Karolina Dean || Virginia Gardner || The Runaways || Identity: Secret || 21 || Cis-female || Los Angeles, California || Student/Stark Industries Intern || Â PLAYED BY ROWAN
It took Karolina Dean a long, long time to accept any part of who she was. Growing up, her life could easily be described as picturesque. Her parents were both successful actors in Hollywood, and they gave her the kind of childhood that many dream about: a huge backyard pool, her own massive bedroom and all the shopping sprees she wanted. High school had seemed simple â after all, she was bright and popular enough and bubbly. People liked being around her and she liked being surrounded by people. But everything changed one night at Alex Wilderâs house, surrounded by childhood friends she hardly spoke to anymore.
At some point, every child thinks their parents are evil. But Karolina never even had this kind of relationship with her parents. She was well behaved, so she was never reprimanded or punished. She had never broken curfew, never been grounded, never even asked for something and not received it. Now she knows that her parents probably thought she was weak, easy to fool and control. They made her believe that she had an allergy to penicillin in order to make her wear a medical alert bracelet that repressed her true powers. Everything they ever told her, she believed. Everything they ever told her to do, she did it, without question. So when it turned out that her parents really were evil (sacrificial, alien fugitives, got the city in the palm of their hands evil), she wasnât prepared to believe it.
It wasnât long before she knew the truth about the Pride, that five other kids just like her also had parents who secretly wanted to destroy the human race. They did the only thing they could do: they left their parents behind. These were the only people who could teach them about their various powers, and it was difficult learning how to be a witch, or a mutant, or the owner of a futuristic dinosaur while also hiding out from the police and stopping petty robberies. As for Karolina herself, finding out she was an alien almost made sense. She always felt out of place, but this? This could totally explain those feelings. Except, of course, her heritage wasnât the only thing that set her apart from her friends. Sheâd had a crush on Nico for years, but she would rather be with Alex. Karolina knew better than to trust anyone with that particular secret.
In the blink of an eye they went from a tight-knit family of their own to a group of fugitives just trying to survive and maybe kick a little criminal ass when they could. Alex wasnât like that, maybe he never had been, and now he was gone. And it wasnât okay, losing a friend and losing their families at the same time, but they would be okay, because at least they had each other. New members came and went, but for Karolina, none were more important than Xavin. She had attempted to marry the near stranger as a means of creating peace between Majesdane and the Skrulls, but it only ended in war. When she returned to Earth, everything was different, but at least everyone was still okay. Just okay.
But then, they werenât okay. One of them was dead, again, why was one of them always dying while the others had to live with the knowledge that they had done nothing to stop it? Being together was the only remedy for the pain, something they all felt acutely, and it pushed them all to be better, sharper, more vigilant. Although they would all prefer to be back home in LA, New York needs them now more than ever. Karolina isnât dumb enough to think that their lack of experience is going to be the difference between life and death for the city, but it couldnât hurt.
romaincrisis
dailybridgerton
vaporwave
tangentwithtanner
kianamaiart
