Here's the link :)

-

Fair-

The next question is, though, do we want Akira to give him the info somehow? Kira's much less serious than Horatio, so when they introduce themself, they probably won't be doing of the "Mx. Cosmos" stuff that Tio did. They'll probably just kinda show up and be like "Hey, 'm Akira, nice ta meet ya ___" and use first names basically immediatly.

Though maybe they could use first and last? I'm not really sure, lol

-

Alright! :D

-

Ah, yeahhh, that's fair then

I'm sure that'll end well for everyone, lmaooo

-

I'm down for anything, either way sounds fun, haha

-

I love Garvin being clueless with technology so much XD

Nico: "Oh, um, probably me? That sounds like something I would do. Though I do think Angel could probably pull something like that off too, if he ever wanted to! Probably Vinny too, but he's kinda hopeless with tech."

Ingall: "Um... Nico? I guess? I hadn't thought of that at all before."

Akira: "Oh, Nico fer sure! Either for music or make-up. Could see it happenin' fer sure."

Who's most likely to suggest getting matching tattoos? (Yeah, these are hard to come up with/find good ones for, I'm struggling, lmaooo)

Nico: "Probably Garvy. Or maybe Riri. Probably Garvy though. I would love matching tattoos, but I don't think I'd suggest it first!"

Akira: "Garvin, mos' likely, though with that idea in mind, I might beat 'em to it, sounds fun!"

Ingall: "Maybe Garvin?"

-

Sounds good to me! :D

-

Oooooo, all that information is amazing, I love it!

Oooo, yay!!

-

Honestly, no clue- Whatever you think Akira would do works just fine.

-

It'll totally end well for everyone. Mhm. Totally.

-

It's so funny. He's so done with it all.

Love that question haha-

Garvin: "Me. I already 'ave a matchin' tattoo wit Cabernet, which I'd suggested. So. Y'know. Totally me."

Revan: "Either Garvin or Akira. Probably Garvin."

It really is so hard to think of questions haha- Hmmmm

Who's most likely to be the DJ in the car?

Garvin: "Me or Niki. Vans keeps tryin' to get me banned from it though. No clue why." (He does know why and it's because he only plays meme songs)

Revan: "Unfortunately, probably Garvin. Who only gets it as often as he does because of how tall he is and how much leg space he needs."

-

Glad you like the information, haha-

Midas took things from 1 to 11 real quick but to be honest, Fintan took it from 11 to 100 even quicker. So. Yeah.

1280 words for the reunion so far because I keep editing it because I gotta make it right and, like- Fintan for sure needs to be on the kill list, like, a hundred times over. He wasted no time in being just, the worst. This guy trying to tell our probably still underweight buddy to lose weight. Someone kill this guy. Get our boy away from him.

The Reunion has been written and I'll get it posted at some point. Prepare to absolutely loathe Fintan even more than you already do.

In the meantime though-

Okay, so, realized a couple things

-

1) How long have the previous holders bee watching these kids??? How did they keep up with them??? Like, I'm sorry, Garvin literally managed to move countries during his lifetime- Which. Okay. I feel like that's something I should probably explain at some point because I'm sure you're confused. But, uh, yeah. Maybe later, if you wanna know. Either way, even without that, he's just about constantly on the move anyways. Unless he's staying with someone, like the modern day pirates or Fintan or whatnot.

-

2) Not really a question but an actual realization as I keep thinking. Garvin, honestly, would be going through such a major fucking breakdown as soon as he finds out people can be kicked out. Like. Major depressive spiral immediately. He'd still immediately leave, that hasn't changed. He'd be leaving immediately. He'd be out of there. Only, uh, this breakdown is like, intrinsically connected to that decision. Like. He probably wouldn't even be considering following Briar and Aries. They got kicked out, they're worth way more than he is and they got kicked out, so it would've only been a matter of time for him to get kicked out too anyways. But that isn't even the breakdown. Nah. The breakdown is more... He's tired of it. Tired of everything. And Briar and Aries definitely don't have a need for him in a world he doesn't know anything about and, frankly, given that he left on his own and not even because he thought it was unfair for them to be kicked out, they don't have any reason to want him around either.

Basically- As soon as he could, he'd be trying to ditch Aries and Briar to just go die. He's tired. He'd finally been starting to think that maybe he'd found a place where he didn't have to worry about ending back up on the streets only to find out that kicking people out is in fact a thing that happens and given his track record, he'll be kicked out eventually anyways and seeing as that means he's no longer even on Earth's streets- You know, the planet he knows how to survive on and could maybe barter his skill in doing just that to get Aries and Briar to let him stay with them, at least until they get home and all- He's absolutely useless, has no idea what he's doing, so frankly- The only thing there is for him to do is die. You know, in his opinion.

He's going through it. Very much so.

Also definitely should mention, it's very likely that the only ones he'd trust at all after being convinced to go back would be Nico and Aries. Maybe Briar.

Honestly- Not even sure if the others could ever get his trust back. Even years down the line. The fear that they'll kick him out one day isn't really one that can just... Go away. Because it isn't something they can say 'We won't kick you out' and expect that to be the end of it. Because maybe they won't today. But what about tomorrow, or in a week, or a month, or a year, or five years, or twelve years- They can't promise that. Even if they tried to, it'd never be believed. Because that sort of promise just... Assumes too much. It isn't something that can be trusted to be kept.

-

3) Technically, it'd be possible that Garvin doesn't leave when Briar and Aries get kicked out. If you're now wondering about that due to all of the above.

And it's only possible because of, drumroll-

Who is really just becoming an absolute treat to have. He's like Micha was in the first T8P but way more confident in himself.

Anyways.

It'd be possible that when Ingall first suggests kicking out Briar that Bernard notices how Garvin immediately starts going downhill. Because Garvin would. It'd be that soon and that quick. Someone mentioning kicking someone out like it's a real possibility is all it takes. So totally possible that Bernard would either step into the argument to immediately put an end to that idea, or he grabs the obviously dissociating and panicking Garvin and leaves, gets him away from the argument.
Literally though, it might actually end up being worse than if he left with Briar and Aries. Because my guy would be walking on eggshells. Around everyone. Including Bernard. Because he's still spiraling. Still thinking he can get kicked out at any second. One wrong move is all it'd take. He'd be scared about eating, about showers, about stimming/fidgeting, about how he spends his time, about where he sits, about sitting in general, about literally everything. He'd be so afraid to even speak. One wrong move, one wrong word, one wrong anything. And it'd so quickly get tied up to worth and value and use. How much he can do for the others. Because if he's giving them something then maybe they won't kick him out. But what does he have to give? He doesn't have anything. He's never had anything. The only thing he'd be able to think of would be himself. Offering up himself.

And let me tell you- If he's rejected. He'd get even worse. Because obviously that means it's only a matter of time before they kick him out and there's nothing he can do to stop them or convince them not to.

Even Nico once they're back wouldn't be trusted. Because what if the one wrong move ends up being Nico complaining about him? So obviously he has to be careful there too.

Aries and Briar once they're back wouldn't even be trusted. Because, well, they'd been kicked out but now they're back so obviously they're going to have way more power now to decide who stays and who goes and oh stars, they're definitely waiting for any excuse to kick him out because he didn't try to make sure they weren't and sure others didn't either but compared to all the rest of them, he's completely worthless and doesn't have anything that could possibly redeem him so obviously-

Yeahhhh

He's going through it.

The only one I could see him potentially trusting at all in that scenario is Bernard. Maybe Nico, eventually. Because Bernard as the Emotional/Healing one would be so in tune with what's going on and would be so careful and so incredibly trying to get Aries and Briar back as soon as possible because Garvin's falling apart thinking people can get kicked out, which has technically been proven to be true. So he'd be trying to get them both back and explaining that no one is ever going to be kicked out again.

Maybe Nico because Bernard, of course, is still also going to be trying to be there for them too. So obviously that would end up meaning Nico and Garvin get to spend time together, with Bernard there too and honestly kind of mediating.

Basically, Bernard becomes a very protective big brother.

-

Also, if you're wondering why he has such a bad reaction to the whole kicking out here as compared to the Repetitive Nickname Gang (TM) of AFCS...

There's three main reasons for it.

1) Age. Even if Garvin doesn't know how old he is, I do. Anyways. He was 19 for the Repetitive Nickname Gang (TM) of AFCS. He's not gonna be 19 in T8P (2.0). So 19, Repetitive Nickname Gang (TM) Garvin is a much different person than T8P (2.0) Garvin. Just because of life experiences, of which the 19 year old Repetitive Nickname Gang (TM) Garvin would have more of.

2) Giles was constantly using his power on the rest of the Repetitive Nickname Gang (TM) to a varying level. Because. Well. He sucks. And his ability is Distance. Making people care less, both about themselves and others, and also making them feel less connected to themselves and the world around them.

3) And this one is most important- Worth and Use. The Repetitive Nickname Gang was all made up of street rats that understood that they were all kind of just using each other to survive. And how to not get kicked out was obvious and kind of easy to follow. All you had to do was make sure your issues didn't actually affect anyone and even then, as long as ypu brought in enough money at the end of the week when they go to a new city to share with the group and all- You could stay. And even then. They couldn't really kick someone out, they had to go and figure out a way to just leave them behind. Steal their shit and leave before they even knew they were being left. So... Yeah.

Hmm, alright then, I'll figure that out when I have to XD

-

Ooo, good question, lmao

Nico: "Me or Vinny for sure! Though my music's more everyone-friendly. It's pretty funny to watch how much Garvy's taste annoys Specs though, and how Riri jumps in, so, honestly, I always vote for Garlee when I want a laugh."

Akira: Nico, most of the time, but I always love when Garvin gets the control. So much fun!"

Ingall: "Nico or Garvin. Usually Nico when Revan's around."

Literally-

Who's most likely to cry at sappy commercials?

Nico: "Guilty as charged! I can't help it though! They shouldn't make them so emotional!"

Akira: "Pfft- Nico for sure. I would feel bad, but he's so adorable about it."

Ingall: "Oh, Nico. They nearly gave me a heart attack the first time too..."

-

Noooo, Fintan, fuck offfff!

Get away from the child! He deserves better!

-

Good question and great information, I love it all, lmao

Okay-

1) Well, basically forever? Simple answer, they've all reached their strongest/most controlled state so, technically speaking, the elders aren't really human any more? I mean, they're still mortal in the sense that they can still be killed, but they kinda... stopped physically aging (or can at least alter their appearance to appear like the younger version of themselves, though the manipulation holder is the only one that can really shapeshift) and became very in tune with the world and its energy. Also, they've lived for like, over 100 years at this point, so-

I'm realizing I haven't actually explained how the elders do... well... elder stuff, lol

Okay, so, basically, at a certain point, as you can probably imagine, the protectors grow tired and slightly weaker after protecting the Earth for so long, so they begin searching for their heir. The person they choose is chosen because they meet the ideal personality type (or, in some cases, meet something like an ideal mental strength or whatnot, it's really up to you to decide what the elders of your people chose based on), and this "ideal" thing can be seen from a sort of aura that surrounds you from the moment your born. Like what the Emotional holder can see except more specified. So, basically, a certain number of people probably meet the criteria the elders are looking for from the start, but as the children grow up, learn, and change, the number of ideal candidates decreases, eventually dropping to one or two. Age is also a factor because all the protectors need to be within a few years of each other.

Alsoooo, the elders pass down their powers one at a time, and, until every one of their powers is in passed (whether this be through intentional giving or emotional gain), the elder is still sort of in play in the universe, just getting more and more distant. When the last power is passed on, that elder "fades away" or moves on to the afterlife. Hopefully all that made sense, haha

Also, a bit of a hint for some future lore: The Manipulation/Judgement holder is always the first to pass on. There has literally never been an exception :)

-

2) Yeahhhh... Poor Garvin :'(

If he does end up going with Briar and Aries poor Aries (and, luckily, Lux will be there too) will have to deal with two extremely depressed people, probably while also struggling a fair amount, lmao

-

3) We love Bernard so much! Thank you Bernard for being the best big brother! Haha

Either way sounds fun and angsty though, so I won't complain whatever you decide on doing, lol

Totally fair lmao

-

I love that question so much-

Garvin: "Oh, Pavo for sure. I don' think anyone else ever has."

Revan: "Definitely Nico. Though, admittedly, Garvin has a few times too."

(Read- Some of the Littles)

Hmmmmmm-

Who's most likely to drive? Since I did the other car question lmao

Garvin: "Prob'ly either Aki o' Niki. Nobody drives too much though. I would, but 'parently 'm not 'allowed ta' o' whateva."

Revan: "Anyone but Garvin or me, honestly. Probably Akira. Though I, admittedly, try to avoid anyone having to do any driving, at all, ever."

Now's a good time to remind you of Revan's car trauma haha-

-

I'll get the Reunion up soon, I just have to do the formatting here

-

Oooo, all of that's great information then.

So the elders know absolutely everything about their heirs then?

Also, not related to the elders but what month will it be? (July be staring in the distance at this question lmao)

Also, way funnier that Garvin's gonna try and cut the elder that shows up to recruit him knowing all that. Yes, I already have that figured out. He's getting Elemental. Fire, in specific, hehe.

-

Garvin will literally have to be convinced to follow Briar and Aries if he does leave with them. He's gonna be trying to get away from them so quickly. Like. He really does just plan on leaving and letting himself die. Maybe try to find out if the planet they're on has drugs and shitty people. But that's literally it. He's so self-destructive immediately.

Yeahhh, at least Lux can help a bit too probably-

-

Bernard is so great. Literally the best big brother ever. If it's that situation, Garvin's basically got a big brother. Literally so many littles end up clinging to Bernard as protector.

No, because literally- If Garvin stays- Bernard would be the one he ends up breaking down in front of. As in, full on crying, begging to not be kicked out, apologizing, rambling on and on about not wanting to be kicked out- Just. Yeah. It wouldn't be good.

Bernard also would be totally fine with going up to Akira and Revan and Ingall and totally just obliterating them like-

To Akira like-

"You feel so bad about 'failing to protect' Nico but you're literally failing to protect Briar and Aries right now (and maybe Garvin) by leaving them on a hostile planet that they might not know how to survive on."

Literally he will pull no punches.

And if Garvin stays???

Even worse! Even more punches not pulled! ("You feel so bad about 'failing to protect' Nico but you're literally failing to protect- Basically everyone right now! Garvin's walking on eggshells- He literally just passed out in my arms crying, Nico needs more than just me as an emotional anchor for the shit they've been through, Revan and Ingall are isolating themselves, and you kicked out Briar and Aries to fend for themselves on a hostile planet.")

Literally not letting anyone except maybe Nico anywhere near Garvin after the whole crying incident until Briar and Aries are back.

He gonna be yelling at everyone! Except Nico, and Garvin, and Briar and Aries. So really just Akira, Ingall, and Revan. Jeez, having a confident big brother Emotional/Healing is gonna be crazy.

Honestly, if Bernard did enter the argument when Ingall suggests kicking out Briar, it'd literally just to be to try and bring attention to the fact that Garvin is heavily fucking triggered by that mere suggestion, please stop.

-

Also, is worth saying- No matter which one it is, if Garvin stays or not, the only one of the polycule he'd ever have any chance at trusting again would be Nico.

Frankly, not even sure if the polycule would actually happen in T8P (2.0) because of all this. If it did there would be such an imbalance of power because Garvin literally would never be able to trust that he isn't about to be kicked out.

Literally every attempt at adjusting the power to be balanced wouldn't work, promises to never kick him out wouldn't work as already discussed, and literally the only person he could trust in it would be Nico. Everyone else would never hear any sort of criticism or protest or anything negative whatsoever. And even Nico wouldn't hear much of it because there'd still be a slight fear that they'll change their mind too and suddenly he won't be able to trust them either. It'd be such a slippery slope.

Anddd, here's the AFCS Reunion of Fintan and Midas!

-

Reunion

Word Count; 1840.

Characters; Garvin (Midas) and Fintan. Panu/Hound, Viik/Chough, and the group that leaves the city are all mentioned on varying levels.

TWs; Swearing, manipulation, emotional abuse, mental abuse, self-worth issues, heavily implied conditioning/grooming/programming, just so much abuse, implied threats, implied panic attack, implied dissociation, guilt tripping… And I’m going to go ahead and count it as SA as well, given the actual… Everything that’s going on. The worst of it isn’t written, of course, as per rules. Also, messy writing/ending. There might be more. Not too sure, honestly.

Notes; Uhhhhh. Yeah. The long-awaited terrible reunion between Fintan and Midas. Fintan is so terrible. I hate him so much. Midas is literally so incredibly dependent on Fintan for any sort of praise or validation or worth or value or use or anything positive. Fintan knows exactly what to do and what to say and how to act with Midas for the results he wants. As a small little reminder, Fintan is ~11 years older than Garvin. Fintan is 37 in this. Also, because I realized I never gave heights… Fintan’s around Garvin’s height, so ~6’5”. Panu is around Aries’s height, so ~6’7”, and Viik is ~6’1”. So. Yeah. Anyways. Midas is literally so desperate for love but he’s also so convinced that being loved is getting fucked to the point of bleeding and fractured hips and bruised bones. Like. Nothing else. Just that. That’s what being loved is. Kind of just ranting here in the notes but, yeah. I literally had to take breaks while writing this short story. It hurt. I am so sorry.

*~*~*~*

An hour. That was how long it took for him to finally get his chance to leave the apartment complex Hound had shown the group to. An hour. Just to figure out where everyone would be sleeping, to figure out what was already in it. He took the first chance he’d gotten and it had been an hour after Hound showed them to the apartment complex. An hour since Spark told him to come see him about burner phones, about catching up. An hour and a half after finally caving in to Chough trying to convince the group to stay with the gang for a little while.

-

Two hours since he’d seen Sparky in the alleyway holding a gun to someone’s head. Two hours since he’d seen Fin for the first time in years. Two hours since Tanny suggested stopping by the gang. Two hours since he thought his heart stopped, if only for a moment.

-

The sound of the apartment complex door closing behind him couldn’t happen quick enough. The sound was basically bliss, twisting his heart with each step he took in the direction of Fin’s house. Really, he wasn’t all too sure as to why. Sparky was a good friend, sure. But he was just going to get a burner phone from him. Maybe catch up on what all had happened the last… However long it’d been since they last saw each other.

-

It’d been a while since he’d last visited the gang, since he’d last been in their city at all. Probably too long, really. Not that it really mattered all too much. He couldn’t change that now. All he could do was keep making his way to Spark’s house.

-

Which, despite however long it’d been, still seemed like second nature to him. Every step and turn. Every street and alleyway. The path, the buildings— Fuck, even the people. They weren’t the exact same, of course. But everything was… Well, it was just how he’d remembered it. It was easy to fall into step, into place, into the rhythm that the entire city seemed to know. His feet knew to pick up the pace on their own, his eyes knew not to spare a glance, and his ears knew to ignore the cries he could hear as he passed the alley where something shitty was always happening to someone. And he knew which alleys would get him to Tanny faster, and which ones of those were safe to go down. Or at least safer than other ones in the city. There was a reason it was known as the city of crime, after all.

-

Really, making his way through the city of crime to get to Fin’s house… It was the first time in weeks, maybe even months, where he didn’t feel out of place. Which maybe that said something about him and how much of a shit person he was. He couldn’t find it in himself to care at the moment. Not when he was going to see Sparky.

-

As soon as he’d reached Spark’s house, he stared at the door. For about two seconds, he stared at the door. It felt longer. So much longer. But then the two seconds passed, and he’d knocked.

-

Two minutes later, the door opened. Tanny stood in the doorway, amber eyes surrounded by red staring at him. His heart skipped a beat. Stopped. Twisted. Skipped another.

-

And Midas reached for Fin, finding the collar of his black button-up shirt and pulling. The lump in his throat that was making it hard to breathe was gone as soon as their lips met. As soon as he felt hands wrapping around his waist, pulling him close, pulling him inside, with the sound of the door being kicked closed following quickly.

-

His back hit the closed door, and one of Spark’s hands moved from his waist to his hair, grabbing and pulling at the ginger curls to be able to deepen the kiss. Midas let him, knowing that his own attempts at deepening the kiss would be desperate, messy. But, well, could anyone blame him if they were? He’d missed him, he’d missed being loved and wanted and adored, he’d missed being around people who would show him that he was.

-

Tanny pulled away first, which… Didn’t make sense. He opened his mouth to speak, already feeling his throat closing up and his breath catching. Fin beat him to it though, and it was so good to hear his voice again.

-

“Midas,” the hand in his hair pulled his head back, making him look up and his neck strain. “Care to explain where the fuck you’ve been?”

-

Midas felt his heart lurch and sink at the same time for a moment, felt the lump in his throat come right back, and tried to think past the urge to beg him to let that conversation happen after Spark fucked him bruised and bloody. To let him at least have that before he had to face a talk like that one. He knew he couldn’t be trusted to have that conversation after though. And it’d been years, and he basically had just let them leave, and he really did owe Sparky an answer. So he tried to ignore it all and pushed himself to speak, rambling in his hurry, “I don’t- Someone- Someone was keeping me from the front. I couldn’t manage to get back. Please- I tried. I promise I tried. I wanted to come back, I didn’t even want to leave. I don’t—”

-

The hand in his hair pulled his head back further, “Someone— Who the hell kept you from getting back then, Midas?”

-

He couldn’t keep from flinching at the tone, eyes searching the ceiling of the entryway of Fin’s house as he tried to think past the burning feeling that was building behind his eyes. His clothes felt too tight. He choked out, “I- I don’t know. I don’t- I swear I don’t know.”

-

“Well, you better figure it out then. I fucking need you here, not running around doing whatever the hell you want. I’m going to have to make so many damn calls just to make sure everything can still work the way it’s supposed to, and you better hope it can because if we have to restart everything—” There was a pause, where Spark took a breath and his hands tightened where they were on him. “Just, figure out who it was. The last thing we need is for whoever the fuck it is to tell the wrong person. Do you want that to happen, Midas? Because it wouldn’t just be me that they’d come after, and I know that you know that.”

-

It was hard to breathe. He didn’t want to think about it. He didn’t want to think about the shitty rules that were made to make the majority feel bad about themselves. He should’ve come back sooner. He shouldn’t have let them leave to begin with. He should’ve tried harder to get back. He couldn’t think of anything to say though, couldn’t think past the urge to make sure that Fin still loved him, to beg him to still love him.

-

He almost did, if it weren’t for the fact that Tanny kept talking before he could, grip on his hair loosening and a sigh in his voice. “Look, with any luck, it’ll be an easy problem to fix,” Spark’s hand let go of his hair, and he moved his head back to where he was actually looking at Sparky. The hand that had been in his hair pinched at his cheek, at the weight that staying with the rebellion had managed to give him, a frown tugging at his lips. “Easier than some others will be, at least…”

-

Fin let go of his cheek, looking at him as he grabbed his hip instead. “Try and stay closer to the front from now on. If I call, I want you to be the one answering, Midas. Not anyone else.”

-

Midas nodded, hoping that the way he was being pulled closer meant that Spark still wanted him. Still loved him. He wasn’t sure, but he’d never been all that good at reading Fin’s face anyways.

-

Tanny continued either way, “Seriously though, work on losing that weight. People love you more when they can pick you up, and the height’s already gonna make that harder to do. No need to go and let weight make it damn near impossible. I mean,” His breath caught in his throat, though he wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t want to be unlovable or if it was because of Sparky getting closer, barely a hair’s breadth away. “You do want to be loved, don’t you, Midas?”

-

His chest felt like it was burning in time with his eyes, heart racing even as it squeezed almost painfully behind his ribs. Fin biting at his lips snapped him out of his building panic enough for him to let out a whining, “Please—” and then he was begging, breath hitching and his hands moving down Sparky’s shirt. “Please- Fuck- Please, Fin, please— Please, I want love, please, I do, I swear I do, please,” his hands found the top of Spark’s pants and pulled, trying to get closer. Because he did want it. Fuck, he needed it. And Fin smiled at him. Even through the blurring of his vision, he could see as Sparky finally smiled at him.

-

So Midas pulled again, hands fumbling over the zipper of Tanny’s pants. “Please— Please, here works— Fuck, anywhere works but please— Please, I need it- I need you, please—”

-

Fin quietly shushed him and let go of his hip and waist. Which seemed so out of place, so wrong with the smile still on his face, that Midas didn’t even try to hold back the choked whimper in the back of his throat. But then one of Spark’s hands circled around his wrists, and his panic that Tanny didn’t love him anymore began to melt away to be replaced by sweet, blissful relief as his hands were slowly raised above his head and held against the door behind him. The following kiss given to him, only deepening as zippers and pants were undone, was better than any meal he’d ever eaten.

-

The hand not holding his wrists moved back to his waist as Sparky pulled back from the kiss. He tried not to let himself whine, and failed practically immediately. Spark was still smiling though, staring at him with a look he had never been able to read, and as Fin dived back into another kiss… The pain that finally at least started to make itself known was one that Midas felt was better than life itself, that he knew was better than life itself. And if he hadn’t already been crying, then he could have started crying right then and there. At the love that he was finally going to get again, the love he was finally going to feel again.

Love this question-

Nico: "Aki! Sometimes me and sometimes Angel, but Gala also gets paranoid about the road, so he tries to avoid driving- Yeah, mostly Riri-"

Akira: "That would be me! 'M the only one that actually enjoys drivin'. Garvin doesn't count. Ingall an' Revan banned 'im from it. Kinda understandably."

Ingall: "Akira, mostly. Though sometimes Nico drives too."

-

Basically, yep, haha

Good question... Probably sometime toward the end of the school year? Late May/early June? Not sure

Oooo, I love that

-

Yeahhhhh

And Briar won't be too helpful either, probably, because they'll be in the middle of their own full blown breakdown, soooo

Good luck to Lux and Aries XD

-

Ouch, that'll hurt

A lot

And we love Bernard for it, but god-

Like, that'll almost make it worse?

The thing is, Berdard is fully in the right to be scolding Akira, Revan, and Ingall, but-

Akira and Ingall at least didn't actually want to kick Briar out, they genuinely believe that they betrayed them. And thanks to Ingall's being unable to lie, it honestly kinda sounds like they did-

The fact that Nico's taken at literally the same time all of this is happening is even more proof

Like, the worst part of this whole situation is it's all a huge misunderstanding. The communication struggles are real, lmao

So, yeah

Akira might honestly double down, only to mentally destroy themself

And Ingall's 100 percent going to break down. No doubt.

Especially once everything gets figured out.

Gall most likely won't ever emotionally recover from that, soooo

-

I, honestly, was kinda thinking the same thing

Because Nico's in a similar boat.

Like, when he needed their partners the most, they weren't there. Bernard was the only one around.

Even after everything is settled, the fact that Nico has this new, terrible trauma that literally none of the people that were supposed to be there for were there for isn't going to change. That fact is gonna stick in her subconsious even if they try to ignore it (which is a very Nico thing to do), so, yeah, Garvin's probably also the only one he actually has a chance of trusting again as well, which is mostly because they equate Garvin's trauma from the events to his own.

Actually, literally only Garvin, Briar, and Aries will probably ever actually here the phrase "I forgive you." From Nico for not being around (though Garvin probably will hear something more like "It's not your fault, lovely, I'm not mad!" Or something). And, obviously, with Bernard, no forgiveness is needed. He'll just get a shit ton of hugs and a "Thank you!" And probably some gifts

Soooo

Alternate bad ending for the polycule in T8P (2.0)?
Shall we hurt ourselves more with this? XD

(Gotta keep AFCS going though, 'cause I need my wholesome polycule, I can't live without them :") )

I absolutely love the story!
And Fintan has moved to the top of the kill list

The tipitty top

Thought Andi is still a close second

How dare he hurt the child like this

Creepy, crinkly devil man

Die, devil man, die :)

Ooo, fun, fun, mostly asking because I'm trying to figure out Garvin's age lol

Mhmmm- Elemental Elder be showing up while Garvin trying ti catch his breath in an alley is really not a good idea when Garvin got a knife on him ready to go.

-

Haha, yeahhh, good luck to Lux and Aries

-

Bernard's scolding of Revan, at least, might would help a little with him. So Revan might actually be someone Nico can go to, at least after Revan gets the scolding lol

Revan just needs to learn that sometimes isolating to try and minimize the damage he causes actually causes more damage. Still not allowed anywhere near Garvin though because Bernard knows that the second Revan shows any sort of negativity around Garvin, things somehow be getting worse. Especially since Revan's second in command as the Space holder.

-

Frankly, the one hope is that Bernard can somehow manage to stop the argument long enough to actually have a chance at meaningful damage control. He'll try everything. Redirect to the fact that Garvin is panicking over the idea that people can be kicked out. Redirect to the fact that 'How about we do this after we get Nico back? It'd be easier to get them back with Briar and Aries here, as seven instead of five' (or four, if Garvin leaves too).

Bernard would be trying so hard to damage control the argument just as soon as he notices people (Garvin) panicking.

My guy just, immediately be dissociating and panicking and it is not the type where it isn't obvious. It's the full on panic attack where he's trying not to cry. The mere suggestion of kicking someone out causes that. So. Yeahhh.

-

Admittedly, as soon as Aries is back, he's immediately going to be trying to help Nico (and Garvin) too. He just couldn't let Briar get kicked out alone. Totally unfair.

Garvin (if he stays) literally wouldn't even be able to be in the same room as most of the polycule without Bernard there to mediate, even years after it all, terrified of making the one wrong move that'll get him kicked out. Nico would be the only exception for the polycule and even then, there'd still be some fear because if he does/says the wrong thing and Nico tells someone then it's over.

Oh. And Briar, if Garvin was to stay. Garvin wouldn't ever be able to trust them again either. Bernard would have to be there to mediate.

He'd never end up recovering. He'd be one wrong move, one bad day away forever. It'd never settle. Literally the best it'd get is him trusting Aries to (maybe) go with him when he inevitably gets kicked out, Nico to not hate him and probably not being the one kicking him out, and Bernard to be there for him at least until he does inevitably get kicked out. But that's it. That's the best case scenario for him healing from it. At least if he ends up staying.

If he left, then the whole convincing thing would have to happen and then as soon as they're back to Earth, he'd be going back to Fintan, so they'd probably have to deal with that. But literally after all that- The best case scenario is he comes back with them, they manage to continuously keep him from killing himself, and uh... Get used to him basically constantly going between trying to go back to Fintan, trying to kill himself, and staying but not trusting anyone but Nico, Aries, and Briar.

Those are the best case scenarios for Garvin healing. Like. This is all literally the worst possible trigger for him.

So... Yeah. Definitely bad end for the polycule.

-

Glad you liked the short story! And yeah. Please kill Fintan. He's terrible. Absolutely terrible.