sol91 - Tumblr blog

[sol91]

Alone

LOG ENTRY: SOL 90

It occurred to me today that someday someone from earth might actually listen to these logs, so I figure I should record a needlessly expository one to get everyone up to speed.

My name is Lena Luthor.

It's been 90 martian days since I landed here with the rest of the crew. That's what, 92 earth days? Mars spins just a little on the slow side.

On sol 6 a dust storm was going to knock over the rocket we brought to take us home, so the rest of the crew went home and left me behind to die. Well, they thought I was already dead and left. To be honest, not their fault at all.

So I'm alone here on mars, no way home, no way to communicate, only enough food for a year, and everyone thinks I'm dead. Which sounds miserable but luckily I do have this disco music to listen to, courtesy of Commander Lewis.

And, if I can get these potatoes to grow in martian soil, which I definitely can, then I can survive long enough for the next mission to arrive.

Which should be in about 4 years.

Which does honestly sound like a long time to be alone. But I've been alone before. Most of the time, to be honest, it's how I do my best work.

I don't know, maybe I could have done things differently. Asked out that reporter when I had the chance. Not gone to fucking mars.

On the plus side, if I do make it home, she'll be so impressed she'll have to go out with me. I'm pretty sure the president is basically obligated to deliver a eulogy for every astronaut who kicks the bucket up here so everyone in the country must know my name by now. They'll probably show the satellite images and everything— actually, I wonder if they've figured out I'm alive by now. What else do all those NASA technicians even do all day?

Anyway, that's basically the situation. Feel free to keep watching these if you want to hear about my adventures cleaning solar panels and fixing the water reclaimer. Yeah, that'll sell movie tickets.

LOG ENTRY: SOL 91

Fuck. Oh god. Okay. Something just opened the airlock from the outside. There's no locks on it, because why the fuck would there be? There's not supposed to be anything else on this planet. I have like 30 seconds before that airlock opens and I have no idea what to do. Obviously there's no windows in the airlock for structural reasons, I guess the engineers back at NASA didn't consider the hab might be invaded by space aliens. Alright. If this is my last message I have some things I want to say. Commander Lewis your music is awful. Lex you can rot in hell. Kara I always thought you were hot.

Oh shit here we go—

Kara?

Kara Danvers stepped into the hab. She was wearing a button down shirt and khakis, no space helmet. "I've never held my breath that long, that was crazy." She said, panting slightly.

"Kara, what—" Lena began. But before she could finish forming a sentence, Kara was hugging her.

In the hierarchy of times you wanted to run into your crush, not having showered in 3 months in a room full of manure was pretty much bottom of the list. But right now, Lena didn't care. The hug lasted at least 30 seconds before Lena pulled back.

"Kara, what the fuck is going on? How are you here?"

"Oh! I'm Supergirl" Kara said simply.

"That… actually makes a lot of sense"

"I was at the office when I heard you were still alive and I just—" She shook her head. "NASA had some complicated plan to get you home, but I just thought, how far away can Mars really be?"

Lena laughed.

"You ready to go home?" Kara asked.

"Very." Lena was already crossing the room to don her spacesuit.

"Also, I was wondering" Kara said, more hesitant now. "Do you have plans for dinner tomorrow?"

Lena turned to look at Kara. "Do I have plans for dinner tomorrow?" She repeated, smiling. "Kara, I live on mars."

"I— right. Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow?"

"I would love that."

"Great!" Said Kara, "It's a date! I promise it'll be—" "Don't you dare say it." interjected Lena. "—out of this world."

[sol91]

drawing them happy till s2 comes

patreon | twit | bsky

[sol91]

catradora au continued~ 🌇💞

[sol91]

day 4 | garden / hallucinations

supercorptober / whumptober quinn's superwhumpcorptober master list

Days on Argo were filled with the familiar: textiles, foods, sounds; Evenings passed with quiet walks and familiar stories. Evidence of Krypton lingered in the seasonal rituals and annual celebrations.

But the atmosphere smelled artificial; of ozone and manufactured air. And the sky didn’t glow with dusty pinks or rusty hues. And the manicured gardens blossomed with flora that had long been extinct.

The timelessness of memories made pretend easy. It was a bit like home; a bit not.

Like returning to an empty apartment, Memories augmented reality.

The unused blanket clung onto the fantasy of cold shoulders; The static tea kettle on the stovetop rang with a silent whistle; The empty bed curled into the ghost of Lena’s warmth. Hallucinations made it feel more like home than it really was; Denial made it real.

With it, things were the same but different.  It was a bit like home; a bit not.

[sol91]

over the garden wall

my piece for the 10 year anniversary gallery nucleus show

[sol91]

Garden

Lena sighed, setting a device on the workbench in front of her. The light of dawn was creeping through the window, illuminating the blue and red Izzet guild banners that adorned the walls of her lab. Integrating magic and science wasn't easy, and Lena hadn't made as much progress as she had hoped.

Lena's laboratory was near the top of one of Izzet's tallest spires, a gleaming tower of stone and brass and exposed pipework. A privileged position, granted due to Lena's status as a planeswalker— someone with the power to travel to other planes of existence.

She stood and walked to the balcony, watching the sun begin to illuminate the vertical city's understory. The scene below her was its usual chaos. A rat's nest of alleys and cobbled streets connected stone buildings with a bewildering mix of architectural styles. Lena could see lawmages hurrying into an ornate gothic courthouse while animal-drawn carts trundled past, disappearing behind the verandas of a nearby market.

Lena smiled. This was home.

Lena often found respite on this balcony, and she always found her gaze pulled to the gardens of the Selesnya guild in the distance, hoping to catch a glimpse of a particular planeswalker. Lena's heart skipped a beat as she saw a familiar figure emerge from the treetops and fly towards her. A few moments later, Kara Zor-El landed on Lena's balcony with a basket of fresh baked goods.

"Hey! Want some breakfast?" Kara smiled at Lena. Since her arrival on Ravnica, Kara had become one of Lena's closest friends.

"Gods that sounds amazing," Lena said, snatching a pastry "I always forget how hungry I get when I'm working."

"Did you get any sleep last night?" asked Kara, trying to hide the exasperation in her voice.

"I napped," she insisted between bites of pastry "For like half an hour. That counts for something."

Seeing the expression on Kara's face, Lena decided to change the subject. "This is amazing" she said, waving the pastry she was now halfway through.

"They're good, right? Say what you will about Selesnya, the fresh food is the best"

"Why did you choose Selesnya?" Unlike Lena, Kara wasn't born here. When new planeswalkers chose to stay on Ravnica, there was often a bidding war between guilds for their allegiance. "I heard Azorius and Boros also offered…" Lena trailed off as Kara turned away to stare out across the city. Kara had never spoken about her past, and Lena had never been one to pry. Worried she had overstepped, Lena tried again. "I just—"

"Can I show you something?" Kara asked, turning back to Lena. Her voice was steady, but Lena could hear the emotion behind it.

"Of course."

Kara set down her basket and held out her hand. Knowing what was about to happen, Lena took Kara's hand as a flash of light consumed them.

The light faded as Lena surveyed their new surroundings. Lena was used to planeswalking, but each new plane she visited still had some way to surprise her. They were still in a city, but one unlike any Lena had ever seen. The elaborate stonework of Ravnica had been replaced by buildings of brushed steel and glass, elegant and orderly. The pair stood in the middle of a perfectly smooth street, straight as far as the eye could see.

"Where are we?" Lena asked in wonder, still taking in her surroundings

"Krypton." Kara's voice was sad, almost bitter. "This was my home."

It was only then that Lena noticed how unnaturally quiet it was. For a city this size, there was no clatter of transportation systems or bustle of the city as people went about their day- there wasn't even wasn't a single person in sight. The only sound was the wind blowing through the trees.

The trees— that was when Lena understood. Planted all along the roadsides and in a sprawling park a few hundred yards away, this city was full of them. But they were wrong— twisted and strangely metallic, and their leaves oozed a black oil Lena knew to be deadly.

"Phyrexia?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

Kara nodded. She was staring at a nearby storefront, seemingly anchoring herself. Lena couldn't read any of the words. "The invasion destroyed everything. Corrupted everything" The bitterness in her voice was clearer now.

Silence hung in the air for a moment.

"I'm sorry." Lena said, taking Kara's hand. Kara finally turned back to meet Lena's gaze. "Let's go home." Lena said softly.

Kara took one last look at the storefront and sighed, then nodded. "Let's go back." She amended.

Another flash and they were back in Lena's lab on Ravnica.

"Thank you." Lena said, relaxing again. "For showing me."

The uncanny silence was gone, replaced by the background cacophony of life on Ravnica. It also seemed a weight had been lifted from Kara's shoulders. She nodded and smiled at Lena, though Lena could still see sadness in her eyes.

"That's why I chose Selesnya." Said Kara in a carefully controlled voice "People don't understand how much the life on this plane is worth. How could they? They've never had to watch an entire plane wither and die"

Lena looked at Kara. "I'm so sorry." She said again. It didn't feel like enough, but she wasn't sure what else to say.

"I should go" Kara said eventually. "I'll see you later. Promise me you'll get some sleep?" Lena smiled and nodded. Then Kara was gone.

Kara soared through the gardens of the Selesnya guild, enjoying the peace the treetops provided. Sunlight danced across the leaves as squirrels darted from one branch to another. It had been two weeks since she had visited Krypton, and the nightmares had finally stopped. Last time, it had taken years. This garden had become her shield, day by day, as she surrounded herself with life that no corruption could reach. Now she knew every flower, every tree.

Well, every tree except one.

Kara realized there was a new tree in the garden today, fully grown as though it had always been there. She flew closer to investigate and gasped as she realized- this tree was Kryptonian. It had been years since Kara had seen one so full of life. She landed and pressed her hand against the bark, checking to make sure it wasn't some illusion.

"What do you think?" Lena asked as she stepped from around the trunk towards Kara.

"Lena?" Kara's eyes widened "How did you even do this?"

Lena shrugged and smiled. "Oh you know, a little bit of magic, a little bit of science."

"But… the Phyrexian oil? Oh gods, not to mention cross-plane imports, and Izzet aren't even allowed to…" Kara had her hands on her head now, stressed just thinking about it. "This was illegal. Like, very, very illegal" She stared wide eyed at Lena. For a few seconds Lena just stared back.

And suddenly they were both laughing. Kara wasn't even sure what they were laughing about- about Lena's disregard for safety and common sense, about the way Kara's first reaction was to fixate on the legal system, about the sheer impossibility of the situation.

"Oh my gods" Kara said again as the laughs began to subside. "I can't believe you did this for me. Seriously, I don't know how to thank you enough."

Lena stepped toward Kara, closing the gap between them. Kara's breath caught. "I can think of a way you could thank me" Lena said softly, looking up at Kara.

Kara leaned in and their lips met as they embraced beneath the branches of their impossible tree. There in Lena's arms, Kara was home.

[sol91]

Haven't been getting anywhere with my side projects lately and feeling kind of creatively stuck so I'm going to try supercorptober.

Doing it scared. The time will pass anyway.

[sol91]

It's such a mervyn peake dead rat poem morning

One of the poems ever.

[sol91]

When you finally find out about your ADHD.

[sol91]

[sol91]

Porch Swinging Spirit: A Hauntingly Peaceful Scene.

[sol91]

No but the Hunger Games really said "what do you hate more- the atrocities or the people who commit them against you? Because like it or not there IS a difference. If you hate the people who commit acts of pure evil more than you hate the acts themselves, what will stop you from becoming just like your enemies in your pursuit of justice? What will keep you from commiting those very same acts against THEM when the opportunity arises? And what then? The cycle of pain and suffering will never stop. Round and round it'll go. Nothing will ever change. But. BUT. If you hate the atrocities. If you hate the vile, senseless acts MORE than you hate the people who did them to you. If you are able to see that evil is evil regardless of who does it... The cycle ends with you. No, you may never get justice. But you will never be responsible for making others, even your enemies, suffer the same crimes you have. The atrocities will never be committed by you, never by your hand. And that's the way you change the world. It's the ONLY way" and that's why I am sure it will never stop being one of the most relevant works of fiction ever created

[sol91]

butterfly wing inspired landscapes: monarch

[sol91]

[sol91]

Through the fields.

[sol91]

gay people would really break time and space and go back and forth in timelines and multiple earths to find their crush instead of saying “I love you”

[sol91]

Refuge.