Hart Boykin

Hart Boykin was born and raised in the small village of Bixxieton. For Hart, Bixxieton is slow-moving and has its flaws, but it’s home and filled with timeless memories. He works at his family’s workshop which sits at the edge of the town square. The workshop is a modest, cluttered space filled with tools passed down through generations, stained workbenches, and devices that click, buzz, or hum softly late into the night.   Hart is the oldest of three children in the Boykin family, and his mother, Sylmare, was the heart of their home. She was warm, patient, and the one who stoked his passion for creativity through tinkering. She died when Hart was only 14, leaving a silence in the house that tools couldn’t fix. After his mother’s passing, his once lively and inventive father, Arun, withdrew into long spells of quiet labor and drinking. The weight of keeping the family together fell on Hart’s shoulders for a time before his father remarried his stepmother, Isafine, when Hart was much older.   He became a protector out of necessity by cooking meals, mending clothes, and stepping into a role he never asked for, but never once abandoned. He became an adult faster than planned, but never was bitter because of it. His nurturing side flourished as well as his desire to make things work.   Hart isn’t a dreamer in the traditional sense, and he doesn’t discard things easily. Everything, he believes, has value if you know how to handle it, whether it’s broken gears or broken friendships. He also appreciates remnants of the past like old parts, memories, and even people but remains grounded.   His creativity found expression in machines. What started as small repairs evolved into his own inventions. Hart created weather vanes that could track rainfall patterns, modified a fishing rod for a child in town who had lost their arm in a tragic accident, and designed a clockwork music box that played his mother’s favorite tune. He rarely shares most of his projects outside of his family and close friends. For Hart, they are his quiet rebellion against a world that too often breaks what it should nurture.   Hart first met Imani Havilland when they were both young after his father was injured in a serious accident. She had a strong spirit, a discerning eye for character, and a nurturing nature that Hart grew fond of. The two formed a steady rapport that was never romantic, but undeniably respectful. When Imani mentioned a quiet, sharp-eyed orphan named Rafe who needed a way to earn money, Hart was skeptical. Bixxieton wasn’t kind to drifters or orphans, and Hart had seen how quick the town could turn on people who didn’t fit. After he met Rafe, Hart saw something familiar in him. He saw someone used to silence and solitude, a survivor. Hart began offering him odd jobs, but never expecting gratitude, only effort. In his own way, Hart became an anchor in Rafe’s world.   Despite his protectiveness, Hart has boundaries. He doesn’t let people get too close unless they earn it, and he struggles when others don't return his loyalty. His greatest fear is abandonment. He secretly shudders at the thought that someone he loves will be here one day and simply disappear the next day the same way his mother did. Because of this, he clings tightly to those he considers his own.   Now at 21, Hart stands at a threshold. He’s the town’s mechanic, caretaker of his siblings, keeper of old memories, and reluctant mentor to a boy who walks alone. He has no grand ambitions, only a quiet hope that the people he chooses to care about might one day choose him back.

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