You know that. I know you know that.”

-

She glared at him, he held her gaze. He was right. It was too late for Lutatius now. They couldn’t do anything for something already dead. She still glared. It was always the same argument. The glare shifted, venom laced her tone. “Do you care? You always say that we can’t do anything. But what if we can? You won’t even consider it! Does the fact that people are suffering mean nothing to you? I’m tired of doing nothing! Aries tries! Why can’t we?”

-

He bristled, “Of course I care. But that’s exactly my point. Look at what they’ve done to him. They just had him kill Lu- Kyle. They just had him kill Kyle. His best friend. And that’s not even the worst of it, and you know that.”

-

Anna stared at him, he ignored his slip of the tongue. She wouldn’t, he knew. He hadn’t meant to slip up like that. She scoffed, and stood from the couch, glaring at him. “I’m at least going to take care of Clio. You don’t want to help anyone in the arena? Fine. Whatever. Have it your way. But Kyle had only been there in order to help his sister, so I’m at least going to keep one of them alive.”

-

Simon sighed, and watched her leave. Talking to her right then wouldn’t solve anything. She needed space, she needed to realize that it was already too late. The fates of their friends were sealed. There wasn’t anything to be done for them… She wasn’t going to realize that. She wasn’t going to keep herself safe. She wasn’t going to keep either of them safe…

-

He’d figure out a way to do it himself then. Someone had to keep them both safe, and if it had to be him? So be it.