#seasonal writing prompts

[of-elves-and-mad-hatters]

Fall Prompt List

Masterlist (labrats-and-clonetroopers)

Request Guidelines (labrats-and-clonetroopers)

Masterlist (of-elves-and-mad-hatters)

Request Guidelines (of-elves-and-mad-hatters)

_________________________________

“Carving pumpkins is a lot harder than it looks.” 

“The Frankenstein movie is an absolute insult to Mary Shelley’s novel! I can’t believe you would suggest we watch it!”

“I spent over an hour raking up all those leaves. If you jump in that pile, you’re dead to me.”

“Honestly, the worst part about fall is all the garden spiders constantly trying to barricade me in my own home.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re one of those people who eats six plates of food on Thanksgiving.”

“You’re gonna have to work a lot harder if you want to come up with a Halloween prank that will actually scare me.”

“No, we’re not going to trick-or-treat ‘the old fashioned way’. No vandalizing peoples’ homes if they don’t give us candy.”

“I’m not blind, you know. I’ve noticed the way you change when the weather starts to grow cold.”

“I don’t think there’s anything more romantic than holding hands, on a stroll, in the cool autumn breeze.”

“I love ghost stories. Especially the tragic ones with broken hearts and lovers who were doomed from the beginning.”

“You haven’t really lived if you’ve never camped out in a graveyard on Halloween night.”

“It’s alright. It’s just another power outage.”

“Wait, you seriously don’t like pumpkin pie?”

“I love moments like this. Just curled up by the fire, listening to the rain.”

“The only thing I plan on doing this season is reading through the complete collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s works.”

[chloeriversong]

Writing Prompts for 2024 [Updated]

Writing prompts for months [2024]

March 2024 - Easter [Might not get done in time] Missed

April 2024 - Spring Time, can be anything that relates to Spring

May 2024 - Could be anything that relates to Spring

June 2024 - Summer, could be anything that relates to summer

July 2024 - Beach/S’mores, or anything that relates to this summer

August 2024 - Anything that’s related to Summer/Fall

September 2024 - Anything that’s related to Fall/Autumn

October 2024 - Halloween, or anything that’s related to this month

November 2024 - Thanksgiving, or anything that’s related to this month

December 2024 - Christmas, or anything that’s related to this month

I will be adding more whenever I get the months that I listed done, or I can make a separate list from this one, I haven’t decided yet.

[magnetothemagnificent]

As we enter the Christian holiday season, just your friendly reminder that "non-Christian character discovers the magic of Christmas" is not a trope you should be writing for a holiday themed fic. Cut that shit out.

[novelbear]

valentine's day scenarios (but it's enemies to lovers)

prompt list by @novelbear

"you have a date? how much did you pay them?"

crashing their date with another person purposely

^ and it all was definitely out of spite. not because they were jealous. never. totally not.

sending them flowers that they just know sets off their allergies

^ probably left with some smartass note too

laughing at them simply because they seem to care about the holiday

"you celebrate this corny day?" "just say you're lonely and have no one to spend it with, next time, 'kay?"

"i told my friends i'd go on this stupid double date with them." "and that's my business because..?" "..i don't have a date."

catfishing the hell out of them online leading up to the holiday

and then it backfiring because they realize, they're actually pretty nice and sweet outside of all the arguing.

"i thought bringing you roses would be a romantic! you know!?" "not when they still have the thorns on them, dumbass!"

giving them those boxed chocolates, but replacing the filling with something else instead (like wasabi for example lmao)

"you've been teasing me all this time about being single just for you to get stood up?" "....." "move over, you're lucky i'm hungry."

giving the other candies because it was simply "left over" and "definitely stale"

perfect chance for a little secret admirer thing to go on since one may be just too embarrassed or scared to face things head on

[mischievous-thunder]

[imfinereallyy]

I need to know why Eddie had been to War Zone once. Like this man cannoically isn't a killer, and in most of our head cannons he couldn't hurt a fly (unless in defense of his friends). So why has this man been to the most conservative gun crazy place on his side of Indiana? Not only did he confirm he had been there once, he alluded to the fact he knew enough about it to know what’s inside?

Did he go because of Wayne, his lovely conspiracy theory uncle? Did he go because he felt like he needed protection being queer in the Midwest? Did he go there by mistake thinking it was a completely different store? Did he go for D&D research? Either way, he definitely feels joy at being helpful and the chance to impress one-up Harrington.

I need answers. Why was this glorious little rat man we all love at this store?

[urfriendlywriter]

'Exes to Lovers' prompts aaaah :

(feel free to use | also YALL GOTTA WRITE AND TAG ME. 8, 15, 19???? 20 and 25TH AHHHHH.)

glancing when the other isn't looking

not being able to hold their eye.

walking into them after years or months and realising, nothing has changed.

"wanna.. meet up for uhm some coffee later this week?"

realising how much you admire each other

getting too close to one another and fumbling away.

being pushed onto them in a crowd. and they're as warm as they were. AHHH

a brush of their fingers over yours. that small glance.

them shielding you from the crowd in an elevator (kdrama vibes aaah)

doing something you both used to do together. (like dancing, karaoke, baking, movie nights, getting coffee together etc)

laughing comes so easily with them. them knowing how to make u feel at ease >>>>

wondering if another step is taken it'll end up the way it was--broken.

"I've.. always missed you."

being so close to kissing. but saying, "I'm sorry." while still leaning in. "im so so sorry, i can't do this-" and then leaving.

"am i reading this wrong? if I'm.. push me away." WHILE BEING SO CLOSE, NOSES TOUCHING, eyes all over your LIPS AND SHI. AHHH.

"i don't want to lose you again, [name]. it hurt too much the first time and i was a coward for letting you go like that."

holding hands. trying to let go, but they gently squeeze it tighter.

falling back in love with how it feels to be around them first before u fall in ♡ w them.

"how can i ask you to stay tonight?" as a whisper, as a silent plead, or as a clingy tug.

"don't leave me alone." "i won't, love. not this time. never again."

the yearning gazes, lying near each other. just looking into each other's eyes.

"I've missed," they say pulling you closer, "everything about you."

"i didn't know how i feel yet. for you. for.. this."

^ "but..?" "but I'd like to listen to my heart. that's asking me to stay..."

kissing while crying?? just. gasping for more, fitting right between their arms and loving it???? ahhhh :'((

[ricesinspo]

☆ — cold weather relationship prompts. by @ricesinspo, credits appreciated!

— ☆ —

[★] buying (or making?) winter clothing (sweater, scarf ...) for someone you know can't handle the cold very well. bonus if it's in their favorite color or pattern.

[★] making warm drinks to enjoy together while doing activities - or while doing nothing at all. just to enjoy each other's company.

[★] going for a stroll through a park (or anywhere) on a windy day. them brushing your hair off when it gets in your face.

[★] you would have loved to go out today, but the rain / snow / etc had other plans. with no other choice, you spend the day indoors.

[★] ^ in the scenario where you don't live together, you text / call all night. talking about what you could've done today.

[★] using the weather as an excuse to hold hands and cuddle and whatnot, "hey i'm cold can you get close to me" or something

— ☆ —

look i know it's not december anymore but this post was difficult to make ok. mostly cute / fluffy because i love cold weather and you can't convince me otherwise lmao, hope you enjoy !! :D

[mattatouilletkachuk]

“Can I sleep with you? with timo !!!

I’m All Yours || Timo Meier

Prompt: 29. “Can I sleep with you?”

Word count: 1.4k

A/N: I’m actively fist fighting writers block as I’m posting this. I also didn’t edit this so if my grammar is all over the place we should maybe focus on something else.

You were stubborn. You knew this and accepted it. Everyone had faults and some people refused to ever look in the mirror and face theirs. However, your stubbornness was not something you had to reflect on and learn about yourself. You had been a stubborn child, something that had gotten you into trouble often, and even now you were a stubborn adult.

Usually, it wasn’t a problem in your relationship.

Tonight was different, though.

Tonight was supposed to be your night together. The season had just ended and you finally had your boyfriend all to yourself. So when the two of you had gone out for dinner, just you and him in what felt like forever, you were delighted. When he looked at you with such admiration in his eyes or when he held your smaller hand within his own as he drove to the restaurant, it felt like a battle to not throw up the butterflies that were fluttering about in your stomach.

When the waitress had come to the table and made it abundantly clear that Timo was going to be at the sole focus of her attention. Every time she giggled or blushed, your heart had sunken deeper and the sips you had taken from your glass of wine had become longer. Timo hadn’t told a joke or shown any interest in her. In all the time the two of you had been together he had never done anything to make you feel as though he even thought of straying away from your relationship.

That wasn’t the point, though, and that was what he didn’t understand. He only looked at you with confusion as you slowly stopped contributing in the conversation. The confusion had turned to irritation when during the car ride back home you were quiet. Your cheeks were warm from the alcohol and there was an envious angry little monster in your chest that just wanted to rear its head.

Your boyfriend was charming, athletic and easy on the eyes. It wasn’t hard to understand the attention that he received and during the hockey season you were fine to step back and watch with a smile as people flocked to him. This was the off-season, though, and it was supposed to be your time with your boyfriend but it seemed as if you couldn’t even have that.

That was what he didn’t understand.

“I can’t control if someone decides to flirt with me,” he had said, annoyed that he even had to have this argument. He thought you would understood that and see that he never indulged those who batted their eyelashes at him.

“That’s not why I’m upset,” you scoffed, not looking at Timo. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at your boyfriend and be reminded how even though you felt as though you were entirely his, he was never fully yours.

You had made your way into your shared bedroom and were struggling to undo the straps of your heels when Timo walked through the bedroom door. It only took one glance at the man to know that he was slowly losing his patience. His neatly combed hair was all over the place, probably from running his hands through it.

You looked away. You knew if you really took him in and saw the confused frustration on his face your anger would seep out of your body and for just a little while you wanted to sit in your simmering anger.

“Why are you upset then?” He asked.

When you finally managed to pull your shoes off you sighed and kicked them to the side. Timo watched, noting how you didn’t pick them up and put them in their place in the closet like you usually did.

“Did you even realize that tonight was the first night that we were spending together, alone and to ourselves in months?”

“That’s not true.” Timo said immediately.

“Oh? When was the last time we actually spent time together? Just you and me?” Your voice cracked as you asked him. You knew when the last time was and you were even more certain that Timo didn’t.

“Schatz-,” Timo sighed and took a step closer to you only for you to shake your head and step further away.

“I’ve accepted that I have to share you with everyone but it would be nice if you could actually want to spend time with just me,” you said bitterly.

You grabbed a pillow from your side of the bed when you felt a lump start to form in your throat. You didn’t want to cry but more than that you didn’t want to cry in front of Timo.

“I’m gonna spend tonight in the living room, goodnight.” You dodged his arms as you left your bedroom with your pillow and pajamas in your arms.

He called out for you again but knew better than to come after you. Sometimes you needed a minute to yourself.

However, a few minutes had turned into a few hours and you were still sitting on the couch. At this point, the only thing keeping you in the living room was your own stubbornness. You were still upset but the anger you had felt earlier had slowly ebbed away and now you just wanted to crawl into your comfortable bed and fall asleep in Timo’s open arms. You didn’t want to appear like a misbehaved dog that was coming back to its master with its tail between its legs. You weren’t wrong and a part of you needed your boyfriend to know that too.

You pulled the throw blanket you had pulled from the end of the couch tighter around yourself as you watched the clock that hung on the wall. With each tick that moved the arms of the clock you grew more antsy and after thirty minutes you finally sat up.

Grabbing your pillow and standing up you decided that you would be annoyed with your actions tomorrow. Tonight you just needed to feel your boyfriends strong arms around you.

Padding softly to your bedroom you silently hoped that Timo had fallen asleep. That way you wouldn’t have to explain yourself.

You didn’t get so lucky. As you stood in the door way to your bedroom Timo blinked back at you from your large bed. He wasn’t small by any means but looking on it seemed as if the bed was trying to swallow him whole.

“Can I sleep with you?” It was almost a whisper. You felt childish but also wary asking if. What if he was angry with you for being so upset earlier? You didn’t have anything left in you to fight again tonight.

Without hesitating Timo opened his arms for you. You wasted no time in striding over and crawling into the bed. You dropped your pillow in its usual spot and then promptly ignored it as you laid your head on Timo’s muscular chest. His arms closed around you and the warmth that enveloped you was enough to make you set out a sigh of relief.

Your eyes started to flutter shut as Timo rubbed soothing circles on your warm. You thought you were going to fall asleep without either of you saying anything but Timo whispered in the darkness, “it was during the preseason. When we went on a walk through the park and you ate the entire pretzel we were meant to share.”

You stiffened, jolted into a more awake state by his words.

“What?”

“The last time we spent time together,” he said, quiet and slowly as if he was afraid you’d turn away from him. “Just the two of us.”

“Timo-,” you said, just as quietly. You thought he had forgotten. That once the season started up again the only thing that he thought about was the game he played and those he played with and for.

“You have every right to be angry. Tonight was supposed to be about the two of us and I’m sorry that I didn’t see that you were upset earlier.”

You took in what he was saying in silence. You could hear and feel how sorry he was in the way he spoke and how he held you. The two of you definitely needed to talk more about this but that could wait until the sun was shining and you were both clear minded and awake. Tonight you only needed one thing.

“You’re all mine?”

You asked him, hating how fragile and hopeful you sounded.

He turned his head to the side so his lips brushed against your forehead as he spoke softly, saying the words as though they were a promise, “all yours.”

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Holiday/Seasonal Prompts

Monthly Prompt Lists

Spooktober/Halloween Prompts

Christmas Prompts Compilation

24 Days of Gift-Giving - Advent Calendar

Fluffy Winter Holiday Prompts

New Year’s Eve Prompts

New Year’s Dialogue Prompts

Valentine’s Day Prompts

Spring Vibes

Summer Vibes

Fall Vibes

Fall AUs

Winter Vibes

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[youneedsomeprompts]

~ IT'S SPRING ~ WRITING PROMPTS

requested by: anonymous

Feel free to use and reblog!

collecting flowers on their way home

listening to the birds when they wake up

spring fever

taking deep inhales of the fresh spring air

walking in the park

new beginnings

picnic dates

standing up for themselves

standing up for a loved one

watching nature getting greener every day

falling head over heels in love

rolling down the window of the car

enjoying the sun that's warming their face

meeting new people

being ready for the next step

trying something new

building someone up

youthful spirit

being extremely energetic

always humming a tune

weekend trips

confidence boost

skinny dipping even though it's much too cold

lying under the sunny sky and watching the clouds

making flower crowns

riding the bike to the bakery in the morning

being enlightened

adopting a puppy/kitten

starting to heal

always wearing their favourite blouse/shirt

helping each other out

discovering the first early bloomers

taking heart

being unexperienced

getting back up after falling down

rain in bright sunshine

not leaving the house without a raincoat

fresh flowers every week

making plans for the summer

spending their days outside

motivating others

realising their feelings

enjoying spring in the countryside

suffering from hay fever

risking something in order to achieve something

going all in

freezing even though it's not winter anymore

waiting impatiently for summer

barbeque parties in the garden

the park becoming their second home

[thepromptswhisperer]

Cold Prompts

"Are you jealous of a warm water bottle?" "Considering how tightly you hold that thing… Yes."

It’s too cold to hold hands, but A still wants to be as close to B as possible while they walk through the streets.

"You better have a good reason for making me abandon my blanket/warm bed/etc."

"You said you’re cold." "Yes. But I thought you’d hug me, not make me do exercises!"

"It’s not that cold." "I can see your breath."

A wakes up in the middle of the night, freezing, as B stole the blanket.

"How many layers are you wearing?"

A nestles their cold feet between B’s warm thighs.

"Don’t—", A exclaims just before B tears back the blanket and exposes them to the cold air.

"I’m cold. Cuddle me."

A opens their coat and, while enveloping B, slings the material around them as well.

"You’d think you’d be used to the cold. What with you being an ice queen/your heart being colder than the Antartica and all."

A watches, amused, as B makes a run for the next rug/bed/etc. as they try to not touch the cold floor (too much).

"Just think about how warm it’ll be once we’re there." "And how’s that supposed to help me now?"

A puts their clothes on the radiator so that, when they slip into them minutes later, they are wonderfully warm.

"But it’s cold (outside). And, and… And my blanket would miss me. Do you want to break its heart by tearing us apart?"

A offers B their coat/scarf/gloves/etc.

A likes making B blush, but in the colder months, it also has the added benefit of them being able to warm their hands on B’s heated cheeks.

"Are you cold?" "No. I just love to shiver/dance on the spot and looking like an idiot."

"I’m nothing but a personal heater to you, huh?"

"Any longer on that radiator and your butt will start to melt."

"Are those gosebumps?" "Don’t flatter yourself. I’m simply cold."

A insists their (ugly) self-knitted socks are the only thing that keeps their feet warm. B is skeptical/disagrees.

A attempts to walk like a penguin to determine if said movement would keep them warm.

"Your lips look a little cold. Want me to warm them up for you?"

[sixteenth-days]

Watcher Joe hills for the ask game?

"Have you looked?" Cleo asks, and then, before he can get smart with her, clarifies: "At the future, I mean. To see what happens."

They're sitting on the ramparts of Hohenzollern, shoulder to shoulder. Overhead, the moon sits in the sky, fat and overripe, blaring white light down on them.

"What would be the fun in that?" Joe asks back. "I mean, you wouldn't want to know exactly how many more minutes we'll spend sitting out here tonight, would you? That would spoil the moment."

There are eyes, outlined in green, drifting in the air around them like fireflies. Cleo rolls their own, pokes at the nearest disembodied pupil. "The world's ending, Joe."

"Some may say that!" Joe concedes brightly. "Personally, I'm trying to take a more 'glass half full' approach."

"You still haven't answered my question," Cleo says, choosing an eye at random and staring at it pointedly, because he doesn't get to deflect that easily.

"Oh, I make a point of never looking forwards," Joe says. "And only backwards if I'm trying to remember if I left the stove on."

Cleo props a fist beneath their chin, glances over at where he would be if he had a proper form. They can sort of catch the outline of him, the green-black shadow of where a person would be. "It doesn't scare you, then? Not knowing what'll happen?"

"Sure it does," he agrees easily. "I'm actually cosmically terrified, at present! But think about it. If I don't know what's coming next, then anything could happen. Isn't that wonderful?"

Cleo hums, looks up. The moon hangs overhead like a sword, wiping out the sky, casting the whole world in silver and black. "Suppose you've got a point."

(Send me Hermit fanon switcheroo asks!)

[novelbear]

the words of an unrequited love (valentine's day edition)

prompt list by @novelbear

"you shouldn't have...really.."

"i didn't know you felt this way.."

"i hate to be the one to do this and ruin your day, but i don't want to lie to you."

"forget it. i'm sorry i bothered you." "can we please talk about this?"

"we could still go as friends if you want!"

"oh, dark chocolate....you remembered....yay!"

"shit....i am so sorry."

"you could have said that before i tried to kiss you." "how was i supposed to know you were going to do that?"

"i'm just going to go back home."

"you've been talking about wanting someone to spend the day with for weeks, silly me for thinking that was a sign."

"you totally led me on!" "what are you talking about?!"

"this is my fault. i guess what i said gave you the idea that i felt the same. i'm sorry."

"i just asked [name] out..."

"i thought you asked me to be your valentine in like a friendly way." "who asks someone to be their platonic valentine? please tell me." "plenty of people do, actually!"

"please don't say these are for me."

"this is a lot, like, a lot a lot."

"i just thought, you know what, nevermind."

"do you know how stupid i feel?" "i'm so sorry..."

"you're telling me this whole time, you didn't like me back and you still went on the date?!" "it was valentine's day! i couldn't reject you on valentine's day!"

"so, who was that lucky person you were telling me about?" "you, actually." "....oh."

"you're an amazing friend, you know that?" "stop there, i know how this goes."

[mischievous-thunder]

One of the most important revelations from S2 E4 has to be the fact that Mobius loves to download and play unauthorised games that have the potential to corrupt system files. The way he denied repeating his mistake is extremely suspicious. It's impossible not to love this man.

[c-optimistic]

Hey, i saw you tagged something with "#Kara has been okay with dying for a very long time#makes me wanna write about it" and I just thought I'd pop in to say that if you write about it I would love to read it :D

The Phantoms lie.

She knows this, she knows this. But the truth is, the Phantoms do more than just lie.

They twist memories, create waking nightmares, force you to relive the most painful things your own mind can conjure up.

(And Kara’s mind is a dark place.)

She can distinguish it at first, what’s real and what’s not real. There’s a lot giving away the fake memories, the implanted thoughts. Little details that give Kara enough distance from what she’s seeing to recognize it’s not real.

Things like cruel smirks on Alex’s lips that she never wore in reality.

Things like J’onn’s distrustful eyes following her, like Nia’s disgust when she appears, like Brainy’s disappointed shake of his head when she takes another step.

But then, she loses focus. She loses her grip on reality. Because she sees Lena’s tearstained face, hears her blaming Kara for lies and betrayal and loss and...it’s all true. It’s true, and she finds she can’t tell the difference between the Phantoms’ lies and her own bitter memories.

(She takes another step, needing to keep moving, needing to find a way out, needing to get home.

The lies, the memories, and the hurt all follow.)

It’s cold in the Phantom Zone. Cold, dark, and utterly silent. There’s nothing but the sound of her boots against gravelly soil, chattering teeth, and guilt and blame ringing in her ears, the voices of her friends and family shouting at her, not wanting her, hating her.

(The Phantoms lie. She knows this.

She has to know this.)

There are no signs of passing days. There’s no rising and setting sun, no waxing or waning moons, no indication that time passes at all. At first, she tries to count, to create her own sense of time, using the numbers to block out the voices and the visions, but she loses track, loses focus, watches everyone she loves die and wishes she died with them.

(The Phantoms lie.

She thinks she knows this.)

Kara takes another step. And another.

(It’s painfully cold. Her thoughts make her feel colder.)

A step. She has to keep moving, even if she’s unsure where she’s going. Why is she still going?

(The Phantoms lie.

But lies with a foundation of truth are always easier to believe.)

Kara stops, surrounded by images of all her dead loved ones, and she drops to her knees to join them.

///

When she wakes, she’s in a small cave-like structure, a glow emanating from a fire that gives off no heat.

And the man who has rescued her, the man in the robes and defeated eyes, is her father.

When he notices she’s awake, he’s careful to shift, appear as non-threatening as possible, smiling benignly at her. And Kara just lays there, staring, wondering if she’s dead or if this is just yet another ghost sent to haunt her.

“Kara,” he says finally, breaking the silence, his voice cracked from disuse, tongue clearly not practiced with the single word he utters.

“I’m dead,” Kara guesses, sitting up, watching the robed man who has taken the guise of her father carefully. “Right?”

“No, you are not dead.”

“But you’re not him,” she says, not really accusatory, just stating a fact. He looks at her sadly, like she’s hurting him.

“I am Zor El,” he says, almost like he believes it. “I am husband to Alura. Brother to Jor El. And most importantly, father to Kara Zor El.”

Kara gets to her feet shakily, stepping as far back from him as she can, back pressed against the cave walls. “No, stop. Zor El is dead. He died. He put me in a pod, alone, and sent me off, and he stayed to die with Krypton.”

Like I should have, she doesn’t say. I should have died too.

“You’re not real,” she tells him, meeting his gaze defiantly. The robed man, the man who calls himself Zor El, the stranger, lets out a sigh and hangs his head.

“The Phantoms lie, Kara,” he tells her quietly. “You know this.”

///

They begin their journey. Her hallucination tells her there’s some sort of outpost. A place she can perhaps send out a message, they merely need to get to it. He tells her he will go with her.

He tells her to be strong.

(And she wonders if this ghost knows what she’s thinking, if he can look into her mind and read those dark thoughts she can’t seem to shake.

Because even as she takes step after arduous step, she is focused on a singular notion: perhaps the universe would be better off with her dead. Perhaps fighting had no use at all.

Perhaps, in those endless days, dark and cold and alone in her pod, aimlessly floating through the vast expanse of space, she should have given up. Perhaps it would have been better.)

Ghost-Zor El doesn’t touch her, but she feels his heavy gaze on her, and she turns to him.

“The Phantoms lie, Kara,” he reminds her, giving her a smile that brings back memories of her father, of sitting in his lab and learning more about his work, of listening to his stories, of watching him when he wasn’t paying attention. ���You should know this.”

///

Stay warm, he tells her. Find shelter, he reminds her. Conserve your energy, he advises her.

Rest, he says, rest and keep fighting to get home—back to those you love.

She doesn’t ask him how he knows she has loved ones, people she desperately wants to get back to. She merely listens without complaint, obeying thoughtlessly to his suggestions, and lets her mind go blank.

“Are you real?” she asks him after what feels like several days, but could have been weeks or months or years.

Her hallucination never comes too close to her, but he smiles her father’s smiles and that’s enough for her. “The Phantoms lie, Kara,” he says softly, his voice lulling her to sleep. “Don’t forget this.”

///

Everything aches. Each step takes energy she just doesn’t have. It’s as though all the weight she’s always carried, all the grief and pain and regret, has finally become too much, sapping her of everything she has left.

She buckles under the burden, but before she can fall, she feels a strong grip around her arm, dragging her up back to her feet.

“You must keep going,” her father’s ghost tells her, his eyes sad, no warmth from where his fingers are closed around her arm. “This is not where you fall.”

“But it can be,” Kara murmurs hopelessly. And it occurs to her, she’s not quite sure what she’s still fighting for.

A sister who she overshadowed and whose family she ripped apart? Friends who were terrified of her and what was capable of? And Lena—Lena, who Kara has loved from the day they met, but who she has hurt so completely that the CEO will never be the same?

(Kara has been okay with dying for a long time. Okay with dying in her pod. Okay with dying to save Earth. Okay with dying to protect those she loves.

And here now, she’s okay with dying with her father’s ghost—finally, finally joining him.)

“The Phantoms lie, Kara,” the fake Zor El says firmly, forcing her to take another step. “You must remember this. The Phantoms lie, and you must live.”

She stares up at him blankly, and obeys. She takes one step. Then another.

Another.

Another.

And on and on.

She keeps going.

///

Time passes. She’s not sure how much. But her apparition father no longer walks a distance away from her. Instead, he practically holds her up as they keep going, his repeated promises than she can do this all she can really hear.

“I wish…” Kara manages weakly. “I wish you were real.”

Her ghost father chuckles, clearly hearing what she can’t say. (I wish I were with you. I wish I wasn’t alone. I wish, I wish.) “Ah, but I am real. I’m the best parts of you, daughter,” he says. “Resilience, strength, commitment…hope.” He says the last word with some force, as if needing her to understand. “You are good. You are kind. And you try, more than anything you try.”

“The Phantoms lie,” she reminds him quietly. He laughs again.

“Yes, but I am no Phantom.”

And they keep walking.

///

“I have hurt so many,” she says, half carried by the fake Zor El. “I cause nothing but damage and pain. Why would they even want me back? Lena especially?”

“I don’t believe love is as simple as you make it seem, Kara,” the fake Zor El says. Another step. And another. And on and on.

“Love? She hates me. I ruined her life. I lied. I betrayed her.”

“Sometimes we stumble,” the fake Zor El said gently. “Sometimes we fail. But as long as we learn, as long as we get up and try to do better, there is always hope.”

A step. And another. And on and on.

“I do, you know. Love her,” she adds when her fake father seems confused.

He smiles brightly at her, and it’s nice. Even though he’s not real. Even though she’s only partially sure she’s not dead and this isn’t all in her head, even though he’s at best a hallucination and at worst a trick of the Phantoms, it’s nice. Because she’d never thought she’d have the opportunity to tell her father about the woman she has fallen for—the scientist like him, the innovator like him. The woman who made her feel more at home, more like herself, than anyone else.

“Hold onto that love, Kara,” he says, helping her take another step. “If there’s one thing the Phantoms cannot destroy, it is your love.”

She nods, though she doesn’t quite understand. And they keep going.

///

She knows she’s reaching her limit physically. There’s only so much even she can endure. Between the cold, the bone deep weariness, the ache settling in her chest, and the energy sapped from her very being, she’s running on no more than fumes.

She tells herself it’s just one more step. Just one more.

Just.

One.

…more.

“Father, are you—” She stops.

She’s completely alone. The ghost is gone.

Kara trembles, choking not only on the dusty, frozen air, but on her despair. All she wants, all she wants is to stop.

To fall to the gravelly dirt.

To curl up.

To give up…

“Kara!”

(She falls to her knees. The Phantoms lie, she thinks. But what a mercy, what a kindness, she’s going to die with her name on Lena’s lips.)

“Kara! Brainy, we found her. Alex, you’d best come quick.”

(The words make no sense. The Phantoms lie. They lie. They lie, lie, lie.

She looks up, and an angel stands before her. Lena, with wide, desperate eyes. Lena, with hair in a messy ponytail. Lena, in dusty, dirty clothes.

Oh, she’s a sight. She’s an angel. She’s everything.)

“Kara? Kara, we’re here. We’re going to take you home.”

(The Phantoms…have never lied like this.)

“Lena?” Kara manages shakily, unsure if she’s dreaming, hallucinating, dead even. “Are you real?”

Lena doesn’t answer, instead she rushes forward, falls to her knees too, and pulls Kara into a hug. She envelopes Kara in her scent—sweet and flowery—envelopes Kara in her warmth. Her heartbeat is strong against Kara’s chest.

She’s so alive. So present. So very real.

“Lena, my father, he…” But she doesn’t finish what she wants to say. After days, months, weeks, years (she doesn’t know, she can’t tell) of being lost in the Phantom Zone, her body finally caves under the weight of everything she’s gone through.

And she lets go. Falls into Lena. Lets herself be supported. Her eyes close, she breathes in Lena’s scent, and she thinks, even if this is just a lie, just a dream, it’s a good one.

And she knows no more.

///

When she wakes, her first thought is that she’s still dreaming. That the Phantoms lie, and that their lies are growing more and more impressive.

She’s laying underneath a sun lamp, nestled comfortably in her own bedroom, wearing soft pajamas and enveloped in her favorite blankets. There’s gentle music playing from somewhere in the living room, but otherwise that’s all she hears.

(The silence is eerie, disconcerting. She’s unused to such quiet, always assaulted by thousands upon thousands of sounds each and every moment. What a blessing, she thinks wryly, that the Phantoms would lie to her this way—would give her this much peace after so much pain.

And she wonders if this is what dying feels like.)

“Kara,” says her angel suddenly, and Kara turns her head, noticing for the first time that there’s a chair set up next to her bed, that Lena is there, watching her. “I’m so glad you’re awake.”

“Am I dead?” Kara asks. Lena’s eyes widen but she shakes her head. “Are you…are you real? Is any of this real?”

Lena slowly reaches out, giving Kara every chance to say no, to pull away, and she takes Kara’s hand into her own, threading their fingers together.

(She’s warm. Soft. And her touch stirs something inside Kara.

It’s familiar. Hers. Something lost in the Phantom Zone.

Or at least, something she thought she had lost.)

“I’m real, Kara,” Lena says. “We all are. And we’re here for you okay?”

“You found me?” Kara asks, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “You came for me?”

“Always,” Lena swears.

(The Phantoms lied.

But love, love she thinks always tells the truth.)