#isn't really coming from a greater good in his heart to want the best; it comes from greed; jealousy; hatred; pride; etc etc

[darabeatha]

Absolutely feral that after getting kicked from heaven and falling down for 9 whole days (and then staying burning in agony in a pit of fire down in hell for another 9 days) s.atan and his army of millions of fallen angels just crawl from the shores of hell, decide to make a hugeass palace for themselves and then discuss what the heck are they going to do now, only to come to the conclusion that the way to hurt god the most would be to destroy his newest creation (men) which from then on they can further take on earth and make it their new kingdom (bc during the council, one of the fallen angels argued that even if they made a new kingdom in hell, at the end of the day they are still essentially 'trapped' in a box, so would that even count as a triumph?)

[ffsg0jo]

tw: hurt/no comfort , chapter 261 spoilers , major character death -- inspired by @sttoru so please check their account out !!

i am taking requests and writing fics and matchups for gaza. check the linked post out to find out more !!

your shrieks could be heard echoing throughout the whole entire complex. everyone in the medical room pointedly refused to meet your gaze, knowing what had to be done. but you couldn't accept this as your reality. you wouldn't.

"please," you screamed, tears and snot running down your face, hair tangled and a complete mess.

you couldn't make anything out with your blurry eyes except the bloodied, stitched up figure laying on the table in the centre. the sight of your husband would haunt you for the rest of your life, image engraved into your eyelids.

"shoko, please, you can't do this to him, to either of them, please, please give him some decency." your hands grab the woman's as you plead and beg her. shoko only looks away, her eyes full of pity.

the exhaustion and dehydration catch up to you, and your body collapses into a bundle at her feet. your sobs only get louder as you grab at your best friends' ankles, gasping out a litany of "please shoko, don't." you couldn't breathe, the knot in your stomach pulling tighter and tighter.

she doesn't have it in her heart to look at you or push you away.

your sadness gives way to anger. anger towards the higher-ups. anger towards the fact that your husband couldn't even rest in peace after death. used as nothing but a weapon and tool in life and beyond death. anger towards the compliance of your peers and students.

you didn't care about the consequences. you just wanted your satoru back. would the child in your womb suffer the same way? you didn't even have the chance to tell satoru of their existence before the whole world turned upside down.

"he deserves to be buried," your shrill voice cut through the silence once more. you find the strength to stand up on shaky legs as you wipe the tears from your eyes. it's not long before they're filled once more, but you got a good look at everyone's solemn, teary faces. annoyance surges through your body.

"why is no one saying anything? this isn't humane, this isn't right."

"it's what he wanted," shoko responds, her voice small but unwavering. as though she was trying to convince herself what she was doing was right. her feelings could come later, but for now she needed to be strong.

you fall silent at her words, sniffing and trying to swallow back your sobs. of course he did. always the sacrificial lamb your satoru. never having a moment of peace except when he was in your arms, away from the monstrosity that was the sorcerer world.

"suguru would never have stood for this," the whisper of his name on your lips had shoko's head snapping to you. everyone else looking between you both nervously.

"suguru would never have allowed this to happen." you repeat, voice strengthening. you knew your best friend would've fought tooth and nail with you.

"you think i want to do this (name)?, i have no choice, it's our only chance!"

"you always have a choice, shoko. you always have one! yuuta's only 17, don't do this to him, please."

"and have him die?"

"death would be a mercy compared to whatever the fuck this is!"

shoko's words die on her lips. she knows you're right, but they both made their choices, and it was all for the greater good. she hated seeing you, her best friend, so hysterical. but her hands really were tied. shoko had to stay strong.

it's silent for a minute or two, save for your stifled sobs and sniffing. you could only stare at the lifeless body of your husband. even in death, he managed to look so ethereal and otherworldly.

you step towards his body, softly brushing the hair off his forehead. tears drip down onto his face, curving down the apples of satoru's cheek. he's cold to touch, so different from how he normally felt, always running hot. you kiss his cheeks, his nose, his eyelids. his lips.

your quivering lips try to breathe warmth back into him. instead, his coldness seeps through you. you turn your eyes to shoko once more. you've never felt so weak and helpless.

"i just want his body to mourn, shoko, please. i'm not asking for much, i just want his body to bury. i want his body to be his," your voice cracks as you speak. "he deserves that much at the very least, his child deserves that much."

you hear small gasps from the people around you, registering your words. a newfound sadness and bitterness settles deep into their bones.

"i- i can't (name), i'm sorry." tears start to fill shoko's eyes, and you know you're fighting a losing battle.

you withdraw yourself from his body, and you attempt to stand up straight. you gently lift his hand to press against your womb.

the child growing inside of you may never feel the warmth of their father's touch, but satoru's love transcended time and death. he was selfless in the way he gave everything to you and for his loved ones.

"wait for me satoru," you whisper, sofly rubbing his lifeless hand pressed against you with one hand and his icy, hardened cheek with the other. his coldness settled into your body, making you shiver uncontrollably. a fresh new wave of tears run down your face.

it was a privilege to have been able to love him and an even greater honour to mourn him. you would carry his love inside of you, deep within the marrow of your bones, for as long as you lived.

"wait for us, my love."

i am taking requests and writing fics and matchups for gaza. check the linked post out to find out more !!

© ffsg0jo 2024 — do not plagiarise, repost, modify, or translate any of my work, in any way shape or form; i will piss in your cereal if you do. all work belongs to me and me only.

[kathaynesart]

What do you take from the Rise movie’s “This isn’t about me,” message? *It’d be interesting to see this become a Tumblr thread cause I’d love to see what others think too.

That's... an important line to decipher. Deep enough to mean so many things but vague enough to be easily taken out of context. I have a lot to say about it, but I'll keep it under the cut to save others the trouble.

TLDR: Future Leo's a dum dum hypocrite

I think... when Leo used the line in the future timeline. He was trying to remind Casey of the harsh reality that they existed in. That this was a world where they sometimes had to set aside their personal wants for the greater good. It's for that reason that Leo was able to ask Mikey to do the unthinkable and sacrifice himself in turn.

What I find fascinating about the movie, is that it both supports and counters this message. It tries to find that healthy middle ground, between present Leo's narcissistic attitude in the beginning and the downright sacrifice he's willing to make by the end. Because him sacrificing himself was NOT the happy ending. And while we get that "ending" for only a moment. We can see that method doesn't feel right either.

In that way, I don't think "it's not about me" isn't actually the "message" of the movie as some might assume at first glance. Merely a gentle reminder to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Because technically, yes, "it's not about me" does apply to many aspects of life. We can get so caught up in our own worries and concerns and perspectives and it just... muddles reality in a way. We need to see how our actions and words affect others and understand that there's so much more out there than our own little bubbles. But we also should understand our own worth within the big tapestry of life and be willing to fight for the things that matter to us.

That's why I think the actual message of the story isn't "it's not about me." It's about balance. It's about the knowing look Leo and Raph share in the end and the fact that Mikey was able to achieve the true, best ending with his brother's help to save Leo, because they know that the world may mean more in the long run, but they mean the world to each other, and I think it's really important to understand.

But that's just my long-winded opinion on the subject and there’s plenty of other interpretations I think I can totally get behind as well. It will be an element within Replica but let's also remember that Future Leo is kind of hypocrite with this line. He's says "It's not about me" but that's coming from someone who the entire resistance has centered around as its leader. He's probably a little tired of the idolization by now and does not like the idea that he's somehow more important than others. I think that's where that line really stems from for Leo. It's obvious that Casey isn't just talking about his importance as a leader, but Leo with the same line is asking him to set those feelings aside even if he is one of the most important people in Casey's life.

And then Leo turns around and throws one of the most important people in his life through the portal. A damn hypocrite (/positive)

EDIT: I was sort of ending it on a silly note but @dandylovesturtles added such a great point that I haven’t been able to put into words but feel in my heart when it comes to future Leo and definitely something I want to show with the healing process he’s been going through in Replica: and that’s the “not all about you” sometimes just means that bad things happen but you can’t just blame yourself for it, and it’s not some cosmic attack for your mistakes. The world did not come to an end because of Leo’s mistake, even if he might have once felt like that. What’s more it means you can’t put the whole world on your shoulder or always try to fix things on your own like how Leo tried to after Raph’s capture. It’s ok to seek the aid and support and ideas of others your trust. It really lines up so well with a lot of the events in the film.

Thank you @dandylovesturtles and everyone else’s amazing comments! I want to hear all of them and take notes.

[mdhwrites]

Villains are not Characters

I have seen multiple lists at this point that try to tell you all the traits you need for a great villain. Make sure to include a sympathetic backstory, make them scary, make them charismatic, make them smart, make them whacky, etc. etc. None of them understand what a villain is though. What an antagonist is.

An antagonist is a narrative device.

Yes, we could argue all things in literature are narrative devices... And they are. What I'm about to say also goes for a protagonist after all. We have the term anti-hero to describe a protagonist who acts villainously or isn't meant to be likable or sympathetic for a reason after all. You make what fits the story best though. What fits the goal and theme of your work best.

And so the way to make a good villain is to first understand what the concept of your work even is and how they challenge it. If your story preaches the power of friendship, your villain is probably going to be someone who is mostly alone and thinks friendship is stupid. Maybe not that childishly but that's still going to be the core thrust of him because he opposes the heroes and the theme of the story. Beating him means the theme wins out. Does he need to be deep in this example or relatable or anything like that? Absolutely not! You can do it that way, have him come to the good side when he realizes the good of friendship (hi Unikitty of all things) but you'll do plenty fine just having an asshole who sneers and mocks the very notion and then has his plans undone because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

And some of you might be saying this is obvious... While a lot of others might go "Okay but that's hard." People like a one size fits all solution. The hero's journey essentially exists for that reason. We like simple things that can be pointed at to make our work be praised because creation is scary and major elements like antagonist and protagonist are the first to be mocked and the first to be praised in a work usually, especially in writing where spectacle isn't really a thing. As such, people want a list of criteria that will just make it work.

But that's also how you get really boring or tonally clashing villains. There are genuinely stories out there where the reason people end up going "Wait, he had a point. We're the villains here," despite the framing is because in an attempt to make the villain seem to have a proper motivation and depth, they actually ended up justifying him. Ended up proving him correct and that maybe his methods were the right ones, even in works where they are NOT supposed to be. On paper they might be the best thing ever... Until they make actual contact with the story you've written.

One of the best examples for a villain that should not work on paper, AT ALL, but is genuinely genius is Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. Yeah, the guy who wants to take over the Tri-State Area. The guy who barely interacts with the main protagonists except for sometimes his inventions being that which helps the boys not get caught. The guy who is a complete joke.

Here's the thing though: The point of the show is the unbridled power and joy of creativity. The bliss that is eyes wide open and prepared to accept the wonder of the world. After all, what is really the difference between Phineas/Ferb and Doof? Both create miraculous things in very short spans of time. They are both endlessly creative, never making quite what you expect but they view things different and thus Perry reacts to them differently. There's nothing wrong with a kid tinkering with his toys for fun and for the fun of others after all. Their heart is pure and their intention good. Perry only steps in when the boys end up somehow putting themselves in danger because someone needs to make sure the kids don't end up running with scissors.

Doof though is missing that wonder and joy. He takes great pride in his creations but the creation is not the goal, unlike the boys. He shows the harm that all of this creativity bent towards selfishness and anger can cause. He contrasts the boys and reminds the audience that there is something special that makes the protagonist who they are just by existing. And as such, because he opposes the themes, Perry is always there to stop him because he's running with scissors, hoping to find someone to stab. Not that dark admittedly but you get the point.

He is so deeply in conversation with the themes of the show that despite very rarely coming into active conflict with the protagonists, or even seeing them on a given episode, he still does his job as a villain through his B plots in the episodes. You get the push and pull of a great villain just through a shift in perspective.

But none of these listicles for how to write a great villain is going to tell you to write Doofenshmirtz. He's an incompetent, pathetic fool after all who is beat by a platypus. Of course, that's because they don't know what a villain actually is, thus making them far more of a joke than Doof ever was. See you next tale.

======+++++======

Just a fun personal element: A lot of my non-serialized works don't have explicit villains in them because they're often so focused on characters and their burgeoning relationships that the biggest villain is the self. Just your reminder that sometimes the best villain for a story is none.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[hestzhyen]

Kagurabachi Chapter 42 Nonsense Takes-

Holy shit. Dear internet void, I'm on the edge of my seat. This CHAPTER man! Several key moments from Ch. 20 are paying off here in a satisfying way.

This time, Hiyuki is the one who wavers when her convictions are contested:

Caught between duty, desire, and her own limitations... not a great feeling is it? She's in the same position now that Chihiro was facing off against her in Ch. 20. I feel like Chihiro's heroics will push her forward much like Hakuri's words did for him. Can't wait to see more of her after this arc and how she reconciles her noble beliefs with the selfish pragmatism of the Kamunabi. Not to mention how she'll manage her pride while reconsidering her rather dismal evaluation of Chihiro from earlier in the chapter.

Speaking of the Kamunabi, though... the older guys who have experienced the horrors of the Seitei war try to be realistic about the situation:

[Shaking Shiba like a maraca] WHAT'S YOUR BACKSTORY MR. OFFSCREEN SORCERER?

They very understandably want to cut their losses and reduce the risk of death for their younger allies. With terrifying artifacts like Magatsumi being necessary, the Seitei War really must have been hell on earth. Better to save what you can than risk losing everything on a bet and all that. I think this will be the meaty, scrumptious crux of the conflict between Chihiro and the Kamunabi whenever he ends up clashing with them in the open. All for the greater good vs. the greatest good for all, pragmatism vs. idealism- I am hype!

And yet the idealistic duo of Chihiro and Hakuri are going to stake their lives on making a miracle. Across the hall, without being able to speak to each other or hear what's being said over the chaos, they still understand what the other is thinking and wants to do. I love these two so much.

Hakuri recalling the conversation with Chihiro during the elevator ride in Ch. 20 when they first met. He knows his samurai's heart.

(Ch. 20 vs 42) Liar, liar, pants on fire. Fakest IDGAFer ever ready to risk his life to save a bunch of strangers, just like he said he wasn't interested in doing.

These. Guys! ARE! THE! BEST!

But there's certainly going to be a price paid for this- the toothpick bidding guy said as much. Chihiro can't win it all, no matter how strongly he feels about having his cake and eating it too. So what's going to get fucked up? Well, pick your poison(s) on how Chihiro's idealism will be tempered:

Chihiro and Hakuri fail to save all the hostages

Hakuri overexerts himself and is incapacitated/dies

The Rakuzaichi isn't ended for good

Magatsumi falls into the wrong hands

Chihiro/Hakuri is/are captured by an enemy

Failure to Save Innocents This scenario is somewhat likely, I think. We're doing Ch. 20 callbacks so may as well go all-in here. It's also been the biggest sticking point this chapter. "We (YOU) can't save everyone." Be pragmatic when weighing good actions vs. the cost of doing them. Understand your limits, work hard, and be ready to cut your losses. Be willing to accept that someone could die. Chihiro struggles with this for obvious reasons. He's a heroic badass, but also a traumatized kid. A human. He's got limits and he's got to acknowledge them at some point. Even if Ms. Inazuma is saved, he might not be able to tag all the captives before Hakuri has to pull him out. This would be absolutely devastating to him as a brutal but very needed wake-up call before he overestimates himself in a situation with higher stakes. And, man... if Chihiro has to come back to Mr. Inazuma and tell the poor kid that he couldn't save his sister... god, that would be awful for everyone. Idealism alone can't save lives, nor wishing for it, nor trying your best. Sometimes you can't save everyone and end up losing everything. I think this is a bit too downer but it's not completely out of the question.

Hakuri Fucking Dies One of the two outcomes here is almost definitely going to happen. I went on a few several thousand-word screeds about Hakuri's significance and how much I love this slightly insane little goober. There's plenty of good reasons to think he'll stay a permanent member of the cast, and if I'm being honest, I think it's a little early for Chihiro to lose an ally. We need a little more time to get attached and invested in the core crew he assembles before one of them is offed. And yet... While I think Shiba's "you'll both die!" line is just to amp up the tension, this...

I will kill everyone at the Rakuzaichi and then myself if anything happens to this kid.

... isn't looking good. At all. Knowing that Hakuri's basically had a full arc at this point means I can't just handwave away the chance he'll be the price Chihiro pays for his naive optimism. Because that's exactly why they're both doing this: Chihiro's expectations for himself are too high and unrealistic. And he's Hakuri's guiding light. Whatever Chihiro wants to accomplish, Hakuri will back him up with everything he has. He's pushing himself too far for Chihiro's sake and we'll all cry if that means he pays the ultimate price.

I think it's most likely that Hakuri will come out of this severely injured, though. Not dead, but close to it and unable to act for a while. It would teach the same lesson without breaking my heart so please, please let this be the variant chosen if Hakuri must be offered up. Protect his smile and give him the chance to learn that he deserves to be loved as he is.

The Rakuzaichi Yet Proceeds So this one would be interesting as hell IMO. There's a case for this due to the fact that, despite reappearing on the stage in the real world, neither Chihiro nor Hiyuki actually touch it. Only Kyoura does.

God I love the perspective shots

A big point was made in Ch. 33 about how inviolable this wooden platform is:

Lotta prestige tied to keeping people off a glorified wooden pallet, but hey what do I know. I'm not a human trafficker or abusive parent brainwashed into serving a merchant cult family.

So even when the whole thing seems poised to come crashing down, Kyoura alone remains worthy to stand on it. And if we don't see any non-Sazanami clan members step on it by the end of the arc, I think that's a signal that things aren't quite done with them yet. Or at the very least, their legacy will live on untarnished despite the head of the family falling in combat. They could become legends in the underworld for maintaining the sanctity of the Rakuzaichi until the very end. Not very wholesome for Team Goldfish, but hey, it's a comparatively small price to pay. I've got a lot of thoughts about what various scenarios would mean, but I'll wait until we actually see what happens before speculating too much. I will, however, do some Hakuri agendaposting while I'm here though!

I would find it incredibly tasty if Hakuri managed to stand on the stage at the very end somehow. Just for one last hearty "fuck you" to his sperm donor, you know? And to satisfy the part of my monkey brain that loves total vindication. The "worthless" kid who was instrumental in bringing down his family standing in the sacred zone he was supposed to protect, but was deemed unworthy of... that he rejects wholeheartedly while being the first since the progenitor to inherit both signature sorceries... yesssss. Especially considering this:

RIP Tenri, gone too soon

I go feral for stuff like this. Hakuri is the Special Boy. He deserves the moment, if he can figure out a way to get there before he collapses after helping Chihiro.

Magatsumi Goes MIA Once More I think this is the most likely price to be paid. Chihiro's heroics will cause him to miss out on recovering the Super Evil Sword, which could end up just about anywhere at this point. Recovered by the Kamunabi, the Hishaku clan swooping in to take it, the wielder using Kyoura's body to abscond with it to parts unknown... anything's possible! But probably not Team Goldfish escaping into the night with it. Saving people at the cost of missing his big chance to recover his father's "masterpiece" seems like an appropriate setback for Chihiro right now. It'll throw his plans into disarray and really force him to look at his priorities and strategies thus far. Team Goldfish are mighty but they can't take on two massive orgs like the Kamunabi and Sazanamis at once, especially if the Hishaku are meddling. He'll get his reality check and prepare to make hard choices in the future. Save everyone, every time, and chase the blades forever? Or entertain a slightly less idealistic mindset to better the chances of success? Very tantalizing potential here, yes yes. It also ties in nicely with the main talking point of this chapter- much better than losing an ally would, at any rate.

Capturiffic Times I think this is the least likely given the circumstances, but may as well mention it just in case. Both Chihiro and Hakuri are worn down to their last dregs and aren't in a position to fend off anyone that could come at them. Maybe Hiyuki decides to capture Chihiro to take him to the Kamunabi instead of killing him, while Shiba retreats with Hakuri? Or Hakuri is captured by the Kamunabi/remaining Sazanamis while Shiba prioritizes escaping with Chihiro? Shiba gives himself up to let Chihiro and Hakuri run? Again, seriously doubt this scenario. They might not get out in one piece or with everything they hoped for, but I'm pretty sure that Team Goldfish will be able to flee to fight another day.

Anyway. Yapped too much again. Thank you void for letting me ramble into your uncaring ear once more. See you next week, probably.

[riacte]

All the routes Renchanting could go in Life Series 5:

(Self sabotage along the lines of Ren burning his tower in Last Life, swearing, angst with a happy ending, 2k)

1.

Ren moves on, and Martyn pretends he moved on too, but he really never left. Ren forms a partnership with different people, he declares himself as best friends with someone, but when Martyn strays into his path, Ren can't help but take notice of him. Can't help but trust him once more, can't help but to offer him a deal, can't help himself.

Ren's a seasoned veteran now; he understands that war is inevitable and he has to keep his friends safe in an impenetrable fortress. He's not as naive as he was the first time, when he freely let people into his enchanting emporium. If Martyn offered to be his marketing manager this time round, Ren might not have let him (but deep down, he knows he'll always let him in). Maybe Martyn's the chink in Ren's armour. If that's the case, then so be it.

Martyn's not jealous. He's really not. Of course he's glad Ren's found new partnerships and new allies this time round. Of course he knows you can't repeat the past. He's just relieved that Ren is here this time, and he finds a little guidance in him. Something is better than nothing. Even though he has his allies, Martyn's still a wanderer, but he makes his rounds back to Ren periodically, in search for something that he's too scared to ask.

It's not his place anyway. Ren belongs somewhere. Martyn's not in the equation.

So Martyn patches up the fragments of his soul, tucks away his puns and oneliners, packs up his monologues and vows, carefully puts the memories of Third Life back in that little part of his heart, and continues to roam across the world. Walls, corners, edges. Nothing has changed.

(Still, when an unexpected mob strikes, Martyn grabs Ren in a panic, their hands find each other instinctively, they run and they run, and for a single precious moment, it's them against the world again.)

(And when Ren inevitably dies, Martyn stands and blankly stares at what's left of his not-ally, not-partner, not-king. He wonders if it would've been different if he was Ren's Hand again. Probably not. They're all doomed anyway.)

2.

Ren and Martyn ally, hands shook in a new agreement. It's not Dogwarts, but it's something.

They have new allies and new enemies. They're close, but not too close. They have a learned sense of self preservation. They crack their jokes, tend to their crops, enchant their gear, but it's not serious, right? Treating it seriously only results in more pain later. No one wants that.

Ren understands nothing good comes out of declaring himself as king. He always gets overthrown, his beloved defenders always get killed by the masses, his kingdoms always go up in flames. It's best to keep a distance from everyone. It's for the greater good.

This is a temporary alliance. They are all temporary alliances. It's just for fun. Once the end is near, it's time for them to drift away. Ren can't bear getting people getting hurt for his sake.

"We used to be something, don't you think so?" Martyn once asks Ren.

They're both thinking about Dogwarts. About a life a long, long time ago. A doomed life. A beautiful, wonderful, yet catastrophically painful life.

Is it better to have loved and lost, or better to not have loved at all?

They seem to have came to the conclusion organically. It's out of self-preservation, after all. Don't get too close. The story of the King and his loyal Hand is over. Let the dust settle on their storybook. Let the pages turn yellow. Let it wither. Let it die.

It's awful, isn't it? How they've finally found each other, after trials and tribulations, but they're too scared to try again. Where's that defiance against fate? Where's "give me a shield and I'll follow you to the ends of the world"? Where's "this is us now, this is us"? Where's the passion, the reverence, the reckless devotion? What beat it out of them?

"... We could be something, don't you think so?" is Ren's reply.

But they don't. They don't try anymore. Too tired, too drained, too timid now.

Somehow this feels worse than being separated. Not trying at all.

3.

Ren's not here.

Martyn builds his own walls, builds his own tower, wraps the tattered scarf around him once more, the Hand frozen in time, sits and stays right where he's been left. Third Life never ended for him.

Ren showed him life, didn't he? Where is he now? Where's the life he promised him?

Martyn dimly remembers Ren sitting himself on fire when he was lonely in Last Life. Back then, Martyn had dropped everything to rush to Ren's aid. Ren's the one inflicting damage on himself, the prince locking himself in his burning tower, and Martyn, ever the firefighter, puts out his flames with a bucket of water.

In that life, Martyn leaped to Ren's defence. How could he not? Logically, Martyn should've left Ren. Stopped his damage from damaging Martyn himself. But Martyn's never been logical about Ren, has he?

Is Ren watching him, this time? Is his king out there, somewhere? Does he care? Does he care at all?

... Martyn reaches for the flint and steel.

3.5

(Someone— it does not matter who— knocks it out of his hand. It kicks Martyn out of his stupor. He blinks. His head hurts. What the heck is he doing there, mooning about a lost king? Why the fuck does he even care, when everyone moved on?

This has gone on for too long. If he can't pull himself up from the abyss, he'll have to go cold turkey. There's no other way. It's for his own good, Martyn convinces himself.

In a violent, swift move, Martyn rips off his scarf. He watches it burn.

... He swears he's only crying from the smoke.)

4.

Martyn moves on. Ren thinks he moved on from Dogwarts and everything, but once he's back on the server, everything comes rushing back to him, as easy as running water.

He misses having a faction to protect. He misses being loyal to his people. He deeply misses his friends. He misses having Martyn by his side. He misses Martyn.

But Martyn's back to being a wanderer, cheerfully involving himself in everyone's business yet not staying with anyone, because he's permanently more selfish now, and nothing's going to stop Martyn once he's fallen off that edge. He's a cannonball, a tornado, a wild card. He's everywhere, but he's nowhere.

Martyn is cunning, devious, sharp as ever, still funny as fuck, but there's a wild look in his eyes now. He's untamed. He doesn't give a shit about anything. He lies. He backstabs. He's a nuisance. Thief. Plunderer. Shit-stirrer. And it's all for the heck of it.

Whatever happened to the loyal knight Ren once knew? Was Martyn always this way? Was Ren the only exception? Or has Limited Life broken him?

Ren still tries, with his kind smiles and elaborate gifts and offers of working with him, but Martyn seems to be avoiding him on purpose. What worked in Third Life doesn't work anymore.

Ren knows he should distance himself considering Martyn doesn't give a shit anymore, but a part of him can't help but look back. Maybe he can change Martyn. Show him life again. Maybe, maybe, just maybe.

("We can be allies again," he offers hopefully. Martyn laughs, and it's such a familiar sound that Ren can't help but perk up, but it's a harsh laugh. Twisted. Warped.

"No thank you," Martyn replies. Ren thinks Martyn's holding back calling him "boss" sarcastically. At least there's a line that he's not crossing.)

Ren knows he should let it go. It hurts, but dragging it only hurts more. Martyn doesn't want him, not even a little bit. His friends convince him. So Ren loyally sticks to his own circle of allies. He tries to forget about the permanent chink in his armour.

But when Ren carelessly steps into a trap, he thinks he hears an achingly familiar voice scream, "Ren! No!"

The world explodes in red and yellow. Fire. Dynamite. It's just like his first death, the one that turned him yellow the first time, the death that eventually led to his beheading, the one that started it all.

Now it ends. Now it all ends.

Ren's bleeding. He's on the ground. He thinks he hears Martyn's voice. That's nice. It's nice even if it's a hallucination. As his consciousness fades, he hears Martyn's voice,

"... If only you were there last time. If only I care about you as much as I did then. But the universe never lets it align, does it? You got over me when I didn't. Now I'm over you when you're not. I’m too early, you’re too late.”

Ren smiles. Oh, he sees through Martyn's facade. He sees it now. His lips part weakly.

"... Liar."

(Martyn's untamed. He doesn't give a shit about anything. He lies. He backstabs. He's a nuisance. Thief. Plunderer. Shit-stirrer. Liar. Liar.)

In response, Ren feels a squeeze on his hand. Comforting. Regretful. Apologizing.

"I don't deserve you. Don't forgive me, Ren."

I always do, Ren thinks. But by that time, he's already gone.

5.

There is a simple rule to the Life series— everyone is doomed from the beginning. No matter who wins.

Ren is doomed. A kind, gentle man can't survive till the end. That's why Ren had to kill himself and let the Red King take over. Is that why Martyn won the season without Ren? Is that how Martyn won, without Ren holding him back, without Ren to guide him?

You either die a hero, or live long enough to be the villain.

Yet, none of it is pointless. The seasons are filled with joy, laughter, genuine connections are formed, and while it can be tragic, it can also be soul-shatteringly beautiful.

It's worth it. It's always worth it.

Once, Ren showed Martyn life. Because all Martyn knew back then was how to survive, not how to live.

But now, Martyn doesn't just want to survive. He wants to thrive. What good is surviving if everyone dies at the end, including his king? What good it is anyway, when Martyn ends up falling and falling again? What good is conquering the world when every tiny bit of it reminds him of Ren?

So when the new season dawns, Martyn decides to throw all of it away. His angst, his inhibitions, his self-pity. Sure, everything goes up in flames anyway, and this fragile world is temporary, but is that any way to live? To live without living, to live without trying at all?

They're all at spawn. Everyone's enthusiastically greeting each other and Martyn does the same, but he's frantically searching for someone, eyes wide. He's waited months and months for this. He can't take it anymore.

And then—

(A familiar chuckle, a flash of brown hair, eyes turning to meet his—)

Martyn remembers the precious vow they made in a parallel universe, under the moonlit sky, blood splattered on the altar, those bygone years and bygone lives, and he runs—

"REN!" Martyn screams like he's never screamed before.

Martyn's hands reach out. He doesn't care if Ren has moved on, doesn't care if Ren doesn't want him anymore. He only cares that Ren is here. Alive. In front of him.

And so he embraces Ren tightly, so very tightly.

"Martyn!" Ren sounds surprised by the intensity. "Dude! I missed you!"

And with those simple words, the shattered pieces of his world start falling into place again. Martyn laughs, a pure, genuine laugh from his heart. Everything's alright now. They can begin again.

"Welcome back, my liege."

[yanderes-galore]

Master Cheif yandere alphabet please!?

Yes you can have that :) Please do enjoy! This is GAME/BOOK CANON Master Chief, not the Paramount show (I don't like it-)

Yandere Alphabet - Master Chief

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Violence, Death, Blood mention, Possible OOC behavior, John doesn't understand complex feelings, Dubious relationship/companionship.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Master Chief, or John as I'll refer to him, is an interesting yandere. Most Spartans like him don't experience obsession like normal humans. They haven't felt such strong emotions and their enhancements usually dampen any sort of romantic desire.

So John ends up coming off as an overprotective guardian. He can't quite figure out how to process how he feels for you. So he does it in the best way he can, fighting for you.

He struggles with affection, an example is when Fernando Esparza hugs him in Halo Infinite. John just... stands there awkwardly. He feels he can show affection towards you by fighting for you, but isn't sure how to reciprocate physical affection.

John can come off as intense as he doesn't entirely... feel human?

He just feels like a force of nature who can't figure out how to show he cares. As a result he can be intimidating.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

John is used to the sight of blood and violence. He doesn't mind getting his armor messy, especially if it is for the greater good. He is primarily violent towards Covenant, Flood, Prometheans, and Banished... but not really humans.

Even if John saw you close with another human and it sparks something in him... he restrains himself. He understands he can't be like you, you're both so different.

Yet part of him yearns to keep you beside himself... for protection.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

John would not kidnap, the closest he gets to it is "relocating" you around UNSC bases. Even then he doesn't mock you, he just explains that it's to protect you.

John is used to caring for others. After all, Blue Team is like family to him. You're no different according to him.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

He tries not to, he understands you're happiest with your freedoms. He wants to preserve that.

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

John is not vulnerable, even as a child he never let weakness show. He doesn't show much of anything about his true feelings. He just lurks beside you... always attentive to your needs and vulnerabilities.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Due to the strength difference it's more like disciplining a child to him. He just advises you against it and drags you back where he wants you. It's a one-sided conflict.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

No and he doesn't (he also doesn't understand why you're trying to leave?).

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

John would never hurt you and he tries not to hurt other humans. However, he'd be ruthless if anything tried to hurt you. So, while this is OOC, maybe when he snaps and attacks a human who pushed you too far.

John realizes he's hit them too hard when blood splatters his armor. He pauses for a moment before ordering medical attention. He doesn't really apologize though.

If he's smart... he waited until others saw the person provoke him.

He doesn't think of a future all too much. He just focuses on now... all he wants to do now is not let you out of his sight.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

If he does he hides it well. He isn't sure how to cope with or understand such an emotion if he even has it. So if he does feel that emotion he just... approaches you and stands there.

It gets the hint across.

Overprotective, Suffocating, Slightly Manipulative, Ruthless towards others. He feels like a guardian more then anything. Even when you show him affection he takes some time in order to mimic it.

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

He probably either works alongside you or saved you. Ever since then the Spartan has stuck beside you. You have a strange grasp on him... so he stays beside you.

Aren't you lucky?

Occasionally, but not often.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

He wouldn't. He could easily hurt you so he chooses to redirect you instead. That's all I've got.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Tries not to take many.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

Very patient.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

It's hard to tell... but maybe he would struggle with it. But he has to move on for the sake of humanity eventually....

He wouldn't forget you though. Never would.

Wouldn't abduct, so this does not apply.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Curiosity and maybe a sense of purpose.

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

He tries to provide some comfort, but he comes off really cold. Even when he holds you against him... it doesn't feel right.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

SKIPPED.

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Nothing I can think of. He means well, so why bother, right?

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

Not intentionally/Never.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

Would do anything to protect you, but not a worship yandere.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

Doesn't really snap so he can "pine" for a long time.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

Not intentionally.

[anotherstudtouse]

Moment of Truth

Grace x Fem!Reader

Summary: Confessions are made.

Warning: SPOILERS FOR THE MAIN STORYLINE, no smut but it gets a little spicy for a moment. I think that's it!

The moment you find out the truth about Logan -- from not only the infamous bandit himself but also your closest friend in this little town you've come to call home, Grace -- is simultaneously nearly too much to come to grips with and not a surprise to you at all. On the one hand, it's been drilled into your head from the moment you arrived to become one of Sandrock's new builders that Logan and his gang were no-good bandits hell-bent on bringing ruin to Sandrock and the good people who live here. On the other hand, though, everything you've been told by the people who knew him best had always detailed a man with a strong moral compass, a man always trying his best to do right for Sandrock. The Bandit Logan and the Logan people had come to care deeply for had always been at odds in your mind, and now that you have the whole story, it's like you've finally obtained the final piece of the hardest jigsaw puzzle you've ever seen.

     The real surprises, the ones you're still having difficulties coming to grips with as you sit on a couch in Logan's hideout, are all the other things that have just been revealed to you. There is a spy from the Duvos Empire -- at least one -- in Sandrock. Pen, a man you had previously written off as self-obsessed but well-intentioned, is most likely one of them. You're not the only one in this hideout who's almost certain he's not the one in charge, though, which means there's still an unknown player in this game.

     That all still leaves one last shock to your system, and perhaps the biggest of all. Grace is a spy, too, but thankfully not for Duvos. She's working for the Alliance Central Intelligence, and she's here to help Logan root out the corruption that's taken hold. Your best friend here is a secret agent.

      As you sit on this couch, your shirt temporarily discarded while Grace tends to the wounds you'd sustained from your fall off of the edge of the cliff above the hideout, you just... stare at her. Who is she, really? How much of her, the her that you've come to know and -- though you've always kept this next bit to yourself -- love over the past year, is real? She's already told you that, while she isn't still an archeology student, it was one of her majors when she did attend school. A lie, but not entirely. How many more half-lies are there?

     You think back on Bronco's stupid idea to get the pets of Sandrock to somehow reveal Logan's spy all those weeks ago. Despite believing it to be a fool's errand, you'd done it anyway just to say you'd tried everything, and after feeding Banjo the cat and asking him who the spy was, he'd ran straight the Blue Moon Saloon, straight to the kitchen, straight to Grace. You hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but...

     "Gol for your thoughts?" Grace breaks the silence without looking up from the cut on your shoulder she's cleaning.

     "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is that the local stray cats found out my best friend's secret identity before I did?"

     This causes the corners of Grace's lips to quirk upward. She snorts, glancing up to finally lock eyes with you. Something in your eyes softens her gaze, though, and she turns serious. "I'm good at my job. But..." She swallows. "... I hated lying to you, Y/N. I could rationalize it as doing it for the greater good with everyone else, but not you. You seemed to want to really know me, and... I wanted you to know me, too."

     Silence hangs heavy in the air as you search her eyes. For what, though, you don't know, but she looks back at you as if she's trying her best to give it to you. Part of you doesn't know what to think, but her words have your heart hammering in your chest nonetheless.

     When you don't respond, Grace lowers her gaze again. She moves on to the scratch high up on your abdomen, and even though her touch is gentle, you hiss in pain at the sudden contact. Her hand stills and she gives you an apologetic glance before resuming.

     A few more seconds of silence pass before you speak again, quieter this time, hesitant. You don't know if you actually want the answer to the question you're about to ask but you have to know. You have to. "Was any of it real?"

     You watch her closely. She meets your eyes again; for a moment, she seems confused, a small wrinkle forming between her eyebrows as they furrow, but at the look on your face, she realizes what you mean. Her answer is immediate after that. "I only lied about my history, and even then I tried to be as honest as I could. The way I feel about you... Our friendship is real. Y/N, you are my favorite person and that is the truth."

     You hadn't realized how tense you've become -- partially due to Grace's hands on your bare skin -- until your shoulders relax a little.

     Before you can respond, Grace continues. "You know, so much of my job involves blending into the background. You never let me do that with you." She smiles, lowering her gaze again. "I'd hide out in the kitchen at the saloon and you'd come find me anyway. It would've been annoying if it hadn't been so endearing." The statement makes you chuckle; the sound seems to please Grace. "There it is. I was afraid I'd never hear that laugh again."

     You can't seem to wipe the smile from your face. "I'm trying to feel betrayed here, damn it."

     "Sorry, sorry," she apologizes with a laugh, reaching up to gently cup your jaw and turn your face from side to side to search for more injuries. "I'm just too charming, I guess."

     It's becoming a little harder to breathe with Grace's grip on your jaw like this. It feels like she should've removed it by now, but you're not complaining. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Your smile softens as you contemplate asking another question. "Do you... Do you wish I'd left you alone?"

     "No." Her answer is firm, her eyes meeting yours again.

     Her hand begins to leave your chin, but you lift your own to grasp hers before it's gone, bringing both to rest on your knee. For a moment, you worried she would pull away, but she shifts in your hold to intertwine your fingers instead. Again, your heart is hammering; it only worsens when your gaze rises from her hand in yours to see Grace looking back at you with an expression you've seen a few times before directed at you but have never been able to decipher.

     "I don't want to keep any more secrets from you," is the last thing she says, her eyes flicking from your eyes to your lips the only warning you receive before she leans in to kiss you. It's soft and short, as gentle as her touch has been, as if she's afraid you'll make a run for it at the slightest provocation. Her lips leave yours before you even realize what's happened, and her hand in yours tightens its grip slightly as if afraid you'll try to pull away from her. "I love you, Y/N. I understand if you don't feel the same way, or if you did but don't anymore, but whatever happens, I want it to happen with complete honesty. And I'm being completely honest when I say that over the course of this past year of knowing you, I have really, honestly fallen head over heels in love with you."

     "Grace..." You trail off, at a loss for words. Your gaze switches from one of her eyes to the other. You find nothing but sincerity in them. As she begins to pull her hand from yours, taking your lack of words as a bad sign, your grip tightens to stop her. "No, stop. Just give me a minute. A lot has been thrown at me in the last, like, twenty minutes."

     She laughs at that, her thumb beginning to stroke the back of your hand absentmindedly. "Okay, fair."

     Your gaze is drawn to your hand in hers. You watch the back-and-forth movements of her thumb as you think of what you want to say. "So much about you makes sense now, now that I think about it," you start. She watches you, silent and patient. "I remember that day you wanted to get into the Breach and Justice wouldn't let you. Too dangerous for a civilian, he said." You chuckle. "If only he knew, huh?"

     Grace returns the smile you shoot her way, but doesn't say anything just yet, wondering where you're going with this. You continue. "You gave that poor man a headache but you managed to talk him into having your way. Him and me both -- It took me three trips to find that stuff you needed." A thought occurs to you then, and you straighten up a little. "Wait. If you're not an archeology student anymore, did you even need any of that stuff?"

     Grace at least had the decency to look a little guilty when she answers. "I... Well, not 'need', per say, but it was definitely super cool and I still really, really appreciate it." Her other hand joins the first to completely encase your own -- as if that makes it better (it kind of does, but shut up).

     Your eyes narrow. "Yeah, okay. Anyway," you continue again, "I think that was when I realized I had feelings for you that were a bit more than friendly. You told me you were a spy and I was afraid the Grace I fell in love with wasn't real, but I'm realizing now that everything that made me fall deeper and deeper in love with you was the real you peeking through."

     Your free hand reaches up to cup Grace's cheek, your thumb gently swiping away a single tear that's fallen from the blonde's eye. She leans into your touch. "I was starting to think this was the end of us," she whispers.

     "More like the beginning," you reply, leaning in to kiss the woman you're realizing now that, despite everything, you really have known all this time. All the important parts, all the parts that really make her her. She kisses you back immediately, and immediately she tilts her head and deepens the kiss. It's already so different than the first one. Your reciprocation of Grace's feelings seems to have given her permission in her head to stop being so damn careful with you. Where once she was hesitant, now she's insistent, her hands leaving yours to cup both sides of your face as if she's trying to keep you where you are.

     "Mmh," you moan as you feel teeth nip at your bottom lip. The sound only seems to spur Grace on; gently, she pushes your shoulders back, effectively breaking the kiss as you're lightly shoved against the back of the couch. In a split second, Grace has left the chair she was sitting on to climb onto your lap before reconnecting your lips in a kiss somehow more fiery than the last one.

     "I love you," she whispers in between kisses.

     Your hands come up to grasp her hips, pulling them into you as you pull away just enough to start kissing your way down her neck. Hurriedly, you respond, "I love you, too," before nipping at her pulse point. The action pulls a rough groan from Grace's throat, a sound you immediately know you're going to get addicted to. Grace tilts her head back to give you easier access to her neck and you take full advantage of it, licking a trail up the column of her throat as she sucks in a shaky breath, her fingers threading through your hair -- as soon as her hand touches the back of your head, though, you hiss in pain, wincing and pulling away slightly.

     "Shit, I'm so sorry," Grace hurries to apologize, her hand flying away from your head as if burned. Without leaving your lap, she gently grasps your chin again and leans over while turning your head to the side to examine a small bump on the back of your head. "It doesn't look too bad, but still, we should stop." Letting go of your chin, her hand brushes against your cheek as she cups it, turning your face back toward hers once more. "For now, at least."

     You're not happy about it, but you agree. "For now, yeah. Besides, Logan and Haru could walk in at any moment, and I don't know about you but I'm not really into the idea of an audience."

     She hums in contemplation. "Hmm, yeah, me neither. I like the idea of having you all to myself more."

     Your hands on Grace's hips momentarily tighten their hold, your eyes darkening. "As soon as I'm all healed up."

     Leaning down, she rests her forehead against yours. "The second you're all healed up."

[dairy-farmer]

I need ClarkTim with babysitter Tim. Imagine during his early Robin days, Bruce is mad at Tim and tells him he needs to learn how to be responsible. The mistake was pretty minor but Bruce was all angsty and angry during those days. He tells Tim to go home and that he's suspended from work.

Bruce and Clark meet up later. Bruce vents about his reckless Robin. Clark knows his friend is in the wrong but he thinks it would be best if Robin and Batman to have some space for a while so that they could cool off and that Robin deserves to take a break from Gotham. He offers to help teach Robin some responsibility by making him babysit Jon. That's what his Ma and Pa would've done for him had his powers not pop up unexpectedly. Granted, he would've been 16 at that time and not 13. But Bruce agrees that it's a great idea.

So Tim shows up in their quaint apartment home in Metropolis just as he and Lois were about to leave for date night. Tim clearly doesn't want to do this but he was determined to prove Bruce wrong. It was quite a mess when they came back but it was not that bad for a 13 year old taking care of a 5 year old for the first time.

It becomes a thing where Bruce would send Tim over when he's mad at him. And it became an even more regular thing when Clark and Lois divorced and Bruce realized that Tim has a tendency to overwork himself and that kids shouldn't be vigilantes in the first place. Tim is still Robin but he doesn't come out every night now or doesn't fight crime at night for a long time since watching over Jon is a tiring task.

Clark sometimes miss Lois. There were days where Jon was just not having it and Clark dearly misses having a partner in crime. In those days, he's so grateful for the arrangement he made with Bruce. It was a relief to come home and not worry that Jon got hurt and is full and asleep in his bed. It made Clark's heart beat fast when he sees Tim working on a case next to Jon, all so serious. He has that same look that he gets when Lois was writing or reporting on an issue.

One night, the JL are having a bit of a get together. Tim is back at Clark's apartment watching over Jon so Clark decided he can let loose and get drunk. When he came back home, he finds Jon asleep in his own room. He went to check on Tim but he was so drunk that he found himself groping and soon humping his son's sleeping babysitter. It's been so long since he got laid. Tim has always been so good with Jon, can't he be good with this too?

-🦆

yessssssssssss clarktim is such a good one!!!! add in the whole 'babysitter' aspect and its soooo gooodd!!!!!!!!!

i really love the idea that bruce was not the easiest to deal with when tim started as robin and it ends up setting the tone or veering them towards a path that will cause problems in the future. bruce snapping at tim for being irresponsible definitely makes sense to me! bruce probably isn't thinking about how tim is only thirteen so of course he's irresponsible and he's also probably not considering about how if it were jason or dick in front of him he wouldn't have ripped into them the way he did to tim.

but it's a small thing, a thing that has no greater impact or effect that ends up setting bruce off the edge and he just yells at tim for it before sending him home for the night and telling him to not show his face for a few days because he was just so mad. and it's not what tim did that drove him to the edge, tim was just the unfortunate recipient of a lot of bottled up feelings because bruce had run into a case about homeless children in gotham being found frozen to death as snow melted around the city and his mind had gone to jason and about how he could've been one of them if bruce had not met him in the fall right before the weather turned chilly.

bruce has been more isolated since jason's death but tim had pushed him to reconnect with his colleagues and friends. given that he's been shunned from the cave tim takes to texting dick, asking if he could please check up on bruce because he's a bit upset with tim right now. but dick is busy and normally he'd follow through with the request because it was tim asking him. but he's traveling out of state for a case and can't so...dick calls clark. he asks clark to check on bruce because bruce still hasn't reached out much, miserable and angsty as he is. and clark jumps on the oppertuniy because he doesn't feel right just flying to gotham without an invitation but he's doing a favor for dick then it should be fine!

bruce doesn't really mean what he says about tim. calling him irresponsible and on some level he knows it's so utterly wrong to badmouth another cape to clark, especially one working under him and especially one so young but...bruce can't help it. he's just SO outraged and mad and in a few weeks he'll feel bad about everything he said and he'll grimace at his behavior and he'll do his best to make sure something like that never occurs again because tim hadn't deserved to be treated like that.

but in the moment clark nods and listens even if he internally frowns at bruce's words. clark hasn't met this new robin and he knows that bruce isn't like this normally and feels a pang of pity for this new robin to be dealing with this more volatile bruce. clark doesn't want to overstep. he knows it will do more damage than good so scolding bruce, telling him not to treat the 'poor kid' that way will just serve to alienate bruce farther and maybe even put the young robin into even more hot water with his boss....so clark considers what his parents would do if they were in his shoes.

bruce is clearly doing better than the last time clark has seen him. but...he's also clearly still struggling and maybe having his robin peeking over his shoulder is making him more tense than normal. and maybe the fact that his robin is on holiday break and spending more time in the manor with bruce also has something to do with it.

so...clark makes a proposition. he offers to help teach bruce's robin some lessons in responsibility, just something small like...babysitting. it's an age-appropriate task for someone like tim and he and lois were starved for a date night. raising a child in the city was hard given that clark's family was so far away and lois's family were in another state.

plus it's not like jon was a baby, at five he was perfectly capable of doing things like going potty, requesting snacks or juice, turning the tv on to his favorite channels, and reading simple books. thirteen may have been a little young and clark himself hadn't babysat a neighbor's kid since he was at least sixteen but- bruce agrees. he nods in agreement at the task and gets this tightened-jaw look when he says that maybe tim will learn some responsibility like this.

after that bruce shoos him away. bruce never gives a date tim will show up, doesn't discuss baby sitting rates, never brings up transportation but all that gets answered a few nights later when clark ominously recieves a text from bruce that says 'he's here.'

he and lois were still in their work clothes and had just had plans to order in some dinner when the knock on their door came.

apparently bruce dropped tim off just outside the city with some vague directions to clark and lois's apartment. tim had just learned he'd been volunteered to babysit and that this was his punishment for his behavior a few days ago. clark cringed at tim's words and felt a bit guilty at the resigned look on the robin's face. lois peeked over clark's shoulder and he saw her eyes sparkle in interest at tim's explanation for his presence.

despite tim's clear displeasure clark does his best to be friendly as he shows tim to a small printed out list on the refridgerator of all their emergency numbers before introducing him to jon who seems very curious about this new stranger.

for the first time in...years he and lois go out on a date. lois seems very content to enjoy her chinese food in a restaurant in peace without having to continue returning jon to his seat because he kept trying to speed over to the tv to watch his show. still clark can't help but think about tim and how he's doing. he keeps an ear open to listen as tim teaches jon some memory game and as a result keeps missing what lois is saying.

when clark had opened the door from tim's knocking he....he'd admit that he'd blinked a little in shock because tim was A LOT smaller than clark had been expecting. tim had long, dark curtain bangs and big blue eyes with fluttery lashes. his small pout had been visible with pink, full lips and he'd had his arms crossed across his chest while dressed in a black metal band t-shirt and brown cargo pants. he'd looked painfully normal. like every other moody teenager clark passed on the street and knowing he was robin really sent clark's brain for a loop.

the night ends quite uneventfully and by the time clark and lois return jon is already in bed and tim is quietly sitting on the couch glaring down at his phone where he's furiously typing.

while lois heads to bed clark decides to walk tim back out the city limits because even though this was a punishment and tim was likely more than capable of taking care of himself, clark didn't feel it right to send a kid to walk out on metropolis streets all alone when it was after midnight.

the walk is silent but eventually clark manages to get tim venting about bruce and all his jerky ways and how he volunteered tim to be an unpaid babysitter as some kind of "lesson".

"no offense mr. kent" tim quickly offered, soft round cheeks blossoming to pink with embarrassment.

"none taken." clark softly assures the teen while frowning internally at bruce. clark had suggested babysitting as a good way to learn responsibility because it had been what he'd done. but clark had also been paid. sure it had only been ten bucks but that had been enough for him to feel accomplished and mature. it had made him feel grown up to have done a real job and received recognition for it. it was one thing if tim was made to babysit as a punishment but making him do it without a reward or payment would just teach tim that adults could make him do anything they wanted and he couldn't complain. clark knew he'd blown the last of his cash on dinner with lois so instead he fumbled for the fortune cookies he'd stuffed in his pocket earlier and pathetically offered it to tim with a sheepish thanks.\

thankfully tim doesn't do that crinkle-browed expression of irritation that bruce does sometimes. he takes clark's sad offering and begins thoughtfully chewing on one of the cookies while staring down at the little fortune slip he'd gotten from cracking it open.

"it wasn't all that bad," tim softly offered, "jon's a cute kid and i liked hanging out with him."

at that clark smiled and agreed before slowing to a stop beside the 'welcome to metroplis!' billboard.

a dark, black car was parked on the side of the road and tim let out a put upon sigh when it flashed its headlights at them. clark gave a jaunty wave and the car angrily revved in response. tim sighed and started off at a jog, turning back to yell a thanks to clark for walking with him.

clark watches them both go, not even flinching when bruce's disguised batmobile does an illegal u-turn on the empty street.

for the rest of the month he and lois have a somewhat steady babysitter, something lois is grateful for so they can both pull some late nights at the planet since tim is in charge of picking jon up from elementary school and taking him back to the apartment to do his homework, then to feed him dinner, and then put him to bed.

the first time tim picked jon up from school he'd picked the lock to their apartment because lois kept forgetting to put the spare key back under the mat because she kept losing her set. after that happened again a few more times clark ended up making tim a copy of the apartment key, sliding it to him and asking him to promise not to tell lois because she'd feel guilty at having locked them both out.

(plus clark hadn't wanted to rehash the whole housekey argument about lois forgetting, losing, always needing clark to drop what he was doing and speed back for the one little thing)

a few times tim acts as an overnight babysitter for them because clark has been called off planet and lois doesn't want to have to drop out of yet another conference where she's a key speaker.

clark is grateful to have tim, lois is as well.

but then bruce works through whatever issue he was having with tim and the two of them lose their favorite (only) sitter. it's not easy getting a sitter for jon. he's young and although he hasn't shown any signs yet clark doesn't want to risk jon's powers potentially manifesting when a random teenager is in the house. jon is also yet unaware that his father is superman (as much as he loves him clark knows how children are with secrets). having tim provided much needed relief for clark and lois and losing him throws a bit of a wrench in their routines.

clark knows he and lois have been having...issues. neither of them are as young as they used to be and the problems of their youth seem so far away with new concerns. as dumb 20-somethings neither of their egos had clashed or been points of contention but...now...lois is missing opportunities because clark can't be there to pick up the slack. lois is being offered the opportunity to be an investigative journalist on a team looking to expose deep-veined corruption overseas. it's a job that would take her out of metropolis for months at a time. but sometimes superman is called out of the city as well. sometimes he spends days away in foreign countries offering relief aid with natural disasters, sometimes the justice league needs to send him and a few other heavy hitters off planet. and if lois takes that job then...who will watch jon? they can't drop him off at his parent's house. what about his schooling? plus clark's parents are older, more fragile. they can't be running around after a five year old all the time. why don't lois's parents move closer? it might make it easier on the family. well they can't do that for the same reason they can't have a normal sitter. the same reason lois can't befriend the other moms at jon's school and the same reason that the only friends lois has are clark's friends.

occasionally bruce will have a fight with tim. they'll butt heads for one reason or another and he and lois will have a babysitter again and it will soothe away some of the arguments they'd been having. soon bruce seems to pull his head a bit out of his ass and makes it so tim is only patrolling a certain number of times a month. it frees up more of his time and pretty soon tim is not a rare sight in their apartment, occasionally even spending days there when he and lois are both taken out of the city. but they're reassured with the fact that tim is present to take care of jon and watch over him to make sure he doesn't get hurt.

maybe having tim around delays the inevitable but at some point over the years, he and lois can no longer put it off.

the divorce does not bring great relief or happiness. it's a miserable affair. clark does love lois and she him but...they're not twenty anymore. they've grown apart and they want different things and...it just wasn't working. any longer and they would've grown to hate each other and neither of them wanted that.

but clark is now 37 and divorced with primary custody of his son. it was decided that it was best that jon remain with clark and in metropolis since lois would be moving around a lot. lois sets off to war-torn countries and politically tense situations having finally accepted the offer from a group of journalists. she calls often and face times jon weekly but its clear to anyone that jon takes their separation and eventual divorce hard.

clark makes a deal with bruce following a night that bruce invites him into his office at the manor for a drink. tim by that point was basically the only person clark trusted enough to watch his kid so it was decided that when the justice league needed to send him somewhere or some major disaster was occurring at the other side of the planet- then bruce would drop tim off at clark's apartment to watch jon.

anything else probably would've made jon's recent behavior problems worse. jon knew tim so he wouldn't catch an attitude with him like he had with his teachers and classmates. clark knew that it was because of the divorce that jon was acting out, throwing tantrums, and refusing to listen to him because of that...but it still didn't make it any easier.

tim being present makes it easier. without lois a lot of the load for maintaining the household falls to him now that she's gone. clark now has to go to work, clock out in time so he can race to the grocery store, the bank, the dry cleaners. clark has to make sure he's getting jon's favorite foods so that they don't end up sitting on the shelves, clark has to remember to send the mortgage check, to pay utilities on the first of every month.

it's a lot. and it's easier to know that by the time clark crawls through the door that jon's homework will be done, that he'll have eaten dinner, that the apartment will be cleaned up with dishes put away, and that jon will be curled up and asleep by his bedtime.

clark thanks his lucky stars that jon looks up to tim and listens to him. he might be the only one jon actually obeys and clark is thinking about begging tim to know his secret.

sometimes clark is early arriving back home and he walks into an apartment where dinner is still cooking in the oven and jon and tim are quietly working side by side at the living room table while the tv plays some boring news station.

jon is intently focused on his phonics workbook and tim is zeroed in on about half a dozen case files spread around him while furiously typing on his laptop. there's a cooling mug of honey tea on one coaster and a glass of blue raspberry kool-aid on another.

it's a sight that makes clark's chest hurt at the memory of lois doing something the similar. tim bites down on his bottom lip and has a furrow between his brow as he glares down at his case just like she does when she's encountered something particularly difficult.

clark savors the dinners of when he gets home early. often times tim will make a roast of some kind. either chicken or beef along with some vegetables. other times he'll make a pasta dish or some fish. a few times he makes an excellent meatloaf. apparently tim had requested cooking lessons from alfred because he hadn't wanted to only make jon mac and cheese or frozen dinners.

usually he and lois would order food or settle for frozen meals. it's...nice to come home to a home-cooked dinner just like when he was a kid. jon also seems to adore it, cleaning his plate of everything tim makes even things he'd insisted that he hated.

"i thought you didn't like peas?" clark softly asked, a fond smile tugging at his lips as jon shoveled them into his mouth by the spoonful.

"i like these peas," jon huffed, turning pink, "these peas taste good."

whenever jon got a tv dinner with peas he'd pout and whine until either clark or lois scraped them off his mashed potatoes and onto their own trays. but tim's peas were happily eaten with gusto.

clark helps tim clean and wash up while jon watches his cartoons having already finished his homework. having someone beside him...quietly working while the radio on top of the microwave played classic rock...it was...nice. it did a good job of healing some of that aching loneliness in clark's chest. it wasn't just that he missed lois, he missed...the companionship, having someone at his side cracking jokes or snickering at clark's obliviousness.

clark misses that closeness, that familiarity, the feeling of another person beside him.

tim is a nice fixture in his and jon's life and clark doesn't want to ruin that by...by making it weird and talking about how tim reminds clark of his wife.

tim starts talking about possibly taking jon to the park the next time he comes by because jon seems a little pent up being stuck in the apartment all day and clark's brain leaps on the distraction to pull away from his thoughts and the hyper awareness he feels at every brush of tim's bare arm against the skin from clark's rolled up sleeves.

something ends up happening in gotham and tim is gone for weeks and in that time things with jon spill over. jon ends up breaking several dinner plates when he throws a tantrum over not wanting pizza again even though clark hadn't had time to cook after rushing to pick jon up from after-school care. clark loses his temper and ends up sending jon to his room without dinner which makes jon breakdown crying.

clark cleans up the mess in the kitchen, sweeping up glass and throwing out the flipped over box of pizza. he doesn't notice he's crying until he wipes his hands on his shirt and goes to push back his hair only to feel the warm tears on his cheeks.

clark is not adjusting well to single parenthood. he thinks of calling lois before remembering that it's the middle of the night in her time zone. he thinks of calling his parents before pushing it away because they'd just want to come and see him, but the drive would be too much for pa.

clark stands in that empty kitchen, listening to his child muffle their sobs into their pillow before he picks up the cordless phone hanging on the wall and dialing a number he knows by heart.

it's probably incredibly inappropriate, clark is probably crossing several boundaries, he might even strain his relationship with tim by burdening him with his struggles as a parent but....but tim knows jon and...and clark is just so lost and desperate for any kind of help. jon's on the verge of getting suspended, clark has already had to beg the principal for leniency twice.

tim picks up and he and clark spend several hours on the phone once he hears the emotion in clark's voice. by the end clark has a list of therapists in the metropolis area to call in the morning and he learns that tim, as a kid, had struggled with his own resentful feelings towards his parents because they'd often leave him home alone or in the care of a nanny or ship him off to boarding school. tim had struggled for a long time about his feelings of resentment towards his parents and wanting them to go away while also wanting them to come back and be with him.

in the morning clark apologizes to jon for raising his voice and promises not to do it again while also telling him that his behavior the night before hadn't been acceptable and that he could've hurt himself or tim if he'd been there. jon's eyes well up with tears and clark holds him while saying that jon's having a tough time and that he's so sorry that he hadn't helped him sooner.

a few more weeks later and jon has settled into weekly therapy appointments to help him cope with his parent's divorce. lois is saddened to hear about jon's freakout that prompted it but seems happy to hear that clark has decided to get him into therapy.

clark doesn't mention about how it had been tim's idea, stemming from tim musing that he wished he'd have gotten therapy as a child to deal with his parent's frequent absence in his life. he doesn't know why he doesn't tell her or anyone about that phone call with tim that had dragged on late into the night. it's not like clark had done anything...wrong.

but still clark doesn't mention it. not even to bruce who he shares monitor duty for the next week. it probably would've been wise. to let bruce know that clark had called his robin on the phone late at night and spent hours on the line with him. but he hadn't

a little while later tim returns to babysitting duties. every night before he leaves to go back to gotham he quietly asks if clark is okay, leaning in close with a low whisper and asking clark if everything is alright. that night...on the phone...tim had wanted clark to promise that he'd call tim if he ever felt overwhelmed again.

bruce had relegated tim to desk work when he wasn't out on patrol so it's not as though it would be some great sacrifice for tim to come over and help him out.

clark had thought about it but...but he hadn't wanted to take advantage of tim. tim already did so much for him. including beginning to freeze dinners for him and jon. clark returns home one night to find jon and tim intently focused on spooning, cutting, wrapping, and stacking various dishes into different tupperwares to be frozen. clark watches with wide eyes as tim points to the various tubs explaining how clark only needs to reheat the food or stick it in the oven for a nice hot home cooked meal when tim's not around.

tim even premakes sandwiches for him and jon to take to school and to work. a cubicle neighbor raises a brow at clark's bacon, pear, and fig sandwich on artisan bread.

"you get yourself a girlfriend kent?"

the questions makes clark flounder because it was true that tim did a lot of things that were....girlfriend-like. but the question just has him turning red and sputtering.

after a while clark starts getting the hang of it. he asks perry for a list of different positions at the planet aside from a field reporter and eventually applies for an internal position that will allow him to work from home some weeks and only have to go into the office a handful of days. clark sets up an account at the grocery store and prepays in advance to have his groceries delivered to his door. clark switches to an online bank and arranges for all his bills to be automatically withdrawn from his account. clark starts taking a more active role in his home, trying to vacuum up visible dust, cleaning plates when he sees them, and doing a load of laundry or dirty towels before the pile gets too big. clark even starts making jon's breakfast and lunch for him now that he's not rushing them both out the door in the morning.

clark, for the first time, starts to feel like he's in control ever since the divorce. he even signs jon up for soccer, organizing a carpool with the other moms who sympathize with him about being a solo parent.

clark joins the pta, volunteers for the annual bake sale, attends jon's games.

by the time tim returns for the next cycle of babysitting clark is blushing while carefully serving him and jon some casserole (ma's signature recipe). jon excitedly tells tim all about his teammates and games and about how dad had even promised to sign up jon for swimming when the summer came!

tim is smiling and clark can see the happiness in tim's eyes as jon happily reports everything that's happened these last few weeks.

once jon goes to bed clark is excited to tell tim about all the changes he's made. clark hasn't even gotten around to telling bruce or lois about the job change but for some reason he really wants tim to know he's doing better. that he's not that crying father calling him for help.

it's not always smooth sailing. sometimes jon gets into one of his moods and sometimes clark has a busy week but it always works out in the end and tim is always a relief to see.

maybe it's the fact that clark is finally...comfortable that he accepts the invitation to the justice league mixer. mixers are usually light hearted get-togethers with food, laughs, and lots of alcohol. thanks to bruce and oliver this means clark and the others get to sample some really nice alcohol and none of that cheap stuff they all consumed in college. tim is babysitting for clark that night and is even going to be staying the night since he and bruce are in another cold war (how someone could ever fight with someone as great as tim clark had no idea!). and this is the first-night clark has had to himself in a while so...he lets loose. normally it takes a lot of alcohol for clark to get drunk but awhile back bruce had reverse engineered a poison compound that amplified alcohol in his system by 100. now he offered it in the form of a pill to clark in the bathroom, passing it over to him with sleight of hand like he was a fratboy offering ecstasy to an initiate.

clark gets wonderfully drunk, the stage of drunk where everything is hilarious and the world is tilted a little to the right. the stage of drunk where his head is all floaty and he feels like he's flying even though his feet are on the ground.

it's the middle of the night by the time the party has fizzled out and many of the leaguers have claimed chairs or passed out on training mats if they haven't made it to the dorms at the tower. the beds at the tower are too narrow for clark to comfortably sprawl so he says slurred goodbyes to a passed out green lantern and flash, waves to diana who is smiling and pleased with the company of all her friends, and slides past bruce who is pretending to not be drunk as he leans against a wall. clark flys back to metropolis slowly and careful not to bump into any buildings before entering through his bedroom window he left unlocked.

like a toddler with uncoordinated hands, clark strips out of his suit and leaved it as a pile on the floor until he's only in his boxers, the open window blowing in a soft city breeze. with light feet, clark tiptoes to his bedroom door and pushes it open to reveal the darkened highway. before settling to bed he just wants to make everything is order.

the smoke detector is working, the oven is off, the water isn't running, the front door and windows in the rest of the apartment are locked, and everyone is in bed.

jon is curled into a sweet little ball in his room. there's a half empty glass of water on his bedside table and all his toys are put away so that the floor of his room is clear. clark wants to stumble over and press a kiss to his baby's head but he doesn't trust himelf to not stumble and face plant on the carpet and just sleep there.

but clark has one more person to check up on.

when he and lois had shared a home the extra room at the end of the hall had been their home office. but once they'd divorced, clark had decided to downsize since most of the things in the office lois had either taken with her or sold before leaving to go abroad. clark had gotten rid of the big vanity and dresser in his and lois's bedroom and gotten a corner desk and rolling chair to serve as his bedroom office.

that freed up the home office to be turned into a guest room.

clark pushed open the cracked door, likely so jon could crawl into tim's bed in case of a nightmare, and stared at tim who was laid out on the full sized bed. tim was in a pair of volleyball shorts and a long hudson college shirt that stopped mid thigh. the shirt was riding up revealing a smooth stomach which had something in clark going warm.

maybe clark wouldn't have done it if the alcohol in his blood hadn't given him the courage. maybe clark thought it was okay because he and lois had done this once upon a time. where lois would pretend to be asleep and clark, the sexless farmboy, would come and and squeeze her thigh and lightly tug on the ends of her clothes.

only that clark doesn't lightly touch tim or tease his delicate skin.

clark hasn't had sex in well over two years because towards the end of his relationship with lois they had completely shut each other out. that must be why clark quietly stumbles in, letting the door softly click closed behind him as he took slow, shuffling steps forward until he was standing beside tim.

clark's fingers wrapped around the bottom of tim's shirt and pushed it all the way up to reveal little soft tits that had clark biting down on his bottom lip. a flash of heat coursed through his gut at the sight of puffy tits and soft, rosy nipples.

god. clark could feel the arousal already beginning to swirl in him from just looking.

it's not like clark was fully chaste despite what others might believe. just before the divorce clark had started watching porn on his phone and quietly jacking off in the bathroom just before joining lois in bed. but he'd stopped abruptly and hadn't touched himself since.

but why had he?- oh that's right!

there'd been this one porno clark had stumbled across. it'd been one where the girl was this skinny little thing in a tiny little skirt with pretty lips and a pixie cut.

she'd been pretty with a puffy, wet, pink pussy but that's not what had gotten clark off. it had been the scenario. she'd been playing as the babysitter for this one older man who hadn't had money to pay her for her time because his wife had the checkbook but that was alright because she was more than willing to accept another form of payment: cock.

clark had remembered how hard he'd been breathing as a delicate little pussy furiously rode the nice hard cock of a dad who was grunting and playing with her tits while asking "you're not going to tell my wife about this are you?"

that line was what had clark grunting and spilling his release into his palm while his heart pumped faster and faster.

minutes after his orgasm horror and disgust had flooded clark at the realization that he'd gotten undeniably aroused at....baby sitter porn. and the girl he'd masturbated to...had held a similar resemblance to tim...

clark had been so ashamed he had refused to touch himself at all afterward. he'd thrown himself into his work and then his divorce, completely neglecting his manly needs until he was kneeled beside his son's baby sitter and playing with his tits.

both of clark's hands were cupping tim's little tits, admiring his rosy nipples and gently squeezing the soft flesh. clarks hands practically covered tim's entire chest. the flesh was soft and warm and clark felt the urge to lean down and start kissing the little tits, taking one into his mouth and suckling the tit until tim woke up to the sight of clark nursing on him.

clark was only in underwear and he could feel as his cock swelled with arousal more and more the longer he fondled tim. one hand clark had been resting on tim's abdomen stroked down tim's stomach. two fingers kept pressing and slid between the natural seam of tim's crotch and clark felt himself go lightheaded when he felt tim's pussy lips part for him under the fabric.

god. clark's cock was forming a prominent tent in his underwear and he shivered as he pushed up from where he was kneeling and placed a knee on the bed, then another, and then clark threw a leg over to tim's other side and stood kneeling over him, straddling his smaller body.

clark could see tim's beautifully exposed tits and his little shorts that were hiding no doubt the prettiest little cunt in existence.

jesus, clark was so horny. clark felt like a starving man placed before a buffet, he had no idea where to start, what to touch, where to kiss first.

all he knew was that he desperately wanted to fuck tim. he needed it like he needed air. he needed to feel tim's hands, his mouth, his pussy on his cock. he needed to pump himself deep inside tim, fuck his cock all the way in his womb. he needed to feel tim's hips fuck back against his thrusts and have his arms cling around clark's neck. he needed to hear tim gasp and moan and whine as clark played with his clit and fucked him through a trembling orgasm.

god. tim was such a good kid he'd probably let clark do all of that. he helped clark with jon, with cooking, with being a parent- why not this?

clark's sure that if he asks really really nice tim will let him at least touch him, maybe even eat him out (clark wonders what tim's pussy tastes like, if it's as sweet as he is).

he might even feel pity for clark once he finds out clark hasn't had sex in over two years. maybe he'll even spread himself open for clark, spread the lips of his pussy open in a 'V' and reveal his wet little hole for clark. god that would be magnificent.

clark doesn't even notice that his cock has started to throb and pulse painfully at every thought and that his hips have began to seek relief.

clark's covered cock begins grinding against tim's crotch in slow, purposeful drags. clark makes light sounds and hums as he presses all along the length of tim's cunt.

clark is in the middle of 'hmp hmph hmph' sounds when tim shifts a little under him and then rapidly blinks his eyes, pupils dilating with alertness as he takes stock of the situation.

clark is pulled out of his hazy fantasies and touching with tim's slightly sleepy call of "clark?"

clarks hands are still fondling and squeezing tim's tits as he ruts against him, as soon as he looks down and his eyes meet tim's- tim's brows shoot up with surprise and some realization. his nose wrinkles slightly and clark thinks he must smell the alcohol on his breath or maybe that spilled scotch someone had accidentally sloshed on him when clark was mixing drinks because during college he'd worked as a bartender for some extra cash and so every party he was the designated mixer.

"clark, are you...drunk?" tim tilts his head slightly, honest confusion on his expression as he stares up at clark. he says nothing about clark's hand on his tits or his other hand playing with the edge of tim's shorts.

clark makes a humming noise, he's considering lying but he knows tim would probably figure him out so he settles for soulfully nodding.

tim's eyes are still big with brows raised but he hasn't done anything about clark's hands on his chest so clark takes that as permission to keep squeezing and rolling puffy nipples between his fingers.

"is that why you're touching me right now?"

clark makes another noise and nods with an 'mm-hmm'.

clark is so horny and touching tim isn't really enough to get off and clark's cock is full and hurts so bad so clark snaps his hips a little to jostle tim and make him pay attention to clark's cock. maybe he'll do something to fix it. tim is really good at that.

clark's thrust indeed catches tim's attention and his eyes dart down to where clark's cock is almost straining out of his underwear. there's a big wet patch around where the head is and he's pressing as close as he can to tim's pussy.

tim stares down at it for a beat, his head off the pillow and straining to look down the length of his body where he and clark are meeting. tim's eyes go bug-eyed like he's just realized that clark is hard and rutting against him.

"o-oh clark, my god- oh shit you're hard, like actually hard,"

clark makes a noise of agreement and tries sticking two fingers under the waist band of tim's shorts to roll them down and rut against tim's hot, bare pussy. tim's hands dart down and wrap around clark's wrist, stopping him.

"clark," tim begins slowly, voice calm and soothing like he's talking to a child. "don't you want to go to someone else for this? how about another cape? or lois even, even if you're divorced i don't think it's a bad thing, my parents were separated and still shared a bed-"

the thought of lois or anyone else being with him makes clark want to shrivel up. no, he doesn't want them. he wants tim who is always so nice and sweet to jon and now clark wants him to be nice and sweet to him too.

clark shakes his head and does his best to talk without slurring while tugging slightly on tim's waistband.

"n-no. jus you, wan you, wan tim, please? please tim?"

tim's eyes don't like like they could widen anymore. he's red like a strawberry and clark wants to lean down and kiss his cute heated cheeks.

"i'm fuck-" clark can barely get a sentence out, "i'm wanna fuck, please? please tim?"

clark is SOOO drunk and horny. he presses his cock closer and makes a little insistent sound and hopes tim will have pity on him. if he'll just let clark stick it in just for a little bit. clark's balls are so fucking blue and he doesn't think he'll be able to handle remaining aroused for much longer. if tim pushes him away clark might actually cry.

tim purses his lips and stares down at where clark has their core pressed together. his mouth opens to say something and-

"i...we..." tim's eyes dart back up to meet clark and something in his expression shifts because tim's eyes darken and he starts biting down on his fat bottom lip. "we're going to need to be quiet clark, okay? jon's sleeping."

with that, tim immediatly stops fidgiting. he lifts his hips up and off the bed in a bridge stretch, pushing clark slightly away in the process, and slides his thumbs into the waistband of his shorts before swiftly pulling them down to his knees and then his ankles, leaving him bare. clark can feel the bunched up shorts somewhere near his ankles but that's not what he's paying attention to.

clark sits and stares in stunned silence as tim's legs part to reveal a pretty pink slit with a small, dark trail of hair lightly covering the area. it's just a bit of light peach fuzz but clark is enamored with the sight. he presses a gentle hand against tim's mound, stroking the soft skin and biting back a groan at tim's pretty little pussy lips framing his hole.

tim settles his feet on the bed, bending his knees and placing each foot on either side of clark's hips. he stares up at clark with crystal clear blue eyes and motions to clark's underwear.

"do you want my help to take off your underwear or do you think you can do it?"

tim's question brings clark out of his shocked staring and he meets tim's inquisitive eyes for a moment before he's fumbling for his underwear and hastily pushing it down while swaying with the dizziness from the alcohol.

"i-i can do it, i can do it-"

clark is stuttering and he manages, after a few minutes of trying to fling his underwear away. in his excitement he's nearly fallen off the bed a few times but each time tim softly catches him and steadies him. on clark's final attempt, tim wraps a hand around clarks upper back and slowly guides him down until he's hovering over tim.

tim is redder than crushed tomato as he fumbles with both of them fitting together and getting comfortable. clark is so excited to have sex that he obeys tim's every instruction and adjustment without thought.

one of clarks hands is braced on the pillow above tim's head while the other has a steadying grip on his cock. one of tim's hands starts gently stroking the side of clark's cheek. some attempt to soothe them both and then eventually he's whispering soft instructions to him that clark finds himself eagerly following.

"j-just rub the head against it okay?" tim begins, pink lips next to clark's ear. his breath hitches as clark listens, pressing the thick head of his cock against tim's slit. clark feels a bit of wetness cover the head and shivers as tim continues talking. "j-just up and down all along it, just the head- y-yes like that, good. mmmn yeah, just, just the head so i can get wet-" tim's breath starts hitching as clark grinds close. the head of his cock gets pressed to his clit and clark makes sure to press little circle against it, watching tim's abdominals clench and his breathing stutter. clark may be drunk but he does have his hearing and he can hear the slick, wet, sticky noises of tim's cunt as clark grinds his cock against that little pink clit. "p-press it in a little more, yes like that good job clark. k-keep doing, the little circles, y-yea, like you're tracing the letter 'O'- perfect, now keep hhnnn haah hhhahhn going clark-"

tim is squirming slightly under him, his hips inch up to meet clark's cock and clark can hear the slight rock of spring under them as he shifts his weight forward to press deeper into tim.

clark is breathing hard and tim's gentle instruction in his ear is helping so much to remember what he's supposed to be doing. clark is groaning softly because the head of his cock is being kissed by warm velvety heat. tim is telling him not to press to in deep yet that they can do that later but right now tim just wants clark to cum on him, can he do that? can clark cum on tim's pussy for him? it's to make the slide much easier later on that's what clark wants right? he wants to fuck tim's pussy doesn't he? he wants to sink in all the way deep into tim and cum really deep doesn't he? he wants to feel tim go all tight and hot around him right? well this is how they do it, with clark rubbing his cock up and down along tim's cunt until he cums.

clark is breathing hard and grunting as tim talks to him. he speeds up, grinds harder, and makes little noises at the tightening pleasure in his gut.

the orgasm comes faster than clark is anticipating. he's grinding his cock all along tim's soaked folds, tim is humming and making sweet sounds against his ear and clark can feel the tips of tim's little fingers from where he's rubbing at his clit, brush against his cock when suddenly clark's back goes tight and he freezes from where his cock is slotted between the lips of tim's pussy. he cums in thick spurts, the white cum pooling thickly between tim's lips like glue. tim makes a soft, shaky sound. clark can hear where his heart is going a mile a minute and he hears how tim's pussy is clenching so hard around nothing and leaking spurts of wetness. tim makes a noise of approval and presses a soft kiss to clark's jaw telling him he did a 'good job'.

clark shivers at the praise and lets tim's hands guide him onto his back. clarks erection doesn't flag the slightest bit and clark can already feel that his cock is full and ready to go. god he wants to fuck tim. he wants to fuck him so bad.

tim settles over him, straddling clark's hips and pressing his cum covered pussy to clark's cock. clark stares up at him with hazy eyes, watching as tim crosses his arms and grips the bottom edge of his shirt, lifting it up and tossing it to the side. tim is now on his lap fully naked and clark squirms and whines at the sight while tim presses a soothing hand to clark's chest.

"it's okay clark, it's okay, i know, do you want to fuck me? would that make you feel better?"

clark feels like tim's talking to him like he's a kid but not in a condescending way. his eyes are earnest as he asks clark. he picks up one of clark's hands and presses it to his chest, letting clark squeeze his tit while clark drowsily nods and slurs his words.

"y-yeah, nnmmp i wanna fuck, i wanna fuck tim i-i'm sorry but i really need it i-i juss- i just really need it,"

clark is seeing doubles but that doesn't matter because he feels tim's small palm wrap around his cock and steady it. he feels tim's hips lift up and hover over it. clark with his super hearing can hear quick, fast, squishy noises and knows instinctively that tim has fingers in his pussy. he can can hear them straining for room, opening and pressing against tim's walls, pressing in deeper, searching as they thrust in and out while tim huffs under his breath.

clark knows he's big. he knows it's probably going to be a struggle to fit inside tim. but tim also seems to know what he's doing. back when they were rutting together clark could hear tim have an orgasm and as he fucked himself on his fingers, clark heard that familiar tightening of his pussy and his stuttered breathing again. tim was trying to get even wetter and looser in preparation to take clark. tim was taking careful measures to make it good for both of them and clark shivered in anticipation for it.

still, clark hears tim's whine and sees his jaw fall open as he starts sinking down on clark. he stops several times, taking a moment to adjust before continuing forward. clark does his best to lie still, using all his drunk self-control to not thrust up and into tim's trembling cunt that is slowly swallowing down his cock until tim's wet, shaking cunt is split open and kissing the base of clark's cock. tim is trembling all around clark, his cunt squeezing and going tight around him with effort.

clark can feel his eyes have rolled to the back of his skull as he just lies there with his mouth open feeling hot, tight, pussy around his cock. it's only when tim slowly starts bouncing and riding him that clark finally lets out his pent up grunts and moans. tim cums once while bouncing on him and his pussy has the slightest more give. around the second or third is when the slide is much easier and tim is frantically fucking him, whining from overstimulation but continuing to fuck clark like his life depended on it.

clark's hands are gripping the sheets under them and trying to resist grabbing tim's hips and sinking him until he was cumming so deep tim would be leaking him for days.

but a few moments later tim is slowing and then stopping. clark peeked his eyes open and saw tim staring down at clark's trembling hands before shifting his gaze to clark's furrowed brows and strained expression.

"oh!" tim said with a vague hint of realization. "do you want to be on top?"

clark doesn't even make a sound and he's pretty sure he uses superspeed as he flips tim over on his back, hooks his knees over his shoulders, and just. starts. fucking.

clark is clenching his jaw tight enough to turn granite into powder. all his self-control is being directed into the cock that is viciously fucking into a reddened cunt. tim is completely bent in half, his breath is coming out in broken wheezes and cut off gasps. his brows are furrowed, his eyes are closed, and his mouth his fallen completely open letting out incomprehensible words and sounds of-

"ah ahh hhn gah-! of fuck i-hah hahnn gnnnk hnnnnmmmmn gah gah ghahhhnn- shiii clark, mmmmn clark i- ah! hmmmnnn-!"

clark's favorite sound is his name getting pounded out of tim as his wonderfully tight cunt goes tight around him again. tim whines a sound that is so high pitched it echoes on the walls around them. clark's cock starts pulsing and throbbing and god, fuck- that's what clark was waiting for.

clark manages to make two more pumps into tim before he's stilling and groaning, feeling his guts clench tight and release into the pussy clamping down all around him. clark had wanted to cum with tim orgasming all around him. with his drunk state he'd been slightly off in the timing but still manged to listen to the glorious sound of his cum and tim's release getting mixed together as clark idely humped into tim.

tim is breathing hard under him and clark's vision keeps going in and out as he purrs with the satisfaction of nice, heart pumping sex.

it truly had been far too long because clark feels like he could die happy just like this.

zod could break through that brick wall that very moment and clark would have no regrets going out buried in a nice, tight, pussy.

tim starts playing with clark's hair, stroking his cheek with a thumb, and lightly running his nails down clark's back and that's just the cherry on top.

clark allows the pleasant feelings to hypnotize him and lull him to sleep.

when clark wakes up he's stone cold sober. no hangover as is the benefits of having a kryptonian metabolism.

the night before hits clark like a missle to the chest. the memory of being horny and aroused, of going into tim's room and feeling him up, the memory of the baby sitter porno, the fact that clark had fucked tim the night before.

it doesn't help that clark wakes up with morning wood pressed deep inside tim.

clark freaks out. of course he does because he may have just irrevocably destroyed a great relationship with a wonderful kid. he may have just forced himself onto a kid. he's crossed a line he can't go back on. bruce had trusted him, he'd trusted clark and what had clark gone and done?

oh clark would never forgive himself for doing this to tim. for doing this to jon.

he should've worked out his pathetic divorcee loneliness like any other person but instead he'd gotten attached to a young boy who'd just been lending him a helping hand and exploited that tender care and love tim held for clark.

clark is close to hyperventilating and that's when tim wakes up.

tim helps him calm down which makes it worse because tim should be trying to get away from him. clark had gone into his room in the middle of the night, tim had woken up to clark groping and rutting against him-

tim strokes clark's messy bed head and tells him that it's alright, that it's okay to be a little confused following a drinking binge but tim's here to tell him that he didn't do anything wrong the night before.

people don't drink to excess because they're happy so it's understandable that clark sought out some comfort from the only person in the house who could give it. it was alright, tim understood.

clark has no idea what to say as tim helps him up.

tim shrugs off clark coming onto him in the middle of the night like it's nothing. like that's just something to roll with the punches or something.

clark is thinking of saying something, of interrupting when tim does first.

"but doing this while jon is just down the hall is a little too high risk for me." tim makes a kind of sheepish expression while looking at his closed bedroom door. "so next time why don't we do this while he's at school or at soccer practice, okay?"

tim is smiling at him in that same gentle way he always does. in that way that makes clark feel like everything is under control and will be okay.

it's a horrible idea. it's an absolutely terrible idea because last night was just a moment of weakness on clark's part. if he agrees to fuck tim...during the day then he will be making a deliberate choice to do this.

...if it got out, if bruce found out that clark was fucking tim....clark might never see the light of day again.

but...if he doesn't...then all that loneliness all that soul aching desire would just build up again and who knows if jon would be woken up in the middle of the night by strange sounds coming from tim's room. jon was a curious child and he's get up to investigate and that would end with jon getting traumatized seeing his father and beloved babysitter together.

clark knows what he's telling himself is bullshit, that he's spinning some justification in his head to make it all okay but...clark can't find the part in himself that is supposed to stop this, that is supposed tell himself he doesn't want this. it's the part that is supposed to grasp tim's shoulders and apologize so sincerely for doing what he did, that it was wrong and that clark had violated the trust tim had given him.

oh god. clark was living the plot of a cheesy porno.

clark just sits on the edge of the bed stunned while tim picks up his underwear, shorts, and shirt, slipping them on. he presses clark's underwear to his hands and whispers that he's going to start jon's breakfast before pressing a lingering kiss to clark's temple.

this was screwed up. massively screwed up. it was a million shades of wrong and fucked up and yet...some dark and selfish part of clark couldn't help but be relieved. because this meant he could have tim like this. he could rid himself of that desperate clawing loneliness and give into the offer of companionship tim was offering.

clark wasn't sure if he loved tim. he wasn't sure if tim loved him. but he knew he liked being around tim and he hoped tim felt the same.

so...in perhaps the first act of selfishness clark had ever made, he chooses himself. he chooses his happiness.

[intimacyequalsdeath]

Bubz's Slasher Fictober Apple Crumble NSFW Alphabets Day 17: Jack Torrance

Day 17 is here! Not much to say today besides the usual thank yous and such so I'll keep this nice and short and hope you all enjoy!.

Notes: Minors DNI, NSFW, Smut.

A is for Aftercare (What they're like after sex):

He'll get up to run you a bath but fully expect him to go back to bed, He'll clean you up or at least help you if you ask but he also likes to just let you handle it by yourself and relax in the bath for a while.

B is for Body Part (Favorite on them and their partner):

He'd pick his brain as his favorite body part, but he doesn't wanna seem cocky or cliché so if he had to pick another one it would probably be his arms (The gif is exhibit A) he's strong and he knows it and it's something he's proud of.

On you he likes your eyes, you're his muse when it comes to his writing and getting inspiration and he always tells you how he finds no greater inspiration then when he looks into your eyes.

C is for Cum (Anything to do with cum):

He doesn't want anymore kids, like at all so never inside though if you don't have the proper equipment or just have no risk to getting pregnant he'll think about it. He does particularly like your stomach or thighs but he'll really do it anywhere just not inside you.

D is for Dirty Secret:

He wants to show you off, let you flirt with other men, only for him to swoop in at the last second and lay claim to you. The fact that your his and only his turns his sex drive up to 100.

E is for Experience (How experienced are they?):

He was married once before you so he has a good amount of experience. I can't see him having crazy amounts though like maybe before his wife only having a couple other serious girlfriends.

F is for Favorite Position:

He likes anything really, from standing up missionary so he can fuck you against a random door in the hotel, to having you bent over the front desk of the hotel lobby where anyone could see.

G is for Goofy (How serious are they?):

Never. Not even a smile or laugh. He acts like having sex with you is the single most important thing in the entire world.

H is for Hair (How well groomed are they?):

He keeps himself pretty well groomed. I mean at the Stanley hotel he really has all the time in the world to keep himself neat and tidy.

I is for Intimacy (How are they during the act, romantic etc):

Very romantic, like I said before this man acts as if it's a life or death situation. He's gonna give you the best time of your life each and every time you fuck. Not that he would let you but he wants to ensure that you never leave him or the hotel.

J is for Jackoff (Do they masturbate and how often?):

He doesn't really jackoff ever. He doesn't really enjoy it that much to be honest. Plus him and you are stuck in the hotel together, why would he finish himself off when your ready and willing and have no where else to be.

K is for Kink (Their kinks):

Heavy on the daddy kink, no matter how big or small the age gap is between the two of you he's your daddy and he expects to be called as such. He'll call you his baby or anything else your little heart desires.

He's also really into predator and prey. Run around the hotel and hide, let him find you. If you wanna be a brat do that too it only works him up more. The more you work him up the harder the fucking when he finally finds you (or you let yourself be found)

L is for Location (Favorite places to have sex):

Anywhere, literally anywhere. You have an ENTIRE hotel just to yourselves. Every couch, every bed, every available surface in the entire building is his favorite.

M is for Motivation (What turns them on?):

Like I mentioned earlier he really likes your eyes, so if you ever want to really get him going just shoot him a look. He'll instantly be all over you.

N is for No (Something they won't do):

There isn't much he won't do and he's a pretty sleazy guy normally but don't let that fool you. He'd NEVER hit you or hurt you like that even during sex. He just think it ruins the entire mood and doesn't like the thought of actually hurting you.

O is for Oral (Oral Preferences):

He really likes receiving, it makes him feel like a king, but he also really likes giving too. I mean it is his after all why wouldn't he wanna service it.

P is for Pace (How fast or slow? Are they rough?):

A nice in-between medium pace. He doesn't like going too fast but he also doesn't wanna go at a snails pace either. He's rough though, like I said earlier not to the point of hurting you rough, but there's nothing soft about Jack Torrance.

Q is for Quickie ( Do they like quickies?):

Sex is sex to Jack. He'll be down for quickies if you are. He's been a ghost for decades babe, this man is down to fuck.

R is for Risk (Are they down to experiment?):

I feel like Jack would be very open to experiment and try new things, not to sound like a broken record but this man has nothing but time. He'd bring up some things he'd like to try and if you do to then the more the merrier.

S if for Stamina (How long can they go for?):

Do ghosts get tired? If they can it definitely doesn't seem like it. Jack can go for however long he feels like really. He'll only stop if you get too tired but don't be fooled, he has unlimited stamina.

T is for Toys (Do they use toys and do they like them?):

With toys Jack is a bit old fashioned. He doesn't really see the appeal of all the rubber and latex but if your into toys he is too. If that's what gets you off he's all for it and ready to go.

U if for Unfair (Do they like to tease?):

Jack is the biggest tease ever. If you aren't ready to weather through it then maybe he isn't for you. He teases the fuck out of his partner and also has the tendency to get kinda mean. Like mentioned earlier he would never physically hurt you but that doesn't mean your safe from him entirely.

V is for Volume (How loud can they get?):

Jack gets loud but not with moans or whines. He likes to talk to you during sex. Talk you through things and tell you his commands for what you need to do to get him off. Since no one else is around in the hotel he tends to do everything but yell these commands.

W is for Wild Card (Random things):

His favorite place that you've ever had sex that's also only happened once was outside of the hotel watching the sunset. It was a warmer night nearly to spring when you sprung the idea and he absolutely adored it.

X is for X-Ray (What are they packing):

A good 5 to 6 inches. He's not the biggest ever but he knows what to do with what he's got to get the job done.

Y is for Yearning (How high is their sex drive?):

Through the roof, I mean like was mentioned earlier. The two of you are literally stuck in a hotel alone together. He is essentially horny 24/7 and is always ready to take you.

Z is for ZZZ (How fast do they fall asleep?):

Like I said he'll clean you up from time to time and maybe run you a bath if you ask but while your in the bath he'll probably pass out. So don't be shocked if you come back to bed and he's already asleep.

[alatariel-gildaen]

Daryl Dixon - some rambling thoughts

I just finished watching and I have a few thoughts.

I know there are plenty of people with greater insight than me, but this is just what I have been left with over the course of the past 6 episodes (and the past 10+ years of the main show)

Firstly I want to talk in general about ship baiting. Now, I don't know if it's because I'm too neurodivergent to see anything other than Caryl, but people talk a lot about ship baiting and I just don't see it. Like, at all. There's no connection at all that I can see between Daryl and any other woman he appears on screen with, other than Carol. Whether that was B*th, C*nnie, or Isabelle. Let's not even talk about L*ah because that was just a dumbass mess that doesn't count, but those other three - if anyone can point me towards any moment at all where there was any indication that Daryl had some kind of deeper feeling for them please feel free to point it out, because I genuinely see nothing. Obviously, people are free to ship whatever they want to ship, but as far as baiting it is concerned? No. NR's acting choices shut down any baiting because Daryl absolutely wears his heart on his sleeve, and he is not showing me anything towards those other women.

Secondly, there has been a lot of talk about Daryl being OOC. Again, watching it, I genuinely don't see it. His entire motivation the whole series has been to get back home, and that never wavered. The OOC bit comes from the main series of him walking away from his family, but as in this series it's showing him trying to get back in every single episode, I don't see the OOCness people are talking about. He's still the Daryl we know and love. He cares about people, he's honourable, he does his best to do the right thing. Check, check, and check. Yes, he shouted horribly at Laurent in one scene, but we all have our breaking points, and that kid had just jeopardised not only Daryl getting home, but all of their lives.

Isabelle - I really want her to become walker chow. She manipulated Daryl from the word go, and that would be bad enough, but her saying to Daryl—a man abused by his father—that he was repeating history by trying to return to his actual family? Gtfo. That was manipulative and cruel to the extreme.

Which kinda leads me to the ending. Daryl not getting on the boat. Her cruel manipulation of Daryl isn't his motivation for staying behind - he's still a man of honour after all, and he's not going to let a young boy be eaten by a herd of walkers. You could see the thought of "for fucks sake" in his eyes when Laurent appeared. There's no happiness in him missing the boat, he's not chosen France over his family, he wasn't given an option at all.

I think when Carol gets to France she'll likely team up with Codron to track Daryl down. I can see him holding out as long as possible to not give up The Nest's location, but she'll rescue him and he'll be able to tell Carol where her Pookie is.

I'm sure there was more I wanted to talk about but my ADHD brain has decided to shut down for now, so if I think of more, I'll come back.

But all in all, my excitement is rekindled. Good things are coming for Caryl fans, of that I am certain.

[pascaloverx]

Sweet Love

Summary: You're an up-and-coming writer, congratulations. To protect your beloved job, you're willing to do anything. Even strike a deal with the devil, better known as your sister's neighbor. You and Dean Winchester don't really see eye to eye, but in a moment of desperation, you agree to collaborate with him for a greater good.

Author's Notes: Many characters do not belong to me but to the Supernatural Universe (2005-2020). I hope you enjoy the fanfic's story. The fanfic will contain strong language and adult content. Dear readers, I'm here to let you know that if you enjoy this fic, please engage with it. Comments and likes are welcome. I appreciate everyone who follows this fanfic. Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

chapter eight final chapter

CHAPTER NINE

Your need to be close to Dean is much greater than you imagined. Not only are you moving to live near him, but you are also going to live in the apartment above his. You thought a lot about it, concluding that even without being in a relationship with him, you still wanted to be close.

"You are aware that moving above your ex's place isn't really getting over him, right?" Sam Winchester says as he helps you with the moving boxes. The apartment you bought is already furnished, so you're just bringing your personal items to start getting organized.

"I'm not sure if your brother is my ex. But I do realize that it's not the best decision in the world to live in the same building where your brother and my sister live. But I've grown attached to the neighborhood." You don't want to admit the truth to Sam. After all, he is practically your brother-in-law. Saying that you don't want to be so far from Dean wouldn't seem right.

"My brother would love to know about your affection for the neighborhood. I have to be honest, I don't understand you two. But I know you care a lot about each other. I just fear that when you realize it, it will be too late. Where do you want me to put this box?" Sam says as you both climb the stairs. As soon as you reach the door of your new apartment, what he says seems to affect you.

"Do you think he'll find someone else?" you ask Sam, apprehensive. Despite knowing that Dean owes you nothing, you're not sure if you're ready to see him move on. Which, frankly, is idiotic. After all, it's you who is separating you two. Well, you and the fact that he has already slept with your sister.

"As far as I know him, no. But there's nothing stopping him. Which means you're taking a chance. I know he messed up, but I still think that the fact you're moving so close to him must mean part of you wants him." That's something you didn't expect: Sam playing your romantic therapist. Before you can say anything, you both watch a familiar figure step out of the elevator. Castiel, dressed all in white, looking like a celestial being. His outfit was stunning, almost like attire for a very fancy event. You and Sam exchanged glances, immediately remembering that Castiel was getting married.

"What are you doing here, Castiel?" Sam asks from behind you, causing Castiel to look at the two of you climbing the stairs. Castiel looks like he just ran a marathon, he’s so out of breath.

"I need to talk to your brother," Castiel says, then walks over to Dean's apartment door and knocks. You and Sam, curious, watch, but a bad feeling is blooming in your heart. Dean opens the apartment door a few seconds after Castiel knocks. He doesn't see you and Sam, only Castiel, who is facing him.

"Castiel, you should be getting married. What are you doing here?" Dean asks, surprised, and you and Sam exchange glances as if you're about to witness a movie plot twist scene.

"I should be getting married, but I couldn't. All I could think about was that you weren't there. That's when I realized I shouldn't marry Gabriel. Because I still feel something for you. Because I want you to be around for important moments. And I came here to find out if you feel the same." Castiel speaks to Dean tenderly. However, you feel like you're about to lose Dean forever. Unnoticed, your eyes fill with tears, but you couldn't dare to spoil this moment for Dean and Castiel. Perhaps they are meant for each other.

"I think it's best you come in so we can talk," you hear Dean say to Castiel, who immediately follows Dean into the apartment. Sam looks at you as if he already imagined you would be crying.

"If you want, I can keep carrying some boxes, and you can rest up there on your couch," Sam says gently, giving you a light pat on the head as if to comfort you.

"Sam, let's just finish taking the boxes upstairs," you say, walking towards your sister's apartment. You and Sam continue carrying the boxes, with you feeling downcast and hoping not to see Dean and Castiel together. They've been in Dean's apartment for quite some time now. When you finally finish bringing all your belongings to your new apartment, you feel a void filling your heart.

"Hey, don't feel like that. I can't be sure, but I don't think Castiel and Dean are getting back together right now," Sam's words are kind, but you need him to leave soon so you can mourn the loss of what could have been a future with Dean.

"Sam, I know you're speaking with kindness and concern. But I think I need a moment alone," you say, trying not to be rude. Sam nods in understanding. He gives you a hug before walking out the door, leaving you alone. And as soon as you're alone, you allow yourself to cry. The worst part is you can't even be upset. It seems your sister was right about something. You regret something, but not what she imagined. You regret pushing Dean away, leaving the path open for him to reignite his love with Castiel. Your crying, however, is interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Sam, I said I need a moment alone…" you say as you open the door, only to find Dean standing there. You don't understand why he's at your door.

"I'm not Sam, and frankly, I'm tired of leaving you alone," Dean says, looking at you, perhaps noticing your swollen face from crying or your sad expression.

"What are you doing here?" you ask, trying to compose yourself to appear less vulnerable. You don't want him to pity you or to hear about getting back together with Castiel.

"Proving that I know myself better than anyone. That I never called Castiel the love of my life because I knew that no matter how good our relationship was, he and I weren't meant for each other. I made a mistake, letting other people dictate how you saw me, afraid of how you'd react when you realized I never really found a love of my life. I tried with Castiel, used your sister to forget him, and for that, I bitterly regret it. But you're different. You make me think about what it's like to be committed to someone. Being with you is what I want now. I can't promise you'll be the love of my life, but I can guarantee I want to be with you. More than anything," Dean speaks with such certainty that you're almost left speechless. He truly cares for you, and you can't help but feel you're wasting a chance to be happy with him.

"I want you." It's all that comes out of your mouth, as naturally as any declaration of love could be. You don't expect him to say anything; you just approach him and kiss him. Throwing yourself into Dean's arms who hold you tight, you continue the kiss. His mouth devouring yours as if you were competing for who has more desire for the other. Dean holds you firmly by the waist, guiding you to the bedroom while you don't stop kissing. And as soon as you both enter the room, you're glad you installed a new bed. Tonight will be about you and Dean making up under the sheets.

[partystoragechest]

A story of romance, drama, and politics which Cullen has accidentally become invested in.

Supplemental material for Unwanted, from the perspective of Cullen. In this addendum, Cullen needs some help, and he isn't going to get it.

(Masterpost. Addendums. Words: 791. Rating: all audiences. Warning: Addendums may contain spoilers for Unwanted and are best read after finishing the story entirely.)

Chapters 48, Addendum

The War Council gathered, summoned by its Inquisitor. Advisors surrounded the war table, to plot the demise of the Venatori incursion at Adamant—should the Champion report it true.

“I have been gathering our troops,” Cullen informed them, “and I will survey their readiness once they have assembled. If the Wardens are truly lost, then they will march on your order, Inquisitor.”

“Good,” said the Inquisitor, “then that will be all.”

The Council dispersed, Inquisitor marching from the room. Leliana followed, her own business to get to, and Josephine attempted the same. Cullen stopped her.

“Josephine, I wondered if I might ask you a favour?” he said.

She prepared herself to hear it, politely inviting him to walk the corridor back to her parlour. “What may I assist you with, Commander?”

“It’s about… Arcanist Trevelyan,” he murmured. “Would you be able to, perhaps, arrange one of our walks, or—maybe something else? I don’t know. But if you could…”

Josephine stopped, and stared at him. “Now you want me to meddle in your personal affairs?”

“Only to ask her—”

“No, Cullen.” Josephine shoved open the door to her parlour, and marched to her desk. Cullen hurried after her. “I am not going to interfere with anyone’s romantic prospects again! Unless, of course, it poses some political advantage to the Inquisition—but, when it comes to my friends, I shall not matchmake.”

“Then… what am I supposed to do? How do I… ask?”

Josephine chuckled. “Really, Commander? Have you never asked someone to spend time with you before?”

“No—yes! Of course, I…”

“Meetings don’t count.”

Cullen sighed. “Well, it’s… it’s been a while,” he said, in strict competition for the understatement of the Age.

“Then allow me to refresh your memory,” said Josephine, with a perky smile. “All you need to do is go up to her, and ask. Simple as that!”

If only it were as simple as that. But Cullen’s palms became sweaty even just thinking of it. He was so skilled at making an absolute fool of himself in front of the Arcanist; he could hardly imagine he would resist the apparent temptation to do it again.

“What if she says no?”

Josephine shook her head. “Then you accept her answer, take it on the chin, and move on.”

The first part was perfectly fine. The second and third were easier said than done. Hard to carry on with his day when his heart was crushed into tiny little pieces.

“Perhaps... if you just do it this once—”

“No!”

“But I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong and ruin it all again.”

Josephine gasped. “Oh, in that case? Still no.” Though biting in her tone, she saw him shrink, and softened. “Cullen, she agreed to walk with you when she despised you. I can think of no reason now, when she holds you in greater regard, that she would not answer in the affirmative.”

Cullen wrung his hands. “She has no reason to pretend to like me any more.”

“Indeed,” said Josephine, tapping a sheaf of documents into a neat pile. “So given that she has not yet set you on fire, I think we can assume she is done pretending.”

Fair point. Especially as she now possessed the arms to do so rather efficiently.

“What time do you think best to ask?”

“Honestly? Right this moment,” Josephine suggested. “She will have been working all morning, and may be glad of the break.”

“All right,” Cullen said. “All right.”

Josephine smiled. “There. Not so hard, is it? Good luck, Cullen.”

Taking her advice, he absconded almost immediately to the Undercroft, hurrying so that his mind had not the time to convince itself how bad an idea this was. He almost stumbled down the stairs—but best to get that sort of thing out now, before he saw the Arcanist.

He emerged into the cavern, that mess of forges and machines. People buzzed about, an absolute distraction to the eyes of he who searched for a particular individual.

Though, somewhat fortunately, Cullen was at least gifted with the curse of being utterly mesmerised by the beauty and vivacity of Arcanist Trevelyan. It was through this afflicition that he saw her, eyes ever-bound to seek her out. She sat at her a workbench near the cavern’s maw, documents and materials littered across it. Herzt hovered at her side, taking instruction and aiding her research.

Cullen did not wish to disrupt them. He was fortunate, then, that Herzt happened to look in his direction. With the meeting of eyes, he seemed to understand, and promptly came to where Cullen stood, tucked by the entrance.

“Commander,” he said, “may I help you?”

“Yes,” Cullen replied. “May I speak to the Arcanist?”

[astroyongie]

Can you do a short birth chart analysis for changkyun the same way you did for jungkook,since we know his ascendant and house placements.

I’m sure you know already but in case you don’t he was born 1:43 am which makes him a scorpio rising in the 2nd decan so his chart is

aqua sun in the 3rd

aries moon in 5th

cap mercury in 3rd

pisces venus in 4th

and aqua mars in 3rd

and also cap jupiter in 2nd

pisces saturn in 4th

and sag pluto in 1st house

Changkyun Birth Chart Report

Pluto 1st house Sagittarius: his persona isn't stable, Changkyun is the type that is in constant try of changing himself despite saying that he is okay with his life. He goes from being happy and sociable with people to ghosting them one week after. He is also evolving and changing is opinions and his friends

Capricorn 2nd Jupiter: He is someone very sensitive despite not showing it to the world. He tries his best to focus and to hide his feelings. Changkyun possesses a lot of insight and intuition that is often put under the mug due to his overthinking

Capricorn 3rd Mercury: He is very goal and work-oriented, his mind is always focusing and thinking about work, about what needs to be done and what he has yet to due. He is a rational person too, he doesn't like to be involved with emotions despite himself being a huge sensitive in heart.

Sun Aquarius 3rd: To be honest his work and his public figure are his personality, meaning that if you strip him of his idol persona he is nothing, he won't be able to find himself. He has his own structure around the character he built and the person he wants to show to others. That doesn't mean he is fake since his idol persona is still him on a version he wishes people to know him for

Mars Aquarius 3rd: Again the fact that he has so may placements around his 3rd house really shows to which point this man is very focused on what matters. He wants to be different, he doesn't want to be mainstream, he wants to be "that guy" the one that is different, unique unconventional. Changkyun wants to shock as much as he wants to attract

Uranus Aquarius 3rd: Always in constant change like I said earlier, he really isn't able to keep one moral or value for long, he is always changing to try and develop his character.

Neptune Capricorn 3rd: Changkyun is someone that suffers in silence, someone that thinks and overthinks a lot about things and yet he always pretends to have everything under control by controlling his environment. but honestly inside his mind, it's a jesus help.

Venus pisces 4th: Despite all of that he is lighthearted, he is someone who wants to love, to be loved, to have his own kids and family yet his dreams are so out of touch that is very complicated for him to stick to realistic goals that he can reach.He is also very very romantic

Moon Aries 5th: He is a creative mind, passionate. Everything he does he does it with his heart, with his raw emotions. He wants t be true to himself by doing things that have his personality and his own way to be. so per example, his songs are really very deep and connect to his soul.

empty 6th Aries: He has a lot of health complications with his placement, mostly he gets easily toothache for example, headaches, and burns his tongue frequently. He is prone to head diseases. he also gets easily bored with things

Empty 7th Taurus: Changkyun has huge committing issues when it comes to relationships, he loves too raw, gets possessive and jealous too easily, he never rusts his partner 100% because for him there are always things the person can do to hurt him

Empty 8th Gemini: he can gaslight people to get what he wants, despite his true nature, Changkyun also knows how to be a "fake bitch" to hurt and to get things from people. Also this usually comes out during self-destructive moments when he is drunk for example.

Empty 9th Cancer: He has little faith in things. Like he belives there is the greater good, yet he gets easily into that state where blaming a god or a religion for his bad karma.

Empty 10th Leo: Again, the only bad thing about this is that he always has to pretend to be someone he isn't at work. Also Changkyuncan be a little arrogant and egoistic, putting himself on a pedestal when it comes to his talents.

Empty 11th Virgo: He has a hard time making friends and keeping them since people get easily tired of him and also they don't like the fact that he can easily get judgemental and cold toward people.

Empty 12th Libra: Terrible dealing with stress, with anxiety or depression or any type of negative emotion. Whenever he isn't well mentally, Changkyun gets overly dependent of the people he loves or he completely removes them from his life

[thewingedbaron]

Tag game! Open tag from @arendaes!

Tag game: Give your KC's first impression and final opinion of each of their companions.

Since Vysk's playthrough is still going, I'll throw this back to Allix, my first KC. TLDR: He's a Freebooter Ranger turned Angel that struggles with the Lawfulness of Heaven while doing his best to keep everyone alive through the crusade. He drinks a lot of coffee.

First Impressions-

Seelah: There are worse people to be trapped in a hole with in a city under siege by demons. A paladin is one of the best options running. I just hope she isn't too by the books...

Camellia: A noble. Just my luck. We'll be lucky to crawl out of this hole with our sanity intact. She has all the fixings of a higher-than-though noble... and yet. There's something off about this one. Some glimmer in her eye I just can't place a finger on. I need to be careful with this one.

Lann: I've never heard of a mongrel before. He seems cheery enough for someone who's lived their whole life underground. Certainly much more open that his companion here. Free spirited, headstrong. I can respect that.

Wenduag: You, I don't trust. I know what it's like to carve out a living in the wilds, amongst a tribe. Those that refuse to walk with kin do not last long, unless there is something else going on in the background. You and Camellia might get along, I feel. You have the same steely glint to your eye, no matter what honey rolls off your tongue.

Woljif: A thief turned crusader. That ought to be something. Woljif might play it cool, but there's a jumpiness to that one. I couldn't leave him in that cell. He seems a little too eager to jump out into the burning streets. He'll bear watching, but I don't think he's as cowardly as he wants to appear.

Ember: No one will touch this child again so long as she remains in my care. To maintain such innocence in her philosophies after being so wronged by the forces that claim to act in the greater good. She is either crazy, or hopelessly optimistic. Either way, she will be protected.

Daeran: Just what I need. Another pompous noble who cares for nothing but his own entertainment. He knows the city better than any of us, and his influence might prove useful. I'll placate him for now, let him get his fill of blood. Gods, hopefully he grows bored and just stays at the inn.

Nenio: A scientist with a death wish that cannot even remember home. Am I the one going mad? Perhaps it is perfectly reasonable to be strolling the streets in the middle of a warzone, asking cultists what they really know about their gods. She has gall. I respect the hells out of that.

Finnean: Poor soul.

Ulbrig: A hundred year old griffon just came crashing through the roof, demanding to know what I did to his lands? I don't have time for this. Well, I might have time for this. This just keeps getting stranger. Maybe he'll calm down once we get him some ale.

Sosiel: A cleric of beauty in the middle of a warzone? What confused loyalties have led you here my friend? He seems nice enough, though I fear he may lack the spine for what is to come. If he can find beauty on a battlefield? Gods, I would envy him. He is even less prepared for this than I.

Regill: Clipped, professional, a man of few words beyond those required for what passes as hellknight tactics. I abhor his organization. I hate with all my heart his treatment of prisoners, wounded, and allies. Yet, his chapter knows how to run an army, run a supply train. I need his experience, as much as I loathe to admit it. We'll be allies, though I may suffer some sleepless nights.

Arueshalae: A demon that wears an icon of Desna? Can demons truly turn on the abyss? I don't see a reason they couldn't I suppose. My own kin are called demons the whole world round for our horns and tails. Who am I to judge if her intentions are true? I'll need to keep an eye on our new ally, but something tells me she's telling the truth. Desna may not be my chosen patron, but she shares a realm with Erastil. May old deadeye guide me true.

Greybor: Any fellow willing to charge a baylor with naught but a dagger is one worth meeting. An assassin by trade? Not exactly my old job description, but I'm sure there's plenty of overlap between that and a bounty hunter. As soon as this is all wrapped up, I need to buy that man a drink.

Trever: Oh Sosiel. A man who wanders from the path is not all lost. I cannot speak to the horrors Trever has suffered in the Abyss, nor can I judge him for the things he has done to survive. I will get him home. That much I can do. As soon as we get out of this thrice damned place.

Queen Galfrey: I am officially over my head. I'm here on a bloody bounty contract, killing demons for gold and hunting the occasional deserter turned bandit. Now, I'm drinking with a Queen and being handed control of a crusading army? It's not too late to slip out the back door, I suppose. But these powers... Gods damn it, this is not the kind of mess I need to be mixed up in.

The Hand of the Inheritor: Oh joy, the right hand of Iomedae, herself. Of all the realms to be looking over my shoulder, I got the lawyers of the afterlife. Angel's have long been allies of the crusade, but I cannot say that I was expecting to have the right hand of the goddess herself looking over my shoulder.

Final Thoughts:

Seelah: One of the finest people I shall ever have the pleasure to know. First among drinking buddies. First into the fray and the last to leave the field. I have had the privilege to meet very few people who truly care as much as Seelah. This war has bent her, but I believe she shall never be broken. I shall treasure her friendship for the rest of my days.

Camellia: I have no regrets in her fate. Thousands of soldiers have perished under my command over this past year. Thousands of families have been devastated, left without sons, daughters, mothers and fathers. That some would be murdered like livestock in my own camp? There was never a way that Camellia could have left that basement alive. Horgus Germ will face tribunal, and perhaps I may sleep soundly again. I very much doubt it.

Lann: Faithful friend. Never have I seen one so wracked with guilt, and yet, you have survived it. I am proud to call you my brother. I cannot explain to you how angry I felt when I thought you would be the instrument of your own demise. I would never have you question my faith in you. I am glad that you found the strength to question your faith in yourself. Please do not name that boat after me.

Wenduag: I cannot help but feel that I could have done more for you. So focused were you on strength, on finding or creating the stronger master. I hope that you found peace in the end, for you have left me with none. For Lann's sake, I hope you found peace.

Woljif: I cannot overstate how proud I am of you. You overcame your demons, quite literally, and chose the higher path. You could have sunk deep into your magic, claimed the power that was before you, but instead you struggled on. I hope you're enjoying your retirement, my friend. I believe we're going plane hopping next month...

Ember: I have never seen someone surprise a god so thoroughly as you. Even Arueshalae is baffled that you managed to flip the Redeemer Queen. They will regale you as a saint, I'm sure. But your friends know the truth. You're just another person, trying to create as much good in the world as you can. I always look forward to your visits.

Daeran: I never did apologize for misjudging you so badly. While I think you and I would never quite see eye to eye, I am proud of how far you've come. I hope you're enjoying shaking up Queen Galfrey's court. She'll need some excitement in peace time. Don't forget that we're vacationing with Woljif soon. I can't wait to hear all the details you've left out of your letters.

Nenio: You continue to baffle me. I'm not sure that I will ever truly understand the depths of your mind. Though I can confidently say that being told to "take my pants off" for friendship in the abyss is a memory that I will never forget. Thank you for making me your assistant. Even if it took you years to finally learn my name.

Finnean: Rest well, my friend. You've earned it.

Ulbrig: I don't think I'm going to ever get used to the idea of you as a god. Come visit some time, yeah? I'll never outdrink you, but it is always a joy to try.

Sosiel: My dearest friend. I do not know how, but we survived. I hope that you are getting the rest you deserve. Your estate is lovely, and your cherry wine is still Arue's favorite. I know that you have your quiet days. The world was never as hoped it would be. But with Trever, and your love at your side, I hope you still find beauty wherever you look. We'll come visit again soon.

Regill: I never expected to have the respect that I harbor for you. We were never quite friends, but I think we now understand each other. I cannot help but admire your discipline, even as it kills you. I hope for nothing more than joy for you. However you choose to find it.

Arueshalae: My darling, what else is there to be said? I am so proud of you for the impossible heights that you have scaled. Our cabin on the water is beautiful. I cannot wait to explore many more dreams with you.

Greybor: I will never understand you. A man truly married to the job. I wish you well, friend. May you stand the test of time and ambition. It takes a lot of gall to run an assassin's guild in the abyss.

Trever: I hope you find your peace, friend. I suspect it will not be found in gods, nor liquor. You have a long and dark road still to walk, but I can think of no finer a man to walk beside you than your brother.

Queen Galfrey: I harbor you no ill will for your trespasses against me. I cannot imagine the weight on your shoulders after a hundred years of war. Your realm is changing rabidly now, new councils, new liberties. The real test of your rule has begun. I am curious to see how you intend to handle it.

The Hand of the Inheritor: Last we spoke you asked me to kill you. I cannot say if I made the right choice in refusal. I hope you found your healing, my friend. I will search for you soon, my friends at my back. If heaven deigned not to open its gates to its finest servant, hurt and broken after fighting its war for it, I will tear down those golden gates myself. Wherever you are, I hope the sun shines brightly. We shall meet again soon enough.

BONUS:

Irabeth:

First- Finally, someone competant to take all this over. Hey, hey, what do you mean I'm in charge???

Final- Anevia is the luckiest woman in the world to have someone as steady as you around. I would not have survived without you. Please bring those cinnamon cookies over again next time, I think Arue would kill me if I forgot to ask.

Anevia:

First- A kindred spirit. We're going to get along famously. Assuming we survive this of course.

Final- The greatest spymaster I could have asked for, and an even greater friend. I will not forget the blackberry mead next time. That was my bad.

[randomnameless]

Doro and Edel sorta come off as "let me be evil" while also asking the audience to pity or validate their actions.

I actually disagree.

I think both of them genuinely think they are doing what they are doing "for the greater good" or "for the people" because they're convinced of the "goodness" of their goal - even if the means to reach that goal are a bit... more messy than breaking 6 eggs to make an omelette.

And for Supreme Leader, I never thought she was the one asking the audience to throw a pity party or to validate her actions - it's the games themselves that twist themselves in a pretzel to completely dodge - and by dodge I mean jump to another continent levels of avoiding - all the obvious implications her actions lead to -

Sure, Supreme Leader was written by those devs and put in those games, but imo, with the way she was written, the character never asks for forgiveness or uwu - it's the game that serves it on a platter, Crust system? You have to piece tidbits of backstory and hear it from a DLC character that Miklan wasn't kicked out bcs no crust, but bcs he tried to kill his younger brother and has been busy "seducing" women with his merry band of dudes. Ditto for foreign royalty that will never be mentionned in relation to the "crust = nobility, if no crusts no nobles anymore" paradigm.

Which leads to really interesting stuff when Supreme Leader is in a game where she can be challenged (not counting Engage bcs for some reason no one knows, it's Dimitri who talks to Zelestia about a place where people can live together regardless of their race), Supreme Leader doesn't make excuses or brings the pity party, she's too stubborn (or too determined) to reconsider her path.

(Supreme Leader inherited Poor Dumb Willy's fierce will?)

The only time she sorts of tug at the player's heart string, imo, is with the revelation she had siblings and her infodumping her backstory to Billy - iirc in the C+ support, just when Billy got the SoC - but as some people theorised, Supreme Leader's supports are unlocked at key moments, and I really like how - if following this theory - some characters try to fool/manipulate/"gaslight" as young people say nowadays/trick the player -

I've said it enough times regarding the Nabateans and Fodlan in general, but i don't think I've said it regarding Supreme Leader : the worst character hit by the uwu hammer and Hresvelg Grey is Supreme Leader herself - if Supreme Leader has been able to be a "traitor" character à la Tales of you can side with in CF for a vilain route, or like Togame in Katanagatari - her goal first her feelings second, and her feelings are a means to reach her goal but then she falls in her own trap - or even Baten Kaitos's Kalas, I think she would have been one of the best and most memorable characters in the franchise.

But the waifu and uwu hammer hit her, and all those opportunities fell on their faces because the devs wanted a waifu first and foremost, controversial maybe, but at the end of the day, a waifu to pander to a certain demographic and plays on the usual and tiresome "only u can defrost the ice queen" trope.

As for Doro...

It's a bit more nuanced, I think Doro genuinely wants to help people, but Doro, due to her backstory (and maybe experiences in Mittelfrank?) wants to help herself most - securing a successful marriage to a wealthy "noble" (tfw Ignatz, who's from a super rich family, isn't on her list) and become the "friend" of the Emperor - who should represent - status wise - everything she hates about nobles, if Ferdie was so hated, then why isn't the Hresvelg Heir, the Imperial heir, isn't as hated? Because Supreme Leader didn't see her bath in a fountain? Did Supreme Leader tone down her "if the weak remain weak it's because they are too used to rely on the strong to survive" discourse around Doro, one of those "weak ones" who only managed to make a name for herself through bribes, heavily implied prostitution and countless hours of hard and gruesome work that will be ruined anyways when she gets "older" so that's why she tries to find a noble and rich husband asap?

I love messy characters, I hc Saias as someone who will see the world burn as long as he can serve his younger brother, and he has to reconsider everything when he learns 1/lil bro dgaf about him and would rather kill him himself + 2/lil sis is actually alive - but the Fodlan games refuse to do anything interesting with the BESF members, in FE8, Ephraim gets a wake-up slap by Seth about what is expected of him now, and what was expected of him then, so he has better polish his father's armor because playtime is over, there's work to do, and Ephraim realises how much of a fool he has been.

Doro will never reconsider (her support with Lorenz is very good in that sense - much like Supreme Leader, Doro is sure her pov and way are the only ones that work) her POV, her most ridiculous takes about "y church never helped people like me in Adrestia" or "military academy makes us fight real fights and kill bandits i thought we weren't in a fire emblem game :(" or even "why is the goddess making us fight like this sure i joined the imperial army who conquers the world and tried to kill you many times but if you attack us it's only bcs of the goddess :(" are never tackled, compare them to Lorenz thinking the church promotes isolationism and Claude correcting him by remembering Dedue and Petra exist(ed?) in Garreg Mach...

TL;Dr : I wouldn't say those characters spend their time going "sad uwus about my life" or ask the audience to validate their action - but that's what their games did, just count how many times (maybe only 1?) people vow to take down the mole people "for Supreme Leader bcs she was manipulated too :(" or the lol-tastic "can't we walk with her (and trample Fodlan)?" ; Supreme Leader doesn't even need to "pity" herself, the game does it itself by giving those "pity" lines to multiple other characters.

It can sound like it's the same thing, after all both Supreme Leader and Doro are characters designed to fit in that game, but it's a bit more nuanced, and it's that nuance - the game severing one of its limbs to prevent them from being seriously challenged about their opinions - that's actually really, imo, annoying. When characters like Dimitri or even to a point, Rhea herself, are dissected and held accountable/are challenged for the weather, the double standard really stings, and that's what pisses me off with these characters.