Xenophon Barkary

CW // Family violence (emotional abuse)

RAISED TO BE WHO HE WASN'T

Xenophon wasn’t always called that way. In fact, it was a name he adopted after he cut all ties with his family. The name he was born with was Joachim, a name he abhorred due to its meaning being “raised by God”. What god?

He was the youngest sibling and by the time he was born, most of his siblings had already moved out and cut ties with the family. Joachim did not understand why at the time, but started to understand as he figured out what his parents wanted to do to him.

Despite living in Myosotis, his parents already knew exactly what they wanted him to be: a scientist in Magnolia, helping with curing diseases and finding new discoveries. They wanted to eventually move out of Magnolia just to be able to force Joachim to stay focused on the goal they forced on him. They saw all his other siblings as failures and wanted to see one that could bring money to the family.

See, his family was in a good position, but wanted to get richer to be able to afford the luxuries they always wanted to have. The parents were working as secretaries, but they didn't gain enough money to afford the things they wanted.

FINDING OUT ABOUT VIDEO GAMES AND THE POTENTIAL HE HAS

With parents being too busy, Joachim was taken care of by a babysitter, who introduced him to the wonders of video gaming. She often took him to the different arcades in Myosotis, but his favorite one was Lavatera Arcade, the biggest arcade in Altale. There, he found out that he really enjoyed fighting games and learned how to master them very quickly.

Sometimes, he would challenge grownups and would very often win. Then, from these people, Joachim learned about the possibility of playing games as a job. Since then, he daydreamed very often about the day he could be a top player and maybe even gain more money than his parents combined. Knowing this, though, his parents banned him from hanging out in any arcades and changed his babysitter for an old lady who also taught him the things he was supposed to learn instead.

ESCAPING FROM THE FAMILY THAT ONLY CAUSED TROUBLE

With him thinking his family is only around to be against him, Joachim started thinking of a way to escape from them. While he was thinking about that, his family started forcing him to become a completely different person. He was expected to act like a good boy, he had to accept everything his parents told others about him in fear of getting punished even further and he was forced to hide his suffering. To his family, Joachim wasn’t allowed to suffer. He was simply their future money bank.

On the first day of his 16th year, he escaped from the place he was forced to call home from the window of his room while only keeping the very few things he was allowed to call his: an outfit his babysitter gave him that was way too big for him at the time, but perfect for the grownup him and some extra change. Not knowing where else to go, he headed to Lavatera Arcade, where the owners were willing to take him in for a bit, at least until he found a better place to stay. It was also at that point where he decided to completely change his name to Xenophon.

FRIENDSHIPS REMINDING HIM OF HIS FAMILY

During his stay at Lavatera Arcade, Xenophon was allowed to use the arcade machines for free in hopes of finding friends and, potentially, a new family. A few friend groups did befriend him, but they mainly befriended him because of his skills in fighting games. Not only that, they were usually very toxic and would often shout at each other for losing games, which was something that was too reminiscent of his parents. Even if that was something he “had to do” to fit in, Xenophon chose to leave those groups behind.

IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE TO FIND A BETTER FAMILY?

It was very tough for him to find decent people to hangout with. It went to a point where he thought he should’ve stayed with his parents despite how abusive they were. It wasn’t until his skills in fighting games were seen by players who were looking to found a new Esports team in Myosotis. There were already a few around the city, but this one wanted to be the best. Seeing potential in Xenophon made them recruit him specifically for fighting games.

It didn’t take long before he rose as the top player in his own team, and his skills carried his team to the top. Xenophon was eventually allowed to participate in international tournaments. While he still lost to the players at the very top, Xenophon, also known as Deluge in the gaming scene, was eventually classified as the 23rd most skilled fighting game player in Gaiatine.

With this prestige came a lot of money, which drove his parents crazy. They attempted to find their son in any way possible, simply for his money. But, it didn’t take long before they were given a restraining order and a fine. They were never seen anywhere near a video of Xenophon ever again.

FINALLY, A GROUP HE CAN CALL FAMILY

Even if the money he got from the different tournaments he participated in allowed him to get himself an apartment with everything he ever wanted, it didn't prevent Xenophon from visiting Lavatera Arcade and paying for his visits as a thanks for letting him stay in. While training his skills in his favorite arcade, he came across a group of young adults who felt very familiar, almost as if they went through the same things as he did.

Xenophon did the first move by challenging them to a match, which they accepted. Even if he easily beat everyone else, the group were still very curious of who they were dealing with. Thus, they spent some time hanging out and getting to know each other. To Xenophon’s surprise, none of them were toxic nor were they weird about other players. Then, he learned that some of them left their family behind for very similar reasons than him.

Weeks, then months passed when Xenophon finally opened up about his past issues and felt better about being free from his family. For the first time, his suffering was validated and everyone was willing to help each other grow and become the people their families never wanted to see. Menaces to closed-minded families, but allies to others going through similar family problems.