1.) He’s not Clark, not even Clark on red Kryptonite. This is Kal-El minus the Kents and plus Lionel Luthor but also plus Lex and Julian. He’s not immoral, is actually a lot closer to amoral, but his mindset is not Clark Kent’s, his reactions similar but not the same, and his personal problems are definitely different. Writing Colin is somewhat like writing a Kryptonian version of a Smallville-compliant Lex.
2.) Colin is fucked in the head, and he’s not always nice, and he’s not a goody two-shoes. He’s manipulative and secretive, and he has serious, deep-seated issues with authority and trust. He might appear harmless and woobie on the surface to people who don’t know truly know him, but Lin’s as much a Luthor (i.e. a shark) as Lionel or Lex. In some honestly scary and squicky ways, he’s actually more Lionel’s son than Lex is or ever will be--or ever could be.
3.) He adores his brothers and will do just about anything to protect and care for them, even if that means sacrificing himself or his relationship to them. He’s done it before, after all.
4.) He’s afraid of himself, to a much higher degree than are most other versions of Clark Kent or Kal-El or Superman. This is another reaction to growing up with Lionel but more importantly to being studied (in depth) at the Centre. There were also questions that weren’t answered for a long time, either, such as Lin’s origins, and so Lionel and co. were free to fill in the blanks however they chose. Needless to say, fear was considered a more powerful motivator than compassion or duty.
5.) Lin is attracted to and in love with Lex and pretty much only ever Lex (in this world, of course). It’s mostly to do with trust and habit, as perhaps unsettling as that may be. He theoretically still has it in him to love and desire others, but it’s a combination of things preventing him. One, see items three and four; Colin’s fucked in the head. He views himself as twisted, to a certain extent, and doesn’t trust himself around others. Two, he’s traumatized, still likely feels something of a victim or bystander around other people, especially when it concerns attraction and the fact that Colin is very handsome and doubtless an interesting and enigmatic semi-public figure. So, he doesn’t trust other people not to hurt him and most definitely does not trust himself not to hurt them, but he does implicitly trust Lex on both counts--to keep him safe and keep him in line.
Bonus: 6.) My original draft of Can’t Find My Way Home had Colin doing some illegal jobs for Morgan Edge, much like Clark on red!K does in my other story Ghost In Me (which is where that story was born). That was the first version of the story, the one that didn’t have more than a brief mention of Bruce Wayne in it and took place solely in Metropolis. Also, while Lucky was still the one who murdered Lionel, Lin wasn’t as uninvolved in the act itself in the first draft of the story as he is in the final version of Can’t Find My Way Home. I’d written Lin as having crippled Lionel weeks before that final showdown in the burning Centre (which led to quite the verbal fight between Lex and Lin), so that when the time came--Lionel couldn’t get away from Lucas’ “justice.” It also would’ve referenced the Colin Luthor canon fact that Lucas is a precog, and Colin inherited that ability during the two’s blood transfusions as “kids.”
1.) He’s not Clark, not even Clark on red Kryptonite. This is Kal-El minus the Kents and plus Lionel Luthor but also plus Lex and Julian. He’s not immoral, is actually a lot closer to amoral, but his mindset is not Clark Kent’s, his reactions similar but not the same, and his personal problems are definitely different. Writing Colin is somewhat like writing a Kryptonian version of a Smallville-compliant Lex.
2.) Colin is fucked in the head, and he’s not always nice, and he’s not a goody two-shoes. He’s manipulative and secretive, and he has serious, deep-seated issues with authority and trust. He might appear harmless and woobie on the surface to people who don’t know truly know him, but Lin’s as much a Luthor (i.e. a shark) as Lionel or Lex. In some honestly scary and squicky ways, he’s actually more Lionel’s son than Lex is or ever will be--or ever could be.
3.) He adores his brothers and will do just about anything to protect and care for them, even if that means sacrificing himself or his relationship to them. He’s done it before, after all.
4.) He’s afraid of himself, to a much higher degree than are most other versions of Clark Kent or Kal-El or Superman. This is another reaction to growing up with Lionel but more importantly to being studied (in depth) at the Centre. There were also questions that weren’t answered for a long time, either, such as Lin’s origins, and so Lionel and co. were free to fill in the blanks however they chose. Needless to say, fear was considered a more powerful motivator than compassion or duty.
5.) Lin is attracted to and in love with Lex and pretty much only ever Lex (in this world, of course). It’s mostly to do with trust and habit, as perhaps unsettling as that may be. He theoretically still has it in him to love and desire others, but it’s a combination of things preventing him. One, see items three and four; Colin’s fucked in the head. He views himself as twisted, to a certain extent, and doesn’t trust himself around others. Two, he’s traumatized, still likely feels something of a victim or bystander around other people, especially when it concerns attraction and the fact that Colin is very handsome and doubtless an interesting and enigmatic semi-public figure. So, he doesn’t trust other people not to hurt him and most definitely does not trust himself not to hurt them, but he does implicitly trust Lex on both counts--to keep him safe and keep him in line.
Bonus: 6.) My original draft of Can’t Find My Way Home had Colin doing some illegal jobs for Morgan Edge, much like Clark on red!K does in my other story Ghost In Me (which is where that story was born). That was the first version of the story, the one that didn’t have more than a brief mention of Bruce Wayne in it and took place solely in Metropolis. Also, while Lucky was still the one who murdered Lionel, Lin wasn’t as uninvolved in the act itself in the first draft of the story as he is in the final version of Can’t Find My Way Home. I’d written Lin as having crippled Lionel weeks before that final showdown in the burning Centre (which led to quite the verbal fight between Lex and Lin), so that when the time came--Lionel couldn’t get away from Lucas’ “justice.” It also would’ve referenced the Colin Luthor canon fact that Lucas is a precog, and Colin inherited that ability during the two’s blood transfusions as “kids.”
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