Oooooh boyyy-

Well, I mean, Andi wasn't going to be hurting Nico or Ingall, physically at least. I mean, dude wouldn't be focusing on them at all. The most he would've done to them is, like, gag Ingall? So that he couldn't use his power? But that was it. Andi could not care less. The only reason he would've nabbed them at all was because he wanted to nab Garvin but the opportunity wasn't showing itself for where he could just grab only him and he didn't want to risk losing his chance.

So since it's Briar instead of Nico and Ingall? Same kind of goes. He'll mostly just ignore Briar. If anything, Andi would gag them to get them to shut up. And if Briar was hurting themself? Then Briar just became leverage against Garvin because you can bet that Andi would totally threaten to not take care of any injuries Briar gives themself, to let them continue injuring themself, to not let any of them help Briar. Basically, threaten to let Briar die from negligence. At most, the closest Briar would get to any injuries from Andi would be from Weakness. Which doesn't take all that much focus to do once Andi's done it to someone before. So... Yeah.

Garvin still trying to assure Briar that everything's fineee, of course. Just like he would've done with Nico and Ingall. Garvin totally not understanding why Briar seems to be trying to get him out too- (He'll be assuming it's a misplaced sense of obligation due to him helping to get rid of Viar)

Can't wait for Briar to just continuously get to hear Garvin be called/equated to dirt. That'll definitely be fun for everyone.

Interesting.

Remind me again exactly how Andi's powers work?

Because, um-

Well, realistically, Briar is a much bigger threat than Nico and Ingall who's powers can both mostly be resolved with a gag.

See, you know Briar has Mimic and create illusions, but, in desperate situations, they can also solidify illusions which is far more draining, but still possible. The thing is, they wouldn't have enough energy to fully get both themself and Garvin out of there, no matter what, and I'm assuming that Anid's Weakness power would just double down on that, but, depending on what exactly Andi's capable, they'll probably manage to get themself out of whatever restrains they may be in, mimic Garvin, and then place a minor illusion over Garvin so it looks like he's Briar and Briar's Garvin. And, I have to add, they will absolutely knock out Garvin if they feel it's necessary to protect him. Now, would this last long? No. Probably only one session from Andi, max, quite possibly less, but any attention off of Garvin is good attention in Briar's mind.

Again, Briar is extremely different from Ingall and Nico. They're first reaction is to fight and protect and they're generally very educated on how to do so thanks to their shitty background, they'll go through dozens of different tactics until they find one that works (or until they exhaust themself so much that they pass out or can no longer physically continue), so, even if they can't get Garvin out or anything, they will, at the very least, be a major menace to Andi.

And, also, Briar would totally call bullshit on everything being fine, though they'd probably play along because, well, they totally get where delusions/disassociation and, in a way, kinda gambling, are helpful coping mechanisms for a traumatized brain, lol

Here's both of Andi's powers for you!

Weakness (he knows, instinctively, what someone's weaknesses are and how to exploit them, that and he can impose physical weakness/pain on people too) and Passion (he can manipulate how passionate, emotionally and/or physically, someone is about something/someone to rather severe levels)

So, uh, very unlikely that Briar would actually manage what you described. Not to even mention how against that idea Garvin would be. Nope. Not a chance. That is not a gamble he's taking. He knows he won't give Andi the reaction he's waiting for, but Briar? Garvin has no idea how that would work out. And if Andi found out? Oooooh boy... He'd rather not find out what would happen. The best idea would be making an illusion of smoke and solidifying that so Garvin can use his ability. But even that doesn't guarantee much success in the way of anything.

Garvin isn't really trying to convince himself of everything being fine. No, not at all. He knows what happens there, he knows exactly how terrible it is and is going to be. (Kind of). He's just trying to keep Briar's spirits up. Which also means that once he crosses over into the less aware territory, there's also going to be tons of vague references to how someone will come get Briar or how he's sure that Briar will get out at some point.

For the most part though? Garvin is actually not going to be as disassociated as he was during the almost two years, mostly because of, uh, Briar being there.

He's totally also trying to assure them that, hey, no worries, he's fine, he's survived this whole thing once, he can totally manage again.

Hmm, yeah, in that case, Briar would probably pass out from pain and exhaustion before they even managed half of that, lmao

They could do the smoke screen though. Although, it might take them a hot minute to come up with that. Again with their immediate response being to fight. That first night there, Briar probably won't be thinking rationally at all (which means the most physical damage will probably be done by them, to them, there). Once Andi leaves for, like, a couple minutes break or some shit, you'll probably see a total mental reset of Briar figuring out actual plans whilst also attempting to keep up with Garvin's fake optimism. Still may not immediately think of it, but, with some time, they'll figure it out.

Now, an added problem with that is the fact that, again, solidifying illusions takes a lot more work. Smoke would probably be considered a medium illusion, depending on how much Briar decides on, so, uh, I'd give them a solid hour after creating the illusion to hold it (probably only able to hold it for about 20-30 minutes) and physically exert themself at all (this includes even just walking fast, running could do as much as cut the total time down to 45 minutes) before completely collapsing. If they do manage to stay up longer than that, you can count on some physical damage (we love an underdeveloped/underused power that causes physical harm-), so, uh, they better figure out a way to get out quick and hide effectively or Garvin might end up having to drag an injured Briar around, lmao

And to think this wouldn't be as much of a problem if Briar had actually practiced in smaller incriminates of time, but, nah, the gang made sure to prevent stuff like that. Wouldn't want creatures getting too powerful, after all :)

That's fair, Briar will totally still take it as a coping mechanism though, and, honestly, the fact that Garvin's talking at all is great new to them since it means he's not dead, lol

Yeahhhh- Andi is quite good at keeping people where he wants them. Garvin only managed to get away the first time due to, uh, luck, planning, practice, and skills.

Yeah, they for sure wouldn't be out of there anytime soon. Andi put in new locks after Garvin's first escape so... Yeah.

As for breaks and stuff? Andi might leave for a couple minutes, he might leave for a couple hours, he might even be gone for a day or two. He has a life outside of what he's doing in his basement. So... Yeah.

If the two managed to get out of the basement and house though, the two would be scot free. More or less. Unfortunately- Good luck at succeeding at that.

Oh, and uh- Forgot to mention. If Briar keeps all of that up for too long? Andi might move them somewhere else outside of the house and whatnot. Or move Garvin and himself somewhere else. He is not in the business of risking Garvin getting out of his grasp again.

Haha, fair, fair- Andi does tend to make it clear that he won't be letting Garvin die until he's done with him. Which is completely dependent on if Garvin breaks (in the way Andi's waiting for him to break, that is)

Sooo, Briar won't have to worry too much about Garvin dying on them haha-

I see, I see.

Yeah, for the first little while, Briar's not gonna shut up. However, once it's threatened to be moved or when they realize that what they're doing isn't productive, they'll switch tactics. Or, rather, start trying to figure out what the hell they can actually do to help, lmao

Well, at least that's good! Though, I'd honestly be surprised if they managed to get out by themselves honestly, lol

Question though, I'm assuming Andi's going to take Briar's phone off them, but will he keep it or anything? Because if that's the case, that may be helpful for outside groups. And, once Destery and Haila realize that, yeah, Briar and Garvin aren't reappearing, H and Koler will still be contacted, it'll just take a while. But, anyway, once the rest of the poly ship, Devery, etc. start trying to find Garvin and Briar, if the phone wasn't destroyed or anything, could they use it? Ingall's surprisingly good with tech stuff (thanks, Amar), and my guess is Revan could work with that too?

And, if that's the case, H can use their power once they get close enough to get in more direct mental contact with Andi, Garvin, and Briar.

Alsooo, how long are we planning for this arc to go on? Just curious to how absolutely fucked up Garvin and Briar are probably gonna be XD

Haha- Andi is going to be so annoyed by these two. Garvin isn't going to shut up either lmao

Well, not until the end at least.

Oh, for sure they aren't going to escape on their own, especially with just how quick Andi's going to be spiraling into even worse territory.

Andi is definitely going to be taking Briar's phone off of them. Probably as soon as he nabs them, honestly. He's most likely to throw it away though, probably somewhere nearby to where he nabbed them. This isn't his first rodeo, he's got experience. So not too sure how helpful the phone will be... A lot of what I had planned before for how they find Andi's house and all that had to do with the fact that Briar had seen Andi watching and thus knew what he looked like.

How long is this arc? Probably, like, at least a week? The way I have it typed out in the outline though, the only two arcs in May-ish are Briar Arc and Andi Arc. So... Yeah.

Lol, well, if he didn't want to be annoyed, he shouldn't do this shit XD

Got it. So, basically, everyone's gonna be wandering around with the hope of finding Garvin and Briar while H goes around basically violating a bunch of people's thoughts in order to try to find the two minds that are panicked and generally destroyed as well as the one ridiculously fucked up one.

You better bet that H is gonna immediately start completely ripping up Andi's mind the second they get ahold of it, lmaoo

Jesus-

Welp, that's a shit ton of angst-

Yayyyy!

And Briar's about to drop their mask for the first time after they're rescued and go completely mute and depressed while also probably lashing out at anyone and everyone who gets close to Garvin and themself (except the poly ship and maybe Aries, depending on the state of their relationship at the time), haha

Very true! Andi isn't that smart though, apparently

I mean- If you want, maybe Destry saw Andi too? It'd probably take a moment for Destry to actually go to everyone else that's looking or even decide that Andi's the best lead but, uh, I mean- Might help a bit?

Akira and H both just going after Andi as soon as possible only to get Weakness cranked all the way up on them so that Andi can get out of there XD

Dude is very much the type that if he realizes it's too late to move Garvin and himself, he'll leave, abandon ship. He can always try again, and next time wait for when Garvin is alone. Because obviously the only reason he failed this time around is because he took Briar too.

Oh, yeah, a ton of angst. Andi's terrible.

Well, hopefully Briar also lets medical professionals nearby. Since medical treatment will definitely be needed.

Garvin is going to be so out of it though that like- It might actually help that Briar is trying to stay close to Garvin. Since Garvin is going to be so incredibly clingy, especially towards Briar. You know, until he isn't delirious and starts pulling away instead (mostly emotionally, though he is also totally going to be planning his departure too soooo... Yeah..)

That adds up, lol

That could work! Then at least there's an idea of who the group is looking for.

Yeahhh, H and Akira will waist zero time, lmao

And best of luck to Andi for his escape, haha

Oh, yeah, doctors luckily won't be a problem when relating to Garvin. Because, obviously, Garvin needs that help. Briar though? Nah, no thank you. No doctors. They're totally fine, they don't need help. Obviously.

That's good at least! Briar will stick close until Garvin pulls away, and, at that point, they'll still be overprotective but just kinda let it happen. It's not their place to try to tell him how to react. Though, Garvin pulling away will probably also mean Briar's also pulling away. I mean, they kinda already started that, probably, they literally just partially stick around emotionally for Garvin's sake, lmao