𝘼 𝘾𝙐𝙏 𝘼𝘽𝙊𝙑𝙀

You want a quote? I’ll give you one.

People aren’t important. Not as a whole. Everyone runs around like they’ve got a BIG S on their chest for “special,” but the actual gift of genius, of work ethic, of aspiration, is rarer than a white tiger. That’s why you see people throughout history rising above the masses. Those are the changers. Those are the doers. You are not important.

          she could think of NUMEROUS working titles for this egomaniac. his vocal range sent a shiver down her spine, he was a MENACE. she had never studied someone with such WEALTH and ARROGANCE before, lex was something offworld. the mogul was intimidating and once he started his CHARMING OFFENSIVE, no one stood a chance. well, she wouldn’t be CORRUPTED.

                         their dynamic VASTLY changed with the arrival of SUPERMAN, lois was no longer interested in the titan of metropolis. not in that way. but his SCIENTIFIC mind, his POWER and of course, his MONEY were nothing but feeble compared to a man that could FLY. a man that can SHIFT tectonic plates. a mild mannered farmboy from KANSAS. aqua hues analysed him further, he was completely DISHONEST. there was an ulterior MOTIVE at play here, lois lane didn’t just receive an invitation so they could have a CHIT CHAT. 

                          sucking in a BREATH. the skyline which appeared before them was acting as a PLAYGROUND. like those little model cities nerds keep in their dingy basements. it was hard not to be IMPRESSED by the view, but when you climb this high, you’ve got to be COMPENSATING for something. luthor certainly was. probably his SOUL. or lack of.  lips tried to make do with a FORCED smile. his voice traveled off the marbled surfaced, POLISHED and SERENE. “ can we CUT to the chase? ” deadpan. CUT THROAT.

                             lois maintained a certain CONFIDENCE. despite the fact he could have her THROWN out of the window in a second. her brows fell at the mention of legal issues facing her and the DAILY PLANET. she knew the toll it was having on PERRY, trying her best to avoid any further damages. lois lane wasn’t here to apologise to a man who was drenched in DIRTY money, plagued with ILLEGAL activity and he KNEW she was a hair away from proving it.

             CAUTIOUS of the narrowing space between them. she stood with some form of defiance, a REBEL. posture poised, straight and confident. 

           the reporter averted her gaze to the skyline, it was so BEAUTIFUL. the sun bathed the streets, she could see past METROPOLIS BAY. everything seemed so PEACEFUL up here. of course, she’d rather be up here with the MAN OF STEEL. clearing her vocals.

             “ i bet your LAWYER loathes you.   i think it’s funny that the… SECOND most powerful man in METROPOLIS is scared of the TRUTH. ”

     Luthor savors her frustration like a fine wine. The fact that he’s probably the only one who can get her so fired up without so much as lifting a finger is extremely satisfying — even if it's not in the way he would have preferred, though he's grown rather fond of the 'dynamic' between them. “Right down to business, eh? I’ve always loved that about you, Lois,” the mogul practically croons, knowing how much she hates hearing that word when it’s coming from him.

     He chuckles at the lawyer remark, but is quick to fall silent when Lois calls him the second most powerful man in Metropolis. Luthor nevertheless retains his veneer of cordiality, but the skin between his eyebrows crease the way it does when the reporter’s succeeded in irritating him.

“You want to talk about truth?” he says with a smile that’s all teeth. “Giving an alien a moniker with the word ‘man’ in it does not make it so.” Luthor suddenly leans in, so close to her face that he completely obscures her view of the picturesque city.

“No matter how much you want it to be.”

     Lex Luthor, scared of the truth?

     He’s the only one who can see it.

"As for my lawyers, I pay them well enough that their opinion of me is irrelevant,” he continues in what amounts to a half-hearted attempt to inject some levity into the conversation. The mogul retracts, allowing the sunlight to touch Lois once more — and giving her room to breathe.

“I was being sincere about why I invited you here, Lois. Lexcorp’s latest project will be unveiled soon, and I’d like to personally offer you a full access press pass. I know my PR team normally sends these to the editor-in-chief, but I wanted to make sure the Daily Planet’s best reporter wouldn’t be passed over in favor of someone less... contentious, like that Kent fellow.” 

     Despite catching the so-called detective red-handed ( or, perhaps more accurately, elbow-deep ), Luthor doesn’t appear too bothered. “I don’t know what the laws are in Hub City, but scavenging is illegal in Metropolis. Though I suppose my lawyers could make a case for burglary since it hasn’t left the building yet,” he muses with a chuckle.

“What were you hoping to find in there, I wonder? Wait, wait, don’t answer that, I have a better question: did you really think that breaking into the headquarters of the most powerful man this world has ever known would be so easy? Or maybe you knew it was too good to be true, but just couldn’t resist the opportunity to uncover some dirt.”

“For someone with a reputation of being as paranoid as you, I’m insulted you didn’t think I’d be fully aware that a man without a face was running around my city. But I’m willing to graciously overlook your poor manners — and your crimes — in exchange for your... cooperation.”

“You know, Jimmy, I should really be thanking you,” Luthor says, perusing through the camera he had ‘relieved’ from Jimmy during his capture, along with his cellphone and notorious signal watch. “You saved me the trouble of having to retrieve you by coming here yourself. I thought you might have been trying to find something to inspire Miss Lane’s next libelous story, but I see now that you’re far more interested in my Mercy.”

     The mogul chuckles, shaking his head as he continues clicking through what seems to be an endless amount of candid photos of his aforementioned employee. “Let me guess,” he hums, addressing his captive the way an adult would indulge a child’s wildest imagination, “you were hoping to be her new ‘pal,’ weren’t you? How adorable.”

     Luthor continues to snicker, but sets the camera down in favor of picking up the signal watch. “Speaking of pals, you’re going to help me surprise the only notable one you have with a little project I’ve been working on just for him — after all, what’re friends for? I’ll even let you have the honor of calling him here.”

     He turns to approach Jimmy with the watch, but the younger man’s phone chirps and he decides to investigate the notification. Luthor’s smug expression gradually fades away and is replaced with bewilderment, which then contorts into a scowl. He practically stomps up to the younger man, the signal watch momentarily forgotten.

“Explain, Olsen,” he demands, thrusting the cellphone in Jimmy’s face. “Who’s this Tommy, and what does he mean by your fan club? You have a fan club? YOU?"

IMPOSSIBLE.

     Luthor scrambles backwards, his foot sliding over the many shards of a blade forged from kryptonite that had shattered mere moments ago when he’d tried to plunge it into the alien’s chest. He’d quickly discerned Superman hadn’t been the one to unceremoniously whisk him away from a press conference, but some kind of doppelganger — one that just demonstrated he doesn’t share the Man of Steel’s most easily exploitable weakness.

“That’s funny,” he manages to say, though he struggles to hear himself over the sound of his own heart thumping away in his ears. Luthor grits his teeth when he realizes the alien can probably hear it, too. “I was just thinking the same about you.”

     Think, Lex, think. Mercy is likely attempting to locate him with street cameras and satellites; Lois Lane was at the press conference, so she must be tripping over herself to find out why her ‘beau’ quite literally took away her chance to accuse Luthor of whatever ridiculous scandal she’s cooked up this time; and as much as he loathes to admit it, this is definitely a job for Superman.

WHEN THEY’RE WORKING

see this is what you love most. their eyes light up and no one can do it quite like them. whether they are a fighter or a healer. whether they are full of grace and gentle poise, or brute strength and wild energy, you love them when they are at their purest form. raw and unfettered. unadulterated by social cues and careful masks we all wear. when they are just them, trusting their instincts, using their experience, relying on the skills they earned. this is when you heart swells with pride. and you can never decide if you want to interrupt them and draw them into your arms with a hungry, appreciative kiss. or if you could sit there and quietly observe them for hours with more satisfaction than anything physical could bring.

tagged by: @jornalist​ and @svpe!  💚💜

"Oh, try not to beat yourself up too much," Lex replies, his airy nonchalance a sharp contrast to Lillian’s solemn demeanor. “After I was able to bait you with my rook, there really wasn’t anything you could do to keep me from putting your queen en prise.” 

     He smiles wryly and rests his chin atop his hands, knowing full well she wasn’t referring to her unusually lackluster performance throughout their game, but Lex isn’t interested in placating whatever ill-begotten feelings of regret or shame his step-mother is currently wrestling with; she knew exactly what she was doing. Lillian being a Luthor is more than just the name she took, and maybe that had ultimately been Lionel’s mistake when he chose to marry her.

     Lex’s mistake was that he’d underestimated this side of her until being ousted from the company and his subsequent incarceration.

     Fortunately, unlike his father, Lex is still alive to learn from his mistakes.

The sudden manhandling has Joker giggling and kicking his feet as he puts his hands up in mock surrender. “Lex, Lex, the cameras are all gone! You don’t have to pretend to hate me now!” A wide grin meets the irritated features as usual, nothing about the warning causing Joker to look even slightly afraid or to begin to struggle in the grasp. The shaking only causes another spout of laughter that is far too shrill for the confined space of the elevator, which of course makes the cackling grow far louder. Poor Luthor. 

After he pulls himself out of the grip, a tongue runs across exposed teeth as the Joker feigns of look of thought. “Mercy? Hmmm, hmm. Let’s see. What did I do? Oh, right! Don’t worry, Lex, I know you don’t like to replace the GOOD ones! Why, if you threw out Harley I’d have to make a show of you wouldn’t I? No, no. We’re FRIENDS, Lexie. Mercy just didn’t understand you forgot my invitation and was a little TOO into keeping her orders! You’d think I’d have a special ‘let in the fun clown’ but no! I’d be hurt if I didn’t know you were preoccupied with big blue.”

Taking the opportunity of one of them not touching the other for about three seconds, once again an arm is around Lex. Seems he has the same issue with personal space that Luthor had. That being, of course, that there was no such thing. 

“But I get it, you have all the boring business procedures out of the way, all those annoying threats and show of bravado through, Lexie?”

"Don’t be ridiculous,” Luthor scoffs, rolling his shoulders in a perfunctory attempt to shrug off the Joker’s arm. It doesn’t work, of course, but he feels vindicated by having made the effort. He crosses his arms and waits for the elevator to finish its descent into the underground parking garage in silence — well, his silence — as he knows rebuking the clown for the headache he’s caused would only be a waste of breath.

When they finally reach the basement and the doors open, they’re met with none other than Mercy, who’s missing her hat and sporting a fresh bruise on her cheek. She immediately draws her gun on the Joker, but Luthor holds up his hand. “Stop.”

“But Lex—”

“I’m very disappointed in you, Mercy,” he says, practically looming over his bodyguard as he steps off the lift, and it’s more than enough to make her lower her weapon. “Since you so utterly failed to handle a ‘surprise visit’ from my”— he glances at the clown and sneers —“associate, I will be the one taking care of him. You will go upstairs, tell what remains of my security team that I have been kidnapped by the Joker, and then make sure all the guests either go home or give their statements to the police, who will be arriving any minute now. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Mercy answers, doing everything in her power not to look as dejected as she feels. She enters the elevator, glaring at the clown as she marches past him.

“And while you’re up there,” Luthor casually adds, “I also want you to clean the remains of my security team off the floor. Make it quick; I don’t want them leaving a stain.” The elevator doors close before Mercy is able to properly react, though her eyes widen in horror once she realizes the implication behind his last order.

“Now then...” He straightens the front of his suit jacket. With Mercy’s status confirmed and tonight’s debacle being dealt with, the mogul seems much more relaxed. “I know you have no intention of letting the police or even Superman ruin your fun, so...”

—    basics.

▸     is your muse tall/short/average?

Lex is 6′2″, which is probably around average for men in superhero comics.

▸     are they okay with their height?

Yes; that is, until a certain alien who could fly showed up. Lex despises how much he’s had to look up ever since.

▸     what’s their hair like?

lex vc I see now why miss lane tagged me in this...

When Lex had hair, it was black and coily, and he styled it in a short afro and then a flat top as he got older. In the 90s, when his brain was transferred into a cloned body, he had much longer hair which he had styled into locs and kept tied in a loose ponytail. The clone virus unfortunately caused his new body to breakdown and age prematurely, and his hair was an early casualty.

▸     do they spend a lot of time on their hair/grooming?

More than one would assume, probably. Lex takes care of his bald scalp with various high-end moisturizers, sunscreens, and massages. He also spends a great deal of time and effort shaping his eyebrows.

▸     does your muse care about their appearance/what others think?

Lex is all about appearances. He cares about his reputation to the extent that being perceived by others in a positive light is conducive to both gaining and spreading influence. And it feeds into his already massive ego, of course.

—    preferences.

▸    indoors or outdoors?    indoors ▸    rain or sunshine?    sunshine ▸    forest or beach?     beach ▸    precious metals or gems?    gems ▸    flowers or perfumes?     flowers ▸    personality or appearance?    personality ▸    being alone or being in a crowd?    being alone ▸    order or anarchy?    order ▸    painful truths or white lies?     white lies ▸    science or magic?     science ▸    peace or conflict?     conflict ▸    night or day?     day ▸    dusk or dawn?    dawn ▸    warmth or cold?     warmth ▸    many acquaintances or a few close friends?     many acquaintances ▸    reading or playing a game?   playing a game

—    questionnaire.

▸     what are some of your muse’s bad habits?

Underestimating his opponents and manipulating everyone around him ( even those he considers close to him ) are probably his two biggest offenses. His third is being a coward and either running away or talking his way out of a situation he isn’t in complete control of.

Basically just being Lex Luthor is a bad habit.

▸     has your muse lost anyone close to them?  how has it affected them?

Lex became fond of Subject B-0, otherwise known as “Bizarro,” over the course of Forever Evil, and was uncharacteristically overcome when the clone died in his arms. He vowed to make another, “better” Bizarro, and eventually did, but he didn’t bond with this one in the same way and ultimately gave “ownership” of it to Jason Todd and Artemis of Bana-Mighdall; this might have given him a sense of closure.

When his younger sister, Lena, fell into a coma following the Darkseid War, he had a sort of “epiphany” and declared himself the new Superman in light of Superman’s death to Kryptonite poisoning, hoping to make Lena proud of the man he’s become when he’s finally able to wake her. While it’s very likely that this was just a convenient excuse for Lex to don the Superman mantle, it does say a lot that Lena is made to be the crux of his decision and that he cites her approval as his biggest motivation.

▸     what are some fond memories your muse has?

The only fond memories Lex has are with Lena, really. Walking her to and from school, taking her to the park to play, teaching her how to play chess, etc. He also enjoyed sneaking into the Metropolis Planetarium on Friday nights and using their telescopes to stargaze.

And let’s not forget the 42 cakes he stole from a school bake sale.

As far as more recent memories go, Lex will always relish his first victory against Superman.

▸     is it easy for your muse to kill?

Yes, though he prefers not to and will only do it — or arrange for it to be done — if he deems it absolutely necessary. After all, the best part about winning is getting to see the look of devastation on his enemy’s face when they realize they’ve lost.

▸     what’s it like when your muse breaks down?

When Lex has a strong negative reaction to something, be it anger or sadness, he throws himself into his work. I don’t think he “breaks down” so much as he turns into a machine, spending sleepless nights and restless days working out the issue; he effectively hits the “pause” button on everything in his life until he’s able to find a satisfactory solution or his body gives out on him, after which he decides there’s more pressing matters to attend to.

▸     is your muse capable of trusting someone with their life?

No, but he does trust in consistency; in well-established patterns and observable routines. Lex would never say he trusts Superman with his life, but he does trust Superman to save him from certain death so as to uphold his image as a hero and to avoid being a hypocrite.

I would say the closest person he comes to trusting with his life is Lena, but there’s an argument to be made that it isn’t trust so much as Lex being completely delusional about the state of their relationship. Mercy is a close second.

▸     what’s your muse like when they’re in love?

Assuming a man like Lex is even capable of love... 

The best way I can describe it is a child with a brand new toy: at first he’s enthralled with it, constantly playing with it and taking it everywhere with him. Some time passes, and the toy isn’t nearly as interesting as it was when he first got it. He begins to play with it less and less, until finally he grows bored of it and tosses it into the box with all his other forgotten playthings, occasionally digging it out only when he needs to.

Lex is the child. You are the toy.

And you’d better hope he never decides to make you his favorite toy.

Tagged by: @jornalist​ 💚