Okok. Might be a long ramble here but I cannot see Desclark working as a relationship really in the way Desran would be
Cause Desran works under the assumption that Des is using Randall, and that Randall is infatuated/ genuinely in love with Des. But des doesn’t give a fuck about him or what happens, because at the end of the day he doesn’t care. Randall is a means to an end. I can see them sleeping together but that’s bc Des sees it as a way to get closer to him. Kind of cat and mouse type beat to keep him hooked as an addition to the whole revenge plot.
But I cannot see Desclark working as a romantic or sexual relationship. It’s more like a fucked up kinda codependency to me. I can’t see Des falling in love or trying to sleep with Clark, and I don’t see them even like. Kissing or anything unless they were both very VERY drunk or something. And no matter what I don’t see Clark intentionally or knowingly cheating on Brenda, or even thinking about it. I’d imagine he would feel sick even thinking about it
Alright. Thoughts on how it works on both sides.
Desmond is pretty deprived of intimacy. He’s got Raymond, but it’s a working relationship. He’s essentially alone in the emotional support and needs catagory, because even though Raymond would be there when needed, Des wouldn’t let himself be that vulnerable. And I also don’t see him as particularly affectionate (I think he’d get embarrassed asking for it). Thus in the physical department he’s touch deprived too (dead wife rip). As far as we know he doesn’t have too many close friends (Raymond doesn’t count.) and people like to feel needed! It’s a nice thing! And des already has his whole I Feel Superior To Other People Intellectually thing.
On Clark’s side. His wife is gone. His butler is gone. His friend is dead. His son isn’t speaking to him. I believe it’s said that he doesn’t go out often (in a conversation with an npc. Might be making that up tho). Like yeah he has Beth but she’s his maid. She’s not there in the way that he needs her (though I think she would be! She gives Rosa vibes.) guy who is all alone with no support system. Emotionally he’s fucked over. And he had nowhere to vent his feelings because he can’t tell anyone. He’s being threatened by Des for months on end. But in a Desclark scenario I imagine it becomes something like Stockholm syndrome (I touch on this just a little in GS but. Not in the way I want to go into it). It’s not that he’s in love with des, but that he’s internalized a lot of what Des has said (that it’s his fault, that he just has to keep quiet, that he can’t talk to anyone, etc). So to him it becomes Less Bad. Descole only threatens him when he disobeys/talks back/doesn’t do what he wants. Therefore it’s Clark’s fault for speaking out. It’s always his fault, Descole is only keeping him in line. Illogical, yes, but it’s a way to rationalize it for himself. And most of Clark’s work during that time is just holing himself in the study and doing paperwork or something. Des takes care of evacuations and everything related to the specter, so that’s some worry off his chest. He views it in a fucked up ‘he’s taking care of me’ kinda way. And eventually he gets kind of complacent in doing what Des wants just to not have to go through the threatening. All he has to do is sit and work and not talk to anyone and he’ll be fine! But yes, that means Des is the Only Person He Can Talk To. Fucked up sort of attachment forms to Descole. Yes he’s impersonating his butler, but Des provides him meals and cleans up and does things to take care of him! Des cares! Clark is shown to display fauning responses (though he doesn’t have much else choice) to Des (getting Hershel’s help, and during the episode of them talking). His method to protect himself isn’t to fight or to run away, but to appease the threat.
And I’d imagine des ends up feeling a bit of sympathy for him. An archaeologist with no family or emotionally support system does sound kinda familiar huh. And he ends up feeling bad for doing all of this to him (he can recognize that part at least. That Clark’s spiraling has a lot to do with his own actions and behavior, and that intentionally or not he’s sort of conditioned Clark to just take what he’s given.
I don’t think they’d even get too affectionate and they sure as hell wouldn’t be really romantic lovey dovey or whatever, but I think they’d take care of each other in the way that they can. Clark worries about Des when he notices it’s been a while without him (then gets upset with himself for caring) and des continues his duties as a butler (and if it’s more than just pretending, who’s to say?)
I think it would hit particularly hard for Clark without Descole around. I think Des could quickly move on (albeit missing the intimacy that comes with a close relationship), but shit like that would Fuck Someone Up. I explore this a lot in GS, that Clark has become used to Descole doing things for him. Enough so that he finds it difficult to regain his autonomy. He’s used to having everything decided for him, that all he has to do is obey and everything is fine, but with Descole gone he’s shoved into Being A Person and Being A Mayor all over again. But now he doesn’t have a guide. He doesn’t have anyone to tell him what to do. And no one knows what it was like to be in that situation, and he feels guilt for being upset when his wife and butler were literally kidnapped for months on end. Who gave him the right to miss the guy that hurt him so much?
Anyways. Yeah. Those are my thoughts on Desclark.
OHHHHH MY GODDDDD YES!!!!!!! THEY REALLY ONLY HAVE EACH OTHER TO ACTUALLY TALK TO DON'T THEY-
God I love this sm actually. Like Clark starting to rely on Des and believing the bullshit manipulative stuff he tells him. Des kind of seeing himself in Clark- DES SEEING HIMSELF IN CLARK HOW HAVE I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. Clark having to recover from that Weird Situationship afterwards. Wow there's a lot of good stuff here omg /gen
