arckee-dreams

Latest Posts by arckee-dreams

insp.

It’s in my DNA. So please, just stop believing in me, okay? I am not worth it.

Recon is starting

#pascalcampion

I’m curious about something, if you write, reblog this post and put in the tags what you write with (MS Word, Google Docs, etc)

I bought Spiritfarer last weekend and sent Gwen off… super incredible and beautiful game if you haven’t bought it you need to

Long-eared Owl - Bufo-pequeno (Asio otus)

Vila Franca de Xira/Portugal (25/11/2021)

[Nikon D500; AF-S Nikkor 500mm F5,6E PF ED VR; 1/400s; F5,6; 640 ISO]

Last full moon of the year, in Þingvellir by Ann Silvestre.

but so elphaba 

patreon || twitter || instagram || ko-fi

Had a bit of luck wandering through the lupine fields in New Zealand when this rainbow appeared over Lake Pukaki’s blue waters [OC][1800x2700] @bloveimages - Author: snetljivff on reddit

Hello 🙂 for the one hundred ways to say I love you I’ll ask you number 99! Thank you!

100 Ways to Say I Love you - "Be Careful" (Supercorp)

Maybe one of my shortest ficlets. A little Post-Phantom Zone reunion with a touch of angst.

Lena’s voice had been noticeably absent from the chorus of goodbyes from everyone gathered at the Watchtower as Kara prepared to head out on patrol. Something that she had tried not to notice, tried not to allow her mind to spin into some hurtful bit of fiction but as she prepared to head out on patrol she could feel herself doing just that. It didn’t surprise her... Not only did Kara have a way with words but she had months of incredibly painful memories to draw from back when she and Lena had been estranged, a deep well to draw fetid water from.. . Despite the careful progress the two had made since her return from the Phantom Zone, maybe they weren’t as okay as she thought they were… “Kara…” Lena’s voice floated to her from down the hall from the direction she had just come. There was the measured staccato click of her heels as she approached and when Lena drew closer the unmistakable beating of her heart, the tempo increasing ever so slightly when their eyes met... “Lena… Is something wrong?” Lena smiled shyly and shook her head., eyes trained momentarily on the ground before she looked up again and Kara was almost overcome with just how green Lena’s eyes truly were. The verdant green of some unending grassy meadow or the glittering ethereal beauty of delicately cut emeralds. “Nothing’s wrong,” Lena assured her. “I just…” She exhaled slowly and Kara took a step closer, concerned. “Promise me something?” she asked and before Kara could agree to Lena’s terms, she spoke again. “Be careful… Promise me that you’ll be careful, Kara.” Kara might have told her that she was just going out on patrol, that she had a better chance of being hounded for a picture than happening across an actual crime in progress but she saw the poorly masked fear on Lena’s face, the slight tremble in her hands and couldn’t get the words out. “I just got you back,” Lena whispered, throwing back the curtain on the root of her fear. “And I can’t…” She clamped her mouth shut and shook her head, dropping her gaze again as her shoulders started to hitch. “I can’t…” She trailed off again and shook her head, unable to get the words out but she didn’t need to. Kara already knew what she wanted to say. “I can’t lose you, Lena,” Kara said and took Lena gently by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug that Lena melted into, arms wrapping tightly around Kara’s back, her head coming to rest against her shoulder. “I promise that I’ll be careful,” Kara whispered, pressing her lips to Lena’s temple, still holding onto her tight, tight. “And you’re here now,” she whispered and felt her eyes mist over. There were no more secrets between them, no more lies, and now all that remained was the simple fact that they were two people who loved one another very much. “Right here with me,” Kara whispered. “Right where I always wanted you to be.” Lena nodded earnestly against Kara's shoulder and nuzzled closer, tears sliding down her cheeks that Kara did her best to brush away as gently as she could. She tilted her head slightly to the side and Kara felt Lena's hands glide down her sides sending a rush of blood to her head that made her feel the slightest bit dizzy. Her hands settled securely around Kara's waist and she lifted her head up from Kara's shoulder, eyes sparkling. "I'll be here," Lena said and pointed back towards the room in the Watchtower they had both just vacated. "And here." She pointed to Kara's ear. "And here," she whispered and pressed her hand over Kara's heart. She rose up half an inch onto the tips of her toes, lips brushing dangerously close against Kara's ear that got her heart racing. "Go get 'em, Supergirl."

A smile as bright as the rising sun lit up Kara's face and while she would have liked nothing more than to scoop Lena up into her arms and fly somewhere private... somewhere romantic, she knew that there would be time for that later, tonight maybe if all was quiet. "Dinner later? If you don't mind waiting," Kara said, giving Lena an out. "As long as you let me pay," Lena said and while her eyes were still damp, she looked like she was more than ready to dig her heels in if needed. "Deal," Kara said, rising a couple of inches off the ground, feeling so deliriously happy that she might have been able to fly on just that feeling alone and flew backwards, not wanting to take her eyes off of Lena, nearly flying into a water cooler before she finally turned around and put on a burst of speed, flying out and over the city. She couldn't remember the view ever looking so magnificent. "You both left your comms on," Alex said her voice filtering in through her suit's comms. "Next time maybe switch to a private channel," she suggested, her voice brimming with poorly restrained glee.

Tea Time Blushes

Tea with her appointed knight had become a weekly occurrence. Since Zelda realised she had created a version of Link in her head that was far from the reality, she had made an effort to get to know Link. Through these efforts she had found reality much more interesting than she had anticipated.

“I heard some ladies fawning over you again today. They said you were the most handsome young man among court this season,” Zelda said.

She casually refrained from mentioning their belief of the waste of company she was for him. Instead, she joked about how those ladies would be appalled by his complete lack of manners when it came to food.

“At least I enjoy my meals. And the company I share them with.” Link barely looked up from cutting himself a second helping of cake as he spoke.

Zelda watched as he devoured his second piece of cake. Each slice had been a generous portion, making her own slice look modest. Surely those ladies would be scandalized at how openly gluttonous Link could be. She wondered then if previous heroes loved cake as much as her Link. Her Link? Since when had he become hers?

They were friends, and barely that, more so thanks to Link’s patience than anything. She would not dare to break their tentative friendship solely because of how her stomach flipped at his blue eyes meeting her own. A silly girlish fantasy of a noblewoman and her devoted knight, something Zelda overheard court ladies swooning over more than once. And something she herself had daydreamed increasingly about. She felt a light flush at the thought of her recent imaginings when she was supposed be in prayer.

Nothing kept the cold water from chilling you like fantasies about your appointed knight pulling you into his arms.

“You have a cute blush, Your Highness,” Link said. His quiet voice startled her away from her thoughts.

“I have a… cute…blush?” Zelda asked, taking her time to wrap her mind around what Link had just said.

Link nodded, “Yes, much better than those court ladies.”

His eyes were focused on her face now, cake forgotten.

“Maybe they would blush better if you spoke to them like that,” Zelda said, eyes shifting but always returning to his. Her stomach clenched at the idea of Link complimenting some twittering noblewoman who only saw him as the perfect hero.

“If I spoke to them like this it would be a lie,” his voice was as quiet and steady as always, though Zelda thought she could hear something else in his tone.

“They would not know the difference. So many noblemen pay false compliments it is a wonder they believe them,” Zelda knew she had received her share of duplicitous compliments due to her rank as Crown Princess.

“I prefer to say what is true, I’m sure you can value that as a scientist. I also prefer to tell those I’m interested in such things directly,” Link said, continuing to look at her with a fond expression.

Zelda could feel her blush deepen between Link’s words and gaze. While most would not have considered what he had said indicative of anything more than playful flirtation, coming from her mostly mute knight it was practically a confession of love.

Link smiled at her reaction, finally turning his attention back to his cake. She sat stunned, trying to wrap her mind around the words. While Zelda had seen enough to know Link was not like this around others, she also did not begin to get to know Link until recently. Was it possible that he was a flirt where he came from? There could be no other reason. Outside of genuine affection for her.

He had called her a scientist, something she tried to be in her efforts to understand Sheikah technology. Zelda decided to live up to the title and conduct an experiment of her own in order to determine how her appointed knight felt about.

“I do appreciate objective facts, though yours have thus far been more subjective,” she said carefully, making sure to watch his face. “I would want a suitor to comment on more than appearances that change daily.”

Link swallowed the last of his cake, crumbs clinging to the corner of his mouth. His face had shifted to be as impassive as always, though his ears flushed pink. Noting the reaction, Zelda decided to see if she could elicit a stronger reaction.

“With you, for example, I could compliment your skill with a sword and dedication to your duties. But I would say it is your patience, perseverance, and kindness I admire most.”

She could feel her heart thudding from the partial confession. Link’s face had not change, though he had gone still. The light blush had deepened, spreading from his ears to his face. It seemed he had turned to blushing stone at her words. One last effort then, and if he gave no sign of affection beyond friendship, she would ignore her budding feelings.

“It seems you have part of your cake on your face,” Zelda stood, closing the small distance between them, and raised her hand to Link’s unmoving face, “I would think crumbs goes against the dress code of the Royal Guard.”

Link still remained unmoving, if possible going even stiller at her touch as she wiped away the crumbs. It looked to Zelda as of he was not breathing. Clearly, she had crossed a line and misread what must have been nothing more than a compliment. Zelda pulled her hand away from his face, took a step back.

“I’m sorry, forget I said any-”

Zelda knew Link could move almost inhumanly fast. She had witnessed it firsthand after he had saved her from a Yiga attack in the Gerudo desert. Though the occasions that warranted such speed usually involved fighting monsters or assassins. Instead of brute force or aggression, Zelda was pulled gently towards a now standing Link. One hand held her steadily to him at the small of her back while the other moved up her arm, coming to cup her face.

His lips hovered over hers, his breath sending shivers through her body. They stood like that for a heartbeat in perfect stillness before Zelda closed the gap between them. The kiss was chaste. Just a clumsy press of lips that sent a jolt through her body. Zelda began to pull away, when Link’s grip tightened, and he deepened the kiss.

Zelda’s observant mind noted that Link tasted of the cake they had eaten and warm honey before the slip of his tongue pushed any other thought from her mind. A muffled noise escaped her as he pulled her closer, and she moved her hands into hair. She could feel her lungs begin to burn they finally pulled away from each other. Breathing heavily, Zelda moved her hands to his shoulders as Link held her waist. She would have happily continued kissing her appointed knight until she saw stars behind her eyes but was content to be this close.

“Is that an objective enough display, Zelda,” Link said, addressing her with no title for the first time. Her name sounded better than she had imagined in his quiet voice.

“I would say so, though continued observation is needed to be sure.”

“I’m sure we can arrange for that,” Link said as he sat down again, pulling her onto his lap with him.

Zelda cupped Link’s face with one hand, the other slipped into his soft hair. She could see the blush from earlier still stained his cheeks a light pink and knew her own face was similar.

Leaning her forehead against his, Zelda said with a smile “you also have a cute blush.”

Link’s response was to kiss her again. The rest of their tea was abandoned for the afternoon, the two thoroughly enjoying the few moments they had alone. Taking tea with her appointed knight became a daily occurrence after that, with Zelda resolved best to uncover what else made Link blush as deeply as the first time.

Eye of Iceland - Fagradalsfjall Eruption, Iceland - Sep 11 [OC] [3500 × 2332] - Author: grisigt on reddit

Feeling stuck on my main fic, so decided to jump in on Supercorptober prompts (Day 15 — Coffee) despite having skipped the entire first half of the month. Just a little bit of college AU fluff. Up now on AO3, if you’d rather read it there. Hope you like it!

*********

“Coffee?”

“What? Oh, hi!”

Lena looked up from her theoretical physics assignment and smiled at the girl standing a few feet away. She was holding two coffees awkwardly at her sides, nervously shifting her weight from one foot to the other, but her sky blue eyes were fixed hopefully on Lena’s. Lena raised her hand up to shield her forehead, careful of the pencil still gripped tightly between her fingers, and squinted. It was unmistakably the same girl who had slammed into her three days ago in the middle of the quad, spilling both of their half-full coffees all over her favorite graphic tee and pristine white sneakers.

“Kara, right?”

The girl’s cautious smile widened so much it made her eyes crinkle. “Yeah! That’s right!” She nodded and Lena was about to reintroduce herself, but the girl continued. “Lena.”

Lena felt her heart pound an extra beat, hard against her ribs.

That was odd.

But the way her name sounded breathed out by those smiling pink lips — as though that wasn’t the first time they’d ever said them, as though maybe they’d spent the last few days rolling them around her mouth like a favorite candy — made her stomach do funny little flips. She let her tongue try its own new flavor again, “Kara,” and it sent a shiver down her spine and flush to her cheeks.

If Kara noticed, she was kind enough not to mention it. She just kept staring and smiled even wider. Smiled like some girl remembering her name three days after spilling coffee all over each other was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

They stayed like that for a few more seconds, already long enough to be embarrassing if anyone happened to be watching, before Lena’s smile crooked a bit and she lifted one perfect eyebrow in question.

“Oh, right, sorry! Um, I just, I saw you here on my way to the cafe…” Kara swung her arm over her shoulder, motioning toward the campus’s only source of decent fresh-brewed coffee, and the movement caused a few drops to escape the white travel lid and land hot on the girl’s wrist. “Oh shoot.” She mumbled, and Lena watched as a dark pink tongue licked across tanned skin before soft lips closed quickly around it. Lena thought she heard Kara mumble “hopeless” to herself, but she couldn’t be sure over the deafening sound of her own rushing blood pounding in her ears.

Well, shit.

A distracting crush on a straight girl was the last thing Lena needed right now. She should probably pretend to be busy [‘you are busy’ her useless queer brain supplied] and nip this in the bud. She opened her mouth for a friendly but firm brush-off, but Kara was already talking again.

“Anyway, um, you didn’t let me buy you a fresh coffee the other day, so I thought maybe I could make it up to you now. May I?” Kara motioned toward the empty half of the park bench on which Lena was now sitting completely frozen. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, trying to will dismissive words to come out.

They refused.

But the silence seemed to be doing the trick anyway. Kara’s smile faltered and her voice sounded higher and a little strained as she forced understanding words through a now-plastic looking grin. “Or, you’re probably busy. Sorry, that was stupid, I shouldn’t have interrupted you, you’re obviously working. I’ll let you—“

“Kara, wait. Please. I’ve been staring at this book for so long the words are swimming on the pages. I could use a little break.” It was a blatant lie. She’d barely made it through half of her assignment and would never finish before class if she didn’t get back to it immediately. But Kara’s smile had broken free of its plastic casing again and Lena could’ve sworn her eyes actually sparkled. She had never cared less about theoretical physics.

“Cool! Great. Nice. Thanks! Um… here.” Kara finally settled on the bench, messenger bag half-trapped under her leg. She was trying to blow a flyaway lock of hair out from between her face and her glasses, holding both arms awkwardly in front of her to keep from spilling either coffee again.

“Oh, thanks.” Lena helpfully took the offered cup then hesitated, not wanting to be rude, but… “I’m happy for the friendly distraction, but I’ll pass on the coffee. I only drink half-caf after 3pm or I’m up all night.”

Kara finally freed her messenger bag and wrangled her (gorgeous) unruly hair out of her eyes. Pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, she grinned as she reached out to twist the cup in Lena’s hands. Lena looked down at the hastily scribbled “1/2 caf” and then back up at Kara with surprise and an unspoken question in her eyes.

Kara blushed a bit, but just shrugged her shoulders. “I maybe might have noticed you in the cafe before. It’s not like it’s a hard order to remember: black in the morning, half-caf black in the afternoon. Which, also, now that we’re on the subject: Gross. How can you drink that?!”

Lena scoffed in mock outrage. “If I’m drinking coffee, I’m going to drink coffee. You’re the one who should explain herself, 3 milks and 10 sugars? What kind of monster?”

Kara’s eyes widened and Lena’s face went scarlet.

“Oh, really?” It could’ve been in defense of her “coffee” preferences, but it was quite obviously more about Lena’s accidental confession.

Lena tried to keep her eyes appropriately, embarrassingly, focused on the ground. “I maybe might have noticed you before, too.” But she couldn’t help glance up sideways through her lashes to check for Kara’s reaction.

“Well, that’s encouraging.” Kara had one smug eyebrow lifted, but she failed to hold onto her attempted smirk. Her face seemed determined to break into the widest most uninhibited smile Lena had ever seen directed her way.

“Oh?” Now Lena was trying to be coy, but Kara’s was the kind of smile that tugged yours right along with it. Before she could stop herself, Lena’s cheeks were spread around double dimples and she giggled as she scrunched up her nose and shook her head a little at the strange, beautiful girl still beaming at her with unrestrained hope. [Maybe not so straight after all?]

“Want to grab coffee with me some time?” [Definitely not so straight after all.]

Lena laughed. “Aren’t we having coffee now?”

“Oh, so this is a date! Excellent.” Kara winked. “I kinda thought so, too.” She paused while Lena laughed again, still shaking her head and nervously playing with the lid to her drink. “And since the first date is going so swimmingly, I hope it’s not too forward to ask if I could maybe take you on a second date sometime soon?”

Lena stared at those earnest blue eyes and genuine smile. The last shake of her head was directed at no one but herself as she broke every rule she had carefully put in place to avoid the dangers of letting anyone close. She turned away from Kara and rifled in her backpack, quickly unlocking her phone and handing it over before she could change her mind.

“Go ahead, put your number in.”

Kara very nearly spilled her coffee again as she scrambled to set it down and take Lena’s phone from her hands. She quickly entered her info and passed it back to Lena, her hand slowing at the last minute as a brief shadow of doubt crossed her face. Before Kara could finish her sentence (“Is it okay if I get yours— too— oh, nice!”) Lena had tapped the little phone icon and smirked as Kara whipped around to the sound of her own ringer going off.

Kara turned back around. “Best first date ever.”

Lena laughed, “I can’t help but feel that was a pretty low bar then.”

“Nope.”

Lena’s cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling. Not a very Luthor problem, to say the least. Another thing she couldn’t care less about at the moment.

“I do actually have to finish a couple of sketches before my evening class though, do you mind if I…”

“Oh, no, of course! I, um, I should actually finish this physics reading, too.”

Kara smiled and reached into her bag for a sketch pad, two pencils, and a putty eraser. She brought her legs up to criss-cross on the bench and smiled one more time at Lena before diving right in on a blank page, tongue poking endearingly between her teeth. Lena settled back into her reading and was soon lost in her own work.

The silence that followed had absolutely no right to be as comfortable and productive as it was. Lena was nearing her last paragraph when her phone alarm cut through the ambient chirping of birds, murmuring of students, and crunching of autumn leaves under passing footsteps along the park paths.

Kara jerked her head up at the sound and clutched her sketchbook against her chest as Lena silenced her phone and started packing up.

“Sorry, I forgot I had that set. Good thing though, I guess, I was really off in my own world there.”

For some reason she couldn’t bring herself to meet Kara’s gaze. She kept rearranging things in her bag, trying counterproductively to both stretch and avoid the moment. “Um, I have to get to class though… I’ll, uh…” [Pull it together, Luthor.] She breathed out, stilled her hands, straightened her back, and looked down into Kara’s startling blue eyes. “I hope this isn’t the last time we talk?”

Kara’s smile was nothing if not a promise. “I hope not either.”

sea and stars

Hi friend! How bout " jesus... what have they done to you... " Or "it's okay... I'm here now" for the drawing prompt thing :)

It's favorite not favourite

this just in: the world outside of america doesn’t exist

Fic update!

she’s cursed

chapter 9, mistakes

on ao3

•••

“Babies aren’t weird!”

Sewn Soul

Her body feels foreign. It takes days to adjust to the motions and weeks to grow comfortable in it.

It's like a second thought and each time she moves, she has to think about it. She bends forks and breaks dishes with inhumane strength. She reaches a staircase and doesn't remember how to lift her foot to take the first step.

The woman is always there with her, patient and ever so gentle. She eases her grip on the cutlery and hooks their elbows together before nudging her towards the stairs.

With each passing day, she acquires an inch more of her body.

A rattle of bones, a clack of fangs and teeth. Soft skin that bleeds under halfmoons of nails.

Or my interpretation of this spooky art

read it on ao3

Here’s an old story, while my brain fights with itself and refuses to put together more words. Happy Halloween! 

is it possible to fall in love with tiny wisps of hair on the back of a neck? or would it make more sense to say that she’s in love with the owner of the neck with the tiny wisps of hair swaying ever so slowly as the evening breeze waltzes through the open windows of her apartment. 

kara can’t seem to take her eyes off of them.

it’s as if they’re coaxing her to touch them — calling out to her in a tiny voice that says come here, come closer, touch us with your gentle fingers — and kara does, kara really wants to, but alex is here and sitting next to her is kelly. sam is on the other side of lena, engaged in a lively conversation with the only couple in the room, and kara is just… staring, facing lena, one arm propped on the back of the couch, elbow bent so her fist is resting against the side of her head, and chin resting on her bicep.

it can’t be the alien alcoholic beverage that sam brought along with her nor is it the fact that she’s just recently recovered from another solar flare. it just doesn’t make sense. it wouldn’t explain the one time she caught herself looking at the back of lena’s neck during their first game night with her; not the one where she’s standing behind lena, saying things about wanting to rebuild their trust, momentarily distracted by those tiny wisps of hair before lena inevitably turned to her with a curious frown. 

none of those moments had involved alcohol or… or solar flare. 

it just… is. it’s just because of lena and her slender neck, her soft-looking skin, those tiny—

“what?”

in her distracted state, kara misses the moment when lena finally feels the weight of her stare and turns to her with a small smile, bordering confused — her cheeks flushing a pretty shade of pink under kara’s gaze. 

she’s so close.

kara meets her eyes and… she doesn’t know what to say, so she doesn’t make a single sound. merely shrugs her shoulders, eyes searching lena’s green ones, dropping briefly on her red lips, slightly parted and wet from the red wine, then back up at her green eyes. 

“what’s wrong?” lena asks again, tilting her body towards her this time, but only just enough that it doesn’t rouse other guests. it brings her even closer to kara, effectively stealing the air from her lungs.

kara shakes her head again, incapable of words now that lena’s facing her; tiny, wispy, little hairs now gone but replaced by the mesmerizing sight her eyes. she sighs longingly, stretching her arm so her hand lands near lena’s neck, fingers brushing ever so lightly on those tiny, little strands of hair. lena shudders, a natural reaction, especially in that particular area, but it affects kara in a way that makes her want to do it again and again, and again, and again—

alex, kelly, and sam be damned.

she just wants to touch her there forever, caress her slowly and lull her to sleep. she wants to see those eyelashes fluttering shut, wants to be the reason why lena is comfortable and sleepy and—

kara’s heart aches.

“darling?”

kara breathes out, slowly but steady, and before she chickens out, she moves forward and presses her lips so, so lightly against lena’s. it’s the softest kiss she’s ever had and ever given someone; the bravest kiss she’s ever pursued, uncaring of the sudden silence in her living room, of the shuffling of feet and the crumpling of paper bags to be disposed of. kara barely hears alex’s goodbye before she pulls away, pressing her forehead against lena’s with a nervous sigh.

“was that okay?” kara asks, heart beating loud and fast against her ribs as she brushes her thumb across lena’s neck, urging — begging — her to open those beautiful eyes of hers. “lena?”

lena lets out a watery laugh, finally meeting kara’s gaze with so much love in those pools of green. 

“more than okay, my love.” 

—

READ ON AO3

It actually reminds me of No one mourns the wicked by kellsbells

which is one of my personal favourites.

WICKED MUSICAL | SUPERCORP AU’S THAT I’LL NEVER WRITE 4/?

Lena has been casted as Elphaba for the new season of Wicked, most of the other actors think she only got the role because of her family and she’s starting to believe it.

Maybe they are right because how could she ever be to the pair of Kara Danvers (Glinda) who is literally one of the biggest names in musical theatre? Kara is nice, especially with Lena and all she can hope is not to mess things up with her, in and out of stage.

the first of many I love yous

There are Secrets of the Heart to Wonderful for Words

Another soulmate AU—in which the first words your person ever says to you are written on your wrist. Only Lena doesn't have any markings, and Kara has far too many.

Word Count: 1898

Read on AO3

Year: 2004

Lena:

Words. Lena Luthor obsesses over other peoples’ words.

From the time a person is born, the small, black letters written on their wrist indicate the first words they’ll hear their soulmate speak.

Except Lena doesn’t have any letters. She has a painfully blank canvas on her wrist where there should have been a saying. A word. Something.

Anything.

It’s the only thing Lillian likes about her. Or likes to point out about her, amongst not being a real Luthor or not being as smart as Lex. Not having a soulmate is a frequent point of conversation between them.

“I don’t need a soulmate,” Lena says every time it’s brought up. And she doesn’t. Her greatest love is learning. Why would she ever need anybody else? Why would she ever want anybody else?

Lena is pretty sure she doesn’t have a soulmate because it would be unethical to subject them to the Luthor family. They all have them, though. She’s glad she doesn’t have one. Really. She is.

“Who would love you?” Lillian sneers every time.

Harsh words that prove to be correct.

Lionel dies. Lex is in prison, and Lillian becomes crueler with every year that passes.

Lena’s blank wrists are another checkmate in Lillian’s books; as if their very lives are an entertaining game. Lena is good at chess — likes it — but she doesn’t always want to play. She is, however, resigned to a life of being toyed with. Lena knows it’s all she will ever have, and as horrible as it may be, Lillian’s sharp criticisms and condescension is better than nothing, isn’t it?

Kara:

Words. Kara obsesses over her words.

Most people have some form of a greeting written on their wrist.

Eliza has ‘Doctor Danvers? Hi, it’s great to meet you.’

Alex has ‘I’m looking for my brother, James.’

Everyone has a few short words written at the bottom of their arm, but not Kara.

Kara can’t believe the spiel of words that takes up her entire arm.

Sure, some people have more words than others, but Kara has never, ever seen anybody who has an entire half-sleeve, starting from the crease of her elbow and ending at her wrist. Some of the words aren’t even in the dictionary, though Eliza assures Kara that her soulmate must be a scientist, based on the tattoo.

Kara’s soulmate also believes, in the future when they meet, that Kara is a new intern.

Kara isn’t sure how she feels about that. The thought of someone assuming she isn’t as smart as the writing on her arm kind of insults her, even if she doesn’t know all the words yet.

“At least we’ll know who they are right away! You could have something generic, like ‘excuse me.’ Kenny has ‘sorry’ on his wrist.” Alex does her best to make Kara feel better about having the largest soul mark in the known universe.

Kara knows she’s a rambler. She’ll talk with her hands and go on and on and on about anything and everything with very little control over it, and she worries that her soulmate’s tattoo might be even longer than her own. She’ll just have to wait and see.

Sometimes she worries over her soulmate’s mark, though.

Would they even have one?

Present Day

Kara’s late. Gosh, she’s so late. She was supposed to be at the library an hour ago but her alarm didn’t go off and now she’s going to get fired. Or probably reprimanded. Or maybe Nia covered for her, but still! Kara is late to the only good job she’s ever had, where people don’t mind how quiet she is.

She can’t lose this job, not on her first week.

She rushes toward the library, or where she thought the library was. Moving to National City to be closer to Alex was a good idea, but on days like today when the concrete and glass of the buildings bleed together like some sort of shifting labyrinth, Kara doesn’t enjoy it so much.

Especially not with all the car horns and people chattering on their cellphones. Cigarette smoke burns her nose as someone longboards by her, and the smoke mixes with the food of the vendors lined along the street.

With the bright sun overhead, it’s too much. Too much noise, too many smells and sights and feelings, and Kara needs to escape it.

She pulls open the glass doors of the nearest building —a crisp white daroca stone one that towers above the rest—and she hopes nobody minds her borrowing the space to calm down.

The heat of the sun melts away to cool air that clings to her sweaty brow, the din of the city melting behind the door as it swings closed behind her.

Kara takes a few deep breaths before looking up, her eyes widening at the blue marble floors and the white fountain that’s sunken into the floor in the middle of the room.

Small ficus trees line the walls in grey, ceramic pots.

Its austerity is calming.

The receptionist at a monochrome silver desk raises an eyebrow and Kara waves, trying to convey she’s not a total weirdo.

She glances around the room and sighs in relief when she spots a shiny, silver plaque engraved in black letters and an arrow indicating the directions to the bathroom.

Kara adjusts her glasses before following the sign down a series of hallways — all a mirror image of the last with every turn she takes, but eventually, she pushes through the black door with a bathroom sign on it, locking it behind her.

She takes a few minutes to practice breathing before she goes to the white sink. It’s like a hotel bathroom almost, with another ficus in the corner, the white porcelain and silver chrome shining like it’s never been used.

Kara smiles as she washes her hands. The soap doesn’t smell like anything.

She pushes her glasses to the top of her head while she splashes cool water on her face, eager to get rid of the sweaty residue.

After drying off with a thick paper towel, Kara glances at her watch with a sigh.

She is late, but she can explain how she got lost, and try to avoid the mistake in the future. These things happen.

She nods at herself in the mirror before leaving the room, eager to try to find her way through the city again.

Only the inside of the building is just as maze-like, and Kara goes around in circles.

What’s weird is that even though the building is lovely —sleek and clean, nobody is in it.

Kara is in a maze of white walls and marble floors with never-ending ficus trees breaking up her twists and turns.

She rolls her eyes as she ducks into one of the black doors, intent to ask someone to help her escape.

She freezes and her eyes bulge as she enters a lab.

Like, a real, mad-scientist-esque lab filled with chrome robots that shine, immobile, on the surfaces of desks, varying glass vials on the surface of another.

Kara has half a mind to leave the room and continue her lost torment, but a woman in a white lab coat and a maroon three-piece suit underneath smiles at her as she sits up from behind a desk, dropping a screwdriver onto it.

Kara means to wave or introduce herself somehow. Really, she does, but the woman is so pretty, and as soon as her green eyes land on Kara, Kara’s mind goes blank.

“Oh, you must be my new intern. You’re early, though I suppose that’s not a bad thing since we have a lot of work to do. I just started testing the biological reactions of these DNA samples after I add in nanogenes. We’re only at a success rate of 73%, so we have a ways to go. Feel free to observe while I explain-”

She continues, and Kara ambles forward, helpless to the pull. She ambles between the few rows of lab tables until she’s close enough to read the name off of the woman’s lab coat.

Lena K. Luthor

Kara beams down at it as her heart thunders in her chest.

It feels exactly like she thought it would. Her palms are sweaty, and this woman rambles on and on about nanogenes and technology that could change the future.

Her green eyes sparkle with passion as she talks about her work, and already, Kara wants to get lost in them.

Kara’s breath comes in small pants, catching in her throat each time as she smiles at this beautiful, marvelous woman.

A woman whose words Kara has read over and over, words Kara doodled on top of when she was bored in class, read when she was sad, thought about to remind herself that there was someone, somewhere, waiting to be loved by her.

Lena’s jaw is sharp, like her mind, Kara’s sure. Her hair is pulled back into a high ponytail as she gestures to the microscope in front of her. Kara wants to reach out and touch her, hold her, explain who she is and how she got there.

Lena freezes when she turns back toward Kara, surprised by the proximity, and she raises her eyebrows at the closeness before they pinch in concern.

Tears have gathered in Kara’s eyes and she wipes them away with a noiseless chuckle. She bites her lip, takes a deep breath, and rests her leather bag on the lab table before she unbuttons the sleeve of her navy blue oxford.

Words upon words are revealed and Lena glances at them in confusion before her eyes grow wide.

Lena looks at Kara’s forearm, her own words —to the exact punctuation—staring back at her.

She reaches up to touch them, goosebumps rising across Kara’s skin as cool fingers caress her tattooed flesh.

The sleeves of Lena's coat and suit rise as she cradles Kara's arm like a precious thing, rubbing her thumbs across the paragraphs with reverent disbelief.

This is when Kara’s heart breaks because where there should be something —some grand declaration of all the fierce love Kara carries in her heart—all Lena has is pale, blank skin.

Lena bites her lips as she inhales a shaky breath through her nose. Her eyes, lovely sea-green eyes, are red around the edges and her lashes wet as she lets a tear trickle down her face.

She didn’t think she had a soulmate, Kara realizes.

And maybe Kara can’t talk—hasn’t spoken a word in her life—but she has never needed words to get her point across.

Kara points to her mouth with her tattooed arm, shaking her head when Lena looks up.

Lena’s shoulders ease in understanding, and she takes a breath so full it’s like the first time she’s ever breathed.

Kara bites her lips as she opens her arms, slow and tender as she brushes her hands across the white lab coat around Lena’s shoulders, pulling her into a hug that starts gentle but gets firmer the more Lena clings to her.

Kara rests her head on the side of Lena’s, sure that the steady pressure of her hug is saying everything for her.

It says, “I am here now.

I’m sorry it took this long.

I care about you so much.

And I am not going anywhere.”

rock paper SUPER

part one

Despite being very red, Lena's cadence stayed mellow and sober as she trudged through rows of flowers.

Kara studied her from the shade of the orchard, half hidden between wavy fronds of fig saplings. Leaning back against the coarse bark of an old tree, Kara sat cross legged, lap overflowing with wicker. She dragged her thumbs along the chipped edge of a half assembled basket, as her nimble hands entwined sinewy twigs with mindless sinuous movements.

She could see Lena's lips mouthing something, but she couldn't make out the words so far.

After a tentative week of forced bedrest, Lena's bandages had finally peeled away in clean folds of stale white. Her limp had healed and the bruises over her ribcage had disappeared, nursed back to health by stubbornness and frowns. As soon as she could last an entire day without collapsing in exhausted naps, Lena had rolled the cuffs of long sleeves over her wrists and offered to help with odd jobs around the farm.

"Have you ever uprooted weeds?" Kara mused, elbows half buried in a bag of fertilizer.

Lena cast the bag an indifferent glance, "Can't be more difficult than polyatomic anions."

Armed with a crooked rake, Lena braved the grassy plains with the hesitance of a newborn duckling. And the same quiet determination to spread wings for the first time.

The fields were cast in the rusty glow of sunset as light seeped into the wrinkles of Lena's starched shirt. It was an old garment, one that Kara had fished from a forgotten corner of her wardrobe, tucked under the tailored tunic her mo-

A twig snapped under her fingertips, startling Kara out of her thoughts. She brushed them away like cobwebs, struggling to untangle the broken wicker stuck in the weaved pattern of the basket. All her efforts proved to be fruitless and Kara stood with a sigh, mentally giving up on the task.

She looked over Lena's hunched form, still engrossed in her job and figured they could call it a day. She dusted herself off and strolled past the trees' edge, wandering towards the open field. The basket was soon forgotten in the fallen foliage.

As she neared, Lena interrupted her string of murmurs. Her rucked shirt was stained with dirt and grass smudges, much like Kara's beige overalls. Kara's eyes scanned the field, looking for the way glass bent around the memory of Lena's steps, who was bent over a flowerbed of tulips, a vibrant cloud of red flowers that dissolved into smoke every sunset.

Lena's eyes shone with wonder when she had seen her the first vanishing blossom turning into smoke.

The air smelled of flowers and early chance of rain.

Another petal dissolved under their eyes and Lena offered a halcyon smile.

"These flowers are beautiful."

Glowing with a burgeoning sunburn, Lena painted an almost endearing picture, dirt stains in the shape of her knees and small blisters huddled on her palms from the rake's handle.

"When I said you could help around the farm I didn't mean you had to get sunburn on the first day on the job."

Lena flicked a lock of hair behind her ear with a flippant smile, "I might have underestimated this planet's two suns."

Kara chuckled briefly, catching easily on the playful tone, "I can tell. You are also quite..." Kara hesitated, chanced a quick look at the sliver of Lena's exposed collarbone, "You do have a fair complexion."

"My Irish genes shining through."

Kara blew her lips, "Yeah, I have no idea what that means."

"You really don't, do you?" Lena looked pensive and Kara tilted her body forward, swaying on the balls of her feet.

"The place I come from, Ireland," continued Lena, "My mother's side of the family."

The tendrils of dimming sunlight felt warm on their skin.

"She is-" Kara waved a hand, "Is she Irish?"

Cracking a slanted grin, Lena turned subtly away from her as if to inspect another dissolving tulip, and made no reply. At the prolonged silence, Kara forced herself not to reach over, lest she ended up doing something ludicrous.

(Like tuck the sad alien under her chin, chase a grip on her body, fold those hunched shoulders in a hug.)

After a moment, Lena sighed.

"I'm sorry. I'm not really good for conversation."

Kara's thoughts clammed in one direction No, you are fine. For an alien who crashed on my tiny farm, you are doing really well, even if I think you frown too much.

"Me either. I'm not really good at talking, most of the time I end up rambling," was what she said, instead.

"You do seem the type to ramble," Lena commented, handing the rake back to Kara to dust herself off.

Kara surveyed the flowers with a critic's eye, impressed with Lena's work: she may have lacked speed, as only half the field had been tilled at the end of the afternoon, but Lena definitely made up with her immaculate meticulousness.

"Wow," she deadpanned, "The first alien ever to crash into my silo and - of course - it's a rude alien."

That was enough to make Lena smirk and to lodge a proud grain of warmth in Kara's chest. She could do banter with Lena. It was safer than personal issues.

Kara had a fleeting thought to grab Lena by the wrist, then thought better of it before starting the walk back towards the house. She felt Lena fall into step behind her.

"So, how was your first experience with farming?" Kara asked, pausing on the toll of lightness in her timbre. She heaved the rake over her shoulders with a twirl, a move she hoped looked as cool as she intended. But at the apex of the motion, the handle hit the back of her head with a thud.

Lena's chuckle flew past her ears like wind chimes and in horrifying slow motion, Kara turned her head back to look for the crumbles of her own dignity. There was mirth in Lena's eyes, a dance of laughing stardust as her grin teased Kara's clumsiness.

Blowing at her mussed hair, Kara felt her cheeks match Lena's in redness as one of the alien's dark eyebrow rose. Embarrassed, she ducked her head to look at her feet and kept walking.

"The first encounter of my intergalactic travels and - of course - it's a dork farmer."

Kara chuffed good-naturedly at the impish tone, "Rude," she tossed back over her shoulder.

She met Lena's amused stare with her own teasing eyes, as the alien plodded through the lush plains.

An easy silence fell between them, encompassed by the background noises of a languid sunset. A fatigued yawn overruled Lena's lingering grin.

"I'm definitely gonna be sore tomorrow," she stretched, rolling her stiff shoulders in circular motions. She halted mid stretch to wince at the feeling of tender skin, "Oh, I'm definitely gonna feel that tomorrow."

Kara couldn't help but sneak another glance at Lena's shoulders, red skin peeking from the loose collar of her shirt.

"I'm sure I have some silver cream somewhere in some cabinet. For burns," she reassured with a sympathetic hum.

"You're a lifesaver," Lena sighed gratefully, missing the quip of her own words.

Without missing a beat, Kara added a teasing note, "Alas, I don't entrust my secret remedies to rude aliens, so you'll have to-"

Lena swatted at Kara's arm, wrinkling her sunburnt nose.

"You should have thought twice about laughing at my coolest moves."

Kara relished in the serene warmth diffusing in her body from head to toes as Lena laughed again.

(It had been a while.)

+++++

(She almost forgot to retrieve the half finished basket.)

+++++

The ancient spaceship had been caught in the planet's orbit and had crashed in a manner of seconds.

Kara had been kneeling next to the leaky pond when the spaceship had slashed her sky in two, catching her silo in its blazing trail.

All the ducklings had scattered immediately at the blare of the crash, the herd of rams barreling down their grassy pasture in fright. It had taken her three full hours, later in the dim lights of the evening, to gather them again, coaxing the most stubborn with her treasured stash of gummy bears - hay flavoured.

The rising smoke had been thick, burning black from oil and machinery. The same dark smoke Kara had seen once, several moons ago, after the battle against Daxam, where her father's battleship had been swallowed in the same black clouds.

She had stumbled to the side of the burned out shell, squinting. With shaking hands and tattered rags she had snuffed the fire quickly, before pulling herself level with a gaping hole in the spaceship flank to peer inside its belly.

The sunlight had danced on the alien's dark visor as its head had lolled against her shoulder.

Apollo x Daphne AU — goddess of music

A gentle breeze touches Lena’s flushed and clammy skin, but it brings no relief – even the air itself is stiflingly hot today. Tree leaves brush against her arms and her cheeks, tickle the soles of her feet, get tangled in her hair. Lena breathes in slowly and lets the scent of the mountains ground her as she makes her way home.

Time has given her the opportunity to memorize the world around her in ways no mortal ever could. She knows the ways rivers flow in winter, after a rainstorm, during a draught. She knows the way they used to flow, and remembers every change. She knows where they end, where they start, when they started.

She would know the way through these mountains blindfolded, on the darkest nights.

Her connection with these forests allows her to notice when something has changed within them – a new presence, or the loss of an old one. Today is one of those moments. Lena isn’t sure what it is. The grass is still scratchy and yellow in the same places as yesterday, still green and soft in others. The cypress trees are still in the same place, and so are the barn owls nesting in their hollows. Even the gray wolves haven’t moved from their resting place since this morning when she left.

Whatever it is, she decides, there is no use dwelling on it now. Lena lets her thoughts drift as she climbs over a fallen tree. Its mossy trunk feels warm on her thighs and hands – familiar, she imagines, like the touch of a lover would feel after centuries of closeness. Intimate, trusting, in a way she herself has never felt with anyone. The thought of it feels familiar even so – she has dreamed of a love like that so often, she can almost feel its warmth.

But romance happens in stories, and a watered-down version of it happens to the other nymphs around her, and nothing like it will ever happen to Lena. She has made peace with that knowledge a long time ago, and if you asked her, she wouldn’t say she’s lonely. Lena treasures the time she spends in solitude, free of judgement and expectations, free of performances. The sweltering heat of today’s noon should be spent just like that, alone.

As she makes her way across a grassy glade, she finally hears the murmur of her river. Lena sighs in relief. She has detested the summer for as long as she can remember, and today’s blinding sun does nothing to change her mind. She can’t wait to dip her tired body in the cold, rushing river water, floating in it with her eyes closed and her mind wandering.

Which is, of course, when she hears it.

Keep reading

A college au Lena

It’s been a whileeee

This xkcd comic from 2009 changed my life. It feels timeless.

“Neck lengths of birds + aggression: a study.”

By @inomnomcom