First batch of headcanons for the Superman AU:
Celine belonged to the military guild and Mi‑yeong to the artistic one.
It was Mi‑yeong who began courting Celine, fascinated by her beauty and the strength that accompanied it. Celine rejected her for a long time, too attached to Krypton’s rules and her own guild, until she finally yielded to her charms, enchanted by her voice.
Matricomp deemed their relationship incompatible. They decided to steal a ship and a birth matrix and set out into the stars. Mi‑yeong believed the universe was too beautiful to spend a life in one place. Celine believed in Mi‑yeong. That was enough to leave.
Rumi was born far from Krypton. The birth matrix had been slightly damaged during her mothers’ escape and exposed to cosmic radiation. This caused her left eye to develop weaker powers than the right (it sees worse, its heat vision doesn’t reach the same temperatures and causes pain and fatigue more quickly), her hair took on a purple tint, and some of her tissues became denser. She also accumulates solar energy faster and in greater amounts, but long, intense periods without sunlight can quickly lead to exhaustion and weakness.
For five years they wandered through star systems, living like nomads of the universe. Mi‑yeong was at her most creative then; Celine at her most stressed—she lost count of how many times they had to flee or fight because Mi‑yeong became too enamored with something she absolutely shouldn’t have. Fortunately, Rumi’s presence added a bit of sense to her life.
Rumi grew up in space, learning from both her mothers. From Mi‑yeong she learned art, music, and wonder; from Celine discipline, survival, and combat.
Red dwarfs make up the majority of stars (70-80% of all stars), so during their travels they rarely had the chance to be exposed to radiation from other types of stars. The Sun was the first yellow star they had ever seen.
Mi‑yeong always followed beauty, so when she heard rumors of the Sun’s beauty, she decided they should go there. That’s where they encountered slave hunters. Celine managed to destroy all the attackers, but Mi‑yeong was gravely wounded while protecting Rumi. Celine pushed the ship to its limits, but she couldn’t make it in time. She buried her beloved on Jeju Island, in the most beautiful place she could find. At the burial site she placed a great stone, burned Mi‑yeong’s name into it, and together with Rumi sang her favorite songs.
The first hours on Earth were a nightmare for Celine—her grief worsened the sensory overload caused by the Sun’s radiation. In her suffering she nearly hurt Rumi.
Their ship was badly damaged. Celine decided that while she repaired it, Rumi should experience a bit of normal life. She earned money, bought an old cottage, and enrolled Rumi in school. In her daughter’s absence she drowned herself in work, trying to forget the bitter feeling that filled her heart. It took her many days to realize that Rumi was mourning her mother too. The dam she had worked so hard to build to shut off her own emotions finally broke. For the first time in her life, Celine cried.
