Author Games Compilation [Cycle 1]

Final Note on Aikin Ralent

AN ENDING BEFORHAND: CONTINUATION OF PREVIOUS UPDATE

(song attached is sung by the representative of Aikin's face - which is also attached. I did not know he was a musician. Not too big on the song, but hey, it's pretty good. Most parts.)

~~~

AIKIN RALENT OVERALL

2nd Place.

As a tribute in Lock & Key, in a freaking MAZE - which honestly had me so excited because my brain automatically connected that to The Maze Runner and thus to Newt which then leads into Thomas Brodie-Sangster - I'm extremely proud of how he ended up turning out. I'm still recovering from the 'ENDING BEFOREHAND' I just wrote, so here's the official death he was given in the original book:

     SECOND PLACE: Aikin Ralent

"With Theodore being the only part of his alliance left, the two boys were trying to escape the new muttations, when one mutt caught up to him unaware. Aikin would've been torn apart if Theodore hadn't stepped in, pushing Aikin out of the way of the muttation's jaws. Aikin could only watch in horror as Theodore was ripped apart in his place. Too overcome with grief and loss, the rest of the mutt pack quickly set upon the tribute they all call Little Relentless."

Now, although I did switch up the end in the thing I wrote previously (he wasn't grieved as much as he was pissed), I did really like his death.

What I think I enjoyed most out of these Games was just playing around with his character. I knew I'd wanted to make a mute character - and initially aimed to keep him that way - but I just love developing characters. And when he did start really developing and fleshing out more, I was so pumped to write these entries, and all the ideas started flowing - since he was basically a blank slate (no memory, just a hatred of speaking) basically anything worked for him.

I hate stubborn, dick characters more than anything. And I was pretty worried that this guy would end up that way - he didn't, and he's become one of my favorite characters. (This seems to be a recurring theme in these Final Notes).

In Percy's Final Note, I said he was my favorite. In Beckett's Final Note, I said he was my favorite. And now: heh, Beckett is still my favorite. But Aikin is a close second, having ended up as another wildly developed character that I got extremely attached to. Not only that, but his name is cool as hell, in my opinion. (I think his first name means 'tree' or 'oak' or some cheesy meaning like that).

(Percy needs to come back to reclaim his title someday - I'm working on it. Wink).

Now, connections to the character. We both pretty much refuse(d) to speak. We both have pretty dulled emotions, y'know? Probably where all the indifference came from, actually... Moving on.
I've noticed that, although I'm still connected to Beck, I'm far more connected to Aikin in the sense we're far more similar.

I'm not sure how I feel about that. Good thing, bad thing? Eh, whatever. I'm indifferent about it. (Wink wink).

Rose's Note: "From the beginning, Aikin just caught my eye, especially because of his intriguing past and his indifferent personality. I loved watching him grow throughout your entries, and as I stated above with Theo, #Aikeo was fabulous and I hate to see it end like this. I actually hope you write an #Aikeo fanfic with (I'm guessing she meant to put lostwithmyfriends here, but it just didn't show up), that would be awesome! Your entries were excellent, and I wish that I had made one of the Gamemakers sponsor Aikin. Well done, 'Little Relentless.' It's been an immense pleasure."

Again, the feedback I received in these games was tremendously encouraging. Big ole' confident booster, and I'll return to that in a moment. After...