Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen |
| Alternative name(s): | Dansen |
| Gender category: | F/F, Femslash |
| Fandom: | Supergirl |
| Canonical?: | Yes |
| Prevalence: | Moderate |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen is a canonical femslash pairing in the Supergirl fandom.
Canon
Alex and Kelly's relationship arc started after Kelly joined the show in season four episode 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?'. Kelly arrived in National City in very stressful circumstances, having been called after her brother, James Olsen, was shot. As his only available direct family, Kelly has to make the final decision about James' medical care, which causes her to clash initially with Alex, who thinks they should try Lena Luthor's possible cure. Due to James' break-up with Lena and what she knows about the Luthors, Kelly is understandably reluctant. Alex later apologises for pushing Kelly.
Throughout subsequent episodes, Alex and Kelly grew closer and, when Kelly eventually moves to National City, a romance begins. Season five saw Kelly promoted to a season regular character and she became a part of the team around Supergirl. She later takes up the mantle of the Guardian.
Alex and Kelly married in the series finale of Supergirl.
Fandom
The pairing was generally well-received by the fandom, especially as their relationship developed and details came to light about how Chyler Leigh (who played Alex) and Azie Tesfai (who played Kelly), spent time making sure that the relationship between Alex and Kelly was well-portrayed and genuine. There were strong opinions amongst some fans that both Azie and Chyler were not given enough chance to shine in the show.
So in summary: azie and chy would go in hours early to run through lines and change stuff, would meet with the director to discuss things and push for changes, they would hold up filming, they resisted them doing it at first but they gave in bc her and chy would have walked off@DerpSwan at Twitter
Chyler kept away from Azie till she walked down the aisle! I love how much love these two have for their characters and it’s a tragedy they weren’t given material to actually work with that shows that fullymegxchaos at Tumblr
The first fanworks on AO3 with this pairing were in April and May of 2019, with some being posted before the episode Kelly appeared in aired, and, as of October 2023, the pairing has 1,606 works with 352 of them being "otp: true".
Fans have voiced being frustrated by the fact that Alex/Kelly are often background tagged to the juggernaut femslash pairing of Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, making it difficult to find fanworks or discussions focused on Alex/Kelly.
Common Tropes in Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfic
- Life With Us by theprincesspen, a collection of canon compliant and canon compatible one shots of Alex and Kelly's life together.
- with these hands by daskey, an Alex/Kelly Bakery AU
Fanart
- Dansen: Sleepy GFs by colorfull-dragon97
- wives!!!!!!! by foryourmajesty
- cuddles and smoochies by shelteredturtle
Fanvids
- Alex & Kelly - Mine by Bloodyheroesandlegends
- Alex & Kelly (Dansen)[1] - Build it better by DansenInTheMoonlight
Other Fanworks
Events
- Dansen Fic Week - Dansen Fic Week was a fan event run on Twitter in 2019 and 2020, for Alex/Kelly focused fanworks.
Archives and Communities
- Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen tag at Archive of our Own
- Alex x Kelly tag on Tumblr
- Dansen tag on Tumblr
- Alex Danvers and Kelly Olsen character tagged works on FF.net
Other Fannish Resources
(Rec Lists, Big Bangs, Thing-a-thons, Holiday Exchanges, wiki links, etc.)