Vignettes From Elsewhere

i'll tell you what then. then, lena starts wearing rings for the express purpose of having kara steal them from her fingers. this goes on for months, lena's ring taste tending more and more towards kara's, with every new piece of jewellery she ostensibly purchases for herself in fact designed to end up on a kryptonian finger instead

and then, one day, kara's absently playing with lena's fingers in her lap as they watch tv, fiddling with her rings. she lands upon a new one; a platinum band with a single sparkling stone, simple yet elegant

"i like this one," she hums, half distracted by the smell of lena's shampoo and the softness of her skin. "mine now"

and she slips the ring off lena's finger and onto her own, but then—

"wrong one, darling," lena breathes, reaching out to mute the tv, raising her head from kara's shoulder so their gazes lock. the intensity in her eyes is captivating as she slides the ring off kara's left index finger, slides it past the knuckles of her fourth finger instead

and kara just gapes at her, wide-eyed and open-mouthed as lena watches her, the apprehension in her gaze giving way to amusement the longer kara flounders, unable to tear her eyes away from the glittering diamond engagement ring now adorning her finger

"wait. wait. did i just— did i just propose to myself for you?"

lena's mouth thins in a futile attempt to hold back her laughter, lifting kara's hand to press her lips against the tips of her fingers

"oh my god. oh my god. and did you just accept for me?"

lena's head tilts, expression softening. "did i get the answer right?"

"yes" kara gasps and then she's slotting their mouths together, messy and imperfect, unable to tear her eyes away from the ring that resembles her own heart in so many ways; stolen, but still ending up right where it's supposed to be

she wraps lena up in her arms, cups her face in her hands, diamond sparkling almost as bright as the happy tears in lena's eyes

Melissa Benoist

You are the one I've been waiting for today Here comes the sun It's been bathing warm today

You looked right through me There was no one else

There was no one else

I sat beside you and

Became myself

Today

What we're NOT getting is that 'slow dopamine' that's more sustainable and engaging. That's the kind we get from DOING things that take effort but are ultimately rewarding.

So like, she suggested that writing fic and making fanart are ways to balance the quick dopamine of watching a show/reading fic with the slow dopamine of working at something that takes effort.

FOR SCIENCE!

(I am ignoring the stupid "let's make my identity public because the only way for me to have psychological wholeness is to do this literally cheapening the Rift Era with Lena and endangering everyone I love")