#last kara set was too dark so i brightened it up a bit

[rk1k-moved]

DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN ↳ Kara

I know you think we’re just machines, but since I met Alice, I know I can feel things. I care for her, I fear for her. I can’t be happy if she’s not. This probably doesn’t make any sense to you but… I know she changed me somehow.

[dokifluffs]

Sleepy Time With His Babies | Atsumu, Osamu

Pairings: Atsumu X Reader (female), Osamu X Reader (female) 

genre: DOMESTIC SLEEPY FLUFFINEss

Author’s Note: you guys are in for a treat~ 

Sleepy Time With Their Babies | Kita, Kuroo // Sleepy Time With Their Babies | Ennoshita, Akaashi // Sleepy Time With Their Babies | Iwaizumi, Sakusa // Sleepy Time With Their Babies | Kenma, Bokuto

gif by @rivaillerose 💛💛

Atsumu: 

The usually bustling city life calmed down to a light doze

Sounds of usual heavy traffic were reduced to the faint zooming sounds of a few cars as they zipped by through the empty, bright streets

Though none of this brightens reached the two of you

Your shared apartment was high enough above the city where none of the lights at night somehow reached the two of you ever

The bedroom was immersed in complete darkness, nothing could be seen no matter how adjusted one’s eyes were to the dark

Deep breaths came from atsumu as he laid on his back, his legs somewhat spread under the covers, a hand resting on his stomach, the other outstretched as you laid curled up, faced away from him in your own little ball

His mind slowly stirred, his subconscious waking at the absent feeling of your presence beside him

His deep breaths shortened down as his fingers twitched, the tips of them grazing the back of your shirt

He woke more, huffing out an airy groan

“so.. far… away.. yer not supposed to be that far…” his mind pieced this together as he reached for you in the dark, moving closer toward the center of the bed

His hand moved down the side of your body until he found your belly

Despite being half asleep, Atsumu’s mind was still as sharp as it was when it came to volleyball, if not, sharper when it came to you

He hooked his arm around your abdomen, pulling you closer to him while also meeting you halfway

He didn’t feel complete until your back was to his chest, your body was touching his

You stirred in your own sleep feeling this pulling sensation until you woke yourself up the slightest

You turned in atsumu’s hold, his hand now resting on your lower back as you faced his chest, your head tilted back so your breaths tickled his neck

As fast and as soon as the two of you woke to the feel of each other, the two of you were out like a light

And that was all atsumu wanted

To feel you

Domestic: 

The heavy weight crushed him slowly as the villain laughed maniacally in his face as he struggled to break free to save the city

Just as the final blow was about to hit Atsumu in the face, his body was jolted awake, relieved to not see any villains trying to destroy his town as he took deep breaths to head back to sleep

Though what he did realize was that the weight was still there

The bright light of the full moon shone through the open curtains Atsumu had neglected to close when he came up to bed, too tired and unbothered to do anything

But now with the light, he could clearly see the weight that made his breathing feel so stuffy

Well, he could see the weights

His four year old son and three year old daughter were fast asleep right on top of him, explaining why the bedroom door was ajar instead of completely shut like he had done coming in

His daughter was mostly the one on top of him while half his son’s body was on top

Though by the looks of what he could see, it seemed like his daughter had pushed her brother off of him

Atsumu chuckled silently to himself seeing the starfish position his daughter was in on top, her arms and legs spread widest to her abilities to hold as much of her dad as she could in her sleep

He pulled his son to his left side, carefully bringing his daughter to his right side so they could all sleep comfortably together

The two of them naturally curled into his sides, the feeling of them as natural as having you by his side

Though you were in a different time zone than they were for work right now

“We can’t wait to see ya,” Atsumu thought to himself as he let the last thing he see for the night be the pale moonlight on the ceiling  

gif by @rivaillerose​ 💛💛

Osamu: 

Osamu slept like a log with his jaw hanging slack as an inconsistent rhythm of rain bounced off the roof of the house

The bedroom the two of you slept in was high, the faintest golden-white hue of the streetlights shining in, casting blurry shadows of the rain streaming down the glass

You slept curled into Osamu’s side as he laid straight, his chest and arm being your pillow, warmer and comfier than any pillow

Your gentle, hot breaths warmed his side, his gray hair spread around on his pillow

Light snores could be heard but it wasn’t anything you weren’t used to

Even after his showers, no matter how much time he spent at home, how little time he went into the restaurant now as a little vacation, you could still smell the fresh scent of onigiris on him, even in your sleep

You nuzzled yourself closer to him, your hand rubbed over his toned abdomen even after all these years of cooking and making food, Osamu was still in shape

Occasionally even hitting some set by his brother for fun whenever visiting the rowdy blonde

His warmth was like no other and it was just as you loved it- loved him

A sudden, loud boom of thunder shook the ground, making the ground and bed vibrate for the briefest second

You jumped in your sleep, your heart aching for a short bit at the sudden jump from a resting heart rate to a rapid one

Osamu initially woke a little at the sound but was really awake now that you practically jumped against him

“You alright?” His voice was so much deeper from sleep, the words and the sound of his voice airy and raspy as he spoke

“Mmhm,” you let out a deep sigh, laying back down on Osamu. “It just made me jump...” you nuzzled closer to his body

He let out a deep chortle, his hand wrapping around your shoulder, giving it a squeeze as he pressed a kiss, followed by another as he couldn’t resist it

“I got ya,” his voice was so low, with your head laid on him, you could hear hints of the vibrations that rumbled in his chest and throat as he spoke

“Thank ya,” you copied his accent, different from yours

“Hmm,” he laid still for a moment before he turned so now his body laid, crushing on top of you

“‘Samu,” you groaned as you adjusted to his sudden mass lumped on top of you

He took hold of the sides of your head in his hands, pressing sleepy kisses to your face and neck, feeling your face burn hotter and hotter at his sudden affection

“Now I really got ya,” you could hear the smirk on his face

Domestic: 

Osamu’s arms draped across your shoulders, the other holding your belly as you sat leaned back into his chest as he leaned against the headboard, a mass of pillows behind him

His thumb rubbed over your shoulder, your head leaned on his bicep, face squished into his muscle

He was just barely slipping in and out of consciousness in hopes you were okay, that the cramps were gone

You woke him not too long ago, the pain in your back and lower belly stung tears into your eyes and that was enough pain for Osamu to see and he didn’t want to see you in pain

His own cheek and head leaned forward to rest on yours, the sweet scent of your hair filling his nose with every still breath he took in

The storm raged on outside ever since the evening and showed no sign of lighting up until tomorrow afternoon according to the news channels

Rain flooded into the storm drains, restless flashes of lightning that filled the sky

Though a little rain and a few rumbles never bothered your sleeping

That is, until a bright flash illuminated the room followed by one of the biggest booms of thunder you had ever heard in your life

Startled by the sudden loudness, you jumped in Osamu’s arms, his eyes widened and hold on your stomach just hovering fearing his touch would somehow worsen any pain you were feeling

“What’s wrong?” His voice was deep, laced with sleep dripping from every word yet his eyes and mind were alert and wide, his attention on you in the dim darkness of the bedroom, a golden aura from a street lamp in the neighborhood barely passing the curtains. “Are you in pain?”

“No, thank you, though, ‘Samu.” You let out a sigh, leaning to rest your head back on his collar, his hand draped across your shoulders giving you a squeeze and rub. “The storm just startled me, that’s all”

Your hand found his hovering over your belly, pressing it down so it rested where it had moments ago

“Hm,” he let out a shot chortle before leaning close, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head. “Let’s sleep,” he whispered, using his foot to bring the blanket closer to the two of you so it rested on your lower halves

“Mmhm,” you hummed, reaching your head back to his bicep where you rested earlier, pressing a kiss to him before drifting back asleep in his hold

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

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[msdanvers]

gif coloring tutorial

for @sappho-mia​

a photoshop tutorial on how to make gifs that look like the ones in this gifset. I will only explain how to do the coloring, so if there’s any other part of gifmaking that you’d like for me to explain, let me know and I’ll make another tutorial or send you some tips! 

I’ll show you how to go from this:

to this:

1. exposure

shows have the lovely habit of underexposing every scene, but you don’t want people looking at your gifs like this  

so: time to brighten that shit up!

I have a psd (an edited version of the one in this tutorial by @redkrypto​​) that I use and adjust for basically all my gifs, but for the sake of this tutorial I’ll do this step by step. 

photoshop has a few good options for changing the exposure. first, go to window > adjustments to get this: 

which is your biggest friend. the ones on exposure are these 4:

I’ll be honest, I have no idea what the difference between levels (the second one) and curves (the third one) is. they both adjust the tone of your gif - with the option to make the dark tones, the light tones and the midtones either brighter or less bright, separately. this’ll make your gif look less flat!

let’s take a look at levels:

this might look daunting but I promise I don’t really know how to read the histogram either, I just use the little sliders (cyan) and see how it looks. you can also use one of the eyedroppers (red) and click on a part of your gif that you want to be black, white or grey, and the rest of the image will adjust to this. it might be a little too intense - in that case you can lower the opacity of the layer (see image below). 

then there’s brightness/contrast and exposure. the difference between these two is that brightness will mostly affect the parts of your image that are already bright, while exposure will affect the whole image. the exposure window has another option I use often too, gamma correction. with gamma correction you can change the gamma levels of your gif, and I have no idea what that means but it sure does look good lmao

there not one ‘right’ way to do this, so just play around a little and see which ways you like the most :) 

after brightening, our gif looks like this. yay!

for comparison:

2. coloring

I remember feeling very overwhelmed with all of photoshop’s options at first. I will discuss all of the ones I used to create this gif, but you definitely don’t have to use or understand all of them in order to make beautiful gifs! 

two adjustments I use in pretty much every gif are hue/saturation (cyan) and selective color (red). 

first, selective color. selective color basically gives you the option to single out a color in your gif and change it. the most important thing to understand here is which colors are opposites: red and cyan, green and magenta, blue and yellow. so if you’d want your yellows to be green, you use the magenta slider. 

for the gif we’re making, we want kara’s cape to stand out, because red is going to be the only color left. these are the settings I used:

now it’s gonna look a little oversaturated, but we’ll fix that later on. I also made the yellows more red and less yellow and increased the blackness a little. 

another way to make a color stand out is by removing the other colors -- the background is mostly yellow, green, cyan and blue. so we’re gonna go to hue/saturation and completely remove their saturation, which will make the wall behind them look gray. 

in the saturation window, you also get the option to reduce the lightness (and the hue, but we’ll get to that later). reducing the lightness does not do the same thing as increasing the blackness in selective color: reducing the lightness will give it more shadow, while increasing the blackness in selective color will make for example a lilac go to a purple, or a red to a deep red. 

for our gif, I reduced the lightness (-13) and the saturation (-3) of the reds. now it looks like this:

the next step will make the gif look weird at first but after we add the other layers, it’ll look better. go to adjustments > photo filter and select ‘sepia’ (it’ll be a warming filter first - click on that and you’ll see all the other options). then increase the density: 

next, we’ll move to channel mixer. channel mixer is one of my favorite adjustment layers because it’s the easiest way to make your colors look really different. there are three channels (red, green and blue) and the best way to use it is to just try things out and see how it looks. my settings for this gif were: 

then I added another saturation layer and reduced the saturation for the yellows, greens, cyans and blues, and removed the saturation completely for the magentas. for the blues, I also decreased the lightness, and for the reds, I changed the hue a bit so it looks less yellow: 

another selective color layer (with opacity and fill both at 65%):

then add a gradient map (bottom right in the adjustments window). make sure it goes from black to white, and isn’t reversed. this will make the gif look a little softer! opacity: 20% fill: 50% (or your whole gif will be black and white)

increase the red saturation a bit and increase the blackness with selective color, so it’ll look like this:

see if your exposure needs some tweaking, remove all the colors you don’t want (the background is mostly yellow now) and add another photo filter, a cooling filter this time, and set it at 4%.

finally, one last selective color layer: 

and that’s it, we’re done!!

3. some final tips

it matters which layer is on top. if you use selective color to turn all the green into cyan and put a saturation layer on top of that, not a lot will happen if you increase or decrease the green saturation. but if you increase the cyan saturation, every part that photoshop recognizes as cyan now will become more saturated. 

some scenes are a lot harder to color than others, and you’re allowed to just ignore the existence of those scenes. :-)

use folders or “groups” to put layers together. my psds are very chaotic but this helps me find things! 

when making a set, your gifs should look good together, not just on their own - sometimes seeing my gifs together makes me realize I need to change the coloring / brightness in some of them. to make sure this realization doesn’t happen when I’ve finished all of them already, I always put them in a tumblr post in my drafts while I’m still working on them. 

use creator tags when posting your gifs. so don’t just tag it as “supergirl” but also “supergirledit” and not just “kara danvers” but also “karadanversedit” - this is the easiest way for other people and other creators in your fandom to find you! if your set doesn’t show up in the tags (when you search supergirledit and click on “recent”), send me a message and I’ll help you figure out what went wrong.

try to make your coloring match the ‘mood’ of your gifset - is it dramatic? soft? angsty? romantic? should there be intense contrasts? lots of reds, or calmer blues? same goes for the font you choose, but that’s a whole other tutorial (that I am probably not qualified to give haha, but I can point you in the direction of some people that are really good at it!). 

you’re going to make a lot of gifs you don’t like, and that’s okay. it doesn’t mean you’re not good at it, it means you’re learning and improving! and it can also mean that you forgot to turn off the night shift on your laptop and your ‘red’ gif turns out to be... definitely not red. lol

if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!! good luck & have fun :) 

[takaraphoenix]

“It’s not fair that you’re hot and funny.” - “Look who’s talking…just kidding, your jokes suck.” ColdFlashWave

Advent Calendar: Day 9

Joe was reading the newspaper when Cecille joined him in the kitchen, kissing him softly on the cheek before going to get herself some breakfast. The house was unusually quiet. Wally having left had quieted it down some and currently, Barry wasn’t home either. Though Joe knew the silence won’t last for too long. Once the baby was born, this house would be the opposite of quiet. And as nervous as Joe was about a baby, he was also eager. He had been all alone when he had raised Iris and Barry, he had missed out on nearly all of Wally’s life. This child, he would get the chance to raise it with the woman he loved and this child would have the most amazing three older siblings possible who were going to help Joe and Cecille with the baby too.

“And Wells is really not coming?”, asked Joe with a frown as Cecille sat down.

“He’s celebrating with his daughter on their Earth”, replied Cecille with a smile. “I think it’s good for them, to reconnect some. There’s been too much distance between them lately.”

Joe grunted at that. As annoying as Harrison Wells could be at times, he knew what it was like to try and connect with his child. He smiled when Iris joined them in the kitchen.

“We meet up with the Wave Rider in an hour, they take us to Star City”, stated Iris. “Morning.”

“Good morning. And… Barry went on ahead, didn’t he?”, asked Joe.

“Couldn’t wait any longer”, chuckled Iris with a fond smile.

Joe sighed, though he had made his peace with this a while ago. His son was dating two criminals. But at least both Rory and Snart were working hard to redeem themselves. They had joined the Legends for Barry, to prove they were more than just criminals. They had saved history itself, or so Joe was told, and had helped them with the big alien and Nazi problems. They were… more complex than just black or white, criminal or hero. And as long as they made Barry happy, Joe was going to tolerate them. But the moment they hurt his son, they would long for Iron Heights.

/break\

Caitlin smiled as she, Cicso, Lisa, Ralph, Iris, Joe and Cecille boarded the Wave Rider. This ship would never cease to amaze her. A part of her really wanted to join, to learn more both about the technology and about history. But she knew Team Flash needed her more.

“Welcome aboard, Team Flash. Go and get comfortable, take-off is in five”, greeted Sara Lance.

“Lenny!”, exclaimed Lisa and simply pushed past the other Legends.

She jumped her brother and hugged him, while Cisco decidedly stayed a little behind. Having started to date Leonard’s sister was a little… frightening, on the front of Leonard Snart and his husband. He did not look forward to being threatened by the guns he built.

“Pipsqueak”, grunted Mick and rested a heavy hand on Cisco’s shoulder, squeezing in a downright painful way. “Never thought you actually had the guts to date a Snart.”

Cisco winced and tried to squirm out of it, while Zari handed out popcorn to Caitlin, Iris and Ralph with a bright smile. Apparently, she had really been looking forward to this show.

“Now, Cisco”, drawled Len as he approached them. “What do you prefer? Slowly freezing to death and being kept around as a nice trophy, or burning to death…?”

“Lenny!”, exclaimed Lisa frustrated. “Please stop threatening my boyfriend. Ba—arry.”

“Right. Yeah. Right here”, yelped Barry as he appeared right between Cisco and Len. “No hurting Cisco, Lenny. He’s good to Lisa, I promise. I’ve seen them together. They’re good together. Happy together. Please calm down so we can go to Felicity’s party.”

“Yes. I was promised food, not a murder”, agreed Nate awkwardly.

Mick’s smile just brightened as he squeezed Cisco’s shoulder a little harder.

Cisco winced, until Barry went to kiss Mick and distract him for long enough so Cisco could escape and bravely hide behind Caitlin and Lisa. The two women rolled their eyes as they looked at each other. Barry sighed and grabbed both of his boyfriends by their hands.

“How about we all go and take our seats now so we can leave?”, suggested Sara patiently.

/break\

The party was held in the bunker, nicely decorated in what looked like Christmas and Hanukkah had a baby and that baby threw up some glitter all around it. But it was nice, in its own over-the-top way, because it was cozy and oddly homey. At a large table, they had set out various foods so everyone could take and eat whatever they wanted. Cecille and Joe were talking to Diggle and Lyla, Cecille cooing at how adorable baby John was while Joe was trying to get some insight into the whole balancing saving the world and raising a toddler. Caitlin, Ray, Cisco and Felicity were drinking and talking science in one corner, while Sara and Quentin finally got to catch up on each other’s lives. Iris, Lisa, Zari and Amaya were talking in another corner of the room. Ralph seemed to get along rather good with Nate and, after some drinks were already in their systems, they went to join the girls, laughing loudly and over the top at something Zari had just said.

“It’s not fair that you’re hot and funny”, laughed Ralph with an over-exaggerated wink.

“Look who’s talking…just kidding, your jokes suck”, drawled Zari unimpressed.

“Oh, burn”, laughed Nate, clapping Ralph on the shoulder hard.

Oliver rolled his eyes as he walked past them. William was coming in handy as he was currently distracting Barry – being a huge Flash fan, meeting and talking to the actual Flash was absolutely incredible to the boy, obviously. A smile found its way onto Oliver’s face as he saw the bright-eyed expression his son was spotting when talking to Barry. Which meant Barry was too preoccupied with his biggest fan to hover around his boyfriends. Which meant Oliver would finally get a minute alone with Mick Rory and Leonard Snart. Something he had not gotten the chance to do the past two times they had met, due to an increasingly overwhelming number of either aliens or Nazis occupying them. Right now, there was no danger. Well, aside from Oliver Queen.

“Whiskey?”, offered Oliver as he found the two men sitting on an arm-chair.

Rory sat on it, with Snart being perched up on the armrest. The two men were watching Barry and William too, their eyes had been unusually soft when doing so. It was hard for Oliver to wrap his head around this. Two of Barry’s biggest villains, just turning into love-sick puppies for the hero who had arrested them before. But the evidence was rather clear.

“What’s the catch, Hood?”, grunted Mick wearily.

“I know you already got the shovel-talk from Barry’s father and his sister, but both Joe and Iris West have one thing I don’t”, started Oliver seriously, glaring down at them intimidatingly. “They have the moral high ground of not taking lives. If the two of you betray Barry and break his heart, your bodies will be found riddled with arrows.”

“And I respect that in a man”, assured Leonard with a smirk, holding up his glass. “The two of us were threatening Cisco just before we came over to Star City, you see. There’s nothing more important than family, is there? Younger siblings, they need to be protected.”

Oliver turned around some and faced the crowd. “They do. And Barry is not my blood, he is still… He is my brother in arms, the boy I tried to train. Sometimes, he is too naive and too forgiving and one day, that is going to break either his neck or his heart. And whatever it is, I will avenge him.”

“And I can respect that”, assured Leonard once more, sipping his whiskey. “We have no plans of ever hurting Barry. We love him. And I understand why you little heroes have a hard time wrapping your heads around that, but it’s still so. But if we ever end up breaking his heart, I think you people will first have to fight among yourselves to figure out who gets to avenge him.”

“Skirt from the parallel world dropped by too to threaten us”, grunted Mick and put his glass down. “We got used to being threatened about Scarlet by now.”

Oliver huffed. That seemed like a Kara thing to do. The blonde was rather protective of her friends too, a quality that Oliver cherished very much about her. Shaking his head, he emptied his drink.

“Hey, doll”, greeted Mick as he crouched down behind Barry. “Playing with yourself?”

Barry’s ears were dark-red as he glared at Mick and hit him with the Flash figure. “William wanted me to sign it for him. And if you can’t behave, you get to wait in the ship.”

Mick huffed out a laugh at that and wrapped his arms around Barry’s midsection. “You know if you want Captain Cold signed, he’s sitting right over there, kid.”

William perked up some at that and turned to look at Len. Without the parker and traditional villain get-up, it was hard to tell the relaxed man nursing a whiskey was the Captain Cold. Oliver stepped out of the way when his son ran up to Snart in excitement. That one, Ollie was a bit concerned about. Instead, he went to join Quentin and Sara. It was good seeing Quentin laugh like that again, so happy to have his daughter at his side again, to see her safe. Oliver smiled when William joined him, curious to hear some heroic stories from the captain of the Wave Rider. From the corner of his eyes did Oliver see how Snart all the while was joining Rory and Barry.

“You doing okay, doll?”, asked Mick lowly, kissing Barry just below the earlobe.

“Mh. Yeah. It’s… nice, having everyone together like this”, smiled Barry and leaned back against Mick. “Well… nearly everyone. I’ve seen Joe turn around multiple times now, checking if Wally came after all. And I know Ollie is missing his sister too.”

“Where is the junior archer?”, asked Leonard curiously, surveying the area. “It does seem that Team Robin Hood is smaller than I seem to recall…”

“Thea and Roy took off together and the rest of the team had… a bit of a fall-out”, shrugged Barry. “Or so Felicity said. They’re not exactly on speaking terms right now.”

“Mh, that sounds interesting”, observed Mick. “Was there fighting?”

Barry heaved a sigh and nudged Mick pointedly. “Anyway, yeah. Ollie doesn’t know where Thea is right now, much like Joe doesn’t know where Wally is…”

“Wally is right behind you, brother.”

Barry yelped and would have stumbled backward if not for Mick standing right behind him and having his arms around his waist. Both of them turned around a little to face a wildly grinning Wally. The next moment, Barry broke out of Mick’s hold to hug Wally, soon enough joined by a loudly squealing Iris and then also by Joe and Cecille.

“You know, those loud, affectionate people are essentially your in-laws”, pointed Lisa out.

“Can it, sis”, chided Leonard, one eyebrow raised. “We try not to think on that too much.”

He wrapped an affectionate arm around her shoulders. He hadn’t even realized just how much he missed her. He was glad the professor had figured out a way to communicate across time, so they could call not just Barry regularly, but also Lisa.

“They stole our speedster”, frowned Mick displeased, crossing his arms. “Buncha heroes they are.”

“You’re so—o in lo—ove”, teased Lisa with a giggle.

“Perhaps we’re just two old fools”, sighed Leonard and leaned against his husband. “Aren’t we?”

“Apparently”, grumbled Mick, tilting his head to kiss Leonard. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have fallen in love with an oversized puppy-dog set on saving the world.”

“Says the time-traveling hero”, snorted Lisa. “Pardon me, the time-traveling legend.”

Read this here on FFNet & here on AO3

[still-figuring-me-out]

The Social Worker and the Businesswoman Au - Chapter 6

It was almost 1PM before Alex decided to wake Kara. Partly because as the older sibling it was her job to torture her younger siblings and partly because some was knocking at the door.

“Go away Alex” Kara groaned.

“I beg of you make it stop,” came Jess’ croaking voice from a pile on the living room floor. “I swear I can feel banging inside and outside my head.”

“The banging in your head is most likely from you trying to put the bar out of business and then drinking Kara’s apartment dry. The one outside your head is coming from Kara’s front door,” Maggie quipped.

“Why are you so cheerful so early?” Winn scowled. “You had just as much to drink as the rest of us but you look as fresh as a rose while I feel like I’m dying. That’s just not fair”

“Firstly it’s the afternoon so not so early,” Maggie grinned. “And secondly I can hold my liquor unlike you lightweights.”

“I really could learn to hate you both,” Kara replied to Maggie’s shit-eating grin. At this point Alex is wrestling with Kara who has burrowed into her sleeping bag and seemingly developed superhuman strength because try as she might she couldn’t get her out.

“Dammit Kara, someone is at your door!” Alex exclaimed.

“Make them go away!” Kara shouted back. She immediately regretted raising her voice as it set the jackhammers in her skull pounding.

“This is your house Kara,” Alex replied exasperated. “What if it’s work? What am I supposed to tell them?”

“Why can’t you let me die in peace?” Kara asked dragging the sleeping bag down and revealing her bedhead.

“Because that would ruin my fun,” Alex smiled back.

“You’ve been with the FBI too long,” Jess says sitting up. “It’s making you evil.”

“She’s always been like that,” Winn replied squinting at the bright light streaming in through Kara’s bank of windows. He’d always loved the entire wall of windows that Kara’s apartment boasts because of all the natural light it allowed in but today he’d kill for some darkness.

“Yeah,” Kara quipped struggling to her knees. “I’m pretty sure she’s been teaching evil lessons to the FBI in her spare time since elementary.”

“Hey!” Maggie says immediately coming to her girlfriend’s defense. “It’s actually been since preschool.” Alex shook her head while all they all roared with laughter before Kara, Winn and Jess all held their heads and groaned. Just then there was another knock on the door.

“Seriously Kara get up,” Alex says. “What happens if it really is work?”

“Fine, I’m up!” Kara scowls standing. She begins to weave her way to the door before Alex snags her arm.

“Not so fast you. Bathroom. Brush your teeth no-ne needs to be exposed to your particular brand of morning breath. Also try and comb that mop you call hair and find your glasses so that you can at least SEE whoever is knocking on your door on a Saturday.” Alex gently shoved her in the general direction of the bathroom to get her moving. “Maggie can you make sure she doesn’t walk into something?”

"Sure thing Danvers,” Maggie replied setting down her cup of coffee and grabbing Kara just in time to stop her from running into a wall.

“If that’s a salesman or Jehovah’s Witness you have my permission to shoot them Alex,” Kara says darkly over her shoulder.

“If you do I will arrest you Danvers,” Maggie calls back with turning around.

“Justifiable homicide Alex, go for it” Jess called.

“Hey maybe it’s Kara’s mystery person,” Winn exclaims like an excited puppy. “wouldn’t that make for an interesting morning um afternoon.”

“Shut up Winn!” Kara shouted from the bathroom before groaning.

“Don’t worry Kara,” Alex called while opening the door. “If it’s you green eyed hottie I promise not to shoot them.” She grinned when she heard Kara’s less that child appropriate response. Annoying her younger siblings always seems to brighten her day. She quickly lost her smile and uttered a swear of her own when she found herself staring into the greenest pair of eyes she’d ever seen.

“Who’s at the door Alex? Is it the love of Kara’s life” Winn guffawed.

“Yeah Alex, is it Kara’s raven haired soulmate?” Jess called before dissolving into giggles.

“Both of you shut up!” Alex shouted over her shoulder. She prayed that the woman at the door couldn’t hear them or that she wasn’t the woman Jess had told them about last night. Because if she was Kara would either die of embarrassment or kill them all. “May I help you?”

“I hope so,” the shorter woman replied sticking her hands in her coat pocket and shuffling her feet in her expensive heels and turning a bright shade of red. “I’m trying to locate Kara Danvers.”

“Kara Danvers?” Alex parroted while groaning inside. Please let this not be who I think it is.

“Yes, Kara Danvers, she works as a social worker-“ the brunette began.

“Yes I know where my little sister works,” Alex replied a frown on her face while she attempted to place the face in front her of her. She knew they had never met but she was certain she’d seen the younger woman’s face somewhere.

“Have I offended you in some way?” the shorter woman asked with a cool expression.

“What?” Alex asked after being pulled out of her reverie.

“Have I offended you in some way? You’re currently scowling at me,” she clarified.

“I am?” Alex asked in surprise. Usually she was better at keeping her thoughts off her face. “No, sorry. I’m just trying to place your face; you look oddly familiar.”

“I’m certain we’ve never met,” the woman answered. “I’m fairly new to the city.”

“Then how do you know my sister?” Alex asked out pf curiosity.

“We share an overlapping interest,” was the vague response. “Is she in?”

“Oh! Sorry yes. I’m so sorry where are my manners, please come in,” Alex replied stepping back at opening the door wider to allow her entrance. “I’m Alex by the way.”

“Nice to meet you Alex, my name is” the woman began and was promptly interrupted by a decided less than sober Jess.

“Who do you know with an Irish accept Alex” Jess called pushing herself, sleeping bag and all, up to the couch. As Alex stepped to the side Winn’s quickly indrawn breath could be heard through the suddenly silent room.

“Oh my God you’re,” he began excitedly.

“Shit,” Jess muttered loudly after getting her first full view of their guest.

“Babe who was at the door?” Maggie asked as she made her way back into the room followed by Kara who was just putting on her glasses.

“Shit!” Kara breathed out when she was finally able to see clearly who was at the door.

“It’s a good thing I have a healthy self-esteem,” came the amused response. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so many people in one room have quite the same reaction to my presence. At least not to my face.”

“Sorry about that,” Alex answered when the rest of the room seemed incapable of speech. “We’re off to a slow start today.”

“That’s quite alright,” the brunette replied looking up at her.

“Let me introduce everyone,” Alex spoke up again after another awkward silence. “You already seem to know my sister. Beside her is my girlfriend Maggie Sawyer. The young man currently imitating a guppy is Kara and my younger brother Winn Schott and the redhead trying to disappear into the couch is Jess.” A chorus of nice-to-meet-yous promptly went up from everyone simultaneously.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all, I’m Lena Luthor.”

“Wait,” Maggie is the first to reply, “Lena Luthor as in the Luthors who own half of National City Luthors?”

“Lena Luthor as in one of the youngest female CEOs ever in National City or Metropolis. You’ve topped the Forbes Thirty under Thirty list for the last three years running. The same Lena Luthor whose worked with Jack Spheer is said to be well on its way for curing at least two forms of childhood Leukaemia and God knows what else. She also sits on the board of at least fifteen charity organizations throughout National City and Metropolis and those are just the ones she’s made public. She holds four PHDs from colleges in the US ann UK. Your work in biochemical engineering, Physics and mechanical engineering is awe inspiring…” Winn exclaimed.

“Winn? Winn? Take a breath,” Alex called. “You’re freaking out Ms. Luthor.”

“I am?” Winn asked staring at Lena crestfallen.

“It’s just a bit…unnerving having someone I’ve never met know so much about me,” Lena replied.

“I promise he’s not quite as stalkerish as that episode of word vomit indicates,” Alex responds. “He’s pretty much harmless, right Winn?”

“Right,” Winn mumbled.

“And he’s gonna start using his big boy manners, right Winn?” Alex called giving Winn the evil eye.

“Right,” Winn answered diligently staring at his feet.

“No that’s quite alright. I’ll be happy to answer any of your questions,” Lena tells Winn. She couldn’t bear to see the kicked puppy expression he was currently wearing.

“You may live to regret that,” Alex sighed when Winn immediately perked up but secretly pleased that Lena had taken the time to make her brother’s day. “Winn is a bit of a nerd and will talk your ear off.”

“Like you’re not the same,” Maggie quipped from the island separating the kitchen area from the living room where she was currently making coffee for everyone.

“Zip it you,” Alex called good naturedly while the others snickered. “And Winn you will wait until after Ms. Luthor has concluded her business with Kara before plying her with questions yes?”

“Yes Alex,” Winn sighed.

Kara stood listening to the conversation swirling around her and praying that the floor would open up and swallow her. Why is it that on the one day that she decided to be completely reckless the most beautiful woman she had ever seen turned up at her door? It’s like the universe had decided to use her for target practice. What did she do to deserve this? She was nice to people, even that new witch Pam who seemed to believe Winn was her personal maintenance man. She gave to charity, she didn’t hunt, she was hardworking and an upstanding citizen so why was the cosmos picking on her?

“If you don’t mind my asking, why are you here?” she heard Alex asked Lena.

“I needed to talk to your sister about Mikayla Dawson,” Lena replied looking at Kara to gauge her reaction. She was happy to see the immediate look of concern cross the blonde’s face. Maybe Judge Ellington was right after all and Mikayla had a champion in her corner.

[salamadersaurus-rex]

Mammoths and Magnets

Like Nowhere on Earth part II

A Prehistoric Park AU feat. mammoths, magnets and VasLena. Also on AO3.

Thanks to @sobekcrocodile for all their help.

//

Kara had been recruited absurdly quickly. Director J’onzz moved fast because an hour after Kara read a confidential email meant for Alex she found him in her waiting room, kept company by a sheepish Alex and Gertrude the arthritic Alsatian.

Alex had explained, J’onn had just sat there with a briefcase in his lap Kara would soon find out was filled with legal papers. And Kara trusted Alex, so she signed the papers between appointments, promised not to tell and tried really hard not to think about time travel and dinosaurs as she treated a rabbit’s sprained paw. She barely gave it a chance to set in until long after J’onn left, after she locked up her little clinic behind her and found Alex waiting for her, leaning on her motorcycle.

“Can we talk?”

“I’m not allowed, remember? And I didn’t read the fine print so you’re going to have to tell me who I owe a kidney to when you come to collect.”

“Kara…”

“You know your secret organisation isn’t very good at keeping secrets.” Kara sets of down the street, quick enough that Alex has to rush to catch up.

“I really wanted to tell you.”

Kara sighs, slowing down slightly so Alex doesn’t have to jog.

“I hate that you have longer legs than me,” Alex grumbles. “But seriously, Kara. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you, I really am. It’s just… I love this job, we’re doing such good work I can’t lose that.”

“At least I know now, I guess.”

Alex brightens. “More than that, actually. I talked to J’onn - Director J’onzz - he’s agreed to let you come interview!”

“For what?” Kara asks, stopping so forcefully she almost knocks over an old woman. “Oh, I’m so sorry ma’am.” She lowers her voice. “For what, Alex? I’m a vet not a palaeontologist.”

“No, but we need a vet. I mean, another one. You’d be working with Dr Olsen, you’d really like him.” Alex bats her eyelashes dramatically, like she used to do when they were kids and she wanted to rope Kara into doing something ‘for science.’

“You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that.”

“What can I say, Kara? We could do so much good at the park.”

“No, buy me dinner first, then we talk.” Kara points to her favourite Chinese across the street. “After the day I’ve had I need a hundred potstickers and I need them now. Your super-secret time travel facility pays you enough for that, right?”

Alex rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling all the same. “Yeah, it does. So you’ll consider it?”

Kara checks both ways before dragging Alex across the road. “You’re gonna have to sell it hard, but yes for now I’ll maybe, maybe consider it.”

And it’d taken Alex a lot of food, begging, promising they were going to save the world together and that Kara’s clinic would be just fine with Eve but now here she was, fresh from her first trip back in time and already gearing up for another.

“I don’t really want to run into myself and explode the matrix or whatever,” Alex is saying to Lena.

They’re standing in the lab, still mucky and sweaty from herding a group of stubborn Saltasaurus to the far paddocks.

“That’s an easy fix Dr Danvers. All we have to do is send you back to five minutes before you left.”

“You can do that?” Kara asks, the thought of Alex falling into a random volcano still fresh in her mind.

Lena just tilts her head. “We can do anything Dr Danvers.”

“Well not anything,” Winn starts, but Lena ignores him.

“Are the both of you going?”

Kara nods excitedly, and Alex’s shoulders sag in defeat.

“We have to bring Harriet’s herd back,” Kara explains. “Mammoths are intensely social creatures, without her herd she’d get sick and lonely and-“ Kara’s lower lip trembles, and Alex wraps her arm round her shoulders.

“We’ll bring Harriet’s family back to her, Kara.”

Lena’s watching them, almost curiously, but then the tablet in her hands beeps insistently and draws her gaze away.

“Final checks have been completed. Dr Danvers… and Dr Danvers, is your team ready?”

Alex tugs her phone out her pocket, hits speed dial. Lucy’s phone rings just as she strides into the lab. She nods at Alex.

“We’re here.”

Vasquez and Maggie follow her in, thick parkas in their arms. Alex takes one and wraps it round Kara snugly. Kara beams, face haloed by the fluff lining the hood. There’s a pair of mittens hanging from the sleeves and they dance merrily when Kara waves at James who’s just walked in. The lab doors whoosh closed behind him.

“Ready?” James asks.

Kara nods, her face suddenly solemn. “I have to bring Harriet’s family home.”

James rests his hand on her shoulder, tries to squeeze it through the bulky parka. “You’ve got this Kara.”

Alex is watching Lucy and Maggie struggling to help each other into the coats, arguing over which zipper zips up where.

“A little help, Danvers?” Lucy complains, sticking her hand somewhere inside Maggie’s jacket.

Maggie jumps, swallows, and Alex is so very glad they’re heading to the ice age because there’s only so much of her blush she can control. She quickly helps the two of them out, zipping Lucy’s parka up a little too forcefully against her chin when she winks lewdly.

Lucy boops Maggie’s nose when they’re all bundled up. “You look adorable.”

“Say it at my funeral when I get trampled by three mammoths.”

“You’ll be fine Sawyer,” Vasquez says. “Just don’t spook ‘em.”

They quietly grunt, trying to fit the strap of their tranq gun over their parka. Lena hands Winn her tablet and hurries over to help, gently setting the strap in their shoulder and untwisting it.

“Thanks Doc,” Vasquez says, treating Lena to a crooked smile before they wander off.

Lena twists her fingers together and pretends not to watch Vasquez leave to join the group by the door. She clears her throat, snatches her tablet from Winn.

“Have you run all the checks?”

“Yes, I- I just told you.”

“I’m just double checking,” Lena snaps defensively. She takes a set of portal spikes from the metal case they’re stored in, clicks them together with a magnetic clip. She hands them to Alex. “Bring that clip back, it’s a prototype.”

Winn’s watch starts beeping and he holds his wrist up so Lena can see the timer. Lucy ushers Maggie and Kara out the door to the holding paddock where the rest of their equipment is.

“Shouldn’t be too long,” Alex says. “The herd wasn’t far away when Harriet started chasing us.”

“Try not to bring anything else back.”

Alex looks offended. “Me? Do something unauthorised?”

Vasquez snorts. “Something tells me you could go grocery shopping and come back with a Triceratops.”

Lena pretends to cough, trying to hold back a giggle. Vasquez winks at her. “See you in a bit Luthor, hopefully with a bunch more Harriets.”

They herd Alex towards the lab door. She’s grumbling under her breath, something about paperwork and not wanting to do any damn more of it. Lena smiles and steps up behind the control podium, counting down from ten and flicking switches and buttons in the order she knows by heart. With a roar the portal swirls open, and Lena’s heart makes that proud little flutter it does every time it comes to life.

“Never gets old,” Winn grins.

Lena makes some quip about time travel and gets back to work. A moment later the team appears, pushing the holding paddock doors wide open. Kara’s bouncing up and down excitedly, Lucy and Maggie roaring with laughter and it’s definitely not helping the foul look on Alex’s face. Vasquez just shakes their head and shoulders a backpack, striding purposefully into the time portal.

//

It’s cold. Really, really cold. Not that Lucy’s going to be the first one to state that. She made that mistake the last time they travelled to the ice age and neither Alex nor Maggie have let her live it down since.

“What do you think of the weather Luce?” Alex asks cheekily, her foggy breath streaming out in front of her like smoke from a steam train.

“It’s cooollldd,” Kara complains, and Lucy laughs because her nose is already turning red.

“It’s the ice age!” she, Maggie and Alex chime, Vasquez chuckling in the background.

Kara pouts, kicks at a ridge of snow. Maggie takes pity on her and wraps an arm round her shoulders. “It’s okay, little Danvers. Look.”

She points with her free hand. Wide, white plains stretch out around them for miles, covered in a deep layer of snow that rolls away in windswept ridges towards the grey horizon. Far, far in the distance Kara can see a small, dark huddle of creatures.

Kara perks up immediately. “Mammoths!”

Alex frowns. “What are they doing all the way over there?”

“Guys,” Vasquez says, distracted by snow at their feet. “Looks like, well, like a whole herd of mammoths has trampled through.”

“Yeah Vas, they’re over there.” Kara points.

“No, something spooked them.”

“It wasn’t you guys what, five minutes ago did Lena say?”

“I think Lena’s calculations are a bit off.”

“Don’t tell her that,” Lucy warns.

“Y’know Major, I really like time travel. I wanna keep doing it with all my limbs intact.” Vasquez points at something with the toe of their boot. “But Luthor’s maths is the least of our worries.”

They all crowd round Vasquez. The human boot print in the snow stands out crisply amidst the mess of mammoth prints.

“Don’t suppose that’s one of ours,” Maggie sighs.

“Alex?” Kara asks nervously. “What does this mean?”

“Prehistoric hunters,” Alex says. “They could have been after this herd for hours. We need to do something before they wear them out.”

“How’d you wear out a mammoth?” Lucy asks.

“Humans are persistence hunters, they literally just follow their prey until it’s exhausted. They’ve probably set up traps ahead as well.”

Kara’s face is set in a deep frown. She keeps up easily with Alex as they start moving across the plain towards the mammoth herd. Lucy and Vasquez keep to either side, eyes roving constantly over the snow searching for danger. Maggie checks behind them before moving to Kara’s side, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We won’t just lose the herd if we don’t make it in time,” Kara says, quietly. “We’ll lose Harriet too.”

“Not gonna happen, Kara.” Maggie promises.

She catches Alex’s grateful glance and smiles at her. Alex’s heart trips, her cheeks warming even in the freezing cold. She lets Kara forge on ahead slightly, moving closer to Maggie so she can whisper thank you, and rest a hand at the small of her back.

“Are you attempting physical contact, Danvers?” Maggie whispers back. “Because I can’t feel it through this damn coat.”

“Why are we whispering?” Vasquez stage-whispers exaggeratedly.

“So the mammoths don’t find out how much Danvers and Sawyer are in l-“

“Alex!” Kara’s worried cry carries from up ahead, cutting Lucy off.

Maggie only has time to roll her eyes at Lucy before running after Alex. Vasquez and Lucy swing their tranq guns off their shoulders, catching up in no time to find Alex holding Kara back firmly, Maggie scanning the herd of mammoths with a pair of binoculars.

“They’re gonna hurt them!” Kara shouts, wriggling in Alex’s arms.

“Kara, Kara, calm down!”

“No, Alex, they have spears!”

“And we have tranquiliser guns,” Vasquez says calmly. “Perks of the twenty first century.”

Kara stops struggling long enough for Maggie to hand her the binoculars. “Look, Kara. They’ve stopped.”

Maggie’s right. Kara presses the binoculars hard against her face, watching the ragtag band of hunters crouching down in the snow. She can barely see their faces, their hair long and matted and their beards thick and crusted with ice. They lay their spears down, the weapons dark and dangerous against the snow.

“What are they doing?” Kara asks. She hands Alex the binoculars.

“Probably trying to pick out the weakest member of the herd.”

Kara looks like she’s about to cry and fight someone at the same time. She balls her hands into fists as well as she can whilst wearing thick mittens, the crinkle in her forehead deep. At her side, Vasquez and Lucy are fixing scopes to their tranq guns.

“We’re too far away to get them,” Lucy says.

“And they’ll see us once we get closer.” Vasquez hums. “Never fought a caveman in close combat before.”

“I have,” Lucy grumbles. “In basic, in DC, hell, last time I spoke to my father.”

“What’s the plan you two?” Maggie asks.

“Oh there isn’t one,” Lucy says blithely.

Maggie frowns at her, one arm around Kara and from Kara’s other side, Alex glares too. Lucy sighs dramatically. She takes the binoculars from Alex, gives the hunters a cursory once over.

“We need a distraction. Non-combatants set up the portal, me and Vas’ll cover you.”

“As soon as they see us they’ll come after us,” Alex warns. “They’ll probably think we’re rival hunters.”

“So we do this quickly.”

Alex crouches down and roots in her pack for the portal spikes, tugs them gently apart, the magnetic clip falling into her lap. Kara wordlessly holds out a hand for a spike and Alex doesn’t hesitate giving it to her. Their eyes meet and Kara nods her thanks.

“Remember you’re not bulletproof Kara.”

Maggie laughs. “That’d make this job a lot easier- oh shit.”

The group of hunters is on the move, stalking through the snow, weapons held low at the ready.

“We have to do something, now,” Alex says a tinge of worry in her voice. “If they scatter the herd we’ll never get them back.”

Vasquez helps Alex up, directs everyone into a huddled group. “Okay listen up. We’re going to move towards them until they see us, if Alex is right they’ll leave the mammoths and come for us. We’ll be close enough to the herd that we can set up the portal but it’ll be tight.”

Alex shakes her head. “It’s too easy for them to follow us.”

Vasquez grins, snatches the metal clip that kept the spikes together from her. “I have an idea.”

//

There’s seven mammoths in the herd. One, an old female, lags behind the rest. They’ve slowed considerably to help her keep up, making low, comforting grumbling noises in their bellies. The group of hunters isn’t far from them, the traps a half mile up ahead when they hear a cheery shout carrying easily over the frosty air.

“HEY FLINTSTONES!”

They turn to see Lucy, a broad grin on her face and waving a metal pen at them. It glints in the cold light and the hunters freeze, grip tightening on their weapons. Vasquez is at Lucy’s side and they hold out another metal object, the magnetic clip.

“Wanna see some magic, assholes?” Vasquez asks.

Alex ushers Kara and Maggie out from behind the two soldiers and they hurry towards the herd of mammoths, footsteps crunching loudly through the snow. A couple of the hunters make to go after them but Vasquez yells, and Lucy lets go of the pen.

It clinks happily against the magnetic clip, wobbles for a second before Vasquez snatches it.

“That’s it?” Lucy says, disappointed. “That’s your distraction?”

“Worked didn’t it.”

The hunters are staring at the pen in Vasquez’s hand, mouths open and their eyes shining with horror and fear.

“Let’s go before they learn the word for bullshittery.”

Lucy and Vasquez back up slowly towards the others.  The hunters shuffle round, start following. There’s a loud roar, Alex must’ve tripped the portal and suddenly the hunters are yelling and falling back, scrambling over themselves to get away from the swirling vortex.

“Damn, that’s all it took?”

“What a waste of a beautiful demonstration of magnetism.”

Vasquez and Lucy run towards the portal, the mammoths trumpeting in concern as Maggie, Kara and Alex try to coerce them as gently as one can coerce a mammoth through a time portal. They make it through just as Vasquez and Lucy arrive, ushering the others though the portal and running in after them.

//

Kara cries when Harriet is reunited with her herd. They stampede towards her noisily, ears flapping, trunks waving and joyous trumpeting filling the air. Alex will never admit it but she cries too, and if she catches Lucy and Maggie discreetly wiping at their eyes she won’t say anything. Kara wraps Alex in a massive hug, tears wet against her neck but her smile wide.

“We did it!”

“Yeah we did. Look how happy they all are.”

Maggie comes over, Lucy close at her side. “Glad you joined us, little Danvers?”

Kara sniffles, laughs. “You know I’m taller than Alex right?”

“Yeah, but Alex’s denial of her rogue side is much, much bigger.”

Alex gasps, a look of mock anger on her face. “I’ll have you know Dr Sawyer, that J’onn just texted me saying we have a normal amount of paper work to fill out for once.”

“For once,” Lucy chuckles. “Roll up roll up, watch the inredible Alex Danvers do her job, exclusive one time only! Also starring the amazing Magnetic Vasquez!”

Vasquez laughs, tugging the magnet out their pocket. “I should take this back to Luthor.”

“I’ll come with,” Alex says. “Guys?”

Maggie and Lucy pile into the jeep parked by the gate to the mammoth paddock, wait for Alex to check with Kara she has a ride back.

“I’m going to wait for James, just make sure the herd’s alright.”

“Okay. Love you.” Alex pulls Kara in for a last hug. “You did so good today. Super.”

Kara laughs. “Super, huh?”

“Yeah, Kara Danvers, super vet.”

“It has a nice ring to it,” Kara says. She waits til Alex is almost at the jeep before she calls out, almost tentatively. “Sister night tonight?”

Alex hops into the jeep, gives her a thumbs up. “You know it, super vet.”

//

The tech labs are almost empty when Vasquez wanders in. The sun is setting over the desert, the strip of sky visible through the wide lab windows a stunning palette of oranges and yellows and pinks. The sun’s last rays filter warmly into the lab, but Lena’s sat in a far, shadowy corner, her pale face lit by the stark light of a computer screen.

Vasquez has changed into a t-shirt and dark jeans, and they tuck their hands into their back pockets as they head over to the corner Lena’s working in.

Lena jumps when they set the magnet gently on the table. They smile warmly at her, pulling out a chair from the terminal next to Lena’s and sitting down. They point to the magnet. “That saved our lives today. Well, not really, but it would’ve been funny if it had.”

Lena cocks her head, her eyes bright with interest. “Do tell.”

Vasquez waves a hand. “Did a magic trick for some cavemen, blew their minds. What I wanna know, Doc, is why you’re here so late.”

Lena scoffs. “It’s not that late.”

“Night crew got here two hours ago.”

Lena sighs. “Fine, I’ve been checking through the code to see why I didn’t send you back to the right time.”

“Luthor, you were like ten minutes late, tops.”

Lena rubs at her tired eyes. “That could be the difference between life and death though. What if next time I send you ten minutes after an earthquake, or ten feet to the right and off a cliff… I’d never forgive myself.”

Vasquez gently, briefly pats Lena’s forearm. “Then next time we’ll wear parachutes, just in case. You can’t know exactly what’s going to be on the other side, and no one’s gonna blame you for it if something does go wrong. Your job is to get us there, and Luthor, if you keep giving me toys like that magnet, I’ll make sure I come back.”

Vasquez grins crookedly, their eyes bright in the light of Lena’s monitor screen. Lena can’t really explain why her heart jumps, but she knows why her shoulders suddenly feel lighter. “It’s just a magnet. But thank you, Agent Vasquez.”

“A magnet specially designed so it doesn’t interfere with the delicate electronics of the time portal spikes.” Vasquez smiles at her, their expression soft as they watch Lena fiddle with the magnet, turning it over and over in her fingers. “I know my science. And just Vasquez is fine, Luthor.”

Lena almost blushes. “Yeah? Well just Lena is fine too.”

//

Maggie, Lucy and Alex ride back to the city together, bikes kicking up dust against the setting sun. They don’t really discuss it, but after such a long day it feels natural to all pull up at Maggie’s, hold hands in the elevator all the way up to her floor. Alex closes the door, turns to watch Maggie take off her coat, Lucy draw her into a soft kiss.

“Get over here Danvers,” Lucy murmurs.

Alex steps into their waiting arms, lets them pull her into a safe, warm hug. There’s kisses, quiet, tired kisses, and the solid presence of her girlfriends, and Alex feels a weight lift off her she’d barely realised was there.

“This feels nice,” she whispers.

“You want to do this then?” Maggie asks, sincerely.

She and Lucy draw back to watch Alex, shoulders relaxing when Alex nods, a soft grin on her face. “I told you seventy million years ago I want to do this.”

Lucy snickers, kisses Alex’s cheek. “Well you can do it after sister night. Go check on Kara and then come back over.”

“Lucy this is my apartment, you can’t just invite people over like you own the place.”

Lucy pecks her on the lips. “We’re dating now. Su casa es mi casa, y mi novia’s casa, y… actually no that’s it, I want you two to myself. Get used to it Sawyer.”

Maggie chases her into the kitchen, the both of them giggling like school girls and Alex knows she’ll have this warm, fuzzy feeling in her chest for the rest of the night.

//

Kara’s dozing on the couch when Alex lets herself in. She’s snuggled in a fluffy blanket, a book on mammoths she must have grabbed from the park’s library lying open on the floor. Alex quietly picks it up, bookmarks Kara’s place. She watches Kara sleep for a moment, her face so calm after the hard day she’d had, before rustling the takeout bags loudly.

Kara’s eyes snap open. “Food.”

“Yeah, your favourite. You’ve earned it.”

Kara happily accepts the food Alex hands her, sitting up and making room for Alex on the couch. “How are the mammoths?”

“Doin’ amahshin,” Kara says through a mouthful of potstickers. She swallows comically. “Amazing. Alex they’re right at home. No complications from the time portal, nothing. And Harriet’s so happy!”

“I’m so glad.”

“We sat and watched them for hours after you left.”

Alex reaches for a napkin. “We, huh?”

Kara blushes, attacks another takeout box. “Me and James. Just to make sure they were okay and settling in.”

Alex nods solemnly. “Of course.”

“It’s my first day, don’t tease me!” Kara whines.

Alex takes  a huge bite to hide her laugh. “Who’s teasing? Not me, no I’m a good big sister I don’t tease about crushes on hunky vets- hey!”

Kara smacks Alex with the pillow again, her laughter ringing out through the apartment. “Put a movie on, asshole.”

Alex reaches for the remote, pulls up Netflix and the two of them settle down, laughing at the cheesy romcom Kara picks, happy and relaxed after a long, but good, day.

[aeon-wolf]

Ascension - Chapter 5

Demos Educational Organization was like no other college Lena could have imagined. Instead of reading, math, and science, they were taught Ancient Greek, War Strategy, and Swordsmanship. Lena, shocked to find out her true parentage strikes friendships left and right at her new school. Her most treasured friendship of all, her friendship with one Daughter of Zeus, Kara Danvers. Follow Lena on a journey of self-discovery in an attempt to foil the plot of the Titans, and maybe learn a few things about herself along the way.

Or

A PJO inspired Supercorp series. Part One: Ascension.

Read it here on AO3

I.

Lena didn’t remember falling asleep. Though her body was so sore from sparring with Kara that she had headed back to her dorm room after dinner much to the amusement of the group. She had just flipped them all off and said she wasn’t as used to everything as they were yet.

When she got back to her room, she had just flopped on the bed, immediately shutting her eyes and letting Morpheus overtake her. Her mind drifted as she slept before settling in the middle of a barren wasteland. Lena looked around, taking in her surroundings. She walked among the stone ruins, running her fingers over the fallen structures, char marks marring the environment and smoke rising in the distance. The murky gray sky was lit up, but Lena could see no clouds or any source of light to brighten the area. Lena frowned as she could make out a figure in the distance.

Somehow, the figure got closer even though Lena nor the strange man were making any movements. Everything stopped when he was a few yards from her and she got a better view of him. She did not recognize the person standing before her. She could see his chest and arms were bare, his lower body covered in armor, though she was looking at his back, his muscles a prominent feature of his body. A golden cape wrapped around his shoulders.

Lena could see dark brown hair cut short atop his head. She glanced down his body to see a fancy and impressive golden sword attached to his hip and a helmet tucked under his arm. The man turned to face Lena and the freshman gasped as she looked at his eyes. Instead of a single color, she saw his gaze shift through various, vibrant shades of red, yellow and orange, like flames were flickering behind his eyes. Lena wanted to take a step back, distance herself from the man in front of her, but she couldn’t move.

Lena whimpered, both intimidated and in awe of the man who stood before her. He looked to be much older than her, at least 10 to 15 years if not more. Though if Lena was straight, she might find him attractive. She met his stare, his eyes seeming to stare into her soul. As much as she wanted to look away, she didn’t, captivated by the flickering colors of his eyes.

The man opened his mouth, a smooth voice issuing from it, echoing in Lena’s ears, “Before the end, you will know who you truly are.” Lena frowned, not understanding his words, but quickly shielded her eyes as the man before her disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. Lena slowly opened her eyes as the light faded before she felt a hand grab her wrist. She gasped as the same man had materialized beside her, taking her right wrist in his hand. He wrapped his fingers all the way around it, his palm facing the inside of her wrist.

Lena felt a searing pain in her wrist, like a red hot burn marring her skin. Lena screamed out in her dream, jarring her out of her sleep and she jolted up in her bed, breathing deeply, sweat running down her forehead. The pain disappeared like it had never existed. Lena glanced down at her wrist. To her horror, she saw a glowing symbol etched into her skin. A blazing sun with an open eye in the middle. Lena lifted her wrist to inspect it more closely, but the symbol glowed brightly and disappeared, her pale skin becoming unmarked.

The freshmen blinked and frowned. ‘That was more than just a dream.’ Lena thought to herself. Shaking her head, she looked out the window of her room. Night had fallen on the campus, the moon high in the sky. Lena got out of her bed and walked over to the window. Unable to fall back to sleep and finding herself unconsciously rubbing her wrist, Lena leaned up against the wall next to the window, watching a few students walk between dorms and others messing around the darkness.

Lena wasn’t sure how long she stood there, it could have been hours for all she knew, but eventually she decided to go back to sleep. She would ask Maggie about her dream tomorrow she decided. So Lena actually changed her clothes as she had fallen asleep earlier without doing so. She grabbed an oversized t-shirt and a pair of shorts, stripping down and changing into her pajamas.

The freshman crawled into bed, pulling the covers over her body. She lay with one arm behind her head as she laid on her back, staring at the ceiling. It didn’t take long for sleep to overtake her, but as she slept, she tossed and turned, those fiery eyes haunting her dreams.

II.

Maggie all but threw herself into her usual seat next to Lena in Ancient Greek the next day. She smiled at her friend, but noting the tired look on her face, immediately looked concerned. “Are you okay Lena? I mean, I know you’re not used to sparring with Kara for much of the afternoon, but you look…” Maggie trailed off, not wanting to come across as rude. Lena shook her head.

“No it’s not that, but yeah. I’m a little tired. I didn’t sleep too well last night.” Lena said, yawning. Maggie gave Lena a sympathetic look.

“We’ve all had those nights. Any specific reason why you couldn’t sleep?” Maggie asked her friend. Lena hesitantly nodded. Maggie tilted her head to the side, silently asking Lena to continue.

“I… had the weirdest dream last night. It felt too real to be fake, but I also knew I was asleep. I jolted awake as it ended. And then I just couldn’t stop thinking about it for the rest of the night, even when I went back to sleep.” Lena confided in her friend. Maggie frowned. But didn’t immediately comment. Lena hoped that she hadn’t spooked her friend.

Eventually, Maggie responded, “I think you should probably talk to Alex about this one. She’ll probably have better advice than I could give you.” Maggie said. “I’ve heard of those sorts of dreams happening to halfbloods before and they usually aren’t just dreams.” Lena bit her lip, afraid that Maggie was right.

Ancient Greek went along without any more mention of Lena’s dreams between the two friends. They sat in the back, as usual, and didn’t pay much attention to their teacher, rather continuing their discussion from the previous day about the uses of human technology in enhancing their world. Lena thought that while much of the halfblood’s world was very much focused on older techniques, like sword fighting and archery, that someone like Winn could easily rig up more modern weaponry like guns and grenades to function like celestial bronze would against attacking monsters.

Maggie was of a similar mindset but wondered more about the defensive aspects of such technology. Could the Hephaestus kids create armor that was more resistant to monster attacks? And how realistic would it be to use on quests and such, where mobility and speed were usually key. The two would often write down ideas in their notebooks to chat with their friends about. But they hadn’t worked out all the details between themselves yet, so they hadn’t talked to Alex or Winn about such an idea, though they were sure both of them would be receptive to the idea. Winn especially.

Class ended and the two friends packed up their stuff, laughing together as Maggie had been talking Lena a story from when she had first met Kara and the overly excited daughter of Zeus had accidently broken one of her ribs when she discovered that Alex and Maggie were dating and had hugged her a little too tight. “That sounds like something she would do,” Lena remarked as the two walked towards the cafeteria together. Maggie grinned, nodding.

“You should have seen the horror on her face! If it hadn’t hurt so much, I would have been laughing my ass off.” Maggie replied, smiling at the memory. The two grabbed some food before sitting next to their friends. Lena set her food next to Kara who smiled brightly at her friend.

“Hi, Lena!” Kara said happily. Lena smiled at the sight of Kara, her heartbeat increasing slightly and butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she looked at the blonde. Lena knew she was developing a little bit of a crush on Kara but didn’t know what to do about it. Kara was her friend. In fact, one of her most important friends. She didn’t want to make things awkward between them. Especially because basically all of her friends at Demos were also Kara’s friends, and in fact were Kara’s friends before they were hers. She didn’t want her feelings for Kara to get in the way of their friendship and make the group awkward.

“Hi, Kara.” Lena greeted with a small smile before turning to Alex. “Alex, do you mind if we talk? Privately.” Lena added at the end. The dark haired girl glanced at Kara who was giving her a concerned look, but Alex nodded, standing up and kissing Maggie on the cheek.

“I’ll be right back,” Alex said to her girlfriend, who nodded, looking up at Lena with a small, encouraging smile. The two walked over to a secluded table and sat down. “Something wrong Lena?” Alex asked. Lena nodded slowly. Alex was one of the people in the group who she didn’t talk to that much. The senior was a little bit intimidating to Lena, even though they saw each other every day. And she knew that Alex was extremely protective of Kara and Lena’s feelings for the blonde would most certainly be put through a 10 point test to prove her worth if anyone ever found out.

“I… I was talking to Maggie earlier and she told me I should talk to you.” Alex nodded, gesturing for the freshman to continue. Lena took a breath. “I had a really vivid dream last night. I… it felt like it was more than a dream, that it was real.” Lena said quietly, absentmindedly rubbing her wrist again. Though she didn’t share the content of the dream, Alex frowned.

“Do you know what it meant?” Alex asked slowly and Lena shook her head.

“I have no idea. I don’t even remember the entire thing,” Lena lied, not wanting to share the contents of the dream. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Alex or anything. Rather she had no idea what to make of it herself and wanted to keep it close to her chest for the time being. “Just flashes.” Alex nodded.

“It could possibly mean nothing. Halfbloods do dream like anyone else. But we also sometimes have prophetic visions and receive messages through our dreams too. And you, being a daughter of Apollo are more susceptible to them than most of us. I’d suggest going to see J’onn. See if he has anything to say.” Alex said gently, placing a hand on Lena’s shoulder, squeezing it. “There’s probably nothing to worry about, but if you’re concerned about it, he’ll probably be able to help.” Lena nodded once. Alex smiled as the pair stood up from their seats, walking back over to their friends.

Lena took her usual seat next to Kara as Alex settled back in next to Maggie. “What was that about?” Mon-El asked, who was sitting next to Kara. The blonde glared at the son of Ares who had the tact to look a little sheepish.

“Nothing. I just needed some advice.” Lena said, brushing off the question. Mon-El nodded, obviously accepting the answer, though Kara gave Lena a look that signified that she knew her friend was lying but didn’t push.

“Do you want to spar again today? Maybe try your hand against Mon-El?” Kara asked instead. Lena shook her head.

“No thanks. I’m still a little sore from yesterday, maybe tomorrow? There’s something I want to do today. Hope you guys don’t mind?” Lena asked. Both Kara and Mon-El shook their heads. They were used to Lena occasionally spending her free period without them. Lena nodded, silently thanking them for not asking what she was planning on doing. She was about to open her mouth when Winn slid in next to her.

She turned to face her son of Hephaestus. “Can I help you?” She asked teasingly. Winn laughed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Sorry to pop by like this. But I was wondering if I could bounce a new idea off of you?” Winn asked. Lena nodded, turning her full attention to Winn who proceeded to talk to her about his ideas for developing a new way to smith celestial bronze weapons faster and make them more durable.

III.

Lena nervously stood outside J’onn’s door. She hesitated then knocked softly. She waited for a second before the door opened. J’onn looked at her before smiling. “Lena. I was just about to have you come see me.” Lena frowned as he opened the door wider so she could step into his office.

“What for sir?” Lena asked curiously as J’onn went to sit back at his desk, gesturing for Lena to take a seat. Lena sat in the chair across from J’onn.

“The Gods have seen decided that they wish for you to lead a quest.” Lena’s eyebrows shot up.

“Me? But… Sir. I’m only a freshmen. I’ve barely learned anything this semester. Shouldn’t it be one of the seniors or something?” Lena asked frantically. J’onn gave Lena a knowing look.

“The Gods work in mysterious ways, Lena. But rest assured, this isn’t a mistake. And don’t sell yourself so short. I’ve seen your grades since you’ve gotten here. In only a few weeks you’ve gotten some of the highest grades in War Strategy that I’ve seen from a freshmen in a long time. And word on campus is that you were able to stand up to Kara Danvers on your first real sword fight.” Lena blushed that news of that sparring session had made it’s way to J’onn. “That’s not a small feat Lena.” He said warmly.

“I guess so,” Lena said hesitantly. “So I’m supposed to lead a quest to do what?” Lena asked. She had only heard stories of quests, usually they involved retrieving some magical artifact or something. J’onn didn’t speak, instead waved his hand at a blank space on the wall, a dark wooden door appearing out of nowhere.

“You are to speak with the Oracle, who will give you a prophecy. Only then will we know for sure what you mission is.” He said, gesturing to the door. Lena nodded, standing up from her chair and approaching the door in front of her. She grabbed the door handle, pulling it open to reveal a dimly lit room. She looked back at J’onn who nodded, encouraging her to enter the room. Lena gulped, walking into the room.

As soon as she was inside, the door mysteriously shut behind her. The slam of the door made her jump and look back at the door, before examining the room around her. In the middle of the room sat an upright coffin, open to reveal a dead body of a young girl. Lena hesitantly approached it, inching forward, as if the corpse would magically come to life and devour her.

Lena wasn’t sure what to say or what to do. So she frowned, tilting her head slightly to the side. “What is my destiny?” She whispered, feeling stupid, talking to a dead body. But the candlelight that lit the room immediately brightened a blue aura surrounding the corpse in front of her. Lena stepped back automatically, bringing her hands up in front of her. The eye sockets of the girl glowed an eerie blue color as it spoke.

Six heroes will seek the Titans As the danger to Olympus heightens

To travel West, one shall lead A halfblood, a single Titan will pay heed

To live or die, depends upon friends, And in the end, one will ascend.

As the Oracle finished speaking, the lights dimmed back down, the blue aura fading. The door opened behind her, revealing J’onn’s office where the man was sitting at his desk, obviously waiting for her to emerge.

There isn't much for me to say about this chapter. It's pretty... self-explanatory. Lena is having weird dreams. Not odd for a halfbood, right? Also, I'm no good at writing poetry or whatever, so writing a prophecy myself was a bit of a reach. But it got the point across, so I'm fine.

I think it's pretty obvious which five other halfbloods Lena is going to pick to go with her on the quest though. So, yeah. :) I guess one of the biggest mysteries is who was the man from Lena's dream? Who knows. Except me of course. I know who he is. *wink*

[fool-errant]

Taffer Drabble

Okay - I’m sorry for this. I’ve been playing Gishonored and my mind kept wanting ot cross the streams of it and Old!Thief. So...here’s a wee bit of a fragment of osmething I’ve been writing to amuse myself. I’m sorry. I set this up after Deadly Shadows, which meant the kid had to be worked with. I do have bits where Corvo and such pop up but I decided just to post this fragment out and see if anyone cared to see this.

It was raining. Again. Of course it was. “Month of Rain.” Garrett grumbled at the raindrops pattering off the window glass. Month of Rain, Month of Wind, Month of Darkness, Month of Freezing Your Ass Off, Month of Boredom. He once again wondered why he’d bothered coming to Dunwall. Because it was far away from the City and the Keepers. He'd killed a god, a madman, and the hag and after all that the Eternal City had become a shifting stew pot.The Guilds were trying to get more power, the Hammer was still trying to restore their standing after the madness of Karas, the Pagans were probably soon to die after Viktoria. And the Keepers faded into the cracks like rats, Garrett had kept glancing over his shoulder. Waiting for them to appear and kill him or ask him for a favor. He wasn’t sure which possibility was worse.  He had worked on through the unease. Pushed through the shadows that felt unfamiliar.Thievery was not a job without risks after all. He and the City had survived worse. Things would settle and a new balance would be found. Alas in the end - basic economics had forced his hand. 

The Baron and his war had made coin scarce and food harder to find than coin. When things got bad, they’d be an uprising, than probably a revolution. Both were bad for business and staying alive. So he’d packed up - called in some favors and moved on elsewhere for better prospects. The True Keeper and Master Thief moved out of his City due to politics. Biting back a sigh he climbed down the stairs of the flat.

 It was narrow, cramped and cheap. Like all places in this city it was warped from years of sea air and would burn down if a candle tipped over.  But it kept the month of rain off his head and the landlord asked no questions. As he stepped off the bottom step he heard a small clatter. Off our heads, he corrected himself. He hadn't pictured himself as the sort to teach or adopt a protege. But he hadn’t imagined leaving the City either. 

At the table sat Beetle, a girl of indeterminate years trying her hand at a rather complicated lockbox. It was one he'd picked up at his last job for practice. The craftsmen of the Empire were clever but in the end all locks could be cracked.

The girl was so focused on her work she didn't notice him creeping behind her. Tapping her on her shoulder she froze, petrified. "A good cracksman always pays attention."  He murmured in her ear. 

"Ya scared the breath out of me-" the girl hissed at him. 

"Better me than the Watch." He reminded her. 

"The Watch ain't as quiet." She fumed. 

"Did you leave me any food?" He asked changing the subject "or did you eat me out of house and home again?" 

"I left yah the dry heel of bread. With mold." She said glibly before turning again to the lock. 

"Kind of you," he answered rolling his eyes and walking to the cupboards. As he expected, he found the cabinet contained more than a heel of bread. Beetle was rarely as bad as her mouth.

 Insubordination, disrespect he imagined Keeper Orland saying sternly. But he was neither a Keeper or a parent. Manners were not a skill he valued highly or cared to teach.

Beetle had tried to pick his pocket in the City, he had caught her easily enough but hadn't been able to leave her on her way. Looking at her at that moment, starving kid, no parents, no home, sharp eyes and too clever for their own good. He'd had Artemus to pull him out of a similar place, he found himself thinking back on the old man more since his death.

Unsure what to do he'd bought her a meal and soon found himself looking out for her and showing her basic tricks to survive.The places the Watch didn't look for, the shops with absent minded owners. He let her sleep by the stove when Winter came to the City. By then they’d established a...business arrangement. Like all street rats she distrusted authority or charity. Too many people whose charity came with an Unspoken Cost, some kids were never seen again after such ‘kindness’. So the business agreement was established. He wasn’t her parent or warden, and she wasn’t expected to stay around. The fact that she had agreed to leave the City and keep working with him had been a pleasant surprise.

Getting soft. Artemus would laugh at me if he could see this.

Pulling out a pear and a block of cheese he sat down next to her and started eating his meal. "What's the word out?" part of Beetle’s job was being his eyes and ears on the street. No one paid attention to street kids or other unwanted pests. Unlike grown men with an odd accent and a mechanical eye.

 "Not much," Beetle said as she turned the lock box in her hands. "Just the rain and floods. Swells don't come out this season. Would look like a bunch of drenched cats.” she snorted. “A few feast days coming up next month might be worth some diving."  

Garrett hrmed to himself as he took another bite of pear. The current weather certainly limited their choices of work.He had enough set aside that their rent should be covered for a while. But that wouldn't cover expenses or food. The rain also meant fewer people out to pick pockets. He mentally went over the list of shops that might make promising targets. Simple jobs, small pay, but his professional pride could take the wounding, it'd be good experience for Beetle anyway.

From the other side of the table there was a click and the girl made a triumphant squeal as the box finally opened. However her face crumpled as the box revealed its contents. "Its just a taffin' book." She grumbled. 

"Let me see that," Garrett reached over and took the disappointing reward from her. 

Beetle slumped in her chair, "Who locks up a stupid book anyway? Not like anyone's gonna read it." It occured to Garrett, he really should at least attempt to introduce her to literacy. 

He filed that thought away as he flipped through the book. Experience taught him that books were usually locked away when they contained something dangerous- or valuable. Maybe he could get something useful out of it.It looked like a personal diary, all dates and numbers and names. Lots of names. And titles.He pocketed the book to sort through later, might be worth some coin to someone.

He looked across the table to the sullen girl, all disappointment and misery as only the young experience. After a moments moments thought he finally spoke "Good job, you'll make a decent cracksman yet." 

Her face brightened at the praise. Clearing his throat Garrett went back to his food.

[ebonysarah]

20 Makeup Tricks Every Girl Should Know

I was looking in my Google docs and found this document I done on makeup tips from a website which i done about 3 years ago now. Yes it is word for word by the arrival but I do have the link to the website in the post so I am giving credit where it is due. Enjoy. ***update: I am still sick not as sick as I was I still have a sore throat and a bad cough but I think you all have waited long enough on me. 20 Makeup Tricks Every Girl Should Know: http://www.dailymakeover.com/trends/makeup/makeup-beauty-tips-smoky-eye-red-lip-how-to/ 1. Tired of your foundation looking cakey and unnatural? To get fresh-faced, flawless skin, CoverGirl Global Creative Design Director Pat McGrath has a nifty trick: Put foundation all over your face, then use a tissue to wipe it off of your cheeks. This makes it easier to layer your blush on without it looking fake. “It brings life back to your cheeks and realness back to your skin,” she says. 2. When you’ve got naturally long, lush lashes, you don’t need a ton of other makeup to stand out. To get an enviable fringe, Chanel celebrity makeup artist Kara Yoshimoto Bua says to first be sure your mascara is no more than a month old—fresh mascara glides on easier and won’t flake. “Wiggle mascara in at the base of the lash and sweep outward and upward,” says Bua. “The trick to sexy natural lashes is to get the thickness into the base of the lashes and taper them naturally to the ends, as opposed to chunky, thick ends.” 3. Mastering a multi-use product will not only give you a pretty look, it will also help save you time and money on your makeup routine. “Everyone should have a great fuchsia cheek color that they can pop on their lips and cheeks,” says Revlon global artistic director Gucci Westman. Whether you’re fair or have a darker skin tone, Westman promises that pink works on everyone. “Choose a creamy, opaque pink with a bit of gold in it to brighten the face. Mix it with some moisturizer and blend on your cheeks,” she says. 4. Dark circles can make you look tired. To get a wide-awake look, try this tip from makeup artist Bobbi Brown: “Prepare the under eye area with a hydrating, fast-absorbing eye cream, which will allow products to go on smoothly. Apply a corrector to cover the purple or green tones in the skin, then follow with a concealer that is one to two shades lighter than your foundation. Finally, set the undereye area with a pale yellow powder to help it last longer and prevent creasing.” 5. There’s nothing more seductive—or feminine—than a bold red pout. “A hot, red lip is an essential part of every girl’s bag of tricks,” says L’Oréal Paris Consulting Makeup Artist Collier Strong. “Start with a very sharp lip liner, in the same color as your chosen lipstick. As you apply, smile a little so the lips are tight and the liner goes on easier. Fill in the lips using the side of the liner, then take a lip brush and apply the lipstick for precision. If you make a mistake, take a little concealer on a small brush and ‘erase’ it.” 6. Liquid liner is one of the trickiest products to master, but once you learn the right way to do it, you can create chic eye makeup looks in a flash. “An easy way to test out liquid liner is to first use a taupe eyeliner pencil to lightly trace a line just above your upper lashline,” says Avon Global Creative Color Director Jillian Dempsey. “This trick lets you make sure the lines are even and accurate before next applying the liquid liner directly on top of the ‘practice’ line. 7. You don’t have to be born with killer cheekbones when you can just fake it with this sculpting tip from celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal: Sweep a sheer shimmer powder along the top of your cheekbones and just under your temples. Next, pucker up to find the hollows of your cheeks. Dust a deep nude blush in the sunken area just under the cheekbone. Smile and apply a peachy blush using the “cinnamon bun method”—use circular motions, starting at the apple of the cheek and slowly make larger circles with the brush. Voila! Instant cheekbones! 8. To score a red carpet-worthy smoky eye, celebrity makeup artist Jake Bailey says to start by lining the inner rim of your lower lashlines, working the eyeliner into the lashes. Close your eyes and line the upper lashlines, pushing the liner into the lashes so there’s no gap between your lashes and the line. Use your fingertip to smudge it in, then sweep eyeshadow across your lids and up into your creases, blending outwards and upwards towards (but not to!) your temple. 9. A bold brow is an easy way to create an attention-grabbing makeup look. “Comb your brows with a spoolie brush or clean mascara wand to see how they lay naturally,” says Clinique Global Colour Artist Jenna Menard. “Using a soft, slightly waxy brow pencil, shape the brow by using the thinner side of the tip. Then, take the flatter angle of the pencil and fill in the brow using short strokes that look similar to hair. Finish by blending a shimmery highlighter just below the brow bone to add brightness and lift.” 10. For multi-dimensional skin that’s neither too matte nor too dewy, celebrity makeup artist Troy Jensen applies highlighter before foundation. “I like the glow to look more natural, from within,” he says. “With full coverage foundation, it can tend to look a little dull or matte as the day progresses. Having the highlighter underneath gives that glow.” Whip out your favorite highlighter—which, if you’re anything like us, is probably Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat ($41, yslbeautyus.com)—and illuminate away, then go in with the foundation for total coverage that’s still radiant. 11. A healthy bronze glow like is always in style, no matter the season. To avoid looking like an extra on “Jersey Shore”, celebrity makeup artist Carmindy says to strategically sweep bronzer on your temples, along the sides of the face, and right under the cheekbones in a ‘C’ formation. She says, “Keep the bronze color away from the center of your face—too much bronzer on the center can make you look older.” 12. We can all look a little tired once in a while, which is why it’s critical to use light eye makeup shades to your advantage. A shimmery white or pale beige pencil brightens the entire eye area when used on the water line, and you can take it a step further by adding the same shade to the outer corner of the eye between the upper and lower lashes—it opens up the eyes and makes them look more almond shaped. “This is a dancer’s trick,” says celebrity makeup artist and founder of Susan Posnick Cosmetics, Susan Posnick. “Finally, try a pale shimmery shadow under the bottom lashes to keep eyes sparkling. Skip mascara on the bottom lashes. Mascara can cast a shadow, making the eyes look tired.” 13. An eyelash curler is your best friend. Sonia Kashuk, makeup artist and founder of Sonia Kashuk Beauty, swears by lash curlers as the key to making eyes pop. “Be sure to choose one that creates a beautiful upward curl, such as Sonia Kashuk Dramatically Defining Eye Lash Curler ($8.99, target.com), and with a delicate pumping motion, move from the lash base upward for maximum results.” And always curl before applying mascara, not after. When bare, “the eyelashes are suppler so the crimping of the lash doesn’t feel as damaging,” Kashuk explains. 14. Color-coordinating your lips with your cheeks creates a uniform look that appears natural, no matter what shade you choose. Runway makeup artist Hannah Murray goes so far as to use a lip crayon as blush for perfectly coordinated features. She takes a chunky lip crayon, like the deep wine shade of NARS Satin Lip Pencil ($25, narscosmetics.com) in Golshan, and scribbles it on the back of her hand as you would a paint palette. Then, she says, “Then I just take my finger and blend it into cheeks.” Matchy-matchy has never been so easy—or looked so good. 15. Every girl loves glitter, but once you hit a certain age, it can be tough to find a way of wearing it that looks appropriate. Lancôme makeup artist Diane Kendal has found the solution: Keep glitter confined to the center of the eye, and use a matte shade on the rest of the lid as a sort of boundary. “It’s literally just in the center, within the brown eye shadow so it doesn’t take over the eye—you just get a hint of it when the eyes open.” Skip sparkles on the browbone and corners of the eyes, where they can look too intense. 16. Take what you learned in high school art class and adapt it to suit your makeup needs. If color theory wasn’t your thing, no problem—we’ve got you covered. Celebrity makeup artist James Vincent‘s surprising trick involves using a darker concealer to hide under eye puffiness. “A darker color will recess something, or make something appear deeper and smaller. Darker colors create the illusion of pulling the puffiness back, making it look even with the rest of your skin.” On the other hand, using too-light concealer on under eye puffiness will draw attention to the area and make it stand out more. 17. “When applying foundation, remember it needs to finish looking smooth and blended into skin properly,” advises makeup artist Nico Guilis, but brushes may not always be the answer. In fact, she relies on her fingers to get the job done. “I always apply foundation to my skin with my hands, as if it is a moisturizer—it allows me to really press it into my skin without looking streaky or spotty.” Brushes have their place, but it’s always best to finish off the job by pressing your fingers into your face. The warmth from your hands heats up the product, making it easier to blend and allowing for a smoother, more natural finish. Whatever you do, Guilis says, don’t use a makeup sponge on a water-based foundation. “It soaks up product and doesn’t disperse well,” she warns. 18. For glossy, three-dimensional lips without the stick factor of gloss, try this red carpet trick that’ll blow your mind. Bruce Grayson, the official makeup artist of the Oscars, uses a slightly damp Q-tip to dab shimmer pigment in white, yellow, or gold on the center of the lips toward the inside to give a wet, shiny look without actually using lip gloss. Genius. 19. We’ve heard of mixing moisturizer in with our foundation for lighter coverage, but here’s one take on the trick that we’re gearing up to put into action every day: Cosmetic dermatologist Dr. David Colbert suggests adding two drops of argan oil to any foundation just before applying, mixing the oil with the pigment to blend the two. The finish of the oil helps even out light reflectance from the skin, so it’s especially good for occasions during which you’ll be photographed. 20. If you want the look of whiter teeth without undergoing a whitening treatment, Hollywood beauty pro and esthetician Scott-Vincent Borba relies on red lip stain—but not on the lips. “If celebrities don’t have time to whiten their teeth, but want a sparkling white smile,” he says, “I’ll use a red lip stain on the gum line. This instantly makes teeth look whiter.”

[dokifluffs]

Dada’s Home | Oikawa, Atsumu

Pairings: Oikawa X Reader (female), Atsumu X Reader (female)

Genre: fluffy domestic haikyuu goodness

Author’s Note: oh to be y/n 

Dada’s Home | Kenma, Iwaizumi // Dada’s Home | Ushijima, Tsukishima

Warnings! All post time skip! Spoilers to manga end for Iwa! and also they have kids

OIkawa: 

"Yoohoo, Y/N~” Oikawa’s silky voice sounded from the front door, immediately pulling you from the sleep you were about to fall under as he shut the door behind him, stepping out of his shoes and letting everything drop to the benches near the door 

Your head that was slowly falling, suddenly jerked upright against the couch, baby monitor still on before you on the table still giving you a view of your baby girl fast asleep in her crib upstairs 

“Welcome home, Tooruuuu,” you stretched out every word as well as his name as his smile brightened the room even more as he jogged a little to the couch where you sat 

“I’m home, Y/N~” he leaned down, cupping your head as he kissed you all over, repeatedly to your cheeks and forehead, fits of giggles erupting from all his affection tickling you 

“And how’s our little angel?” He plopped himself down beside you, wrapping his arm around you to pull you even closer 

“She’s sound asleep,” the two of you looked fondly to her through the night vision camera as she laid still, asleep with a bit of her tongue sticking out, a small habit of hers already developed 

“Hm, we should sleep too. Thank you for waiting for me, but next time if you’re about to fall asleep, I don’t mind if you go to sleep first,” he smiled gently, leaning close to peck his lips to yours 

“I might just take you up on that,” you yawned, almost losing balance as you stood but Tooru steadied you 

He smelled so fresh as you walked beside him, you couldn’t wait to sleep 

especially since tomorrow was a rare day off where Oikawa didn’t have practice and you had finally convinced him to rest

tomorrow was going to be one of the first days in so long since the three of you would spend the entire day together as a little family 

You playfully swung his arm as the two of you held hands, walking up the stairs and down the hall toward the bedroom 

He twirled you around as he nudged the bedroom door open with his foot

“Oh my god, I’m so excited to sleep,” you practically threw yourself into the center of the bed, pulling and burying your face into the comforter and pillows, letting the silky fabric rub against your skin 

“I’m gonna change, don’t fall asleep without me just yet,” he hummed as disappeared into the closet 

“Mmhm,” you could barely keep your eyes open at this point 

By the time Oikawa came back out, donning a loose alien tshirt and pajama pants

and you were basically asleep at this point, your body laid on top of the covers 

“Y/N, you need to actually get under the blanket,.” he laughed as he got onto the bed beside you, laying on the blanket as well as he draped his legs over you 

but just as he did this 

sad cries sounded from the baby monitor 

“Aw, D/N,” you yawned as you naturally gravitated to her nursery whenever she cried 

“Don’t worry, I got her. You get some sleep, alright?” He scooted himself off the edge of the bed as you melted back to your spot. “But asleep beneath the blanket” 

He walked down the hall towards the semi-lit nursery as a nightlight cast dim stars and moons across the room’s walls

“Oh, oh oh, my sweet princess, what disrupted your precious sleep, baby?” Oikawa carefully lifted his daughter from the crib, his presence immediately able to soothe her cries 

“Shh, it’s okay, papa’s here,” he chimed quietly as he swayed side to side, wiping her tears away as her cries got reduced to sniffles 

“Papa’s here,” Oikawa repeated, his voice no louder than a whisper as his daughter leaned close, her tiny hands clinging onto his shirt as he rubbed his hand in a small circular pattern on her back 

her small head resting on his shoulder, her short brown hair that matched Oikawa’s, tickled his jawline and cheek 

“My sweet angel,” he hummed as he just absorbed this moment

Atsumu: 

Atsumu let out a deep yawn as he entered through the sliding door of the side door the two of you mainly used, slipping out of his non-practice shoes, feeling the cold floor through his fresh socks before he slipped into his slippers, scattered around the smaller shoes of your guys’ children

Glancing at the time as he stepped into the main hallway, he was glad he showered back at the gym now since it meant now that he could go straight to sleep

Or so he thought as he plopped his bag down to the side near the coatrack in the corner of the hallway near the front door yet instead of being met with a dark house, the lights were still on

“Didn’t Y/N say she was goin’ ta sleep?” He scratched the back of his neck as he pulled out his phone, rereading the last messages the two of you sent to each other but he was right

That’s what what your last message had read, so why were the lights still o-

And then he saw it as he reached for the light switch, turning off the light to the main hall

“Hey, baby,” his voice was gravelly as the little nickname for his little girl as he locked eyes with his princess

He shuffled his feet over the wooden floors as he walked around the couch where you laid fast asleep, half a blanket draped over your legs as your son laid on your chest, fast asleep with his cheek squished to your collar

“Hm, lucky,” he thought to himself, envying his little son as he knelt down, nuzzling the back of his index finger to the infant’s cheek

You slept peacefully, body and face completely relaxed in the couch cushions, one of your hands draped lightly over the little boy’s back

But before Atsumu could continue giving any more admiration, his finger was suddenly latched by his little girl as she babbled, whining for not having her fair share of attention from her beloved dad

“Shh, I got ya,” he smirked as he plucked her, from her spot not he couch as she wore her little onesie, holding her beneath her bottom, over his sides

She continued her little babbles as she looked up to him with wondrous eyes yet he looked at her with the stars in his eyes as all he could see was her as he held her

“It’s sleepy time, princess,” his voice was even softer as he brushed his hand over her soft, silky hair

He knelt down as she let out a small yawn, resting her head on his shoulder

“Mama,” he rest his hand on your arm, his skin rough meeting yours

He gave you a light squeeze, shaking your arm, rubbing his thumb repeatedly. “Mama,” he called, his voice the slightest bit louder but careful to not wake your son

You took a deep breath in as your eyes cracked open, your eyes burning now that they were open when they should’ve been closed

“Welcome home,” you whispered as you carefully sat yourself up, Atsumu’s hand on your back, helping you up

“Let’s head upstairs and sleep,” he stood, bending down to kiss the crown of your head as you repositioned your hold on your son

The two of you switched off the lights, making your way up the dark stairwell as you tiredly walked up the stairs, anticipating the feel of the bed sinking beneath your weights with Atsumu by your side

You each held a twin as he walked behind, holding his daughter as the warmth transferring from his body into hers began to lull her to sleep The two of you brought them into their rooms, setting them in their cribs on the opposite sides of the room, tucking them in

You leaned on the edge of your son’s crib as memories from the day they were born, from the day the two of you brought them home flooded your mind until a pair of hands snaking around your waist pulled your attention back to the present

“Bedtime for us too,” Atsumu’s voice was velvety in your ear, his chest rumbled against your back as he spoke

He led you by the hand, the door closing behind, his hold never leaving you and it never did the entire night

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

Tags (let me know if you wanna be tagged for all my haikyuu posts): @makeusfreefromthisfandom @yams046  @mazey-chan  @sunboikyo00  @kara-grayson04  @fortheloveofbakugo @tsumtsumsemi @1-800-wholesome @yamagucci @realityisoftendisapointing @plantisnotplant @pink-panda-pancakes @differentballooncollection @osamusamusamu@therainroguefanfiction @euphorihan​ @turquoiselace​ @macaronnv​  @oxmaddy​ @mrkoala4prsdnt​ @curiouslilbeast​ @plantisnotplant@therestless101 @abcdaichi @oyasenpai @kaaidalupita @lovinnoya @wisepandaslimeland @killuaking @kattykurr @bbymilkbread @tsumtsumland @suunikimchi @woah-there-cowboy-or-cowgirl @amandahh626 @nabisonyeo94 @wntrmn @dai-tsukki-desu @peteunderoos @ohyoumakemelive @aka-a-shii @shinhiromi @wompwomphq @lollypop-lam @isentsworld @blue-melody @u-wakatoshii @moondriplets @lovinnoya @yuueisteria @humanitysbiggestsimp @cjphoenix135 @inarizaki-captain @closetfurrytsukishima @chibichab @kageyama-i-want-tobiors @kuroosbixh @lavearchives @sweet-sour-devil-ish @daichis-kitty @creepyproxies @itsmarziapei​ @skyh20​ @yehetstudies​ @that-chick212​ @proherotheflamehashira @celestair​ @katiea03​

[dokifluffs]

Cheer Up | Kageyama, Tsukishima, Kuroo

Pairings: Kageyama X Reader (gender neutral), Tsukishima X Reader (gender neutral), and Kuroo X Reader (gender neutral) 

Genre: comfort fluff 😤😤

Request: “can you please do tsukki/or/kuroo/kageyama comforting you/cheering you up? i'm having a bad day rn... :')” - @tsukkishimasbeautifulwife​

Author’s Note: I hope this makes you feel better!! Requests: Closed! 

Kageyama: 

He almost didn’t even notice the way you laid with your forehead resting in your folded arms as you sat as still as a statue in the kitchen when he entered, his eyes still sleepy from his afternoon nap 

he was on a mission, a milk mission 

It took him a moment after he turned, already beginning to drink his milk, to notice you sat so still 

“Y/N, are you okay?” 

You only groaned in response, taking a deep breath and letting a sigh 

He sat down across from you, observing you 

There was clearly something wrong since you weren’t normally like this, so down, he could feel a chilly atmosphere around you when there was normally a warmer one 

one that welcomed others around you 

He worked the gears in his mind though they weren’t as efficient now as they were in volleyball thinking about all the possibilities that seemed to have brought you down 

But nothing came to mind 

He took another sip of his dairy goodness before letting out a yawn, his mind and body still sleepy 

Kageyama wanted to say something but he genuinely didn’t know what - he didn’t want to make things worse either, especially having been brought to the light of his awkwardness

he was told this fact numerous times, not letting it really get to him but then he met you 

it was like a wake up call that he suddenly wanted to answer 

He leaned back in his chair and reached into the fridge 

“Drink,” he poked your head lightly as he took another sip 

“You didn’t eat much today, did you?” a fact he did notice 

you had been stuck working on your computer for the past few days, leaving him to be the one to remind him to eat whereas it was you who held that position earlier 

You looked up to meet his dark blue eyes meeting yours, gaze locked on as he offered the last of his favorite milk 

“You’ve been working too hard,” the irony almost made you laugh considering all those times you had to drive down to the gym to make him come home after practicing too much 

though his efforts now were really something that made bubbles beginning to flutter in your chest 

Tsukishima: 

It never took him long at all to connect the dots, especially when he could read you as easily as a book

Tsuki shut his laptop from his spot in the kitchen and silently made his way around, grabbing your favorite snacks from the shelves and cabinets, a drink for you and him as he walked over the carpet tickling his feet

You took deep breaths and sighed into the dim living room, curtains closed even though it was raining outside

Your own laptop was shut moments ago out of frustration from all the assignments that had been piling up, the new curriculums as well as the new ways to learn online due to the pandemic around the world that closed the doors to numerous schools all around the world

The new way to learn was safer, yes, but it it didn’t mean it was stressful

He set the snacks all around the table as he sat himself down right beside your head where you lay, covering your eyes with your folded arms

“Let’s take a break… watch a movie,” he glanced down to your figure laid on the couch

He brushed his finger along the open palm of your hand, tickling you until he got your full attention. “Take a break, Y/N,” his voice more assertive than before yet still as emotionless as ever to his not-caring persona

Though Tsukishima cared

When it came to you, he cared immensely despite being one of the worst people to convey these kinds of feelings to those he cared about

You peeked out from your arms, your eyes meeting his

Now there was no escape

The list of the things you needed to get done over the week was already piling up on your soul and it was already crushing

“You’ll get it done,” he lightly flicked your forehead when you sat up, staring at him, past him, lost in thought already, beads of panic already lining inside of you but with the sound of his voice, they were being evaporated

The movie already begun to his accord with the simple click of the remote

He reached forward and handed you a bag of your favorite snack, pulling you close to his side as he relaxed into the back into the couch

In truth, majority of his focus was on you, watching you eat, making sure you didn’t check your phone for more academic notifications, looking to make sure you were enjoying the movie, the snacks

He wasn’t the best with his words, verbally conveying his admiration for you in his life but it was there

And seeing you suffer or stress or anything that prevented you from brightening the room with your smile was something that he always felt the urge to fix

It became a normal for tsukishima that he didn’t dislike

Kuroo: 

The moment he saw you were upset, he moved from wherever he was and was at your side in a heartbeat as natural as breathing

He took you into his embrace, rubbing your back and shoulders in circular motions with one hand while the other cradled the back of your head, his fingers tangled into your hair

He swayed ever so slightly

He didn’t care what he was doing, if time was being wasted, nothing mattered right now except you

He sat the two of you down in the living room of bed, your body as close as physically possible to his and not letting a bit of space intervene

His scent itself relaxed you a bit, smelling like laundry mixed a bit with his cologne

“What’s got you so stressed, baby?” He mumbled into your forehead, pressing delicate kisses as you straddled his lap, your hands holding his which cupped your cheek, his thumb grazing over your skin

Merely thinking about the cause was already making you distraught

You slowly shop your head, keeping your eyes down

“Wanna talk about it?” He bent his head down, trying to meet your gaze to which you closed them, again, shaking your head slowly

“Alright, that’s fine,” he pulled you close as he leaned into the back of the couch, your chests meeting, your head resting on his shoulder. “I’m always here if you ever want to talk.”

You could feel the way his voice rumbled as he spoke, his hands continuing to rub your back

The two of you stayed like this, so close to each other, your body heats mixing to create a warmth that nothing compared to

Nothing felt more purely home in this moment than Kuroo

He sat still with you in his lap, not prodding into your life and business like it was his own

He let you do as you wished, talk and listen whenever you needed to

The way he caressed you, leaving his prints all over your body, his kisses and ministrations imprinted in your skin with nothing actually seen but felt

It was a reassuring hold on your soul- he was right there and he always would be

“Thank you… for being here,” you mumbled in a voice only he could hear

“Don’t mention it, pea,” he kissed your cheek tenderly, wrapping his arms around you even tighter, pressing his cheek into your shoulder, repeatedly pressing feather-like kisses

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

Tags (let me know if you wanna be tagged for all my haikyuu posts): @yams046  @mazey-chan  @sunboikyo00  @kara-grayson04​  @fortheloveofbakugo​ @tsumtsumsemi​ @osamuonigiri @1-800-wholesome @yamagucci​ @realityisoftendisapointing@plantisnotplant @k-eijiakaashi​ @pink-panda-pancakes​ @differentballooncollection​ @osamusamusamu@therainroguefanfiction​ @euphorihan@turquoiselace​ @macaronnv  @oxmaddy​​ @mrkoala4prsdnt​​ @curiouslilbeast​ @plantisnotplant@therestless101​ @abcdaichi​ @oyasenpai​ @kaaidalupita​