#canon levels of supercorp

[blazethecheeto]

hi so i watched the supergirl finale. and like. what the fuck guys.

that might have been the biggest queer analogy i've ever seen without it being explicitly stated. the whole talk where kara compares how she feels like she's been trapped, how she's been hiding and never living her authentic truth to alex feeling free and joyful with her wife.

the life she wants to have. the metaphors of her not feeling ready to come out. the constant parallels to alex's journey and her wedding vows resonating with kara so deeply. CAT SAYING "most of all, i hope you choose to become your full self."

TEARS. CRYING. LIKE HAPPY PRIDE MONTH??? I GUESS???

and then, AND THEN- out of every single person, lena luthor is the one she has her last conversation with. she is the one to support her, to believe in her, like she always has. lena comparing how both of them were always being told who they were supposed to be, the roles society set up for them, and how they both defied it by becoming friends.

no, because don't get me started with how lillian said in the very beginning of the episode to lena: "live your life the way you want to live it." the insane queer metaphors and parallels with her magic being programmed out of her as a kid because 'it wasn't how the luthor family was supposed to be".

lena turning to kara in that conversation, saying she's finally living her own life and it feels amazing, inviting kara to join her and go through and take on that journey together. kara wondering how it would feel like to connect with someone as her full self NOT KNOWING THAT PERSON IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER? lena just responding "i think it'd be empowering" WISTFULLY? i can't do this guys i sobbed.

like TF DO YOU MEAN "i didn't get to grow up to be the person i was supposed to be, and i think it's the same for you" and "i give people speeches on how to live their best lives, but i'm too afraid to live my own".

also, ain't no way they killed off william AND made mon-el come back JUST to confirm that ship was never becoming canon. the writers really said yeah, both of them will be the only people at the wedding with absolutely no other love interests except each other!!

finally, on a less serious note, in that last cat + kara conversation, the way she said-

"i just feel..."

"bi...furcated?"

and i was like LMAO WAS CAT JUST GONNA SAY "KARA, YOU'RE BI GIRLIE."

tl;dr: that was an insane show to go through, i can only imagine how the fans reacted, but man. queerbaiting's really something isn't it. i'm gonna cry and read more supercorp fanfiction.

[kuekyuuq]

Fanfic Crossover Prompt?

I noticed there are way too few Clexa and Supercorp Crossover Fics...

Just hear me out, k?

Supergirl /DCTV has established parallel worlds and plenty (accidental) ways to end up in an alternative world. Time travel is also very much established (kinda sorta in both shows)

The 100 canonically even has aliens (but this would be better!)

Each ship has a "blue-eyed blonde that came from the sky (from a more scientifically advanced world)" and an "ambitious and revolutionary green('ish)-eyed brunette in a powerful position"

...with the blondes being artistically inclined and the brunettes educated strategists

Lena and Lexa may have a secret hand-shake over the whole "love is weakness" mantra (or just cooly blank-faced share a nod of mutual understanding)

Kara's cousin is named Clark and Lena's brother is named Lex (Clexa: "Oh, are they close?" - SC: "...well, they are constantly at each other's throats?")

Nia would be very confusing - especially if she's still alive, bc seeing her may give Lena a mini heart-attack

Jackson may also look vaguely familiar to Kara...

(Charlotte would prolly already be "gone"...)

There is fun to be had with the character dynamics, Lexa and Kara being the heart-eyes ones, Clarke and Lena (whilst just as infatuated) try to play things cool

Lena would have a field day with the night blood (actually, she'd need a fix to survive in the radioactive world of The 100, unless she has a magical solution at hand)

Kara could single-handedly fix the 2nd Praimfaya situation (with some guidance by Lena)

Raven and Lena prolly would hit it off rather well

by the power of fanfic even the age difference between the characters can be either reduced or ignored

or Lena and Kara become sort of mentors / advisors to Heda and Wanheda

Lexa having a sparring session with "Olympics level fencer" Lena

Kara and Clarke ooh'ing and aaah'ing at Earth's nature together

Kara getting roped into beer-pong and owning it even without using her powers, not for her skills but bc she can't get drunk

Clexa may even help a canonically supposedly "best friends" Supercorp to "see the light" (Clexa: "Uhm, guys? That is not really what best friends are for...")

Play with Lena struggling in the forest or prove herself to be actually pretty apt in her survival skills

Lena coming into Polis being all like "I can fix this up. Someone give me some paper. Kara, time to flex those muscles of yours."

Kara "accidentally" sneezing too hard and freeze-breath scaring the daylights out of Titus before baldie can screw things up

Katie Lena in a more medieval leathery get-up!!!!

Kara on a horsey!! (or floating next to the group riding, cooing at the animals)

Both Kara and Lena having experience with "adults" and their schemes and politics messing things up, spot signs early and help Clexa take care of Pike et others...

Eventually (after saving their world) Lena finding the energy signatures below polis of the portal-thingy, figuring the puzzle out in 3.7 seconds and rewiring it to send them back home...

...and so. much. more!

But, really, it can go anyway you'd like:

Fun and light, or more serious and angsty; a whole fix-it for The 100 or set anywhen you want, pre-Kara's identity reveal (s3'ish?) or post-finale (witch!Lena ?); innocent or smut; SC just being the "little helpers" or ultimate heroes; lovey-dovey or tension-filled Clexa; powering down Kara somehow or just letting her be her super-charged self; a short adventure or a novel-sized tale...

Please, dear authors, feel inspired! ö.ö

[jtl07]

What do you like best about each of your current favorite ships?

heyheyhey! i was actually pondering my fandom history recently so this is eerily on the same brainwave anon lol

currently on this pseud i'm still very much loving supercorp and avatrice and the thing that hits me with both of them is just the kindness and forgiveness they give each other and learn to give themselves, yknow? it's a very beautiful thing for both ships

for supercorp in particular, there's that element of each of them learning to grow past the horrible things they've done and actively choosing the light, and how they help each other in making that choice everyday. in my head there's this image of being able to set down one's burden, yknow? and as much as i wish they'd done the reveal differently in canon, there's something about them working through what they've both done to each other, as in, the forgiveness they give on a personal level too. i mean, how powerful is that, to be told, "i forgive you and i love you, even now, still"? it's moving in a humbling way, imo

for avatrice — and i feel like this also applies to supercorp but/and i feel it strongly with avatrice due to my personal feelings for the characters, particularly bea — it's how they each allay each other's fears (not by like, overcompensating but just by being fiercely present and truthful), which at its core is the acceptance of who they are, the love of who they are - without strings, without conditions, without shame. it's something like, "you're more than enough; no you're not too much; of course i choose you" along with this current of healing, yknow? it's something sacred in a way, to be able to provide healing, to allow yourself to be healed, to trust in the process of healing

ah idk if that was the kind of response you were looking for anon, i hope it made sense? very much appreciate the ask <3

(also while i'm here, thanks everyone for the kind support, both here on tumblr and on ao3 - it still blows my mind every time i see a like, a kudo, a reblog or a comment - truly, y'all are great)

[lenakluthor]

ive like watched the whole show but even i dont think i could put the pieces together so you’re good. is it bad that i haven’t seen south of nowhere? how much do recommend watching that show? yknow what’s crazier? ive only ever seen maybe 2 ep of supergirl & yet im so bad for supercorp. i feel like that’s unhealthy on some level haha

okay FIRST OFF you absolutely should watch supergirl i watched it for the first time like, a month? two months? ago and i DEVOURED it in like two weeks and well, you follow me. you see how obsessed i am with it now. it sounds so cheesy and silly but that show changed the entire trajectory of my life and i love it so much i will never shut up about how much i love supergirl. but also I GET IT because if you see anything about supercorp how could you not love them? when the show was airing, before i watched it, i saw so much supercorp on my dash that i genuinely thought it was canon until someone told me.

ANYWAY, i’ve been meaning to rewatch south of nowhere for years but haven’t gotten around to it. but baby katie was obsessed with it. a show about girls who kissed girls? i didn’t even believe it was POSSIBLE i simply couldn’t NOT watch it back then. i don’t remember much about the plot but i still think it’s worth a watch

[leighlew3]

Leigh, I'm so sorry to burden you with this, but I've followed you for a few years and witnessed how supportive you've been with SuperCorp fans and the shared disappointment with how the show ended, so I feel safe writing to you.

All the WLW shows getting cancelled fucking sucks. And it hurts. Not because I've necessarily been a big fan of them all, but simply because my voice and story, as a consumer and queer woman, doesn't feel valued.

When I heard Netflix cancelled Warrior Nun, I got angry, and I've been so ever since. It somehow hit different this time, and the cancellation doesn't make sense to me. I've loved the show since its first day on Netflix in 2020. I fell in love with the characters and the actors who portrayed them. I fell in love with the story they were telling and how it was told. Something about Warrior Nun just felt different to me.

Now it's almost 7 in the morning where I live, and I haven't been able to sleep. I was reading a Warrior Nun fic - as one does - and then all the feelings suddenly hit me. Angry turned into sad, and I feel sort of silly for admitting this, but I actually cried. I read somewhere that the brain can't differentiate real people from fictional ones, and I think I'm kind of mourning the loss of the characters 🤷🏻‍♀️ I've never felt this way before and I honestly don't know what to do about it. The whole situation just sucks.

Do you have any advice on how the consumers can be heard by big companies like Netflix and how we can get them to actually value their WLW shows?

Again, I'm sorry to lay this on you, but I don't really have anyone to talk to about this, and I'm just sick and tired of the situation and needed to rant.

(I appreciate you and wish you and your loved ones a happy new year)

It's not a burden at all, I'm glad you feel this is a safe space. 💜

Everything you're saying is relatable and valid as heck. When a show means the world to you, especially if you're part of a marginalized group and taking hit after hit after hit no less... it can be exhausting, infuriating, demoralizing, and so many other complicated emotions when you lose that art that struck you so deeply, that you related to, and that you looked forward to more of to get you through life.

To be honest, I feel like for the most part, fans are doing as best they can as far as efforts to keep shows around. There really are no more tangible specific solutions for fans aside from what's being done, and that's what's frustrating. The endless rewatches, fans doing street team style spreading the word on their own (even spending a lot of money) to make up for lack of official marketing, getting influencers and press behind them, etc. It's actually a sad state of affairs that in recent years, LGBTQ fans have WORK, and FIGHT and PUSH and even PAY constantly to keep a wlw show on the air or to try to get someone to make a ship canon after queerbaiting, or to get more screen time or respectful exploration for a wlw pairing, or to make TPTB see how bad the bury your gays trope is (time and again and again), etc -- rather than just sit back and watch and enjoy.

Fans shouldn't have to work so hard for entertainment, and yet queer fans so often do. And even when people successfully give a show solid numbers, sometimes it's still not enough, and like WN, a well-reviewed, heavily watched series gets the axe anyway.

So it's not on the fans. It's on those at the top, at the end of the day.

Alas, if I had to make some kind of a suggestion... all I can think to say is on the macro, bigger picture level. And this will take some self reflection and increased empathy for some people (sadly a thing some may not be capable of). But... collectively, some people in fandom spaces (small portions, but loud ones) for wlw shows have got to try to stop the silly fanon vs canon wars, and gatekeeping, and jealousies, and creating unnecessary drama and toxicity. There really should be no rival fandoms in wlw spaces at all, unless a show has a fully wlw love triangle or something and people are Team Ship 1 vs Team Ship 2, lol, but even still -- it should be a 'fun' battle, not a toxic war that hurts real people, drives away viewership, etc.

If most people in queer fandoms stuck together, and respected each other's ships even if they don't ship it or watch the show, and generally were supportive of each other as fellow queer fans in their battles against cancellations, in demanding queerbait to be made canon, fighting the BYG trope, etc -- LGBTQ fandoms would have such a collective, expanded power behind these positive efforts. And either way, even if all efforts fail to save a show, etc, at the very least, it would help create a safer, healthier space for queer fans online.

And I know, asking toxic people to not be toxic seems futile, but some people simply need to be reminded that we're all in this together and working together is always going to be ideal when facing off against the real opposition: corporate bias / phobia in the media / industry space.

Ultimately, it's 100% on TPTB at the shows and networks/streamers/studios to do better -- at times creatively, and other times as far as marketing efforts. Sometimes both.

But in the meantime, as far as fandom spaces, some LGBTQ fans gotta try to learn to stick together as much as possible. While there will ALWAYS be toxicity in every fandom from all backgrounds, and fans cannot control each other, I am noticing that as time goes on, and as more wlw fandoms get hurt by networks and streamers, the more angry people are understandably getting, the more reactive and protective of their shows and ships people are getting, and the more then they lash out and try to gatekeep and attack their fellow queer fans and allies, which is... just not it. It's counter productive.

Point is... fans are doing all they can IMO as far as tangible efforts to save (or fix) certain shows. And the rest is on the creatives, the networks and streamers, etc. But in the meantime, at the very least, people shouldn't attack true allies who have proven their support, nor especially attack fellow queer fans who just want to see what a show or ship is about or make positive parallels to their other faves, etc as it could be extra viewers for the show that they're running off.

TLDR: Stay focused on the real problem: corporate media's bias / phobia. Fight them collectively, not each other.

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Rojascorp. Andrea comes to Lena and confesses her feelings for Lena, and suggests the two just leave and live a happy peaceful life together. Something sweet between them, and maybe it ends with their new happy life, or we see them return to the city a year later and she the reactions of their old friends. Who some could be happy for them and some maybe jealous they missed their chance.

When Andrea comes seeking absolution, Lena initially resists. Kara may have ripped their friendship to shreds, but Andrea had cleaved Lena from what remained of her mother, and that could never be forgiven.

But then Lena visits Andrea at CatCo for an unrelated meeting, and she catches the look on Kara's face when she leans in to give Andrea's cheek a perfunctory kiss. Shock sparks when she sees Kara staring not just in curiosity, but something else. Jealosy, perhaps, she thinks. But then it hits her-- longing.

Kara Danvers looks at them with thinly veiled longing, and a plan starts to form in Lena's brain.

After their meeting concludes, Andrea walks Lena to the elevators. Lena feels gazes following them, and knows that Kara's is one of them. In a split second, Lena makes her choice.

Affecting a conciliatory smile, Lena reaches out with a gentle touch to Andrea's elbow. Her friend's surprise soon shifts to hope when she sees Lena's expression.

"I'm tired of being angry," Lena says quietly. She waits a bit, then meets Andrea's gaze. "I've missed you."

That much carries a kernel of truth, though her purpose in sharing as much is less than honest.

"Have dinner with me tonight," Andrea breathes in a rush.

Lena lifts her chin in acquiescence. "All right."

Andrea's fingers catch gently at hers when they part. Lena lets it happen, even throws a glance over her shoulder as she steps into the elevator. It reveals Andrea's subtly eager countenance, but also Kara's arched brows as her eyes zero in on their joined hands.

Only when the elevator doors close does Lena allow herself a smirk.

----

They share their first meal in years at a restaurant that is upscale enough to offer a modicum of privacy between tables, but not good enough to become a favorite of either of them. It's neutral territory.

Nothing is said about the medallion. Lena is more than happy to ignore the elephant between-- it's easier to pretend when neither of them acknowledges it. Instead they share gossip, catching each other up on what's transpired in their missing years together. Inevitably, Andrea teases her.

"And what about this Supergirl? I admit I've been following your escapades with National City's favorite superhero. You two seem... comfortable."

"Purely business," is all Lena says.

Andrea senses the end of the conversation, and smoothly moves on.

They part that evening outside the restaurant with a promise to text later. Within a week, they meet for lunch. Then, morning coffee before work. That morning, before Lena can slip back to L-Corp, Andrea's features suddenly turn nervous.

"Can I make you dinner at mine tomorrow?"

There's nothing that sounds more claustrophobic than an evening trapped with a former friend, but Lena forces a smile. "Sounds lovely."

Dinner is a simple pasta and red wine, followed by a dessert of chocolate raspberry torte. Conversation flows easily enough, and the mood slowly softens as the wine continues to pour. Eventually, Lena pulls out her phone to request her driver, only for Andrea to cover the screen with her hand, stilling Lena's typing fingers.

When Lena meets her gaze, Andrea's eyes are soft with wine, pupils wide with desire. Lena isn't surprised: she's been expecting this for some time-- a rekindling of the unspoken chemistry between them, without Russell around to pull Andrea's attention away.

"Stay," Andrea offers, voice low and throaty. She reaches up to cup Lena's cheek as she hopefully searches Lena's gaze. "Just for tonight."

Lena leans ever so slightly into her friend's touch, then loops her arms around Andrea's neck. "Just for tonight."

Leaning in, she allows their lips to meet.

---

Lena stays until morning. She leaves before Andrea, but lingers long enough to share coffee in the kitchen, clothed in nothing but one of Andrea's sweatshirts. It's large, even for Andrea, and Lena wonders detachedly whether the sweatshirt might have originally belonged to Russell.

Their texts throughout the day remain casual, but Lena makes a point to visit CatCo the next day. Andrea makes no indication of the change in their relationship, but Lena fixes that by kissing her square on the mouth. Gentle enough to be discreet, but sure enough to let anyone watching know.

And the one person Lena wants to have see is certainly watching.

A mug drops and shatters on the floor, echoed by a frantic yelp and censored 'shoot!'

Andrea blinks at Lena, stunned.

Lena slips a hand to Andrea's waist. The touch is intimate, and softens Andrea's shock to happiness.

"Hello, darling."

---

So it continues. Weeks pass, then over a month as Lena continues the charade of amends. It's as easy as breathing, even when Lena smoothly accepts Andrea's invitation to visit the Rojas home in Argentina.

It's there that Andrea surprises Lena with a question.

"Why are you here if you don't want to be anywhere near me?"

Lena's eyebrows lift. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, Lena. I know you, remember? The kiss, the dinners, the sex. We both know it's not for my benefit."

Caught on the spot-- on the sand, no less, spread out on a lounge chair beneath a broad umbrella-- Lena says nothing. They're as isolated as their affluence can afford them; she has nowhere to go but to endure the understanding in Andrea's voice.

"I'd hoped it might bring us closer, regardless your motives," Andrea continues. "I just want you to know that I know, and that I'm okay with it. There's been enough secrets between us."

With that, Andrea returns to her book. Lena scowls at her own book, nearly forgotten in her lap. Andrea's lack of judgement rankles her, poking the part of her just spoiling for a fight.

"I'm not going to forgive you."

Andrea's shoulders fall, but she doesn't rise to the bait.

"I'm not asking you to."

---

When they return from their trip, something has changed. No longer forced to pretend for Andrea's sake, Lena just... forgets to pretend.

The public kisses cease, the flirting stops, and though their dates continue, the tension Lena felt maintaining her deceit eases, and slowly she feels herself responding to Andrea's persisting presence.

Eventually, Lena realizes that her enjoyment in her friend's company is genuine. She looks forward to seeing Andrea-- her smiles when Andrea teases aren't forced.

One morning, waking in Andrea's bed, Lena realizes-- she's herself again. The part of her that had ruptured from Kara's betrayal has been stitched back together. She feels reassembled, glued piece by piece under Andrea's open affection.

Rolling over, Lena gazes at her friend's sleeping face, and discovers that Andrea is, in fact, her friend. Again. Without Lena knowing, Andrea has slipped back into her life, into her heart.

Most surprising of all is that Lena is okay with that.

---

"Kara," Lena hears Andrea say from outside her office. "I don't remember assigning you the L-Corp piece."

Lena can hear Kara's sheepishness in the beat of silence that follows. "I traded with Todd, actually. He... wasn't feeling well."

"I'm sure."

Taking pity on both of them, Lena rises from her desk and collects her things to leave. It's late enough to take an early afternoon, and honestly Lena doesn't mind that Andrea seems to be of a similar opinion.

She opens her office door to find Andrea regarding her employee with a skeptical look, but her expression eases into a smile at the sight of Lena.

"Hey, babe," Andrea greets. The affection is second-nature by now, just as it feels natural for Lena to accept it, just as she had in boarding school. Andrea catches sight of Lena's purse and grins. "Playing hooky?"

Lena returns the smile. "Something like that." She loops her arm through Andrea's, propping her chin on a satined shoulder. "Wouldn't mind some company."

An unprompted kiss drops onto Lena's hairline. "My thoughts exactly."

Having ignored Kara for a sufficient amount of time, Lena straightens and regards the reporter with none of the warmth she'd shown Andrea.

"Can I help you?"

Her tone is cool and professional, but Kara winces like Lena had stabbed her. A flood of emotions flashes behind Kara's glasses, before she manages to recover enough to respond.

"I, uh... I wanted to..."

"I'm afraid I have other business to attend to today," Lena dismisses casually. She even offers a detached, though courteous smile. "Let Todd know he's welcome to make an appointment with my office as soon as he's feeling better."

Turning back to Andrea, Lena waggles their interlocked elbows. "You ready?"

"You jump, I jump."

Together, they stride to the elevator, leaving Kara behind with her cheeks burning and tears in her eyes. With Andrea warmth behind her, the flickers of anger that sparked at the sight of her former friend quickly subside once more.

And if Lena kisses the corner of Andrea's mouth in gratitude, the responding kiss is anything but.

[riyalizations]

One of the official Warner Channel accounts shared multiple stories mentioning Supercorp by name, asking about their best moments, and asking fans if they want them to be canon. These are just a few of their posts.

[vivihuhsblog]

I’m officially not watching more (2015) The CW’s Supergirl and will be living on spoilers and deductions of you all post’s, fanfiction is my new canon

[mycatismyeditor]

Zygoat, the E plot I wanted in Supergirl...

Small disclaimer before I go into this, I have not watched every episode of Supergirl. I’m still struggling to finish season two because of the writing and I’ve seen other episodes here and there. So grain of salt for all this in that regard.

That being said…

One of my favourite world building things in any kind of ongoing series is what I tend to think of as the E plot. You’ve got like the overall series mystery or villain plot which is like the A plot, then B plot is like the main character growth or romance, C plot is the secondary character growth thing, D plot is the inter relationship thing among side characters usually the other romance or friendship that’s growing, and then there’s the E plot…

That reoccurring bit of filler that mostly seems to be a dialogue link that has some kind of payoff later, like the swan in Hot Fuzz (or really anything in Edgar Wright movies). Those recurring characters like the cabbage man in Avatar the last Airbender. Or the mystery of how Gibbs gets the boat out of the basement in NCIS. They’re those little bits that make a world feel bigger and the characters lives more real.

Or you can just think of it as the extras or everyday or… entertaining? Look there’s a lot of E words that could apply here and I’m not a professional okay. Key is it’s stuff can be easily cut for time but is also usually really good for showing character interaction or personality and make great callback jokes in later seasons.

In Supergirl, speaking as a writer (debatable claim I know) but I felt like we were missing those E plots. We got a lot of filler but not much of it felt… like actual good E plot world building content type filler. Especially when it came to the DEO and Catco. I dare you to name three agents of the DEO (without looking them up or that aren’t in the main cast). I can name one, Vasquez. Wait two, there’s apparently a Pam in HR, and I know this because it’s the one bit of E plot level world building I remember on the show.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about there it’s from S02E14 the scene where Mon-el announces he and Kara are dating and Alex says they have to watch a video on harassment. I love that bit because that’s exactly the kind of thing you do have to fill out in a workplace even if it is a secret government organisation. It also showed character differences between four of our main cast, and because it immediately made me think of Archer.

Supergirl as a show just felt like a show that needed more E plot, fun callback or world building extras. That extra chaos that the characters could play against. There’s been a few bits here and there (mostly Supercorp scenes from what I've seen) but as a show it often felt like it was really missing… consideration with these things. We needed more time with the characters and seeing them interact instead of moving from plot point to plot point with no added anything. The episodes feel crowded with too much plot that never paid off and not enough… character room. We got plots with the characters shoved into it instead of the other way around a lot of the time. We needed game nights where they talked about the latest villains and references to other people who live and work with the team. That one agent whose desk that's always a mess, or that barista who never gets Nia's coffee order right but he’s cute so she never says anything, or even like the name of Lena’s head of security being mentioned after yet another attack on her life.

Personally I like when there’s lots of little things with connective payoff not just world building extras. Which is why I of course have one of my own because I am a self indulgent fanfic writer and what am I here for if not to find problems with canon and then share my solutions. So thank you if you read this far because it was mostly an introduction to…

Zygoat, the E plot I wanted in Supergirl

Kara arrived at the DEO and found Alex watching as several agents in full biohazard gear took stuff out of a fridge and dropped it into biohazard bags. Kara sniffed and immediately gagged.

“Oh God- what is that smell?” she asked covering her mouth.

Alex sighed.

“Whatever has been in the back of the fridge for ten years.”

Kara gave her a concerned look.

“Last month the biological research team didn’t fill out a request form for a replacement fridge in time. Then instead of coming and telling me when they ran out of space so I could put a rush on their request they decided to use the one in the staff cafeteria without telling anyone, and then they forgot to take it all out when they did get the replacement.”

Kara looked increasingly concerned.

“Today Agent Henderson knocked one of the containers over and an unidentifiable purple goo exploded out of it’s container covering the back of the fridge then started glowing. So of course now the entire fridge is considered contaminated, and we’re going to have to get it scrubbed for any kind of residue before it can be used for food again and apparently Dr Hawler is missing a goat embryo.”

“Why would she have a goat embryo in the lunch fridge?” Kara asked horrified.

“It’s in a little jar she puts it on top of her lunch so no one steals it.”

Kara gagged again.

“That’s disgusting.”

“Normally I would agree, but considering the things I’ve seen removed from this fridge in the last ten minutes, I’d prefer the embryo.”

Kara turned around to not be looking at the fridge.

“Okay so I just came about…”

- J’onn glared at the paperwork in front of him as Kara walked over to Alex.

“Why does J'onn look so… angry?” Kara asked.

“Do you remember that incident with the cafeteria fridge?”

“The purple goo explosion?”

“Yeah, so because we had to throw away everything we told everyone to just put in a reimbursement claim for the cost of their lunches and the DEO would just pay them all back. That turned out to be a mistake…”

Kara gave her sister a sympathetic look.

“Apparently Agent Newman had a quinoa salad and goat cheese gnocchi.”

“Newman?” Kara asked clearly disbelieving. “The guy who thinks lesbians are all vegans, women belong in the kitchen, and once ate a chicken leg out of the bin?”

Alex nodded.

“Yeah, he’s on his final warning by the way, so if you hear him say anything else like that please file a complaint so we can fire him. That’s paperwork I actually do want to fill out.”

Kara saluted to her sister.

“Anyway he’s claiming for forty eight dollars and seventy three cents because he supposedly got it from the vegan cafe on the corner that charges eight dollars for coffee.”

Kara whistled. Alex sifted through some papers.

“And Agent Drew reportedly had a steak for lunch. He wants fifty. I saw at least five ham and cheese sandwiches go into that bin and six tubs of yogurt but apparently only Ned from accounting is honest enough to admit it.”

Alex sighed and looked up.

“So, what did you…”

-

Mon-el moved quickly out of the way as an agent stormed past.

“What’s his-”

“Lunch thief,” Winn said. “Third time someone has apparently stolen his sandwich this week.”

Mon-el made a face and turned back to Winn.

-

J’onn stopped and looked down at something beside Winn’s desk.

“Agent Schott what is-”

“Lunch thief protection,” Winn said picking up what looked like a toolbox. “Turns out Agent Smith wasn’t lying. He apparently changed where he put his lunch and so mine got stolen instead. This is my protective measures. It requires a ten digit password and my fingerprint, ain’t nobody stealing my cake today.”

J’onn sighed.

“Well it’s also a trip hazard so put it in the staff room or your locker.”

Winn sighed and left with the box as J’onn turned to the others to continue the briefing.

-

Kara arrived in a rush and stopped seeing the serious look on Winn and Alex’s faces as they watched something on the screen.

“What are you two doing?” she asked.

“A matter of great importance,” Alex said her eyes still focused on the screen.

“Someone stole her lunch,” Winn said.

Alex punched him.

“Ow!” Winn yelled glaring at her.

“Seriously?” Kara asked laughing.

Alex glared at her.

“Maggie packed it for me. It was clearly labelled and I even put it right at the back so people wouldn’t be able to see it and now it’s missing. I want to know who was dumb enough to steal from me.”

“Okay,” Kara said slowly. “Well once you’re done with that very important mystery I have…”

-

Kara walked over to stand next to Winn and looking at Alex glaring at an agent.

“What’s happening?”

“Interrogations, the lunch thief is getting bolder. They took three lunches today.”

“Wow!”

“They also did it without getting caught on camera which is kinda impressive.”

Kara nodded as Alex walked over.

-

Kara approaching Winn as he’s talking with another agent.

“Sorry man. I’ve scanned it for a dozen possible ghost like things and it’s all clean.”

The agent sighed and looked at Kara.

“Has she looked?”

“Looked at what?” Kara asked.

Winn sighed.

“Agent Quinn thinks his locker is haunted.”

“Oh, by what?” Kara asked.

“Agent Newman’s anger poltergeist at being fired.”

Kara made a face.

“I swear there’s something in there. I can hear it but whenever I open it it’s gone,” Agent Quinn said sounding genuinely spooked.

“I’ll have her use her xray vision to check it for you before she leaves. Back to your post now agent,” Winn said getting up and gently pushing the agent away.

“Is he okay?” Kara asked looking after him.

Winn nodded.

“He’s new. I’ll just have him scheduled for a random psych eval. I think he might be struggling with all the alien stuff we handle.”

-

“Have you found the lunch thief yet?” Maggie asked holding out a pizza to Alex.

Alex made a frustrated noise.

“Whoever they are they’re somehow besting an entire intelligence agency. When we do find out who’s doing it I’m not sure if I should offer them a promotion or shoot them for causing so much trouble.”

Maggie laughed.

“I had a similar problem in a share house once. I laced cupcake frosting with laxatives and left them on the bench with a note saying do not eat.”

“Did it work?” Alex asked.

Maggie shrugged.

“Well I came home and all of my housemates were suffering the affects so I never found out the main culprit. But no one ever stole my food again.”

Alex smiled.

-

Kara stopped and lowered her glasses looking at the agents hosing out the fridge in the parking lot.

“What happened to the fridge?”

Alex sighed.

“I tried Maggie’s advice… It did not have the anticipated results. So now agents Adams and Brown are cleaning what seems to be very wet animal droppings out of the fridge. Dr Hawler wants to test it for evidence. I’m just starting to think that fridge is cursed. Maybe whatever it is spread to Agent Quinn’s locker.”

Kara gave her a concerned look.

“His shirt was destroyed from inside his locker. No evidence of anyone going near it.”

-

“What are you doing with… leaves?” Kara asked.

Winn looked at the small box stuffed with leaves.

“Oh we’re going to burn sage in the locker room to try and appease the ghost in Quinn’s locker. Wanna join?”

Kara shook her head.

“No thanks. As tempting as that sounds I’ve gotta finish an article for Snapper about…”

-

And then we get a mystery payoff filler episode!

..

Kara comes to the DEO to bring Alex dinner as she doesn’t trust the cursed fridge. Kara makes some comment about no job to big or too small for Supergirl then they hear a scream. They run towards it and see Agent Quinn on the floor of the cafeteria clutching his bloody face.

“Quinn what happened?” Kara asked rushing to the man’s side.

He starts babbling about a monster in the fridge. He just went to get out his salad and then it attacked him. A horrible vicious monster with fangs and flaming red eyes and evil horns. Alex gets out her gun as another two agents run in.

“An agent has been attacked. Lock the building down, no one in or out until we find whatever’s responsible.”

The agents run off. Kara and Lena look at each other and nod.

(Have some kind of main plot discussion as they search)

Then Kara says she can hear something around the corner. Alex nods and Kara flies around the corner diving on the ‘monster’. Alex comes around the corner gun raised and ready.

“Oh Alex, it’s awful,” Kara said turning around smiling and holding a baby goat.

“Goatzilla!” Kara said in mock horror.

Alex lowered her gun with a sigh.

“If that turns out to be Hawler’s missing goat embryo I’m going to have to start believing in the resurrection,” she said.

Kara smiled and hugged the goat.

“Poor baby. You’re not some evil monster are you. You’re just a scared little-”

There’s a loud noise and the goat vanishes in a rush of purple.

“Teleporting goat,” Kara finished.

Insert more Danvers sisters content or just have shenanigans of them trying to find where the goat vanishes to. Which turns out to be Agent Quinn’s locker.

Progress to them running tests on the fridge and locker with Winn. More inter character talk as they run tests on the fridge and Agent Quinn’s locker.

“I told you it was haunted!” Quinn said as another agent bandaged up his head.

Alex sighed.

“By a goat Agent Quinn, not a poltergeist,” she said exasperated.

Results come back and apparently there is some kind of pocket dimension between the locker and fridge that they can’t see or access, but the goat can teleport into at will.

“Is it possible there’s something else in that pocket dimension?” Alex asked.

Winn shrugged.

“No way to tell.”

“So something actually dangerous could just come crawling out of it at any time?” Alex asked.

Winn gave her a look.

“Like, potentially… But it’s unlikely.”

Alex does a long exasperated sigh.

Final scene of the episode has Kara carrying the goat into a containment cell now full of straw with the fridge and locker inside it. She carefully puts it down with a final pat and smile before leaving and closing the door. They all look at the baby goat happily exploring the new enclosure.

“So are we calling her Goatzilla?” Kara asked.

“No,” Alex said immediately.

“Zygoat?” Winn suggested.

Alex and Kara look at him surprised.

“What, you said she was probably Dr Hawler’s embryo. Zygoat totally works.”

Kara looked at Alex.

“Zygoat,” she said with a smile.

Alex sighed and looked back at the enclosure.

“Zygoat,” she agreed.

-

Later references:

S3:

Kara and Alex talking at the DEO but in the background there’s just two agents with a bale of hay. Then have Winn racing over and slip on the hay to be caught by Kara using superspeed. Then Alex is yelling at Agent Johnson to come sweep up the hay before someone gets injured. They have OHS procedures to follow.

-

“Supergirl!” Lena said in surprise. “Uh, why do you have pears?”

“Oh they’re for Zygoat. I like to bring her a treat sometimes.”

“Zygoat?”

“She’s a goat in the containment cells. There was a whole thing with a pocket dimension and- You know what nevermind. I was just coming to check about the…”

-

S4:

Colonel Haley looked at Alex.

“Could you explain to me why I have a prisoner care request for a goat from an Agent Quinn?”

Alex smiled.

“Zygoat,” she answered.

“Excuse me?”

“There was an issue with appropriate storage of alien objects that led to a goat that could teleport between what was at the time the staff fridge and one of the lockers via a pocket dimension. As we cannot determine how big the pocket dimension is, or what else might be in it, we have the goat, fridge, and locker in a containment cell. The goat was named Zygoat at the time and has become a bit of a mascot here. Some of the agents think she might be lonely so would like to adopt a second goat as her a friend.”

Colonel Haley was quiet for a long moment.

“That answers my second question,” she said looking back at her paperwork.

-

S5

Before Crisis:

“Where were you?” Alex hissed.

“I went to check on Zy and Scape,” Kara replied frowning. “What’s happened?”

(Yes the second goat is called Scapegoat, sue me)

After Crisis:

Kara stopped and looked at Alex.

“Did Zygoat make it?” she asked.

“What?” Alex asked confused. “Oh the immortal teleporting goat, yeah we celebrated her birthday last month with a special cake and everything.”

“Immortal?” Kara asked.

Alex looked at her then nodded.

“Yeah, Lex told us to shoot her when we found her to prevent her bringing anything else from the pocket dimension. The bullet went in, but did not come out, she didn’t even bleed. We think it went to the pocket dimension.”

Kara gave Alex a horrified look.

“I take we didn’t shoot Zygoat in the past.”

Kara quickly shook her head.

“No! We just made a containment cell into an enclosure and adopted a second goat as her friend. I used to bring them pears as a treat on Tuesdays!”

Alex nodded.

“We did all that too, just after the immortal thing was discovered and Lena stepped in to forbid anyone testing her immortality further on the grounds of animal cruelty.”

Kara kept walking.

“That man is…”

-

S06

“Hey William, have we shown you the goat yet?” Nia said carefully guiding William away.

“The goat?” he asked confused.

“Yeah, she can teleport. It’s really cool. We got her from a secret government facility. It's actually a really weird story.”

[wlwshipper]

(x)

Just watched it. He said it's not his place to discuss it and if the show runners or warner brothers wants to peel back the curtain they can. He also said for decisions made on a character that is based on preexisting IP any big decisions must be signed off at all levels, including suits and love interests (which includes Supercorp). The show runners, CW, DC, and WB, all would've had to agree for it to get approved.

If they knew this then they shouldn't have written Supercorp the way they did and paralleled them with other canon couples. They still chose to queerbait. They should have told us that they weren't allowed to make Supercorp canon the moment they found out. It's not like they didn't know we wanted it.

[lexa-kom-skaikru]

Honestly, it is very annoying and disappointing. Like, Talder is our latest loss (and win simulteneously it's weird), but with every non canon w/w ship and add the queerbait above that has got really annoying. Personally, every ship listed above ive loved wholeheartedly, but Hosie especially enraged and hurt me on another level. Like, god. Anyway, i dont wanna get all ranty on you. But it's annoying. That said, i love PG and A Leage of their own so much.

Hosie managed to be the most infuriating queerbait of all time and it had very steep competition, and somehow it won by a landslide.

What made Hosie so infuriating is that they, more than any other queerbaiting ship, threaded the line with actual canon the most. Say what you want about Swan Queen, Supercorp and co., but with those ships there was always a very distinct line of denial about the ships existence and the possibility of it occurring in the future. If not on camera, at the very least off camera.

I never, in a million years, thought my non canon ships would actually be canon because I just know how this shit works and we never win. But with Hosie? I had actual legit hope we would have canon hosie. Everything was working towards it. Not just the chemistry with the actresses, but the writing was not only subtext but actual freaking text, and with also talks with the actresses and show runners. Everything indicated that Hosie being canon was an actual possibility.

Until the last season happened.

[servicetopkaradanvers]

I'm not sure if this is exactly the right place to say this, but I don't know if there is. And you're a smart person and critical thinker who has talked about this before. If this is totally weird, you can just delete it ofc. I've never properly watched Supergirl but I started reading fanfic around the time my mental health got real bad so it was a comfort thing I didn't bring too much thought to. I really identify with Lena and in the past, part of me has understood her actions-

and I know that they're wrong. The anti-alien rhetoric is obviously an allegory for racism or homophobia. She's violated people's basic human rights. And I'm scared that I'm a bad person because sometimes, I kind of get it. Which is insane because i'm a lesbian enby of color, i mean i get targeted by most of the -ist/ism actions. And I'm also too tired to think about things critically all the time. Supercorp was my comfort fic, content thing-

I knew it was problematic (the whole James thing makes me sick to my stomach, scared and sad) but I didn't know that Lena as a character was written that way. The metaphors never really clicked in my head because I never thought about it, but now I feel absolutely horrible about myself because I like and identify with Lena. I'm not really sure how to move on from here- I'm just tired. I wish there could be just one thing, one piece of media that wasn't prejudiced (granted sg is not the place to go if you want decent rep and the like) and all of those things I said earlier. Its just me somehow trying to justify how I felt and empathized with something I shouldn't have. So yeah, sorry that was really long. I hope you have a lovely day- sorry for the spam

FIRST of all, you’re fine, babe! Both in sending me this and in enjoying The Bad Media. That’s my thesis here: You’re fine. With this in mind, let’s unpack this big ol suitcase:

We’re living in a fandom moment where more than ever before, we’re thinking about the ideas we consume in fiction and how they may or may not affect us. This is a net positive! Fiction is not reality, but it undeniably impacts it, so for this and many other reasons, we should always think critically about what resonates with us and why. Does this mean dissecting every facet of something to find all the ways it might fall in line with oppressive power structures? Absolutely not.

You, as an individual, do not owe anyone an explanation for why you enjoy anything. Period. How you relate to a given character or why you like them is nobody's business but your own.

Supergirl, as a piece of media, is singularly awful in its lackluster lipservice to progressivism while simultaneously refusing to deliver any progressive themes. Socially and politically, it is a useless liberal wet dream. Kara is an immigrant from a dead culture working as the muscle for a secret FBI offshoot with zero accountability for all of the other aliens in diaspora she has rounded up and dumped into a cell without trial. Alex is allegedly a lesbian, but the key points of her endgame relationship are constantly deemed not important enough to get screen time, which is made even more absurd when examined from the angle that this series is marketed directly toward LGBT people. An embarrassing percentage of villains on this show are women of color, which is particularly loud when there are only 2 women in the main cast who aren't white. And "main" is extremely generous, given that Kelly is just there to Give Advice Good and everything M'gann says and does is as dry as toast.

My point here is that the whole show is rotted to its roots, and whatever quietly libertarian or even fascism-enabling bullshit they push onto Lena in a given week is par for the crusty, shitty course. Kara deciding that she's ok with the alien detection device because "there are bad aliens" is a lovely (read: awful) microcosm of why this show sucks so fucking hard. "People are entitled to their opinions" is for debates on whether pineapple goes on pizza, not for whether we should casually out, endanger, and disenfranchise our [insert minority metaphor here] because some of them are mean.

But what I would love for this fandom to wrap its head around, and what I hope you understand, anon, is that just because it happens on the show, doesn't mean we have to give a rat's ass about it. What the hell is The Canon, anyway? Especially in the case for Supergirl, which can't even get its own continuity right. Especially for an IP that has been rebooted dozens of times before and will be rebooted again in the future. We can just decide that Lena realized the horrible injustices she enabled through her position of power. We can even decide that they just didn't happen at all! This is all fake. It's not set in stone. Who came up with it, anyway? A network with a list of buzzwords they want included and a couple of D-tier showrunners cranking down caffeine to meet an absurdly tight deadline. It's not special. I can guarantee that you care about it infinitely more than they do, and you haven't even watched the damn show.

On a more personal level, people who are hurt, depressed, or traumatized have always and will always look for themselves in fiction. Myself included! And despite what lofty platitudes there may be on the matter, suffering does not make us kind. It does not make us better. Sometimes it's just suffering. Often it pulls us further from who we are meant to be. Often it just makes us "worse."

Trauma has made Lena emotionally brittle. A lifetime of manipulation and abuse has taught her to compartmentalize herself and lock her feelings behind a maze of doors. When she does let love in, she accepts it so wild and vulnerable that she can't see the red flags behind the rosy lenses. She latches so hard onto people she deems virtuous that she holds them to a standard none could fulfill. Her pain has to go somewhere, so it oozes out of her, into Non Nocere, into the post-reveal rift. She's a powder keg, and Kara spent 4 years shoveling more gunpowder onto the pile while holding the match between her teeth.

And despite these fatal flaws that make perfect sense through the eyes of Lena's trauma, she is so full of love. Like Kara, her suffering did not make her kind. She is kind in spite of her suffering. These are the characters we are drawn to when we're hurting. Lena’s trauma is an inextricable part of her, but it is not all of her, and neither are her mistakes.

There truly is not and never will be a piece of media that is absolutely innocent of the harmful structures thrust upon us by society, because we ourselves also participate in that society whether we are critical of it or not, whether we strive to change it or not. I'm flawed. You're flawed. Bettering ourselves is not a journey toward an ultimate destination of perfection. It is a garden we nurture in an endless labor of love because the joy that comes from seeing it flourish and change vastly outweighs the work we put into it and the weeds popping up around its unkempt edges. This is a lesson Lena herself could probably stand to internalize. Probably with lots and lots of therapy. Lots. And lots.

So, to circle back to the start of this? You're fine. You recognized the logic in a traumatized character's mistakes because our own gravest errors more often than not stem from the ways we have been harmed in the past. It's what makes Lena (or, at the very least, the many adaptations of Lena that exist in this fandom) a good character. She is, to her core, characterized proof that a crumbling foundation and poisonous soil do not define us. Which is why watching her heal and grow and learn a healthier kind of love is so, so wonderful.

In closing, I think it's worth mentioning that being critical of media does not mean that we stop enjoying the parts of it we like. There is a lot of gold to be pulled from the steaming pile of shit that is CW Supergirl, and that's why we're all here in the first place. So I really hope you can continue to enjoy it in whatever way makes you smile <3

[ao3feed-supercorp]

Kara & Will's First Date

by lena-in-a-red-dress (CSIGurlie07)

When Kara finally agrees to go out with William Dey, someone interrupts their date.

Words: 1363, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Supergirl (TV 2015)

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor, William Dey

Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor

Additional Tags: canon levels of supercorp - Freeform, NOT a kara/will fic, just a thought experiment of something i wouldn't have minded seeing for will

from AO3 works tagged 'Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor' https://ift.tt/khCmGfK via IFTTT https://ift.tt/khCmGfK

[shesquaredpodcast]

Your analysis about Gregorio and Tally makes it more understandable. However, it's still hard to swallow. That such a queer friendly show from all levels from creator to cast couldn't or wouldn't make Talder explicit is baffling and disappointing. She could have just ended up single instead of being forced with this guy who shows up for 2 eps! Talder is definitely canon but frankly too many viewers are too willfully ignorant or not smart enough to see subtext. They only count kissing (1/2)

I understand your frustration, Anon. Trust me. I’ve dealt with queerbaiting for decades and it hurts Every. Single. Time. I do not know legitimately why Gregorio was brought into this except maybe that was the plan for the end of the series after 7 years and they couldn’t let it go for whatever reason? They truly did write Talder as canon and showed it all season, so to shoehorn him in feels rushed and like gay panic. I get that.

That being said, I don’t believe Sarah is going to stay around - I think she will finally rest, and if that is the case Tally has to be able to move on. Now, do I think it would have been better served narratively for her to be single? Yes. This incessant need to have people couple up is baffling and frankly a disservice to storylines and characters. However, given the rushed nature of the episode as a whole, it feels like they simply ran out of time.

As for people invalidating the ship - they can only do so if we allow that. Talder may not have had sex, they may not have kissed canonically (yet!) but that love and devotion and intimacy is 100% there and shown. I am baffled by people not taking that as the massive love story of the series because it is. I understand that people see canon as sex/kissing, but perhaps society or fandom as a whole need to expand our understanding of intimacy and love between characters.

For me, yes, Tally had sex with Gregorio and kissed him, but love? No, not a chance. However, with Sarah? 100%. That connection, that intimacy, that want; that desire - it’s there. It’s always there. Gregorio is a fling at the end of the world - Sarah is the soul connected to Tally’s as she walks through it.

Supercorp was straight up queerbaiting and it was blatant. It was disgusting and insulting what the CW did and they are notorious for it. Talder, however, is canon and I’ll do a TEDtalk on it if necessary.

I understand the frustration of loving both ships and feeling like it’s a repeat of Supercorp, but it isn’t. BUT, I get where you’re coming from. Your frustration is valid and you have every right to feel that way - don’t hear me say differently.

But Talder? Talder is canon whether people want to say so or not. They’ve always invalidated our ships, they’ve always called us delusional and benefitted from our views and money. But those characters and that love is real and it belongs to us, the fans. People are always going to throw stones. We just need to be there for each other and use them to build Talder a beautiful house to live in. This is the importance and healing nature of fandom and fanfiction/fanart.

We’re actually going to go into this very thing in depth in the next podcast so hopefully that’ll help provide more insight.

Until then, Anon - know that we here at She Squared are here to listen to venting, anger, fears, laughter, theories, stories, and any and everything else. We’ve got each other’s backs because we are stronger together. (Hugs)

- N Lance

[autumngravity]

Everything about Supergirl is great and had the biggest potential. Except if it weren't for the fucking writers. You literally got handed a show with an amazing cast with chemistry to die for(hell it can be argued that casting only got better when the CW picked up Supergirl) and great characters; all you had to was keep your story, characterization, and continuity in order. How the hell do you fuck up on so many levels. It is literally the finale, the one place you can go hog wild and do anything. We're never gonna see any of these characters again except for maybe cameos and off screen mentions from the other CW superhero shows. Hell you couldn't even for one minute do the 1 thing half of your audience wants. Even if they had made Supercorp canon at the end it still wouldn't have made up for all the tomfuckery they have done since season 2. The whole show is literally the definition of 1 step forward 2 steps back.

At least the writers can't hurt us anymore and we can fully immerse ourselves in fanon and fanfiction.

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Hola Max!! Prompt: post season 4 after killing lex and finding about the super secret (or maybe even post season 5 after defeating leviathan) lena leaves national city for a sabbathical, leaving Lcorp to a temporary CEO (or smth, idk how it works). She just needs time away from everyone in this godforsaken city and she runs into Li in London or wherever she ends up. They reconnect and lena remembers what it was like to be in a happy, stable r/s (RIP jack). Endgame lena/li please, thank youu!!

Okay, so, my last installment with Li (here) actually happened circa the reveal, so I'm dovetailing this prompt with the existing 'verse:

When Li invites her to a stay in London, Lena can’t find a single reason to say no. When Li’s time in National City draws to a close, Lena packs a bag and boards a plane not her own. It’s strange, in a way, to not be responsible for the comfort and luxury around her, but… it’s nice, also. This time, someone else is wining and dining her, and Lena is happy to let Li do it. It’s the language she was raised in, if not born to. 

Li’s penthouse in London puts Lena’s accommodations in National City to shame. Sure, the luxury may be neck-and-neck, but Li’s identity pervades the space, from the colors of the fixtures to the textures of the wall hangings. Her culture is reflected in perfect balance with Western influence, just as Li always said her family has been. Even her university degrees hang on the wall of her home office, whereas Lena’s had been packed away for the move and never saw the light of day again.

Lena pauses in front of Li’s diploma from MIT– tucked into a corner of the frame is a photo of the two of them, smiling.

“I remember the day you took that,” Li says softly in her ear, pressing against Lena’s back. Lena leans into her as arms wrap around her waist. 

“You’d just gotten your acceptance to Oxford.”

Li hums. “I cried that night.”

Lena closes her eyes. The truth is, she’d done the same. After the giddy smiles and excitement of their unfolding futures had worn off, the reality of their time coming to an end had left Lena in tears.

“It was the right choice,” Lena assures her.

Li’s lips brush Lena’s neck as she nods. “It eventually led me right back to you.”

Lena allows herself a smile. Despite the pain of growing apart, they’d always known they were on different paths. Li was skyrocketing to the top of her family’s company, and Lena had been on the fast track to R&D at LuthorCorp. It had been so simple then, so easy despite their inevitable expiration date.

Perhaps that’s what’s saved them.

To this date, Li has been the only person who hasn’t promised Lena anything. So there had never been anything for her to rip away. For them, it had always been loving for the moment, for as many moments as they could string together. She wonders, now, if it’ll be the same this time around. She wonders if she wants it to be.

“Hey,” Li says, her voice soft as she turns Lena around to face her. Dark brown eyes search Lena’s in concern. “Where did you go just now?”

Lena blinks, shaking herself out of it with an effacing smile. “It doesn’t matter,” she promises. Then she leans in to press her lips against Li’s. “Just lead me back home.”

Li smiles against her lips. “Gladly.”

—

Two months later find Lena still in London. It’s easy enough to stay, with European subsidiaries clamoring for a visit and a capable CFO taking the reins across the ocean. Somehow, in the string of moments they’ve managed to steal, being with Li has filed down the edges of Lena’s grief of losing Kara Danvers.

Until, that is, a shadowy figure alights on the balcony beyond the open french doors of the bedroom. It’s a relatively comfortable evening, and the cool air feels good against Lena’s sweat slicked skin. When she doesn’t immediately react to Supergirl’s appearance, a whisper issues through the darkness.

“I know you’re awake.”

Weighing her options, Lena lands on the cattiest of them all. She peels back the sheet and rises fully nude from the bed, carefully ensuring Li remains covered before wrapping herself in a borrowed silk robe. As she expects, Supergirl’s eyes are diverted elsewhere when Lena treads out onto the terrace, but her reddened cheeks betray her: she’s seen more than she’d bargained for.

“I don’t think I need to tell you how wildly inappropriate this is,” Lena comments drily by way of greeting. Only then does Kara risk a glance, and finally turn to face her.

“No, you don’t.” Supergirl stares at her, awkward and unsure. “What are you doing here, Lena?”

“Getting some perspective,” Lena replies. It’s true enough. Her time with Li may have dulled the ache of betrayal, but hasn’t erased it. Already, she can feel her anger starting to flare.

“It’s been two months–”

“I didn’t think distance had a time limit.”

Kara flinches. “No, of– of course it doesn’t. It’s just… I miss you.”

Lena meets her gaze and holds it. “I don’t.”

Supergirl’s stoic features crumble. “Lena–”

“Don’t you get it? You hurt me. Looking at you hurts.” 

Lena only lets the truth of her weakness pass her lips because she knows it will hurt Kara too. And it does. She can see it hit, striking as efficiently as a knife to the heart. With a quiet breath, Lena drives the blade home.

“I’m here for a fresh start, Supergirl. Let me have one.”

The features across from her open wide, fully exposing the wound Lena’s inflicted. Even in the shadows of night Lena can see the tears gather in blue eyes, the jaw that falls open just as it had that first day in her office.

She expects to feel vindication, or at least satisfaction at seeing her hurt reciprocated. She doesn’t.

All she feels is her own pain, now amplified.

Turning on her heel, Lena heads back towards the bedroom. “I don’t know how you found me here, but I suggest you lose this location. I don’t want to see you again.”

“Lena, please–”

Supergirl’s strained plea is silenced by the click of the terrace doors closing behind her. Letting her robe flutter to the floor, Lena slides back beneath the covers.

When she glances at the balcony again, Supergirl is gone.

A soft sigh issues from behind her as Li turns over, looping her arm over Lena’s naked waist. “Everything okay?”

Lena releases a shuddering breath. She laces her fingers between Li’s, pressing her lover’s palm closer against her skin. It grounds her, steadies her enough to respond without breaking into tears.

“No.”

Even as she says it, the discomfort of the confrontation ebbs, leaving her sore but looking ahead. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to take a page from Supergirl’s playbook. Lena smiles when warm lips press against her shoulder.

Maybe, it was time to have hope.

“But they will be.”

//prompts are closed