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#think of the angst! the drama!!
oh-wow-im-still-here · 5 months
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Currently thinking of a pidw native shixiong shen yuan au scenario where at the beginning of his tenure as a qing jing peak disciple him and shen qingqiu did have like a weird father-son esque bond. That like, slowly started to deteriorate as shen yuan got older and befriended binghe, slowly but surely being dissilutioned for his teacher/father figure/role model as time goes by and the more mature shen yuan is. Once shen yuan is like in his early 20s and is completely attached at the hip with luo binghe, shen yuan just. Finds it hard to love or respect shen qingqiu the same now after everything he's learned what he did to binghe and some other things he's done running the peak. But surely it can't get worse right?
And then the immortal Alliance conference happens. I'm thinking maybe either shen yuan missed out on the conference or wasnt around when the abyss opened, whatever the case, shen qingqiu comes back without luo binghe. Says he unfortunately died during the conference. And shen yuan privately thinks, for a horrible moment, "did he really?"
And because of that moment of doubt any sort of positive relationship between the two turns to dust.
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maddymoreau · 8 months
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sylisuppose · 1 year
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What people don’t realise about kavetham is that the issues in their relationship are fundamentally linked to their severe and agonising miscommunication. NOT because Alhaitham is genuinely scornful towards Kaveh and not because of their differing moral codes or contrasting personalities.
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theacebard · 6 months
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3 on 1... I'm not a fan of those odds
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total-drama-brainrot · 5 months
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Noah is canonically the youngest of eight sibling. Eight.
You don't grow up in a family that large, as the youngest and therefore the favourite victim, and not have a super casual relationship with touch.
This guy is light enough to be literally blown away by a strong breeze; if you think even for a second that his family didn't take turns carrying him around like a briefcase and abducting him from whatever he was doing into a Family Pile™ then you're objectively wrong.
(You also can't convince me that he wasn't spoiled rotten as the baby of the family.)
So frequent platonic touching is pretty normal for him, expected even, and he tends to be more tactile than his personality or demeanour would suggest.
He gives Owen side-hugs and pats on the arm every time the two interact, and wilfully flops himself onto Eva whenever he's overwhelmed and wants the company of someone comparatively quiet (she always uses it as an excuse to carry him to the gym and encourage him to bulk up, though it never works). He tries to tire out Izzy's boundless energy by play-fighting and grappling with her (much to his chagrin) despite him essentially ending up as her glorified chew toy, and often times passes out due to being a stick insect in human form.
It's unexpected, just how casually clingy he is to the people he trusts/likes.
But you know who isn't used to physical contact?
Cody E.J. "my parents forgot my birthday" Anderson
This wet noodle of a boy bigs himself up as a ladies' man and a hot commodity but wouldn't know what to do with himself if someone held his hand. The concept of affection of any kind is so foreign to him, especially positive physical contact- I wouldn't be surprised if he could count the amount of hugs his parents had given him on one hand.
And this is backed by his canonical desperation for acknowledgement! Every time he pursues Gwen, even when he's directly shot down and sometimes harshly rejected, he still tries to win her affections and festers the delusion that she likes him. After all, everyone who's supposed to care about him does the same! His parents, 'friends' or lack thereof, ect.; they all ignore/rebuff him so it must be a sign of endearment.
Additionally, he sleeps with a stuffed emu at the ripe age of 16/17- as stated by Sierra, which he never denies (not that there's anything wrong with that, stuffed animals are top tier imho). You know who else sleeps with stuffed animals? Touch-starved people.
Cody is incredibly attention-starved, touch-starved and, post World Tour, in all likelihood somewhat touch-averse- at least when it comes to other people initiating contact.
To elaborate; Sierra is constantly breaching his personal bubble non-consensually, which would inadvertently condition anyone into being at least a little haphephobic, but Cody himself is more than happy to instigate contact with people he trusts (i.e. hugging Alejandro when he protects Cody from Sierra overnight in Rapa Phooey!).
...See where I'm going with this?
We see these two cuddling twice in canon; once in the Awake-a-thon and again in the Celebrity Manhunt. Once is happenstance, but twice indicates a pattern or coincidence but I'm going to gloss over that for the sake of this post.
Plus, with their consistent proximity during Action, they had plenty of time to form some type of relationship be it friendly or more.
(Wouldn't you want to at the very least get some closure from the guy who kissed you/you kissed for the world to see? It would be awkward to completely ignore each other, and they literally shared a cabin at one point so it's not like they were strangers either. So of course they're at least cordial from Action onwards.)
Then, as Noah becomes more comfortable around Cody, his tactile tendancies come to play.
Cody, predictably, reacts skittishly at the alien phenomenon known as friendly touch and tries to play it off to preserve his cool-guy image. Except Noah's not falling for it. He's observant, if emotionally illiterate, and watching the guy you just backpatted in greeting jump five feet into the air and screech like a falcon is a flashing red alarm for even the most empathetically challenged people.
Eventually, Noah gets Cody to divulge his issues with human contact and offers his assistance to the brunette. If giving his pal a hug every now and then, and letting him in turn initiate whatever he's comfortable with, would help him overcome his rocky relationship with touch then Noah is more than happy to oblige. It's not like it's out of the norm for him, so he doesn't mind at all.
Then, gradually, Cody loses his touch aversion.
But a lifetime of isolation won't be magically cured that easily, and he finds himself craving Noah's embrace more and more. Again, the taller of the two is content to give him what he wants. Their agreement evolves into the duo napping together and feeding into Noah's sleep-hugging habit, or just spending quality time in a heap of pretzeled limbs under a weighted blanket.
(Whether their relationship is platonic or romantic is entirely up to interpretation, though I'm partial to the two being friends who are just Like That since it allows for the funniest potential character interactions. The bromance is real.)
That's as good a place as any to end the post, before I end up writing a whole drabble.
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What do you do when someone you love is a psychopath and a serial killer? How do you pick up your life and move on from it?
If you're Lionel Luthor, you don't. Your son betrays you and the legacy you built for him, and so your heart betrays you too. You sit at your desk with those damn pills your quack of a doctor prescribed and one too many drinks. You feel a warning twinge on your arm before excruciating pain, red and angry, blooms in your chest, and you never see the morning. 
The only good thing about this is that you never see your son go to trial for killing 47 people over a span of 6 years. People whisper that you are one of Lex Luthor’s victims.
If you’re Lillian Luthor, you don’t either. You clean the damned mess these Luthor men left you. You take over the company that your husband had the gall to leave you, just as he left you with your only daughter. You clean up the tatters of your family’s reputation and legacy that your son left behind. 
In the eyes of the world, you move on. You rise, finally able to flex the muscles so long held back by your husband and the rest of the world's expectations. And you bring Luthor Corp with you. 
The millstone of the trials and scandal hang heavy on your neck, but all your life you have taught yourself to walk gracefully among lesser beings with your back straight and your head held high, just as you did as a young girl with textbooks on your head. This is no different.
But once a month, you make a pilgrimage to Stryker’s Island. To Lex. To the son you loved the best way you knew how, the only way you knew how - with a firm grip and the relentless, uncompromising push to achieve excellence, the intractable determination to make him grow into his fullest potential. That this potential was realized in murder, malice and manipulation was not your intent, but the world is far too quick and vindictive in their judgement because he is a Luthor. The mightiest always fall the farthest, and those beneath them wait hungrily for the chance to pull them down.
Your daughter leaves you too. The daughter who emerged, not from your body, but from your husband's infidelity. The same one who once looked up at you with eyes full of innocent trust that you vowed you would reciprocate in the best way you knew how. And so you did your best to prepare her, to mold her in your own image - into what a Luthor woman should be in this cruel, savage world that both worships and hates Luthors. 
You’ve seen what the world does to Luthors who do or say the smallest wrong thing and you never want her to suffer those whispers and so you tell her yourself. Better she hears it from family than the mouths and forked tongues of strangers.
But she is too hard-headed and too soft-hearted to comply. She rejects your bequest, the ungrateful girl, and tries to escape the Lena Luthor you tried so hard to cultivate all these years. 
As if you don't know. As if you could forget that it was her who brought this down upon all of you. Her, and that detestable Clark Kent. 
And if you are Lena Luthor, you cannot move on. You cannot escape it. No matter how far you stray from your family. No matter how many reparations you make, no matter how hard you strive to separate yourself from the curse it brings -- it always finds you.
It finds you in the dark hours when you’re by yourself without the touch of another woman or the burn of alcohol to distract you - and suddenly you’re a scared little girl again, walking into an ominous house made of grim oak, unforgiving marble and dark shadows. And the only warmth you receive is not from a largely absent and formidable father nor from a condescending and controlling mother, but from a charismatic and mercurial brother who taught you how to play chess and promised you the world.
But it turns out his shadow was the darkest of all, and you didn't see until it was too late.
How could you not see it?
You were just a girl at that time, Agent J'onzz once tried to comfort you with that fact. Back when Lex was arrested.
Just a schoolgirl home for the holidays -- shoes polished as bright as the naivete in your eyes, uniform pressed to Lillian's exact standards, picture perfect but always with just one tiny detail you forgot that was enough to attract notice and invite criticism. This time it was the glasses sitting slightly crooked on your face. 
You were more concerned with weathering the scorching disapproval just long enough until you got back to boarding school that you failed to notice Lex's distance. You failed to recognize the signs. You failed to decode his lies.
You failed.
By the time you got back to boarding school, he would have killed 2 more people.
By the time you caught on, he'd already killed 31. Those lives are all on you, because you were so absorbed by yourself, you didn't see what was happening under your nose. And those 3 agents Lex killed because he refused to come quietly? The judge and jury he poisoned at the trial? That's on you too.
Forty-seven lives taken. Forty seven more than there should have been if you hadn't been so blind. 
If only you hadn't been comforted by the gentle hand holding yours under the table throughout Lillian's litanies of your shortcomings everytime you were home from school. If only you hadn't fallen for the "adventures" he had tricked you into that always ended with you in disgrace or punished, like that time you stole Lionel's prized pen from the King of Jordan, just for him. 
If only you hadn't believed the fairy-tale dream of the two of you escaping to the snow-covered mountain peak, of finally being free of the Luthors’ oppressive presence.
And now he's serving 20 consecutive life sentences, and you've devoted your life to studying and stopping people like him.
Now you have 10 years of experience as a profiler and an undercover operative for both the Interpol and the FBI. Your work has taken you from Toran, to Kaznia, to Corto Maltese, to Metropolis, and now to National City.
You have seen the worst humanity has to offer, from terrorists to human traffickers to serial killers. But you keep looking into the abyss.
Because you looked into it once, you stared it in the face, and you didn't recognize it for what it was. 
_________
Or, a Supercorp Criminal Minds AU
There's actually 3 major plots in this, and they all intersect in varying ways
The first is Lex as a serial killer
The second is about Sam and Reign
The third is the most vague one, which includes Lena’s birth mother and Leviathan
It starts (as the intro says) with Lex being a serial killer who killed 47 people. In one version of this story, Clark is a reporter who, like Lena,  made the connection between Lex and the murders. One night after dinner  with the Luthors, Clark sneaks into Lex’s study to find evidence he can use for his story. 
He’s rummaging in a desk when he hears a voice from the doorway.
“You  won’t find anything there.” Clark whips around to find Lena standing  there, silhouetted against the light coming from the hall. He tenses,  thinking she’s about to tell her brother what Clark was doing. 
“If  Lex really is behind these murders, and I know you think he is, you  won’t find anything there. He’s not foolish enough to hide evidence  here." 
Clark doesn’t say anything, he just stares at her.  Lena pauses, looking away. "I… I didn’t want to believe it. Not Lex… He  wouldn’t…” Steel injects itself into her green gaze. “But the more time I  spend with him, the more clearly I see the truth. You see it too, don’t  you?" 
Clark straightens up and nods gravely. “Yes.”
The FBI eventually becomes involved in the investigation, and the team includes a certain agent on the fast track to becoming the unit chief, J’onn J’onzz.
J’onn meets Lena only briefly, but he’s struck by the young girl’s keen intelligence and remarkable calm. (Eventually, he becomes the one who suggests that Lena consider a career in profiling and criminal psychology).
Fast forward a couple of decades later, Lena is working with the BAU. The other members of the team here are J'onn, Alex, James, Brainy and Winn. Lena is a transfer from Interpol, and she's had years of experience in profiling, suspect and victim identification, as well as infiltration, under her belt (I also hc that she worked briefly with the CIA and the MI6, mostly in intel, profiling and undercover work).
For the sake of her anonymity (and also because it was necessary for her undercover work), she's erased all connections to Lex and the Luthors (including old photographs and newspaper articles until the name Lena Luthor is but a footnote in the Luthor history with nothing to tie her to who she is now). She's also changed her last name. (I'm torn because I just don't know if I can use the name Walsh for Lena, it doesn't sound.. right? Idk So for now, she's Agent Kieran).
Lena is very professional, almost intimidating. She’s revered by the younger agents in the Bureau, well-respected by her colleagues and highly praised by her superiors. But she's very guarded and keeps everyone at arm's length, doesn't go out for after-work drinks with the others, practically sleeps with one eye open — years of working undercover and living with a serial killer will do that to you.
Until a certain promising young recruit comes along.
Kara is new in town — the adopted sister of Alex Danvers, the cousin of one of J'onn's old friends (I don't think teaming family members up is actually allowed in the FBI, so some suspension of disbelief is required here). Lena is assigned to oversee her training and transition into the team herself.
Kara's sunny demeanor couldn't clash more with Lena's icy, professional facade. Lena approaches the task with thinly-veiled impatience and something remarkably close to disdain.
However, Kara quickly proves to be more than a perky attitude and a pretty smile. She squirms at blood, which Lena is quick to exploit at first (What FBI profiler can't stand the sight of a corpse? "We profile serial killers here, not celebrities in high-waisted jeans.").
But Kara displays true empathy to the victims and their families, she's sensitive to other people's emotions and knows just what to say to get a reluctant victim or witness talking. She's extremely dedicated to catching the unsubs, and relentless in her investigation. Not to mention, she's extremely handy to have around in a crisis.
Lena finds this last part out when they're on a case, trying to find a missing girl.
The team is headed to the unsub's apartment, but on a hunch, Lena heads to an abandoned warehouse near the apartment, with only Kara as backup. They enter the warehouse, and just as they're clearing the rooms and checking for the missing girl, the unsub attacks Lena and manages to pin her to the ground, choking her. Kara gets there just in time to shoot the unsub in the leg, saving Lena's life.
Later that evening, Kara and the rest of the team go to the bar to celebrate. Lena is absent, as usual.
Just as Kara is getting another round of drinks at the bar, a low, smoky voice interrupts her. "Didn't profile you as a drinker, Danvers.”
Kara squeaks, nearly dropping the drinks, and turns to see Lena smirking behind her. “I wonder what other surprises you're hiding behind those glasses and cardigans."
"Agent Kieran! I didn’t expect to see you here— No, these aren't all for me, I— " Lena's face softens at Kara's babbling, and she takes a few of the shot glasses from Kara's hands.
"You know, I have a rule..." A wry smile lifts one corner of her lipsticked mouth. "Anyone who saves my life gets to call me Lena."
Kara blushes profusely at the other woman’s arched eyebrow. "Well then, if I'm calling you Lena..."
Lena smirks. "Kara it is, then."
For the first time — much to the gaping surprise of the rest of the team she's worked with for years — Lena joins them for a post-case drink.
To everyone's — and no one's — surprise, the pair quickly become the best of friends.
Two days into their friendship, Lena starts jokingly calling Kara Supergirl. Three weeks later, they start grabbing lunch together. Three months in, Kara sends Lena a video of herself petting a St. Bernard on the street only to be bowled over in a mass of furry paws and puppy licks — and the cadets Lena is training are even more bowled over to hear the "Ice Queen" laugh. Of course, they're later treated with a scorching glare and a sharp reprimand, but it's a revelation just to discover that she's actually physically capable of laughing.
By six months, the whole department is in a secret "will they or won't they" betting pool. A year in, and every other department has stakes in the pool (Alex publicly condemns the pool, but secretly bets a hundred bucks that "they will" by winter).
One time while they're eating lunch together, Kara tells Lena why she became a profiler when her career was in journalism.
"It just felt... too late. I'd be covering these stories about these terrible things, people who were already victims, and I thought... it's too late... Don't get me wrong, I loved being a reporter. Journalism was a way to bring truth out there, to give voices to these victims, but.... I wanted - needed - to do something more. I wanted to stop these things from happening. To keep these people from becoming victims."
But despite their growing closeness, Lena has yet to tell Kara about Lex, or about her life before the BAU.
She doesn't tell Kara about the woman she'd loved once, who hates her now because of the lies Lena told her. She doesn't tell her about Reign. She doesn’t tell Kara about the sweet young girl living far, far away, who plays soccer and loves to sing and read. The little girl Lena loves from afar, but knows only through secret updates from James, because it's for her own good.
Because that sweet little girl that Lena hasn't seen since she was a baby deserves to live a life that's whole and good — away from those who love her, but could hurt her. Whether she's thinking about Sam or herself, Lena doesn't know.
There are too many secrets, Lena decides, as she shoves them all one by one into their little boxes, clamping the lid securely shut. Kara is too good to be tainted by any of them.
Kara, who gets squeamish at the sight of blood, but resolutely hunts each killer like an avenging angel. Kara, who somehow, somehow still believes in the good in people.
And when she realizes that there is very little of that to be found in Lena Kieran or Lena Luthor, Kara will hate her as much as Lena hates herself.
But then the day comes when Lena receives a package in the mail.
She reaches in and pulls out two things: one, a chess piece — the white knight — and the other, a surveillance photo of Kara and Lena having lunch together.
On the back of the photograph are three cryptic little words that fill her with dread: “See you soon, sis.”
Panic overrides logic and years of training, and Lena stashes the package and its cursed contents into her safe. Heart racing, she calls the warden at Strykers. It takes several favors, but she manages to procure video footage confirming that her brother is still incarcerated. Despite the visual confirmation, she doesn’t sleep a wink that night, nor the night after.
Everything is quiet after that, so quiet that Lena is almost lulled, if not into a sense of complacency, then at least a state of less vigilance. Everyone needs a breather, a reprieve from paranoia at some point, and that is exactly what Lex is counting on.
A string of seemingly-unrelated murders heralds Lex's return, luring the BAU — and Lena — closer and closer. Lena knows she should leave, and leave soon. The closer the team gets to figuring out it's Lex, the more danger they're in — not just Kara, but the rest of the team that Lena has now come to care for.
But Kara, being Kara, holds onto Lena and keeps her from leaving.
Kara knows her too well now. She knows that something is wrong. She pushes without pushing, in that earnest yet respectful way, relentless in her concern for the people she cares about, yet still mindful and considerate in her efforts. It's one of the things Lena loves about her.
And then, after coming home from a case one night — Kara is shot by an intruder in her apartment.
The whole team is thrown into chaos trying to find Kara’s assailant. They all agree that the attack cannot be random, but there’s a frustrating lack of evidence anywhere.
But Lena knows.
The lack of clues is a glaring clue in and of itself. She knows this is Lex’s handiwork. Her brother’s way of getting back at her for “telling on him”, just like he used to when they were children. Except the stakes are infinitely higher this time, and he has gone too far.
And Lena — who should've known — didn't prevent it. She was too selfish, too greedy, wanting more time — more time with Kara, more time with her team, her family — and now this is the result.
Lena knows that Lex will go after everything and everyone she loves, because he wants to hurt her. Luthors are not raised on half-measures. Win the game, or burn the board. He will not stop, Lena knows this. Not until either of them is dead.
While half the team is waiting at Kara’s bedside, and the other half is delving into Kara’s case — two people are noticeably missing.
Alex can’t bear to see her sister looking so weak and vulnerable in that hospital bed.
Instead, she goes to Kara's apartment to clean her sister’s blood off the wall before Kara gets home from the hospital.
She's just getting a bucket full of soapy water when she hears movement at the door. Alert, Alex already has her gun out and trained at the door.
When the door opens, all Alex sees is a flash of black hair and wide green eyes before she gets a gun aimed at her too.
"Lena?? What the fuck?! What are you doing here??"
Alex puts her gun down slowly, her heart still hammering. Lena cautiously does the same, her hands held out to her sides.
Alex gestures at the door "How did you—?"
"Kara gave me the key three months ago." Lena's eyes haven't lost their wary edge, but she has the decency to look a bit abashed. "She said I could come over anytime."
"Yeah, but Kara's still in the hospital. What are you doing here?"
"I know that," Lena slants her a light glare as she looks around Kara's apartment. "I just — I wanted to make sure the place is secure, and... well... I didn't want Kara to come home to that."
She gestures at the blood-spattered wall, but looks away quickly. As if she, like Alex, can't bear to stand the sight of Kara's blood.
It's funny. They're both seasoned agents, they deal with horrific things on an almost daily basis. The sight of blood rarely fazes either of them anymore. Except this is Kara's blood.
It seems impossible that Lena could get any paler, but here she is, as white as a ghost and looking just as sick as Alex feels. And yet, she's still here. Out of everyone in Kara's circle of friends and family, only Alex and Lena are here, performing a task that somehow seems more terrible than anything either of them have encountered.
It's in this moment that it begins to dawn on Alex just how special Lena is. How special she may still become.
Alex bends down and drags the bucket of soapy water to the wall. She doesn't look at Lena, and instead focuses on the wall and swallows down bile at the sight of her sister's blood. Over her shoulder, she mutters "Grab a sponge."
"That's not gonna be enough. We, um—" Lena clears her throat and chokes out. "— need bleach."
Alex nods curtly. "Under the kitchen sink."
Lena gets the bleach, and the two of them silently begin scrubbing Kara's blood off her walls, and that's that. Once they're done, Alex gets a couple of beers that Kara keeps especially for Alex in her fridge and offers one to Lena.
Then Alex gives her a mild version of a shovel talk lol
And then, two days before Kara is released from the hospital, the news breaks. Lex Luthor, convicted serial killer, has escaped from prison.
All eyes are focused on the BAU screen, except J’onn’s. He turns to his left. Lena Kieran watches the television without batting an eye.
Lena waits only until after Kara has come back home, to make sure that she's safe, that Alex is staying with her for now.
Looking at the blonde tucked into blankets on the couch, soft and vulnerable, Lena can't bring herself to say goodbye, so instead, she just leans over to kiss Kara on the forehead and says good night.
Then without a word, without even packing a bag, Lena Luthor leaves National City to lure her brother out of the shadows.
Lena makes her exit just as the team is on the cusp of finding out that Lena Kieran is Lena Luthor.
She leaves her apartment intact, knowing that Kara and the rest of the team will eventually search it. She sticks the surveillance photo of her and Kara on the bedroom mirror and writes on the glass in red lipstick: "I'm sorry. I promise I'll make this right."
J'onn is the only one who knows the truth of who Lena really is, and in the end, he's the one who tells them.
With Lena gone, it's clear to J'onn that she's about to do something monumentally stupid, like sacrifice herself for the team. He gathers everyone, and tells them the truth.
The group is gathered around the conference table, staring at pictures of young Lena on the screen.
Tiny Lena, not even 5 years old, just after she was adopted by the Luthors, her wide green eyes sad and confused, her little hands clutching a worn, well-loved teddy bear.
Six year old Lena and a teenaged Lex Luthor standing together in front of Lena's new school. The little girl in her neat uniform, holding onto the older boy's hand, looking at her big brother with an adoring smile.
Fifteen year old Lena on summer vacation, and a now-adult Lex, the young girl perched on the hood of a restored vintage car with Lex's hand on her shoulder. Lena is thinner, more gaunt, and her smile less bright, but Lex is different. He's grinning at the camera, looking every inch the charismatic billionaire playboy. You would never know from Lex Luthor's easy smile that he had already been killing for 5 years at this point.
Finally, the last Luthor family portrait, taken the year Lex was arrested. They're a beautiful family, there's no denying that. Each person in the photograph is regal and proud — but in each set face, there's a private war being waged. Lena looks far older than her sixteen years. Her face shows no emotion in each cut line, but her eyes betray all: a somber intensity that's impossible to look away from. Lex is the exact opposite. His smile is charming and draws the viewer's gaze, but his eyes are cold and dead. Within 8 months, Lex would be in prison, Lionel would be dead, Lillian would be running the company, and Lena would no longer be a Luthor.
Kara feels... she doesn't know how she feels.
There's anger, shock, confusion and... hurt. A lot of hurt, a heavy ball of it resting on the base of her spine, mixed with the ache of a longing she doesn't understand, something broken that only confuses her more. So she decides to settle on the anger.
Yes, anger is good. It gives her a sense of purpose and clarity, and it doesn't threaten to make her curl up into a tiny ball. She's angry that her best friend — one of the most important people in her life, second only to Alex — has been hiding all of this from her for years. She's angry that Lena, who has taught her so many things — not just about being a profiler, but about life and love and friendship — didn't trust her enough to tell her about any of this.
Anger is good, because it keeps the tears stinging the back of her eyes from falling, because... because Kara's always thought she knows Lena better than anyone. Had believed that out of everyone, Lena had trusted her, Kara Danvers, enough to get to know her. But now, it seems she doesn't really know Lena at all.
The screen flickers.
Everyone blinks up at the screen in confusion as it begins to glitch. Suddenly, the photos of Lena disappear from the monitors. It’s replaced by what looks like a grainy video feed. Kara turns to J’onn, who shakes his head, frowning. This was not his doing.
“What the hell?” Alex frowns up at the monitor and nudges Winn, who immediately squints into his computer screen. “Who’s doing that?”
“I have no idea...” Winn mutters. “Gimme a second...”
It looks like feed from a surveillance video, except it’s showing what looks like a cabin. Even from the pixelated image, it looks well-decorated, expensive, like something from a country home magazine. Outside the far window, Kara can see a view of snow-capped mountains. Outlined in the middle is a dark shadow of a man.
“They live soft, luxurious lives, don’t they? Your so-called friends. Oblivious, unencumbered by knowledge, and so pathetically... mortal. Fragile.” A smooth baritone voice cuts through the static, and Kara’s blood chills. That voice is familiar. “You and I, we have been trained in the hard school of danger and war. Haven’t we, sister mine?”
Another figure steps out of the shadows and into view, and Kara gasps. Even in the grainy image, Lena’s smile is sharp and icy. “Comparing yourself to Alexander the Great now, are you? But then again, you always were trying too hard, Lex.”
I don't know exactly how happens, I haven't figured it out yet, but Lena confronts Lex with the intention of killing him, except she's the one who's "killed".
And Lex, being the sadistic ass that he is, had the whole thing captured on a hidden camera and it's being broadcast on every BAU monitor, for Lena's family to see.
The whole team watches Lena "die".
But Lena had a failsafe. She told someone of her location, maybe Andrea or Jack or Jess idk, and had them standby to help her in case something happened.
The whole time Lex streams their confrontation, Kara is frantic. The table suffers under her fury, splintering with the force of her desperate grip.
Every time they get nowhere trying to track Lena and Lex, Kara punches the walls, and Alex has to hold her sister back, afraid of how Kara is losing control.
When the feed broadcasts Lena's death, it seems almost unremarkable. One second, Lena is standing, the next she's on the floor, lifeless and unmoving.
A deadly silence grips the BAU conference room. No one is moving, not even breathing. It's as if when Lena dropped dead on the feed, so did they. They wait. And wait.. and wait.
Lena doesn't move.
On the screen, Lex checks his sister's vitals and satisfied, steps over his sister's body and out of sight. The camera blacks out.
They all stare dumbly at the screen for a long moment, afraid to move, as if moving from their frozen spots would make it true.
It's Alex who stirs first. She jumps into action, frantic, ordering Winn to get the feed back, but it's impossible. The room erupts in a blaze of action, but Kara... Kara's the only one left staring at the screen, frozen in shock and disbelief, as if she can't believe it's real.
It’s not. It’s not.
In the interim between Lena's death and the reveal that she’s alive, Kara spends every waking moment hunting down Lex or secretly looking into Leviathan (which she also uncovers when she digs deeper into Lena’s life before the Luthors and learns more about Lena’s mother).
Kara goes down so deep into the rabbit hole, that Alex is genuinely afraid for her sister. She almost prays that they don't find Lex Luthor. Not because she doesn't want that man brought to justice, but because she's afraid of what Kara can and will do once she sees him.
Kara hasn't mentioned Lena's name in months. But then again, most of their team hasn't.
In the months since Lena’s death, two new members have been brought int the BAU team, William Dey and Nia Nal.
William and Nia know very little about Lena from the team itself, because her name is hardly mentioned. Nia only knows Lena through her reputation, and through what Alex and the other agents outside of their team have told her. 
Alex is the only one in the team who says Lena's name because she hates that everyone tiptoes around it.
Lena was their friend. Her friend, and it's not right that everyone flinches at her name, that they can't look at the plaque of her on the memorial wall. She knows how hard it is to look at Lena's picture there, just as hard as it was to look at Kara's blood on the walls.
But Alex is not gonna be the one to look away. Lena didn't look away when they cleaned Kara's blood off the walls, and Alex will not look away from her either. She's gonna hunt Lex Luthor down like the animal that he is and make him pay for taking Lena from their family.
But Alex is getting worried about Kara.
Her sister doesn’t sleep anymore. Barely eats. Kara doesn't stop — she pores over old files of Lex's murders, goes over the old profile, possible places he might be. Alex is worried about her fixation with Lex. It's not healthy. Kara's grief — or her refusal to grieve — is gonna drive her to the ground.
So she confronts Kara about it.
They're in the BAU conference room when Alex finally speaks up, but Kara meets her gaze head on. With one hand, she points to the empty seat Lena used to favor, right across Kara's. "Lena's chair, Alex. What do you see when you look at it?... Nothing, right? We've left it empty all this time. No one can bear to sit it in. Tell me, what do you see, right now?"
Alex glances over at the chair, then back at her sister "Kara..."
"Tell me what you see, Alex."
Alex sighs. "Nothing."
"Exactly. Nothing." Kara nods, her eyes hard. "Do you wanna know what I see? I see her, Alex. I see Lena sitting across from me, just as clearly as I can see you now.”
Alex swallows at the intensity burning in her sister’s eyes.
“I see her everywhere, Alex. All the time. I see her smile, her eyes, and I—" Kara's voice cuts off with a sob. The agony in her eyes is almost too much for Alex to take. It takes a long moment before Kara can speak again.
"I can't stop, Alex. Whenever I stop and I look at her, I — I know she's - she's gone, but she looks so alive, and I— I know the only way I can get any kind of peace about it is knowing that Lex Luthor has been wiped off the face of the earth."
A frisson of fear shivers down Alex's spine. "Killing Lex won't bring Lena back, Kara."
"I know that, Alex." Kara's eyes are dark as flint. "Believe me. I know."
Sometime after Lena’s “death”, the BAU receives an unannounced visitor.
Lillian Luthor strides into the BAU bullpen, tall and imperial in her furs, her icy glare making everyone it lands on feel small and insignificant.
She strides past the bullpen, past Kara, and comes face to face with J’onn. Her cold blue eyes render everyone in the room silent. She scoffs her hatred into his face.
 "Taking my son away from me wasn't enough for you people, was it? You had to take my daughter away from me too. I warned her. I warned her this would be her undoing, and I was right. And now she's dead." 
They end up having to work with Lillian to find Lex, because as Lillian says "It takes a Luthor to find a Luthor." [And there's gonna be an interrogation lol. I just have this vague idea of Lillian talking about Lex and Lena.]
"The truth is, I lost Lena long before now.” Kara suspects that this is the closest anyone has come to hearing regret in Lillian Luthor’s voice.
“I was.... harsh on her, in a way I never was with Lex. Lex always had a sharp edge to him, but Lena — Lena was too soft, too vulnerable. A Luthor cannot be soft. Not when the world is watching, waiting for you to make the smallest mistake."
It’s not enough. It’s nowhere near enough. Kara slams her hands on the table, unable to believe the nerve of this woman. J'onn grips her arm in warning, but Kara ignores him, snarling at Lillian, her anger plain on her face. "You abused her! You made her feel unworthy of love, unable to trust anyone—"
Lillian lifts her chin. "I made sure my daughter could face a world that's hungry for Luthor blood. I made her a Luthor."
"She was just a little girl when she came to you!" Kara shouts, her fury growing by the second. "A little girl whose mother just died, who was looking for love, and instead she found you. She trusted you—"
Lillian's voice rises, a flash of heat scorching the cool, detached dignified tones. "I made her strong!" 
"She didn't need to be strong!" Kara yells, surging up to her feet, her face inches away from Lillian. J'onn grabs her shoulder, restraining, but Kara presses forward. "She needed someone to love her! And you answered that with nothing but condescension and neglect! The only one in your family who made her feel loved was a psychopath who betrayed her!"
Lillian is struck silent, her eyes wide and her face strained as she stares at Kara. Kara meets the older woman's eyes, staring her down without the fear that a younger Lena must have shown Lillian all those years ago.
Kara wishes she could've been there to hold that young Lena in her arms, wishes she could've taken her away from the family that broke her.
"The Luthor name didn't deserve Lena. You never deserved her."
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poorly-drawn-mdzs · 1 year
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You can wash off the makeup, but the mascara still runs.
[First] Prev <—>Next
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jesterjaxx · 10 days
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Ok SO
Canonically his dad is a cop and there are a couple jokes about his parents not loving him, dudes dad straight up said "actually, do we love you?" Like sir damn anyways im taking that and running with it SO
Giving him a fucked up situation of him and his dad always butting heads and both of them escalating things constantly, and as he got older the ends to the arguments went from getting grounded or punished to getting kicked out or Duncan just leaving, probably escalating to his dad kicking him out semi regularly and eventually his mom or dad telling him to come back home to make a kinda fucked up cycle
And like i know they gave the convict kid a cop dad for the laugh like its not that deep at ALL
but like that sets up sucha fucked power dynamic and i want to use that
and we never find out what got Duncan sent to juvie for the first time, its said off screen while some characters are spilling embarrassing or dark secrets and in my fucked up world either he accumulated a couple charges while he was kicked out, indirectly the fault of his dad
or worse but more tempting
he got kicked out and his dad arrested him for trespassing
so like idk i just love the idea of a pyromaniac, vandal convict who has no respect for authority or mutual trust having the tragic backstory that his first time getting arrested was at the hands of his father
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elitadream · 1 year
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Mario had been contemplating solutions in vain, sitting by himself forlornly after yet another grim and discouraging day of continuous failure when he registered the faint shuffling of timid steps nearby.
It was quite late and the man didn't exactly have the energy to feel surprised, but he curiously lifted his head nonetheless.
"Junior?" He wondered aloud, gazing worriedly at his provisory ally. "What's wrong?"
The young prince was rubbing his eyes, swaying idly on his feet and stubbornly staring at the ground. He didn't respond, but he didn't need to. His distress and need for company was plain to see.
Knowingly, Mario unfolded his legs and rested both hands on his knees, giving him a compassionate look.
"Couldn't sleep either, huh?"
Junior shrugged before joining him and leaning against his side, eyes downcast. There was no trace of mischief or deception to his demeanor. Only a defeated sort of acceptance.
Mario couldn't help but feel a genuine twinge of amazement at the vulnerable gesture.
"I'm... really sorry about your dad," he ventured, not quite daring to move.
Junior blinked wearily, but showed no other sign of acknowledgement. There was a brief moment of silence until Mario felt compelled to look at him once more.
"I don't know how long this might take, but I promise you we will find a way to turn him back to normal. I will not give up on you, or him. You have my word," he assured gently.
Junior merely curled in on himself more tightly as a response, appearing impossibly small compared to the gigantic beast his father had somehow become. His brows were furrowed in an expression the plumber had never seen before. A deep sadness mixed with a touch of remorsefulness, or perhaps resentment.
Mario was about to ask if he had somehow said something he shouldn't when Junior finally spoke.
"My Papa is wrong about you," he muttered, very quietly.
Before Mario could so much as blink, the small Koopa went on, shaking his head with a sniffle.
"You're not a coward and you're not stupid. You work hard and you never complain. You just want to help everyone, all the time. Even us."
His words, albeit said reluctantly, were spoken with uncharacteristic sincerity. Mario couldn't find it in himself to smile, so he carefully wrapped an arm around the prince's shell instead, giving his shoulder a comforting pat.
"I don't mind the insults. Not really," he amended softly, hoping that he somehow sounded more confident than he felt. "I guess that's just the way Bowser perceives me. It's okay."
"No, it's not," the young heir retorted. "He's very unfair towards you. He said some really mean and hurtful things, and-"
Junior stopped himself with a small whine, pawing at his face again. He was still averting his gaze, but the fragile tone of his voice betrayed his guilt.
"...I said mean things, too. I'm sorry."
For a few seconds, Mario could only stare mutely back at him, stunned by the unexpected apology. He then shifted closer, bringing his arm more securely around the Koopa in a side hug.
"Everybody makes mistakes," he murmured. "But everybody can change."
"I wish that was also true for my Papa," Junior mumbled, dejectedly.
At this, Mario hummed wistfully, his answer long believed and thoroughly considered.
"Maybe... all he needs is a bit of help."
-
When I first heard of Bowser's Fury a few months ago, all I knew about the plot was that Junior goes to seek Mario's help in the hopes of stopping his father's rampage. And words couldn't describe how much I LOVED the idea. Although this is an older drawing and my look for Junior has since changed a bit (the same way I eventually altered Bowser's design), this was the concept that later inspired the way I've decided to approach Mario and Junior's relationship in a broader sense - which means that there'll definitely be more with these two. :3
Mario being enduringly kind and winning foes over with nothing but his goodness of heart never fails to give me feels, and I want more of that. 💖
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penheadie · 5 months
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So anyways I hope you like made up Pine Point angst @zeddyzi
A little redraw doodle based off a old made up storyline that has to do with Dimitri being in a long distance relationship with his girlfriend (that we keep getting little nods and snippets towards through things like talking on the phone, or Nil trying to get a glimpse of who he's talking too but he's too short) and Nil getting jealous of losing the closest thing they have to a friend/family because everyone in their life likes to leave them. So in return Nil just leaves to go live in the forest before Dimitri can leave them first.
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lollytea · 8 months
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Luz and Amity are into fantasy, Gus and Hunter love sci-fi. I feel very strongly about Willow also having a human realm pop culture nerd obsession and I like to think that it's superheros
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lordevening · 5 months
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probably not gonna happen
but
what if qBad’s death is quiet?
What if the day before it happens he goes to sit down in his chair after tucking his kids to sleep, his mind racing with plans to do for tomorrow, he thinks about the tasks for the cookies tomorrow, and for the first time in a long time, he can feel the heaviness of his eyelids.
His body feels like lead and he’s sinking into the chair.
He thinks “wow, I’m so tired today.”
He thinks “I don’t even need Dapper’s Melatonin Cake.”
He thinks and thinks of so many things. He can’t even tell the numb pangs on the side of his head.
He keeps thinking, and thinking and thinking about tomorrow, about his projects, about the sun, about the EGGS, about his friends, and then he’s out.
When Dapper finds him, he’s not breathing.
News breaks out “BadBoyHalo is dead.”
It drifts around the island like sand in the desert.
The Feds go into his home to take his body away.
Dapper is biting them and clawing at them, while Pomme stands by the side, gripping her scythe tight.
Dapper can’t yell, he can’t scream, all he can do is scratch and punch and cry and tear at their pants.
He thinks “No. Don’t take my dad away! Don’t take him from me! I can bring him back!”
But they can’t hear, and he’s not placing any signs.
BadBoyHalo went quietly, probably a death that he doesn’t deserve.
Then he walks out from the other room in a new bathrobe or something and he goes “What’s up muffins ahaha?”
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bucksboobs · 16 days
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Like I said BuckTommy season 8 power couple but it would be great if Eddie has his feelings realization towards the beginning of the season and the midseason finale is him telling Buck and Buck just pauses. Looks at Eddie with tears in his big blue eyes and says “Eddie. It’s too late.” Because Buck is so so close to being in love with Tommy and he wants that to happen and moving on from Eddie was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do and he had to come back from the dead once. Eddie can’t just throw himself down as an obstacle right as Buck is about to cross the finish line and finally have a relationship that will last. It’s not fair to Buck. It’s not fair to Eddie. And we get left of that gut punch of a scene until the back half of season 8.
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bunchofdoodlesinspace · 6 months
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Im kinda shocked I’m not seeing more about the parallels between what Laudna did and what Ashton did last night bc currently that’s what I can’t stop thinking about. This theme of self-sacrifice that just keeps coming back over and over. And it makes so, so much sense to me given who this party is made out of.
Ages ago they really fully grasped that they’re all just powder kegs waiting to blow, that at any moment any of them could cause serious harm to the others, whether it be because of the powers they wield of the unfortunate circumstances of their existence- They’re all dangers to each other in some way.
And now, we’re seeing that theme sort of twist into this concept of “fuck it. I have this power, and I could destroy the world and my friends and myself using it, but I might as well try to use it for something good on the way down” and there’s just. There’s something so tragic and beautiful about that. To finally have people you care about so much that you would destroy yourself to see them survive.
In my head, that’s why Laudna is accepting the help of her own murderer. It’s not to walk down this path of darkness, but to give herself the strength she feels she needs to take down the threats in front of them. If that comes at the cost of her sanity, her relationships with the others, her life? So be it. She’s died before, and she’ll do it again if everyone she loves, who have loved her in spite of everything (esp Imogen), can survive and live happy lives.
Same thing with Ashton. No, two shards were not meant be handled by one person. But Fearne didn’t seem to want it, no one else was going to take it, and but they still need the power. Because what they’re facing isn’t anything like anyone has ever seen, they need everything they can possibly get. And if the risk of taking on that power was his own life? Fine. He’s died before too. And for the rest of his friends? The people who have loved him despite everything? For Fearne? He’d do it. Even if it was just to give them a chance.
These aren’t selfish decisions made to try and gain power. This is selflessness to the most dangerous degree. It’s a demonstration of how much they love and how little love they think they deserve in return. It’s a recognition of how big this threat is, how desperate they are for a chance to succeed even if it means they won’t all come back.
I said it in the tags of another post I reblogged and I will say it over and over again.
This shit doesn’t come out of a place of hate.
It only ever comes out of a place of love.
And it is absolutely heartbreaking.
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summershouto · 1 year
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crocomom theory is so funny. ridiculous enough to piss people off but backed by the fact that nothing in canon refutes it 
and yet...also...the sadness of crocodile not knowing his own child is such a concept to me ??
Like..he could’ve given up his baby because he felt no love for it…or at least no attachment strong enough to warrant sacrificing his life plans. He agrees to carry the baby to term but gives it away before he could overthink his decision, telling dragon the child was his and his alone and therefore it was dragons choice on what to do next. For crocodile the choice was clear, the path was set, and he refused to play mother. it was only a blip in his plans until it all comes back at marineford.
or maybe he /did/ love their child but he feared for the baby’s safety...he trusted it with anyone but himself because his life was bound to bring trouble. Dragon was dangerous too but he was fighting for freedom and he claimed to have a plan so crocodile agreed blindly.
or maybe crocodile had the baby unwillingly taken from him. “for the greater good” sorta deal; doing things for the baby’s sake but not on crocodile’s terms. a rough goodbye and the assumption that he’d never know or meet his baby. perhaps he simply woke up and found his baby already gone, already taken “somewhere safer”, or lied to and told that the baby didn’t survive.
No matter the situation, he doesn’t let it take over his life. He accepts it and tells himself to move on. He never even gave the child a name; there’s nothing for him to grieve. Once Ivankov changes crocodile’s sex then it all becomes a part of the past; he could never be that baby’s mother and he pretends he never was in the first place
Until he learns the truth behind dragons name
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ccircusclwn · 3 months
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This sounds like a weird question, but do u have any Mk angst hcs?
I hc she has gifted child burnout and that her dad passed when she was in middle school (he was a cop)
....you rlly shouldnt have asked anon.....
i like psychoanalizing characters for breakfast if you couldnt tell already (CRINGE BELOW!!!!! WEEWOOWEEWOO!!! IM TAKING CHARACTERS THAT ARE MEANT TO BE FUNNY AND ANALIZING THEM TO THEIR VERY CORE!!!)
MK ANGST HEADCANONS!!
☆ mk is autistic, and struggles with her social life, so that's why she doesn't have any friends and downright hated the idea of having them. She had slowly developed a more antisocial personality prior to the show, and hence why her lines in s1 have a bit of an awkard delivery to them. (they sounded awkward to me alr!!!)
☆ i also believe she is a case of gifted kid burnout!!!she was oh so smart back in primary and middle school, always praised by the teachers for her performance and whatnot.
when she got to highschool she suddenly felt overwhelmed by it all, every task was suddenly too much and studying was a horrifying experience, as she didn't really need to study before.
i believe as some gifted children do, they base their value on their academic performance as thats all the adults can really seem to compliment them in. so when she starts failing she suddenly started to hate herself more– as if she was slowly losing her worth and therefore isn't worthy of love (idk if its true for all gifted kids but i can say its true from my experience)
☆ hates expressing emotion due to emotional neglect from the world around her. she was never acknowledged emotionally and therefore she started to not care either. (in canon not in my au)
☆ "i always get underestimated!" her way to cope with the fact that she's always a second thought on someone else's mind– she resorts to stealing as her way to express in her rebellious teenage mind that she wants to be noticed by someone. to actually be cared about in someone elses mind
☆ she actually doesnt know julia likes her but in a neurodivergent kinda way– she understands to a surface level teenager stuff as she has been observing her classmates play and talk with each other in solitude, but hasn't experienced it firsthand. so when she tells julia if she likes her and julia gets all flustered, she can't genuinely tell what's going on.
☆ emotionally-repressed-gifted-burnout-autistic-llesbian mk my beloved !!! :333
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