#I wanted to draw Kara in a suit

[unnaturalceilings]

We Just Decided To ✨

[dumvixerum]

WHATAWHATWHATWHAT

I need a fucking dictionary of compliments at this point.

Stinkers

And some other game references :)

This bed we made because I think it suits her lol

I wanted to draw them in the style of papers please

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Musician Age Gap AU Pt 14

True to Lena's plan, while the paparazzi on site hounds them for information on Kara, the rest of the world is too taken by the new song to speculate much on who Lena's *current* beau is.

Kara proves to be little more than an escort, following Lena from event to interview to even a hospital to visit the childrens ward. Even so, Kara doesn't mind. She has no thirst for the spotlight at her age, and is content to let Lena be front and center.

At the hospital, however, as she's lurking out of sight from the press cameras (legitimate press, looking for staged candids for the hospital's future use), Kara feels a tug on the hem of her shirt. Looking down, a frail little girl trailing a tattered blanket stares up at her.

"Can you read me a story?"

Without hesitation, Kara reaches for the girl's hand, and they manage to find a relatively isolated corner to huddle in. With a skinny children's book in her hand and the little girl tucked against her side, Kara reads aloud in a low voice, doing her best not to draw attention to herself.

Her efforts are for naught. When she glances up towards the final pages of the book, Lena's gaze is locked upon her, her gaze warm with something indecipherable. Upon being caught staring, she smiles, and cocks an eyebrow to check in. Kara nods, and Lena, satisfied, returns to the gaggle of kids crowded in around her for photos.

Lena is wrangled into a standing meeting with her mother once the children are returned to their nurses and caretakers, leaving Kara to linger on the periphery. To her surprise, Jess is the first to approach.

"Hi!" Jess chirps softly. "Lena has a few friends in town, and they want to take her out tonight before we fly out tomorrow."

Kara's eyebrows lift. "Okay...."

Jess leans in conspiratorially. "My guess is she'll invite you, but by out I mean clubs, bottle service, etc."

At that, realization dawns. "Ah. Thanks for the warning."

She won't mind declining, or spending an evening alone, especially in Paris. As eager to spend as much time with Lena as possible, she's loathe to infringe on Lena's time with friends--

"I don't suppose you brought anything.... appropriate?" Jess continues. "For the club, I mean."

Kara blinks, then barks a laugh. "Hah, no."

Jess nods, grinning. "Thought as much. I can pick up a few options for you, if you'd like..."

After a moment's consideration, Kara nods, smile growing on her face. "I'd appreciate that, thank you."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all! It'll be in your room by the time you get back this evening--"

"Jess?" Kara cuts in, a thought occuring to her. "Could you also pick up some workout gear for me? And maybe... keep all of it a surprise?"

The young woman brightens. "Sure-- do you prefer looser clothes, or more form fitting."

"Tight on the bottom, loose on top, if you can mange it?"

Jess makes a note on her phone, nodding. "Got it." She winks. "We'll put the rack directly in your suite."

"Thank you, Jess, truly."

"Oh," Jess grins, "it's my pleasure."

----

Lena approaches her shortly after, head tilted with an imminent check-in. "Doing okay?"

Kara nods. "Of course. Jess has been taking good care of me."

"Good," Lena purrs. She leans against Kara's chest, kissing her languidly. "I have a question for you."

Guessing it has something to do with the information Jess had imparted early, Kara feigns curiosity. "Uh huh?"

"I'm planning to go out with some friends tonight. Would you.... want to come?"

Kara acts out a thorough consideration of the prospect. In the end, she hedges. "Can I think about it?"

Lena nods. "Of course. And no worries if you'd prefer to take advantage of the time alone. I know this week has been..."

"Wonderful," Kara fills in, bringing a smile to Lena's face.

"Yes," she agrees, "but also a lot. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to decompress."

With a nod, Kara leans in and kisses her again. "I appreciate that."

---

Lena's day continues until well into the evening, with the final interview wrapping up just before nine. Only the thought of seeing Lena in a new environment, with people who were not her mother, keeps Kara from groaning at the thought that the night was really only just beginning.

They split upon returning to the hotel penthouse, intent on refreshing with their own showers. When she steps out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around her, Kara makes her way to the rolling rack of clothes standing next to the closet.

She bypasses the workout clothes, noting only that Jess had fulfilled her request to a tee. The other half of the rack takes more consideration. Hanger after hanger displays dress after dress, all short, all glitzy. Lifting one of the hangars, Kara holds it against herself in front of the mirror, studiously regarding the figure staring back at her.

This is going to be interesting, she thinks to herself. Then she grins. No, this is going to be *fun*.

An hour later, Kara's putting on her shoes when she hears a soft knock on the door joining her suite with Lena's. "It's open," she calls.

"Hey," Lena issues quietly as she edges into the room. "Just checking in, have you made a decision about..."

Lena's words fall away as Kara rises from the edge of the bed, pulling herself up to her full height-- plus another four inch heels now strapped to her feet. Her hair is loose around her shoulders in waves that glint in the light, and her dress is short and layered with gold fringes.

Kara hasn't looked this good since college, and she feels the difference. She feels sexy, and powerful, and *thrilled* that Lena clearly sees it too.

"Oh," the younger woman breathes. Lena herself is clad in a rhinstone studded mauve dress. It comes to mid-thigh, but hugs every curve of Lena's body like a glove. Her sleek black hair is up in a high pony, the tail straight and shimmery. But her eyes are on Kara, and nothing else.

Kara slowly struts towards Lena with a sultry smile. "Does your offer still stand?"

Lena blinks, dazzled by Kara's beaded fringes. "Huh?"

Reaching out with one hand, Kara tilts Lena's chin up to meet her eyes. "Up here," she says quietly.

"Right. Sorry. Just--" Lena clears her throat. She shakes herself out of her daze. "I guess you're coming."

"If you'll have me."

Lena grins. "I'll have you right here if you'll let me..."

"I think I've been hogging you enough lately," Kara returns. "I wouldn't want to keep your friends waiting."

Even so, Kara takes Lena's hips with both hands, tugging her close enough for a kiss. Lena moans.

"Fuck 'em."

Kara chuckles. "I think that would make a bad impression."

Lena looks at her for a long moment. "You really want to meet them, don't you?"

Brow furrowing, Kara nods. "Of course." She pauses. "Is.... that okay?"

Lena's smile warms. "Yeah. It's just... new." Before Kara can ask what that means, Lena steps free, snapping her clutch shut. "Let's get out of here."

---

The club is glamorous, and clearly catering to a high end crowd. There's a cordoned area for paparazzi, allowing both photographs and unobstructive ingress to the establishment. When Kara slides out of the SUV, she's careful to immediately twitch her skirt down so as not to give the tabloids something new to talk about.

As always, she lets Lena set the pace. Lena takes her hand and leads the way into the club. Her free hand lifts towards the paparazzi as they walk the roped sidewalk to the building, in a wave or to shield her eyes or hide her face, Kara isn't sure. Before she could decide whether to do the same, the door opens to admit them, releasing a wave of music and voices from within.

When the door closes behind them, Lena takes a moment to scan the crowd. No one seems to recognize her, or, more likely, don't care. It allows Kara's gaze to catch on a tall, slender brunette at a both in the back, standing on the bench seat and waving them over.

Kara nudges Lena and points. Lena nods. "That's us!" she calls over the din. "Let's go!"

Lena tugs her through the crowd, and Kara soon finds herself watching as Lena throws her arms around the brunette. The hug is tight but brief, before Lena turns to pull Kara closer. "This is Sam!"

Sam thrusts her hand out, gripping Kara's hand firmly as she leans forward. "Kara! Nice to meet you!"

"And this is Jack!" Lena continues. "And Veronica-- who invited you?"

"Fuck you too!" Veronica returns easily. She eyes Kara up and down. "You're hot! Wanna dance?"

In an instant, Lena's arm loops through Kara's. "Sorry, taken! Bye!"

And then, Lena leads her back to the dance floor. Kara doesn't have the presence of mind to be upset at the introductions being cut short-- not with the way Lena's body soon moves against hers. Her movments aren't choreographed, but they may as well be with how quickly it melts Kara's insides.

For her own part, Kara struggles to find the beat. She eventually tries to mimic the bodies around her, but remains a half beat out of tempo until Lena gently grabs her wrists and guides Kara's hands to her hips.

It's too loud to even attempt to talk, but Lena's actions speak loudly enough. Her body moves sinuously, her hands resting atop Kara's, and with their bodies pressed together, Kara finds herself falling into step with her partner's. Soon, all that exists is the heat of Lena's body, the pulse of the heavy music, and the scent of Lena's perfume.

They dance for two songs before Lena calls a time out. They return to the booth only long enough to collect the others, before they all relocate to a second floor Kara hadn't noticed, where there's just enough air for Kara to hear herself think.

"We're gonna talk," Sam says, leaning in to murmur in her ear. "Later."

There's no malice in her voice, which prompts Kara to give an easy nod. She looks forward to knowing more about Lena's friends-- even if it means she gets a shovel talk or two.

Once they collapse in a booth, a server takes their orders for drinks and food-- for which Kara is grateful. She doubts the hunger in her belly will be sated by small bites from the bar, but it could perhaps tide her over until she and Lena returned to the hotel.

"Well," Jack says pegging Kara with a pointed look. "After that display, I think we deserve to hear how this happened." He gestures towards the pair of them, and Lena giggles.

"Kara barged into my dressing room," she delivers. Her fingers lace between Kara's under the table as she continues to relate the story of their meeting. When she finishes, Jack whistles.

"Quite the whirlwind for you then," he says to Kara. "How are you holding up?"

"Lena's been taking good care of me," Kara says with a smile. "It's been amazing to see her work."

Lena beams back at her. "You've been amazing." She shoots a look towards Jack. "Don't you dare scare her off."

"Only if you give me a dance, darling."

Lena sighs. "All right. Come on, before the food gets here."

Kara slides out of the booth for Lena to exit, and as she sidles past Lena kisses Kara's cheek. "The things I do for you."

"My hero," Kara grins. Lena isn't at all put out by the idea of dancing with her friend, and for all the warning Lena gave him, he didn't seem to be antagonistic about their relationship. She watches them go, glad that Lena has the chance to reconnect with her friends.

"Kara!" Sam calls. She waves Kara back to the table. "Come sit!"

Kara obeys, only for Veronica to slide out. "I'm going to find the restroom. You two have fun!"

Bracing herself, Kara turns to Sam-- who laughs and waves away her tension. "Relax... I'm not Lena's keeper. She's clearly into you, and you don't seem to be an asshole, so. I'm good."

"You're Sam Arias, right?" Kara asks. She hadn't been sure before in the strobing lights, but sitting so close she now recognizes the actress from some of the movies Esme likes.

Sam nods. "I'm filming in Florence right now, so I figured I'd stop by while I could. Jack has a cover shoot in Vienna, so we figured we'd make a night of it."

Warmth floods Kara's chest. She's seen how hard Lena works, and how solitary she's been since Kara met her. The fact that she has friends willing to bend their schedules to make time for her when they can speaks volumes.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Sam asks. Kara nods for her to continue. "What do you want out of this?"

Sam's not the first to wonder. The difference is that she's asked, rather than assume like Lillian has.

Kara shrugs. "Nothing Lena isn't willing to give." Sam looks at her, waiting for more. "I'm comfortable. I don't want her money, or her fame."

"Then why drop everything to go on tour with her?"

"Being with her makes me happy."

It's a simple truth, but a truth nonetheless. She can return to National City whenever she likes; Lena has placed no pressure on her to stay. But in National City, Kara's thoughts would stay with Lena, so why condemn herself to being stretched between two locations, when she has the freedom and means to simply stay?

"God, that's refreshing," Sam drawls. She takes a sip of her drink before she gives a broad smile.

"Positively saccharine," comes a dry voice from behind Kara, making her jump. She turns to find another tall brunette lurking over her shoulder. This woman's gaze, however, is far sharper than Sam's.

Sam doesn't seem all that surprised to see their visitor. "Andrea," she greets.

"Samantha."

Andrea sits on the edge of the bench, worming her way in so that Kara is forced to scooch to accommodate her.

"What's interesting," Andrea continues, "is that Lena finally found someone who has absolutely no impact on her career."

Though ostensibly that would be a good thing, the relish glinting in the woman's gaze suggests something much darker.

"Before she's chosen industry people. Singers, actors, reps and so forth. The kind of people who, if crossed, could end her career in a heartbeat. Untouchable."

Andrea leers at Kara, her smile tight and predatory. "But you... mmh."

Kara's features settle into a solemn glare, defensive. "What about me?"

"You're nothing," Andrea responds, as though it's the most obvious thing in the world. "So when you inevitably break her heart, which you absolutely will..." Andrea leans closer. "I'll be able to absolutely demolish you."

"Funny," says Lena, reaching between them to snag her drink. Her face is flushed, upper lip glistening with sweat, but her features are placid. "If only you had put that much care into our relationship *before* it ended."

Andrea blanches slightly, but her features remained solidly antagonistic. "Skimming the gutter, are you, Lena?"

"And happier than during the two years I spent with you," Lena returns smoothly. "Imagine that."

"Get lost, Rojas," Veronica drawls, approaching from the other direction. Andrea is cornered, and she knows it.

She rises stiffly. Moving to leave, she pauses at Lena's shoulders. "Lena--"

Lena scowls. "Please leave."

Andrea hesitates a moment more, but ultimately decides now was neither the time or place to push further. She leaves, and Lena watches her leave with a glower on her face, before she settles onto the bench seat next to Kara.

"Ignore whatever she said to you," Lena says stiffly.

Kara softens. "She cares about you."

"She doesn't get to," comes the sharp retort. "Not anymore."

The message is clear-- Lena does not want to discuss Andrea Rojas.

The mood lightens as Lena's friends expertly steer the conversation away from Andrea's interruption. It's not long until Lena's hackles ease, and she's once more laughing and having fun. Kara relaxes as well, accepting every one of Lena's invitations to dance.

When they leave, it's at Lena's request. Kara's surprised-- Lena's trademark energy still relatively untapped-- until Lena captures her gaze with a heady one of her own. They're on the dance floor when it happens, and Lena leans in to shout into Kara's ear.

"Wanna get out of here?!"

Kara hesitates only a moment, conscious of how Sam and Jack had crossed international borders to see Lena, before she sees Sam not too far off. The brunette's features are astute and smirking, confirming the she understands-- and approves-- exactly what Lena intends.

Before she nods, Kara turns her head to capture Lena's lips as she pulls away. She kisses Lena deeply and soundly, and when she breaks away Lena lists after her. Heavy eyes look up at her, dazed and hungry for more.

"What about your friends?"

"Sam says I've been eye-fucking you all night," Lena calls back. "I'd rather be fucking you for real." She grins. "Respectfully!"

Kara laughs, the sound lost in the music. "Uh huh," she says, mostly to herself. "Then let's go!"

Lena waves at her friends, earning cheeky grins from all three in return. Kara's surprised to see the time is already past 2am. Her blood buzzes in her veins, arousal and anticipation electrifying her nerves.

Kara enters the suv at Lena's slight push, which means when Lena climbs in she plants herself firmly in Kara's lap, hiking up her skirt to straddle Kara's thighs.

"You are so hot tonight," Lena murmurs. "I couldn't keep my eyes off you." She grins. "I wasn't the only one."

Kara blinks. She hadn't sensed anyone staring at her. Then again, she hadn't paid much attention to anyone but Lena.

"I didn't notice."

"I know," Lena purrs, leaning down. Her tongue laves across Kara's throat, before she engulfs all of her senses in a searing kiss. "So fucking hot...."

Kara glances frantically towards the front, hesitant to put on a show for anyone but Lena, but finds that the driver has already rolled up the privacy screen. Kara doubts the screen provides any amount of soundproofing, but it's enough for her to slide her hand under Lena's hitched skirt, cupping a bare ass cheek in her palm.

"Fuck," Kara groans. Her groin tightens, warming with arousal that leaks past her own thong. "Lena--"

"Let me, baby," Lena murmurs beside her ear. She suckles the column of Kara's neck, even as her hand deftly delves under Kara's dress. "I'm gonna make you feel so good..."

Expert fingers find Kara's clit and pause, pressing gently against the throbbing bud. Lena's fingers are warm, but still cooler than the heat between Kara's legs. She curses again, hips bucking ever so slightly.

"Not so fast," Lena croons. "I want you to enjoy this."

Kara's breaths are already coming hard and fast, as her higher brain functions swiftly cease to function. She grunts, pulling a smile to Lena's lips.

Long fingers slide tenderly across Kara's arousal-slicked opening, circling almost carelessly-- except Kara understands Lena knows exactly what she's doing.

"I want you to wait," Lena whispers. "Can you do that for me? Can you wait until we get to the hotel?"

Kara's teeth grind, lassoing any shred of self control she has left, even as Lena's fingers dip between her labia. She enters almost enough for Kara's walls to grip her fingers, but Lena is quick to react, withdrawing before Kara to gain any purchase.

"Answer me," Lena says.

"Y-yes," Kara stammers. "I-- I can wait-- ungh!"

A high, pitiful sound escapes from Kara's throat, wild and unexpected. She feels her cheeks tingle, and knows they would have turned a vivid red if she weren't already red from the exertion of the club.

Lena kisses her, long and slow and deep. As she does, a fingernail lightly catches on Kara's clit, making her gasp. She tastes the warm air and alcohol from Lena's breath, savoring it for a short moment before another stroke of Lena's fingers makes her huff in frustration.

"You're doing so good," Lena tells her. Her free hand strokes Kara's breast, teasing her through the dress until her nipple hardens and stands at attention. "Oh my god, Kara-- you are so beautiful..."

Kara moans plaintively. "I-- I wanna touch you... more--"

"Not yet," Lena chides. She rests their foreheads together, even as she continues her ministrations under Kara's dress. "Do you know what I'm going to do when I get you upstairs?"

Kara grunts, gasping for breath. She's on the verge of coming, and has to force her inner walls to relax lest she climax right then and there.

"I'm going lay you down on my bed," Lena continues, scissoring her fingers inside Kara and smiling sweetly when Kara squirms. "I'm going to lay you down, and then I'm going to ask you to spread your knees as far as you can. I'm going to make you stretch for me...."

Kara's thighs tense under Lena's, hungry in anticipation. Lena leans in close then, speaking low into Kara's ear.

"And then I'm going to put my mouth on you." Teeth scrape Kara's earlobe, sensitizing it for when Lena makes another pass, this time nibbling sharply. Kara throws her head back hard enough to bounce off the headrest.

"Would you like that, baby?" Lena asks, smiling languidly. "Do you want me to lick you dry? Suck on your clit until-- uh uh," comes a stern warning.

Lena withdraws her hand just before Kara climaxes. Kara gives a shuddering sigh, grateful even as she resents the sudden stillness. Her core gapes, walls flexing in search of something, anything to grip.

"You promised," Lena reminds her.

Kara nods, breathless. "S-sorry," she gasps.

"Shhhh," Lena soothes. Her hand returns, playing idly with Kara's clit. "You're doing amazing, baby."

She retracts her fingers again, less cruelly this time, and lifts them to Kara's mouth. Understanding her intent, Kara kisses Lena's slick fingertips, then parts her lips in invitation.

Lena carefully inserts her first and middle fingers, and Kara lets her tongue curl around them. The salt of her own arousal only heightens her senses further, and the pleasure in Lena's features only makes Kara want to perform perfectly, whatever Lena asks of her.

"I--I want...."

"Tell me," Lena murmurs. "Tell me what you want..."

Before Kara can find the coherence to answer, the car slows to a long stop. Lena's eyes flick up to glance out the back window. With a smile, Lena bends back down to capture Kara's lips in a soft kiss.

"You made it," she says. "We're at the hotel."

Lena wipes her damp fingers across her dress to dry them, then clasps Kara's hand and all but drags her out. If there are paparazzi waiting for them outside the building, Kara doesn't see them. She doesn't register much of anything until her dress is a pile on the floor, and Lena pushes her gently backwards. Her legs fold against the edge of the bed, and she sits with a thump.

"Lay back, baby."

Lena kneels, long ponytail spilling over one shoulder. "Let me take care of you."

And oh, does she.

Kara comes in moments, but Lena doesn't relent. She suckles Kara's clit, and licks ardently, endlessly, until Kara comes again and again.

She doesn't relent until Kara breathlessly pats somewhere near Lena's head, unsure if she actually makes contact. Nevertheless, Lena disengages and crawls over Kara, gazing down into her eyes with satisfaction and adoration.

"Worth the wait?"

Kara mutters a curse. She reaches up to snag Lena by the edge of her jaw, pulling her down to a deep, languid kiss.

"Do that again," Kara warns, "and there's no guarantee I won't explode on the spot, if that's my reward."

Lena beams.

"That was so hot. You-- Lena, I...." Suddenly, Kara's brain catches up to her. "Why are you still dressed?"

"I was a little busy..." Lena grins. Her chin is still slicked with arousal, which she wipes salaciously with her fingers.

"Fuck that," Kara growls. She fumbles for the zipper behind Lena's neck, but doesn't find one. "Off... off, off, off."

"Easy, tiger..." Lena casually reaches under her arm, and undoes the side zipper. Then Kara is treated to the sight of Lena peeling the dress up and over her head. Her boots, at least, are already off, leaving Lena utterly, delectably bare.

Lena tilts her head in a tantalyzing tease. She leans down, and the end of her ponytail tickles the hollow of Kara's throat. "How do you want me?"

"I want you so wet I could drown in you," Kara murmurs. Lena's cheeks heat in a ready flush. Carefully, Kara repositions them so that she was the one straddling Lena. She rubs the top of her thigh between Lena's legs, earning her a sweet mewling as Lena wriggles down to try and increase the pressure.

Rather than tease, Kara plants her knee in the mattress, a grounding rod for Lena to grind against.

"What do you need?" Kara asks simply.

"Drawer," Lena says breathlessly. "Under the scarf. There's a-- ngh, jeezus."

Now it's Lena's turn to be frustrated, and Kara finds that she enjoys the picture she paints. She enjoys it very much.

Kara gamely pushes off the mattress and pads over to the short dresser on the far wall. Fishing under the aforementioned scarf, she pulls out a dildo already fitted to a harness.

Lifting an eyebrow, Kara lets it dangle from her finger by one strap, shooting Lena a suspicious glance.

"Planning ahead, were we?"

Lena gives a cheesy grin. "Can never be too prepared," she teases. Her own eyebrow lifts in challenge. "Think you're up for it?"

Kara crosses back to the bed with dildo in hand. Lena returns to her back, and gazes up at Kara with eyes glazed by desire. She inhales sharply when Kara presses the shaft of the dildo between her legs.

"Tell me what you like," Kara urges, her voice low. She kisses her way up Lena's sternum, the licks the hollow of a slender throat. When she pulls back, Lena whimpers. "Tell me."

"I want you," Lena starts, her eyes hooded with want, "to hold me down, and fuck me senseless."

An all new wave of desire floods Kara, making her insides quake. She leans in close to Lena's ear, and feels her partner's breath catch.

"Challenge accepted."

[bisupergirl]

the two major things to look at for people wanting to decipher whether or not a drawing of a blonde white woman wearing a supergirl costume is kara zor el are 1.) the year the issue was written, and 2.) the costume itself.

TIME: if you're reading a comic from the years 1986 to 2003: THAT IS NOT KARA. kara did not just simply DIE during crisis on infinite earths, she was ERASED FROM EXISTENCE. in that time period there were two main supergirls that filled her place: MATRIX (mae kent) and LINDA DANVERS. there are certain instances where kara does appear in either a main universe or elseworlds comic from that time, but in each instance it is exceedingly clear which supergirl is being used.

so, if you stumble across a supergirl while reading something that was written between the years 1986 and 2003, that supergirl is either MATRIX or LINDA.

COSTUME: if you're reading a comic and you see someone wearing the classic, barebones supergirl costume: THAT IS (probably) NOT KARA. kara has only worn the classic supergirl costume a handful of times, and each time it is clear that that supergirl is kara and not mae or linda.

these instances are: any coloring error from a silver age comic that mistakenly makes it so kara's wearing a red skirt instead of her original blue dress, helen slater in the 1984 supergirl film, melissa benoist in cw supergirl, and supergirl rebirth, which was the first time kara wore the classic suit for an extended period of time in a main universe comic.

OTHER THAN THESE SPECIFIC INSTANCES, if you see a supergirl that is wearing the classic costume, it is either matrix or linda or... both? idk I haven't read supergirl (1996), but the important thing to take away is that THIS:

is not kara! pre crisis kara wore a similar suit before she died, but it is still very distinguishable from the classic costume. here's pre crisis kara on the left and matrix on the right:

now, if you're reading a comic and see a supergirl wearing THIS costume:

this is LINDA DANVERS. kara only wears this costume in superman: the animated series, so unless you are watching that (or reading a comic set in that universe), know that this is LINDA and not KARA.

TO SUMMARIZE:

are you reading a comic written between the years 1986 and 2003? if yes: THAT'S NOT KARA.

is that supergirl wearing either the classic costume or white crop top and blue mini skirt? if yes: THAT'S NOT* KARA.

*unless you're watching supergirl (1984), STAS, cw supergirl, or reading a modern supergirl comic. in which case: it IS kara.

in 2004 kara was reintroduced back into main continuity, so from 2004 to NOW every supergirl you see is, more likely than not, KARA:

thank you for your time :)

[spaceman-earthgirl]

Supercorptober 2023 Day 31: Spookycorp

It's been a busy month and I didn't get to do as many of these as I have in previous years but I've really missed writing supercorp and this month has been fun. I really appreciate all the support through likes and reblogs (and comments and kudos on ao3), I would not have written as many as I did without you guys.

Enjoy this final prompt (even if it is something silly) and thanks again for reading :)

ao3 fic link. series link.

---

Kara is dressed as a banana. And Lena thinks she might be in love.

“What do you think?” Kara asks, a stupidly beautiful grin on her face. 

Yep, Lena’s definitely in love.

“I think you’re by far the brightest person in the room,” Lena comments. They both glance around and Lena is right, there are a range of different costumes around the room but Kara’s is, by far, the most eye-catching costume.

Kara grins again. “Alex bet me five sticky buns I wouldn’t wear this tonight, but guess who is going to have a delicious breakfast tomorrow morning?”

Lena’s not sure how one person can eat so much but there is no doubt in her mind that Kara will eat them all tomorrow. “I’m guessing you?”

Lena’s not sure how she does it, but Kara’s grin gets even brighter. She really is like the sun, bright and beautiful, drawing Lena in like no one else has before.

“It’s going to be so good,” Kara says. “She’ll also owe me a carton of ice cream if I can do five costume changes this evening.”

Lena takes a moment to process what Kara has said, thinking she’s heard her wrong. “You’re not going to wear this all night?”

“You think I’d come to a fancy party just dressed like a banana?”

“Honestly? Yeah. Somehow, this is very you,” Lena says, gesturing to Kara’s body.

“I don’t know what that means but I’m taking it as a compliment.”

Lena’s not quite sure what it means either. “You should. What other costumes do you have to wear?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” Kara winks, and Lena’s knees go weak.  “I better go, I have lots of outfits to wear tonight if I want that ice cream.”

---

The next time Lena sees Kara is not long later, but it takes her a moment to realise it’s her because she has in fact changed costume. Lena has to take a breath before she makes her way towards Kara.

“I see you’ve changed,” Lena says, trying to keep her eyes from the distracting view of Kara’s now bare legs. She’s wearing a skirt, but it’s a short one.

“What do you think?” Kara asks, swinging the tennis racket she’s holding up to rest of her shoulder. She’s dressed all in white. White shirt, white skirt, white shoes, and even white sweat bands around her wrists and forehead. “Think I’d make a good tennis player?”

Lena has to take another breath, because this is a look she never expected to see on Kara, but one she knows will now be burned in her brain.

“I’m not sure, maybe we should play some time and find out?”

Kara’s eyes light up, which Lena is pretty sure is just the competitive nature in her.

“Deal.”

---

Lena spots the Scooby-Doo costume from across the room, the head towering over most people, and she doesn’t need to get closer to know that it’s Kara.

“Why are you dressed like a dog?” Lena asks when she does get closer. Because how can she stay away from Kara? Even if she does look a little ridiculous right now.

She’s drawing attention from other partygoers, clearly not used to people like Kara. But that’s the rich for you.

“I’m not just any dog, I’m Scooby-Doo.”

Lena rolls her eyes. “I know, because you made me watch both of those movies.”

“This was part of Alex’s bet, I think she’s trying to embarrass me.”

That sounds exactly like Alex. Lena presses her lips together, trying not to laugh. “I think you look cute,” Lena comments. “But I think you made a cute tennis player and a cute banana too.”

The costume hides half of Kara’s face, but Lena’s pretty sure Kara is blushing. Or maybe she’s just hot from the full body suit.

---

Lena hadn’t realised it was something she’d wanted to see until the next outfit Kara appears in is a Supergirl costume.

Kara looks incredible. She has a similar build to Supergirl, so from a distance, no one could be blamed for mistaking her for Supergirl.

Actually, close up, she wouldn’t blame someone for confusing the two either. The blonde hair definitely helps, so do the sharp blue eyes that Lena finds herself lost in thought about far too often.

“What brings you here tonight, Supergirl?” Lena asks, eyes dropping of their own accord. Lena knows Kara is quite muscly under her usual blouses and sweaters, but it’s something else seeing her in a suit like this. Lena’s pretty sure the suit isn’t padded, that it’s all Kara.

Another short skirt isn’t helping Lena’s attention either.

“A Luthor party is always a target, I thought I should stop by to make sure everything was ok,” Kara smiles.

Lena’s actually surprised the real Supergirl hasn’t stopped by, she usually does to any L-Corp event. Most times, just a visit from her is enough to deter any possible threats.

Lena smiles, still playing along. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“Anytime. I better check the perimeter, make sure there’s nothing I’ve missed. Have a good evening, Miss Luthor.”

“You too, Supergirl. Stay safe.”

Lena’s about to break character (though she’s technically playing herself) but she’s cut off when Kara floats off the ground and then disappears into the air, leaving a very surprised Lena in her wake.

---

Kara’s next costume is an angel, which goes well with Lena’s devil outfit (which consists of a black dress and horns on her head) but Lena can’t even admire that, not when her whole world has been rocked.

She wonders for a moment whether she’d just gotten the two confused, but there was no doubt in her mind before that she was talking to Kara.

Kara is Supergirl, and she’s not sure how she didn’t see it before, she’d even just thought about how similar they both look, and she still didn’t make the connection.

At least Kara’s hurried excuses to leave when they’re together make sense now but still, she’s smart, she should have figured it out.

Now here she is, not sure what to do with the information. Or she does. The answer is nothing, she’s not going to tell anyone. And she wants Kara to know she can trust her too.

(And part of her can’t help but wonder why Kara hasn’t told her yet. She thought they were friends. Thought they were best friends but it turns out Kara has been lying to her this whole time).

“Looks like you’ve won your carton of ice cream,” Lena says.

There’s no time like the present.

Kara frowns. “No, that’s only four.”

“No, that’s your fifth outfit.“ Lena holds up a fist, raising a finger as she counts each one. “Banana, dog, tennis player, angel and…”

Lena trails off, for a moment wondering if she should just keep quiet. But they’re alone near the food table, no one close enough to hear them. And she wants Kara to know that she knows.

Before Kara can cut in, Lena holds up her last finger. “And Supergirl makes five.”

Kara freezes, Lena can see her processing what she’s just said. Lena’s not sure what she’ll do if Kara denies it.

Kara glances around, voice quiet when she finally speaks. “How did you know it was me?”

Relief washes over Lena, she’s not sure what she would’ve done if Kara had denied it.

“The better question is, how did I not see it before? You don’t even wear a mask. But tonight I was watching the crowd, waiting for you to appear. I think I saw you before I realised what you were wearing.” Lena shakes her head. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it, you literally look the same.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, no one sees it.’

“But I’m your best friend, I should have known.”

“I think I should counter that with, you’re my best friend, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” Kara reaches out, takes Lena’s hand. “I promise, it was me and not you. I trust you, I just didn’t know how to tell you with all the history between you and Supergirl. Or you and me, I guess. I just didn’t want to risk losing you.”

Lena squeezes Kara’s hand. “You’re never going to lose me, I promise. But no more secrets, okay?”

Lena feels like a bit of a hypocrite asking that, when she’s hiding a secret herself. But baby steps, she can work up to telling Kara she’s in love with her another time.

“No more secrets,” Kara nods. “I promise. After the party, do you want to come over? I can tell you everything.”

Lena swallows down the emotion that rises in her throat. “I’d like that.”

The moment lingers and Lena finds herself caught in blue eyes she’s often distracted by.

She breaks the moment, she has to, before she does something stupid. “So, tell me, if Supergirl wasn’t your fifth costume, then what is it?”

“You’re just going to have to wait and see. I still need that fifth costume change because I cannot tell Alex one of them was Supergirl and that’s how you found out or she’d kill me. She already thinks I’m not careful enough, next she’ll make me wear a mask or something.”

Lena laughs. “Your secret is safe with me.” She pauses. “All of them.” Kara needs to know she won’t tell anyone either.

Kara smiles, tangling their fingers together again. This time she doesn’t let go. “I know.”

[just-another-josh]

Money

Samantha Danvers was working in her office at the Lena Luthor Foundation when the company’s namesake abruptly stormed in.

“Alright, talk.”

Sam, clearly unfazed, didn’t bother looking up from her laptop. “Hello to you too.”

Lena huffed and rolled her eyes. “Hello, Sam,” she said impatiently.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Sam tapped a few keys, her eyes still fixed on the screen.

Lena stood rigidly with her thumbs in her suit-pant pockets, fingers beating an annoyed rhythm. “I want to know about the bet.”

Sam paused her typing; her jaw set tightly as she forced herself not to look at her boss. “What bet are you referring to?”

Lena scoffed, “Oh please, Samantha. Don’t insult my intelligence.”

Sam huffed out a defeated breath and turned to face Lena. “What did you hear?”

Lena stepped closer and placed her hands on Sam’s desk. “Since you, Kara, J’onn, and M’gann were off doing the hero thing last night, Alex, Nia, Brainy, and I went to Al’s. Halfway through the evening, Nia was updating us on the status of their house hunting and complaining about the home prices being exponentially higher the closer they got to the city. Brainy then made a very off-hand comment along the lines of ‘…if only we had won the wager…’, but before he could finish, Nia elbowed him in the ribs while your wife kicked him under the table. The rest of the night, they changed the subject anytime I brought it up.” Lena leaned in and eyed Sam with a laser-sharp gaze. “So, tell me, what were all of you wagering on and what does it have to do with me and Kara?”

Sam took on a mock-offended posture, an indignant huff pushing out of her nose. “Awfully presumptive. What makes you think…and this is not an admission…that the bet was about you and Kara?”

“Process of elimination,” Lena said, feeling insulted. “C’mon, Sam. Did you forget I am first and foremost a scientist? I asked Kara when I got home last night if she knew anything, and she said she didn’t-”

“How do you know she’s not lying?” Sam interupted, trying her damndest to hide her grin.

Lena looked at Sam in disbelief. “Because secret identity aside, when it comes to me, my girlfriend is a shit liar.”

Sam nodded. “Point conceded. Continue.”

Lena flashed Sam a smug grin. “This morning, I ran into J’onn and M’gann at the DEO and asked them about it. They suddenly remembered they had to go grocery shopping and flew out of the balcony before I could get another word in.” Sam began nervously rubbing the back of her neck. “So, add J’onn and M’gann to you and the other three idiots, with Kara and I being the only two not in on it, it stands to reason that the bet has to do with us,” Lena finished arrogantly.

Sam’s face twisted into a look of indignation. “Hey! What makes you think I’m part of this…this…conspiracy?”

A look of complete bewilderment fell over Lena’s face. Resigned, she shook her head. “If your wife’s in on it, that guarantees you’re complicit.” Lena’s stare drilled into Sam for emphasis.

The CFO deflated and shook her head. “Coluan asshat. I should throw him into the sun.” Lena’s lips twisted into a cocky smile. Sam looked at her watch and saw that it was just past four o’clock. “Fuck it. It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Sam mumbled as she motioned towards the brown couch behind Lena. “Have a seat, I’ll get the drinks.”

Lena headed towards the couch, dropping her clutch on the coffee table and unbuttoning her coat. She had no sooner sat down before a tumbler filled with scotch was in her hand courtesy of Sam and her super-speed. Sam, taking a sip from her glass, had already settled on the other side.

Lena allowed her friend to indulge in a few sips silently before throwing an expectant look at her CFO. “Waiting.”

Sam took a long draw from her drink and rolled her neck, an audible crack resulted. She let out a long breath and sank further into the couch. “The bet had to do with when you and Kara were going to hook-up.”

“Hook-up, hook-up or start dating?”

“It wasn’t specified, but we all assumed since Kara is a complete Pollyanna, the two would run parallel to each other.” Sam took a drink to hide a knowing grin.

Lena chose to ignore Sam’s veiled implication that she was more morally flexible than her girlfriend, the look on her face instead remained banal. “What were the terms.”

Sam cleared her throat and shifted into executive mode. “The over/under was six months. No minimum buy-in and you could add additional money to the pot at any point, but you couldn’t change the time period you originally bet on. The pot would be split evenly amongst the winners. People were allowed to subtly try and influence the two of you but were not allowed to blatantly interfere.”

Lena tapped her finger on her chin. “Six months…when did the bet begin?” 

“At me and Alex’s wedding reception.”

Lena quickly did the math in her head; she and Kara had announced that they were a couple four months after the wedding. Lena hummed to herself but remained stone faced. “Whose idea was it?”

“Winn.” Sam said without hesitation, not feeling an ounce of remorse for throwing him under the proverbial bus. “Apparently, he watched you two have ‘an emotionally charged moment’ that convinced him your relationship was heading in the direction of more than platonic.”

“For god’s sake. We were crying and hugging. There was nothing remotely romantic about it,” Lena grumbled.

Sam raised her hands in mock surrender. “Hey, me and Alex were about to take off for Argo. I’m just quoting what he said.” Lena clenched her jaw but didn’t respond. “Whatever Winn saw encouraged him to make a beeline for Nia and Brainy and…well…the rest is history.”

Lena took a sip of her scotch before resting her elbow on the back of the couch, placing her head lightly on her fist. “So, what did the pot get up to?”

“Thirty-six grand,” Sam quietly said.

Lena abruptly sat up; her eyebrows comically raised. “Holy shit! How many people were in on this?”

Sam seemed to shrink into her seat. “A lot?” she said with a sheepish look on her face.

“Names, Samantha. I want names,” Lena ordered in a playful variation of her boardroom voice.

“Okay,” Sam grumbled in defeat. With a burst of super-speed, Sam was back on the couch with her laptop, furiously typing away.

Lena chuckled. “Of course they put you in charge of the bookkeeping.”

“Well, I am the only corporate accountant in our circle of friends…so…duh.” Sam shook her head in faux disgust. Lena remained silent while Sam tapped away at her keyboard, opting instead to take a few more sips of her drink. Before Lena had time to enjoy the satisfying burn, Sam indicated she was finished. “Ok, so, you already know about me, Alex, J’onn, M’gann, Brainy, Nia, Winn…there was Lois and Clark-”

“What?” Lena interrupted. “They don’t even like me.”

“Actually, Clark likes you a lot. He says Lois still has trust issues with you, but he suspects she has a bit of a gambling problem, so…”

Lena arched her eyebrow. “Good to know.”

Sam shrugged. “Eliza, Alura and Zor-El-”.

“Really? That seems very un-Kryptonian.” Lena interjected.

“Alex and I said the same thing when Eliza told us they were onboard, but I guess Alura jumped at the chance to throw in after Eliza broke it down for her during their weekly call.”

“Hold on, Eliza and Alura talk every week?” Lena said, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

“Yup,” Sam said with a pop. She smiled diabolically. “Good luck with that.”

Lena gave an imperceptible nod as she started fidgeting with her glass; distracted by the implications of a weekly discussion between Kara’s “moms”.

“Where was I?” Sam mumbled as she scanned for where she left off. “Ah, there we are. Jess, Cat Grant, Andre-”.

“That zrhykhig!” Lena blurted out. “That’s why she’s been throwing herself at me like a bitch in heat since the wedding.” Her anger continued to swell as pieces of the puzzle fell into place. “She took the over, didn’t she? Of course, she did. I don’t even know why I’m asking. I’m sure she thought the best way to keep me and Kara apart was to con me into fucking her.” Waves of violet energy began cascading over Lena’s hands. “Swear to Rao I’m going to find a spell that’ll undo the nose job she got for her sweet-sixteen.”

Sam looked up from her laptop nervously. “Whoa, slow down there, Elphaba. There’s no need to mutilate her face.” Sam fixed Lena with a disapproving glare that seemed to calm her down; the magic arcing over her hands dissipated. “To answer your question, yes, she took the over. Now, are you going to stop interrupting me so I can get through this list?”

“No, I’m not,” Lena said defiantly.

“Worth a shot,” Sam mumbled to herself. “Next, we have Barry and Iris West-Allen-” Sam shot a hand up to stop Lena before she interrupted. “Yes, I know you just met them a month ago at his birthday party. Just a heads up, the rest of this list is comprised of people you first met at said party, but please bear in mind they’ve all known Kara for years.”

Lena closed her mouth and mimicked zipping her lips shut.

“Thank you.” Sam nodded, momentarily relieved. “As I was saying, Barry and Iris, Ray and Nora Palmer, Sara and Ava Lance-”.

“Wait, Sara Lance?” Lena threw a knowing smile at her friend.

“Yes.”

“White Canary?”

“Yes.”

“Wasn’t she the one that…”

“Yes.”

“With Alex…”

“Yes.”

“The one you threatened to…”

“Yes! Can we please stop talking about the woman my wife had a one-night stand with?” 

Lena snorted several times as she tried to contain her laughter.

Sam, fuming, returned her attention to the list. “Cisco Ramon, Caitlin Snow, Mick Rory-”

“The big guy that sat in the corner, finished off two cases of beer, and spent the entire night grunting at everyone?” Lena asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“That’s the one.” Sam perked up. “And finally…Kate Kane.”

Sam swore she heard Lena growl. “The short-haired brunette that was all sauced up and kept getting handsy with Kara?”

“Yes. Most people just call her Kate…or Batwoman.” Sam could see a vein beginning to protrude from Lena’s forehead. “For the sake of context, she started flirting with Kara after placing her wager. I think she was pulling the same move as Andrea.” Sam reached across the couch and patted Lena’s knee reassuringly. “So, maybe don’t go all Jigsaw on her?” Sam appealed.

Lena’s posture softened, but she seemed to somehow look both perplexed and astonished at the same time. “I just don’t understand how all these people, that I’ve spent a grand total of less than two hours with, felt confident enough to wager on when Kara and I would get together.”

“Pretty simple, really. They spent more than five minutes in the same room with you two,” Sam plainly stated.

Lena leveled Sam with a look of utter confusion. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Sam’s mouth fell agape, absolutely stunned.  “Oh, honey. You two were the paragons of sexual tension. Anyone with eyes could see it plain as day. You should have seen all the confused looks I got from people when I told them you two weren’t dating.”

I light dusting of pink spread across Lena’s face, and she fondly smiled. “Paragons of sexual tension?” After a moment of consideration, she conceded, “Accurate.”

Sam let Lena stew in her embarrassment a few moments longer, taking great pleasure in watching her oldest friend squirm. Using her super-speed, she refilled their drinks, and, clearly out of patience, burst out, “So are you going to ask me, or what?” Lena titled her head questioningly. Sam sighed out of sheer frustration. “Don’t you want to know who won?!?”

Lena startled and nodded emphatically. “Yes, of course, yes. Please, tell me.”

“There were only three winners.  Eliza, Jess, and…me.” Sam smiled pompously while doing a celebratory jig.

Lena, looking completely unsurprised, grinned warmly. “Eliza…no shock there. That woman can read her daughters like an open book. Jess…well I guess you could say she had a front row seat from day one.” She paused as she reminisced. A tender smile spread across her face; she focused on Sam with a curious glint in her eyes. “So, how did you know?”

Sam, pretending to take offense, gasped. “Aside from years of watching you two longingly eye-fuck each other?”

Lena snorted into her glass as she tried to take a drink, inadvertently causing some of the liquid to splash on her face. A deep blush settled over her cheeks as she wiped at her now damp face. “Yes, aside from that,” she said through a coughing chuckle.

Sam’s grin at Lena’s antics was slowly replaced by a look of melancholy. She methodically swirled the contents of her tumbler, seemingly transfixed by it. “Honestly, everything came into focus while you two were fighting.” Lena abruptly stopped her efforts to dry her face, instead focusing on Sam with a forlorn look on her face. “That year you spent apart…I watched you both flounder; you were both just going through the motions…lost. Neither one of you was whole. As cliché as it sounds, you two really are stronger together; El Mayarah in the flesh.” Sam paused to take a drink. Lena’s eyes became glassy, a slight tremor in her hands barely visible. “When it happened, I remember thinking about everything you two had accomplished together: you sent the Daxamites packing, beat Reign and saved me, stopped Lex and Red Daughter from basically taking control of the country…and handled all the other little disasters in-between. When you two finally reconciled you were able to prevent Leviathan from taking over the world and then stopped Lex from killing two-thirds of the population on Earth; and that was before you two had had a chance to work through your shit.” Sam grew more passionate as she continued, “To this day, I firmly believe that if we would’ve beat your fuckhead brother before he trapped Kara in the Phantom Zone, you two would’ve been married by now.” Lena tilted her head and lightly shrugged, silently recognizing the possibility. “I felt the same way when we got her back from that hellhole, but then Nyxly was there and threw a wrench into everything; Lex rearing his ugly bald head again was just the cherry on top.”

Lena let out a frustrated sigh as she reflected on that tumultuous time in their lives. A modicum of tears rolled down her cheeks as her body reacted viscerally to the unpleasant memories.

“Shit, I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to upset you…I promise there is a point to this walk down nightmare lane,” Sam said as she reached across the couch and placed her hand over Lena’s to reassure her; Lena lightly patted the top of Sam’s hand in acknowledgement of the tender gesture. “What I’m trying to point out is that the reason you two didn’t get together after you reconciled was not by choice. It wasn’t about missed opportunities; it was the fact that you two never got a chance to breathe long enough to explore how you felt about each other. I knew with absolute certainty that once things died down, you two would end up getting that opportunity. So, when Nyxly and Lex fucked-off to the Phantom Zone, I had the utmost faith that you two would be swapping spit, and other bodily fluids, in very short order,” Sam flashed a brilliant, mischievous smile. “Hence, why I took the under.”

Lena grinned through her tears, and squeezing Sam’s hand she quietly said, “Thank you for never losing faith in me…in us.”

Sam scooped Lena into a tight hug, her chin rested over Lena’s shoulder. “Oh, sweetie. I love you and Kara so much. All I’ve ever wanted for you two is to be happy…well, together, and happy.”

They squeezed each other tighter, giggling into each other’s shoulders.

“I think we need to switch to a lighter topic,” Sam said through a choked-up laugh.

They broke up their hug, both futilely trying to save their mascara as they wiped the tears from their eyes.  “I totally agree. Did you have something in mind?” Lena managed to sniffle out.

“Actually, I do.” There was a hint of nervousness in Sam’s voice. Lena picked up on it and noticed that her friend was fidgeting with her hands.

Lena scoffed, “Oh, Christ. Now what?”

Sam anxiously cleared her throat. “Weeelll, there might be one more wager that hasn’t been settled yet.” Sam did her best to avoid looking at Lena, instead focusing on her suddenly very interesting hands.

Lena’s eyebrow rose ever-so-slightly. “This should be good,” she deadpanned.

“So, after it was confirmed you two were officially dating, a second bet was made on who made the first move,” Sam said hesitantly.

Lena was a picture of stoicism. “I see. And what’s the pot on this one?”

“Forty-five thousand.”

Lena’s eyebrows shot up. “For fuck’s sake, Sam. It’s been a week since we told everyone!”

Sam embarrassedly smiled. “Yeah, a lot of people are trying to recoup their losses.”

“I feel like there’s a teachable moment regarding the evils of gambling somewhere in there, but…,” Lena drifted off, clearly indifferent to their plight.  She leveled an inquisitive look at Sam. “So, Mrs. Danvers, which pony did you back?”

Sam slammed back the remainder of her drink and placed the empty tumbler on the coffee table. She timidly met Lena’s eyes and weakly smiled. “Kara.”

Lena’s brows furrowed at Sam’s admission. She let her CFO suffer through a dramatically awkward silence before responding, “Et tu, Brute?”

Sam shrugged. “Lena, I mean this with all due respect, but you are the very definition of ‘useless lesbian’.”

“Useless bisexual,” Lena quickly corrected.

“Oh, please. Jack and James were total beards!” Sam cackled.

Lena’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Sam in reproach. “No comment,” she said sternly.

Sam was now laughing so hard her side hurt. Lena took a heavy swallow of her drink and regarded her friend with an icy stare.

Her impatience building, Lena opted to change the subject. “Speaking of James, I noticed he wasn’t on the list of participants.”

Sam took a minute to regain her composure and even out her breathing. “He felt it would be inappropriate to wager on when his ‘ex-girlfriends’ would hook-up.”

“What does he mean, ‘ex-girlfriends’? Kara never even went on a date with him. They kissed twice…the first time he was being controlled by Myriad.” Lena was clearly appalled.

A look of shock climbed across Sam’s face. “Shut the fuck up! I never knew that…oh my god, Alex doesn’t even know about that!”

“I can’t believe I slept with that narcissistic prick.” Lena snorted angrily at the memory.

Sam loudly clapped her hands, breaking Lena’s reverie. “Well, I’m glad we could clear that up. Now, fess up. Who jumped first?”

Lena remained silent and studied Sam for a moment, the CFO was practically bouncing in her seat in anticipation. After what seemed like an eternity (to Sam at least), Lena slammed back the remainder of her scotch and set the empty tumbler on the coffee table. A devious grin on her lips, Lena stood and began fastening the buttons on her jacket. “Thank you for the drink and for the conversation. It was rather stimulating.” Lena retrieved her discarded clutch from the table and moved to exit Sam’s office.

Sam quickly realized that Lena was going to leave her hanging and sprung to her feet. “Oh, hell no! You’re not flaking out on me now, Luthor!”

Lena didn’t slow her pace. “I’ll see you at Game Night on Friday. Don’t forget, you and Alex are on snack duty this week.”

Sam used her super-speed to position herself between Lena and her office door. “Please, Lena! Just tell me. Alex bet on you, so it doesn’t matter who made the first move, I win either way,” Sam grabbed Lena by the arms. “C’mon Lena, Alex and I could use the money to do that add-on to the house and take the trip to Aruba we’ve been talking about for years.”

“Oh please, you just got back from honeymooning on Argo.”

“Yeah, but that was four months ago…and Argo doesn’t have crystal blue waters…and sandy beaches…and clear, sunny skies…and…and drinks with little umbrellas in them…” Sam was pleading, well, more begging at this point.

Lena gave Sam a piteous smile, cupped Sam’s cheek, leaned in, and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Love you, sweetie.” She separated from Sam’s grip and exited through the office door. Sam helplessly watched as Lena disappeared behind the shutting door.

“Fuck!” she bellowed into the empty office. Sam rushed over to her desk and retrieved her phone, quickly bringing up her wife’s contact.

MyBrownEyedGirl: The jig is up! Boss Lady was just here. She knows everything!

BigRed: Fuck! I knew Brainy shit the bed last night. What did you tell her?

MyBrownEyedGirl: EVERYTHING!!!

BigRed: Oh.

BigRed: Wow.

BigRed: How’d she handle it?

MyBrownEyedGirl: Typical Lena.

BigRed: Shocker.

BigRed: Did you ask about the other thing?

MyBrownEyedGirl: YUP

BigRed: AND???

MyBrownEyedGirl: Typical Luthor.

BigRed: Again, shocker. Plan B: I’ll load Kara up on potstickers, ice cream, and Aldebaran Rum. I guarantee she’ll talk when I’m done with her.

BigRed: Don’t worry, baby. We’re getting that new rec room AND our trip.

MyBrownEyedGirl: Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you throw around all that Big Dick Energy?

BigRed: Yes, but you can remind me again tonight.

MyBrownEyedGirl: With pleasure. Rubes is staying at her friend’s house tonight. I’ll get out the big strap.

BigRed: Fuck, I love you!!!!

MyBrownEyedGirl: Love you too, red.

MyBrownEyedGirl: Oh, one more thing. I need a favor from you.

BigRed: Name it.

MyBrownEyedGirl: Please remind me to call Nia and tell her she needs to find a new baby-daddy, because I’m going to throw Brainy’s dumb-ass into the sun!!!

[autisticlenaluthor]

Vigilante

thank you thank you to @2-the-moon-and-2-saturnfor betaing <3

“Kara Zor-El, what the fuck were you thinking?” 

The sound of Lena’s roar is quickly followed by heels snapping against the linoleum floor. Alex and Kara both shoot each other looks, like two kids about to get caught screwing around by the principal. 

Within the second, Alex has hopped off of Kara’s bed and is carefully backing away.

The med-bay door slides open and Lena enters, her arms folded across her chest and brow raised. For a moment, she remains quiet as she takes in the scene. Kara’s lying in her suit on a stretcher, surrounded by red sun lamps, and connected to an IV drip. 

Lena nods to herself and draws in a breath, shooting Alex a look before turning back to Kara.

“Two days,” she remarks and holds up two fingers. “You couldn’t wait two days for the kryptonite suit to be finished?” 

Kara goes to respond, getting out a meek ‘I know, I-’ before realizing the question must’ve been rhetorical because Lena’s already cut her off. 

“You promised you were going to lay low until it was done.” 

“I didn’t know he’d have kryptonite!” Kara exclaims. (She regrets it as soon as she does.) 

“Well, I don’t think that’s something criminals like to advertise.”

“Look, she took a calculated risk,” Alex interjects. “Maybe not the smartest one. But this is what she does– there’s always a chance of this happening, it just comes with the territory.” 

Lena raises an eyebrow. “The territory? Kara’s life is not collateral, Director. It’s not worth the risk.” 

“I���m not saying it is.” 

“Then stop treating her like she’s indestructible. You know, I’m getting really tired of this vigilante shit and the DEO acting like–”

“Woah, this is not vigilante shit, Supergirl is a nationally recognized hero. She’s basically a member of law enforcement!” Alex argues. 

“NCPD officers always have back-up. If Supergirl is a cop, then where the hell is her team?” 

“Right here! The entire DEO is behind her, she–”

“Alex–” Kara cuts in. “Both of you, just stop.” 

Lena retracts. She rubs her palms together and looks down at the floor. 

“Could we just have a minute?” Kara asks, looking over at her sister. “Alone?” 

Alex hesitates. She looks from Kara, to Lena, then back at Kara. 

“We’ll be fine,” Kara adds and tilts her head towards Lena. “I’m okay.” 

“Okay.” Alex exhales. “I’ll be in the conference room.” 

Kara nods. She folds her hands together and scrapes the dried blood from beneath her fingernails as she waits for Lena’s rant to pick back up. After all, it isn’t like she doesn’t deserve it. She made a promise and she broke it. Broke Lena’s trust after years of building it up. 

But the spiral never comes. Lena’s silent as her eyes graze the med bay again, watching the monitors on the wall, and the cuts on Kara’s chin. 

“I… I’m sorry,” Kara speaks up eventually. She looks up with round, worried eyes, trying to feel out a response before she continues. “I didn’t want to make you mad.” 

“I’m not mad,” Lena responds. She drops her arms by her side and then picks them back up again so she can tap her thumbs together. She needs something to do with her hands so the pent-energy circling inside won’t start to seep out again. “I know, with the yelling, but…” 

She pauses and approaches the bed, sitting on the edge beside her girlfriend. 

“I’m not mad.” 

“I’d understand if you were,” Kara says. “I told you I’d wait and I didn’t.”

Lena nods. She gestures with her hand, her expression softening. When she goes to speak, all that comes out is a sigh. 

She looks down and folds her hands together. They’re shaking– it’s practically imperceivable but they are. Kara reaches out to gently cover them with her own. 

“You know, for three years I’ve been Supergirl without an anti-Kryptonite suit and I’ve always made it out okay,” she says. “And today was bad, I- I know how bad it was. But I’ll bounce back. I’ll be safer.” 

Again, Lena nods and her eyes gloss over. 

“I know.”

She smiles as she says it, the way she always does when she’s fighting back tears. 

“But you’re…” Sniffing, Lena reaches out to trace the area by Kara’s scrape with her thumb. “You’re all cut up. You’re– you’re bleeding. You never bleed.” 

“I’m okay,” Kara whispers. 

But Lena doesn’t believe her. She shakes her head and sets her hand down, beginning to fidget with her fingers once more. 

“You’re hurt.” 

“I am… a little.”

“I don’t like seeing you hurt.” 

“You’ve seen it before.” 

“And I didn’t like it then either.” 

Kara sighs. She reaches out to take Lena’s hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. 

“I’ll be okay,” she says again. “I promise.” 

“Yeah… you better be,” Lena says, her voice shaky. “Because I’m really fond of my girlfriend and I’d hate to lose her to some anti-Kryptonian creep.” 

“You’re not gonna lose me.” 

“Sure.” 

“You’re not.” 

Lena looks up and meets Kara’s eyes. 

“How am I supposed to believe that?” She asks. “All I asked for was two days to finish your suit… and you went out anyway.” 

Kara averts her gaze, drawing her bottom lip between her teeth. 

“And I know you’ll be fine this time. But what if next time is different? I don’t…” 

The words get caught in Lena’s throat. They’re heavy in her mouth, she wishes she could swallow them. 

“I can’t do this without you.” 

She isn’t sure what this is referring to. These relationships, these friendships, this job.

All Lena knows is she’s gotten used to her life and for the first time in as long as she can remember, she really fucking likes it. She likes that she gets to come home from work to her best friend and the penthouse they made a home together. She likes that there are two toothbrushes in the holder on her bathroom sink, and a pair of sneakers next to her heels by the front door. She likes that when Kara showers, she can hear her singing in the other room, and that they have Fast Food Fridays because, at the end of the week, neither of them ever wants to cook. 

So maybe it’s all of it. Lena likes her life– loves it, even. Kara is the one person she can’t imagine doing it without. 

“You won’t have to,” Kara breathes. “I promise.” 

Lena doesn’t say anything. She soaks in the silence until Kara feels ready to continue. 

“Today, when I fell and the wind got knocked out of me… I felt this… this rush. Like… you know how people talk about their life flashing before their eyes?” 

Lena nods. 

“It was like that except it wasn’t my life, it was like, I was seeing what I’d miss if… if something really did happen. It was all of these moments a- and all I could think was, I can’t miss this… I can’t not live it.” 

“What did you see?” Lena asks, her voice hardly above a whisper. 

“So much.” Kara smiles and sits up, leaning her weight on her hands. “It was me and you in this big house. And we had pets– a dog and a cat. And we were so happy.” 

Lena draws her bottom lip between her teeth, the corners of her mouth curling into a smile. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t had similar fantasies. 

“That sounds nice.” 

“Yeah,” Kara agrees. “And then I… I hit the ground and I knew I’d messed up. And I- I regretted it so much– I still do.”

Lena looks over at her. She wants to ask what that means, what all of it means. The flash forward and the regret, what it really is to mess up. But again, she’s quiet. 

“I want that life with you,” Kara continues. “And I was so stupid to risk it today when all you’d needed was two more days.”

“You’re not stupid.” 

“I know. But the choice I made was.” 

Lena nods. 

“I want the big house and the dogs and all of those moments with you. Supergirl is… I love Supergirl but you are my family. She’s just a job.” 

“Kara… what are you saying?” 

Kara smiles. Her heart’s beating so fast it could burst right out of her chest, but this feels right. It feels good.

And before she knows it, two more words have slipped out. “Marry me?” 

[jesncin]

I’d really like to hear your thoughts on MAWS characters alongside Lois, if you want to do that of that’s entirely up to you but it would be really interesting ^_^

I've written about maws a fair bit on this blog! You can find my general thoughts on the jesncin talks maws tag and my massive maws Lois essay here for my thoughts on her. Suffice to say I'm not a fan of this show, lol. I haven't been able to stomach watching season 2 so my entire knowledge is limited to season 1. With that said, roundup of my thoughts on maws characters:

Clark Kent: boring. Vanilla. Critical lack of hero motivation and idealism outside of "people are getting hurt!" as a platitude. Just some guy who does chores because that's the nice thing to do. Not defeating the Superman Is Boring allegations- just has an uwu cute cinnamon roll himbo filter on it.

Lois Lane: xenophobic asian lois lane is the worst crime ever committed to me. A historically jaded, award winning, accomplished career woman fighting against work place misogyny is now a cutesty uwu girl-failure who needs the help of two men to get hired. Barf.

Jimmy Olsen: I get the attempt at making him a conspiracy theorist as a means of tapping into Jimmy's wacky silver age antics and to bounce off of Clark for shenanigans, but it doesn't meaningfully interrogate how that is at odds with his job as a journalist. Also he was sidelined hard in S1- more than he was in CW Supergirl.

Perry White: I was hoping that unlike STAS and if MAWS was going to pull from anime, that this meant strong relationships with Superman's cast system. But nope. Perry is just a running gag. I was hoping for a Snapper and Kara dynamic like in CW Supergirl.

Scoop troop (Cat Grant, Ronnie Troupe, Steve Lombard): Superfluous characters, easily delete-able. All of which have been reinterpreted as anime stereotypes. Yawn.

Newskid Legion: Also delete-able and a waste of my time. They should be called newsies. They make no sense as outdated characters placed in a futuristic setting. What is child labor doing this late in the game. Be more creative with modernizing outdated characters.

Pa and Ma Kent: Boring. The biggest problem you can have with the Kents is making them generic supportive parents like they're sentient Hallmark cards. Pa Kent got the bad end of the stick as the clueless parent, while Ma Kent was pushed as the heart of the family to Clark. Not that she did much.

Vicki Vale: Absolutely insane of this show to add another Asian xenophobe woman journalist. The MAWS crew love gloating about how they're not going to include Batman in MAWS, but they can't resist putting a Gothamite in their show and stealing rogues from other heroes. Could've brought Angela Chen (a canonically asian Metropolis reporter) from STAS but I guess she's not as big a name as a Gotham character, eh?

Livewire: the glowdown of a century. DCSHG continues to outperform every modern version of this character. Why make her a generic smuggler when her original job as a shock jokey is far more interesting?? Podcaster or influencer was right there. Her motives make no sense too.

Intergang crew: Why. Did they consolidate. Banshee with two random rogues (Mist & Roughouse) and call them Intergang. That's so many glowdowns at once. I've never seen someone look at a hero's diverse rogues gallery and say "let's consolidate all these characters so we have less material to work with in the future". I hate how the rogues are all tech based, and share the same origin. These baddies kickstarted the show's "villains with petty crime motivations": no ideological or thematic draw to them.

Ivo/Parasite: Another villain with nonsensical motivations. His business is going bankrupt so he sets up an investor event party to show off his Black Panther Lexo suit (which was apparently a response to Superman! A stranger that we can't trust! And somehow these expensive suits are more trustworthy) only to attack his investors and get owned by Superman. Then he just has a hateful vendetta against Superman. People who think this is a good Parasite interpretation because they projected vague Elon Musk are kidding themselves. I could clown on MAWS' Ivo all day. He is so badly written.

Heatwave: Why genderbend a Flash villain when Superman already has a Fire Woman in his rogues gallery? Volcana? Remember her? She's from the same show yall got Livewire from? Praise this show all you want for "reigniting interest in Superman", it's clear they're willing to toss away actual Superman cast characters for more popular characters from other heroes when it suits them. What's Heatwave's motivations? Petty crime.

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke: Imagine building this character up to be a big threat only to do nothing with him lol. I can't take him seriously, his voice acting is the worst and I hate his design. This show is so desperate to make attractive villains for fangirls it's frankly pathetic. How did people even mistaken him for Superman? He doesn't FLY.

Mallah and The Brain: This is what happens when you revive gay villains and put them through the HarlIvy Respectability Beam on fast forward. The gay villains aren't villains anymore! Because that would be bad representation! They're now cute cuddly domestic dads who want to raise robot children and run away together!! How TRITE. Mallah has "american faking a french accent" syndrome but bad voice acting is the norm in this show.

Mxy: The one time they include a villain that Lois and Jimmy could easily help Superman defeat (Mxy's whole deal is that you can send him to his dimension by tricking him to spell or say his name backwards) they opt to make it even dumber by just "removing his hat". Because the MAWS crew aren't smart enough to think of ways Superman and his pals can trick Mxy. For the record, CW Supergirl got this right in comparison.

Legion of Loises: It's the way this show can't write competent women even when that's the goal. All the characters act so stupid and that includes the Legion of Loises. At least MAWS!Lois learns the important lesson that even though she's not as accomplished as these career focused versions of her, at least she can keep her man. Misogyny in a cute package.

Alex/Lex Luthor: Go away. Ugly design I can't stand him. Miserable voice acting as usual.

Amanda Waller: She's pretty generic here. Playing second fiddle to Sam Lane for the most part, but this show has a problem with fleshing out Black characters in general so.

Sam Lane: We now have up to THREE asian xenophobes in MAWS season 1. The crew did not think their diversity through because at the end of the day S1 was really about a White Guy Alien getting oppressed by mostly people of color. Without a hint of irony.

Jor-El: I thought the language barrier between him and Clark was an inspired choice and clever as a means of postponing Clark learning about his heritage. But nope. Jor-El just starts magically talking in English later on. Otherwise boring and generic!

Brainy: I know he's prominent in S2 so I can't speak much for his character from the small impression I got of him in S1, but I can say that he looks mad ugly <3 truly horrible rogues designs in this show.

PHEW!! That's my roundup of MAWS character opinions! Wild how I can't even pinpoint a character I like on this show, lol. I know Kara's in S2 as well, and what I've seen of her sounds awful. Her design is bad too. I'm just not ready for the heartbreak of meeting that version of her because I love Supergirl so much :((

[rkfollower]

Pine

Kara scanned the room, her gaze searching for one person in particular. The night had brought together the elite of National City, a carefully crafted tribute to William’s legacy through a fundraiser that Lena had organized with flawless precision. Still, all Kara could think about was finding her. Finally, near the bar, she saw her—Lena, in an elegant black dress that shimmered under the lights, the soft glow accentuating her sharp features. And standing next to her, too close for Kara’s liking, was Andrea.

Kara’s heart clenched as she watched Andrea reach out, her hand gently touching the small emerald pendant around Lena’s neck. It was a necklace Kara hadn’t seen before, delicate and striking against Lena’s skin, but somehow, it felt familiar, as if it belonged there. Andrea murmured something that made Lena smile, her fingers brushing over the stone as if remembering an old memory. Kara’s chest tightened, a prickle of jealousy threading through her, sharper than she was prepared for.

Over the years, Kara had spent countless hours by Lena’s side, navigating the peaks and valleys of their friendship. She’d tried to convince herself that the fondness, the protectiveness she felt for Lena was just that—friendship, loyalty.Losing William had forced them all to confront the fragility of life, and in that sorrow, Kara had found herself wanting Lena in ways that transcended friendship. She wanted to be there for her, to hold her when she was sad, and to laugh with her during the good times. She wanted it all.

And watching Andrea touch Lena now, seeing Lena look so at ease with her, only reminded her that she was done hiding how she felt.

She was done pining.

She was tired of hiding her feelings, tired of watching from the sidelines. Tonight, she would no longer be the friend in the background; she would make her move.

As the night draws to a close and the majority of the people attending the fundraiser slowly trickle out, Kara sought out Lena, determined to make good of her promise to herself. She was not surprised to see Lena by the terrace, thankfully alone. It was now or never. 

“I haven’t seen that necklace before,” Kara began, her voice gentle.

Lena’s fingers lingered on the emerald, her smile a little softer, almost wistful. “Andrea gave it to me a long time ago. I wasn’t sure I’d wear it again, but…” She trailed off, shrugging lightly, though her eyes held Kara’s as if waiting for something unspoken.

“It’s beautiful.” Kara stepped closer, her gaze flicking between Lena’s eyes and the emerald. “It suits you.”

Lena’s breath caught, and Kara saw the slight flush on her cheeks.

Kara smiled, her gaze holding Lena’s with a steadiness she rarely allowed herself. “I love you..” she began, her thumb still brushing against Lena’s hand. “Not in a best friend or sister kinda way. But in a ‘I want to do and experience everything with you’ way.” She took a shaky breath, the words heavier than she’d expected, filled with everything she felt. “I hope… that tonight can be a new beginning for us… if you want to.”

For a moment, they just stood there, time suspended as the hum of conversation of the remaining guests faded behind them. Lena’s fingers intertwined with hers, her smile blooming into something soft and breathtaking.

“I’d like that,” 

[spider-jaysart]

Jon Kent week Day 4 (the day that this whole thing was actually meant to be posted on, but I missed it)

Kryptonian culture or Alternate universe

Okay, so this au of mines is called Bed boy au

It's about Jon and the Superfamily being these special beings called "Dream saviours" who live in another realm. Their job is to visit the dreams of many humans everynight to give them joy and good sleep, especially to those who are very sad or depressed and are going through hard times as well

One day Jon is given his first ever assignment to go into Damian's dreams on his first day of the job and is very excited about it. Once he finally interacts with the Boy Wonder in the dream, he can see that he's not really doing so well because of certain things that are currently going on in his real life, so he does his best to cheer him up by using his abilities to create a wonderful dream for him to enjoy that night. After that, they both end up bonding well with eachother, and in the morning Jon goes back home feeling proud of himself at a job well done, while Damian is able to wake up with a smile on his face

Days later, Jon is curious to know how Damian's been doing now and sneakily tries going back to visit him again to check up on him and asks Chris to fill in for him on his other current assignment this time as a favor, which his brother thankfully does for him

Jon meets up with Damian and sees that he's not doing so good once again, so out of concern, he decides to continue visiting Damian's dreams everynight instead to make sure that he's always doing okay, causing himself to not pay attention to his other assignments later on in the future after this decision

In Damian's dreams, they both always go on imaginary adventures together and do many other fun things with eachother as well, and become best friends. Jon begins to wish that he could hang out more with his new friend in the mortal realm, but his kind aren't allowed to visit there though due to the rules in his world, which is a problem for him

And Damian begins to start wishing that Jon was actually real, since he thinks he's only someone who's just apart of his imagination (which is what he actually thinks at first), so he starts to become saddened about it

So after Jon tries escaping the Dream saviours realm one day to try and hang out with Damian in the real world, he unexpectedly gets caught in the act and is banned from visiting Damian anymore after that

Though, after a good while, Jon, not being able to put up anymore with this punishment getting in the way of his friendship, later somehow meets up with Damian again in his dreams and reveals to him about what he actually is and whats going on and they both figure out how to fix all of it in the end. After that, they both have a happy ending where they get to hang out together in real life all the time like they had wanted, without any kind of restrictions holding them back like before

Fun facts:

For the Superfamilies abilities as Dream saviours, they all have the magical power to do many creative things in a persons dream, they can also all float/fly, they never have the need for sleep, so their energy or day schedules are never messed up by their night job because of that, but they could do it if they wanted to, and they can also physically heal others as well, especially humans when they visit them in their dreams, actually healing them in real life while they're asleep so that they can wake up feeling physically better again

While Jon's suit is all pink, especially in his skin and hair, Lois is purple, Clark is light blue, Conner is a greenish blue, Chris is orange, Kara is yellow themed, and Krypto is the lightest blue

[Image ID: Two images of two digital drawings for day 4 of Jon Kent week, which is for the prompt "Alternate universe". The first image is a reference sheet of Kid!Jon Kent who is a "Dream saviour" in an au called "Bed boy au". He is standing in the middle of the drawing with a happy smile, wearing a Superboy suit that is in the colors pink and red instead of his usual red and blue color scheme. He has a gittery pink, see through cape on. The sleeves and collar are also pink and see through with glitter on them too. He also has a yellow, glittering belt on with a red, round jewel as buckle in the middle, along with long red fingerless gloves on both hands, red boots, and the Superman symbol on his chest. He also has pink, glittering skin. His eyes are still blue, but with pink sparkles and his hair is still black, but has pink shine in it now. The background is pink and has little notes about his outfit, which were just described. There is also a white text box on the right next to Jon's head, saying "Jon and the Superfamily are these special beings called "Dream saviors" who live in another realm. Their job is to visit the dreams of many humans every night to give them joy and good sleep, especially to those who are very sad or depressed and are also going through hard times as well.". The artist's signature @spider-jaysart is written next to Jon's left foot. The second image is a digital drawing of Dream saviour!Jon in Damian's dream. Jon is in the left corner of the drawing, happily pointing at himself, greeting Damian, who is standing in the right corner facing his back to the viewer, saying "My name is Jon! I'm here to bring joy to your dreams!". He is wearing the same suit from his reference sheet and Damian is wearing a black sweatshirt. The background is colored light black and the artist's signature @spider-jaysart is written above Jon's right shoulder. /.End of image ID]

@jonkentweek

[laurzvahll]

🎃 or 👔 for sol!!

HI MJJJ :D THANK U FOR THE ASK !!!

ehehe for Halloween outfit I chose to draw Sol as Howl, since I’d say Howls Moving Castle is their favorite movie ever :3 I had actually already been planning to draw Sol as Howl because I had this silly comic idea not too long ago where Kara finds out that HMC is their favorite movie and totally thinks he is the Howl to their Sophie :P (he is mistaken)

For their formal outfit, I feel like for a formal event where they’d probably encounter a lot of people they know ,they’d tone down their outfits a little not wanting to seem too extra. Although theyd probably still have fun with accessorizing hehe. Obv their outfit changes a bit depending on how formal the event will be, but this is usually their go-to. A nice cream colored suit with a baby blue shirt 

[natalievoncatte]

"In the end, you can only count on blood."

Lena stood there in Lex's stronghold, staring him down as best she could, and it was still pathetic. He wanted to tell her, to see her face crumble as he explained to her in exquisite detail how weak and pathetic she was. Good God, the woman had given herself a glow-up before confronting him. Who goes to their supervillain brother's secret base, intent on challenging him, in heels? With that shade of makeup? She was still playing the sexpot, unthinkingly using her "advantages" the way that their father had trained her to, when he'd first used her to distract a rival at the negotiating table. At the time, Lex had been disgusted, and confronted the old man privately, earning himself a few bruises.

Over a decade later, he wondered how he hadn't seen it sooner. So desperate for belonging, for approval. Beneath the power suits and fuck me pumps, she was just a little girl crying for her teddy bear, endlessly searching for someone to pat her widdle head and tell her it was okay, and she'd latched onto the Kryptonian of all people. He understood her proclivities, even if he didn't share them, or much interest in the act generally, and on an aesthetic level he knew why Lena was drawn to Kara Danvers, but how could she be so dense?

No, he had to play this properly. He'd written this little drama piece by piece, laying out the steps for her to follow, just as he'd manipulated her so many times at the chess table. All he had to do was pick up the remote on the table beside him and show her the truth, watch her crumble, and when she was reduced to rubble on the floor, rebuild her properly. She'd be his apprentice yet, be worthy. For all her faults, his half-sister was the closest thing he'd ever to know an equal, a worthy partner.

So worthy was she, in fact, that she smoothly swept back her jacket, and in a practiced motion, drew the revolver she carried in a basket-weave, FBI-cant holster on her strong side. Lex recognized it; he gave it to her. A Smith and Wesson J-Frame Ladysmith with custom ebony wood grips. The very one that Lex had gifted Lena on her twenty-first birthday, having already taught her to shoot on the grounds of the family estate.

"This is no time for theatrics, dear sister," said Lex.

Lena responded by shooting him twice, missing his heart. The pain was towering, enormous, and he was on the ground before he realized he'd fallen. Nothing had ever hurt this much.

In his usual detached way, he assessed. Gurgling when he breathed and copper on his breath: she'd hit a lung. When he pulled his hand back from one of the wounds, the blood was a rich, earthy red. Gutshot, then, too. Sadistic, if it was intentional. From the way her hand was shaking it probably wasn't.

"The world will never be safe with you in it," Lena choked out, still holding the gun in front of her as if it might shield her from what she'd done.

"Pathetic," Lex choked out. "Just as I thought." The gurgling came harder now.

He was going to die; that was inevitable. But he'd still get his licks in. They probably thought the Harun-El, or Red Daughter, or the Lexosuit were his master-stroke, but no, it was more intimate. More subtle. He willed himself to draw breath, commanded by force of will that blood keep carrying oxygen to his brain. Despite the agony ripping through him at every breath, he carried on. This made it worth it.

Oh, yes, she'd killed Lex Luthor, but he'd destroy her.

"What will you be without me? You have no one, and nothing."

She seemed confused. How had Lex ever thought that this bovine, dull creature could be worthy of ruling the world beside him? She had some low cunning and a technician's aptitude for laboratory work, but she was no peer of his.

"Go back and cry to your friends," he croaked. "All of them have been mocking you. Alex and Jimmy, your boyfriend, and that little alien runt, and her most of all. The truth was right in front of your face."

He managed to reach the remote and activate the monitors, relief flooding through him, cooling the heat of his dying. Lex slumped back, watching Lena watch her world unravel.

"They've been lying to you all this time, her most of all. Kara Danvers." He pronounced the name carefully, adding the proper Kryptonian inflection to Kara's name.

This. This was the thrust that ended the duel, the cutting stroke, the killing blow. He watched her eyes widen.

"Even your own mother has been lying to you. It's been right there the whole time."

Lena looked at him, the gun drooping in her hand. She looked at the monitor, back to him. Her expression hardened, twisting into a scowl. Perfect. She might even still be able to save him. He knew she was worthless now, of course, but she would be easily to manipulate and once she followed his instructions and healed his wounds, the guilt would take over and-

She was still looking at him. He met her gaze.

"Kara Danvers is Supergirl," Lex croaked out.

Lena's voice was heavy with sadness.

"I know."

Fuck.

Lena pulled the trigger. Lex saw a flash but heard no sound, felt no pain. It was simply over.

It was, but he wasn't.

Somehow, he did not hear, but sensed Lena leaving, not by the clack of her heels on concrete or the explosive rush of pressure as she stole his damned portal watch, but by some other means he didn't understand.

This was odd.

Lex hadn't counted on there being an afterlife. Nor had he considered that it would be so pedestrian and mundane, and that he'd end up staring down at his own body from above. The tunnel of light was probably next; going into said light was most likely, at least for Lex Luthor, an amazingly terrible idea.

This was truly strange. He supposed he should have been in shock and awed at the entire situation, but all he could really feel was a kind of confusion. Looking at his body was like walking the halls of the first boarding school he'd attended, trying to reconcile the memories of a child with the physicality and perspective of an adult who felt too large for those spaces.

In other words, had he really been that short? Had no one had the fortitude to tell him how silly that beard looked?

Lex waited, and started to wonder. Now if this was the afterlife, staring at his own corpse, that would be oddly fitting, in an ironic Greek hell sort of way. He could appreciate the poetry.

Out of of the corner of his eye -or the fringes of his bodyless, formless perception- Lex spotted movement and turned towards it instinctively. A wisp of thick vapor was snaking under the door, curling through the gap. Tendrils of the mist slithered along the floor, spreading and flowing until it surrounded the corpse, which Lex was now more comfortable thinking of as the body rather than my body.

Said mist was filling the room, rising higher and higher. Lex felt a peculiar tug, a nonphysical pull, a kind of involuntary lunge back towards his fallen body. As the mist grew heavier, it reduced the looped footage of Kara using her powers at L-Corp to a glowing blur behind the swirling fog.

Had Lena set the bunker on fire before she left? Perhaps she'd meant to giving him a Viking funeral. He rather liked that.

What he did not like was the jarring sensation of gurgling, pain swelling in his lungs in a molten wave that climbed up his throat, burning its way into a ragged, wet cough that filled his nostrils with metallic stink as surely as if he'd shoved pennies up his nose. He took another breath, or tried to.

Pain rocketed through his body. It felt as if invisible fingers were crudely ripping his wounds closed, knitting the flesh not only carelessly but with deliberate, sadistic glee. Lex cried out and tasted blood on his tongue.

There was a cold floor, hard beneath him. He blinked a few times, the world coming into blurry existence before his now-functional eyes. When he took another breath, the pain had abated, but the memory of it was a non-physical ache, a drag on his lungs nevertheless. As his eyes focused, he realized he was staring up at a new ceiling, in unknown surroundings. The arched stone above his head made him think castle. Maybe he'd been somehow carried off to a bunker in Kaznia, and was about to be interrogated.

Lex sat up.

He was in a castle, indeed. There was a thick carpet under his backside, doing little to protect him from the bitter cold of a hard stone floor. Elaborate tapestries hung on the walls, and in front of them stood heavy, solid bookcases that showed deep age in the wood and craftsmanship, the shelves packed with a vast number of volumes, all of them finely bound. Lex took a few tentative steps and looked over the spines. Most were unmarked. One had a cover of a strange, pale leather that felt loathsome to the touch.

Scanning the room, Lex decided he need to figure out where he was, who brought him here, and attempt to deduce why. It was important, even vital, to project a constant air of control, even if he had no idea what the hell was going on. He'd feel out his captor and find the best posture to start influencing them and guiding them down paths he had already calculated, towards the inevitable goal of escape, and if possible, control. Master of circumstances was Lex's central drive. He didn't play his pieces, he played his opponent; the game itself was merely an exercise in satisfying his intellectual vanity by minimizing the number of moves between opening and checkmate.

So, he assessed.

Wealth. Power. Aristocracy. Those were his first thoughts. The person who owned this place had vast resources and considered themselves vastly important, and to some degree they were right. On the wall opposite the bookcases, Lex found an assortment of arms and armor, full suits of plate on arming racks and heavy longswords and axes, all lovingly cared for.

The room was dominated by a painting. Lex paused to study it; the faded oils depicted, as through a dark glass, a striking young woman of great beauty, dressed in rich regalia. The artist had given her a lively visage, with curious, expressive eyes that were somehow full of mute appeal. She seemed familiar, though the aging of the painting made it difficult for Lex to say how.

Lex heard a scuff of leather and realized he wasn't alone.

At the far end of the room stood a tall man in rich, elaborate, and very antiquated robes and a heavy cloak. Very pale, he had an aristocratic look about him, with jet black hair worn long, swept back from a pronounced windows peak. In one hand, he delicately held a fine golden goblet, and in the other, he regarded some kind of elaborately decorated card; Lex at first thought of the tarot, but it wasn't part of the major or minor arcana, and he didn't recognize the design at all.

He turned and met Lex's gaze.

Lex flinched back and immediately loathed himself for it. He hadn't reacted like this to anyone in years, not since the first time the Kryptonian had paid him a visit. He held the stranger's gaze firmly, though it felt like nails pulled across his skin.

There was an expectant pause. Lex remained still, schooling his features.

"You are Alexander Luthor," the stranger said, gently placing his cup on the broad desk in front of him, settling in a rare open space amongst books and papers.

"My friends call me Lex."

He looked up, considering Lex briefly.

"I have brought you here, and raised you from death at great expense, for a singular purpose, Master Luthor."

Lex spread his hands in a conciliatory gesture.

"What purpose is that?"

"You will tell me everything you know about this woman."

He held something out, clearly expecting Lex to cross the room and accept it. Lex briefly weighed which option was best- to appear obedient and begin his manipulations that way, or force the other man to move from his position of presumed authority and reframe the conversation between them as an exchange between equals.

The moment stretched too long. The stranger's expression darkened slightly. Lex crossed the gap and accepted what turned out to be an eight by ten photograph. He looked at the familiar face.

"Her name is Kara Danvers," said Lex. The photo was her headshot from the CatCo Media website.

God, had no one ever put a picture of Supergirl in Google and done a reverse image search? It was so obvious. She was even more careless than Kent!

"This I know," the man said, taking the picture back. He studied it, lovingly dragging one finger down the edge.

"You seem rather taken with her," said Lex.

The stranger looked up, and carefully slipped the photograph between the pages of one of his books.

"She is important to my plans. I must bring her here, safely and securely, to my home."

Lex couldn't help it, he really couldn't. He barked out a laugh.

"Do you have any idea what you're dealing with? Kara Danvers is Supergirl."

The stranger's eyes flashed with fury, and for a moment, there was something absolutely bestial in his face, his features flowing and changing, twisting into something monstrous and carnivorous.

"It is you who have no idea what you are dealing with, little man," he said.

This wasn't going well.

"I'd be glad to help you, if you help me. I'm sure we can work out a-"

The man moved as fast as a damned Super. He blurred around the desk, suddenly just there, and whipped his hand across Lex's throat. At first, he thought he'd been slapped, but the pain was too sharp, too vital. A hot gush followed it, and Lex realized he was about to die. Again. His throat had been cut.

His knees hit the stone floor and he clutched at his neck, desperate to staunch the flow, but it sluiced between his fingers and spattered on the floor.

The stranger murmured a word, and the air itself seemed to twist around him, bent and mangled by the sound he made as a faint light twisted around his fingers as he bent and curled them in impossible configurations.

The pain of the wound closing was worse than its making; that had been quick, the edge sharp. This felt like someone was grasping Lex's parted flesh with greasy fingers and reshaping it like so much clay.

The stranger looked at the blood splattered on his fingers and hand.

"It is unfortunate that the offal that pollutes your veins is too poor a vintage, Luthor. I would not soil my tongue with it, but perhaps there are others that might be sated by lesser stock."

A hand closed around his neck, and Lex was hauled up, his toes kicking six inches above the floor.

"I could crush you like an insect, remake you, and crush you again," he said,  with a strange, mirthless joy in his voice. "You think yourself your world's smartest man. Next to me, you are nothing. Your world is nothing. I have ruled this land for a thousand years. I am beyond your comprehension."

He let go, and Lex fell, rolling with the impact, lucky not to pop something in his knee. He fell onto his side, gasping and struggling to breathe, unsure he still could.

"You will do as you are commanded. You will tell me everything you know of this woman, and hold nothing back. Her origins, her ways, her home, her family, everything you know, and if I am satisfied that you have been suitably forthcoming, I shall reward you by allowing you to live and serve me."

"Who are you?" Lex choked out.

The stranger stared down at him, smiling for the first time, a cold smile without a hint of anything human in it.

"I am the Ancient. I am the Land. I am Strahd."

[loveandleases]

Hi! I’m wanting to draw some art with the RO’s and my MC but I’m having a difficult time picturing what they would all wear on a regular basis. I was wondering if you could give an outlook on what each RO wears casually but formally too would also be highly appreciated. <333

Absolutely! I'll leave them below the cut.

Cam - His style is focused on comfort even then he still has natural style. So even when dressed formal, it's still something he would be comfortable in. You will have to make him wear a tie.

G - Think classic for them. Even dressed down it still manages to come off as professional. G wear's a lab coat at work.

Kara - She wears what ever is trending.

M- Our resident softie, dresses as they are. Soft, comfy clothes. Lot's of layers.

Isaac - They are like Kara in the sense of what is trendy/stylish, but they can really pull off a suit.

Ardent - He looks good regardless of what he wears, I blame the body. When it comes to casual, tshirts, or a tight drifit top. Formal they like to leave a bit of skin showing.

[thatonebirdwrites]

As I write ficlets here, I dump them in my Books of Destiny. Newest chapter is the idea for the Fallout AU. I wanted to keep Kara feeling alien, and the best way to do that is for her to be a vault dweller who ventures into the wastelands for the first time. This puts Lena as a wastelander (secretly with the Railroad but working as a scavenger). I'm mixing the plots of Fallout 3 and 4 because I liked Fallout 3's plot better, but I prefer Fallout 4's setting and factions. (Have played these games dozens of times.) What is the Fallout Universe?

If Fusion Power was invented and became commonplace in the 1950s, where even cars are run on fusion, only for a nuclear war to break out. Two hundred years after the War, the character leaves their vault knowing little to nothing about the wasteland. It's a dark satire with ridiculous elements. As a fun easter egg, in Fallout 3, you can find Bethseda's offices. Yes, they put their offices in the game.

Year 2278, May 12 - 200 Years After the War

Two days after leaving the vault, Kara realized that the world did not fit what the overseer had described. In fact, everything she'd been told about the world seemed to be terribly wrong.

The giant cockroaches and mosquitoes? They weren't supposed to be that big! When she saw the furless mongrel dogs and cows with two heads, she quickly realized that the Vault's biology book was utterly useless for this wasteland. The land itself mostly dried grass, vine-drenched trees, and over-sized, glowing mushrooms.

How was Kara supposed to find a clean source of water and better foodstuff to replace their lost stores? The wasteland looked so inhospitable, and nearly all the water sources held far too much radioactivity. Her Geiger counter kept bouncing up to warn her away from the more dangerous areas -- her vault suit didn't quite protect against the radiation, she should have worn a hazmat suit -- but in other areas that did harbor life, none matched her biology vaultbooks. So she had no idea what was edible.

Up ahead, Kara sighted three figures. She darted behind a rock. Last thing she needed was a fight. The last one with that creepy, fur-less and rabid dog had nearly gotten her killed. Her arm still ached from the dog's claws. She'd had to use three stimpacks before the injury began to slowly repair itself.

So she huddled behind a rock and watched the approach of humans. The first she'd seen since leaving the vault. She had a knife with her, canned food and water, and some tech from the vault. The gun she'd found in a rundown shack yesterday was out of ammo. Not that she was any good at it. Shooting wasn't part of the vault curriculum.

Two of the humans were dressed in leather coats, black pants with knee pads, and a hard helmet. A giant, hulking robot walked next to them, but a human voice emanated from it. It looked like one of the power armors Kara had seen in the textbooks from the war.

One of the humans looked like a woman. She held a device in her hand and moved it back and forth over the ground. Her skin was sun-burned, her black hair tied back in a loose ponytail, but her eyes were so, so green. As green as the tree drawings in Kara's vault textbooks. She was gorgeous.

The trio walked closer, and their voices drifted over the broken trees and shattered road. "Jack, are you certain this was the coordinates? Because I'm not picking up any signals." Even the woman's voice sounded beautiful.

"We've been over this, Lena. The triangulation pinpointed the crash to this location," Jack said, his deeper voice held an accent Kara didn't recognize. "We simply need to cover more area."

"Perhaps we should split up?" The power armor person said. Their voice was a low alto. "Cover more ground?"

"Bloody hell, Sam, we'd be easy pickings for any enemy then," Jack said with a dramatic flourish of his hand.

"You would be fine, Sam," Lena said with a roll of her eyes. "You got the power armor. Besides, the idea isn't feasible. I have the scanner. Without it, you're looking for a cap in a lake."

Kara blinked as their words filtered through her. Wait. A crash? She'd seen lots of crashes since leaving the Vault. In fact, one had been still smoking. It resembled the Vertibirds from her textbooks of the war. She'd passed by it yesterday when she'd sighted the giant cockroach and almost fell off a cliff in her eagerness to escape it.

Without thinking it through, she darted to her feet. "Hey! I saw a crash!"

And soon found herself facing three weapons -- a flamethrower in Sam's hands, a hunting rifle in Jack's, and a laser gun in Lena's.

Kara threw up her hands. "Please don't shoot! I don't mean any harm. I just heard you talking about a crash, and I saw one."

Lena lowered her weapon first. One eyebrow rose as her gaze swept over Kara. "You're wearing a vault jumpsuit."

"Yes?" Kara looked down at the blue and yellow suit. The number 101 was emblazoned across the front. Was it a bad thing to be a vault-dweller? She wondered if maybe she should have lied. Too late now. "I left it two days ago."

"Wait, you're a vault dweller?" Jack slid the rifle over his shoulder and grinned. "Our luck is in! Can you take us to it?"

Kara lowered her hands, confused. "Why?"

"Most vaults are powered by fusion," Lena explained, "and we're low on fusion cores. Is your power still functioning?"

Kara shifted uneasily back toward her rock. "I'm not sure." She'd left the vault intact, meaning her family was still there. Leading these people to it just for them to take the vault's power? That would put them all in danger.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Sam asked. She had lowered her weapon, but her voice was still intimidating due to the power armor. "Come on, you just left it, didn't you?"

"I can take you to the crash," Kara said, firmly. Alex and the others relied on her mission to find a better water source. Leading strangers there to steal power was not part of the mission. "And maybe we can negotiate if you help me find a clean source of water."

"Now see here," Jack started to say, but Lena held up her hand to stop him.

"Negotiate we definitely can. So what's your name?" With a smile, Lena stepped in front of the others and held out her hand to Kara. "I'm Lena, this is Jack, and that's Sam."

"Kara from Vault 111." Kara shook Lena's hand with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you."

[talas-first-lady]

Supergirl 5x09: Crisis part 1

See, I said I was looking forward to this because it's a break from Supergirl nonsense, and then all the boys showed up.

Is Superman & Lois as painfully awful as these scenes with the characters? Because wow.

Kate: Where's Alice? Alice: I enjoy torture, but even I draw the line at a crossover.

Oh Sara Lance it is good to see you (and Ray. Hi Ray!).

Little robot man

I guess Brainy is allowed to be funny for one episode only.

Contender for best moment of the crossover: Ray: Love your suit. If you want I could probably give it an upgrade. Kate: Depends on how attached you are to your hand. Ray: ...Pretty attached. Alex: *impressed in lesbian*

Lois: I'll go to another earth in the future to pick up our baby. Sara: This sounds like a great excuse for me to be literally anywhere but here.

Like seriously Sara was done with this crossover before it even started.

Clark: How are you so hopeful? You've lost as much as I have. Kara: Because I'm not a whiny baby about everything? Nia, offscreen: Except doing your fucking job!

I'm sure Alex loves having Oliver skulking around her storage rooms.

Agentcorppppp together again.

Alt!Oliver: It can't be. You're dead. Sara: Yeah, I get that a lot.

Is all the flipping really necessary in a fight?

Oh hi Nia. Missed you.

Hi Kelly as well.

Dansennnnn

Oliver: I have big deathbed speeches for everyone. Oliver: Not you, Sara.

[thatonebirdwrites]

"I'm beginning to think magic is just instinct and intuition," Lena admitted with a hint of frustration. She was used to science and its cold, hard mathematics and logic. Magic failed all of that, and it was irritating as fuck.

Nia turned to her on the sofa. "Honestly, that sounds a lot like dream interpretation. Maybe I could help you try to sort some of it out."

The offer startled Lena. She couldn't help but smile at Nia's earnest words. "I'd really like that."

Nia grinned. "Want to get started tomorrow then? To dig into the wonders of intuition?"

Considering Lena had nowhere else to go and nothing else to do -- ever since she left Lex and Luthorcorp -- why not hang with Nia at the Tower and work on the irritatingly vague and nonexistent rules magic held? "Sure."

Nia rubbed her hands together. "We're going to have so much fun."

Huh. Should Lena be worried? She glanced at Kara, who only smiled at her in that soft way she'd done ever since her return from the Phantom Zone. Well, she'd always had that soft look just for Lena, but it was tripled the intensity lately.

And she lost her train of thought, caught up in staring back at Kara, who watched her like she was a work of art. As if Kara herself wasn't a gorgeous work of art herself.

"-- wear practical clothes," Nia was saying. "Because we're going to go on an adventure."

Okay, now Lena was a trifle concerned. But she had agreed.

<<..>>

Lena met Nia at the Tower with a briefcase full of magic supplies. She'd gathered various herbs from gardens and stored in small round jars, and the most common ones were in the case along with the grimoire.

"Hey Lena! Ready to tackle the hardest thing in the universe?" Nia grinned and hopped down from the counter she was sitting on in the lab. She wore her Dreamer suit, like usual when they worked in the tower. A suit that Lena had offered to upgrade, or at least add more protection into its weave. Nia hadn't yet taken her up on it, but that didn't stop Lena from drawing various possible designs.

"Hi." Lena put her suitcase on the counter. "What's the plan?"

"Step one is go for a walk. It'll be epic, I promise." Nia glanced at the suitcase. "You can bring it if you want, but what I had in mind won't require your grimoire or fancy herbs."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Really."

Nia nodded, her expression intense, the way she'd get when she fought or related her dream prophecies. "First trick is to practice building up that instinct and trust in yourself." She motioned for Lena to follow her. "Believe me, Mom and Dad used to talk about stuff like this with me all the time. Now I hear it from Kelly. She gets way serious about it, but it works."

"Okay." Lena glanced at the suitcase. No, she'll do this Nia's way. She left it behind and followed the other woman out the door.

The path took them away from the Tower, down the street, toward one of the city's many parks. "I like to walk here," Nia admitted. "Dream interpretation can be ridiculously complex, but something about the trees, birds singing, dogs barking, and you know, it soothes the soul. Lets me see connections I might have missed if I didn't let my mind wander."

Lena glanced at Nia, confused. "You see connections by letting your mind wander? If I do that, I jump through a dozen projects. Drafting them all."

Nia led her off the sidewalk and onto a dirt path that wound through the forest in the middle of the city. "Huh, sounds like you."

Lena wasn't entirely sure what that comment meant, but she decided to take it as a compliment. The walk itself felt almost peaceful. Birds called in the branches above them, their sweet song a harmony to the more rhythmic rumble of engines from nearby roads. She smelled a hint of pine and maple on the cool wind.

"You ever meditate?" Nia asked.

"Not really," Lena replied. "I find it hard. Too much to discover, too much to plan, to calculate. I was taught to never be idle. To always be productive." Admitting it out loud made Lena self-conscious.

Nia glanced at her, her brown eyes intense in her dark blue mask. "Never be idle? Do you not relax at all?"

"At game nights?" Lena offered, tentatively. "Or when Kara or one of you force me to go rest."

Nia sighed. "Okay, so intuition relies on trusting yourself, and that means listening to your body, Lena. Sometimes that requires you to be idle. To not rush into the next project. But to really feel."

"Oh." Lena shoved her hands into her pockets with a frown. "That -- that's not something I do well. Feel."

That brought Nia up short. She reached over to gently touch Lena's shoulder. "How come?"

Lena sighed. "I'm not used to it. You know how sometimes you feel like you don't fit in? Like you're this misshapen cog that fails to fit into its engine, a broken husk of a person? That's how I feel sometimes."

Nia dropped her hand. "I get that, truly." She grimaced and sighed. "I grew up feeling like an imposter. Sure, my family was mostly supportive. But I never felt like I fit in. It's why I moved to National City to take the job at CatCo. To try to find a niche, you know? Then I got the dreaming ability, which I always assumed Maeve would get. And well, when Maeve found out, she threw me being trans back in my face." Nia ran a hand through her hair and smiled a tight painful smile. "It's hard to not feel broken, like I'll never settle in my skin. Especially with all the hate folks like me get. It's just aggravating, sometimes."

Lena breathed in sharply at the pain in Nia's voice. "I remember your interview. I couldn't fathom that level of vulnerability. I'm sorry your sister treated you that way."

Nia shrugged. "I dealt with those feelings. Sat with them, wrote them out, and came to terms with it." She poked Lena's shoulder. "My point here is you have to face your feelings. Don't put them in boxes. Intuition relies on emotion and all that jazz."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" Lena smiled, wryly.

"Never." Nia crossed her heart, then a sly grin crossed her lips. "I nicknamed you the Boxes Princess in my journal."

"I suppose that's apt." Lena swept her gaze over the path. "I am trying to not use boxes."

"Old habits die hard as my Dad used to say," Nia quipped. "That's why we're here! To explore what a Lena is like when she relies on intuition and instinct rather than logic."

Lena shook her head. "I'll try but not making any promises."

"Do or do not, there is no try," Nia said, her expression back to that serious tilt to her lips and slightly furrowed brow.

"Quoting Yoda at me? Fine. Lesson heard." Lena gestured to the path. "Shall we continue?"

<<..>>

Lena had no idea why Nia wanted her to hold a frog. Or how that related to intuition, emotions, or instinct.

Yet there she stood in her Dreamer's suit, a frog cupped in her hands. "Come on," Nia urged. "Just hold the little guy. He might pee on you, but that's nothing."

"Right." Lena frowned and carefully cupped her hands like Nia. They formed a tunnel with their hands, and Nia tipped hers so the frog tumbled into Lena's palm. The creature felt cold, slimy, and ticklish almost. She cupped her hands to keep the little guy enclosed. "Um, so, this does what?"

"I just wanted to see you hold a frog." Nia grinned. She pulled out her phone and took a picture before Lena could protest. "Kara's gonna love this."

"Seriously?" Lena growled, mock outraged.

"Seriously." Nia tucked her phone away. "Okay, so holding a frog does actually help. You've got a living creature in your hands. It's gonna react to you in ways you might not be able to predict."

As if to prove her point, the frog jumped and collided with the top of Lena's other hand. Another jump had the frog bouncing off her fingers.

"Intuition is a lot like that frog. It's unpredictable. It'll hop about and appear just when you don't expect it. The important thing is to trust it. That little frog is a harmless species. It won't hurt you, though you could hurt it. Not trusting your intuition?" Nia clapped her hands together. "It's like squashing a frog. You've just hurt yourself." She paused and tapped her chin. "And the frog I guess. My metaphor is ribbiting away from me."

Lena rolled her eyes at the terrible joke. "May I put the frog down now? He seems unhappy."

"What does your intuition say?" Nia squatted next to the pond and dipped her hands in the likely nasty water. Who knew what was in that pond.

"I -- I don't know. My logic and rational brain says frogs belong in the pond not my hand."

Nia waved her hand at Lena. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Ms. Logic Queen. But how do you feel about holding a frog?"

"Awkward?" Lena peered between her fingers at the little green creature. It sat in the center of her palm and ribbited. "A bit worried. I don't want to hurt it by accident."

"Aw, there it is." Nia snapped her fingers. "That's the root of your issue. You don't want to hurt someone by accident."

Lena blinked at Nia, and realized she was right. A part of her was terrified she'd hurt someone with her magic. "Oh."

"I get it," Nia said, gently. "I was pretty worried about my powers. What if I failed to understand?" Pain tightened her words. "Mom died. I'd dreamed she might, but I didn't understand. I took everything literally. But you can't do that with magic. It's slippery like a frog."

She pulled a grass from the pond and held it up for Lena. "Some days I still blame myself for Mom's death."

Lena knelt next to Nia. "It's not your fault."

Nia smiled, sadly. "Sure, I know now. But it was damn hard. The grief never fully goes away. And that's the thing, isn't it? Sometimes our powers can't save someone. We can try our best, but that's all. Kara taught me that."

Lena breathed in sharply. "She does that, doesn't she?" A flood of affection for Kara warmed her from the inside out. "She's lost so much, and yet she's here, doing her best, loving people where they are."

Nia tickled her arm with the grass. "Not unlike you, you sap. Now back to that frog. How do you feel now?"

Lena looked down at her cupped hands. "Calmer. And amazed that such a little frog could provide so much insight." Leaning forward, she dipped her hands into the water and opened them. She felt the frog kick off and then it was gone.

<<..>>

They stood in a clearing deep in the park, the ring of trees almost ominous. The sunset certainly added to that feel, and the air smelled of pond stench and rotted leaves.

Nia had positioned her ten feet from her. Between them, she'd placed her phone and started a playlist. "Now we dance!" Nia's excitement had Lena dreading this lesson.

"Dance? I don't dance." Lena furrowed her brow. She knew some basic dances, mostly to get through the galas, but she never did it willingly. Not like this.

"Aren't you a fencer? I heard you were some fancy-pants Olympic contender. That's basically a dance." Nia flowed into a rather confusing dance, one that was mostly waving of arms and weaving her body like it was made of water.

"It's totally different," Lena protested.

"Is it?" Nia danced over her phone and tugged on Lena's hands. "You rely on instinct and intuition to move, right? I saw those videos of yours. You moved like lightning. No time to think."

True but still. Lena felt silly dancing in a clearing in the middle of the forest. It felt too much like a scene out of a bad fantasy movie.

"Come on and let loose, Lena! Feel the beat. Let your body move for you. Don't think. Feel." Nia spun and grinned.

Lena closed her eyes, embarrassed. She started with a shuffle step back and forth. The beat of the song was catchy.

"Feel," Nia said again. "Feel that beat."

Lena pictured herself in Kara's apartment. She thought of a night only two weeks after they rescued Kara from the Phantom Zone. Lena had stayed the night, like she'd done all during the time Kara was lost. That day, Kara had turned on music and spun Lena into a dance.

She imagined Kara was here with them. She pretended to spin with her, to prance through the fallen leaves. No matter what life had thrown at them, Lena gravitated to Kara. She couldn't seem to stop herself.

As she danced, she felt a tug deep inside. Not a painful one, but a warmth that seeped through her entire body. The urge to release it, to let it flow, rippled through her.

Just as the frog swam out of her hands, Lena let the warmth flow from her. She opened her eyes to the swirl of magic. It swept out of her and billowed the leaves upward, like a slowly moving twister, but then the leaves burst into flame. The ashes fell around them, only to transform into colorful sparkles.

"Woah." Nia caught sparkles in her hands and stared. "This is beautiful, Lena."

Lena blinked and froze. The magic sparked and the rest of the leaves dropped like rain around them. "I did that."

"You sure did." Nia said proudly. "How do you feel?"

Lena slid her hands into her pockets and looked at the ground, the fallen leaves, the sparkles from her magic that dusted it with a rainbow sheen. "Surprised. I didn't realize trusting myself could feel..." she paused and tried to think of a good word for it, but finally gave up, "so warm. Comforting. Like a trusted friend?"

Nia picked up her phone and turned off the music. "And that's exactly what our magic can be. A trusted friend. One that speaks to us in unusual ways for sure."

Lena smiled shyly. "Thanks, Nia. This certainly helped."

Nia grinned. "Awesome! Wanna do it again sometime? We don't have to dance if you don't want."

Lena nodded. "Sure." She fell into pace with Nia, and for the first time since learning she had magic, she felt at peace.