#versus the recognition she got at the time?

[mending-up-your-fences]

Raise Hell, but brand new and solo at Bush Hall (2011)

[goldfades]

★ ALWAYS AN ANGEL, NEVER A GOD ─── CC²² (part 1/2)

❪ requested -> "Can you write something about cc and reader being enemies and hating eachother. but they are on two different teams so they play against eachother and something happens during one of their games and they take their hate out on eachother with smut?" ❫

─ warnings | lots of sexual tension (no smut, yet) slightly angst, reader is on LSU, singular kiss, trash talking, drinking, nothing else

─ ev's notes | okay so i'm not a super LSU fan, i just rly love hailey and angel so those are the only girls included in the fic LMAOOO, anyway. enjoy this heavy ass fic!

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You couldn't stand Caitlin Clark.

Now, you couldn't really remember when this dislike had began. Ever since you laid on eyes on taller brunette, you hated how cocky she was. It wasn't just her cockiness that rubbed you the wrong way; it was the way she seemed to effortlessly outshine everyone around her, both on and off the court.

You watched as she dominated every game, her skills unparalleled, her talent undeniable. It felt like she was born to be a star, while you struggled to keep up. And while her talent was undeniable, it was her attitude that really got under your skin. She seemed to revel in her superiority, never missing an opportunity to remind everyone just how good she was.

But perhaps what bothered you most was the fact that despite your best efforts, you couldn't seem to escape her shadow. No matter how hard you worked, no matter how much you improved, you were always just one step behind her. It was frustrating, infuriating even, to constantly be compared to someone who seemed so effortlessly perfect.

Well ─ at least, in your eyes. You were still one of the best players in the entire nation, however you were always second best to Princess Caitlin Clark. You'd been the second best prospect in your year, trailing behind her like a persistent shadow. And it wasn't just the comparisons that irked you; it was the constant reminder of your perceived inadequacy, the feeling of always being in her shadow.

You couldn't shake the resentment that bubbled within you every time Caitlin strutted onto the court, her aura of invincibility following her like a shadow. She thrived on the attention, basking in the adoration of fans and teammates alike. Meanwhile, you fought tooth and nail for every scrap of recognition, every ounce of respect that always seemed just out of reach.

That was, until the 2023 NCAA championship.

LSU versus Iowa ─ the most anticipated game of the season, who will take the W? It was the showdown everyone had been waiting for, the clash of titans to determine who would claim the coveted crown of college basketball supremacy.

And at the center of it all were you and Caitlin, two fierce competitors locked in a battle for glory.

You had chugged your redbull and strutted out on the court like you owned it, your eyes landing on the taller brunette who's eyes were already on you. In that moment, you knew that this game would be about more than just basketball; it would be a battle of wills, a clash of titans vying for supremacy. The tension in the air was palpable, so thick you could almost reach out and touch it.

The media frenzy surrounding the game only added to the pressure, with reporters clamoring for every tidbit of insight from both you and Caitlin. It was the clash of the season, the matchup everyone had been waiting for, and neither of you were about to disappoint.

Everyone felt the tension, the energy crackling in the air like electricity. The media never missed a chance to ask you or Caitlin about it, hyping up the matchup as the game. And as you stood there, facing off against Caitlin across the court, you knew that this was your chance to finally prove yourself, to silence the doubters and cement your legacy once and for all.

"Don't worry, Y/N," Hailey's voice echoed from behind you, you felt her hand your shoulder. "You'll end up winning this. You've trained too hard for anything else."

You nodded, taking in a deep breath to steady your nerves. Even your teammates knew the deep-rooted history with the brunette. It wasn't just about LSU versus Iowa; it was about L/N versus Clark, a battle for supremacy that had captured the attention of fans and media alike.

As the referee signaled the start of the game, you focused all your attention on the task at hand. Caitlin stood across from you, a worthy adversary with a reputation to match. But you were ready, mentally and physically prepared to give it everything you had.

You were tasked to guard her and you weren't planning on letting her get an inch of space. Every move she made, every dribble, every feint, you were right there, anticipating her next move with razor-sharp focus. You could feel the intensity of her gaze, the determination in her eyes as she tried to outmaneuver you.

With each passing minute, you could see the frustration building in Caitlin's dark eyes, the realization dawning that you had expanded your skill set since the last time you'd met. And as the game wore on, you refused to let up, hounding her relentlessly from one end of the court to the other.

Then suddenly with 4 seconds on the clock before halftime, you saw your chance to prove your superiority. With speed, you intercepted one of Caitlin's passes, turning defense into offense in the blink of an eye. With a burst of speed, you drove towards the basket, leaving Caitlin in your wake as you soared through the air for an emphatic dunk.

In that moment, you knew that you had won more than just a single play ─ you had won a psychological battle, proving to Caitlin and everyone watching that you were more than just her equal.

Your teammates surrounded you but the cheers into background as Caitlin gazed at you, her usual determination into pure rage. But instead of feeling intimidated, a sense of satisfaction washed over you, a knowing smile playing at your lips.

You had waited for this moment, trained for it, dreamed about it. And now, as you looked into Caitlin's eyes, you could see the realization dawning on her ─ that you were not just her rival, but her equal, maybe even her superior. She wasn't unguardable, you'd just proven everyone wrong and Caitlin herself was forced to acknowledge it.

"The fuck are you smiling for?" Her words came out harsh as she walked toward you, letting her frustration get the best of her. You met her gaze head-on, unflinching despite the intensity of her glare ─ you felt your smile grow as laughter built up in your stomach, looking up at the brunette.

You couldn't resist a smirk at Caitlin's question, relishing the opportunity to get under her skin just a little more. "Because I just showed the world what real talent looks like," you shot back, your tone dripping with amusement. "Looks like being second best suits you, Caitlin."

Her jaw clenched, and for a moment, it seemed like she might lash out until her teammate put her hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, well, don't get too cocky," she muttered, her voice tinged with anger. "This isn't over, Y/N. I'll be back, and next time, I won't go easy on you."

You shrugged, undeterred by her threat. "Bring it on, Princess," you challenged, your smirk widening into a full-blown grin. "I'll be waiting ─ and smiling ─ for round two."

"Princess? You've gotta be kidding, who do the fuck do you think─" Caitlin cut herself off with a bitter laugh, shaking her head. She ignored your quip as she walked away, making sure to hit your shoulder as she walked away.

Before you could relish in the moment any longer, you felt Angel's hands on your shoulders as you met her gaze. You squealed in excitement as you both walked off the court toward your team.

The game continued after halftime, each possession a testament to your skill and determination. But no matter how hard Caitlin fought, she couldn't shake the knowledge that you had bested her, not just physically, but mentally as well.

And when the final buzzer sounded, signaling your LSU's victory, you knew that you had achieved more than just a win. You had proven yourself on the biggest stage, against the toughest competition, and emerged victorious.

As you celebrated with your teammates, the realization sunk in that this victory wasn't just about winning a game; it was about overcoming years of doubt and frustration, about proving to yourself and the world that you were capable of achieving greatness.

──

"Caitlin, tough loss out there tonight. How are you feeling after such a close game?" A reporter asked, their voice sympathetic.

Caitlin took a moment to collect her thoughts, her mind still buzzing with the intensity of the game. "Yeah, it's definitely disappointing to come up short like that," she replied, her voice tinged with frustration. "We gave it our all out there, but sometimes things just don't go your way."

But it was the next question that made Caitlin's stomach twist with unease. "Your matchup with Y/N was one of the most anticipated of the season. What was it like going head-to-head with her?"

She hesitated, knowing that whatever she said next would be scrutinized. "Y/N is a talented player, no doubt about it. I've known her for a while, we've played on the same team at some point," Caitlin answered carefully, her words measured. "She brought her A-game tonight, and it made for a tough battle on the court."

The tension in the room seemed to ratchet up a notch as another reporter pressed on. "There seemed to be some tension between you two out there. Can you speak to that?"

Caitlin's jaw tensed momentarily before she forced herself to relax. "Y/N and I have a history, for sure," she replied, her tone diplomatic. "But at the end of the day, it's just competition. We both want to win, and sometimes that can lead to some heated moments on the court. I don't hate her," she paused as she sighed. "She's a good player, props to her. She proved I'm not unguardable,"

Caitlin forced a smile as the reporters laughed, nodding. But it was the final question that caught Caitlin off guard, prompting a genuine, knowing smile to tug at the corners of her lips. "Do you think this game marks the end of your rivalry with Y/N?"

She paused, considering her response carefully. "No, ma'am. It's far from over, I haven't been beat yet,"

The reporters laughed again but she was dead serious. She couldn't wait until next year, she knew LSU would make it to the finals ─ and she'd finally prove to you once and for all, she is number one.

──

"It felt more like sexual tension to me, that's just me though," Hailey spoke up as she swirled her straw in her drink.

Hailey's remark caught you off guard, and you shot her a sharp glare, a mixture of surprise and annoyance flickering in your eyes. But before you could respond, she quickly held her hands up in defense, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger," she quipped, her tone light despite the tension in the air. "I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking. You should look at twitter. Actually, not right now ─ you're not gonna like it,"

"What do you mean?" You sent the blonde another look as she gave you a thin-lipped smile, shrugging.

Hailey gave you a thin-lipped smile, shrugging nonchalantly. "Just saying, you might want to avoid social media for a little while,"

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why? What's going on?" you pressed, your patience wearing thin.

But before Hailey could respond, Angel interrupted, clapping you on the back and dragging you into a group huddle to celebrate the victory. As the cheers and laughter filled the air, you couldn't shake the feeling of annoyance that had settled in the pit of your stomach.

"Wait, wait, I have my film camera upstairs!" You shouted as the team let out a chorus of groans.

"Go get it!"

You grabbed your purse and ran up to the elevator. As you rode the elevator up to your room, your mind raced with thoughts of the game, the victory, and the impending celebration. You were texting your parents, not looking where you were going until you someone stopped you in your tracks, putting their hands on your shoulders.

You looked up to meet Caitlin's dark eyes, your excitement turning into annoyance. Her gaze was intense, and you could feel the weight of her stare boring into you. For a moment, neither of you spoke, the tension thick between you like a tangible force.

"Watch where you're going, you almost bumped into me," her voice was hoarse as your lips turned to a frown.

"Well I didn't," your eyes flickered to her hands, who were still lingering on your shoulders. You caught her gaze as she cleared her throat before slowly withdrawing them.

Neither of you moved, daring the other to break the tense silence that hung heavy in the air. The weight of Caitlin's stare bore into you, her dark eyes searching for something you couldn't quite name. Your own gaze remained locked with hers, a silent challenge passing between you.

"I don't get why you're being a bitch," her words came out soft but there was an edge to them. She didn't look like her usual self, she didn't give off the same energy she did on the court.

"What do you mean?" You scoffed, shaking your head. "It isn't about you, Caitlin. It's about winning and being a bitch is kinda part of the package,"

"No, I don't mean tonight. You always act like I'm the worst person alive, even when we played together. On the court, we were fine and then you didn't wanna talk to me after," Caitlin said, her voice tinged with frustration.

"Yeah, cause not everyone wants to be friends with you, Caitlin," you shot back as her hurt turned into annoyance.

"Yeah but we played well together, and if you'd committed to Iowa, like you said you would we would have been unstoppable," Caitlin's voice grew louder as she furrowed her eyebrows.

You scoffed. "Then I would've committed to a four years of being second to you, like I did All Iowa Attack. Plus I would have if you'd gone to UConn, like you said you would,"

"God, what is your obsession and being second to me!" Her frustration finally boiled over, her voice rising in anger as she locked eyes with you. "You're not even second to me. We're just good at different things and I get a little more recognition than you. Jesus Christ, you're so self-obsessed, not everything is about you."

"No, Caitlin, it's not about being self-obsessed," you shot back, your voice rising to match her intensity. "It's about feeling like I'm always playing second to you, no matter how hard I try."

Caitlin's eyes flashed with frustration, her jaw set in a stubborn line. "And what, you think I enjoy always being the one in the spotlight?" she retorted, her voice tinged with bitterness. "It's not as fun as you think, Y/N. All that recognition comes with its own set of pressures and expectations."

You scoffed, the anger bubbling up inside you. "Oh, cry me a river, Caitlin," you spat, the resentment clear in your tone. "At least you get the recognition. At least people know who you are."

"People know who you are too!" Caitlin's nostrils flared as she took a step closer, her gaze piercing into yours. You didn't even know how close she was until you could feel her body warmth radiating off of her as she looked down at you.

"Yeah, as the sidekick," you shot back, refusing to back down despite the proximity. "Always in your shadow, always second best."

Caitlin's jaw clenched, her frustration palpable as she fought to maintain her composure. "You think I don't know what it's like to feel overshadowed?" she snapped, her voice strained with emotion. "You think I don't feel the pressure to live up to everyone's expectations?"

You scoffed, shaking your head in disbelief. "Please, Caitlin," you replied, your voice dripping with sarcasm. "You love the attention. You thrive on it."

Caitlin's gaze bore into yours, her eyes dark with intensity as she took a step closer, the space between you narrowing until there was barely a breath of air separating you. You could feel the heat radiating off her body, her proximity sending a shiver down your spine.

"Is that what you think?" she murmured, her voice low and husky, a hint of something unfamiliar dancing in her eyes. "That I love the attention?"

You swallowed hard, the heat of her gaze searing into your skin, igniting something unfamiliar within you. "Isn't it?" you shot back, your voice barely above a whisper.

"I don't like this new attitude, Y/N. I liked it better when used to you shut up and and take the heat," Caitlin interjected, her voice laced with a mix of frustration and something else you couldn't quite place.

Your breath caught in your throat, the intensity of Caitlin's words sending a jolt of adrenaline coursing through your veins. There was something different about her now, something raw that left you both exhilarated and irritated.

"I'm not the one who can't handle a little competition," you retorted, your voice dripping with sarcasm as you met Caitlin's gaze head-on.

Caitlin's jaw clenched, her eyes flashing with anger as she took another step closer, the heat of her body enveloping you in a cloud of desire. "And I'm not the one who needs to prove myself at every turn," she shot back, her voice low and dangerous.

"You're a bitch," you felt breathless as her gaze bore into yours.

"Yeah? Am I?" Her lips quirked into a smirk as she took in your appearance. You were always pretty, everyone knew it ─ people underestimated you, she sure had until tonight.

She wasn't dumb ─ she saw the way you looked at her and underneath all that hatred, she knew that you just wanted a little attention from her. Even after she'd committed to Iowa and you'd committed to LSU, Caitlin could see the way your gaze lingered on her more than it should have.

You felt a rush of heat rise to your cheeks at the intensity of her gaze, the air between you thick with unspoken tension. Despite the anger and frustration bubbling beneath the surface, there was something undeniably exhilarating about the way Caitlin looked at you, as if she could see right through to your soul.

"Damn right you are," you shot back, your voice tinged with defiance as you met her gaze head-on.

Caitlin's smirk widened, a glint of something dangerous flickering in her eyes as she closed the distance between you, her body inches away from yours.

"And you love it," she murmured, her voice low and husky, sending a shiver down your spine.

Before you could respond, Caitlin's lips crashed against yours in a searing kiss that left you breathless, the heat of her touch igniting a fire deep within you.

She pressed her lips against yours harshly and the two of you momentarily decided to forget how you two were in the hotel hallway, where anyone could step out and see this scene unfolding.

"Oh fuck," you moaned into the kiss as she pressed closer, your words muffled against her lips.

But Caitlin didn't seem to care about the risk of being caught, her hands roaming freely over your body as she deepened the kiss, her touch igniting a fire within you that threatened to consume you both.

You melted into her embrace, your mind clouded with desire as you lost yourself in the heat of the moment. For a fleeting instant, nothing else mattered ─ not the rivalry, not the consequences, nothing but the intoxicating passion that pulsed between you and Caitlin.

Caitlin pulled away harshly, a desperate whimper coming out of your lips as she glared down at you. She licked her lips as she let go of you, your face contorting into annoyance. Was she teasing you?

"What the hell, Cait?" you demanded, your voice laced with a mixture of irritation and longing. "Why'd you stop?"

Caitlin's gaze bore into yours, intense and unreadable, as she licked her lips with a slow, deliberate motion that sent a shiver down your spine. There was a hunger in her eyes, a primal desire that mirrored your own, yet something held her back, a barrier between you that neither of you seemed willing to breach.

"I'm not fucking you until we win," she replied, her voice low and husky, the words a mere whisper against the charged silence that enveloped you both. "Until I get the trophy, until your team loses."

"So you're gonna wait a whole year?" You scoffed, incredulity lacing your tone as you struggled to comprehend Caitlin's reasoning. The idea of waiting seemed absurd, especially in the midst of the intense desire that pulsed between you. "Well good luck, cause we're not going to."

"Yeah, and until you cut the fucking attitude. It doesn't suit you, Y/N." Caitlin's words were sharp, a harsh reminder of the tension that simmered beneath the surface of your interactions.

"Fuck you," you scoffed as she smirked. She just shook her head as she walked away, leaving you alone and so desperately needy.

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↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[couragecomesfromwithin]

polin love scene 🪞

now I haven’t seen much discourse about the nudity in Ep 5 particularly, but I have heard how some fans have been disappointed with how much was “teased” versus what they feel we deserved. maybe there was more and it was cut back, maybe they were respecting boundaries while trying to still satisfy fans I don’t know… But I do just want to acknowledge in fact how lucky we are. How proud we all should be, of both of them.

But Nicola. Beautiful, radiant Nicola Coughlan.

This woman had already shared her anxieties and boundaries around what was pitched in the book vs what she would be comfortable doing, long before it was posed or undertaken. I also want to remind you of the obnoxious, rude and disrespectful discussions and opinions she has already had to face about her body. Previously and still most recently. She put that all back on the line like never before undertaking and exposing so much in that scene. Naked. Not in some bitty show or a stage where it is only to a privileged ticketed few. But to a worldwide phenomenon.

This woman’s image will likely land on porn and xxx websites. It shouldn’t, but it will, alongside other actresses who have given similar performance simulations. And she will be judged and belittled by small, horrid people hiding behind the anonymity of the interweb. Maybe they will not reach her directly. We can hope, but they will be out there-and in a way it never was going to be for the first two leading ladies. Because they fit within the superficial societal expectations of what constitutes beauty. And indeed they are beautiful, but not because of the size of their waistlines. This woman is beautiful, and bold and she chose to find the empowerment in undertaking that level of exposure. She chose to honour what was expressed in the book. What we got to witness , it has been a privilege, not something we were ever entitled to. She is not an adult entertainer, she is not an explicit model, she is an actor. A performer. A brilliant, vibrant one at that, and she is proud, and happy. We should be proud and happy. She has given us a gift, she has risked the vulnerability of more unwarranted, cruel opinions and commentary on her naked body. I am so proud of her, I am so proud of who she represents, all these beautiful, sexy women who do not fit within the unrealistic ideals of a world that equates the size of a dress, the numbers on a scale and the absence of “imperfection” to the worthiness of a person. A human being.

She is resplendent. Unless you have ever faced- even with the support of an intimacy coordinator- filmed nudity, as an actor, it is intimidating. It’s you, but not you, in all your naked glory, with nothing to hide behind but the belief and identity of being another person and an absolute trust in those you create that moment with. And with the advance of social media, reality tv and the internet clearly the world’s ability to see the distinct line between character and performer, has become increasingly blurred for the socially inappropriate. And they will tell you exactly what they think, without a drop of consideration or care…and whether you are doing it for the first time or twelfth time as you sit in a robe, very nearly naked, You will still have this small voice of “o god, am I going to regret doing this?” And you make a choice.

You choose to trust, in yourself and those around you... But this is captured, memorialised on film for better or for worse, forever. Your family may see the it, your future children, grandchildren. It may sit in the minds of strangers, people who you will sit opposite on the tube- and who won’t say a thing…Not that you may really want them to.. but you just may catch their eye, sparkling with recognition, and think to yourself ‘oh geez, what if what they are thinking about what I look like naked’…which feels stupid and shallow, but for such a moment as a nudity scene, it ultimately becomes part of your legacy- it stays with you. Your career…hell people may still bring it up again 30 years down the line on a chat show (👀..Brooke shields, Sharon stone…there are still female performers who’s careers are ultimately stalled and who are judged for undertaking such scenes, who find that suddenly they are no longer so respected) and to recognise that…that to do this, it’s still a big thing, and we still do it anyway, because you believe in what you are doing and why you are doing it, to take pride and pleasure in what you do and the stories you tell and the characters and experiences you bring to life… it is beautiful and worthy of a little respect and acknowledgement.

now I’m not saying we are wrong to have wished for more, or different…but I do want to recognise what we did get, and how incredibly lucky we are in that. We should be so worthy and accept with grace the beautiful performances and attentions as was clearly given by the whole cast, crew and production.

[sailingfireshipz]

Because @stellariders & @chicagofires are fueling this fire & I have very minimal self-control, here we fucking go.

First, let me preface this rant with the following context. This situation triggers me so much because I am a WOC in a predominantly male industry so I see myself in the struggles that Stella has been exposed to & it's simply not fucking fair. So this take will be framed from my POV...Perspective & Perception. The fact that I have to preface this rant with the above statement instead of just saying how I feel is exactly the fucking point I'm about to make 🙃

(Grab a snacky snack)

"You have to be what?"... you have to be 2x as good, work 3x as hard, to receive HALF of the recognition, praise, grace, & chances. They can fail upwards or even have a promotion fall into their hands "cough cough" whereas you have to drive yourself up the wall just to prove that you're worthy of the opportunity. Because ONE mistake can & will follow you throughout your entire career. & that constantly plays in the background, like static when it comes to Stella Kidd. & I feel like Stella knows that, which is why she came in, did her job, did it damn good, & proved that she can hang with the best of the best at 51 but it was never quite enough for some people & i wonder why. There's never been a moment where she has been above reproach or criticism. How can she be out of fear of being labeled difficult, aggressive, or hard to work with as the only "broad on truck" & let me be clear I'm using that term & phrase because thats exactly what Hermann said when she joined truck 81.... yuck! Anyway, how can she make a mistake when the few mistakes she has made have followed her. She fucked up in 7x02 why is it S10 & Casey if implying she can't come with him when Severide & squad 3 were under water because she might be to emotionally charged. (LOL excuse me but didnt you jump out of a moving firetruck when your poor Sylvie was hurt, hypocrite much?) Didn't see Brett or Violet volunteering to hop on the boat & Stella is a trained paramedic or EMT so she would have been an asset. She messed up in S8 so why did they just take away her teaching at the academy versus addressing burnout & how to prioritize her time to be able to do both, because she was & is fully capable of doing both she just needed direction & support...She made a mistake in S10 by going mia & she apologized profusely for it but it still felt like Kelly held back & almost iced her out a bit longer than necessary. But in S9 when he royally messed up she immediately took him back & told him she wasn't going to let him get away again even though it wasn't her fault, he iced her out to begin with. Oh not even touching on the fact that him icing her out in S9 absolutely fucked with her confidence in her abilities to the point she almost skipped out on the LT exam.....🙂

When her CAPTAIN no less saw her burning it on all fronts in S8.. what did he do? How did he act? Was it with compassion or care, or did he get snappy & reprimand? Did Stella argue, talk back, or provide excuses? No, instead, she took accountability for her actions & tried to do better even though she KNEW she was drowning & overwhelmed. Instead of creating a safe space for her to be like hey captain, I'm struggling prioritizing how you manage she went internal & pushed herself to the brink of self exhaustion that she could have killed herself or someone else.

So let's talk about how Gallo on the other hand came in & had his own share of potential life or death mistakes with Casey & how he was down right disrespectful to Pelham & how he was inappropriate in the attitude & tone he took with Stella when questioning her about Carver. I never saw fucking reddit think pieces on how disrespectful, cocky, arrogant or annoying he was. Nope! He got a pass & a slap on the wrist time & time again. Casey even sat down with him, bought him a beer & they talked it out. So why couldnt Stella get that same grace? Yet when Stella very respectfully told Pelham "hey hesrd you are a great ff but I'll have to see for myself" parts of this fandom erupted, calling her all types of jealousy , entitled, etc. Never once saw Stella defy Pelhams commands or undermined his leadership. I dis however see her lay her busding career down on the line for a man she barely knew but did it because it was the right thing to do.

Casey was ready to cut Gallo loose on HIS FIRST fuck up after Boden told Casey he didn't want him at 51 because he was reckless. Had it not been for Boden providing Casey with Gallos' backstory, he would have cut him loose, i believe. Funny how Boden had to tell Casey about Gallos family history but Stella took it upon herself to try & work with & get to know Carvers backstory AFTER Boden, her mentor, her father figure & CHIEF told her who her next replacement on 51 was going to be.... Funny how the most turnover truck saw in 10 years was Jimmy, Gabby (chose not to return to truck) & Otis yet Stella is 2.5-3 years in & she's had to navigate through Mason, Gallo, Gibson, while dealing with shit from Carver & Damon.... you see the picture I'm painting here!?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but outside of Carver... who else has Boden forced his officers to take on their rig when they were explicitly against it..... I'll wait. Oh, but because "he's 51 material," you have to find a way to manage his bullshit & if you rewatch S11, Carver had a lot of BS. And I know we like Carver now because they abandoned the I have a crush on my married LT storyline, but I had actually forgotten how bad he was as an EMPLOYEE!

He is hot tempered & showcased high levels of aggression & anger in the workplace. Imagine Stella getting upset & punching or throwing things. Yelling at her LT or engaging in behavior that would have landed her in jail. Did we forget that this incident in S12 is Carvers' second physical altercation with a civilian... Never thought I'd be referencing Emma Jacobs, but one incident in the file is a hiccup.. two looks like a pattern of him not being able to control his temperament. We've seen Stella drunk ONE time because she'd been transferred out & they acted like she was being biligerant (go back & watch the scene & just look at how they're looking at her). Carver, however, is allowed to get drunk thrown in jail, call his LT to bail him out & Stella's supposed to what? Take it, leave her damn job in the middle of the night just for him to not be apologetic at ALL & then tell her oh this needs to stay been us. LMAO EXCUSE ME WHAT!!!!? & it would be one thing if this was a one off but AGAIN nope later in the SAME season he didn't just get himself into a physical altercation but dragged Gallo, Mouch, & Ritter into it also because he refused to REGULATE & walk away.

But wait, there's more. Remember how he went off on his LT in the locker room because he was upset & then proceeded to get drunk & call out on one shift & NCNS on another leaving her with no time to find a decent floater... & even after Kelly explicitly told her that she would lose no respect if she cut him loose, what did she do... she went to his apartment to check on him, make sure he was alright & gave him ANOTHER chance. Matt Casey, Kelly Severide & Hermann would absolutely never & I'm not saying it's a bad thing that Stella gave him so many chances what I'm saying is i don't feel like her reasoning behind all the chances were actually her own but more so rooted in not wanting it to be a failure on her part in the eyes of Boden. & that for me is problematic as hell.

Even in S12... for Carver to get into that restaurant brawl & immediately take furlough afterwards was just such a cowardly move because here you are AGAIN leaving your LT high & fucking dry on truck during a crirical time no less with Boden being up for that promotion!

Now, moving into this Damon storyline, I'm going to reserve a majority of my thoughts until we actually get to see it play out. However, one thing in the finale that was alarming to me was Stella's conversation with Violet. I interpreted it as Stella had all intentions of cutting Damon loose. He was a floater, she owed that man no loyalty & she specifically said she was in no rush to lock anyone down permanently after the Gibson issue. However, again, it felt like Stella decided to keep him on longer because of other external factors. ie: Carver leaving her high & dry again & Kelly seemed to like him. Those to me aren't good enough reasons because she's not making decisions that honor her experience with this man rather than those around her.

The reality is that Stella could have lost her command or even worse because of that brawl. That man could have reported them to the CFD brass, called the cops, blasted them in the media & SUED the CFD. & the first thing they would have asked Stella was why she did not have control of the scene or her direct reports. They would have hung this on her & the old hags at CFD would have been like see this is why women shouldn't be officers." Blah blah blah. The repeecussions would have been so much greater for Stella & could have derailed what shes worked so hard for & the fact that Carver & Damon don't get that irks me because they should have NEVER put her in that position to begin with. You don't bring reproach on your leader especially when your leader has run through walls to protect you, bailed you out of jail, hell thrown herself on top of you to shield you from a blast, etc.

& so in conclusion my next gripe is with the writers & showrunners because I wonder if they know. I wonder if they know & they're choosing to reinforce these stereotypical experiences without effectively addressing them. I wonder if they know that they're not romanticizing it all & that its not cute or funny but infuriating that it feeds a part of this fanbase that's actually disgusting & rooted in misogyny. Or maybe they don't know & it's a mixture of unconscious bias/ ignorance.

Regardless, it's 2024 & I'm tired of it! 😫 I'm all for showing the reality & challenges that women or woc in the CFD face on a day to day but I feel like why not use it as a platform to show that just because it's embedded in the systems doesn't make it right nor does it make a requirement for Stella or any other female officer to have to endure the shit. She should be able to fucking fire or discipline Carver, Damon or whoever on HER rig without being questioned on whether or not her emotions or personal experiences are clouding her judgment because she's earned that right. She studied, she worked her ass off, she took the test, she passed & she's the LT. She shouldn't have to explain why she gave Carver or anyone certain assignments because guess what? No assignment is too big or small when lives are on the line, right? She shouldn't have to feel obligated to keep Damon on her rig just because now he's her long lost BOL that withheld the truth from her his LT & even when he decided to come clean it wasn't to her his LT. I am praying that is not the narrative they push in S13 but tbh I wouldn't be surprised because they've already set the groundwork for it. She shouldn't have to explain her reasoning or endure another year of unprofessionalism on her rig all because the patriarchy will get upset that a woman is leading/ discipling men. Reading the comments on how Stella disciplined them in the finale really bothered me because yall can't be serious! Stella had ever right to be upset, to express that frustration & disappointment with them because at the end of the day, that was her scene, her fire fighters & her responsibility as the officer in charge.

It feels like the men on the show are allowed to have their emotions, their traumas, their demons & it be brushed over or romanticized with little to no consequence. However, that same grace is not extended to the strong female leads that have just as much trauma, pain, or demons. They vilified Gabby for hers & they try to do the same to Stella. it's not fair because if they were males, we wouldn't have the conversations of "Stella leading Grant on" "Stella putting people lives in danger" or "Stella's on a power trip & has let her rank go to her head"

I know that was a lot & if you made it to the end of this rage rant, thank you. This has been something I've been sitting on since S11 & tbh it feels good to get it out! 🥹

[cherokeecharles]

#Hottakes #11: White Mediocrity at The Grammy’s Isn’t a Surprise Anymore.

It wouldn’t be award season if we weren’t talking about white mediocrity being rewarded or people being surprised that it was awarded. The never-ending saga of ‘I can’t believe Taylor won over [insert great black artist here]’ is now plaguing my timeline for the time being and what better way to break my silence?

During my writing hiatus, I went on an inspiration scavenger hunt—poking around pop culture, TV, music, and yes, even sports (times are tough, sisters). Yet, nothing sparked that writing flame. Then came the Grammys buzz, the usual drill: nominations, snubs, and the betting game of who should win versus who will win. We all would like to think of ourselves as Grammy psychics to some degree. So, imagine my surprise at the post-Grammys shockwave. Why the gasps for the winners? Why the faux shock when black artists get the snub? And seriously, why keep submitting music if it's playing hide-and-seek with recognition? It's like sending your resume to a job that never calls back—maybe it's time to rethink the application process, huh?

Jay-Z delivered a powerful speech while receiving his honoree Hip Hop award. Rather than talking about his accomplishment he went on to give a rant about his wife, Beyoncé, being the most awarded Grammy winner yet always falling short of her peers of winning the coveted Record of the Year award. The speech was compelling and it reflected what many of us said for years. I would’ve been moved by the speech if I knew they weren’t going to keep submitting their music to be snubbed yearly. The speech reflected all of my thoughts of Beyoncé being categorically snubbed every year for that award that we know is likely missing from her résumé. However, I don’t like the fact that it’s being deemed that she’s missing this one thing from greatness. Beyoncé is great on her own and her career, music, and work ethic back up that claim. I think that it’s unfair that her ‘shortcoming’ amounted to an award where the line is always moving.

The award show progressed, and we’re all left to simmer with Jay-Z's speech about snubbing at the Grammys. The end of the award show comes around, and the last and biggest award is Album of the Year. The album of the year award was presented by the one and only Celine Dion. The Album of the Year award is a coveted award, it’s essentially the album that shaped the year we just went through, and the cultural and social impact of said album are factors into who gets the win, or so I thought. The category for album of the year was groundbreaking on its own because this is the first time it has ever had seven of the eight nominations be women. The category on its own with poised for someone who showed great artistry through one album that spoke to the public, and to the Grammy voters. Imagine the lack of surprise on my face when Taylor Swift won. Taylor Swift’s album Midnights won the most desired award beating out SZA’s SOS, Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer, Janelle Monae’s Age of Pleasure, etc. This Album of the Year award made Taylor Swift the most winningest recipient of the award receiving the most nominations and win in this category.

The aftermath was a storm of criticism that hit Taylor Swift like a hurricane. From her award-acceptance antics to dropping her album bombshell mid-show and dragging poor Lana Del Rey on stage, Swift's behavior was undeniably tacky. But let's not kid ourselves—the uproar wasn't just about her manners. It was the fact that she clinched the Grammys' holy grail, becoming the all-time winningest. Viewers collectively winced, wondering why Taylor got the crown instead of, say, SZA. We act shocked, but really, we've read the exposés, pondered the think pieces, and still tune in annually. Artists keep submitting, black artists keep getting snubbed. If Taylor's the poster child for white mediocrity, why do we willingly sign up for this annual masochism? It's like déjà vu with a side of irony.

I'm not exactly Taylor Swift's number-one fan (and never will be), and I join the chorus of critics giving her the side-eye. But what grinds my gears is the phony shock everyone's putting on. Sure, there are more deserving artists out there, and it's downright ludicrous that a powerhouse like Beyoncé hasn't snagged the top prize. Yet, when does the surprise party end? We've witnessed Grammys snubs so brutal they make 2024 look like a tea party. That's why Jay-Z's speech didn't move my needle. Valid points, definitely, but let's be real, you're still cashing in those Grammy chips and probably gonna play again. Our beloved artists secretly crave that Recording Academy nod and that's why they keep tossing their tunes into the Grammy ring. It's like a messed-up lottery where, once in a blue moon, an artist (looking at you, Zayn and The Weeknd) says, "Enough is enough!" If it's a rigged game, why keep rolling the dice? If you know the ending, why splurge on the movie ticket?

The Grammys will persist as the top accolade artists crave for artistic validation. However, it's crucial to grasp that Grammy wins don't make or break careers. Complaining without a push for change is futile. The Grammys will keep snubbing until artists stop submitting. Despite acknowledging the celebration of mediocrity, there's a glaring lack of transformative action. Perhaps, giving Grammys less power than fans and artists do is key. Even Beyoncé, the greatest artist, faces snubs. Does she need another Grammy to prove her greatness? No, because she already is. Embracing this mindset could make music more enjoyable, sans the Grammy obsession.

What do you guys think? Do you think artist should continue to submit their music to the Grammys? Do you think the Grammys are losing their credibility every year go on? What can the Grammys do to gain back the credibility?

Let me know what you think!

Until then…

Cherokee🤎✨

[dangermousie]

In S1, she was guarded and bitter and he was the one with his heart wide open and this time it’s a reversal and I love what it says - there is nothing innate about sunniness versus bitterness - it’s what you experience (and remember experiencing.)

Love’s young dream you are not, young man!

I keep being stuck on how terrible her life as a prisoner is if marrying a brusque, uncaring supernatural executioner is a great deal for her. Lady Jin always came across as a fixated monster to me and the more we see of her, the more I loathe her.

She may not be experienced (because experience is built on memories and they literally got wiped by her resurrection) but she is nobody’s fool and I love that!

I cannot wait until he discovers she is his beloved Naksu, memory wiped and in a different body. He is gonna want to die! Well, want to die more! Give me the hothouse of emotion that catharsis and recognition and love with bring!!! And their guilt! MMMMM!!!!

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch: season 2 recap

Voyager's second season was a real mixed bag. Numbers wise, I actually ended up liking more episodes than I disliked, but the ones I disliked, I really hated. In fact, some of my most hated stories in the whole series were this season. But it says a lot about how strong the show's concept and characters are that all the bad apples in this bunch couldn't put me off the show. In fact, despite only liking half the episodes, I still finished this season loving this show just as much, if not more, than last season. I have to give so much credit to the actors for that- the writers don't seem to have thought very hard about these characters in a lot of places, but the actors held some of these stories together seemingly through sheer force of will. Their charisma and chemistry with eachother in the little moments made the bad stories worth watching, and I'm very grateful for that.

Interestingly, appparently episodes 1-10 were actually filmed during season one, and meant to be the end of that season, but for some reason were held back and aired as the beginning of season 2. The original order is included on the DVDs:

Projections ep 17

Elogium ep 18

Twisted ep 19

The 37s ep 20

Initiations ep 21

Non Sequitur ep 22

Parturition ep 23

Persistence of Vision ep 24

Tattoo: ep 25

Cold Fire: ep26

Since five of my most hated episodes are on that list, I know it would have lowered my esteem for s1 if they had aired then, so in hindsight, I'm glad they were held back until the audience had time to build up more goodwill for the characters and the show.

Things I liked this season:

B'Elanna at her little engineering station on the bridge- I love that she had this during early seasons, why did they do away with it later?? it was nice to get everybody on the bridge together during important scenes.

Tom Paris getting a more heroic plotline and some respect at the conclusion of the Kazon spy arc. There's been a lot of disconnect on the show so far between how everyone talks about Tom versus how he actually behaves, and it's nice that he actually got some recognition from other characters for his many good qualities. Everyone needs to appreciate Tom more tbh!

Captain Janeway's bun hair continues to be a delight; keep slaying, Queen!

While the Kazon are not my favorite antagonists, and I don't like where Seska's storyline went, I do actually kind of appreciate that they tried an ongoing story arc this season. The way it was woven as a subplot through otherwise standalone episodes and then picked up on as the main plot in later episodes was a nice way to do it. It found a nice balance between standalone and serialized formats that gave us the benefits of each.

Things I disliked this season:

We still can't manage to have a story where B'Elanna and Kes interact beyond two or three words?? I think every character has been in at least a scene or two one on one with all the other characters, except for them. On a show with only three women in the main cast, not having two of them even talk to each other, let alone develop a friendship, is an egregious omission. They could have had at least one episode where they went on an away mission together or something. It would have been way better than all the episodes where men treat Kes like an object to possess, which leads into my next point of dislike:

Way too many romantic subplots. It felt way too high-school with all the secret crushes and jealousy and rivalry nonsense. Kes was the writers favorite target, with a grand total of 4 romantic subplots, including Neelix, plus another guy who was just straight up obessesed with her kinda counting as 5? At any rate, she had the most romances, and she's clearly older mens vision of a manic pixie dream Ocampa, which is super gross. Watching Kes get treated like crap by almost every male character she comes in contact with, and yelled at by Neelix, wasn't pleasant either, and kind of ruined Neelix for me. I'm glad that they decided to finally give it a rest this season, but the way they attempted to resolve it wasn't believable, and actually very misogynist, and thus not a satisfying conclusion. Neelix was nice to Kes in a few eps here at last, and it would have been fine if he'd been like that from the start, but the memory of him yelling at her, and her crying over it, is kind of in my head now, and I can't shrug it away. It makes me sad how they saddled these characters, and consequently, us as the audience, with all this unnecessary baggage.

Janeway and the Doctor both clock in at number two in the romance derby, with three romantic subplots each this season. The character with the most on screen kisses is the Doctor though, with three this season. (Giving the middle aged bald guy all the chicks sure makes it feel like there's some wish fulfilment going on in that writers room lmao)

Season stats:

They started the season with 154 crew in 'The 37s'

Crewmembers killed: 6

Crewman Kurt Bandera and 2 more unnamed (Alliances)

Lt. Darwin (Meld)

Crewman Michael Jonas (Investigations)

Ensign Bennet (Innocence)

Romantic subplots:

The Doctor: 3 with kiss (Projections) (Twisted) (Lifesigns)

Kes: 1 with kiss (Projections) 1 without kiss (Parturition) 1 with cheek kiss (Tuvix) [I'm not counting her ongoing romantic subplot with Neelix since it's been a main part of her plot since the beginning of the show]

Harry: 1 with kiss (Non Sequitur)

Tom: 1 without kiss (Parturition)

Captain Janeway: 2 with kiss (Persistance of Vision) 1 without kiss (Resolutions)

B'Elanna: 1 with kiss (Persistance of Vision)

Chakotay: 1 without kiss (Resolutions) [I'm not counting Persistance of Vision on Chakotay's list, since it was a hallucination of him and not the real Chakotay that kissed B'Elanna]

Number of shuttles destroyed/lost: 3 (1 for sure, 2 probable)

1 (Initiations) [destroyed]

1 (Non Sequitur) [presumably destroyed, since Harry is beamed off shuttlecraft Drake before imminent hull breach, though whether the shuttle actually exploded and/or was unsalvageable isn't made clear]

1 (Parturition) [again, presumably destroyed, since it crashed and was damaged, and recovering the shuttle was never mentioned]

[shuttlecraft Cochrane was presumably recovered intact from the planet of lizard babies in Threshold, though we never saw it]

Number of episodes I liked/disliked/mixed reaction:

Liked: 13

Disliked: 9

Mixed: 4

[cissyenthusiast010155]

Hi there! I hope this might not be strange to ask (well I don’t speak English well, but I’m trying my best).

I just had this conversation with my best friend (she’s a girl) and I get in trouble because of not having this communication about “Not wanted to do something” a podcast that we wanted to have a long time ago.

the thing is that I realized that I didn’t wanted to do that and I felt so bad telling to her that I want able to record the podcast

she felt so bad that breaks my heart. And I feel like a bad person, even if I know that I’m not one. The problem is that I don’t want to relate to anyone, I feel so sad about it and I ask to myself “Why is that expressing myself is so hard and hurts me so deep”

I’m a people pleaser non fully recovered, and I wanted to know if you have any life advice for this (and I’m so sorry if I didn’t express myself well)

{Let’s Talk about People Pleasing!}

Hi Darling…! It’s okay if you don’t speak English, I’m proud of you for reaching out and sharing nonetheless!! Such a good girl for dropping by and telling us this. You are very brave, sweetheart ♥️

Your ask seems to be about people pleasing and the recovery therefrom. I appreciate the example you gave about your friend and the podcast. Thank you for sharing all of this. Know that your feelings and your experiences are valid, especially your example. You are valid, sweetheart!

Before giving my advice on people pleasing, I’m first going to touch upon what people pleasing actually is. People Pleasing in general is the description for a person who actively strives to please others, often at the expense of their own wants and/or needs. Check out this article from Medical News Today to read further about people pleasing—What is people pleasing?.

Second, as well as needing to know what people pleasing is, you should be aware of how to recognize it. The key things to be aware of in people pleasing is low self-esteem, neglect, over-commitment, and difficulty saying no. I would recommend you read this Calm article especially the section about the recognition of people pleasing—Learn how to stop being a people pleaser with these 10 tips.

Now to your question— What is my life advice to recover from people pleasing?

Start to practice differentiating what is people pleasing versus what is genuine kindness. Talk through it with someone, identify what the root cause and/or trauma of your people pleasing is (if it’s with a professional, even better!). Practice and catch yourself when you start people pleasing, work on keeping yourself in check mentally. It’s a battle, but you got this. For a solid step by step guide for how to recover from people pleasing, check out this article—How To Stop People Pleasing: The Definitive Guide 2024.

If you’d like to hear more on this subject or anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out! I am more than happy to continue to elaborate and give my thoughts and resources. Hope you found this helpful, sweet anon. Have a lovely day/night!! 💞💞💞

Talk with Me ❤️‍🔥

[zumpietoo]

Finally....

Sorry it's taken me until now, various and sundry tasks have had me running all about....

Well, first off, Silly/janASS pretending to be an anon.....Cole fans and SH shippers are two verrryyyyyy different things....and those of us who ARE Cole fans? Not only recognize Cari is a thing, but we LOVE it....in fact, aren't YOU GUYS the ones always insisting IT'S "an illusion"/pee arr/Ari's a prostitute, moar often than not "not even permitted in LA by Cole"/grifter blackmailing Cole into submission???

Speaking of "an illusion"---while, yes, I will grant you SH was most assuredly NOT the enchanted delight it might've seemed at the time....that's something we're also all FULLY aware of....and, again, while yes, they apparently broke up a LOT...they were a real couple, on and off for nearly 4 years and, now confirmed, contrary to your endless insistence, PP was the cheater and Cole dumped her ass.

I think you can also freely admit, had they not been on the same TeeVee show, they never would've reconciled multiple times....and it probably would've played out over the course of a year or even less.

I agree it was "toxic", but that was because of PP, not Cole....see above.

As for "content", yeah, we actually got a considerable amount....moar than Cabana Pee....and then it was farrrrr less staged/pee arr-y, as well (lots of it was actually accidental, candid spottings of them together....versus pap walks and plus ones at pee arr events).

I'd say you have the next fully backwards.....PP is the one dating a Walmart Cole, having gotten with said Walmart Cole entirely because A) cheap Cole imitation B) literally imitated Cole, because BOTH of them are desperate for Cole's attention. She's also the one who stalked/cosplayed Ari and now looks to recreate key moments WITH Cole, but inserting Cabana Boi. She also endlessly sexually harassed Cole, years after he dumped her, on set....

And that all, in and of itself, makes HER a "vile human being", not Cole....who, once again, has done nothing wrong.

The entire "can't be in the same room" is because of her antics....

As noted above, I fully respect Cari as a couple and am very, very happy for them both. They're adorable. Again, the ones who can't/don't? Are yourselves....because, LBR, what you're mad at Cole about is that he dumped your kween.

Chase/Madelyn/Kelsea----IDGAF and, actually, nobody I'm friends with does, either....they all suck, are icky, etc....

Plus, let's look at who's here, endlessly trying to turn CB into an actual Cole, endlessly shipping HIS tiktoker ass with PP, just as you did previously with GymD, not Ms. G (cuz homophobes) and used to fanfic her with Chris Evans (who was already taken) and John Mayer....as an unpaid prostitute, herself, no less!

And I am responsible for all this? I thought nobody listens to me/GAF what I have to say? Plus if, again, true? Then everybody already thinks Cari are awesome....

Sorry you're this fucking stupid....but true, it isn't "too late to grow up", for yourselves....

Also not sure what I or any of my friends have ever done that's "unacceptable behavior"????

Given when this was sent and agreed on (Sunday), I'm guessing their butthurt was extra intense, compliments of further recognition of the obvious (i.e. Cabana Boi is Shein Cole)......

[dreamwreaver]

The reason why Chloe's "corruption" arc being allegedly fully planned out never sat well with me is that in order for any arc to happen there has to be focus on the character. And by miraculous's very nature, that doesn't happen. The focus at all times is either on Marinette, or to a much lesser extent adrien. Usually the only time we get focus on a seperste character is if they're the akuma of the day.

And that's the problem. By all means, as disappointed as I could be with Chloe's redemption arc being unfulfilled, I could at least be satisfied with it narratively if it had been well done. But we didn't get that, unlike in season two, where it's arguable that Chloe had a collective five episodes building her character as someone flawed but ultimately good deep down, we got maybe three. And that's a very BIG maybe.

So, let me take you on a journey of Chloe's redemption versus her "corruption". Ready? Buzz on!

In season two, we had Despair Bear, where Chloe helps and then apologizes to her butler (I refuse to believe his name is Armand because people besides Chloe called him Jean and the joke is objectively funnier thinking she can't remember his second name)

We had Zombizou, where Chloe takes a hit knowing that ladybug will be able to save the day, and apologizes to miss bustier, and give her a gift without wanting recognition!

And then we have the queen's battle:

In style queen, Chloe betrays her own mother, the woman we saw her spend a good chunk of the episode trying to impress and stay on the good side of, to help ladybug. She tries to free adrien herself but fails, and then tells ladybug where the akuma is.

In queen wasp, we see that Chloe becomes a superhero for the love of her mother, and fails. We see her pay the consequences for her actions and the remorse she feels at seeing pollen "destroyed" as she gathers the pieces to her chest. You can argue that she's actually lamenting the loss of a way to become exceptional, but I feel like that's not it. Point being, the focus is on Chloe and how she wants to do good.

Malediktator is the quintessential Chloe episode of that season, it shows ladybug, and therefore Marinette, how vulnerable Chloe is. Chloe knows she doesn't have any friends, how she feels useless, and though inadvertently, she takes out that insecurity on others. Ladybug entrusts her with the bee miraculous and they defeat malediktator together.

Thats five episodes out of the 26. And then there's the season 2 finale, where while he's, Chloe does get reakumatized into queen wasp, she is the last to fall, keeping vigilant and it taking being restrained to nab her.

Whether or not you believe Chloe deserves the miraculous she ended up with, there was a lot of effort given to her as a character story wise before she ended up as a part of the miraculous team. Now let's look at season 3 the season of Chloe's "corruption" arc. How many episodes before the season finale do we get focusing on Chloe? Two and a moment in the episode felix, really only one because stormy weather 2 is really the clip show episode of miraculous rather than focusing on Chloe not learning anything.

Miraculer is the big episode focusing on Chloe through her proxy Sabrina. It's there that Chloe is shown to be constantly wanting to help out ladybug and chat noir, and how she feels overlooked with the more frequent use of Rena rouge and carapace. Whether or not that's canonically true, fine, we'll go with it, it's an emotionally driven perception. Chloe is yet again feeling useless and unexceptional, and it's not helped by Lila's own jealousy and vendetta against the spotted heroine. She's upset when the "dance" to summon ladybug doesn't work, which is exactly hawkmoth's plan. What he doesn't expect, is that Chloe rejects it entirely. Chloe, the person famous for giving in to her temper tantrums and doing anything for power, rejects being akumatized entirely. Something which not even the kindest hearted person in the show, Miss Bustier, was able to do. Something we wouldn't see resembled until a full season later with Alya in gang of secrets. This is supposed to be a big moment for Chloe, showing her alleged growth right? But then miraculer happens and Chloe is tempted with the offer of being a heroine whenever she so desires. Again, a promise of power that season one Chloe absolutely would have taken. But she rejects it, she puts her trust in ladybug that even though her identity is exposed ladybug will call on her when she's needed, something she had told hawkmoth when she broke free of his hold.

This is supposed to be the beginning of the end. The poison being planted on Chloe's brain about ladybug's distrust and disdain for Chloe being why she doesnt allow Chloe to help more. Cool right? This should lead to a bunch more episodes where Chloe is seen waiting, even perhaps distracting ladybug while she calls out that she can help. But it doesnt. We don't see hide nor hair of this alleged corruption plot until the season 3 finale. Episodes 25 and 26, when miraculer was episode 11.

And even then, part of the problem with miraculous' writing is the insistence that Marinette has to learn a lesson every episode. Because the lesson from heart hunter is framed by the narrative that ladybug shouldn't have let her desire to keep Kagami and adrien apart cloud her judgement. They focus on that hand hover over the bee comb. The narrative is saying the right choice was Chloe, was queen bee, and Marinette made the wrong choice. It's not that Chloe felt entitled to the miraculous and hurt her own parents to try and get it and failed. It's that Marinette made the wrong choices because she couldn't stand the idea of Kagami ending up with adrien.

How am I supposed to feel that Chloe making the choice she made to save her parents was a bad one? Was it self serving? Oh god yes, but Chloe is selfish, and she demanded that hawkmoth release her parents before she agreed to help him. He held up his end of the bargain, this wasn't Chloe simply calling out to hawkmoth and offering her services to him. This was an offer made to her while she was at her lowest narrative point. Her bee lamp was sabatoged so that she couldn't use it to signal ladybug. She felt useless and abandoned and hurt that ladybug wouldn't let her help her save her own parents. I just fail to see the corruption here.

And then, oh boy, miracle queen. Chloe is akumatized and reveals the identities of all temporary heroes up to that point. She has the entire city minus the main heroes and main villains under her control. And then... what? She just watches ladybug and chat noir fight her minions? Not even from a lofty vantage point like she narratively should if she's looking down on everyone? She's beaten and while she's still hurt, she tries to get her powers back.

Okay, fine, bad look for Chloe, I will fully admit that. But again, Chloe by her very nature runs on her emotions and her background that you ally yourself with people who can offer you power. That's not being corrupted, that's falling back on learned behaviors. And remember, now we know that everything from season 1 to season 5 takes place in less than a YEAR. This wasn't Chloe changing slowly over the course of several months or even a year and then slipping up. This is maybe two months in which everything happened. Maybe more, I don't know. And then after that, she's abandoned by the villain she allegedly allied with. He leaves her behind and calls her a disappointment. As vindictive as Chloe is, you'd think she wouldn't want anything to do with either hawkmoth or ladybug anymore. But that's not what happens. When ladybug confronts her after her declaration of being queen bee in New York, ahe doesn't run. She doesn't flee and hide pollen somewhere so ladybug cannot get the bee miraculous back until later in season 4. She just lets ladybug take it and then runs away crying about not being a fan of ladybug anymore. But not being a fan doesn't necessarily mean being an enemy.

A good corruption arc is a slow burn. You need to spend time watching the idea of betrayal slowly seep. The notion that the villain cares more deeply for a character than a hero. A character isolated from all avenues of protection. Which Chloe almost has, her parents are clearly too busy for her, but you never see her stewing in that loneliness. She's got everything she could ever want but not what she needs, but that's on her I guess for not reaching out and realizing she needs help?

Look, as spotty as her appearances are, LILA has a better corruption arc. She starts out to the audience as presumably, someone who lies for attention because she doesn't get it at home. She's in a new school, a new country we assumed, and she wanted friends. There's a superhero who everyone likes? Of course she lies about being friends with her. The boy she wants to get closer to seems to have a crush on ladybug (and of course Lila doesn't know adrien is cn she she probably thinks of it as a celebrity crush) well then she's actually descended from a long line of superheroes. When ladybug utterly embarrassed her in front of her crush, of course she's devastated. And since there's nothing keeping ladybug from exposing her to everyone else, naturally Lila doesn't trust her, nor does she want to forgive her. And with chameleon it's shown just how far she'll go, even making the guy she supposedly likes look bad because he dared to speak against her, even in private. She knowingly teams up with hawkmoth, she waits for akumas to come to her and projects her emotions to attract him. That's a corruption arc, Lila started out bad but sympathetic and slowly gets worse, doing things on her own to make life worse so she can get what she wants. She never really loses, she just doesn't win. Lila's corruption arc is better done regardless of how outrageous her lies are, because her character being bad is solid. This is the way she's always been and she has no inclination to change, what first appeared as sympathy was just her tricking the audience as well. Chloe was not made for that role, which is why her tonal shift and all the retconning and salt episodes of her being cartoonishly evil even by the standards of miraculous don't hold up. If Chloe was meant to be evil, she wouldn't always lose, and wouldn't always be the unfunny comic relief. But unfortunately, the writing team just doesn't seem to see her that way.

Edit: I wanted to add gifs to illustrate my point further but tumblr only allows ten, but there's plenty of visible evidence. And as for Zoe, I like her fine, but only because there isn't enough substance to her to hate. And I like her in the same way I like popular music that sounds enough like nothing that no one objects to it. I'd like her more if we didn't all already know why she was there

[moonchild-things]

Chapter Seven: Versus the Great King

Summary: Shōyō Hinata loves volleyball! There is no doubt that all he really thinks about is volleyball. His sister, however, isn’t the same way. Sakura is ready to start her first year of high school at Karasuno with her twin brother and doesn’t really want to do anything, unlike Shōyō. Though she can’t help it when she gets dragged into the antics of the volleyball club.

Word Count: 10707

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IT ALMOST SEEMED LIKE THE GYM CAME to a stand-still now that the Aoba Johsai captain had finally arrived for the match. Even if both teams were having their break in between sets, their attention was drawn to the official setter of the powerhouse school. His very presence seemed as though it demanded recognition, or at least he carried himself that way. The smug aura that surrounded him was not unnoticed by Karasuno. In fact, a few of them even seemed to be glowering at him for it. Well, it was more like just Tanaka, who didn't like the attention that the captain was getting from the girls who stood to watch the match.

Endo seemed to be the only one on the team that was a tad bit excited at the arrival of the other boy. Don't get him wrong, it was a bit unsettling to know that they'd have to face his monster serves now, but that made it a bit thrilling for him. He hadn't gotten to play against Oikawa all that much. Karasuno never made it far enough to play against Aoba Johsai at any tournaments. The only time he did get to see Oikawa was when they were in grades school and practiced with each other. If Endo thought about it, the last time he really got to see the cocky setter and talk with him was some time last year. And the last time he practiced volleyball with him was during their first year at their high schools. So, of course, he was excited at the prospect of getting to play against him and see how much he's improved. Not only that, but he was more than ready to show off how he's improved as well.

"Hey! You're back, Oikawa!" The Aoba Johsai coach said as the captain walked over, "How's your leg?"

The brown-haired third-year flashed an ok sign with a smile, "Perfect! I'm good to do regular practice. It was only a light sprain."

His coach shook his head, "Honestly, be more careful. They met our demand to produce Kageyama so we lose face if we aren't using our official setter."

"Sorry, sir," Oikawa apologized, he at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.

Just from one look at him, Sakura could already tell that she didn't like him that much. He seemed to be the overly arrogant type, which didn't sit well with her. It was one thing to be confident in your abilities, it was another to stuff it into someone's face. He definitely seemed like the type to do that. Not only that, but he scarily reminded Sakura of a certain blond foreigner on the team, and she wasn't looking forward to having yet another Endo around.

Then again, Sakura shouldn't judge just based on the vibe she was getting off of him. If he had a shitty personality or the personality of a saint, she wouldn't care. He's a player from a different team. He may be her brother's opponent, but as long as he didn't infuriate her by undermining her brother or otherwise annoying her, then she wouldn't care about Oikawa or what he does.

A girl from the stands suddenly yelled out, "Oikawa, please don't hurt yourself!" There was then a collection of giggles and shouts from other fangirls in the stands. The sound was infuriating quite a few people on Karasuno's team.

"Kageyama, who is Mr. Slim there?" Tanaka was obviously one of them as he gritted his teeth in irritation, "I am exceedingly displeased."

"That is Seijoh's captain," Daichi answered.

Kageyama stared at his former senpai with narrowed eyes, "Oikawa... is a super offensive setter. I'd say he's at the top of his class for attacks and team play." He then turned to the Hinata twins with a slightly troubled expression, "And he's extremely nasty."

"Worse than you?" Shōyō asked in disbelief, not thinking that there could be anyone worse than Kageyama.

Kageyama shook his head, "Maybe worse than Tsukishima." Said boy just looked over at the group with narrowed eyes. Why was he being brought up in this conversation?

Sakura squinted her eyes in thought, "Is that even possible?" She hadn't really met many people with personalities as bad as Tsukishima, but was it possible to be worse than him?

"He must be really bad!" Shōyō exclaimed at the same time.

Tanaka then asked, "You know him, so he's from Kitagawa First?"

"Yes," Kageyama answered with a nod.

Endo slithered himself over to the first-year setter and leaned against his shoulder. "Weren't you his kohai back then?" A wide smile grew to take over most of his face as he seemingly leered down at the younger boy. "His precious Tobio-chan?"

"How do you know that?" Kageyama asked skeptically.

The third-year just continued to smile cheekily. He wasn't sure why he hadn't put it together already. Kageyama was the genius kohai that he had heard Oikawa talk about for a bit. Why hadn't he figured this out beforehand? It should have been quite obvious! Then again, Endo didn't really hang around Oikawa when he was in junior high, so it's slightly understandable as to why he didn't know.

He could see how Oikawa had come to dislike Kageyama, as Endo could see how jealous Oikawa could be of the genius boy. From what he could tell, Kageyama was what Oikawa wanted to be. A young, aspiring setter who had a skill that he was most likely born with. Oikawa had to work hard for the skill that he had now, not just given it by the volleyball gods at birth. Still, this was the type of drama that Eno loved. Oh, he's glad that he ended up on Kageyama's team, his reputation would certainly bring about a lot of drama.

"Yoo-hoo!" The captain of Aoba Johsai called out to the other side of the court, gaining the attention of the Karasuno team. He waved at Kageyama with a smile, "Long time no see, Tobio-chan! Having fun being the king?" His teasing smile then dipped as he caught sight of the blond still hanging on Kageyama. His expression became strained, "Endo."

Endo smirked and disregarded the looks that he was getting from his teammates. He let go of Kageyama and leaned forward with his electric eye burning in amusement as they were pointed at the Seijoh captain. "How's the knee, Flattykawa?"

Oikawa stuck his tongue out at him and shook his head, "I'm not telling you!" He then turned to his own coach to talk with him and ignore the other third-year. His reaction earned a satisfied chuckle from the drama queen who ignored the stares from his team. He already knew he'd have to explain how he knew him, but he wasn't sure if he should tell them everything. No, a brief explanation should be fine, he thought. As much as he liked drama, gossip surrounding himself is something he doesn't likes to divulge people in.

"I learned how to serve and block by watching him," Kageyama explains, pulling the questioning stares from Endo and onto himself. "He is extremely good. However, focus on the game for now. We're going to take the last set."

"R-right on!" Shōyō stuttered.

Kageyama then turned to his senpai who was currently trying to send Oikawa his most intimidating stare. "Tanaka, stop trying to intimidate them!"

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows while walking back over to the bench. "Intimidate? It looks like he's constipated more than anything."

Her comment earned a small giggle from Kiyoko and a deflated Tanaka who tried to fire himself back up by shouting, "I'm seriously gonna kill 'im!"

Endo chuckled at his underclassmen and glanced over at the Seijoh captain. He watched as Oikawa went off to start up his warm-ups. Even from across the room, Endo could see with his keen eyes that Oikawa was favoring one leg over the other. "Ah, I haven't seen that moron in a long while." He tsked while putting down his water bottle. "He's always getting injured."

The game continued on, with points being exchanged and earned by each team. Though throughout the set, there were plenty of girls gathering around, worrying over their poor Oikawa. It certainly encouraged Tanaka to make some more spikes which got through most of Aoba Johsai's blocks. Kageyama and Shōyō did their own set and spike a few times, earning points. Kageyama and Tsukishima also made some crucial blocks while Endo made a few service aces. Overall, the third set was going well and in Karasuno's favor.

Wow, Sakura thought to herself as she looked at the score, match point... who would have thought.

Karasuno was now at match point. Only one more point before they won this practice match. A win now would definitely build up team morale and confidence. They could say that they won against the Aoba Johsai, one of the best volleyball teams in the prefecture. And who wouldn't want that opportunity? Granted there were still a few mistakes that were being made by Karasuno during this set, but it was a work in progress. Tsukishima and Shōyō's receives needed work as did some of their serving, but they were holding themselves against their opponents.

Though the mood changed once Oikawa was subbed into the game. He took the place of one of the team's first-year wing spikers, Kunimi Akira. It was his turn to serve. To say that Karasuno wasn't nervous was an understatement. The only ones who looked about ready were Endo and Daichi, though that could be attributed to the fact that they were the oldest on the court at the moment and good at recieves. That and Endo knew how to receive Oikawa's serves from practice, so he didn't have that much to worry about.

Oikawa, being the cocky teen that he is, stood at the back of the court to serve and pointed at one of the weaker receivers on the team. Tsukishima. Obviously, he was indicating that he was going to serve right to him. If it were anyone else doing that, Endo would have laughed and taunted them about having good aim, but he wouldn't. Oikawa had scary good aim, so there was no doubting whether or not he would actually do it. Without further ado, the captain threw up the volleyball and used a jump serve to hit the ball right where he had pointed. As he had predicted, Tsukishima was unable to receive the ball causing it to fly off into the upper level.

Everyone was in shock at the accuracy, including Sakura, even if it was for a moment. The indication of her shock was mainly just her eyebrows raising up just a bit and her lips opening up the slightest bit. "Yeah, I thought so." Oikawa said from the other side of the court, "I started watching midway through. You guys, Number 6 and Number 5..." Tsukishima and Shōyō blanched at being called out like that. "You're bad at receives. Are you guys first-years?" There was no way that Oikawa would serve anywhere near Endo, knowing that the blond could receive any ball that he served. A downside to having practiced with the drama queen when they were kids. So why not target the newer members of the team? "Okay, I'm going for another."

Once again he did his impressive serve at the same spot, causing Aoba Johsai to earn yet another point as Tsukishima couldn't revive it. "Tsukki!" Yamaguchi shouted in worry as he clutched onto the nearest person to him, which just so happened to be Sakura.

"Tch," She clicked her tongue and gently pushed Yamaguchi away from her as nicely as she could. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't latch on to me, Yamaguchi."

He jumped away from her, already seeing that he was pissing her off just a little. He definitely didn't want to upset her at all. "Gomen Hinata-chan!"

"Hey, you, Great King!" Back on the court, Shōyō started to jump around and shout at Oikawa like a toddler. "Aim for me! I can take it! Target me! Don't mess with me! Hit that thing!"

Tsukishima sneered from behind him, "Stop hollering! It's undignified!"

"Excuse me!" The orange-haired boy shouted at his teammate, offended. Even if Tsukishima was acting like an ass, as usual, Oikawa was definitely getting on his nerves a lot more. So he would just have to put up with the blond giant for the time being. "The thing about volleyball is... each and every guy on this side of the net is your ally!"

Tanaka smiled proudly and flustered to know that Shōyō was using his words, "What choice words of wisdom!"

"Okay!" Daichi stepped in as the captain to control the situation, "Fall back as a group. Tsukishima, get closer to the sideline."

Now Karasuno had set up to make sure that Daichi was in the middle of the court to most likely receive the serve once it came over the net. After all, he is their best receiver on the team at the moment. By also placing Tsukishima towards the sidelines it would increase the chance of Oikawa messing up his serve and maybe hitting it out of bounds. Endo wanted to argue that he should be placed in the center since he could actually receive the serve, but Daichi stuck to his plan. Endo wasn't going to argue with his captain about it, so he just stuck to the front of the net like he was told.

Oikawa served once again and proved that their set up didn't work, at all. Oikawa was easily able to hit it to Tsukishima again, though this time it wasn't as powerful as the last couple.

"Tsukki!" Yamaguchi cried out, causing Sakura to cringe at his shout.

"He made a pinpoint hit on the guy so close to the edge!" Takeda marveled from the sidelines.

Suga shook his head, "But the momentum has to be slower due to the emphasis on control!" This time, Tsukishima was able to receive the ball and return it. "It went up!"

"Tsukki, nice," Yamaguchi let out in relief.

Sakura eyed the ball as it flew over to the other side of the net, "Oops, a chance ball."

Aoba Johsai set up the ball as normal, already believing that they were going to get this point to tie the game. The ball was set to Kindaichi who appeared to have a clear shot. Only, Shōyō came out of nowhere to block it. It was just a one-touch, but it was enough for Kageyama to set the ball. With his impressive speeds, Shōyō spiked the ball onto the other side of the net. Oikawa was amazed, he had barely even moved before the ball went sailing past him. How interesting. He'd never seen anything that fast.

Everyone in the gym was in awe. How did Karasuno win this game?! "All right!" Tanaka shouted, celebrating their win as they collected themselves after that tiring game. They had done it, they won against Aoba Johsai!

Takeda plopped down onto the bench in amazement. Sakura and Suga turned to their teacher with eyebrows raised. Suga asked him, "What's the matter?"

"That was amazing," he breathed out.

"Oh, right." Suga smiled like a proud mother, "Today is your first time seeing Hinata and Kageyama's attack. Aren't they amazing? I mean amazing, even scary."

"It's terrifying," Sakura agreed monotonously earning a sweat drop from her senpai. Yes, it was terrifying and super effective. She could now see just how effective it is when put into a game against another team.

In the past, Sakura would be the first to say that she didn't think that Shōyō would get anywhere with his dream to be like the famed Little Giant. He didn't have a team for the longest time and barely any support. Though she kept her pessimistic thoughts to herself, not wanting to rain on her brother's parade. However, now, seeing that he was making a place for him on this team, that he had a killer combo with Kageyama, she had hope. She didn't want to admit how much hope it was, but it was quite a bit. She could feel that warm feeling in her chest, the feeling that crept on her whenever she was proud of Shōyō. Sakura was finally hopeful that Shōyō would go places with this team. That's all that she wants for him. To be successful. To be happy with what he loves. Only time will tell though and she'd be right by his side the entire time.

The team then ran up to the bench to surround Takeda and bowed to him, "Please coach us."

Takeda was confused for a moment and turned to Sakura and Suga for an explanation. Though Sakura didn't help as she just moved to stand beside her brother and faced him as well. Suga scratched the back of his neck, "Sensei, maybe give a critique or something."

"O-oh, I see." Takeda swallowed as he fidgeted slightly with the stares of his students pointed at him. He cleared his throat and tried to collect his thoughts, "Um... I'm just a beginner when it comes to volleyball, but... But even I can tell that something amazing is going on here." Daichi and Endo shared a glance, "We have some amazing first-years this semester. They were hard to handle in the beginning, but I learned something today. We're nothing if we don't cooperate. A chemical synergy happens when each one encounters the other... Even this very moment is giving birth to other encounters that will change the world. Maybe in some far, remote country. Maybe on the other side of the planet. Or maybe at an ordinary volleyball club, at an ordinary high school, in a northern countryside on a small island in the east. I think that encounters like that happened to Karasuno today. I know I can't prove what I say, but it's better than not believing. All of you will most likely become stronger. Much stronger!" His long and lyrical speech earned himself silence for the students that surrounded him. Even if it was long and not a critique of their playing, it was still just as inspirational. The teacher then panicked as no one really reacted to it. "Sorry! That was a little too poetic! Are you turned off?"

Daichi rushed up to reassure him, "No, no, no, of course not. Thank you."

"Thank you," the team then bowed to him in thanks.

"Oh, y-yeah." He laughed nervously with a light blush on his cheeks.

Sakura huffed in amusement, "I can see why you're a literature teacher, sensei."

With the game now over and clean up nearly done, it was time for Karasuno to head back to their own school. The crows made their way out of the Seijoh school gym together, still buzzing with the after-effects of their win. Shōyō was bouncing in place next to Sakura as he recounted the game to her in detail. Sakura just allowed him to, there was no way that she was going to ask him to stop his excited rant. If someone paid close enough attention, they could see the smallest of smiles on her lips as she side-glanced her brother. She tried to make it seem like she wasn't paying that much attention to him, and uninterested in his babbling. However, Shōyō knew that she was giving him her undivided attention, and that's all that mattered.

"Takeda-sensei complimented us," Daichi commented as he spoke with Suga and Endo at the front of the pack. "But frankly, if we were facing Seijoh and Oikawa in an all-out match, we'd be lacking."

"Spoken like a true captain," A new voice commented from in front of the group as they neared the gate of the school. They all looked up to see that it was the captain of Aoba Johsai himself, Oikawa Tooru who had seemingly waited for them. The brown-haired captain smiled artificially at them, "You know your stuff. Have you been telling them about me, Endo?"

The blond ran a hand through his hair with an arrogant smile that was quite menacing in the dim sunlight, "Don't flatter yourself, Loserkawa. I don't talk about you to others."

Shōyō jumped at Oikawa's appearance, "The Great King makes his entrance!" Most of the team was now ticked off that Oikawa had decided to show up. Endo appeared to be highly amused, the first-years and Tanaka looked thoroughly angered, and the others looked annoyed. Sakura's face scrunched up in a small amount of disgust. She found this a bit weird. Had he waited for them to walk out of the gate this entire time? That's creepy.

"You got a problem, dude?" Tanaka jumped closer to him with his intimidating expression on his face.

Plastered to his senpai's back, Shōyō tagged along to confront the Great King, "What do you want?"

Tanaka continued on with his intimidation attempt, though it didn't seem to be working at all, "Wanna fight, huh?"

"Wanna fight, huh?" Shōyō echoed. It seemed like Tanaka might end up being a bad influence on the little ball of sunshine.

Oikawa just continued to smile, as if he wasn't going to try and antagonize his opponents. "Don't be so hostile. You, little one."

"Huh?" Shōyō jumped at the captain having stated to talk to him.

"Your last one-touch and broad attack were amazing," Oikawa complimented the small teen.

"Huh?" It took a moment for Shōyō to process his words before he blushed, "Oh..." Sakura sighed and bonked her brother on the head, to try and get him to focus. Even one compliment on his skills and he becomes a bumbling idiot. Though he usually is an idiot all the time, so it shouldn't be surprising.

"Let's give it all we got the next time, right from the start," Oikawa started to say, "You didn't get to see our set up. Oh, yes, and we'll be improving our serves, too. It's true, your offense was amazing, but your receives aren't polished." He was clearly pointing out their flaws to try and annoy them quite a bit. The entire team wasn't exactly happy to hear that. "You'll reach your limit very quickly. I'm not the only one who hits powerful serves. The Inter-High preliminaries are coming up soon. Don't get eliminated, okay?" He then raised his hand and pointed at Kageyama with a smirk, "Because I... want to pulverize my dear underclassman, setter-on-setter, in an official match." He then spun around to glare at Endo with a fire in his eyes that burned just as brightly as it did while he was looking at Kageyama. "And you! I'm going to beat you like I always do, got that?"

Endo smirked cheekily as his eyes sparkled at the challenge, "We'll see."

Already getting angered by what Oikawa had been saying, Shōyō jumped over to Tsukishima and grabbed his jacket, to the taller boy's annoyance, "The receivers will train."

Tsukishima grunted and tried to pull himself away from the small ginger, "Hey, let go."

"Receivers don't improve overnight," Oikawa stated, "Ask the captain. He should know. There's not much time left 'til the tournament. I look forward to seeing you there." He turned to start walking back into his school gym, however, he paused. He saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Oh? Another chibi?" He caught another head of orange hair and was confused for a second as he raised a questioning brow. He looked between the apparent twins with interest and bent down slightly to try and be eye-level with the girl. Sakura couldn't tell if he was doing it just because or to make fun of her height. Either way, she didn't appreciate it. "Wow, you two look identical, are you as good as a volleyball player as your twin?" There was no way that he could not think that those two were siblings, well, twins. They were, as he said, identical. The only difference he could find between them was the dull look in the girl's eyes, which was slightly off-putting. Still, she'd probably just end up being like any of the other girls who swarm around him, right? Every girl that he came across fell for his charm, even the cold, tsundere type. She'd be no different, he thought.

The other orange-haired teen paused in her steps to follow after her brother's team. She sighed, yare yare. Sakura ignored the name-calling and turned to stare at the third-year setter in boredom. What was with volleyball players and being so cocky and annoying? She had yet to meet a single boy who wasn't annoying like this. Perhaps you just needed to be annoying to play volleyball? She smiled extremely wide at the older boy as it was pretty obvious that it was fake. Not only that, but her eyes were cold and unamused, "You can say all you want, Oikawa-san, but I know my brother's team will work hard to beat you." She stated bluntly as her brown eyes were sharp as she pinpointed Oikawa to the spot. Sakura was doing quite a good job of being intimidating, Oikawa may have even shivered under her gaze. She didn't even need to try and she could be quite the terrifying person. "Don't underestimate them, got it?"

Oikawa hummed in thought as if considering what she had to say. He had to admit, she was quite scary, though he was used to scary people like this thanks to being friends with Iwaizumi. Still, her straightforward words gave quite a bit of insight into what type of girl she is. The cold, tsundere type. How fun. Without saying anything else, the Aoba Johsai captain turned to walk back into his school's gym. He certainly had quite a bit to ponder over now with this new and improved Karasuno team.

Kageyama looked between his teammates before turning to Daichi, "Don't let him get to you. He likes to razz people like that."

"He really does get under your skin," Endo nodded his head as his eyes had yet to stray from Oikawa. His blue hues seemed to be glued to Oikawa's back as he disappeared from sight. All of this, the fact that Endo seemed to know the other captain, and that he was staring after him with such a knowing expression, just raised even more questions from his friends.

Daichi just chuckled, "It's true. We don't have much time before the Inter-High Preliminaries, but he should be coming back soon."

Shōyō tilted his head at his captain, "Who's coming back soon?"

"The Guardian Deity of Karasuno." Just those simple words brought an air of mystery and amazement to Shōyō. Who could have such a title on Karasuno's team? How good of a player could they be to gain such a distinguished title? Though Sakura couldn't help herself but think that things were going to get even more chaotic once this "Deity" came back to the team. She could only hope that it wouldn't get too hectic.

Now that it was dark, and Karasuno had finished their practice, it ws time for the team to clean up the gym. "All right, let's clean up quickly." Daichi told the team as they gathered around him and Takeda, "Then we're done. Good job today." He then sent them off to start cleaning up the gym together as he turned to talk with their advisor.

At this point, the Hinata twins were beyond tired. Both of them had seemingly run out of energy for the day. It almost seemed impossible for Shōyō since he always had an abundance of energy for everything that he ever does. However, he'd have to burn out at some point. Sakura being tired wasn't that surprising since she didn't seem to have as much energy as her brother. Most people would assume that she didn't because of her mellow and quiet personality, though they would never believe that she actually has just as much energy as Shōyō. She just doesn't use it as much as her brother. Shōyō jumps and runs around any chance he can get while Sakura conserves her energy at any chance she can. Though that didn't mean she was any less tired at the moment. Watching that practice game definitely tired her out.

Much like his sister, who may or may not be falling asleep at the moment, Shōyō was swaying from side to side. If he kept this up, he'd end up falling asleep leaning against the mop he had been using. "Hinata-kun, that's enough mopping." Ennoshita said as he made sure the obviously tired first-year didn't fall over due to his exhaustion, "Go home."

"Look at that Tsukki," Yamaguchi chuckled as he and his best friend mopped up the gym floor together.

Tsukishima snickered at the sight of Shōyō almost falling asleep while standing, "Amazing." He then took a glance over at the other Hinata twin who was doing the same thing as her brother. Though she was sat on the floor by the door almost falling asleep where she sat. He huffed, so maybe there was at least one similarity between the twins.

Endo leaned over the girl by the door with a tilted head. His eyes sparkled, "Look how cute Hinata-chan is!"

Tanaka jumped over as well, marveling at the cuteness of the first-year girl, "She's adorable!"

"You two have five seconds before I kick you in a very uncomfortable place," Sakura muttered tiredly with her eyes still closed, "One-" She barely even started to count before the two boys retreated, not willing to risk getting hurt by the small girl.

Endo made sure to use the volleyballs that he had been carrying as a shield for his crotch, which she most certainly had threatened. He pouted while scurrying away, "Why are the first-years so violent?"

Everyone was finishing up their clean up for the night. Of course, Sakura was no help since she didn't want or need to help them. She wasn't a member of the club so she isn't obligated to clean up after their practices and such. She's just the team photographer, all that she's concerned about was taking photos. Though at the moment she was wondering how she was going to get home since she's so tired.

It's way too late, she tiredly thought to herself, why do these practices run so damn long?

Though she didn't have to wait much longer since almost everything just had to be put into the closet. Then she would finally get to leave! Putting the mops that he and Tsukishima had used, Yamaguchi was almost done with his clean up. Though he did end up finding something in the equipment closet. "What's this?" He muttered to himself as he pulled out a wooden mop that was broken in half. He turned to the third-years also in the equipment closet with him, "This mop looks dangerous. Can I throw it away?"

Once Suga caught sight of it, he swiftly walked over and took the two pieces from him. "Oh, don't worry about that. It's all right." He stared down at the two halves sadly, a far off look in his eyes. "We can fix it, and still use it."

Yamaguchi eyed him in confusion, "Huh?"

Just entering the closet with the last of the volleyballs, Endo smiled widely. "Come on, Yamaguchi," he stepped in and grabbed his kohai's shoulders to steer him out of the closet, "we can finish up in here."

The first-year looked between the two with a raised eyebrow, thoughtfully confused. He had yet to pick up on the slight melancholy atmosphere that was slowly emanating off of Suga. Not only that but he couldn't see how strained Endo's smile was. Yamaguchi tilted his head, "Are you sure?"

Endo smiled brightly, his lips stretching into a smile that was far too big to be real, "Of course!"

With one last curious glance, Yamaguchi headed out of the closet to grab his things and meet up with Tsukishima. Still in the closet, Suga put down the broken mop in a safe place while Endo approached him. He placed a reassuring yet firm hand on his shoulder. "Those two'll be back," he told him softly with his fake smile now replaced with a small twitch of his lips. His expression, while not completely confident, still seemed to have hope in it. "They can't stay away forever, you know."

Suga nodded his head, "Yeah..."

The team soon went their separate ways to head home. Tanaka, Kageyama, Daichi, Suga, and the Hinata twins had headed out together and made their way down the hill. The single brain cell trio had wanted to head into the convenience store at the bottom of the hill to grab some food. So while they harassed the worker at the store, Sakura grabbed her and her brother's bikes from where they were chained up.

Now the group was walking down the dark streets to their homes, "But I gotta say... Nice Guy sure has an amazing serve." Tanaka commented, "We would've been in trouble if he'd played from the start. He's Kageyama's junior high senpai, after all... Huh? Wait a second." He turned to Kageyama as they all stoped to face the younger setter. "Why are you at Karasuno, Kageyama? The strongest school in the prefecture is Shiratorizawa."

Shōyō tilted his head with a mouthful of his food, "Shiratori?"

"Shiratorizawa," Sakura simply answered her brother with a roll of her eyes. He should know what the school is, not only because of its volleyball reputation but because of her.

"They're top in the prefecture." Tanaka explained, "They're a powerhouse school ranked among the top eight in the country."

The short boy nodded his head in amazement, "Oh."

Kageyama just stared at them plainly, "I didn't make Shiratorizawa."

"You didn't make it?" Tanaka exclaimed in confusion, thinking that an amazing setter like him would be able to get into Shiratorizawa.

"I never got a recommendation from them, so I took a general entrance exam." He explained, "I didn't understand the exam at all."

Sakura expected that much from him. She had to admit that the entrance exam seemed quite tough. Of course, she didn't have to take it since she received a full ride to the school. Though she had a feeling that even she might have trouble with the exam if she were to take it. However, she would still pass it in the end.

"That school is super hard to get into by conventional means," Daichi agreed, already knowing how rigorous and tough the school is along with the entrance exam.

"I guess the King isn't very good at studies," Tsukishima commented snidely as he and Yamaguchi walked past the group to head home. Kageyama bristled at the jab at his intelligence which caused Sakura to huff in amusement. She tried to hide it behind her hand since it was Tsukishima who had made the remark, she didn't need that beanpole to know that she found something he said funny. That certainly would inflate his stupid ego, and she didn't want that.

Yamaguchi snickered and walked alongside his best friend, "See ya."

"But why did you come to Karasuno?" Shōyō asked once Kageyama had calmed down from Tsukishima's comment, "Are you an admirer of the Little Giant, too?"

Sakura shook her head and took the power bar from Shōyō's hands to take a bite out of it, "Not everyone wants to be like the Little Giant, nii-san."

Kageyama shook his head, "I heard Coach Ukai is coming out of retirement."

"Ukai?" The Hinata twins asked in unison with matching tilted heads.

Tanaka nodded his head, as he pointed into the air strongly and exclaimed, "An outstanding coach who took unknown Karasuno to the spring nationals!"

"Wow!" Shōyō jumped at that while Sakura raised an eyebrow in interest.

Tanaka continued on his explanation. "The name "Ukai of Karasuno" is famous. They call him the coach in charge of vicious crows."

Sakura tried to imagine what kind of coach this would be. He would definitely be a no-nonsense kind of person, she thought. He wouldn't take any sort of excuse about someone's inability to do something in a game. There was one thing that she didn't envy athletes for, and that was having to deal with coaches like that.

"Second and third-years got some coaching from him. He was pretty Spartan." Suga explained with a bit of irritation in his voice. It seemed like even the reminder of all the back-breaking training that they had to do. He looked over at the first-years to see that Shōyō and Kageyama looked jealous at the training that they got with the crow coach. "Why do you look so envious?" He sweatdropped, "Coach Ukai was going to officially come out of retirement, but... he collapsed."

Kageyama's expression hardened, "But I figured, no matter what school I attended, I'd be up against high school students like me. There's no reason why I couldn't win."

"Quit being a sore loser." Tanaka chuckled, "You can act cool about it but you failed just the same."

Kageyama grabbed Shōyō by his jacket, as the tangerine had been snickering as well, and held him up over the ground. "That's not true, and I'm not acting cool about it. We did defeat a top four team today, didn't we?"

"True, 2-1 against Seijoh." The second-year nodded his head in thought, "I was able to score one free, too, thanks to Hinata-kun's decoy."

Shōyō saluted, "Thanks."

"But how was your debut match for you?" Tanaka asked the ball of sunshine as Sakura punched Kageyama's head to get him to drop her brother. Kageyama did as she wanted but glared at her for having hurt him. She just stared at him blankly showing that she didn't care that she may have hurt him. Besides them, Shōyō remembered what it felt like on the court. The sting on the palm of his hand from when the volleyball had hit his hand still lingered. The reminder of the exhilarating feeling of actually scoring points for the team brought joy to him in the cool Japanese street. It was his first match, and he sure hoped it wouldn't be his last, he loved it so much. Though Tanaka decided to drag him down from his pedestal for a moment, "Well, you really went crazy in that first set."

Kageyama joined in on it as the two loomed over Shōyō, "You scored as many points as you lost, so don't get complacent."

"Why must you say things like that?" Suga exclaimed as Shōyō deflated at their words. As much as it was hurtful, it was also true, Sakura thought.

"That's right. We're lacking in a lot of ways." Daichi said wisely, "Today's victory was by the skin of our teeth."

Shōyō jumped up in enthusiasm, "I-I will practice a lot!"

"Oh, yeah." The captain sweatdropped at the boy's energy, "Individual level-upping is important, too. But Karasuno, as it currently stands, is fundamentally short of members."

Kageyama nodded his head as he started to think out loud, "That's true. We need a libero, especially for defense. And we need an ace spiker who can battle three blockers all by himself."

"A-Ace?" Shōyō raised his hand, "That can be me."

The dark-haired setter scowled at the boy, "I told you, you're the best decoy." He turned to the third-years, "But didn't you say the "Guardian Deity" is coming back?"

"Yeah," Daich nodded.

Suga then spoke up, "We're not powerful, but we're not particularly weak, either. We had outstanding players in the past, too. But we were never able to apply to their strengths effectively." Tanaka and Daichi silently agreed with that fact, "But if all of us unite, and we also have new strength coming from our first-years... If we're able to connect all those strengths together..."

"...we could definitely go to the Summer Inter-High, the national tournament." Daichi continued for him as the morale of all the boys started to grow just a little bit at their vice-captain and captain's wise words, "It won't be a distant goal. It can actually happen."

Shōyō's eyes sparkled, "The Summer Inter-High Tournament! I've heard about it!"

"But that person who's coming back..." Kageyama tilted his head, "where has he been all this time?"

The upperclassmen all appeared to become slightly sheepish at the question. Tanaka was the one to answer, "He was suspended for one week and banned for a month from club activities."

"A delinquent?" Shōyō gasped, "He's a delinquent?"

"No... he just gets too fired up. He's a good guy, for real." Tanaka reassured them, which caused Sakura to raise an eyebrow. What kind of guy would this Deity have to be for Tanaka to say that he gets too fired up? Tanaka continued on, "And not only that, he is... a player we could say is Karasuno's unique genius. But I guess he's not the only one anymore, since we have cocky-as-hell Kageyama with us." Said setter narrowed his eyes at the second-year as the twins snickered at him.

"Call him "senpai" when he comes back, Hinata-kun." Daichi commented as they turned to head off, "You'll make him gleeful like an idiot, like Tanaka."

Tanaka deflated at his captain's words, "Like an idiot?" The group then started to walk once again, except for Shōyō who was lost in thought. He was already starting to think about what this Deity was like, he couldn't wait to meet him! Tanaka eventually called out to him and broke the orang-headed boy out of his thoughts, "Hey, we're leaving you behind."

"Oh. Coming!"

Suga then turned to the quiet girl of the group who just continued to walk alongside them with her bike. She had barely said anything during this entire conversation. He had chalked that up to just being apart of her personality. Through these few weeks that he's known the other Hinata twin, she certainly was on the quiet side, unlike her brother. He quite liked that about her, since she usually is the level-headed one to keep Shōyō under control. "Hinata-chan?"

"Hm?" She turned to her grey-haired senpai with a raised eyebrow.

Suga gulped slightly at the vacant look in her eyes, "Why did you come to Karasuno?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders and continued to look forward, barely giving him a lingering glance, "Nii-san decided on Karasuno, so I came here too."

"Didn't you get a scholarship somewhere, imouto?" Shōyō asked as he hopped over to walk beside her. His eyes were wide and curious as he remembered how excited their mother had been that she got a scholarship. He didn't remember what school, but he knew it had to be good since his mother was extremely, extremely excited for Sakura. Then she was also extremely disheartened that Sakura didn't accept it.

She nodded her head, "Yeah, but I didn't accept it, obviously."

"What school was it?" Tanaka joined in on the conversation as he grew to be interested as well. It's not like Sakura divulged anyone in herself. The only one who knows things about the girl is her brother, so of course, he's going to be interested in hearing about her. All of the boys were, including Kageyama. He tried to act indifferent, but he was also listening in on the conversation earnestly.

"Shiratorizawa."

"W-what?" The boys exclaimed together at Sakura's monotone answer. After they were just discussing how dificult it is to get into that school and she was acting as though it was nothing. They all knew that she was in advanced classes, but just how smart is this girl to think that getting into Shiratorizawa was nothing to freak out over?

Tanaka jumped at her, "So you got into the powerhouse school! Why didn't you say?"

"You didn't ask me." She stated plainly and clicked her tongue, "I got an academic scholarship from them." There was no way that they could think that she got accepted into the school based on a sports scholarship or recommendation. She is by no means a sporty person. Sure she could run fast, like her brother, but she had no power when it came to volleyball or any other sport. She couldn't jump as high as Shōyō, she had a decent amount of stamina, and she has little to no technique. The only good thing that she might have that's good while in a sport is her game sense. Though she'd actually need the athletic ability to apply those strategies. She pursed her lips as she thought back to her short visit to the powerhouse school, "Though it was too far away and I'd have to live on campus if I did chose to go there."

Kageyama eyed her for a moment before scoffing, "And you can't be too far from your doppelganger, huh?"

"I guess," Sakura snippy said already feeling her stomach churn at his tone, "Besides I met a few guys there and they're definitely too annoying to be around. They're probably worse than Tanaka." The second-year blanched at her words and what she was insinuating. Though the others seemed to find it funny.

Daichi and Suga chuckled at her words as the captain asked, "Worse than Tanaka?"

"I know seems impossible, but it's true," she nodded her head as she thought back to the few people that she had the pleasure of meeting on her tour of the school. She supposed that that was another reason why she was glad she followed Shōyō to Karasuno. Then she wouldn't have to deal with those guys.

"I'm not that bad!" Tanaka exclaimed in offense.

Sakura smirked ever so slightly, obviously enjoying the banter between them all as she huffed in amusement, "Sure, sure."

After bidding the other team members goodbye, the twins had started their long ride home. Eventually, the Hinata twins had finally gotten home after their journey over the mountain. Surprisingly, the ride home was a tad bit quieter than usual. Most of the time, Shōyō would talk to Sakura about their days. He would rant on and on about a difficult assignment or maybe something Kageyama said to him, but not this time. Sakura was unsure what he was wondering about in that messy brain of his, but she didn't worry about it.

Unknown to her, Shōyō had been mulling over what she had said earlier. She chose to go to Karasuno because of him... As much as he loves having Sakura with him at school... Wouldn't she have wanted to go to Shiratorizawa? It's a far better school in nearly every aspect. He certainly didn't like the idea of not getting to see Sakura every day like usual, but to give up such an amazing opportunity didn't seem all that logical to him. Here he is thinking logically about her actions, isn't he suppose to be the impulsive one? How was he the one thinking logically about this? So their ride was silent beside their heavy breathing and occasional curse from Sakura as she nearly veered off of the road a few times due to her tiredness.

Eventually, they made it home and greeted their mother accordingly as they settled in. "Did you really come to Karasuno because of me?" Shōyō finally asked as they entered the main living area. Their mother was already in the kitchen cooking up late dinner for the twins while Natsu was most likely already in her room asleep.

"Well, yeah," Sakura stated as if it were the most obvious thing ever as she pulled off her shoes. She looked over to him to see the troubled expression on his face and raised an eyebrow, "Why do you sound upset about that?"

Shōyō tilted his head, "You had the chance to go to a really good school, imouto, but you came to Karasuno..."

"Karasuno is a good school too." She pointed out, already seeing where he was going with this, "It's definitely not on the same level as Shiratorizawa academically or athletically, but you know I don't worry about that stuff. I'd rather be with you than surrounded by a bunch of stuck up strangers at that rich kid school. You know I can't make friends that easily."

Shōyō still had a bit of a bad feeling about this. She gave something up to go with him. It didn't sit right in his stomach. She may have deprived herself of certain things that she wouldn't get at Karasuno. All he wants is for Sakura to be happy just as he is, and if she was sacrificing some things to make him happy, he didn't want her to be held back because of him. "It still would have been a good opportunity-"

"No," she grunted with a tone that strongly called for the end of the conversation, "I just didn't want to go, okay?" She stomped off to their bedroom with the sick feeling bubbling in her chest. She didn't like how Shōyō was questioning her. How he was pointing out how she dictated her decisions based on what he does. She didn't know if he realized it or not, but he was pointing out how Sakura sacrifices certain things to be with him. She plopped down her bag onto her bed and sighed sadly while biting her bottom lip. "...and I didn't want to be alone." She finally voiced up the real reason why she didn't go to Shiratorizawa, why she gave up the scholarship.

How pathetic was that? She was so unwilling to change, too scared to be separated from her twin, that she gave up a perfect opportunity to go to a prestigious school. She was too scared to be alone and left behind by her brother to make her own decision and go to another school. What would have happened if she did decide to go to Shiratorizawa? Would she and Shōyō have grown distant since they would be away from each other for so long? Would he end up forgetting about her? Would their relationship have been affected? Though she wouldn't chance it. She would not give even the idea of her losing the close bond that she has with her twin a chance to manifest. So she didn't take the offer, she chose to follow Shōyō and make sure that she was right next to him like she was used to.

Sakura huffed at her own patheticness and started to pull out her school work. She needed a distraction, right now. The teen didn't want to think about her own flaws, her inability to make her own decisions that were different from Shōyō's. It was always about Shōyō for her, she never thought about herself. Maybe she should, now that she was in high school. It was a time to reinvent herself! Though until then, she had an English assignment to focus on.

Sakura laid her head on the desk she was sitting at as she stared at her camera in front of her. The lens glared back at her as if it could see right through her, it could see all of her secrets, all her fears, everything she tried too hard to hide. That might be a reason she hated having her picture taken. She would much rather be behind the lens, to take the picture and capture a moment in time than be the one captured.

Her cheek was pressed up against the desk as she listened to the excited chatter going on around her. Everyone in the photography club was more than ecstatic to start working on their gallery for this month. People already had ideas about what to do about it. She heard some third-year girl say that she wanted to take photos of her new boyfriend, a second-year said he would like to take pictures of his new pet. A second-year boy said that he wanted to take a picture of his house, which his family had just moved into, and another second-year said they were going to take pictures of the store that their family had just opened up.

Everyone had something, or at least an idea, of what to take a picture of that was related to the idea of "new beginnings" or "rebirth". Yet Sakura didn't have much. All that was new for her was that she started school at Karasuno, yet she felt like that wasn't enough. Sure, if she took a picture of the school and explained why it was new to her, she would probably be original in this idea since she was the only first-year a part of the club. However, it felt so... superficial to her. It was an easy idea for her to grab onto and she wanted her first photo in the gallery to be... meaningful.

"Something got you down, Hinata-chan?"

Sakura turned her head to look up to find the president of the photography club, Shimada Emi, standing beside her with a large smile. The brown-haired third-year leaned against the desk the younger girl was sitting at and peered down at her green eyes. Sakura cleared her throat and sat up slightly, "Nothing, senpai. I'm just thinking about what to do for the gallery."

"Ah, yes, I remember the first gallery that I participated in." Shimada sighed in wonder, nearly getting lost in thought about her time as a first-year. Though she shook her head to focus on the present, she waved her hand dismissively, "You don't have to worry about it too much, all right. It's your first one, after all, don't think too hard about it."

Sakura considered her words for a moment before staring down at the camera in front of her, "But isn't that the point, to think hard about what you put in the gallery, to make it meaningful?" She looked back up at Shimada to see that she startled her slightly with her sentiment. She knew that she was right, to some degree. When an artist displays their art, no matter what medium, they always want it to have some sort of deep meaning, right? So why would now be any different?

"Well, I guess yeah, but you really shouldn't stress about it!" Shimada chuckled lightly and scratched the back of her neck, "What I mean is... That what you put into the gallery should be what you find meaningful. Don't worry about if anyone else will think it's meaningful, or if they think it's good." Shimada ruffled Sakura's short hair playfully and sat down on top of the desk. She did her best to try and calm the first-year down. She could already see the frown on her face starting to form and didn't want her kohai to feel down about this. "Only focus on what you want."

The younger girl considered her senpais words and glanced away from her in slight embarrassment, "...What if I don't know what I want to do?"

Shimada considered her struggle for a moment before an idea struck her, "Think simply, what's new to you this year?"

Sakura thought pretty hard about that for a second. High school is new to her, but she really didn't think that was a good enough idea. Other than that, there weren't that many new things apart of her life. Though she supposed there was one thing that was new to her that she had been around for the past few weeks. She pursed her lips, "The volleyball club, I guess."

"There you go!" Shimada exclaimed happily, which caused Sakura to cringe, "You can take a picture of the team or something!"

"But that's not..." Sakura trailed off.

Shimada tilted her head, "Not what?"

"It's not really... mine?" The younger girl sighed and tried to think of what to say about this. It took a moment for her to try and collect her thoughts about it. Shimada is already starting to become a good friend, at least, as close as a friend as Sakura would allow. She didn't want to divulge all that much about her, however, she had a feeling that if she wanted help she needed to at least tell Shimada something. Sakura finally came up with some sort of explanation, "I mean, it's not my team, it's Shōyō's... and I want to take a picture of something that's new to me, you know."

Shimada nodded her head and placed a hand on her chin, "I totally understand." She stared down at her kohai to see the slightly troubled expression on her face. Shimada could tell that there was more to this than Sakura would like to say. She's only known the first-year for a short while, but she has grown to like the girl. The third-year could easily tell that Sakura had trouble with making friends. This was obvious from how Sakura liked to keep to herself and never went out of her way to talk with others. She didn't seem to try and make friends in the club, which Shimada had thought was because everyone else in the club, which was only like five other people, were all second and third years. Still she was glad that she had opened up just a little bit, it warmed her heart to know that Sakura was willing to open up to her, even if it was just a little bit. She smiled softly, "You know, you have a little while to think about this, you don't have to make a decision right here, right now. You can decide this later." She then brightened even more, if that were possible, "When I can't think of what to enter into the gallery, I like to think about the things that I enjoy the most. I love baking! So I take my mind off of photography for a bit and bake cookies or something. Then I can come back to the gallery later with fresh eyes."

"That's actually a good idea..." Sakura thought about it for a moment. Her senpai's words seemed to be good advice. She is overthinking the gallery ever since she was first told the theme of it. Shimada was right, stepping back from the gallery should calm her down and take her mind off of it for a bit. Then once she came back to it later, she might have a better idea of what to do about it.

"So?" Shimada exclaimed in eagerness which broke Sakura out of her thoughts, "What do you enjoy the most?!"

Sakura monotonly answered, "Photography."

Shimada processed that for a moment and blinked, "Hm, anything else?"

"I don't know..." The younger girl slumped down in her chair. She didn't really have any other interests. She always had her focus on Shōyō and what he did, so she didn't have many hobbies. Though really it was just volleyball. Shōyō drowned himself in volleyball the same way Sakura drowned herself in photography. The only other thing that she really ever did was study, but she wasn't sure if she should do that to take her mind off of photography. Shimada was most likely referring to things that would calm her down and relax.

Shimada pursed her lips in thought, "How about we try something different... Why do you like photography?"

Sakura raised her eyebrows in confusion, "Huh?"

"Since you love photography, maybe thinking back to why you like photography, you'd be inspired on what to do for the gallery."

She tilted her head in thought, "I guess that could work."

"Great!" Shimada smiled brightly and jumped up in excitement. She was extremely glad that she was able to help her precious kohai in her troubles. The third-year could only hope that Sakura came to her again if she needed any help

Sakura huffed in amusement as the corners of her lips lifted slightly, "Thanks, senpai." She found it quite funny how excited Shimada was getting about this. She seems like such a kind person, and Sakura was glad that she had Shimada around to talk with. Maybe... just maybe, Sakura could confide in Shimada a bit more. A friend. Perhaps Shimada Emi could become Sakura's first true friend.

Shimada's smile was a warm as the sun, which may or may not has helped Sakura feel secure. "No problem, Hinata-chan!"

Soon enough, the club came to an end, and Sakura and the few other club members bid each other goodbye. Shimada locked up the club room while Sakura was the last the leave and headed towards the gym where her brother was. Just like any other day, she would have to wait for Shōyō to finish up his volleyball practice before she would have to head home. No matter how much she argued that she could do it on her own, Shōyō would not let his sister ride her bike home alone. Curse her protective older brother!

Though on her walk to the gym, Sakura started to wonder about the gallery. She thought back to what Shimada had suggested being inspired for the event. Why does she like photography so much? Well, at face value she would say she likes capturing a moment in time, whether it's good or bad. To keep that moment in time forever encased in a photo has fascinated her since she was little. Well, it's fascinated her since the beginning of middle school.

As she walked through the chilly air, she remembered the first moment she held a camera and took a picture. The more she thought about it, she sighed heavily as she remembered who had gotten her into photography. She didn't know the woman's name, and yet she had impacted Sakura's life that it was laughable. It was a one-time meeting, but it changed the course of Sakura's understanding of life so much.

It gave her a hobby to have, something that Shōyō didn't have. It was her own. She supposed this was the first time that she got the idea of being different from her brother. Sure, back then she didn't look identical to her twin, but even then she never left his side. This was the first time she got a taste of individuality. She finally had something to call her own that didn't involve Shōyō at every moment.

So maybe the reason that she like photography was because of how it was one of the only differences between her and Shōyō. It gave her an identity that she could have for herself. Though how would she show that in a photo? As Shimada had said, she doesn't have to think about how a photo's meaning would be seen by others, instead just focus on how it was meaningful to her.

She was broken out of her thoughts when she finally made it to the gym to find the boys still practicing. Lazily strolling in, she greeted Kiyoko and Takeda before sitting and waiting for the practice to end. Sakura watched the boys continue to practice their receives, blocks, and spikes. Shōyō's skills really showed on this team, she thought. Her brother was fast and could jump high, however, she knew that he lacked in some things like blocking and serving. Though even if he wasn't the best all-around player, Sakura was happy for him. To have this team, these guys to help him improve his skills was all she ever wanted for her brother. Well, that and the ability to play as many games as he could. In her seat against the wall, if the boys had been paying attention, they would have noticed the small smile on her face as she watched Shōyō get yelled at by Kageyama.

Sure, it was a good thing to want your sibling to succeed, especially with such a close relationship that the twins had. However, to completely focus on your sibling and not even think about yourself was a bit problematic. Though now, she was going to fix that now that they were high schoolers. She wants to be different, she wants to be her own person. So to do that, she'll focus on her photography. To do that, she has to find her inspiration from why she likes photography. She'll figure that out soon enough.

[sclfmastery]

Can I pose a question? If not, feel free to ignore.

IS it the first time the Doctor has ever been in a body that experiences human racism?

Maybe it's best as a narrative lesson to the audience that this IS the first time for him, to help some of US gain awareness and empathy too. Also, metaphysically, it would be a nod to the extra-universe canon that it's about time. I just got caught wondering if it were plausible (just as I wondered how Thirteen could be the first woman Doctor, Missy the first woman Master, Dhawan the first South Asian Master, ever, IN-universe). Time Lords are supposed to be--NOT "past" those things, because then we get a John Smith and Martha Jones situation and that's harmful too because it implies that racism is a myth of the past and BIPOC experiences "don't matter" in a "post-racial" world--but still, Time Lords were supposed to be able to contain those multitudes and perceive them as of equal merit and any threats to those forms of identity as pernicious. And the Doctor is supposed to be unusually compassionate (unusual in many ways) even among Time Lords.

I guess I wonder how the Doctor could love humanity so much, while still knowing all its condemning flaws, and not be aware that in a BIPOC body, he'd be the target of racists and racist institutions. I also feel like it sends a potentially bad message that the Doctor never concerned himself with embodying any diversity until his fifteenth (remembered) face ( like, Thirteen got back her awareness of Ruth, who was a very early Doctor, before One, and a black woman. I suppose we could argue that she still doesn't remember actually living Ruth's life).

For the purpose of THIS EPISODE, which I think was BRILLIANT, it is most effective for him to be totally shocked, outraged and heartbroken that something so small and stupid and selfish and cruel could impede his ability to save lives. But I guess I saw this moment as more of an "oh yeah, humans still have this deep and narrow evil to overcome" which was what led to his stages of recognition, anger, and eventual sense of defeat, more than "oh, now I see how black humans feel."

Maybe your interpretation is ultimately a much more sound one for the purpose of addressing the Finetime-ness of real-life 2024. I'm just curious what you and others think about the role of the Doctor knowing versus not knowing what it feels like to simply exist and be the target of racist hate.

their reactions are so fucking good too... the doctor just raging in disbelief coz this is the first time he's ever experienced this and he has to somehow process that these people would rather die than go with him and he knows he could've saved them if he was any of his other selves. while ruby is just crying and trying to be there for him coz she must've been through this hundreds of times already with her mum and gran......

[themovieblogonline]

Mithya: The Darker Chapter – A Thrilling Ride

ZEE5 Global is back with Mithya: The Darker Chapter, and let me tell you, things just got darker, twistier, and, well... more twisted. The battle between Juhi (played by Huma Qureshi) and her half-sister Rhea (Avantika Dassani) returns with a vengeance. Literally. https://youtu.be/dKH5dGfNsNk Directed by Kapil Sharma and streaming from November 1, Mithya is not your average psychological thriller. Juhi’s basking in the glory of her book Dhund, but hold on—because out of nowhere, a mysterious writer, Amit (played by Naveen Kasturia), comes swinging with a plagiarism accusation. And you thought your sibling rivalry was intense? What’s great about this new season is the layered storytelling. On one end, we’ve got Juhi fighting accusations, and on the other, Rhea is still fighting for their father’s love. Their battle? It’s not just personal; it’s a cutthroat war filled with lies, deceit, and manipulation that’ll leave you questioning everything. Why Watch This Season? Let’s start with Huma Qureshi. She’s as fierce as ever, pulling off a character that’s vengeful, but not one-dimensional. Qureshi said in an interview, “This show pushed me to explore a more complex, darker side of myself as an actor.” And you can tell. She’s not just acting; she’s living it. Meanwhile, Avantika Dassani shines as the ambitious half-sister, Rhea, adding more layers to the tension. Expect betrayal, secrets, and more dirty tricks than a poker game at a mob convention. Add Naveen Kasturia’s sharp performance as Amit, and you’ve got a psychological thriller that’s going to mess with your head—in a good way. Plot: More Twists Than a Corkscrew As Juhi fights to clear her name, Rhea gets sneakier, and Amit throws in an unexpected wild card. What stands out is the “blood versus blood” angle that pits family ties against each other. With lives on the line, the stakes are sky-high, and this is far from your basic catfight—this is a gladiator battle in designer shoes. The dynamic between Juhi and Rhea intensifies, and this time, the consequences are deadlier. Both women transform as they delve deeper into their dark sides, with the lines between good and evil blurred beyond recognition. As the show builds to a fever pitch, it's clear no one will come out unscathed. Final Thoughts With high-octane drama, shocking twists, and performances that’ll leave you speechless, Mithya: The Darker Chapter is your next binge-worthy obsession. Whether you’re a fan of psychological dramas or just in for the mind games, this series promises to keep you glued to the screen. Just don’t trust anyone, because in this game, even the audience isn’t safe. Read the full article

[jonathankatwhatever]

It’s 30 Sept 2023, and I’ve been noticing a decrease in negative motive energy, meaning in one sense that I’m so deep into this delusion that it’s become stable, and is thus moving more closely that trend line. In the ideal, that trend line would tend to the zK with reduction in sK swings, which are orderings of concerns and are thus ordinal and thus sK in standard gs projection. Sort of a Fourier series: decomposition would be in reverse, so if we read one of these at this End, then we can translate it into the swings we see, including the negative swings.

The key in me grasping this idea is the recognition that this projects into the ++ quadrant. That means whatever the swing is in ++ and that then accurately displaces or shifts the complexity of the gs construction around the quadrants while mapping the result to ++.

It took me how many years to write that sentence? The concept is very old, and goes back to the very idea of quadrants and my obsession with drawing the gs and what I now think of as Boundaries as being centered or as growing in a direction. Countless hours. And there it is. It came as I finally visualized a Fourier series in the proper place in my head. That was frustrating: knowing what one is, knowing how it constructs, and not knowing where it comes from in the process of gs construction. It needed to explain why and how we can decompose signals, meaning how come we can take information that we receive, like an earthquake or a video, and break down what’s in it. And that required all the recent work. Maybe I can explain that a bit. It’s slippery.

Almost got lost trying to explain slippery, only to realize the reason it’s slippery is the definition of slippery and that makes it slippery. That means it manifests slipperiness in the various ways that generate slippery for that context. Like something may be slippery for a child but fit easily into an adult hand. A hand is grasp to the structure, by the structure, for the structure, meaning it represents what that structure pulls to itself for what it deems its needs. Those needs may be constructive or destructive, because destructive tendencies, like the urge to cut my hair, are coupled with positive building, even if the building itself is negative. That creates these negative spaces which map to below the ideal, and which then are negative because they reflect a lower ordering versus the ideal ordering set for you in each context in which you exist.

This is interesting because I’m literally typing with my eyes closed and checking every several words to look for errors and to make sure my hands haven’t slipped locations on the keys. I have always wondered what the projection means. That is, since we have ++, we need to have a negative within ++, and that would need to be zK because sK is ordinal in ++. In fact, it is this process of quadrants which generates ordinals and which generates JvN universes because that fits them to LayerView. This is not a new realization, but it reaches the level of Understanding because it now is proven to this much greater level, meaning the idea of those universe is itself now directly contained within the work.

This is stunning. It’s 6:30AM and I’m going back to bed.

————-

Interesting: I now see Streep as Peep. I like that. That connects the family sides in me because she looks like my dad’s mom.

One of the reasons for Storyline is they require iterations to work out the details. I have run through the key plot development of the J&G Storyline more times than I can remember. It’s always there and I’ve explicitly tried to get the scene out thousands of times.

I did it this morning. A calm, clear description of how Joanna developed her model and why she looked for a pairing and why and how that translates into mathematics. Led to its either all a huge coincidence or fate has made them for each other.

That led to parity in which 1 and 0 link. That enables complex parity through the iterations of that construction. That’s a full CM36. Being less than rigorous because the ideas are big tangent spaces that I can’t easily leap in and out of. It could be statistical parity.

I’m seeing a lot of drawings all at once. I think the key to seeing this level has been my focus on my attractiveness at a distance, as not me. This has been part of me placing myself in my head better, which means the F interior perspective has questions. Today found me looking at what makes others attractive using the new learning.

I would bet this is a window into attractions to youth. That’s always how I read Death In Venice, as the longing for your idealized self. The connection to other behaviors is there.

———————-

I’m terrified of that the End won’t come or that it will and it will be bad. Or at least bad for me because that would indicate either that I’m nuts or that you are unaware of me or that you have gone off course or that your instructions are hidden from me. I summarize all those negatives through a parity check of the identity assignments made. Those were the ones that generated this work so it isn’t just two generators but the depth of two generators as Ends.

To clarify, generators are skeletal at the level of permutations, meaning a generic ideal must exist for the flavors to also exist. So 2 intertwined and twinned forms the IC states, compressed or open, meaning specified or not. This links to D-structure and through that to ideas like open sets, topologies, and cosets. Took 3 tries for cosets not to autocorrect wrong.

This harnesses group operations. As in, insert a value through pattern into the generators. This also connects to the spaces defined by groups. Like the order has a lot of 2’s, meaning Halving and Doubling. HD? We can see if that works. We need both now because we are building pattern in gs space.

Then I’m forced to say don’t hurt me. That signals an extremely deep Understanding because the fear which accompanies it is enormous. The stakes are so high.

If I’m correct, and the Mission Storyline is shared, then the original problem was to prevent the destruction of all the related higher dimensional existences through violence. All that aren’t part of that coercive force. It would flip the ordering to destructive. That has been occurring despite obvious hints. In other words, this war is about not the negative, the coming apart, of the potential of what could be made.

[babblydrabbly]

Idk about u but there is just something about the thought of Rick with a short!reader that gets me going.

(*COUGH COUGH* probably bc i come in @ 5’4” & have a thing for tall dudes *COUGH COUGH*)

✨ Like, think about it: ✨

• Helping her reach for things anywhere & everywhere.

• Pretending to use her head as a table & leaning on it just to mess with her.

• Picking her up & tossing her over his shoulders like it’s nothing.

• That height difference tho (Ik it’s cliché but omg so cute ☺️).

• Him finding her anger & passion kinda scary but also really hot at the same time bc she’s small & seems innocent but can totally kick ur ass, both verbally & physically.

• Him being so turned on by said anger & passion that he can’t help but pick her up, throw her onto the bed, & take her from behind like there’s no tomorrow.

• &, ofc, the spooning aftercare. He literally swallows her whole with his massive arms but it’s so cozy & warm & safe that she doesn’t even care if she suffocates & they never get out bed tomorrow morning.

✨ Like, think about it. ✨

She Packs a Punch (Rick Flag x F!Reader)

Pairing(s): Rick Flag x F!Reader who is also a professional bounty hunter because why not!

Characters: Rick Flag, mentions of Amanda Waller and the Suicide Squad.

Word count: 1k+

Warning(s): M+ Language, nakedness (Light smut glossed over but not graphic). Slight size kink :)

[A/N: Here's some pure fluff, because this is too adorable. Also, not to exercise Above-5'5"-Supremacy, but how do you reach the computer screen from way down there? Is the top of your fridge like, a total mystery?? ]

"It's bullshit."

Rick's content to watch you pace around your kitchen, a small smile on his face. You had taken his plate before he even finished, ranting as you scraped the rest of his and your dinner into the trash. He learned a long time ago that whenever you got started like this, you tended to occupy your hands without thinking.

"I mean, who do they think they are?" You snap, your back to him now. A rhetorical question; You knew exactly what he was dealing with. It's a wonder to you how he didn't lose his mind every damn mission. Rick leans an elbow on the kitchen table, the other drawing his beer up to his smirking lips.

"Just the job, hon." Rick soothes before he takes a swig. You huff as you scrub at the dishes, your head shaking.

"The least they could do is give you the bonus. Especially after that shit show with the nuclear warheads."

Neither you nor Rick really cared about the money. You brought in a surprisingly steady amount yourself when it came to your bounties. It reflected your skill in a competitive black market. But Rick? He never did his job for the money.

But he knows you're heated over the principle of the thing— The risks he's willing to take versus the recognition he'll never receive.

It's a black ops unit, [Y/n]. They're not gonna put any shit I do in a newsletter, he's told you over and over, amused.

Despite that, Rick never imagined he'd meet someone outside Argus to tell all his secrets to. You knew about the squad, about Waller; Through the trust you shared or perhaps some sort of metahuman powers you haven't told him about yet, Rick was an uncharacteristically open book with you.

He did consider, however, that maybe it was just because he loved seeing you like this; Cocked and loaded and ready to take on even the fucking Wall if you ever got the chance to meet her. Not that he would let you. God help everyone else in the room if the two of you ever clashed.

That, and Rick has learned to keep this part of his life far away from Belle Reve and the task force. The pieces of you that wouldn't fly with any other partner— The traveling the world, the fake identities— It's a relief that he doesn't have to keep tabs on your safety. You're out from anyone's thumb before he can even track you down first half of the time.

Rick is already standing up and heading over to the cabinet where you keep the dishes, setting his bottle down on the counter top. You wipe each plate with heated vigor before shoving them at him as you continue. He places them up high, where you keep the good china (You only ever brought it out when he was around for dinner anyway).

"I'll drive down to that fucking prison, Flag."

"Yeah? You gonna hash it out with the sentries at the front gate?" He replies, already snorting at the idea of it. You purse your lips, shooting him a look, and it only makes him grin wider.

"I'm sure I'll figure something out." Your anger cuts with something diabolical, something way too determined for this joking conversation. Rick arches a brow down at you, crossing his arms over his chest.

"If anyone's gonna get me fired before I ever get killed it would be you, wouldn't it?"

You shrug. The flame has lulled now—Still a simmer in your eyes— But now you're leveling him with that look. The one that's all adoration, mischief, and everything Rick Flag can't quite go long without anymore. Before he can humor the idea any longer, before he can really worry about the two halves of his life butting heads, Rick is unfolding his arms and pulling you into him. You slot comfortably between his parted legs as he leans back on the counter, his chin coming to rest down on the top of your head.

You sigh then, pressing your cheek to his firm chest.

Your work — your world — was always trying to overpower you. Big lug heads the size of Rick or bigger always thought they could brute force you around; You made it your life's work to take their underestimation and shove it up their asses. But not with Rick. You feel yourself relax as his body folds around you. He was nearly twice your bodyweight, but you never felt more equal somehow.

That didn't stop the goosebumps your your skin when he drags his nails softly down your back, of course. You shiver at the way his single, splayed hand nearly covers your entire back.

"What was I saying?" Your catchphrase in the middle of these kinds of rants. You feel Rick's deep chuckle against your ear.

"You were gettin' over it."

You yelp when his muscular arms scoop you up by the waist, tossing you easily over his shoulder.

"Richard Flag!" You protest. You bite back a grin as you lean down over his back to slap the seat of his pants.

"Yes, Ma'am?" His tone is far too innocent. He returns the gesture, slapping the back of your thigh playfully. It takes him just a few of those long strides across your apartment to the bedroom.

Rick throws you down onto the bed, hardly giving you any time to laugh before he's taking his tight shirt off with one, swift tug and making his way up your body. He laughs when you take his shirt from him and give it a little twirl around your head.

He lays down over you, framing your smaller form with his. You hum, excited and still fired up from earlier; Rick is only kissing your neck for a moment before you're slipping out from under his body and using his own weight to flip him over. You bracket your thighs around his head, grinning down at him.

"Jesus Christ." He breathes, gripping both your legs through your jeans. He's aiming the kind of smile up at you that makes your knees weak— Not that you weren't already having a seat.

As much as you didn't mean your stupid threat of breaking your way into Argus's base and wreaking havoc on the assholes in charge, you still meant every word of your devotion. You lean down, threading your fingers through his soft hair. What wouldn't you do for him?

"Hope you don't have a job tonight, baby." He murmurs, kissing the inside of your thigh. He does it again, his eyes falling closed as he nosed against the fabric. "Have a feeling I'm gonna be showin' you how much I've missed you all night."

Afterwards— after he's brought you over the edge again and again as promised— you grin to yourself, breathless, when he finally falls on top of you, exhausted. You're content to sigh into the sheets like that for awhile, the sound of your shared breathing the only thing left in the room.

Eventually, you grumble as Rick presses his face into the pillow above you, his weight pinning you to the mattress heftily.

"Rick." You mutter, voice muffled. When he doesn't stir, you reach around to slap at his bare waist. "You're still in me, dummy."

"Yeah?" He says, like he doesn't fucking love the warm, tight feeling of you around him, even now. You huff again, rolling your eyes. At this rate you’ll need another round.

But you're too in love with the way he's relaxing behind you, his muscles physically letting go of all the tension you know he carries with him everywhere he goes. Your own eyes flutter after awhile; You drift off for a moment or two in the soft silence.

Rick finally moves. You startle, bemused when he wraps his arms around you and tilts you both over so that he can keep holding you, keep his face nestled in the locks of hair at the back of your head. You wrap your arms around Ricks' in return.

"You want me to get up?" He asks you eventually, sleepily. You grip him tighter, nuzzling back against his body firmly.

"You're not going anywhere tonight."

[crazyotakugal]

Soaring Hearts

Hawks/Keigo Tamaki x Reader Fluff Lemon

Authors Notes:

Thank y’all so much for all the support!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the story and like I said, here’s part Two!! I hope y’all enjoy!!

It’s been almost a month since your “encounter�� with the Number Two Hero. You’ve been catching up with your family, seeing the sights, and wondering about your meet up with Hawks. Of course, you haven’t told anyone about meeting Hawks and the events that followed. However, there’s always the unexpected…

Part Two:

CHANCE ENCOUNTERS

“ Come on, y/n! You gotta check out this place next!” Your cousin, Fuyumi, waved you over to yet another sweets shop.

It was a nice day today and Fuyumi had the day off, so she decided to take your sight seeing/shopping. The district was actually really cool and had a variety of different shops, but you really didn’t have much money to spend. Since your dad ditched you, things have always been tight. If your uncle, the number one Hero, had not paid for your trip, you wouldn’t have been able to visit. However, you’d never tell your family about your financial situation.

“Oooohhh!! They have that awesome cake and milk tea!! Let’s get some!” Fuyumi grabs your hand and starts to drag you into the shop.

“Umm, Fuyumi, maybe we should slow down?” You really couldn’t afford it, but didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

“Oh no worries! Dad’s covering everything today! He insisted!” She beamed.

“Uuuuhhh…” You were at a lost for words.

You just decided to go along with it and allowed yourself to be dragged along. Despite your uncle’s attitude, he was actually a really kind person. You remember your mom calling him a monster and saying he was evil, but you just didn’t see that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Fuyumi were sitting at a table with a neon rainbow checkerboard tablecloth and a pink vase with white daisies inside. The place was really nice for being a sweets shop. It was cutesy kind of place with different kinds of teas and sweets and the atmosphere was relaxing. You just went with whatever Fuyumi ordered. She seemed to be really happy and enjoying hanging around you. To be honest, you were really having tons of fun and you were really happy you came to Japan.

Even your encounter with Hawks.

Even if it was just a fling and as much as it made your heart ache to want to see him again, you knew your best chance was on a screen versus in person. You didn’t regret spending the night with him, but you felt bad for how it ended.

~~~ FLASHBACK ~~~

It was either really late at night or very early in the morning when you had woken up. It was really dark and you were tempted to slip back into the lull of sleep. However, you had to pee really bad. Your body felt stiff and heavy. Nature calling, you rub your thighs together, feeling a sharp pain shoot between your legs, and a stickiness there.

‘Huh? Too early for my period.’

You try to shift to get up, but something was wrapped around your waist. It didn’t feel like your covers. It was warmer and heavier. As your brain slowly started to wake up, you realized the thing around your waist was connected to something heavy pressed against your back. You try to wiggle a little bit and whatever was around your waist tighten.

You felt a lump in your throat and carefully turned your head. Holding your waist was Japan’s number two pro hero! His gold locks even messier then normal and he looked absolutely breath taking asleep. You very carefully slide away from Hawks without disturbing him, gather your scattered clothing, and tippy toe into the bathroom.

After a few minutes, you emerge from the bathroom, fully clothed. You glance over at Hawks sleeping form, feeling regret for leaving like this bubbling inside you. However, you weren’t going to put yourself through that. Even though what you two had shared was amazing, you weren’t going to kid yourself into thinking that there was anything there. You wiped a few tears from your eyes and quietly left his apartment.

~~~ End F/B ~~~

“Y/n? Hey, y/n, you there?” Fuyumi is waving a hand in front of your face.

“Oh! Oh I’m sorry!” You laughed. “I guess I was spacing out.”

A waitress comes over to your table, setting down your orders and leaves with a bow. The tea smelled amazing and the cake super delicious!

“I’m sorry, Fuyumi, what were you saying?” You take a sip of the yummy tea.

She takes a bite of the cake and swallowed it, “I was saying that there’s this big charity party that dad wants us all to attend tonight and was asking you if you had a dress you could wear?!”

You choke a bit on your cake, “What?! No! Noooo! I don’t have anything to wear that fancy! I really don’t need to go, I mean I’m just his niece!”

Fuyumi makes a slight pouty face, “But you are family! It’s for the family’s of that Camino incident, so it’s for a good cause! Dad even said we could go pick out new dresses!”

You feel really uneasy about that,” That’s not necessary! Really!”

Fuyumi just smiled at you, “Really! Don’t worry about it!”

Even though you were still getting to know Fuyumi, you knew her well enough to know there was no point to arguing with her once her mind was set. You just take a bite of your cake as she beams knowing she won.

~~~~~~

After the sweets shop, you were dragged to a few clothing stores. Fuyumi found a few dresses she liked/bought, the one she finally chose for the evening was a navy blue tie back dress that had silver glitter at the hem slowly decreasing almost non existent to the waist, almost like a starburst effect. It looked amazing on her. In fact, a lot of stuff did.

You found a few things you looked for everyday wear and lingerie, which she bought you despite your protests, but nothing you felt confident in or really suited you. Finally, Fuyumi dragged you into this one store with all kinds of clothing. That’s when it caught your eye. It was an off the shoulder dress with loop sleeves, form fitting torso with lace up front. There was a satin bow at the waist, the bow resting on your hip. The skirt flared out into two layers, the top layer was sheer parted down the middle with tiny little diamonds (not real) that ruffled at the edges. The second layer was a satin material with the same diamond accents that came down to your ankles. It was your favorite color and the price wasn’t bad at all!

“Oh wow, y/n! That’s perfect! You should try it on!” Fuyumi beamed as she snatched the dress and pushed it and you towards the dressing room. A few minutes later, you came out with it on. It fit you perfectly and you couldn’t hardly believe it was you in the mirror.

“Y/n! You look beautiful!” Your cousin smiled at you, causing you to blush a little.

‘My little sparrow is so beautiful.’

You remember the last time someone called you “beautiful” and remembering that night made you turn bright red.

~~~ Later that night ~~~

Just as you thought, it was an extremely classy affair. There were ton of big time heroes there as well as a lot of influential names. You didn’t know everyone, but Fuyumi had no problem filling you in. She looked so pretty in her dress. Natsuo and Shoto of course didn’t show up. Fuyumi was squealing about all the hot and available guys at the party.

“Oh there’s dad!” Fuyumi grabs your arm and drags you over to where your uncle was.

He, of course being number one, was surrounded by a bunch of people. He looked really annoyed, but put on a front. Occasionally, shaking a hand. Once he saw Fuyumi and you heading his way, he excused himself and to meet you halfway.

“Hey, Dad! This things really great isn’t it?” Fuyumi smiles, as always, trying to be the sweet daughter.

“Fuyumi. Y/N. You’re both looking very nice this evening.” He gave a tiniest, quickest smile.

Fuyumi beamed at the compliment and gave even a little twirl. A waiter came by and offered you three a colorful drink in a tall glass with a cherry on top. Endeavor declined, but you two each took one and thanked him.

“Um, Uncle, thank you very much for the dress,” You bowed, careful not to spill your drink.

“Hey there, Number one! You sure are popular!” A familiar voice rang, making your heart stop.

You lift your head up, to see none other than Hawks standing next to your uncle, with his hand on his shoulder with his usual grin on his face. He, like the other pro heroes there, was wearing his typical attire.

“Ugh, Hawks, let me introduce you to my daughter, Fuyumi, and my niece visiting abroad, Y/N,” Endeavor holds a hand out gesturing your way causing your heart to stop.

‘Don’t be dumb, Y/N! It was a one night stand! He probably doesn’t even remember you!’

Hawks smiles at Fuyumi warmly, gently taking her hand, but there’s a split second of surprise and recognition when his eyes turn towards you. Your breath catches in your throat as he smiles, takes your hand into his, and brings it to his lips. You feel your face turn bright red.

“Nice you meet you, Y/n,” He says with a subtle hint of sarcasm. He was acting like you’d just met, but he definitely recognized you.

“Oh my God! Is that the number one and number two pro heroes together!” Someone yelled from the crowd.

Fuyumi grabbed your hand and hurried away so you two weren’t caught in the poparatzi fire. You glanced back at Hawks, who was still looking at you as you were being led away. The crowd of reporters encircled the two heroes.

~~~~~~~~~

After the craziness with the reporters, you’d lost sight of Hawks. You’d spent the rest of the evening being dragged around by your cousin, talking, eating, and drinking. It was actually lots of fun. You got to meet a lot of new people and eat a lot of delicious food.

A little tipsy, needing some air, you excused yourself from your cousin who honestly was too engrossed in talking to this guy to notice you leave. You found a quiet place in the outside garden. The cool air felt nice on your hot skin and the scent of the flowers around you was relaxing. You sat on a bench by a fountain, closed your eyes, and took a few deep breaths. As you started to cool down, the breeze was starting to make you shiver a little.

Suddenly something soft and warm is placed on your shoulders. Your eyes shoot open and you see Hawks standing there with a gentle smile on his face, he’d placed his jacket over you. Seeing him so close to you, made your heart race and you felt a ping of guilt.

“Little Sparrow a bit chilly?” He reaches and brushes a stray hair from your burning face.

Hearing him say that nickname, flustered you because images of that night came flooding back. You felt the familiar spark of desire start from just that little touch. The memory of how those hands felt touching you made you shiver slightly.

“I, um, I…” You stutter out.

He tilts his head slightly, “hmmm?”

You bow low, “I’m so sorry! About leaving like that I mean!”

Embarrassed you ramble on, “It’s just, um, I’ve never done that type of thing. Not saying I regret what happened, but…I didn’t know what to expect afterwards and panicked and…I’m so sorry I left and didn’t say anything…”

You’re afraid to look up, but a gentle hand on your chin, turned your gaze upwards to meet his. Those wonderful lips of his gently covering your own. At first it starts slow, but then gradually becomes more passionate. One hand wraps around your waist as the other cups the back of your neck, keeping you in place. His tongue sweeps over your lips and you grant him access to your mouth without hesitation. All the desire from that night reawakening as that kiss makes you melt.

When your lips finally part, both his hands cup your cheeks bringing your face forward so your forehead was resting against his. Your noses almost touching, both your eyes shut, and you both a panting for breath. Just from that kiss, you could tell that you probably were already soaked down there. Your eyes locked when you opened them. Desire burning so brightly behind his gold orbs.

You looked so beautiful to him right now. The dress you were wearing was absolutely amazing on you, your lips were red and swollen from his assault, and your cheeks were flushed. That morning, he felt sad that you had left and he hadn’t gotten your name or info. That night has been fantastic and he didn’t know what it was about you, but he just felt so drawn to you. Sure, he’d had experience with women and had some fun in his younger years. Despite the rumors about him, he didn’t go around jumping from woman to woman. That was way too risky for one, but shallow one night stands weren’t his thing.

“Y/N,” He breathed before kissing you again. His hands starting the explore your body over your dress.

“H…Hawks!” You gasp as his lips start placing kisses down your neck. Hearing your name from his lips completely overwhelmed you with need.

His arms lift you up bridal style and he flies up high onto a balcony. The door’s unlocked and Hawks carries you into the dark room. It looked like someone’s office, there were shelves with all kinds of books, a couple of couches by a fireplace, and a large wooden desk.

Hawks carries you over and gently lays you down on one of the couches, his jacket acting like a pillow, and leans over you. His lips once again taking yours captive. He uses one arm to support his weight above you as the other slides up your leg bunching the skirt of your dress higher and higher. You gasp against his mouth when you feel his fingers press against the damp cloth between your legs.

“Oh!” You toss your head back as his fingers slowly start to circle the wetness there.

“I see my lovely sparrow is still so sensitive,” he murmurs as he kisses your shoulder, his fingers dipping beyond your soaked panties.

“Keigo!” You cry out and you feel Hawks shutter above you, feeling how wet you already were for him and already crying his name.

He couldn’t handle it anymore. He gets up off of you, you hear the sound of a belt buckle being undone and the sound of rustling clothing. You give a surprise squeal as you feel your panties being pulled off you. Hawks pushes your skirt all the way up to your waist and settles himself between your legs. Before you can say anything, he sheaths himself into you with one thrust. You can feel him fill every part of you, once again stretching you.

“Ahhh!” Your body shudders as you cum just from the sensation of him utterly filling you.

“Did my sparrow just cum from me just putting it inside?” He says with a cocky tone as he starts to move, “You really are made for me! Fuck! You feel so good!”

You dig your nails into his clothed back as your rocked into ecstasy. You look up at Hawks; his face twisted with pleasure and his beautiful red wings completely spread out above the two of you. Your tangle your fingers in his blond hair and bring his lips crashing down onto yours.

The sounds of moans and slapping skin fill the room.

“You’re so hot and wet! It’s like heaven inside you!” He breaths, never halting his thrusts, “God Sparrow, you’re taking me so wonderfully. You’re just the perfect fit!”

You start to feel that wonderful familiar knot start to build again. Hawks thrusts start getting a little rougher and deeper. A film of sweat covering both your bodies. His length hitting the entrance of your womb over and over again. The pleasure is just as intense as before that you feel your mind slipping away.

“Keigo! I’m gonna…oh God! I’m gonna!” You sob out, feeling yourself about to tumble down that peak any moment.

Hawks grabs your hips in his hands and pounds into you mercilessly. He burned the vision of you in his mind. Your h/c spilled all over as your head thrashes about, you withering underneath him with absolute bliss plastered on your face, and those lovely lips of yours swollen, parted, quivering as you start to reach your peak. That lovely dress of yours bunched at your hips giving him a wonderful view of himself being swallowed by your lovely pussy.

“Y/n, cum for me! That’s it! Cum for me sparrow!” He urges, pushing his hips against that spot a few times, his cock hitting your cervix, before you finally tumble over.

“KEIGO!” You scream, tossing your head back as your orgasm hits you. You cling to the couch as it washes you over. He holds his grip on your hips as he pounds you.

Hawks loses it when he feels you clamp down onto him, cumming around his cock. Your hot fluids gushing all over him. A few sloppy thrusts later, he’s calling out your name as he fills you to the brim. Another climax hits you as feel his dick twitching and filling you. You both lay there, panting afterwards.

You both hold each other on the couch, bodies still connected. Hawks still breathless, placing occasional kisses on your shoulder. He didn’t want to leave your warmth yet. After a few more minutes of holding you, mumbling soothing words, Hawks slips from your depths. He watches as your combined fluids seep from your opening slightly and catches your soft whimper once he left you.

Hawks sits up and gathers you in his lap, holding you to his chest. You smelt amazing. Like a sweet dessert. Your h/c was soft and your skin as well. It felt so nice holding you like this. You laid your head on his chest and gave into him holding you. His fingers gently stroking your hair. You didn’t want to be parted from him yet. You wished time would freeze and you two could stay like this. He smelt like rain. His warmth radiating from his body into yours. You feel a bit of sleepiness come over you.

“We should go before someone comes in and we get in trouble for staining their expensive couch,” Hawks whispers in your ear, bringing a bright red blush to your face.

You get up on your unsteady legs and straighten yourself up. You look around, a bit panicked, for your panties that you’d been wearing, but couldn’t see where Hawks had tossed them too. Your face turned bright red thinking how horrifying it would be if someone found them.

“Looking for something?” Hawks smiles at you, holding the bunched up lace garment in his hand.

“H…hey!” You feel your face burn even hotter. “Give those back!”

You go to try to snatch your panties from his hand, but of course he’s too fast for you and easily dodges. You go to try and grab them again, but this time he catches your wrist, pulling your body against his.

He smiles down at you, giving you a playful wink,”Consider these my hostage so you don’t go disappearing on me again.”

You make a pouty face at him and playfully punch him in the chest. He simply laughs it off.

His lips brush yours as he stuffs the material into his jacket pocket and lifts you up again. He effortlessly leaps down the balcony, safely with you to the ground. He gently sets you down on your feet. You feel his hand cover yours then sliding something between your fingers. It was his card, but at the bottom was a hand written phone number. You look up at him again and he reaches to brush a hair from your face. You looked absolutely adorable at that moment, looking up at him with big, questioning eyes.

“I don’t usually give out my personal number, but I’m willing to make an exception for you my sparrow,” He grins, ” However, now that I know you’re related to the big guy, I can easily hunt you down too.”

You give him a look and mumble under your breath, “You can try.”

He’s taken aback for a moment, then bursts into laughter. You were just too cute. He couldn’t help himself, wraps an arm around your waist, and kisses you deeply before he finally steps away from you.

He flaps his wings and takes off a few feet into the air. Small red feathers raining down all around you.

“Until I see ya around, Y/N!” He grins before taking off into the air. Leaving you looking up at the night sky as he disappears.

~~~~~~~~~~

So that’s it for part two!! Thank y’all so much and I’ll be working on part three soon. :D