@SteelKon "Yes, she's still around," he said. "Actually, what's going on right now is a very important event. I don't want to interfere. If anything changes... It could..." He hesitated, looking concerned at even the thought of it. "Let's just say that Aunt Lena was heavily impacted. Her entire […]

@SteelKon This made Joel laugh. "Guess I had to get it from somewhere."

He hesitated, not really wanting to let himself be too vulnerable yet. "... Fine. We can do... Something. Together." He said awkwardly.

@SteelKon Joel only nodded, giving a stiff "mhm" in reply.

He did start to feel bad, though he didn't let it show. Joel had been cruel, taking his anger out on him even though he was still young. He was probably about twenty-four right now, not much older than Joel. He was still a lost kid […]

@SteelKon Joel didn't respond. He felt too frustrated. The situation was complicated, and his father didn't seem to understand what Joel meant. What he wanted. Then again, no one really got it. He couldn't talk to anyone about it in his time either, because they all reacted the same way.

@SteelKon "No, *you* don't get it. You think *I* would stand by and let innocent people die?" He glanced over at him. "Guess you don't know me, so I'll tell you: I wouldn't. You think that's what I'm asking you to do? I'm not. I just—"

Joel stopped walking and leaned his head back, groaning […]

@SteelKon Joel scoffed. "He already did. Everyone *always* makes excuses for you."

Joel turned and started walking again. "I'm tired of hearing it."

[TW: mention of suicide]

@SteelKon -- knowing what I know now, I *might've* not felt like such a fuck up as a kid knowing I was just like you after all.

So yeah, it was an easy choice for you. But the rest of us had to live with it."

[TW: mention of suicide]

@SteelKon -- you died and had to be put in a facility so she wouldn't kill herself. Because, as you know, you were the center of her world. Which of course meant Mom had to help pick her up as well while mourning.

And then there's me. I was born into a family of […]

@SteelKon -- of their lives. Every person you put in jail might have a kid who has to suffer the shame, or even get put in the system.

*Our* family made Mom have to give up any dreams she had and focus on being a mother, both of me, and of the kid that isn't even her's. Aunt Lena, for all the […]

@SteelKon Joel stopped walking and wheeled himself to the side to look at Conner. He was still calm, relaxed, head tilted back almost lazily.

"Yeah. It was, for you. Go be a hero, same

@hidewithin.bsky.social || more than 1 for me 😂 the whole format had to change to accommodate me

@SteelKon "Yep. And your hard choices made Mom into a single parent and me grow up without a father."

@SteelKon "Thanks, I guess." Joel knew Conner meant well, but Joel didn't feel like he needed anything anymore. Not in his mind, at least.

"It's pretty ironic," Joel said, lips twitching, "that you died by choosing *the greater good* over your family, then just now, when you dropped everything […]

@SteelKon Joel had his eyes on the road ahead. It was a road he knew very well, but I'm was foreign too. Everything was the same, but different. He'd always thought Smallville never changed... He was apparently wrong.

"Not from what I remember." He didn't want to say it, but he'd actually […]

@SteelKon Joel raised an eyebrow, eyeing Conner for a moment.

"Well I don't exactly need help now... I've been trained, got over all the shit that comes with the title, learned how to use condoms. I think I'm pretty much covered."

@SteelKon Joel actually laughed. "Shit. Guess I'm not all that original after all." It was actually kind of a relief in a strange way. Joel had been given impossible standards to live up to, and somehow, he'd accidentally followed in his father's footsteps.

@SteelKon Joel looked at him in surprise. "You?... Everyone talks about you like you were perfect."

Joel hesitated, wondering if it was a good idea to tell him. "I was seven," he finally said.

@SteelKon Joel snorted. "You think those guys would be seeking me out? I'm flattered. I'm surprised you haven't put together that I'm the family fuck up yet."

He didn't seem particularly bothered by this. In fact, he almost looked proud of it.

@SteelKon Joel finished tying his shoes and stood up. "I didn't see a point in hiding it.

I hate those military dregs. No offense to Mom, but to be fair, she isn't like them. We get a lot of interactions within our circle..." He shook his head. He then started walking in the direction of the […]