#character guide

Matrix was created by Lex Luthor in an apocalyptic alternate version of Earth. Luthor started the apocalypse by accident when he accidentally freed Kryptonian criminals General Zod, Zaora, and Quex-Ul from the Phantom Zone. These Kryptonians went on to destroy the entire planet, leaving Luthor scrambling for a way to stop them. The Universe’s only hero, Superboy (Clark, not Kon), died years before in an unrelated adventure—so shortly after Lana Lang’s death, Luthor modelled a protomatter creature after her ‘dna matrix’ and in homage to the late Superboy. This new ‘Lana’, he hoped, could both serve as a weapon against the Kryptonians and a messenger he could send to the main DC Universe to ask Superman for help.

Despite ‘Lana’ and Superman’s best efforts, the Kryptonians successfully destroyed all life on the planet, including the Pocket Universe’s Luthor, her creator. On his deathbed, Luthor reveals that he convinced his protomatter ‘Lana’ that she was the real and original Lana all along, and she never knew she wasn’t real. He reveals that he knows the location of Gold Kryptonite (removes Kryptonians’ powers) and Green Kryptonite (kills Kryptonians) and Superman should find them and end this once and for all. Superman asks him why he created this protomatter ‘Lana’ if he had access to all he needed to win all along, and he blames his own ego before dying.

Clark brought the severely damaged and in-shock ‘Lana’ home to his family, who took her in as their own. As she recovered, she lost her implanted ‘Lana’ memories and gave herself a new name—Matrix. Ma soon gave her the nickname ‘Mae,’ saying that Matrix is no name for a girl. The shock of finding out her entire life has been a lie leaves Mae in a childlike state, having to relearn basic information about the world and basic skills like reading. Clark, traumatised by his killing of the three Kryptonians, leaves Earth to recover himself without endangering humans. His absence leads people to begin to be concerned, and Matrix, already confused about her identity, decides to fill the absence and begins having a delusional episode. She shapeshifts into Clark and believes she actually is him (although she seems to not know that Clark is Superman) and hijinks ensue as she makes her way to the Daily Planet.

When Clark returns from his exile, he brings with him the Eradicator, a mysterious Kryptonian weapon. When Matrix comes in contact with it, it links her mind with Clark’s, pushing her from delusional into full-blown psychosis with hallucinations. She begins to believe she’s Superman and Clark is General Zod, and she must kill him to save her world. Clark eventually calms her down and she decides to leave Earth, just as he did, on her own mission to find a home.

She returns in 1992’s Panic in the Sky! event, having run into Draaga while still in her Superman form, leading him to mistake her for Clark, whom he has a death pact with. Shortly after he realises the truth, Brainiac arrives and puts Mae under his mind-control. Lots of fun superhero stuff occurs (read it! it’s lots of fun!) and eventually Draaga, having come to love Mae during the events of the arc, sacrifices himself to fulfill his blood pact and retain his honor without offending Mae by killing Clark. Mae reflects on this as she buries him and decides that she will keep the name Supergirl, as that’s the form she used while fighting alongside him.

She returns to Earth, and her ship is intercepted by Lex Luthor II, the estranged Australian son of absentee parent Lex Luthor. Seeing the young Luthor son’s flaming hair and young face, she mistakes him for her creator from the Pocket Universe and immediately professes her love. She’s embarrassed to find out her mistake, but her affection doesn’t go away. She and Luthor began a relationship, with Luthor being very sweet and affectionate and charitable, and Mae being very willing to hurt herself to help him.

Not long after they began their romance, Clark dies at the hands of Doomsday. Mae is distraught by her failure to save him and immediately takes on his mission, flitting around the world helping with disaster relief and stopping crime. Luthor begins ‘Team Luthor’ in an attempt to fill the hole left by Superman’s absence. He asks her to do a lot of things, like sending her to fetch people for him or asking her to shapeshift for him. He begins running tests on her to figure out how her powers work, since her creator died before he could tell Mae anything about her biology.

Not long after Clark’s return to life, Mae is approached by Elizabeth Perske during some testing in Singapore. Perske tells her about how Lex Luthor Sr., Lex II’s late father, mistreated her. She says she’s concerned Luthor II is not as kind as he’s pretending to be. Mae reacts poorly before being handed proof that she’s being followed—and then seeing the man who was following her working at LexCorp. She begins investigating and soon discovers that Luthor has been cloning her, creating his own army of mutated clones of her. She confronts him, only to find a sick and dying man. Clark stops her from killing him by pointing out how ill he is, and she relents.

Shortly after this, Lex Luthor II’s mother, Gretchen Kelley, betrays him and reveals to the press via Lois that 21 year old Lex Luthor II was in fact the 50+ year old Lex Luthor Sr., and he had faked his death to grow a young clone body around his brain and eyes. His clone body was deteriorating due to Clone Sickness, hence why he was dying. Lex reacts poorly to the betrayal, but Clark convinces him away from doing anything rash like destroy Metropolis—but Lex’s right hand man, Sydney Happersen (who you might have seen in the recent Superman movie), refuses to let him pussy out like that and sends the missiles himself, dying immediately after of an electrical shock from the malfunctioning button.

Mae, meanwhile, travels the world with Perske for a little while before spending some time in Charlotte, NC. Not too long into her stint there, however, she’s kidnapped by Raven. She ends up going on some adventures with the New Titans for a while, before leaving to save Superman from an alien Tribunal ordering his execution.

When she returns, she gets into a fight with Kon over his relationship with Knockout in Superboy (1994) and has an existential crisis in Showcase ‘96 (#8) before ending up in Leesburg, VA. In Leesburg she comes across a dying woman named Linda Danvers, a victim and member of a demonic cult. Feeling that she’s never been truly whole without a real link to humanity, she sacrifices herself to fuse her body with Linda’s. They create a new being, a combined soul of their two lives and memories, and become the Earthborn Angel of Fire. Mae loses her shapeshifting and invisibility powers and moves into Linda’s house, living her life. They have many adventures, but that’s beyond my expertise, as I’m not personally a fan of the comic and it represents a significant characterisation change for Mae.

Taskforce 141

John Price Full name: Jonathan Charles Price. Age: 38 years old. Birthdate: July 8th. Born in: Liverpool. Family: Unknown. Notes: Grew up in foster care. Got placed in a group home after too many foster families.

Simon "Ghost" Riley Full name: Simon William Riley Age: 35 years old Birthdate: December 17th. Born in: Manchester. Family: Mother: Lily, deceased Father: Noah, not in contact Brother: Thomas "Tommy", not in contact Notes: Suffered abuse from his father, who scarred his face with a Glasgow smile. His brother suffered from the same abuse, which caused him to lash out at Simon, abusing him mentally. Simon cut off contact as soon as he could.

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick Full name: Kyle Garrick. Age: 30 years old. Birthdate: October 10th. Born in: London Family: Mother: Mary, in contact Father: Henry, in contact Older sister: Mae, in contact Twin sister: Kayla, in contact Notes: Grew up a relatively quiet life. Is really close with his sisters, but mostly with his twin sister, Kayla.

Johnny "Soap" MacTavish Full name: John Mactavish. Age: 28 years old. Birthdate: February 14th. Born in: The isle of Skye Family: Mother: Anne, in contact Father: Marsh, in contact Older brother: Archie, deceased Notes: Johnny's brother, Archie, was in the military as well, but was killed in action in Afghanistan when Johnny was 25.

Los vaqueros

Alejandro Vargas Full name: Alejandro Miguel Vargas. Age: 33 years old. Birthdate: August 11th. Born in: Las Almas Family: Mother: unknown name, deceased Father: unknown name, not in contact Notes: Alejandro's mother died during labour, his father blamed him. During his childhood Alejandro's dad was always drunk, so he was taken in by Rudy and his grandparents.

Rodolfo "Rudy" Parra Full name: Rodolfo Matías Parra. Age: 32 years old. Birthdate: March 5th. Born in: Las Almas Family: Mother: Elena, in contact Father: Diego, in contact Grandmother: Sofia, in contact Grandfather: Felipe, in contact Notes: Rudy's grandparents (on his mothers side), Sofia and Felipe took care of Alejandro ever since they were kids, so they grew up together.

Las Almas Cartel

Valeria "El sin nombre" Garzia Full name: Valeria Carmen Garza. Age: 33 years old. Birthdate: May 2nd. Born in: Las Almas. Family: Mother: Inés, deceased Father: Mateo, deceased Little sister: Daniela, deceased Grandmother: Adela, in contact Notes: Valeria's parents were cops. Because of their jobs, a cartel went after them, they killed Valeria's parents and her little sister and burned down their home when Valeria was 9 years old. Valeria was taken in by her maternal grandmother, who was good friends with Rudy's grandmother (which is how she knows Alejandro and Rudy and which is why her betrayal hurts them even more).

ULF

Farah Karim Full name: Farah Karim. Age: 29 years old. Birthdate: April 28th. Born in: Urzikstan. Family: Mother: Inaya, deceased Father: Kareem, deceased Older brother: Hadir, not in contact Notes: Grew up like shown in the first modern warfare.

Alex Keller Full name: Alexander Joshua Keller. Age: 31 years old. Birthdate: May 12th. Born in: San Francisco. Family: Mother: Eleanor, not in contact Father: Benjamin, not in contact Little sister: Hazel, not in contact Notes: Had a good childhood, joined the military at 21 after getting a degree in engineering which was paid for by the army. Lost contact with his family after deserting the US army in order to help Farah. He has gotten Laswell to give them a message to them, explaining his choices. Hasn't told them about losing his leg, even though he's not able to be in contact with them, he's scared for his mothers reaction.

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Characters that I don't write romantically for

Kate Laswell Full name: Katherine Laswell. Age: 50 years old. Birthdate: January 27th. Born in: Washington. Family: Classified. Notes: Her wife's name is Emma. Not much known about her past. Her and Emma are highschool sweethearts.

Emma Laswell Full name: Emma Laswell (previously Taylor) Age: 49 years old. Birthdate: December 4th. Born in: Washington. Family: Not in contact. Notes: She's not in contact with her family because they don't accept her sexuality. Her and Kate are highschool sweethearts.

Morning Glory

From the Hyrule Historia Comic (AKA "First Link")

They/Any pronouns

A literal ghost

Can haunt all of Hyrule

Can time travel if there's a hero to tether the portal to, or if Hyrule is in peril at the desired time

Both prior points are due to Hylia's vow from the comic

Secondary Antagonist

Uses sign language

Aconite

Skyward Sword Link

Any pronouns

genderqueer + polyamorous

is not yet in a relationship w/ zelda and groose, but they want to be!

Became pretty reserved after the events of SkSw

Aconite flowers symbolize nearby foes / danger, deceit, madness, and anxiety, but they also symbolize knights/knighthood and chivalry

Marigold

Minish Cap Link

She/Her

Protagonist

Trans woman + lesbian

Engaged to her Zelda (Maylily) :D

The main reason I thought to name her Marigold was because I associate Marigolds very heavily w good memories from my childhood, which contextually fit Minish Cap very well!

Marigolds symbolize the connection between life and death, grief, and creativity. And also jealousy, but that has more to do with how Sunflower sees her than it does about herself

has very strong morals and obsesses over them

Clover

Ocarina of Time / Majora's Mask Link

Mirror pronouns (aka the pronouns of whoever is talking about them)

little prankster

the braids in her hair are from faeries

Her design is most likely gonna change at some point, but I don't think it'll be an overhaul, so she got to keep the portrait. Unlike Yarrow

Clover flowers symbolize promises, luck, life, hope, prosperity, and lightheartedness

WILL take your lunch money and then gaslight you about it

Heliconia

Wind Waker Link (has not done PH yet)

She/They

I originally named her Adonis, but I changed it on account of it sounding too close to Aconite.

Morally grey and not paid enough for this

Loves annoying Aryll

Most likely to beat you up while wearing super sparkly hair accessories Aryll put on them

A lot of Heliconia's character was inspired by listening to my friend Bats talk about Wind Waker, as well as hearing them talk about how they characterized Tune from @monstrous-fusion :)

Heliconia flowers symbolize great returns, youth, and pride.

Heliconia flowers are also called lobster claws and false birds-of-paradise. I thought the latter fit well with WW Link often being considered different from the other heroes, despite looking the same

Bluebell

Spirit Tracks Link

Any pronouns

Unsure about what she wants to do in zheir future

Very close w/ his Zelda

Loves tinkering with things (this does Not mean all of his inventions work. love her but they're a little dumb)

Bluebell flowers symbolize humility, devotion, and gratitude. There's also stories regarding bluebells causing people to tell the truth :)

Another reason i picked the name bluebell for ST Link is because they're pretty cute flowers! They just kind of fit the vibe of ST in my head lol

Lupine

Twilight Princess Link

She/Her

I have been trying for two years to give her a design. She doesn't want one. SOS

Has a lot of residual effects from her transformation that make people wary

Does her best to appear nice, palatable, and non-threatening

Get it? Lupine? Lupin? Wolf? okay I'll leave now

Lupine flowers symbolize imagination, creativity, endurance, resilience, hope, growth in harsh conditions

Hibiscus

A Link to the Past, Oracle of Ages/Seasons, and Link's Awakening Link

She/Him pronouns

Also has a some residual transformation features, but she benefits from them looking 'pretty' and non-threatening in a way Lupine can't relate to

The most well adjusted person here, probably

Loves helping people and traveling

Still trying to avoid marrying a tree

Likes eating eggs a little too much

Hibiscus flowers symbolize love, beauty, positive energy, joy, celebration, rare beauty, and delicate beauty

Sunflower

A Link Between Worlds Link

They/He pronouns

Deuteragonist

Was super close with Ravio

Never got over Ravio leaving and isolated themself

Lone wanderer

Sunflowers have a lot of symbolism, but here's the ones that influenced my naming decision: ambition, devotion, vitality, wealth, unhappy love, haughtiness, loyalty

Also, Sunflowers are involved in phytoremediation, which I thought was fitting

He is the most likely to throw someone else off a cliff

Will go on to experience Triforce Heroes after this AU, but as it stands right now, they are the worst at teamwork

Begonia

From the first Zelda game + Adventure of Link

He/Fae/It pronouns

utterly drenched in magic

Perpetually dissociating

Begonia flowers symbolize caution, a forewarning, balance, fanciful nature, and goodness

Morally grey. Is used to doing whatever it takes

Zinnia

An original Zelda from somewhere late in the downfall timeline

She/Her pronouns

Also literally a ghost

No one came to save her, and she is Totally Not Bitter About It! She just has a ten step revenge plan ---

Can only haunt the room she died in

Primary antagonist

Morning Glory's only friend and vice versa

Zinnias symbolize absent friends, thoughts of absent friends, mourning someone's absence, and missing someone. If we take her color palette into account, there is the added symbolism of memories beyond your reach.

Forsythia

Zelda from Echoes of Wisdom

She/Her pronouns, but wont blink if you use something else

Will bully you into self care

Most likely to laugh at an inappropriate time

Paperwork is her mortal enemy and she WILL tell you about it

Tells stupidly long and convoluted stories just so you can understand the joke she is about to make

Forsythia flowers symbolize renewal, friendship, optimism, hope, good fortune, the beginning of spring, and anticipation

Phlox

Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom Link

He/They pronouns

Uses sign language

Travels and studies Hyrule with his Zelda, Iris ! :D

Local horse lover

Genderfluid

The worst sense of fashion you have EVER seen

Phlox flowers symbolize unity, "our souls are united", and sweet dreams

Yarrow

Link from Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

He/Him pronouns

Trans man

Retired a while ago, now spends his time in a cottage

Was bullied into going to therapy but is now better for it

I do have a design for him, technically, but I want to change it, so he gets the design pending treatment as well. Sorry, Yarrow

Yarrow flowers are also known as the military herb / wartime flower / deathflower and so much more :)

-brainrotted/chronically online/fandomholic

-loves loves lovesss binge watching any type of online content, has no specific interest but dabbles in whatever niche comes up their feed, deep dives and gossip are their only true calling

-in college/dropped out depending on the fic

-internet slang/hyperaware of everything

-"erm... actually"

-mentally well, physically ill most of the time (nothing crazy, mostly just flus) needs to be looked after when going out

-the advice giver of the group

-constantly ragebaiting everyone has no true sence of boundaries, maybe socially clueless

-despite the alt aesthetics they dress whatever and however they want, mostly handmade items

-glitter eyeshadow, hair dye, lipstick stains, fake freckles

-for the sake of plot convenience just assume they have a good paying job as a tattoo artist, and a healthy relationship with their family which is why they're out of their life and living the way they want

-party goer but sober, drinks and smokes on occasion but again generally just a healthy individual with a slight bully mindset (in the best way)

-the driver who tries not to overdrink

-west coast valley accent cause they know it annoys everyone

-"you're so stupid" "i know i am but what are you!?"

- "do it for the plot"

-somehow knows everything and nothing at the same time

-the boys are lowkey fed up with them and their nonsense but they still find it endearing which is why they love you

-piercings.. piercings and tatts everywhere

-graffiti artist on occasion

-despite the extremely healthy relationships and overall good mental state, they're a little bored so when they stick around despite everything it's either genuine care or just pure boredom

-unbothered. not in a nonchalant way, will either walk away or just make things worst for everyone else