#Ill still be watching the season of Kara and Lena

[inkedroplets]

what story you have in your mind but never feel ready to write.

Oh, so very many. Warrior Nun has rotted my brain and I want to write so many stories, but I need to make sure I can capture the characters correctly. And there's a big Marvel idea I'm still trying to get off the ground. For Supercorp I have about a dozen of unpublished WIP's started that I might never post. There's an AU I have half-written based a bit on Thor Ragnarok. It would be set during their fallout in season 5 and Lena would be messing around with a bit of alien tech most likely procured from the Fortress. Kara would go to confront Lena in her lab and the two would argue again, maybe skirting around an apology but while Kara is trying to warn Lena about how dangerous it can be messing with unknown tech and snatches it from her, destroying any chance of a makeup. Only Kara activates the bit of tech and is swallowed up into a portal. Lena watches momentarily transfixed before she leaps in after her. She's spit out in a place very clearly alien. The landscape is strange and she's captured soon after, knowing it's wiser to surrender until she knows just where she is. She's loaded into a ship along with a handful of other aliens and while it's traveling too fast for her to take much in, when they get closer to the city she swears that she can see a statue of a woman that looks like Supergirl... It's when she's unceremoniously forced off the ship along with everyone else that she starts to formulate her escape, not wanting to see where it is she's being taken. She makes a break for it and as she does, she's just relieved she didn't wear heels that day, bobbing and weaving, not sure where she's going, only wanting to get away. She doesn't make it far before she feels something hit her hard in the small of her back and she falls hard. Before she can so much as get to one knee she feels a blade at her throat and hesitatingly raises her arms. "That one is unfit for combat." The voice is familiar, and instead of relief, Lena can't help but feel anger bubble up to the surface. Kara, who must have been watching her ill-fated attempt at escape and only chose to intervene at the last possible moment. "Follow me." The one holding a knife to her backs away slowly and Lena gets to her feet, staring at the retreating figure of Kara, only she's not wearing her supersuit, something else entirely and as Lena struggles to catch up (she twisted her ankle when she fell) she tries to restart their argument, only to be met with stony silence. "Was it fun watching me try and run from them?" she spits, expecting more silence and nearly reeling backward when Kara turns around, floating a couple inches off the ground. "I was all the way in the arena. You're lucky I heard you at all," Kara hisses. Arena? "And was it fun for you leaving me stranded here for years?" The obdurate expression on Kara's face breaks for a moment and she whips back around before gesturing to Lena to follow her and putting on enough speed to put a little distance between them while Lena trots behind, speechless. "Years?" Lena murmurs as she watches Kara greet a woman standing a ways away, who has eyes only for Lena, even as she kisses Kara on the cheek.

[skyprincesscommander]

My thoughts on the William/Kara development and Supercorp

There’s a lot of upset people in the SG fandom right now, so I wanted to post my opinion on the recent romantic developments. To summarise: I think William is a bad love interest (at least at this point in time), but I do not harbor anger toward the writers concerning Supercorp. I realize I am in the minority for that second point, and if you disagree with my opinion, you are always welcome to discuss it with me.  So. Thoughts.

William x Kara: Let’s start with what makes a good couple, or at the very least, what makes the most popular couples: Slow Burn, the progression from friendship to love that is witnessed on screen. It’s never as interesting to watch two people get together who already have a romantic history, or who are love at first sight. The audience wants to go on a journey with the characters, to see how they’ve grown closer together over time, and finally how they realize they can’t be without each other. They’ve barely established why Kara should be interested in William (a problem they had with Monel as well) and they are already throwing them together for a date. One of my personal favorite couples of all time, Lois and Clark from Smallville, spent four seasons bantering before ever admitting an attraction. Even Barry and Iris spent a couple of seasons playing the will they/won’t they game. This is a misstep that Supergirl has now made on almost every occasion. Kara crushed on James from the first meeting, started dating Monel within half a season, and even Alex and Kelly are acting like a couple who have been together for years rather than months. It seems like the writers have no interest in showing the little romantic moments and how two people fall in love.

William has barely shared scenes with Kara, nor established himself as a strong individual character. I did not write him off, nor did I have a problem with him as an eventual love interest, but I had hoped they would flesh him out before ever reaching this stage. I’m not surprised they jumped the gun. To be honest, there’s not much to even criticize about William. There’s barely anything to know about him, and yet I’m supposed to become invested in this romance. 

The only positive aspect of this storyline so far is that William is not a Superhero. Whoever Kara’s inevitable LI is, I hope they are a civilian. That dynamic is just so much more interesting.

Thoughts on Supercorp and Accusations of Queerbaiting My absence of anger stems from a very simple fact - I never believed Supercorp would ever become canon.  Although I have shipped these two since the relationship's inception, it has been clear to me they were only written as a beautiful friendship throughout their storyline (season 5 has a few hiccups in this regard, but I’ll get there). In my view, the romantic interpretations of supercorp were the sole ownership of fans like me and not in the text of the show, thus I was able to enjoy the ship stress-free. In many ways, I never want it to be canon. Writing (especially on CW shows) tends to screw with relationships I love, so staying in the friend-zone greatly reduces the chances of that happening, and I can stay in my little non-canon bubble with art, fanfiction, and headcanons, and never be upset.  Other than good chemistry, there are 4 main reasons that a ship like Supercorp has so many fans. It’s these 4 factors that are shared by all most popular f/f ships, and it’s what all us lesbians are really waiting for: 1. The involvement of the show's protagonist. Not only does this give the ship superior importance, but due to the status of the protagonist, it makes it invincible.  2. A slow burn (See above for reasons). 3. An enemies to lovers OR forbidden romance trope. This gives the ship an ‘epic’ feeling and usually has the most potential for interesting storytelling (Kara and Lena should be enemies so I consider them an example of this trope).  4. Genre fiction (superheroes, fantasy, adventure). The constant life and death stakes of these shows also increase the epic quality of the ship.  Swan Queen, Clexa, and Supercorp all have this in common (Clexa had all the marks of a slow burn if it wasn’t for ADC’s availability). Now, why do I mention this? Because personally, I love Kara and Lena for what they potentially could be as a romance, not the close friendship they are actually written as. When the day comes when my dreams come true and I am given the ship that actually ticks all these boxes, AND is written with this intention from the beginning, no one will ever be able to argue the validity of this pairing or say that they were thrown together because of fan pressure.  For these reasons, I never considered Supercorp queerbaiting in any regard...until season 5. Again, I didn’t feel particularly baited by it (in fact I’ve been quite grateful for it), but I can understand how others did. Many scenes, mostly in 5x03 and 5x08, had me scratching my head wondering why they’d make such romantic choices. But after my experience with Clexa, I have learned it’s much better not to have expectations (In my view, Clexa will always be the ultimate example of queerbaiting, which is its own essay) and just enjoy the ride. That’s a hard lesson to learn though.  All of this debate about queerbaiting would be solved if the writers were willing to just come out and say that they won’t put two characters together. “No, we don’t ever plan to make Kara and Lena romantic, but we do plan to always deeply explore that relationship and the complexities of female friendship”. This is what I believe the creators need to say. If they did so, they could layer any scene with the most romantic music they liked, and I wouldn’t consider it queerbaiting. However, they aren’t willing to do this because they think they will lose some of their audience, which is not a good enough reason. I will, however, say that  writers are put in an impossible position for these types of couples. If they don’t give these two characters scenes, fans will complain that the show is boring and demand content. If they do, they will be accused of queerbaiting. Though I will criticize any writer for bad storytelling (like William and Kara), they shouldn’t be attacked for not giving fans what they want. Everyone has their own vision and should have the freedom to write it. 

Even though I understand the disappointment of Supercorp never being canon, complex female friendships on television are fantastic to watch, and I will not begrudge the writers if they handle Kara x Lena well. The story of Kara and Lena has huge potential for deep and important storytelling. Regardless of their relationship status, they are two characters whose story will resonate in this show. In the end, they may even be considered the most important relationship, barring, of course, Alex and Kara. That’s all I ever wanted from them.

[wolfsong02]

Super Problems

So after a long wait its time to reveal my work for the @argo-city-exchange

This is a gift for @darbypea I’ve worked with before but it’s nice doing something different together again. Hope you enjoy Darby.

                                             ------------------------------------

The call came in at lunchtime straight to Lena’s personal line in her office, making her heart drop to her stomach when she heard the unfamiliar trill. Very few people had access to that phone, and even fewer actually used it, which could only mean one thing… Something was wrong with Kara.

“Hello,” Lena winced as she picked up, mentally scolding herself for her inability to keep the tremor from her voice. If things were really bad she’d have been called in already, the news would be all over the case, and undoubtedly there would be reporters braying at her door looking for another Luthor-Super story that didn’t exist. Coughing lightly to clear her throat, she tried her ‘hello’ again.

“Hey Lena,” Alex’s voice was tight with stress and tinged with exhaustion. Lena could practically see her sitting at her desk, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to ease a growing headache that didn’t want to disappear. 

“What happened?”

“What didn’t?” Alex groaned and sighed deeply. “Look, I can explain everything later, but is there any chance you can come pick up Kara and watch over her for a little bit? I’ll owe you one.”

Lena sighed, eyes flicking to her watch and then to the packed schedule displayed on the portable tablet she used to keep her days on track. There wasn’t really a choice to be made. This wasn’t the first time Alex had asked her for a favour and it almost certainly wouldn’t be the last. Not the way their lives worked out, anyway.

“Of course, I’ll be right there.”

“Thank you!” Alex sighed, relief flooding her voice. “Oh, by the way—”

“What?”

“... Nothing. Everything’s going to be fine. See you soon!” Alex put the phone down before Lena had time to formulate an answer. Alex evading the question did not bode well for her afternoon. Or her sanity. Shutting down her computers, Lena pinged one of the several pre-constructed messages to Sam, informing the CFO an emergency had come up and she’d be out of office for at least the rest of the day. 

“Jess?”

“Yes, Ms Luthor?”

“Please clear my schedule for the afternoon. I’ll be working from home for the rest of the day.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

                                              ------------------------------------

“Alex! What on Earth!” Lena exclaimed as soon as she entered the lab reserved specifically for treating Kryptonians, deep in the bowels of the DEO headquarters. The sight that greeted her had her skittering to a stop pretty quickly, her whole demeanor shifting to something quieter and less intense as she shifted her hip out, demanding, “What happened?”

“Leeee-naaaaa!” In the corner, Kara giggled happily, spinning in slow circles on the desk chair far away from anything important. Closer to the door, Alex jolted up with a deep breath, her eyes wide as she tried to shake herself awake with limited success.

“I can explain.”

“I should hope so,” Lena muttered half to herself, making sure to keep one eye firmly on her girlfriend still spinning and giggling excitedly at nothing in particular. If there was one thing Lena never thought she’d have to deal with when dating a Kryptonian, it would have to be said Kryptonian falling ill. But of course, things rarely worked out the way Lena envisioned them to, especially in regards to her personal life; the current situation only serving to reinforce that point. However, Lena had never seen Kara this bad before.

“—hic— You’re pretty.” 

“Alex.” To her credit, the seasoned DEO agent managed to hide most of her unease from Lena, but even she squirmed under the youngest Luthor’s glare. Dressed to the nines in a three-piece tailored business suit, Lena cut quite the intimidating figure. And if their positions were reversed Lena would certainly be looking for some way to escape the conversation. 

“It was a routine drill—”

“You really expect me to believe that?” She raised a sculpted black eyebrow incredulously, her head crooked slightly towards where Kara was now chuntering to herself tracing the patterns on the ceiling with a lazy finger.

“Fair point. But, it was routine. Then…”

“Then?”

“There was a mix-up in schedules.” Alex sighed deeply. “The DEO had arranged to use the testing zone for our drills, the Army overruled that without communicating that change to us. Long story short, she was flying around with some unknown, experimental weapons and we think she inhaled a cocktail of those compounds and it sent her loopy.” Alex explained breathlessly, her hand coming up to rub some of the tension out of her forehead. A hand that she quickly repurposed to cover her eyes as there came a loud crash and a pained groan from the end of the room. 

Lena took a moment to process the information properly before speaking again. “So… any idea how long she’ll be like this?”

“Best guess? At least a day. She crashed out pretty hard, Hamilton thinks she might have solar flared again.” Fantastic, Lena thought with a grimace. The last time Kara did that she was such a pain they had to take it in turns watching over her. Although this time, it might actually be for the best if she blew her powers out. She didn’t even want to think about what trouble the blonde might have got into if she was this loopy and still had all her powers. Kara tended to be accident prone enough on a regular day though sometimes Lena wasn’t sure how much of it was an act—part of the charade to keep people from connecting Kara Danvers and Supergirl. 

“You owe me. Big time.”

“Thank you,” Alex whispered, “I swear I won’t forget this!” Oh you won’t, I’ll make sure of it, Alexandra Danvers, Lena thought, refusing to voice that particular monologue. Instead she stepped forward, her stiletto heels clicking out a staccato against the floor until she was close enough to bend at the knees and crouch to brush stray locks of golden hair from Kara’s blue eyes, her pupils blown wide.

“Hiiiiiiii.”

“Hello darling.” Kara snorted at the sentiment, her eyes glassy and unfocused though she somehow managed to reach her hand up and trace Lena’s jawline with soft fingertips.

“Pretty,” she giggled softly, making Lena sigh. She couldn’t be mad or annoyed when Kara was being just so damn cute. 

“Yes, you are,” she muttered then raised her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Kara? Sweetheart?” Big blue eyes blinked up at her. “How would you like to go home?”

“Yaaaay!”

                                              ------------------------------------

Going home, in retrospect, was much easier said than done, Lena thought with a huff of air, half collapsing against their front door behind her. Kara, bless her, was having the time of her life spinning herself dizzy around their living room, giggling away to herself the whole time. Hopefully she’d tire herself out before too long and conk out, give her body half a chance to process and get rid of the chemical cocktail she’d inhaled. 

Unfortunately her phone chose that exact moment to buzz and demand her attention, Sam’s name appearing on the screen a moment later. Lena sighed, if Sam was calling then there was more than likely a problem. Her CFO was more than good, she had a brain for business and Lena was glad she’d met her before some other company discovered her talent and scooped her up.

“What’s the problem, Sam?” Lena asked, answering the call and switching it to a video call.

“What? Oh! No, no, nothing’s wrong. Sorry Lena, I just wanted to check in. Is Kara alright?” The woman on the other end of the phone blurted, flustered by her oversight. Lena just sighed and sagged in relief. Thank god for that. She was lucky Sam knew Kara’s secret and as a close friend of theirs, she was also well aware of how deeply Lena worried for her Kryptonian girlfriend. Ironically enough, the Girl of Steel didn’t half get herself in some scrapes. 

“Yeah. Yeah, Kara’s fine. Or at least she will be.”

“What’d she do this time?”

“Inhaled an unknown cocktail of chemicals the army were using in experimental weapons.”

“I—uh… What?”

“That was my reaction.”

“Is she okay? Do you guys need anything?” Sam burst, drawing a tired smile to Lena’s lips while she kept one eye on the unsteadier than normal Kara. Lena opened her mouth to answer then realised she had no words to explain her current situation, instead flipping the camera around just in time for it to focus on Kara as she tumbled straight into one of the floor-to-ceiling windows at full pelt, knocking herself silly and plopping to the floor with a confused pout.

Lena flipped the camera back to find Sam struggling to stifle snorts of laughter behind her fist. Raising a warning finger she stared through the screen at her friend, “Just… don’t.” She pleaded somewhat hopelessly. She’d known Sam for quite a while now and knew she wouldn’t be able to pass up an opportunity to mock her over this later. In all fairness, Lena would do—and had done—the exact same thing in her shoes. “Is there anything else?”

“Not that I can think of. Oh! I cleared your schedule for tomorrow and the weekend. You need a break, Lena, and Ruby’s staying at a friend’s this weekend, so I can handle it. And I’m not taking no for an answer.” Sam put her foot down. Lena sighed in relief, unable to even find the energy to protest, just thankful she had such an insightful friend and colleague.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Now go get some rest, and don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

“Remind me to give you a raise.” Sam let out a bark of laughter and shook her head. 

“Pretty sure even you can’t afford to do that. I’ll see you Monday, Lena.”

“Bye.” Lena returned the sentiment weakly and stifled a yawn of her own. “Hey, Ka-ra…” Lena trailed off with a soft, loving smile. Apparently Kara had indeed tired herself out—she’d moved away from the window and collapsed half-on, half-off the sofa, dead to the world. The only sign she still lived were the half mumbled chunters and snippets of Kryptonese Lena caught between almost-snores. Quietly, Lena left the room and returned a moment later, draping a fuzzy blanket over Kara’s body before settling herself in the nearby armchair with a good book, dimming the lights slightly so as not to wake her.

“Sleep well, babe,” she whispered, opening her book and focusing her eyes on the pages in front of her.

                                              ------------------------------------

Lena jolted awake with a start, blinking rapidly against the darkness and trying to sit up only to find herself unable to do so.

“Shh, darling. I’ve got you.” Kara’s warm voice murmured somewhere above her.

“Kara?”

“I’m here love.” She whispered. It was only then Lena managed to crane her neck upward to find caring blue eyes looking back at her and then she realised Kara’s arms were wrapped around her body and under her knees and they were moving through their apartment. 

“You should be resting…” Lena murmured, snuggling in tighter against Kara’s body. That was one thing she’d noticed since dating the Kryptonian—she radiated warmth—and Lena loved it. As someone who generally ran cold she used that excuse as often as she could in the beginning. Then as they grew closer the excuse was no longer needed—they came together naturally, each unconsciously drawing comfort from the other, and soon enough it just became a part of their relationship.

“I did earlier. ‘M feeling much better now.”

“Wha’ time is it?”

“Just after nine. You fell asleep in the chair,” Kara explained gently, shifting her weight in her arms to bump open the bedroom door with her leg. Lena just nodded, that made sense. She had been pretty tired lately and that was before the whole looped-out Kryptonian situation. Right now though, it was becoming hard to think. A hazy fog descending over her brain accompanied by leaden weights that made it difficult to keep her eyes open.

“Here,” Kara smiled, setting her down on the bed and drawing the duvet up to her chin before she herself climbed in the other side, wriggling closer to Lena and draping one arm over her waist as she usually did. A huge yawn broke past Lena’s lips, and as she blinked the wateriness away, her eyes met Kara’s big baby blues staring right back at her.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Kara sighed contentedly. “Absolutely nothing. I just… sometimes I think I forget.”

“Forget?”

“How nice this feels. You and me. Like this, I mean—”

“Sssshhh.” Lena hushed her, pressing a finger to Kara’s lips, catching- just for a moment- Kara’s eyes lingering on her lips before they snapped back to her eyes. “You want to kiss me?”

“Always.” 

“Then why don’t you?” Lena mumbled, slurring her words slightly as sleep tightened its hold on her brain.

“Because you’re half asleep already, darling.” Lena hummed, her eyelids batting once, twice, then finally falling shut, her head sliding forward to tuck under Kara’s chin. 

“Goodnight, darling. Sleep tight…”

[thatlesbian2000]

Since today is the last time we will ever see our beloved couple on screen, I wanted to share the story of how I discovered Supercorp and how they’ve impacted me.

Wayyy back in 2016, I was on Instagram. I saw a fan manip with Kara and Lena, and the captions was something like “Will tonight be the night they kiss?”. So, obviously, I had assumed that they were a canon relationship on the show. The show I didn’t watch and didn’t pay much mind too other than seeing a few occasional posts.

Because I wasn’t really in the fandom, I had thought that Supercorp was an actual canon relationship, until last year during quarantine.

I was trying to find new shows to watch, and Supergirl popped up on Netflix. At that point I said “Oh, this is gay. Supergirl is gay.”

Imagine my disappointment as I got to about the second season and began to get more involved in the fandom. I found out that SC was indeed not a couple, but a massive case of queerbaiting.

Either way, I freakin LOVED those two! I’ve been a part of other fandoms and loved other wlw relationships, but they are nothing compared to my love for SC. I’m still not sure why I just love those two so much, but I do.

SC helped me so much through this past year, it truly may be the worst year of my life. Throughout the first half of the year, I was in mysterious pain and lost an insane amount of weight. The amount of testing and ER visits I went through without answers was awful.

Finally, I got diagnosed with two chronic illnesses, and my life fell apart. I was hospitalized this year, and it was an incredibly sad and lonely experience. But through it all, I had SC and their fanfiction.

I can’t tell you how many days I was isolated and alone because I couldn’t leave my house because of my illness, but SC was there for me, as silly as it sounds. Many stories were read while I was in pain unable to get out of bed, or in the waiting room of my many doctors visits.

So, tonight I will tune in for the last time, with my last shred of hope that the two characters who helped me immensely this past year, will get the ending they deserve. And if not, well, I know there are many talented writers who WILL give them the ending they deserve.

So, tonight is not the end, it is just the beginning. The beginning of what we want for our girls, who are now free from that horrible network. They can deny us and them the beautiful relationship that could have been, but they will never take away what we have made them. Kara and Lena will always be, ours.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

So 5x18...

...Well hot d*mn.

Man when Supergirl fires on all cylinders...HOO BOY.

Case in point: *gestures to all of 5x18*

To be clear: I liked this one.

A WHOLE LOT.

Not that I disliked 5x17, necessarily. It’s just that 5x18 was more... Entertaining? ...I dunno. I dunno how to explain it.

...Okay yes I do and that explanation is: Someone remarked on Kara’s use of language and Kara overcompensated on the ‘NOooOOooOO I’m totally 100% normal!’ AND there was a musical quote AND it was WHILE TEAMING UP WITH ALEX TO FOLLOW A LEAD.

But I’m getting ahead of myself let’s backtrack...

TO THE TOWER! WITH ALEX! NIA! KARA! AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!

June Foray voice: WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER?!?!?!

I know I’m not the first person to make that reference but it’s always fitting and, for real, recurring character status WHEN. (I mean. Obviously I would prefer series regular but that feels like a big ask considering that all future TV production is...uh. Ah. Erm....

...Up in the air. At the moment.)

And then we check in with the Luthors and Non Nocere isn’t working???

I am shocked! Shocked, I say!

And then we’ve got Obsidian doing something ill-advised which is basically the company’s MO at this point but KELLY AND WILLIAM ARE ON THE CASE REGARDLESS.

(So that’s kinda the one thing I’m sad about re: the Crisis reset; Andrea’s character development. But she’s sticking around for next season so I’m not too upset that she remains...kinda...one note for now.)

And THEN the library scene. 

It was so gooooood.

Then Leviathan and okay. Alright. Okay. Huge points in this episode’s favor: Rama Khan feels like a far more significant threat. And I feel like 80% of that is the fact that they just let him wear normal clothes. Thank you, show. Thank. You.

Also the rock effects were way better in this episode because they weren’t footing the bill for a giant crossover episode this time around

I am a little confused, though, by what has and has not happened with regards to Rama Khan on Earth Prime. Did the pre-Crisis stuff...happen? The dialogue...kinda made it hard to decide one way or the other. ‘He hasn’t been seen on this Earth for 100s of years’ but then also, ‘a chilly place you know quite well.’ So...he...did go to the Fortress. And fight Kara? But...all that stuff before Crisis...???

...Not gonna bother with that right now.

POINT IS...Leviathan is finally like...invested in killing Supergirl* and menacing in a very real way which both raises the stakes and makes it personal and that’s way more interesting than ‘nebulous evil organization that must be stopped.’

*I know they kinda sorta already did the whole, ‘let’s kill the Kryptonian!’ and invaded the Fortress but I don’t know what to tell ya, it was just lackluster.

J’ONN AND M’GAAAAAANNNNN

I am firmly in camp: I don’t care if they’re never green again I love seeing them in the super suits with their human faces IT’S GREAT.

Love that Nia’s snoring interrupts the moment.

Also love the deck of Rama Khan playing cards, that must’ve been a fun project for the graphic designers.

Then we’ve got William and Kara at CatCo and it’s baked goods! A hilarious line delivery by Staz! A ridiculous fabrication involving a shy, violent cat!

...Now I want Alex to actually own a shy, violent cat!

“Cats love me, for some reason.” “Of course they do.”

Side note: Love Kara’s blazer.

And then it’s ALIEEEEEENS TO THE RESCUE!

WHAT A TEAM UP, FOLKS.

We love to see it.

The interrogation scene is good n’ tense and ramps up to a very impressive showdown in the DEO (but BEFORE the sparks really start flying we get that rad shot of Kara leaping through the window and doing the superhero landing and it’s just

Perfection.)

Also perfect? Lex playing a game of transmatter pickle with the prisoners.

Then we jump back to the DEO where things are not going well!

Like, really really bad! 

But J’onn and M’gann save the day! If not the building!

RIP DEO. 2016-2020

Obituary: The DEO headquarters is survived by its elder sibling, the DEO desert base.

Look none of the favs work there anymore save for Kara and Brainy and they’re both gonna be better off working freelance for J’onn but I do expect Brainy to at least pick up some additional cash by working as a Lyft driver next season.

Me, watching the characters struggle to make it in the gig economy: I feel so seen.

The final portion of the episode is just ALL ACTING and I must say...good stuff.

Like. This cast, man. They take the plot points I’ve been ‘meh’ about all season and they turn in some stellar performances and suddenly I’m like STANDING OVATION, CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS GOES.

Also, reason #342 I love Jon Cryer’s Lex: that scene with Lena.

Terrifying.

Full disclosure: I went in to this episode fully prepared to be really annoyed with whatever was going to happen with Lena and I still don’t...love the trajectory of this season, being so tied up in her personal drama but. 

But.

Katie McGrath’s performance...went an awful long way here. In making this...not as bad as it could have been.

Like tearfully admitting she was hurt? And that hurt was the basis of all the nonsense she pulled? Finally owning up to the fact that this was never truly about the greater good but that it was all rooted in some personal issues and OUTRIGHT STATING SHE WAS BEHAVING LIKE A VILLAIN????

I am. Extremely impressed.

EVEN MORE IMPRESSIVE THOUGH: Kara remaining distant both physically and emotionally throughout that scene! Not in like, a cold uncaring way, but in a, ‘I have emotions and I have a right to feel them and set boundaries in regards to my trusting you right now given all that has transpired’ kind of way.

GOOD. YES. GOOD.

(Lex’s outburst has that kind of same Nice Guy undertone--albeit more pronounced and rage-y--as Lena’s in the Fortress. Like, ‘I supported you and you still rejected my plot to take over the world’ and ‘I was kind to you and you still messed up my mind control’ which...I dunno I might just be digging in too deep here in order to further justify the character turn but I think Cryer’s performance regardless is a really sobering wake up call for Lena, different than Lex stuff we’ve seen before. It’s close and intense and uncomfortable in a way that really sells the motivation.)

“You’re a monster...but that doesn’t mean I have to be one too.”

Wow. Might be...the first time I’ve liked Lena all season.

...whispers: might be the first time I’ve liked her ever at all

For real: credit where it’s due, that was an excellent line read.

*insert applause here*

CUT TO ADORABLE J’ONN AND M’GANN MOMENT 

D’aaaawwwwwwwwww

But, look, it’s a little undermined by the fact that they both gotta try and embrace in those bulky super suits, I’m sorry, it’s true

...Maybe it’s more endearing that way?

HEY remember how I foolishly assumed that the now-unemployed Alex would simply continue to work with J’onn in an investigative capacity and, ya know, NOT jump straight back into costumed badassery? 

HA. HAHA HAHAAAA.

Those leaked set photos make sense now.

OH NO, WILLIAM!

Real glad Staz confirmed he’s returning. Otherwise I would not be able to DEAL WITH THE STRESS.

I already talked a little bit about the loft scene but some additional points! Beautiful lighting. Wonderful score. Excellent performances all around.

A truly great end to a truly great episode.

Like, it makes me retroactively sad, that we’re only getting 5x19, as opposed to 5x19 and 5x20 because I wish that the crew/writers/actors had a little more space to let all of this good work they’ve done settle and breathe. 

(But also, it was good that they stopped production, from a safety standpoint, so. Can’t be too upset.)

And, regardless of how the next episode goes down (b/c I’m gonna be real, SG always does really great set-ups for their season finales and then kinda...rushes to the finish line and that can only be further exacerbated in this particular case) I’m just really impressed with this effort here.  

...but also LET’S TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE SOME WILD GUESSES. Specifically, what is Alex’s vigilante name gonna be??? 

...

Alright I generally try to avoid addressing specific fandom complaints in these things b/c I generally try to avoid the fandom itself but of course some stuff has already leaked through all of my blocks/muting so:

‘Lena didn’t apologize!’ The words ‘I’m sorry’ were not said, sure, but 1.) season’s not over and 2.) for Lena, admitting she was wrong is huge. HUUUUUUUGE. It’s solid character growth and I really wish various subsets of fandom would recognize that it’s not fun, when fans hold on to negative stuff from characters’ past and refuse to acknowledge that the characters have changed.

‘Brainy should have seen this coming!’ This one is kind of more down to personal preference I guess but I feel like they’ve established that Brainy’s got a bit of a blindspot due to his feelings about his friends, so I don’t take this as a knock against his intelligence so much as him being stretched fairly thin because he’s playing all sides, and worried about the people he loves. YMMV, though. 

All the ‘fix-it’ stuff re: the last scene, by making Kara immediately forgive Lena. Lose me with that nonsense, bleh. 

[sommersupergirl]

Supergirl and Queerbaiting

Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor are endgame. At least, that’s what the majority of fans of these two believe. Supporters of Kara and Lena, aka Supercorp, have been arguing for them to get together since season 2, but the writers seem to insist that they are just friends, even as they continue to write scenes that mirror other popular tv show couples. This results in queerbaiting. 

Queerbaiting, a media tactic that hints at a queer relationship to attract LGBT viewers, has become a rising issue in the past 10 years, with shows like Supernatural, Sherlock, Teen Wolf, Once Upon a Time, The 100, and Rizzoli & Isles contributing to the problem [x]. Afierra from Hypable wrote an article on the issue of queerbaiting within Supergirl, illustrating how the queerbaiting on Supergirl is so strong that even non-LGBT fans can pick up on it. 

I want to illustrate how queerbaiting negatively impacts the LGBT fan community. Based on a majority of fan comments found on Tumblr, many fans are ecstatic about the idea of Kara and Lena’s relationship developing into a romantic one [x]. The reason so many fans are fairly positive about the progression of Supercorp’s relationship is that a show previously accused of queerbaiting, The Legend of Korra, revealed in the series finale that the two characters that were used for the “queerbaiting” actually ended up together [x]. This gives many fans of Kara and Lena hope that the two will get together romantically someday on the show. 

Comparing Lena and Kara’s relationship to other canon couples from other TV shows demonstrates how the show writers of Supergirl have continued to ‘string along’ the LGBT fans, resulting in fans being extremely displeased and let down. Additionally, with mental health issues being a higher risk for LGBT youth, it is important to look at the negative effects of queerbaiting as it may exacerbate the already alarming state of mental health of LGBT fans.

Evidence of Queerbaiting within Supergirl

Since the introduction of Lena Luthor at the beginning of season 2, “fans of their “relationship” began to emerge, mostly due to the natural chemistry between the two actresses” [x]. There are countless gifs of the flirtatious nature of their relationship. Another gif illustrates how Kara made the same face when James Olsen spoke, whom she was interested in romantically, as when Lena Luthor spoke to her, resulting in hope that Lena will become a love interest for Kara [x].

However, Supergirl is now on its fifth season, and there is no evidence - besides the hope from fans - that Kara and Lena will get together romantically. However, there is speculation that Supercorp will happen as within the Arrowverse shows the main characters have their one and only since the first few seasons of the show - Oliver met Felicity in season one, Iris has been on the show since day one, and Sara met Ava in the third season of Legends and their relationship is still going strong. Besides Lena, her sister, and her father figure, there is no other character that has been on the show for very long; in fact, most of the cast for the fifth season was introduced last season. Additionally, Kara and Lena are portrayed in typical superhero tropes that parallel other shows like Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and even from past shows that depict Superman and Lois Lane [x]. 

The biggest parallels that fans of Supercorp make is with Superman and Lois Lane, like Kara hovering outside Lena’s window [x]. Another parallel was drawn between Supergirl and The Legend of Korra, where both Kara and Korra are incredibly powerful beings who have an intense love of food, and Asami and Lena are both brilliant women who have an engineering background and have strayed from their families’ beliefs [x]. Asami and Lena have done whatever they could to protect Korra/Kara, and have both inherited their families’ companies, becoming the CEO [x]. Not to mention that both Korra and Asami dated the same man, Mako, at different points during the show, while Kara and Lena both dated the same man, James, at different points during the show. This gives fans of Supercorp hope that Kara and Lena’s relationship will develop into a romantic one, as Supergirl and The Legend of Korra are both very similar shows and Korra and Asami from Legend of Korra ended up together in the end. 

All of this - the parallels between other couples from other shows as well as romantically inclined scenes between Kara and Lena - have given fans a base for their belief that the show writers of Supergirl are actively queerbaiting, in which they purposely make the scenes between Kara and Lena somewhat romantic in order to draw in an LGBT audience. At this point, the queerbaiting has become so strong “it’s no longer just Kara and Lena fans who are interpreting their interactions as amorous. People who are completely indifferent to the pair or don’t even watch the show are recognizing what’s happening” [x]. 

For over three years, Supercorp fans have been queerbaited by the show writers of Supergirl, and this constant queerbaiting affects the LGBT fans because there isn’t a belief that “it’s just a matter of time” but that they must hold dear and take whatever scraps they are given. The fans want and hope that Supercorp will happen, but there isn’t any fan that is 100% sure that Kara and Lena will end up together like fans of heterosexual couples. This lack of certainty that LGBT fans exhibit is based on the history of LGBT portrayal within the media. The lack of portrayal of LGBT fans in the past, as well as a history of queerbaiting from a multitude of popular shows, results in LGBT fans’ low confidence in seeing themselves represented on screen.

Research that Supports the Negative Effects of Queerbaiting

LGBT fans have only just begun to see a spark of more LGBT centered shows and movies within the past few years, but there are also many shows which have queerbaited their LGBT audience. For instance, The 100, while giving its audience a lesbian “relationship” between Clarke and Lexa, \they had a total of two romantic scenes in which Lexa was killed off the show right after the last romantic scene of the two. A majority of the fans were outraged due to the Bury Your Gays (BYG) trope, where a character who is revealed to have a queer identity is then shortly killed off the show because the “BYG trope punishes these characters by erasing them from the narrative entirely if the depiction indeed goes beyond subtext to include acknowledged queer identity” [x]. Both queerbaiting and the BYG trope is harmful to the LGBT fan community as fans see themselves in these characters, and when those characters are pushed into an opposite-sex relationship or their sexuality is limited to subtext, it implies to the LGBT fan community that their sexuality should never be acted on and they should always remain hidden. More than 70% of LGBT youth have reported “feeling sad or helpless for at least two weeks in the past year” [x], and with popular media utilizing queerbaiting within their shows, it doesn’t help the already despondent LGBT youth. Therefore, “both queerbaiting and BYG…  punish queer audiences by the suggestion (or even promise) of quality LGBTQ representation, only to have their hopes dashed” [x]. 

In season five of Supergirl, the queerbaiting has reached a whole new level in that the fans don’t even need to reach to find hidden implications of a romantic nature between Kara and Lena. But throughout these Supercorp scenes, there are always reaffirming their friendship status. By the writers reaffirming Kara and Lena’s relationship as “just friends” and then at the same time playing into the romantic tropes between Kara and Lena, it gives the LGBT fan less confidence to believe that they will get to see the happily ever after they crave because, in the past, many relationships they believed had the potential to be something more was written off as “just friends” or the characters that were confirmed queer were then killed off. This implies to the LGBT fan community that having a happy ending isn’t for queer characters and therefore, not for their queer audience either. 

The LGBT youth fan community is already struggling with mental illness and a sense of identity due to having to hide their true selves or be unable to acknowledge it because of still prevalent homophobia, so many will turn to media as a distraction or even as a way to gain hope for their own future. But when so many shows are debased to queerbaiting, the hope these fans have for their future becomes further diminished with lack of representation, and will negatively affect the LGBT fan audience to believe that nothing will come out of their hopes and beliefs of two characters getting together romantically. 

Conclusion

From the analysis of the evidence above, it’s becoming more obvious that the Supergirl writers are actively queerbaiting their audience to the point that LGBT fans aren’t the only ones noticing it. As discussed previously, queerbaiting negatively affects LGBT youth as it diminishes their hope for a better future, further outcasts them within society, and lowers their self-confidence. Therefore, with a popular show that is so clearly queerbaiting its audience, it further drives the previous negative points of this issue because it's now seen by all types of audience members that the LGBT fans aren’t worth the happy ending they seek within popular media. 

Producers and writers of popular media need to understand the detrimental effects of queerbaiting the LGBT fan community. Therefore, more action will be taken by fans if they feel that Supergirl has wronged them in the lack of representation between Kara and Lena. 

Therefore, the writers of Supergirl need to either stop blatantly queerbaiting their audience or allow for Kara and Lena’s relationship to develop into what many fans have already vied for: Supercorp. If the writers continue to walk the path they’re currently on, fans will become outraged and the ratings of their show will come down. So, for the benefit of Supergirl, the fans’ happiness and mental stability, stop with Supercorp and queerbaiting.

[ruffiorocks]

Long Post on How Lena being ‘evil’ after the reveal would be a disservice to her entire character arc.

Extract from an interview with Jon Cyer: 

"If Lex does end up revealing the truth about Supergirl to Lena, it could have devastating impact. Kara herself attempted to reveal the truth to Lena but stopped as it became clear that the revelation would be extremely damaging to Lena after all of the lies and manipulations she's endured thanks to Lex. It's the kind of damage that would definitely fall under the label of "evil" and could even set up a major conflict for Supergirl next season."

What even is this statement? The last part doesn't even make sense:

"It's the kind of damage that would definitely fall under the label of "evil" and could even set up a major conflict for Supergirl next season."

Damage isnt evil, damage is just damage. It's not like you can have good damage. So Lena learning Kara is Supergirl would inflict damage and then she falls under the label of 'evil'? Completely destroying her as a character. This just says that Lena will immediately become evil (such a strong word) as soon as she learns Kara is Supergirl.

I'm sorry ... But what the actual f**k? So they're just going to go down the same road that Game of Thrones went with Dany in the last episode?

"I'm here to save people, not burn them"

5 mins later

"f**k you all I'm pissed off and I'm going to kill every man, woman and child because I can".

Supergirl writers like to borrow heavily from from Smallville. Well the Lex Luthor of Smallville wasnt immediately evil. Lex was actually a good guy at the start, he was a play boy but he wasnt really so bad. He did however have some moral grey areas. Lex was best friends with Clark, but from day one he was curious about how he managed to survive going off the bridge and the damage done to his car and no damage done to Clark. But Lex didnt immediately go after Clark, he genuinely loved and cared about him almost like a brother. It was Clark that kept going out of his way to keep lying to an overly curious Lex who gave him more than one opportunity to come clean to him. Lex was driven crazy because he knew there was something up with Clark but Clark kept acting like Lex was delusional. Lex was used and abused by his father who favored Clark from the moment he met him. But Lex did a lot of good things in the earlier series, he was ultimately always put down due to his name though. Visions of him in a white suit with blood rain just meant that no matter what Lex did his destiny was to be bad and thats how he would then be treated which ironically is what drove those visions to come true. 

So are they just going to recycle this with Lena? The only differences being that Lena hasnt done any evil things and she hasnt been trying to expose Kara because she's oblivious? 

Lena has literally done NOTHING but help Supergirl, National City and help save the world several times since she first appeared. Lena isn't perfect, she has a dark side when pushed to her limit, she went to shoot Edge because he was poisoning children. She even told Kara she went and did this. It wasn't a secret.

Lena is pro gun? Doesn't make her evil, it's not like people aren't trying to kill her every 5 minutes and soldier or not Alex is way to gun happy. Alex has also basically been an alcoholic who is in charge of firearms since she was first introduced.

Lena killed Adam? Lena made a mistake, one that is haunting her. She didn't hold a gun to Adams head and pull the trigger cackling like a maniac. I’ve said it once and ill say it again, if Lena is guilty of ‘murdering’ Adam then Jonn is 100% guilty of murdering Manchester Black, a man he had already disarmed and killed purely because Manchester taunted him and and Jonn got pissed off. Even Kara looked shocked when she asked where Manchester was, but then immediately she was fine with it and was like ‘dont worry, one murder doesn't mean you cant be a man of peace’. 

The biggest problem with Lena ‘turning evil’ after learning Kara is Supergirl is that that would would imply that Lena being a good person has been entirely dependent on her relationships with both Kara and Supergirl! What the hell? I mean i love Kara but she isnt a freaking God!! Lena’s personality has never been dependent on anyone but herself. Lena was a good person long before she ever set eyes on Kara or Supergirl. Lena was the one that dropped Lex in it remember? Why the hell would they reduce Lena from a complex character to a one dimensional character whose heroic and good personality was entirely dependent on her relationship with Kara/Supergirl?

That is exactly what they did to Kara in season 3, she stopped being ‘Kara Danvers’ the moment Mon El left because even though she had a life, job, a human family and friends and was Kara Danvers long before he showed up she suddenly couldn't be that person anymore because her boyfriend wasn't around? Her entire character was reduced to her being dependent solely on him? That’s not Mon El hate by the way, its hate for the writers. 

It would be ridiculous for Lena to instantly forgive Kara for lying her to. To be honest i would be more disappointed in Lena if she was absolutely OK with all of this rather than letting Kara know she’s royally f**ked up! Kara its true doesn't owe her identity to anyone, God even Lena probably would have questioned her if she had instantly revealed herself to her. But the problem is that Kara knows she can trust Lena, she has known this for years. Kara has also revealed her secret to people she has known for less time than she has known Lena and to people she barely knows at all (Nia). Yes she told Nia out of solidarity but Kara has had way more solidarity moments with Lena than she had with Nia. Plus Kara didn't really know Nia at all, Nia could have been playing her the whole time. Lena on the other hand is her best friend and has helped save the world, worked with the DEO and saved Supergirls life and ass many times over. 

Kara let the secret go on for far to long, in addition she told other people. Kara used the excuse that it was to keep Lena safe because her enemies would go after Lena. But that is just crap because Lena already has her own enemies, she deals with those enemies. Plus Kara never seemed to care that her enemies could have gone after Winn, James, Nia etc. It was a decent excuse in the beginning but then it became invalid the longer its gone on. Lena knowing Kara is supergirl would probably make her much safer in retrospect, Lena could have just called Kara or been given a fancy watch like a certain someone. The worst part though is that Kara has known since season 2 that Lillian Luthor knows who she is, she also knows that Lex Luthor knows who she is and Lena could have been told by them at any point. Lillian has had years to tell her and could of done. Kara has sat back and just hoped the Luthors wont out her? That is probably the worst story line Kara has EVER had! Kara may not want to hurt Lena with the truth but it would hurt way more coming form Lex!! Kara will reep what she sows here. 

On top of this Kara hasnt just been pretending to be two different people to Lena, she has been acting like Jekell and Hyde. Lena and Supergirl have come to an understanding over the whole Reign/Kryptonite issue, but Lena only thinks she's come to an understanding with Supergirl. Lena doesnt know that it was actually her best friend treating her like garbage and with hostility the whole time, then coming back to her as Kara and being all besties again. THAT RIGHT THERE is where the betrayal lies. It isnt that Kara kept being Supergirl a secret from her, its that Kara betrayed her trust as Supergirl and was horrible to her. Lena had Kryptonite purely to help try and save Sam, but Supergirl immediately took it all personally not really giving a second thought to Sam at all. She just assumed that Lena was out to get her and then she started to try and pull rank on Lena, but Supergirl was left gob smacked because low and behold Lena Luthor wasn't beholden to the Girl of Steel like Supergirl expected her to be. Supergirl was given a harsh lesson in where she actually stands in the authority department. 

To make it even worse Supergirl enlisted Lena’s then boyfriend to betray her trust and break into her company to spy on her to check she wasnt a liar. James actually does this without to much hesitation, he even enlists Winn’s help. That right there is four betrayals against Lena, where she only assumes it was the one. Lena forgave James, (i dont know why, he still broke into L Corp, he only grew a conscience at the very last second) and holds Supergirl responsible. Lena only thinks it was Supergirl who used her boyfriend against her. Lena will soon find out however that it wasnt just Supergirl, it was her best friend, her boyfriend and even Winn her other friend who all betrayed her. Lena is going to learn that all of the above was actually her the work of her best friend the entire time, then that best friend would come back to her and listen to her mention these betrayals. 

Back to James, James had absolutely no reason to throw Supergirl under the bus. He just ‘had to be honest with Lena’ ? How about you dont break into her personal property and betray her trust in the first place? James knew for a fact that Supergirl and Lena were having a beef, he knew full well that if Lena knew what Supergirl had asked him to do she would be even more hurt and angry at Supergirl but he did it anyway. This is exactly what happened because Lena told Kara that Supergirl had used the people she cares about against her and she can never trust her again. At least Kara had the good sense to look guilty. But the other side to this is that once Lena finds out that James knew it was actually ‘Kara’ that betrayed her she will be even more hurt. She will have been doubly betrayed by both Kara and James! 

Kara:

1. Treated her crap as Supergirl

2. Enlisted Lena’s boyfriend to betray her

James:

1. Actually did break into L Corp betraying Lena, for some bizarre reason was forgiven. Then he threw Supergirl under the bus to gain Lena’s trust without a thought to the lasting damage it would have. 

2. James actually knew the whole time it was Kara being an ass to Lena and it was Kara who was asking James to betray Lena. James then put the last nail in the coffin for Supergirl and Lena’s friendship, but at the same time allowed Lena to continue believing that Kara wasn't the one that betrayed her. James allowed Lena to employ/confide in and be around the very person she declared she could no longer trust. James even enlisted Winn to help betray Lena, Winn being one of Lena’s friends.

If Kara suffers in the aftermath, (which she will) then i want James to suffer the consequences of that betrayal as well. To those that would say ‘Lena is a liar and keeps secrets’ well Lena’s secrets have never directly had anything to do with the Superfriends, she doesn't keep them to hurt anyone, or tell them to hurt anyone. Lena doesn't have to tell Supergirl everything she is doing because Supergirl isnt her boss, she didn't have to tell James everything but she did actually reveal a lot to him. Lena actually told everyone about her super humans idea but they all dismissed it immediately, Lena doesn't have to stop though because some people dont approve. 

So to have Lena go bad after spending all of the time fighting Lex and Lillian, saving the alien population from genocide, saving the city from Daxamites, saving Supergirls life more than once, coming to work with the DEO even when she has beef with Supergirl, doing her best to try and help save Reign, manufacturing Harun El to make sure that Argo City never dies, begging Supergirl to let her die so she can save the people from the chemical on that plane, agreeing to marry Mon El to save a children's hospital, buying Cat Co to keep the free press free? Suddenly all that is erased because she is lied to by her best friend? NO! If lies and deceit were enough to send Lena over the edge it would have already happened, she can survive multiple betrayals and assassination attempts from her family, the people of National City making her a pariah, Rhea betraying her, Alana betraying her, Eve betraying her? Jack's death? But the icing on the cake that makes her snap is Kara betraying her? NO! What a disservice to Lena as a character! It would also cancel out the conversations she had with Sam when she was telling her she knew she was a good person no matter what and all the conversations she’s recently had with Brainy about having emotions. 

Plus to make Lena, who has fought the Luthors at every turn to suddenly snap and say ‘f**k it im going to complete Lex’s life work’ is insanity. 

Ultimately, the social lesson of the day here is if your family is s**t then you are s**t. No kids dont bother trying to be good people, you are lost causes. We dont care that you became a paramedic, or a fire fighter, or a soldier, or a surgeon or anything. You ARE crap and you will always be crap! The lesson is ‘never try’. Everyone else on this show has had trauma and betrayal in their lives but they still get to be heroes? Jonn? Alex? Kara? Winn? All had some trauma or family issues but nope they arent allowed to be bad guys. If having a bad family makes you bad then Alex should be because of her dad, Winn should be because of his dad and Kara absolutely should be because of her parents and her aunt and uncle.

The only thing that would make sense after the reveal is Lena having nothing at all to do with Kara, probably selling Cat Co and cutting pretty much every one of the Superfriends from her life. Where would they go from there with her? Well Lena has no reason to turn her attentions to hurting them or the people of National City. She doesn't stop being who she is due to betrayal. So maybe Lena finds a way to be a hero on her own refusing to help Supergirl anymore. I still 100% believe though that if Kara was hurt Lena would come and help no matter what, because that has always been who she is and her good nature and sanity has NEVER been dependent on Kara. Kara is not the centre of everyone universe.  

[perla-bernache]

Supercorp

For the first time in years I am excited for the new season. I hope they make Supercorp canon. If they can make the most toxic relationship in nolicity canon I'm pretty sure they can make this relationship canon that has had its ups and downs but one person doesn't try to make the other person feel less then the other that they keep bringing up they past just to undermine the other person . lena has the right to feel betrayed because they have been best friends for years and kara never told her that secret I believe that lena thinks that kara just sees her as a Luthor. 

Please stop with the whole james/lena crap that was so bad I have never felt physically ill about a relationship but when first kissed I felt like throwing up the guy is such an asshole one month he is saying that she is a Luthor and that she cant be good and she cant be trusted the next month I know you better then the person that has always been on your side and at the time has never missed trusted her.

Kara had a good reason not to tell Lena its not that she didn't trust lena I believe it is because Lena is the only person that she didn't have to be supergirl with she was just Kara but I still don’t trust the show so I will not watch as it airs until I see what they do in the first half of the season.

[canaryatlaw]

okay, well today was alright. alarm went off bright and early at 7:45 am and getting up was quite the struggle but I made it happen. Got up and got dressed in time for the 8:21 bus, because there can never be the 8:30 bus that would actually work with my timeline *sigh*. made it to church with about ten minutes to spare (since I had to take the bus ten minutes before what would’ve made me on time) and hung out in the kids team volunteer lounge for a few before the huddle. It was set to be just me and one other girl in the babies for this service, which shouldn’t be bad. Since it’s the middle service which is the most popular they have the babies and walkers in different rooms, whereas for the other services they generally combine them. When it comes to the babies room I always say it’s either everything’s calm and perfect or everyone’s screaming and something’s on fire. Well, today was one of the latter days unfortunately. I was holding this little boy who was crying for so long, and I’d get him to stop only for him to start again totally unprompted two minutes later. It got to the point where we would normally call his parents, but due to some weird technical glitch we didn’t have his parent’s phone number (they’re generally printed on their name tags so we can easily contact them) so we had to just wait it out. And contagious crying was in full swing, so it was pretty much always at least 2 babies crying at any given time. so that was a lot, but we survived. Once we were all finished I was told there was cake in the volunteer lounge (lol) leftover from the couple who runs the kids ministry’s daughter’s 3rd birthday party the day before and it was all fancy like made from a bakery and everything and damn it was good cake lol, so I was basically shoving that in my mouth and then running to the service. My lack of sleep definitely hit me hard while sitting listening to the message, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open for quite a bit of it. I thought I had a pack of caffeinated gum in my purse (and I later found out I did) but I couldn’t find it for my life so I just had to survive. It was the time of year though when someone from team World Vision comes to talk about getting people to do the Chicago Marathon with them and raise money for their efforts to bring clean water and so much more to communities living in poverty in Africa and beyond. I have a soft spot for their organization after what I like to call “The World Vision Incident” that happened in March 2014 and is the reason I very intentionally dropped the world “evangelical” in referring to myself (I won’t get into the details now because I’ll get infuriated and never shut up, but suffice to say it left me absolutely horrified as to the behavior of the “Christians” involved) and has led to me sponsoring a child through them (her name is Retseplie, she lives in Lesotho, Africa, she is 13 years old and shares my birthday of March 26th). Sadly running a marathon is very strictly off the table for me being that my lungs can’t work properly when I run, but I always appreciate their challenge and love that many of my fellow churchgoers do take on the challenge. The sermon itself was fairly well related, starting a new series called “Loveworks” which is also the title of our like outreach team that organizes events giving back to the community here and everywhere, so we were talking about how if you’re not helping the poor you are very much not doing what the bible has instructed you to do and stuff like that, I probably would’ve recalled more if I wasn’t fighting to stay awake but not much I can do about it now (I may relisten to it when it pops up as a podcast episode in a day or two). Once church was over I headed out, taking the train to the bus home. I quickly changed out of my nice church clothes, then ate my leftovers from the cheesecake factory last night, the food portion anyway, I left the cheesecake for later on. For most of the afternoon I worked on little things I needed to get done including doing the dishes which had become a massive pile that was beginning to smell, and that’s really rank so we needed to put a stop to that for sure. It was quite the pile so it ended up taking a solid hour or two, but I felt very accomplished when I finally finished it. I put them all away after that and had to soak a few in hot water and soap because they still smelled really musty and gross, but thankfully that worked rather well. I eventually sat down on the couch with my cheesecake and some bubble tea I made and watched last week’s Supergirl episode since I hadn’t gotten around to that yet and wanted to be able to watch tonight’s episode, which I did shortly after finishing last week’s, in between which I watched a bit of “Ellen’s Game of Games” which is fucking hilarious. Overall reaction through the two episodes- ugh, I wish they’d just drop the children of liberty storyline already, it’s so fucking cringeworthy and it really was so unnecessary, we could’ve had such a good full season villain in Lex and red sun Kara. Of course it doesn’t help that I already have a strong dislike for Sam Witwer (RIP Jimmy) and any character he plays. I did like the few moments they had with his son when he runs into his friend at the raid of the alien bar and he starts questioning things, and ultimately ends up reaching out to his friend to try to help him. Of course now I’m sure it won’t help that his mom apparently just got killed by an alien, but I mean, if you’re going around acting like a giant asshole and actively endangering the lives of thousands of aliens living peacefully like....sorry buddy, but you brought that on yourself. I liked that we got to see some more of Kara Danvers and not just Supergirl, especially when she actually gets to do some reporting. The interview with Dreamer at the end was so damn good, I was actually on the verge of tears watching it, it was really excellent. I loved Kara and Lena teaming up to search for clues about Lex and what all they end up finding. I thought the brief flashback with the two Luthor siblings was very interesting, up to this point I don’t think I’ve seen anything suggesting that Lex was ever protective over Lena in any way really, so that was surprising but also kind of nice to see. I felt bad for Lena at the end when she was confessing to Kara that she had been helping Lex because she believed he was terminally ill, and I’m just like Lena, sweetie, this was not your fault, and I’m glad Kara was there to say it. So yeah, overall not bad episodes but this season still isn’t doing much for me. Once that was over I switched over to netflix and watched a few more episodes of the family baking showdown show I just started which was quite entertaining, and I pretty much watched those until I showered and started getting ready for bed, and now I am here, and did I mention I’m tired? so yeah. Tomorrow plan is to make it to the post office to mail the international autograph and to Target to pick up my prescription from Friday at the allergist, the two are on the same road so I should be able to figure something out. Until then, I will be getting some sleep. Goodnight loves. Hope your Monday doesn’t suck.

[aeon-wolf]

I really don’t understand the logic behind this storyline the Supergirl writers are going with in regards to Lena, James and the Children of Liberty.

I’m writing this think piece as someone who doesn’t watch Supergirl much, watching specific scenes I want context to on YouTube. And usually reading a review or two on the episode. 

This is really long. Ignore me. I just wanted to write a think piece. Under the cut I’m talking about Guardiancorp, Lena’s likely descent into villainhood and James’ frustrating storyline thus far (as of 4x06). 

I’ve always been a relative defender of Guardiancorp, as in I’ve wanted desperately to give it a chance, unlike a lot of other Supercorp shippers or Katie/Lena fans in general. I always thought it could be a relationship that could have some intricacies and nuances that could be fascinating and lead to an awesomely written relationship. But instead, they’ve gone with, at the end of the day, it’s still Lex Luthor’s sister and Superman’s best friend, a doomed romance. 

S3 Guardiancorp was not half bad really. It seemed a little abrupt for my liking, especially because James had long been critical of Lena in S2 and never really seemed to change his opinion until he saw her romantically (much a criticism I had of Mon-El and Kara’s relationship), but I’m not going to complain a ton about that since Avalance, my #1 favorite ship, was also pretty abrupt. But there were a number of good moments in S3. And now in S4, it seems like they’ve just binned all of that growth and relationship development in favor of driving a wedge between James and Lena because they’re (probably) going to make Lena “evil”. It’s just disappointing in my opinion. 

I honestly understand why James felt betrayed by Lena when she told him that she got the DA to drop the inditement. Really I do. Thinking that something had gone your way because you, personally, handled it only to find out that your significant other, who you specifically told to not intervene was responsible for that thing and that they lied to you about it... That can cause some less than positive feelings. On the other hand, I think it was also way out of line that James berated Lena and reacted as strongly as he did, seemingly breaking up with her, especially after she told him she loved him and she did it to protect him because she was worried about him. And he basically just brushed her off. It shows that he has not really let go of the deep-seated distrust he has for her, as a Luthor most likely. I get him being disappointed and betrayed, but if they loved each other as much as they say they do, I would have expected him to at least acknowledge that she did that for him and that they could work it out. Instead of him storming off and then ignoring her later. I dislike the idea of using “I love you” in order to manipulate someone into staying (that’s a sign of a pretty fucking toxic relationship), but I didn’t get that vibe from Lena. It felt more that she was voicing her feelings, which we all know is difficult for her, because she wanted him to understand why she did what she did. 

And I said this in S3 and I think it’s even more relevant in S4, it’s really hard to take this “Lena is evil” storyline seriously after everything. I long wrote in S2 that I thought Lena could become “evil” either because after everything she’s ever done to be a good person and redeem her family name, no one trusts her still. Or that she would have a difference of opinion with the Superfriends that would make her evil™ in the eyes of the audience, but in reality, it’s less evil and more so conflicting opinions. After S3, they really made the “she’ll be evil because no one trusts her” storyline less and less plausible because she’s always wanted to do the right thing, despite what people think of her. She was at one of her lowest points on-screen when she thought she had poisoned all those kids with lead and yet she was still trying to fix it and when she couldn’t, she wasn’t callous enough to say “Well, I tried, too bad.” Instead, she took it really hard and felt super guilty. 

So it seems like they’re really going with the evil™ because she has an opinion that has been designed to be bad in the eyes of the audience. I honestly don’t really understand (and this may be because I don’t watch religiously) why the very idea that humans could have superhuman powers is such a negative. I obviously understand that kind of power in the wrong hands is super dangerous, especially with Agent Liberty and the Children of Liberty running around and if Lena creates that kind of technology, it will almost inevitably fall into their hands (because plot device). But it runs in the same vein of Lena being pro-gun (which anyone who thinks that’s out of character needs to get their brain checked). Yes, I think there is an inherent difference between having the opinion and doing something to invent a way for humans to have that kind of power, but even when Lena voiced the opinion to Kara, it was very much designed for the audience to be against that. I think, ultimately, what I would prefer if this had to be the storyline they’re going with, that Lena design/invent defensive abilities rather than offensive. Yes, you can still use defensive abilities for bad, offensive purposes, but it would make more sense with Lena’s thinking of using it for protection, not to actively fight aliens and I’d imagine that would go back to the idea of people abusing Lena’s inventions for purposes that she never intended, thus forcing her to work with Superfriends to overcome a mistake she made, and I’d imagine Lena would take responsibility for that mistake. (I do think this is one of her flaws though; shortsightedness, at least in regards to her inventions. She invents things to help people, but often doesn’t think about what would happen if the wrong person got ahold of her inventions and the damage they could cause)

They’ve created such an “us vs them” scenario, that people like Lena that want to try to bridge the gap get left behind and shoved into one side or the other, often the “wrong” side. Obviously, this “aliens vs humans” is parallel to “minorities vs whites” and likely has been very intentional in those similarities. I’ve always wanted Lena to be more of a morally gray character or anti-hero. And it seems like they’ve actually set that up, given her motives for doing what she’s doing. But they’ve also written the “us vs them” scenario so deep and hard that no one can be morally gray. If you’re morally gray, you’re evil. And that’s how its interpreted. And it’s probably just an inherent result of how culture (especially Tumblr black and white, “you do one bad thing, no matter the motive, you’re a bad person” culture) is. Given that Agent Liberty and (likely) Lex Luthor will be the true bad guys this season, Lena is perfectly set up to be in between the two sides. But often, if you’re in the middle, you’re on a side, usually the wrong™ side. Thus pushing her into the “villain” category instead of this middle ground character. 

Is Lena misguided in what she’s doing? Perhaps. Again, her inventions, regardless of what kind of powers she is able to create with the harun el, can always be used for bad things. And I feel like that’s the storyline they’re going to go with. Lena has even said, she is creating this for protection purposes, protecting humans from aliens. There’s a conversation to be had about blanketing certain actions and behaviors on one “group” based on the behaviors of a few. And Lena is certainly one of those kinds of people who would wary of, say African Amercian people, because maybe that person could be a “thug,” even when the vast majority aren’t and white people are just as, if not more so, capable of doing bad things. But in the context of aliens vs humans instead. And what she’s doing is basically saying that everyone needs to carry a gun (or at least have access to one) to protect from those “thugs” because you never know when you’ll get jumped in an alley. But people use those guns to commit way more murders than use them for protection, and there are ample ways to protect themselves without using a gun. And whatever inventions she makes with the harun el will always have the potential to be used for ill, especially with the Children of Liberty and Lex coming into the picture. So the question is, should that kind of technology be created at all, knowing that it will likely be used for things Lena never intended, especially because Lena is creating it for a misguided reason in the first place? And that, I think, goes back to one of Lena’s flaws of shortsightedness, at least when it comes to her inventions. She creates things because she wants to help people, but seems to not really think about the harm her inventions could create. And doesn’t weigh the benefits to the costs, or at least, not in the same way as the audience will and thus often creates things that we, as an audience, are screaming at the screen “NO, DON’T DO THAT”)

Then there’s the whole James thing. I feel like his arc is him trying to convince himself that he’s doing this to find information, but he really is doing this to feel like he’s having an “active” role in helping the cause. Being a journalist doesn’t seem to be enough for him anymore. Ever since he became Guardian, he seems to have taken that to be his “real” self and James Olsen is the skin he wears in public and it’s become increasingly like that in S4. And it’s irritating. Especially because it’s almost the complete opposite of Kara’s arc of “She’s Kara first, Supergirl second.” And learning to bridge that gap and not let Supergirl rule her life. And that she can do just as much good (if not more) as Kara as she can as Supergirl. Perhaps this parallel is intentional, but it honestly just makes James annoying, not interesting. I want him to have more screentime and storyline. He got sorely neglected in S2 and some of S3. But its like they’re intentionally giving James, the black man they’ve largely forgotten about for a season and a half, a storyline where they’re casting him in a rather unflattering light, especially to (what I see as) the most vocal of the fanbase of Supergirl. This is far less than he deserves. He deserves a storyline that lets him really explore his role as a reporter whilst also grappling with not being able to be Guardian. Not running around with the domestic terrorist group in the name of “getting information,” because he wants to stroke his own ego. While also getting mad at his girlfriend because she wanted to help him and protect him and instead of working through conflict, getting overly emotional, kind of breaking up with her, and running off. Then ignoring the conflict and running headfirst into danger. She shouldn’t have lied to him, but he shouldn’t have flipped out as much as he did. Gotten angry, sure I could understand that. But “breaking up” with her? That seems a little extreme. And had roles been reversed, Lena would most certainly have been seen as this overreacting, hysterical woman who isn’t appreciative of her man trying to protect her, even if he has to go against her wishes. It’s such a common theme in the reverse and it’s always expected for the woman to forgive a “tiny white lie” because her loving boyfriend was just trying to protect her. And for the reverse scenario to be any different is dumb. 

Anyways, as someone who doesn’t watch the show religiously, there’s probably a lot I don’t fully grasp but this is how I see it from someone who watched S2, got really into character analysis for Lena specifically and identified strongly with Lena. The storyline just seems somewhat poorly thought out and neglects a lot of the past content in previous seasons and is treating their characters as they are plot vehicles, not actual characters. They seem intent on fitting these characters into specific archetypes and roles, rather than taking their characters and letting them (to some degree) organically grow. There’s nothing wrong with having a vision for a character, but to go directly against the established canon of behaviors and personality traits to fit characters to speak to the desired plotline (they did this to Kara a lot in S2 and S3 and seem to have figured it out for S4) makes the story feel disjointed and somewhat empty. 

[rudderless-in-an-ocean-of-stars]

mercy (preview)

Here’s a little sneak peek of one of the stories I’m working on for my return to the SuperCorp fandom, which I know some of you have been awaiting for quite some time... ;)

It’s an AU in which Lena finds herself facing the Black Mercy, and Kara has to go inside her mind to help her break free from its grip. Aaaaaand it does not take into account anything from the current season because I honestly haven’t watched it and have no plans to! Okay, here it is... :)

Lena has never looked quite so small.

Even in her weakest moments, there has been a strength in her, quiet and graceful.

But here, lying pale and unmoving beneath the harsh, fluorescent lighting of the D.E.O. examination room, that strength is gone.

She is quiet and still, the rise and fall of her chest almost nonexistent beneath the limbs of parasitic creature that has latched itself onto her body. The machine monitoring her vital signs beeps steadily, but slowly, and slower still as time passes. Here, Lena looks impossibly frail.

Fragile, as though even the slightest of touches will shatter her porcelain skin and leave her in a million little shards that Kara will never be able to piece back together again.

It is a sight that Kara abhors.

She'd been the one to find her. When Lena had missed their morning meeting, Kara had known something was wrong, calling in sick for the rest of the day as she'd rushed to a nearby alley to change into her costume and fly to Lena's loft.

Kara had found her collapsed on her living room floor, a Black Mercy attached to her chest. With a sinking feeling in her gut, she'd vaguely recalled the sight of one in the vault just as she'd arrived to rescue the other woman. Lillian Luthor, it seems, had managed to grab at least one thing from the cache of dangerous artifacts before the kryptonite in Metallo's chest had exploded.

Now here she is, hooked up to a slew of machines, all dedicated to keeping her alive long enough for Kara to delve into the depths of her subconscious and pull her out from whatever fantasy the Black Mercy has her trapped in.

Here she is, silent and smaller than Kara has ever seen her.

For once, there is no quirky smile dancing at the corners of her lips, no laughter bubbling at the back of her throat. Her expression is blank, frighteningly empty, and yet Kara cannot bear to tear her eyes away from the sight of it because it just may be the last time she sees her alive.

For once, there are no roses in her cheeks. Her pallor is pale and sickly, the colorless, almost-transparency that usually comes with terrible illness now tingeing her skin. Everything has been leeched away by the Black Mercy's grip.

For once, her green eyes aren't glimmering with hints of mirth in their kryptonite depths. They are closed, shuttered off from the world as she lives out her life in a perfect reality that pulls her closer and closer to death with every passing second.

Kara's train of thought is cut off by the sound of Alex's quickly approaching heartbeat. She turns towards the door, expectant, as Alex hurried in with a pair of devices that are heart-wrenchingly familiar to the girl of steel.

"Alex. Finally." She breathes out a sharp sigh of relief and begins to turn towards the bed beside Lena's, completely missing the sharp look Alex levies in her direction.

"Kara." Her voice is oddly strained as she fastens one of the helmet's onto Lena's head. "There's something you need to know."

She hurries on before Kara can interrupt, mouth narrowing into a tight-lipped frown when she finishes. "I made some adjustments to the helmets. There's a fail-safe built in now, one that you can access from inside her mind, unlike before."

"A fail-safe? Alex, why-" Her voice trails off as she realizes the implications of her sister's words.

"It's just in case, Kara."

"Just in case of what?" Kara's voice is like the thin ice that forms on top of lakes in early winter- cold, brittle, and dangerously close to breaking.

"Just in case you have to pull out. I don't know what I'm sending you into, Kara. She's not like you. She's human. The only reason you lasted long enough for me to wake you up is because you're not. But she is. And..." She pauses, securing the final electrode onto Lena's brow, lowering her gaze from Kara's before she continues to speak. "And you might need to accept that she could already be too far gone for you to save."

"Alex, she's my friend!"

"And you're my sister!" She finally looks up to meet her sister's stare, dark eyes glittering with unshed tears. "I know you care about her, but I care about you. And if it comes down to it, I need you to promise me you'll use it. National City needs Kara Danvers. And so do I.”

to be continued.... ;)

[ninjagoat]

Notes on Supergirl 3x14

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

I've been annoyed with the show for a while now. Season three came out of the gate with four solid eps, and then draaaagged for another seven; before finally putting things back in order: slamming a season's worth of Lena's 'development' into reverse so she can actually have her own worldview and agenda once again; giving the Legion a hidden agenda so they actually have some narrative juice; giving Alex and Kara a genuine ideological conflict for the first time since... I can't remember, and actually having a plan for the World-killers because of it; and, important to me especially, the re-emergence of Winn as a recognised problem-solver.

Which brings us to 3x14, a MASSIVE episode for Winn, and, in terms of scale, a massive episode in general: the two major action sequences are of a kind you'd expect from a season finale; they've landed a *recent* Academy Award Nominee for a guest star; there's a frank discussion of later-life mental illness, and an insight into J'onn's specific attitude toward his adopted race; and a hilarious sequence of our heroes just... hanging out.

In short, in just a few episodes (which, by sheer coincidence, would all have finished being scripted *after* AK was suspended and fired for being a mediocre sex-pest)... they fixed the show.

THEY FIXED THE DAMN SHOW.

Notes below the cut (it’s a long post this week):

- "People being addressed as soldiers going into battle before actually just trying something fun and silly" is one of my favourite tropes, and that look Winn and Kara exchange is one of the best indicators of their long-standing friendship we've seen in a long time (Winn is, of course, Kara's best friend. You many have heard her give statements to the contrary. THESE ARE LIES).

- The choice to have the characters, all played by actors who can sing, do 'karaoke voice' instead of their actual voices is a good one. Having Kara do Beastie Boys side-steps the whole 'we've heard her sing' problem; J'onn and Mr. J are both wonderfully appalling; and Alex letting the lyrics of her ballad run on as she stops to drink is, as the kids say, a Mood (I'll come back to Mon-El and Winn at the end).

- THERE ARE *STILL* NO ALIENS AT THE ALIEN BAR. WHAT HAPPENED TO KEVIN? OR BRIAN?

- James's constant need for validation crashing against Lena's particular brand of emotional - and literal - unavailability is a good choice; we've not really seen James's interest in Lena manifest outside of her needs until now, and it's the first time he's had a relatable problem since 1x06. And pairing him up with Mon-El for this scene - who's having his own issues right now - is nice.

- Speaking of which, Imra's telepathy: is this the show telling us she definitely *doesn't* have mind-control powers, or that Mon-El - currently not the most reliable expert on the Legion - doesn't *know* she has mind-control powers?

- "FELLOW DRUNKS!"

- I'll admit, James was my least favourite option for who could be Winn's emotional support in this episode, given his long history of being really quite bad at it; but in this first scene, he's actually pretty good, providing Winn with the avenues he needs to avoid the old-school masculinity coping methods he's trying to use instead.

- Winn making ABSOLUTELY SURE that his Winslow's dead, even before they tried to put him in the ground, is on point.

- Mary. MARY. The writers knew they had Tony-award-winning Steppenwolf alum Laurie Metcalf on board, and it SHOWS. She's nervous and tentative, but she's also forthright; she takes over the space when she feels she ought to (a lot of her funnier asides could have been put in Cat Grant's mouth with no problem), and physically, tangibly awkward when she doesn't; and Metcalf runs through the gear changes as only a pro of her stature can. In her first scene, she's anxious, yes, and she's having difficulty separating Winn from the little boy she left behind; but it's also clear that THIS IS THE HAPPIEST DAY OF HER LIFE, even if it isn't her son's. Mary is a catalyst for Winn's pain, but has a whole existence outside of it. That's good writing, that is.

- Speaking of Winn's pain... DEAR. LORD. That story goes toe-to-toe with any crappy parent story you've ever heard (and blows all of Lena's solipsistic crap out of the water); and Jeremy Jordan, having done so much with so little every week, completely sells that this is a story he's been waiting two decades to tell, and how being left alone with no-one to be *except* his father's son absolutely broke him.

- The Flying Monkeys sequence is the best action scene this show's ever done. Better than Reign. Better than Crossfire. And again, Mary and Winn: every time they're not focused on the time they've spent apart, it's almost like they were never apart at all.

- Winn calling out James for suggesting he forgive Mary is absolutely on point; and James admitting that he was a selfish, sulky little brat after his Dad died as an argument of how it could have been just as bad if she'd stayed is interesting (James is making it up to her now, though, by... never going home for a single holiday. Ever. Still, baby steps). His argument will also end up applying, subtextually, to his relationship with Lena; stop being ungrateful for the time she's not there for you, and just be happy for the time that she is. It's what she needs you to do. She's got her own stuff going on.

- "He doesn't always get the credit, but he keeps us going around here." Kara's gentle tribute to her friend (her BEST friend) and the adaptive, outside-the-box thinking that's been keeping everyone alive for years is wonderful; not just for what she says, but for how comfortable a rapport she has with Mary, while never forgetting that being told how great her son is by *Supergirl* is as good, if not better, than hearing it from the President herself (and if Mary needs that... it could be arranged).

- On a downer note, anytime a show starts talking about a side character as the "heart of the team" or somesuch... it's usually not a good sign for that character.

- I'm not ready to go into Mr. J's illness yet. I have a personal relationship to stories like this, and I can't write about it in this format. But Carl Lumbly is still ABSOLUTELY the best.

- And I'm not the person to get into J'onn's opinion on his own blackness; except to say, in a week when David Harewood met with British MPs to discuss the 'accidental' deportations of the Windrush migrants, this is a BIG DEAL.

- Since I'm doing asides into side plots: Mon-El and Kara. His apology - agenda-free this time - is honest and heart-felt, and his full disclosure about *why* he's apologising now raises interesting questions: at what point is this honesty defined as over-sharing? Where is the line drawn between being 'open about your feelings' and 'demanding emotional labour from others'? Kara has a firm boundary - they are *not* going to talk about his marriage - and he respects that. But should he have told her about it in the first place, even if it does lead in to the new information about the World-killers? I've said before: Supergirl is the only show with a significant male audience that, whether you believe it should or not, actually tackles questions of what healthy masculinity *should* be (albeit with varying degrees of success), and it's good that they're keeping it up.

- Mary's story is not only an important reminder that the men who commit mass-murder often begin by terrorising the women in their own homes; but also, in the context of Childish Things, addresses Winn's misunderstanding of his own fears. Winn has always believed that his father was a good person, until one day, when he just wasn't; and Winn believed that any time he didn't keep a lid on his own anger, any time that he might use that part of himself to stand up and say 'no' against those that would hurt him, the same would happen to him. But Winslow Sr. wasn't a good person. It took a long time for his anger to consume him, a long time for his battles against perceived slights to affect anyone except Mary. Winn has little to worry about.

- And her decision to take the gun and take on Toywoman(?) alone is immediate, consistent, and believable. She's been without her son for twenty years to protect his life. He will NOT be taken from her now.

- Delightful stunt-casting for Toywoman, by the way (If you haven't watched The Silence Of The Lambs recently... go do that).

- The second action sequence: not as good as the flying monkeys, but still has some banging moments, as the 'heroes' drop out to handle various contraptions to leave Winn to rescue Mary.

- Speaking of contraptions: "Cloth Magic." Comics Mon-El fans, that's got to feel good.

- How many times did Mary have to sit through New Hope when Winn was a kid? I'm guessing 'more than ten'.

- Winn being offended at the idea that he's going to be killed with something as pedestrian as a *firearm* is the absolute business, and annoying because it's a beat I'd already gotten it noted down for my own fic series.

- "You haven't just survived, you have EXCELLED."

- Mon-El *butchering* a song now synonymous with a TV show that *LIVES* in the kind of masculinity he's been used to deconstruct (again, with varying degrees of success) is a solid piece of work. As is his apology.

- Okay, this episode isn't exactly what we all wanted for Winn. No-one has hugged him. No-one has told him they love him. Kara has not re-iterated that he is, in fact, her best friend (because he is). He's not designing the Valor suit. We didn't get to hear him sing. And his twenty-year-long trauma of being alone in the world is resolved a lot more speedily that it really ought to be. But that doesn't matter. Those are indulgences, and that's pretty much what fan-fiction and the Miscast performance videos are for.

    What this episode *does* do is reiterate the show's mission statement once again: We, as a people, are at our best when we depend on each other. Forgiving when we can. Understanding when we can't. And more than anything else, simply being there for each other. Whether it's supporting each other through a personal crisis, or through the decline of a loved one; teaching each other new skills, or helping to mend a beloved outfit; or even, sometimes, just having the courage or shamelessness to perform karaoke with your mum; the same truth remains:

    WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER.

- Which is why it's perfect that the show end on Lena. Alone. Keeping the truth from the people she's closest to. She hasn't told James. She won't tell Kara. She's just there, trapped inside the box in which she's imprisoned her oldest friend, with no-one else there to help or to guide her. For all her claims that Kara Danvers is her hero... ultimately, the only person she will ever truly depend on is herself.

   And it's all going to go horribly, horribly wrong.

-LyraWatch: I'm bringing it to a close. It's now been eighteen episodes, and nary a mention of if they're still together or where she's gone. It's so very unlikely that she'll be brought up again.

-LenaWatch: 14 episodes (record high: 16). Most likely at this point, Winn and Lena will have a scene at some point after it's been revealed she's been working on Sam (and has probably made things worse); and Winn will, for the third time, have to help bail her out of the war-zone-like situation she'll have created through her own hubris.

[sapphicscholar]

A/N: Alright, so, I had a whole fic plotted out as a prequel to the auror chapter that was about Maggie and Alex’s time abroad while Maggie was a wandmaker’s apprentice, and I may still come back to that! But I had a dream about the Harry Potter universe, and at 4:30am when I woke up from it, it seemed like such a good, magical idea (like the shower, it’s one of those places where all the best ideas happen), so anyhow, enjoy this magic in the modern work/cooking show AU instead. Also, yes, I borrowed Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry from the Great British Bake Off, though they’re rather minor characters if you don't watch it.

Chapter Preview:

“Hey, and welcome to the first episode of Bippity Boppity Bake’s fourth season,” host Leslie Willis announced with her trademark eyeroll. Cat huffed from behind the camera, but she couldn’t deny that viewers enjoyed the snark—not that she’d ever admit it to Leslie. She’d merely stepped in one day when Eve Teschmacher had fallen ill, but after the veritable deluge of requests to have Leslie back, Cat had been happy enough to promote her when Eve left to go work for Lena Luthor. The show had…changed, to say the least, under Leslie’s influence, but they still got quality footage that brought in viewers and advertisers alike.

Cat looked back up and watched Leslie strutting across the front of the room, enchanted cameras following her every move, catching each swing of her hips and smirk on her lips. She quickly recited the rules, memorized after weeks and weeks of reminding the audience at home—a fact that bothered her to no end. She watched as Leslie leaned up against the edge of the judge’s table. “For those of you at home too dense to remember the premise of the show, the judges are non-magic chefs who are married to or children of the witches and wizards you all know and love. They’re here to see how well your contestants can do when left to muggle devices and recipes with nary a wand in sight.”

The audience ooh-ed and ahh-ed as though they had never before heard of the idea, despite having watched three seasons of it already.

“I guess you’ll probably want to meet our first batch of contestants,” Leslie drawled, wandering down the aisle to the first station. “First up is blondie.”

“Kara,” Kara reminded Leslie, ignoring the blatant shrug of Leslie’s shoulders that so clearly seemed to scream, “I don’t care!”

“What should the audience know about you, blondie? Are you more than those pastel cardigans and surprisingly butch belts?”

Blushing a faint shade of pink, Kara squared her shoulders. “I’m Kara Danvers,” she introduced herself. “I work as a journalist for the Daily Prophet.” As she spoke, she forgot about her annoyance at Leslie and remembered how excited she was to be on the show, beaming out at the audience and the cameras. “I really love eating, so I figured I should probably learn to love baking too! And, well, here I am!”

“What’d you slip into your coffee this morning?” Leslie grumbled, furrowing her brows as she took in Kara’s bubbly demeanor. Looking around the room, Leslie’s eyes lit on a contestant that looked more her speed. “You—surly. What’s your deal?”

Alex looked up at the feeling of Leslie’s gaze trained on her. “Oh, uh, she submitted an application without telling me,” Alex admitted, glaring over at Kara.

Intrigued by the open admission of not wanting to be on the show, Leslie perched herself on the corner of the woman’s baking station, knowing there would be a whole team by to sanitize it the second she moved her ass. “Ya gonna get back at her by winning the whole thing, surly?”

Alex shrugged.

“You got a name?”

“Alex Danvers. Older sister and potions professor.”

“Oh you must be so much fun in class,” Leslie cackled gleefully. “I can picture it now: a whole class torn between swooning and crying, am I right?”

“All that matters is that they learn potions.”

“Now what about cooking. You cook?”

“Nope.”

“Blondie,” Leslie called out. “What’d you bring her on for if she doesn’t cook?”

Crossing her arms, a defiant look on her face, Kara explained: “Alex said she’d obviously be great at muggle baking, since she can brew perfect potions. I told her to prove it, and now she will—or won’t,” Kara added with a teasing laugh as she stuck her tongue out at Alex.

Cat watched as the audience roared with laughter and applause. She’d assumed Alex would be the first or second one sent home, but she wondered if there might be a way to keep her around for another week or two to keep ratings high.

Read the rest on AO3!

[murdershegoat]

every thought i had about 2x22 as i had it (these are getting longer and idec)

kal el what r u doing!!!!!

ZOD IM YELLING THATS FUCKING CRAY

maggie should just become a deo agent now she’s there constantly anyway

my aesthetic: kara and kal el fighting among dank explosions, lesbians kickin back and watching it unfold

im in awe of this fight 11/10 would watch again

MY AESTHETIC: KARA WINNING THE FIGHT, ALEX CATCHING HER SISTER

fuck that opening was on point

ew heteros i dont care about this can u just yeet him already

im love alex’s winter jacket seriously give me a christmas special w alex in her winter wear and kara wearing like summer clothes bc she doesnt feel the cold, moaning that she cant wear a christmas sweater w/o feeling on fire

lena and alex should drink together like wynonna earp and nicole haught give em some scotch and let them both obsess over kara

lena my smol child i will adopt u and be ur mentor despite being both younger than you and totally unremarkable 

brenda strong is a milf and i will fight u over this

lena’s about to cross her mom again i can feel it in my bones

wow i cant believe winn and clark are dating it’s canon

me, every time monel is on screen: YEET HIM ALREADY YOU COWARDS

“what happened here?” “everything” alex why do u think that is a helpful answer this man is the director of the deo he’s gonna need specifics

why r they advertising this fight like fuckin pay per view

PAPA BEAR!

cat grant is a liar she’s definitely seen star wars and even if she hadn’t she’d have enough pop culture knowledge to fuckin know basic shit about it she’s just trying to cheer up kara and clark

"did you know he’s dating kara danvers” this is shit writing why would lena specify ‘danvers’ like bitch u allegedly think kara is the link between u and supergirl what other kara would u be talking about

amazing acting: everybody pretending to care about what happens to monel

WINN AND LENA BROTP: SCIENCE BONCHES

kara and kal el *have super emotional scene* me *is distracted by kara’s entire body and hair and face and also kal el’s junk*

@teri hatcher: fight me please. 

i fucking love these fight scenes

*alex is put in charge* maggie: SHOTGUN BEING UR SECOND IN COMMAND

super in character: winn being nervous around evil parents

LENA I CALLED IT BONCH

oh james hey there what u been up to bruh

MGANN IS BACK AND SHE BROUGHT MARTIANS MY BONCH DID SO WELL IM SO PROUD

“Alex, tell me what to do” all these sister moments are killing me

I’m so impressed w melissa being able to act so well opposite a limp beef sandwich. wow. amazing. wHY R U GIVING HIM THE NECKLACE

them: *kiss* me: *chanting* YEET YEET YEET YEET YEET 

this music is dope tho and im still so impressed w melissa

the deo is celebrating. somewhere, probably in texas, vasquez watches on the news, and kisses her gf lucy lane, happy their friends are safe

MGANN IS THE HERO WE ALL DESERVE

Danvers Sisters 4 lyf

(I’m not gonna touch that proposal give me a fucking kiss holy shit ill post about it later)

“i turned down rob lowe” is that??????? a brothers and sisters reference???????????????????????????????

cat is the mentor i need and also of course she knows kara is supergirl im love her

h e r o ‘ s j o u r n e y

the fuck is in that pod

k heres some truth. next season will be perfect time to explore angry kara again. kara who has sacrificed everything yet again for a planet she did not choose. kara, who flies off into the distance, upset and angry and not at all at peace. kara, who has to watch her sister and everyone around her find and settle into happiness. they have so much to work with and i really wanna see them give melissa some good material again

[stennnn06]

What's going to happen to Kara and Lena's relationship when Kara sees Lena about to marry Mon-El?

UGH so are we going with shaky-unreliable-plot-holes-galore canon orrrrr kristen’s fun world of true characterization? 

*Sigh* probably canon.

i’d love to think kara is going to spring into action to defend LENA, and try to help HER get out of the situation, since in canon, that’s all we’ve seen from her – unconditional support, unwavering faith, and her SWORN protection. we know she’s against rhea 100%, and even if mon-el is trying to pull a “Medusa” and side with Rhea only to pull a long con, i have to believe that kara’s first instinct is to save lena, first and foremost. i don’t believe she will have any animosity towards lena marrying mon-el, since, as far as everyone knows, lena has no idea who mon-el is in relation to kara/supergirl. (in reality, does she? maybe… but it hasn’t been addressed, so we have to assume she doesn’t)…so kara would have NO reason to think lena is stabbing her in the back, or doing anything out of ill will towards her (and, THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE FUCKING WRITING - i’m not here to watch these two fucking amazing characters fight over a man child….. because that will LITERALLY destroy the few good things they wrote this season, and there will be hell to pay). i think she would just try desperately to talk lena out of it, or try to understand her reasons for doing it, and try to help her, particularly if lena is doing it as a last ditch effort to appease rhea and get her approval. we’ve seen lena struggle so hard with this type of issue that at the end of the day, i think she’s going to be dealing with so much guilt and so much self loathing that she’s STILL going to want to appeal to rhea. lillian is going to be the interesting wrench thrown in and i cannot WAIT to see what she says/does to bring her back.

i DO think there is going to be some tension between lena/kara by the time this is all over, however, it could be for a number of reasons…. a) the impending supergirl reveal that may/may not happen, and its aftermath.. b) whatever happens with mon el, depending what it is and how it happens, could cause friction if lillian or lena are the reason it happens (even though i hate this, because lena literally had to kill jack earlier this season and get over it and move on so, that would be misplaced in my opinion) or c) kara realizes things about her feelings regarding mon-el and/or lena (not even necessarily a supercorp/romantic thing), but just enough to see what’s healthy and true and make her reassess her stance on things…could cause friction/tension while she adjusts, if that makes sense.

but, in the end, i think their relationship has been built in a certain way all season - authentic, strong, genuine, healthy - and its going to take A LOT to destroy it. so no matter what, i believe we’ll see these angels weather the storm

[permanentmochakisses]

@ anon

ooh i see. im definitely not surprised, mon-el is a hated character. and the majority of the fandom are kara/lena fans while the minority are kara/mon-el. tbh, im not a fan of mon-el either. from the episodes i’ve watched at least. because again, i only watch the episodes with katie in it, and more often than not, i just skip to katie’s scenes. but if the storyline is compelling enough, ill watch an entire episode, and i dont really care for his character either. 

that being said, this is one of the HUGE GINORMOUS reasons i wish katie wasn’t on this show. because she is now involved in a big, vile shipping war. and even though these fans love katie (in an extremely obnoxious way), just like in basically every fandom, shipping wars get projected onto the actors. whether its in a good way or bad way (but i guess it depends on one’s definition of whats good and bad) and just causes more drama and grossness in general.

there were other gross stuff in the merlin fandom. i was not there during the beginning because i started watching the show SUPER late. season 4 was just ending by the time i caught up. and i only got to participate in the fandom in real time during season 5. i dont think the shipping wars in the merlin fandom were as intense, but angel/gwen definitely got a lot of undeserving (ignorant racist) shit thrown her away. im just glad she didnt have social media back then but tbh if she still got that kind of crap now, she’d tear them a new one because angel coulby is a literal Queen in real life. ^_________^

but yeah, these days, the vile stuff people do are definitely A LOT more intense in general. probably because social media is stronger and more viral. and a lot of actors (and people in their orbit: friends, family, significant others) are accessible that way. also more and more actors are going to cons, not just the big cons, but the little cons that fantasy dramas have. and fantasy dramas have a TON of cons all year round. so a lot of fans think they can behave a certain way and itll all be Fine. -________-