#does she plan on *only* teaching this *one thing* when she becomes a teacher???

[downydig]

One of my classmates keeps doing the same lesson plan over and over

She’s taught how to make scratch art like 6 times now in the past semester and a half

[whirlybirbs]

— CAN'T WE BE SEVENTEEN? ; shoto todoroki ; 焦凍

summary: he's loved you since he was seventeen. pairing: f!reader x pro hero!shoto ; reader was a 1-A student tags: mutual pining, heavy make-out, thinly veiled sugar daddy shoto, reader does not go pro, touya might be a dick but he's a hero now, shoto is bad at feelings wordcount: 5.6k a/n: i do not fucking know what came over me, enjoy your food my little todorokinas. yes the title is what you think it is. no i will not elaborate.

You never did go pro.

Truthfully, you thought there would be more pushback when, in your senior year, you announced your plan to pursue a degree in early childhood education with a focus on non-conforming quirk development. 

The War changed a lot. It changed you, your classmates, and the world. But, through it all one thing stuck with you:

What if someone helped Tenko Shimura?

How different would his life have been? How different would history have spun? 

You graduated at the top of your class and joined the faculty at Chiba Prefectural Preparatory School for Quirk Specialties two years ago. 

Chiba Prep was opened eight years ago in response to a societal cry for more infrastructure around what was dubbed "non-conforming quirks": a nice way to say quirks that can injure, maim, or kill. Maybe even all three on a bad day. Some parents still see their child being labeled as a non-conforming quirk user in the national database as akin to social suicide. 

You see it differently.

Your quirk allows you to manipulate emotions — anger, sadness, betrayal, love, hatred. If you can feel it, you can sink it into another's psyche deep enough to drive them to act. You can even imbue things with feelings. For example, a cup of warm milk can transform into more than just a simple comfort, now it can hold the feeling of home and safety, or even exhaustion strong enough to put even the biggest foe to rest. 

You could easily use your quirk with nefarious intent. 

You could steep hatred in someone's bone so deep it drives them to harm themselves. You could sew fury so solid into someone's mind it drives them to violence. 

Just a touch and you can control others with something so intrinsically personal it only exists within themselves: their feelings.

What makes you any different from little Asuke, a shy little girl with a quirk that allows her to see people's greatest fears, and then manifest and control them? You're convinced she can use this for good, if only with practice. In your mind, her future is bright and glimmering. Perhaps she will become a therapist, focusing on exposure therapy? Or, maybe the most prolific horror novelist in their time? 

Or, bright and sunny Tao — a transplant whose parents sought out Chiba Prep's specialized education — whose heteromorphic quirk makes his bodily fluids, namely saliva, eat through nearly anything but his own biologics. A sneeze is quickly the most dangerous thing in the world for the cheery, lizard-bodied class clown. 

He's just a boy given a quirk that needs more care. 

He isn't a villain-in-training. 

None of them are.

It's important to teach them that young — and as their teacher for Year 3 of their elementary schooling, you aim to hammer that in as much as possible. They deserve to feel normal. To feel loved and supported. They aren't scary, they're children. 

So, you take it upon yourself to insist on pushing for privileges like field trips. There aren't many public spaces that welcome the classes of Chiba Prep with open arms. Over the years, there have been plenty of incidents. But, a day trip into the city to visit Tokyo's Hall of Heroes is green-lit with bubbling excitement from both faculty, the children, and their parents. 

You usually keep your history as a graduated member of Class 1-A quiet. 

After all, you never did go pro.

And even still, Shoto Todoroki never stopped thinking about you.

He remembers that weekend everyone moved back in for their last year before graduation. He remembers you smiling at him, and helping him drag up a duffel of luggage from the common room to his dorm. You made a joke about how you're sure he got taller over the summer, and how his hair is longer now. You said you liked it. 

It was the beginning of the end, then.

His crush was a silent, smothering thing. It made it hard to think. Shoto had enough on his plate thanks to Touya's acceptance into the Villain Rehabilitation Program and his father's insistence on staving off retirement. Not to mention his parent's divorce — no matter how amicable, it was still a separation. Add on training, tests, studying, finals, and j-term classes... And a desperate, writhing, burning crush on the nicest girl in class? 

Touya's elbow digs into Shoto's side.

It drags him back to reality — to the stifled quiet of the historical Hall of Heroes. 

Suddenly, the doors to the wing squeak open, and a tour guide ushers in the elementary school class. The buzzing excitement and wonder are visible on each of their faces as the attendant — one of the HoH's lead tour guides — excitedly explains the newest, in-progress addition to the Hall:

Endeavor's wing. 

There's a whisper of awe that ripples through the children as their teacher and co-teacher follow, and as the class moves through the large, open space. They're staring up eagerly at the gilded statue in the center of the room. It's larger than life and intimidating. Years ago, Shoto might have had to fight the odd tremble in his knees at the reminder it brings: to be small in his father's shadow again. But, things are different now. 

Very different.

Touya scoffs. "I thought this wing wasn't open to the public yet."

"They're just children," Shoto hums, turning his back on the gaggle across the way to inspect the large mural winding along the back end of the installation, "I'm sure it's—"

"Oh, ho, no way!"

Shoto quirks his brow at his brother's outburst. His elbow digs into Shoto's ribs again. 

"Ain't that the pretty girl you never got the balls to ask out your senior year?" comes the rasped drawl of his older brother's voice. Touya is clearly amused, his white hair hanging in his eyes as he leans forward to squint, "She is cute, Sho'—"

"Shut up," Shoto grits, turning his head over his shoulder; he tries to bite back the flurry of nerves that ignite in his gut, "Stop talking."

It is you.

You look... good. 

Happy. 

You're crouched by a small, timid girl in the back of the crowd. Your hand is in hers, and you're pointing upwards at the large paneled screens replaying Endeavor's most historic fights. You're explaining something to her, your knees bent as you squat. You look... the same. As if in the six years since they graduated, you sat still in time. 

For a second, it's like he's seventeen again.

It's his senior year, and he's stuck at the corner of the gym's edge with a half-empty glass of punch in his hand. The lights are low, and there's slow music playing. His tie feels too tight. Bakugo keeps telling him to 'ask her to dance already', and Kirishima is considering bashing his head through the wall. Even Midorya is trying to persuade Shoto. 

"It's prom, man! C'mon, this could be your last chance—"

Touya is about to be a real pain in the ass — his favorite pastime — and make some comment about your ass, but when he turns to lob the one-liner at his baby brother, Shoto's gone.

Shoto is on the move.

The crescendo of gasps draws your attention first.

Then, the cry of "WOAH, IT'S SHOTO!" leaves you dumbfounded. The rippling murmur of excitement bleeds into the children as their eyes — and the eyes of the tour guide — widen at the sight of the approaching Pro Hero. 

Shoto Todoroki.

He looks... good. 

Really good.

He's a bit older, and a bit more filled out than when you were both teenagers. You can see the strength in his arms and shoulders — it's a distant echo of his father's physique, though Shoto is so much more elegant and much... prettier. He's always been.

For a second, you're seventeen again.

It's your senior year, and you're sprawled across Momo Yaoyorozu's bed.

They had finally wrangled out of you who your crush was: something they hadn't been able to do in all their years as classmates.

There's a sticky, Miss Midnight-themed face mask clinging to your expression as you try to flip through the large magazine in your hands as nonchalantly as possible. Mina's voice, as she paints Ochaco's nails a bright pink on the floor, is sweet and saccharine as she looks up at you.

"I think you and Shoto would be, like, the cutest couple ever." 

You're still crouched when the tour guide nervously — like she was caught doing something naughty — introduces The Pro Hero Shoto to the already-aware crowd of elementary school students and their teachers. It's like igniting a match; the uproar of excitement leaves you laughing as three of your boys push forward to bombard him with questions about his quirk. 

Asuke is smiling shyly, now. That's a small win. She's intrigued by the appearance of a real hero, not the "scary statues" — and her big, fat tears stopped rolling the moment you laid a gentle hand on her to quell her anxiety over the new environment with a push of comfort through your quirk. She unhooks her pinkie finger from yours as you guide her towards your co-teacher. 

"Boys," you call with a crisp air of authority as you stand and lead Asuke toward the bulk of the field trip group, "What have we learned about personal space?"

"It's fine, really, Insight," comes Shoto's voice; as warm and placid as you remember. 

"Insight?" mutters your co-teacher at the presumed hero-name; a look of confusion plasters itself on her face, and her big, feline ears perk up. She leans in to whisper in a way that borders on conspiratory, "Do you two know one another?"

"Old classmates," you confirm, not daring to get into the finer details.

Shoto's attention is entirely rooted in the way you manage the kids. There's something beautiful about the ease with which you handle the bouquet of students; you quell the excitement into a manageable decibel like it's as easy as breathing. 

"Shoto," you start as you gesture to him, "Has a very special quirk — Toyamai, he has ice like you. And, fire like Tojiro. He can regulate his temperature. Can anyone tell me what that means?"

There's a wave of hands shooting up, a few me, me, me's rise from the gaggle. 

You're using him as a teaching moment.

Shoto's smile is soft.

You nod at Ogomi, excitedly nodding as the reserved child speaks up. Normally, he hates public speaking. But, recently, he's started working with the speech pathologist during lunch. The boy bounces a little as he answers. "He doesn't g-get too hot, or too c-cold."

"Exactly! Isn't that cool?" you grin at the lazy attempt at a pun, "This is why it's important to learn about our quirks as much as we can!"

Touya thinks this whole thing is just too cute. 

You're different than he remembers — but, granted, things were sorta different last time he saw you. He was a little too busy tryna kill his old man and lil' Shoto. He's different now, too. A changed man! A real licensed hero. Support items and all. 

He hangs back. 

He... I mean, he is a jack-ass but he isn't gonna ruin this for Shoto. 

...It's kinda cute.

Just about as cute as Fuyumi said it was. 

Apparently, Shoto had opened up to her and Natsuo about his feelings after graduation — about how he regretted not doing anything about it. Fuyumi then told their mum, who then off-handedly mentioned it to Touya... and well Touya dug in because, duh, he is a whore for good gossip. He might be the family's black sheep, but Shoto is the glue that binds. 

And he deserves to be happy.

Your co-teacher is ushering the kids to the next installation — a viewing of All Might's Legacy, a new documentary following the retired pro's teaching career. It will be a good wind down for them, in comfy seats and the dark. It's hardly the sort of content an elementary school student would find riveting, but it is All Might. And they love him.

You hang back. 

Shoto's heart is hammering in his chest.

"Hey."

"Hi," you greet back, closing the door to the theater and stepping forward as you weave your arms around you, "Long time no see."

"Yea," Shoto breathes, his hands in his pockets as he meets you halfway across the museum's marble floors, "I... I see you're teaching."

His eyes are as pretty as they were back then. Slate grey and piercing turquoise. "I'm in my second year," you confirm softly, fiddling with the material of your sweater, "Congrats to your old man."

You gesture up at the statue, then wave around to the rest of the installation.

Shoto inhales, then nods; he's staring at your face, blissfully realizing you're just the way you were all those years ago. Kind. "I'll pass it along."

"How's he handling it?" you ask, your eyes raking across his expression and trying not to stick to the sharp slope of his jaw, or the bob of his Adam's apple, "Retirement, I mean."

"He's happy, I think. Touya and I are working together and... things are...  good."

Last month, Endeavor finally retired. He cited his age, and his dedication to passing his legacy to his two sons: Shoto and Touya. Shoto has planted himself firmly within the Top Ten in the last year or so, and shockingly, Touya isn't far behind. People love an underdog's redemption story, you suppose. 

And the underdog in question can read a room. 

This is getting a little too sexually tense for even him.

"Heeeeey, girl," he rasps out, staggering backward with a thumb over his shoulder, "Nice t' see ya. I'll let you two catch up, yea? I'm gonna go pop my head into the theater, see how the kids are handling the snooze fest on screen—"

You jump.

How long has he even been there?

"Hi, D— Touya," you strain, wincing a little; the rehab'd villain doesn't seem to mind.

"Hi, teach'. That cool with you?" he asks, wobbling his thumb and quirking a pierced eyebrow; it's comical, like he's trying to disarm you with humor, "Don't want you thinkin' I'm corrupting your youths—"

"It's fine," you breathe, ignoring the sting of age-old mistrust. You know better. Shoto wouldn't be here, with him, if Touya Todoroki hadn't changed. Endeavor wouldn't be entrusting his legacy to the ex-League of Villain member if he didn't believe in his capacity for good, "Just don't be disruptive."

Casting judgment on someone whose life was nearly destroyed by his own non-conforming quirk would go against everything you taught the kids anyway.

"Touya's whole thing is being disruptive," Shoto grits as his oldest brother slips silently through the doors, "I apologize for him—"

"No," you wave him off, laughing a little, "Don't. It's... nice to see you two together."

Shoto's expression is soft as he wanders a little closer. "It took time — and a lot of therapy — but we've all managed to come out the other side."

"That's great to hear, Shoto," you breathe, your eyes flitting across his face, "I'm really happy for you."

There's a long silence, then — and you can't help but ignore the roil of butterflies in your stomach. The eye contact is heavy with some unspoken thing, and both of your tongues are weighted by secrets-never-turned-confessions. 

It's like finally this dance you've been doing around one another for years breaks — and the two of you throw caution to the wind at the exact same moment. 

"Would you like to—"

"Are you free—"

Hesitant, slow grins bloom on both your faces.

"Dinner?" is all he manages after a sweet moment of soaking up your soft smile, "If you're available...?"

You make yourself available.

Yaoyorozu almost dies when you call her that night — winded from tearing through your entire wardrobe. You explained you had nothing to wear a-and you needed something nice, and you only have an hour to get ready, because Todoroki — yes, stop screaming, Todoroki — is picking you up at 8pm.

Little bro is nervous. Touya can tell. 

From his spot on the sofa, the white-haired ex-degenerate scoffs. Natsuo is digging around for some cufflinks in Shoto's dresser.

"Seriously, Sho'? A suit?" 

"It's a nice restaurant," his brother says tightly, adjusting the collar of the black button-down, "I booked the upstairs dining room for privacy." 

"Who the hell told you t' do that?" Touya quirks a skeptical brow.

"Father was the one who suggested it."

"...That old dog." 

Natsuo rolls his eyes at the exchange before throwing his hands as he emerges from the closet. "Do you have any links that aren't emblazoned with U.A. High School's crest?"

The ones in Natsuo's hands have his graduation year on them.

Shoto winces.

"Want me to ask dear ol' dog of a dad?" Touya snarks from the corner, his posture becoming less and less upright as he scrolls on his phone.

"Already did," comes the soft voice of Fuyumi; she's smiling, padding into Shoto's room with a velvet box, "He offered up his nicest pair. He also says not to screw it up with Insight. He likes her."

Of course, he likes her. You worked under Endeavor for a brief work-study period during your third year. Shoto remembers hearing grumbled praise over dinner one night about your talent for de-escalation.

"You told him who I was seeing?" Shoto asks incredulously, taking the box and working the cufflinks on. He's starting to feel exasperated.

Fuyumi nods, popping down beside Touya. 

"He asked. I'm not gonna lie to him."

"Did y' tell ma?" Touya rasps, peeking up over his phone to inspect Shoto's outfit. Not half bad, honestly. He looks good in all black. A man after his own heart, "M'sure she's gonna be real excited—"

"Yes," Shoto grumbles, "I called her earlier—"

"Chiba Prep is a really good school, y'know," Natsuo buts in as he tries to find a tie that matches Shoto's outfit. Ultimately, though, the middle brother decides against it and tosses the options over his shoulder, "They're, like, on the leading edge for quirk therapies."

"Hey, nerd? Quiet down. The big kids are gossiping," Touya shirks, turning back to Shoto, "What did mum say?" 

"She wants me to call her after—"

"One, you're gonna call mum the morning after," Touya raises a finger, "Because if you don't get laid, I'll be so fuckin' disap—"

Fuyumi slaps Touya's chest. He lets out a pained yelp at the solid smack.

"Uh, ow," he rubs his sternum. "An' two, take a deep breath. You look like you're gonna shit yourself. Those are my pants and they're expensive."

Shoto lets out a long breath. 

Fuyumi's smile is sweet like honey. "Aw, Sho'! It's gonna go great. You two have known each other for such a long time, and catching up is going to be amazing. Just be yourself! Confident and kind—"

"—Hold the door open for her, and pull her chair out," Natsuo adds as he adjusts Shoto's collar for him, "Car door, too—"

It's Touya's turn. He's dead serious. "—And do not chicken out on kissing her at the end of the night. I swear to god."

Easier said than done.

You never did go pro.

Those years of hardened battle instincts have lost their edge. You try to remind yourself this is just Shoto, not The Shoto — but you're a little lost in the whole celebrity of it all when he picks you up in a very nice, sporty little car with ENDVRplates. 

You answer the door and he forgets how to breathe.

He has flowers for you. They're blue and blooming and beautiful. 

Fuyumi's contribution. 

You settled then you were going to kiss him at the end of the night.

The restaurant is... nice. Really nice. The sort of nice you could never aspire to experience on your teacher's salary. Even the valet is a concept that has your head spinning. But, Shoto handles it all with cool ease. The entire time, his hand is settled on your lower back. 

It feels like you've been lit on fire.

You're glad Momo was able to create a dress fitting for the occasion. It's sleek and black. Comfortable, too. Not much can be said for your heels on that front, but it's fine. 

Somehow, Shoto managed to book the entire upper floor of this place in all its glimmering glory — it's just the two of you alone in a sea of tables. 

The waiter is pouring you a glass of the chef's suggested pairing of sake.

You thank him, smile, and take a sip as Shoto unbuttons his suit jacket and watches you. 

For a second, you're seventeen again.

Sero and Kirishima were always in cahoots when it came to parties back then — somehow, between the two of them, they always managed to smuggle enough booze onto campus to obliterate any semblance of promised sobriety from even the most stoic members of 1-A. 

You remember one night, after a lot of hounding, you finally gave in and joined a few of your classmates on the back lawn for a few drinks. 

A few beers turned into a cup or two of wine, and then another big gulp of whatever deranged jungle juice concoction Kaminiari managed to cook up. It tasted terrible, but you were too drunk to really care. Shoto was no better. He was nursing his fourth drink of the night — a rarity he was even drinking at all — and seemed completely fine with the way your arms brushed as the two of you sat close in the grass. 

He was always so nervous around you. Now, he just seemed... happy. 

"I can't believe there is only one week left until graduation."

Graduation day was the last time you saw him. 

Until this morning, that is. 

You smile into your drink. 

"What?" you ask when his eyes never leave your face.

His fingers twitch towards his own glass. Shoto blinks, then rolls his jaw. He was caught staring. He clears his throat, looking a bit shy. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" you press playfully, cocking your head to the side.

"You..." he starts, then bawks. You're stunning, and it's making it hard to even think straight. He thought these feelings might have mellowed out over the years but seeing you again has just reignited everything. He feels like a hormonal teenager again, "You look beautiful."

Your expression falters into something lovesick. You chew your lip. "You're not so bad yourself, Todoroki."

He manages a half-smile. "Touya had me worried the suit was a bit much."

The idea of Touya offering him advice on his outfit strikes a chord in your heart. It makes you smile even bigger than before. "Well, you can tell Touya that I like it. A lot."

You rake your eyes up and down him. On purpose.

He notices.

Shoto's face feels hot. 

He tries to shake the bone-deep want that has swept his entire body up in its grip, but it's difficult when every single word out of your mouth reminds him just how in love he was with you back in school. You explain, excitedly, why you chose to teach at Chiba Prefectural Prep and catch him up on where you've been living since graduating. He's pleased to learn you're still in the area, living in the city, and decidedly in love with the commute to the school. 

Shoto's always been a good listener — but you can see how much he's changed when he begins to speak about his career. He seems so much more sure of himself than he was all those years ago. It wasn't that he was... unsure... but, no. He was shy. Quiet.

Now, less so. 

It's adorable. 

Dinner comes and goes with conversation over sushi that is far too good for you to even process. It's easy talking to him. It was easy talking to Shoto back, then, too but... Things are different. You're both different. Not in a bad way, but in a way that feels like coming home. 

While you both wait outside for the valet, Shoto shrugs his jacket off and puts it over your shoulders without a single word. Suddenly, you're cradled in a warmth that's very Shoto — his cologne clings to the collar and you bury yourself a little deeper into it. 

Shyly, you step closer and steal his hand. It's calloused and warm. He laced his fingers with yours as if practiced. You bite back a grin. You give his hand a little squeeze when you spot the car coming around the corner.

His silence is calming — and he squeezes your hand back. When you look up at him, you realize he's already looking at you. 

His face is close. It's so... intimate. Very. Nearly better than a kiss. 

But, you've wanted to kiss Shoto Todoroki since you were seventeen. 

The valet driver interrupts the moment with a respectful call of Shoto's name and offers the keys with a shake of the hand. With a little bit of hesitancy, Shoto remembers the thing Natsuo said — the car door, too — and moves around the passenger side to open the door for you. 

It's sweet.

Really sweet. 

The car ride back to your apartment is punctuated with easy conversation — you ask him about Bakugo and Midorya, and you're pleased to hear they're both doing well. He asks about Momo, and if you still keep in touch with Mina and Ochaco. He smiles to himself when you admit you did call Momo for help with an outfit. 

"She did a beautiful job," Shoto breathes, a palm moving from the gear shift to brush over the dress' fabric on your thigh.

His hand settles there. 

Your stomach does a flip. 

You chew your lip, swallow down a sudden burst of nerves, and let your hand rest over his. You squeeze it. Shoto tries to focus on the road. His gaze drifts for a moment at a red light, his heterochromatic eyes dancing across your figure. 

Keep it together. 

He isn't seventeen.

He's twenty-five. He's a Professional Hero. One of the Top Ten in all of Japan. He's more than capable of keeping it together in the face of physical touch from the woman he's dreamed about for years. 

...Right?

Green light.

His hand is still on your thigh when he pulls up to your apartment. 

The touch is relinquished in favor of putting the sports car in park. 

It makes your chest ache.

Shoto swallows thickly.

Do not chicken out on kissing her at the end of the night.

He'll never forgive himself. But, admittedly, he's bad at this. He's not good at reading body language, or even knowing himself enough to realize he looks mildly terrified as you blink up at him in the passenger's seat. His heart is hammering a mile a minute.

What if you don't want to kiss him?

When would he even kiss you? Now? Or at the door?

Why does he feel like he's going to die?

"This was really... Shoto, are you okay?" you ask as you unbuckle your seatbelt; you pause, your brows knitting tightly. 

"What?" he asks, blinking back to the present moment. The look of fear disappears, "Sorry. Yes. I'm fine."

You're working his jacket off your shoulders, gently leaning to fold it neatly in your lap. Your voice dips low, into something playful. "You didn't look fine..."

"I—" Shoto clamps his mouth shut as he leans an elbow on the center console, "Sorry. I suppose I'm just nervous."

"Nervous?" you grin, a little giggle punctuating your words as you wriggle in the red, leather seat, "Why?"

Your expression makes his expression crack. He ducks his head as he huffs out a laugh. You continue to egg him on via expression alone. "I... Stop it."

"Stop what?" you push some more, your back pressed to the door as you face him in the car, "You're the one being weird—"

"I'm not being weird—"

"Then what's wrong, Shoto?" you tease in a sing-song voice.

"I'm nervous because I want to kiss you."

His words are punctuated by a slow look that takes in every inch of your face. Butterfly wings kiss your stomach walls. And your knees. You feel a little tremble in your chest. 

It feels like someone has sucker punched you square in the sternum. Shoto's no better. He isn't entirely sure what the expression on your face means. Is that... good? Are you happy?

Your voice is a little quieter now. You duck your head and fiddle with his suit jacket as you lean back against the seat, a little closer now. 

"You don't need to be."

Shoto's breath catches at that.

So, he makes his move.

His hand comes first — his calloused palm settles nicely against your face, his thumb brushing your cheekbone as his pointer finger brushes the underside of your jaw. Shoto is slow. Methodical. It's like he's trying to ground himself in the moment. 

Truth be told, he thinks he might be blacking out.

Your eyes flit up his wrist — a dark leather band around his wrist with an expensive watch face, a dark dress shirt with glimmering cufflinks, strong arms and a broad chest, and you can see the dip of his collarbone where the top two buttons of his shirt remain undone. 

He looks so damn handsome with his sharp jaw, pretty eyes, and his trademark white and crimson hair. Even his scar is beautiful. 

The touch pulls you in like he's got his own personal orbit.  

Your elbows are braced along the center console, your eyes flicking across his face as his fingers continue to brush along the soft expanse of your cheek. You wring your fingers together. 

Then, his eyes stick to your lips.

"Can I kiss you?" he whispers, his breath fanning across your face. 

You never did go pro.

But, Shoto did. 

It shows. 

Because, at this moment, all you can do is nod feebly before you're swept into the sort of kiss people go to war for. It's the sort of kiss that sticks to your ribs, that feels like warm, fresh food. It's the sort of kiss that would drive you to the brink, that would make you nod and agree sure, let's get married and have three kids, let's name one after your father, and paint the house blue like your mother's favorite flower—

His mouth is eager, but not in an overbearing way. It's gentle. Slow. As if he needs to remind himself this is real and not some midnight fiction that leaves him aching and alone. Shoto reminds himself to be tepid, pliable, and easy, which is easier said than done when somewhere deep inside of him there's a seventeen-year-old screaming in victory. 

It's better than anything he could have ever imagined. 

And then you whimper. 

It's a sound tied between bliss and relief and it's muttered against his mouth as you lean in and let your fingers brush the fabric of his dress shirt. The tips of your fingers brush his abdomen and he flexes, the feeling foreign and warm. It warrants his other hand to drift to your face and you break for a breath; he doesn't care that there's lipstick smeared across his mouth. He's kissing you again — this time a little bit more feverish, a little bit more aching. 

You melt against him, this time your hands trembling to grip his wrists.

He needs to slow down.

He is not having sex with you in his father's car.

That's shameless.

He needs to slow down.

He has to, or he'll lose himself in this and he refuses to fuck this up. 

Shoto's breath is ragged when he finally peels himself away, his lip parted and eyes half-lidded. His grip on your face is still so soft, so gentle. It's very him. 

You're glad you didn't do this when you were seventeen.

It would have permanently altered your brain chemistry, you're sure of it. How could you ever kiss someone else again after that? 

He's rubbing your cheek with his thumb. You swallow, and try to level out your breathing. It's hard when he's still so close, when he's so... perfect. 

"I've wanted to do that," he murmurs against your cheek, "Since our last year at Yuei."

A well-kissed smile breaks across your face. You reel back, your nose wrinkling as you shake your head in disbelief. Shoto is smiling. A real smile. The sort that's so rare you can count on one hand the amount of times you've ever seen it in person. 

"Are you serious?"

"Very," he says, chastely pressing another to your other cheek as he leans back.

"Me too," you admit shyly, "Can we... do it again sometime?"

Shoto's eyes widen incrementally. Then, his smile eases back onto his face. 

"Are you free this weekend?"

"I can be," you reply easily with a honeyed look, "And I will be. For you."

"I get off patrol on Saturday around seven," he explains before asking timidly, "We could... do dinner again?"

"Works for me," you breathe as you move for the handle of the car door, "After all, I never went Pro. Weekends are free."

Shoto scoffs. 

Then, as you open the door and swing a leg out:

"Oh, and tell Touya I thought the suit sexy."

Shoto's laugh is dry. You leave his jacket on the seat and scurry into your apartment with a lovesick wave. He swears he sees the silhouette of a familiar ponytail greet you at the door, but he doesn't dwell on it. He waits until you're inside and the lights to the front door are shut off.

Then it hits him. He has another date with you this weekend. 

Not so seventeen anymore, Shoto Todoroki. 

[actually-factually-anonymous]

Ladybug Vs Avatar's use of the supporting cast and the problem thereof.

I'm not sure if this has been covered before, but there's a serious problem with Marinette being the be-all end-all of everything in Miaculous.

And it's not just because "she's stressed" or "it's all on her". Her being the most important, talented and plot-relevant character in every situation is.

Let's make a comparison to the Gold Standard:

In Avatar the Last Airbender, Aang is the axis of the story. He holds incredible powers beyond anyone else, can bend every element and could conceivably end the entire conflict that plagues his world with relative ease- which he eventually does.

However, for 99% of the story he cannot do so. Because Aang is untrained, he cannot access that divine win-button of the Avatar State at will, and using it carried enormous risks to himself and those around him- making it functionally unusable for common conflicts. Furthermore while he does technically have the capacity to use all four elements, he had only mastered one and needed to learn the remaining three.

Indeed, Aang has outright difficulty with learning Earthbending despite his innate talents and while he's a quick study for the other two, he doesn't demonstrate the same effectiveness with water and fire as Katara and Zuko.

This means that Aang cannot do certain things as well as the others in his team. This means that for the majority of the story, even though his first and preferred element provides him with useful abilities" Aang has weaknesses that he needs others to cover and provide for.

Enter Katara, Sokka, Toph and Zuko.

Katara is a waterbender who teaches Aang and later advances her powers to include the all-important power of healing and the disturbingly effective (though situational) Bloodbending.

Toph is an earthbender who is also one of Aang's teachers, and whose tremor sense later allows her to both detect liars and invent Metalbending.

Sokka is seemingly just the comic relief normie. However his technical mindset allows him to serve as the general of the group, and even plan and lead in that role for entire armies later in the show.

Even Zuko who joins later and becomes less a teacher but a fellow student alongside Aaang in firebending is a skilled infiltrator and melee weapon expert. (This is less of a case than the others since it's not used as much, but it's more of a concrete example than his insights into the fire nation and his potential utility as a replacement Fire Lord).

They each provide far more than those short summaries, but it's important to note that in each case, even when Aang does learn the elements and starts growing into his role as the Avatar: he never gains the full range of abilities that his team offers. He never assumes the fully strategic mindset of Sokka, and even though it's downright implausible that no Avatar before him never learnt healing, he never demonstrates that ability or any Metalbending prowess even in the Avatar state.

There's also the enemy trio of Azula, Ty Lee and Mai. Azula is a powerful firebending genius, but Mai's prowess with her throwing weapons are a close match- and Ty Lee's chi-blocking can outright cripple enemy benders for any given fight when combined with her insane agility: something that not even Azula can do with her firebending. They are an incredibly dangerous combination and when Azula loses them, she becomes far less effective for their absence.

In both teams despite the leader being a powerful, talented bender who is objectively the strongest person on their respective side: there's no doubt about each member of the team contributing something that said leader cannot.

-

Now let's look at Miraculous:

Marinette is the "Greatest Ladybug" of all time despite being fourteen, only having had the earrings for less than a year, and having a list of predecessors that go back literally thousands of years and include Joan of Arc.

She is also the Guardian of the Miracle Box. Specifically she is the Guardian of The Mother Box that is the most important of all the boxes, despite there being at least a full Temple's worth of actually trained candidates somewhere in Tibet who should be far and above more capable than her or her mentor Fu. However, her supposed superior Su-Han seems entirely convinced that she's already surpassed any teachings his order has by how often she breaks said teachings in his face only for him to roll over like a dog. There's not been a single time when Marinette has been confronted by some shortcoming in her responsibilities as a Guardian where she has had to learn anything from the multi-millennia old Order of Guardians.

Marinette has also worn almost every single Miraculous in her Box at the same time, a feat that supposedly risked serious harm to her but merely made her woozy for an afternoon (if that). As of the season five Finale, she has also unified her earrings with her partner's ring: a scenario that in earlier seasons seemed to imply great risk: yet she was able to use the powers flawlessly.

As Ladybug, she is also the lone hero who has unlocked any new advanced powers with her Miraculous (unless you also include the arbitrary "adulthood" that she and Chat Noir achieved that allows them multiple uses of their Miraculous before detransforming), and on the occasions when she's used anyone else's powers has shown no sign of being any less capable than they are with them.

Ladybug does everything as well if not better than everyone else.

Marinette can not only unify with any Miraculous she needs for a given mission, she can use the powers as effectively as their "dedicated holder" can and without any restrictions. Unlike the majority of the cast who are still under the child-power limit. She can even unify with multiple miraculous at the same time without any drawbacks.

And without those drawbacks, without anyone on the cast being able to use the power of their Miraculous more effectively than Marinette: everyone else on the team is more or less superfluous.

Sure, Marinette has tossed out the Miraculous to her team like candy now. But when you get down to it: the real lesson that she should have learnt from Strikeback to just put some damn security on her Yo-yo/The Box. Because this just means that she has to wait for the hero in question to show up when she could have just pulled off whatever plan she has in mind herself.

And that superfluous label includes Chat Noir.

As frustrating as it is to come to the this conclusion: as of right now, there's no real reason for Adrien Agreste to be anything but a temporary holder. Certainly you can point to his experience with Plagg's power, and a few examples that seem to imply he can do more with it (in his second outing he was able to reconstruct part of the Eiffel Tower into a makeshift extension to catch someone from). Things that imply that if he perhaps received any actual training in the show like Marinette did from Fu, any guidance whatsoever from the Order or their Grimoire he might be able to achieve more.

But there's no solid evidence to expect that Marinette wouldn't be as effective, and the narrative precedent does not lend itself to the idea that anyone could overshadow Ladybug as a holder even of their own Miraculous. If anything, the sheer ability Marinette showed as Bug Noire implies that her having a partner instead of just keeping the ring herself is a detriment to any given situation.

If you can justify exposing the ring to potential capture in the first place considering that there seems to be no requirement to do. By all rights the practical thing to do is just keeping Plagg in the box instead of risking reality.

Of course we wanted to be generous, Adrien could still be of some use. He's the resident meatshield and narrative jobber. So long as he has a Miraculous he could continue faithfully serving in those roles, eating up mind-control beams and taking hits for Bug Noire so she can save the day as usual.

But everyone else on the Miraculous team might as well turn in their furry super-suits and go home.

-

You couldn't get a more black and white depiction of the value of others outside of the protagonist. in Avatar, Aang is literally a semi-divine being who still needs to be humble and learn while the others around him still have useful special talents and prowess that he can't simply attain at will.

While in Miraculous, there's only one person of actual true competence. From Paris to Shanghai, Marinette alone is the capable one- barring the odd episode in the limelight (Alya and Felix stand up and take a bow. Adrien can stay seated).

There is a word for a character that is impossibly more capable than any other in spite of all reason and logic. And Marinette is increasingly fitting that mold as the show goes on. There's also a term for characters that ultimately contribute nothing good or bad to a story; wasted space. You can't have an entire ensemble of characters as part of the cast and have them provide nothing if they're supposed to have even a smidge of narrative value without making them something the story would be better off without.

Just as you can't just have one person at the centre of everything, make them capable of everything and not eventually have the story they're in turn into (at best) a power fantasy.

And it's a shame. Because Miraculous seemed like it could have been a lot more.

[imagine-knowing-a-name]

i was once like you are now

»»————-　★　————-««

Word Count: 815 Pairing: Natasha Romanoff & Reader Warnings: Angst, injuries A/N: idk, this could be utter trash but I just wanted to write and post something again. Even if it's this short fic written in one go at 1am and then never reread, so read at your own risk lol.

»»————-　★　————-««

For so many years, it had just been you and Natasha. Sure, you both had other groups and other friends and lives of your own, but when it came down to it, it would always be just you and her. It was you and her who met on the first day of SHIELD academy, you and her who partnered for every training exercise and sparred together out of hours, and it was you and her who graduated together, taking your roles as official SHIELD agents, together. 

After leaving the dorms of the academy, the two of you moved in together -- a matter of convenience since you shared the same office. You accompanied each other on missions, becoming a formidable pair with your uncanny ability to work in sync as partners, often seeming to predict what the other would do before they'd even decided themselves. 

Truly, the only thing you didn't do together, was teaching. Natasha had one cohort, you had the other, and, with every class taught, the rivalry became more infamous throughout SHIELD. Scoreboards were set up, tallies were kept, and even graduated recruits maintained their allegiance to their academy teacher: one side or the other, as you and Natasha used your students to engage in friendly (but ruthless) competition with each other.

The history between the two of you was undeniable, and to just say that you 'had history' would be putting it too lightly. After all, that history had transcended your friendship and become engrained in the SHIELD values for the last few years' cohorts. It seemed infallible, unstoppable, everlasting.

You suppose that's why it hit so hard when it all came crashing down. And what a crash it was. 

A partnership so long, severed in the same amount of time it took for your spine to snap. 

Now here you were, in an empty apartment across the world from the newest Avenger. Clint will teach the new academy cohort; his group will rival Natasha's. She will continue with her life: a life of missions, secrecy, and public image, all simultaneously. She was picked for the Avengers, to protect the world, and you know that she'll do her job well, like she always does and always has.

You, meanwhile, will never walk again -- a phrase the medics said with such certainty that it left no room for hope -- you will never fight again, run again, spy again. You will never work for SHIELD again. 

The organisation provided for you, as 'a thank you for your service', but mostly because you were injured whilst working for them. They paid for your flight to New Zealand, for the house you now live in, and for the transport of your belongings from yours and Natasha's house to here.

You had to get away… as far from SHIELD, as far from the Avengers, as far from her as possible. Reasons for them to be here were few and far between, there would be no random drop-ins and check-ups unless the world was ending in the South Pacific Ocean. Finally, you could relax, drop the facade, and feel the emotions you'd refused to feel since it happened. 

You screamed, you cried, and you punched the wall hard enough to give yourself another injury -- one which hurt far less though than any of the others you currently nursed, physically or mentally.

Leaving SHIELD, getting injured... they'd never been in your plan, they weren't your choices, but the move was. Leaving Natasha was your choice. It had been your choice but that doesn't mean you can't miss her, because months later you still do. 

You miss the camaraderie, the inside jokes from shared experiences and shared life; the competition that was always more serious between the students than it ever was for you and Natasha, who at the end of the day anyways returned home together. You miss your life before, but you know you can never return. 

You don't miss the time after the injury; when you were told that full recovery wouldn't be possible and that your career was over. You don't miss when Natasha, who promised to take care of you, was suddenly forced into endless press to 'maintain a positive image' for the newly formed Avengers, lest she lose her job too. And, most of all, you don't miss the dreadful pit in your stomach from when you had asked Nat, your friend, the person you had spent years of your life doing everything with, about her day. She hadn't said anything, but the tears in her eyes had said enough. Because you weren't partner SHIELD agents anymore. She would still do it all, but you were now nothing more than a civilian. She didn't say anything because she couldn't. 

You used to do everything with her, now even the knowledge is classified. Knowing her is above your clearance, so you had to go away.

»»————-　★　————-««

General Taglist: @canvascoloredin @fxckmiup @wizardofstories

[sulky-cabbage]

I once made a not so serious post about a possible parallelism between Megumi and Sukuna.

And....

Sorry but how do you keep Megumi trapped inside Sukuna and when Yuji reaches the depths Megumi starts saying this stuff

right after the chapter where Yuji was trying to reach Sukuna and show him the beauty of life without me thinking that what Megumi's saying is a hint to Sukuna's true buried (human?) feelings and maybe what he could never have?? (Or maybe not and he's just the antithesis of Megumi which is another form of parallelism)

Megumi's soul is trapped inside a curse!!!

let me rephrase that...

A "Blessing" is drowned inside the king of curses!!

A "Blessing" that he tried so hard to suppress by killing his love one(s)

This is the exact type of symbolism that sticks in my brain and I just can't ignore it.

Maybe it's a reach but I just can't brush it off!!

Yuji tried to save them both!!

Keep in mind the Ksitigarbha is also a guardian of children and a patron deity of deceased children and aborted fetuses.

Gege did repeat the scene where Satoru meets child Megumi but with Yuji this time!!

Satoru was trying to save Megumi and reach Sukuna but he failed. (Seems like Yuta's method of becoming Satoru also failed)

I didn't take the Yuji being Satoru's parallel seriously before but I think there's some merit to it now.. (especially after that panel of him with child Megumi, Really Gege?)

Yuta was also a gojo parallel (he literally became gojo) and his character was connected to the theme of love as well. (There is also that whole Rika= Geto thing)

Maybe Gege is showing us two types of students? the one that imitates his teacher, and the other one that does it in his own way and actually succeeds??

Reminds me of these images lol

It makes sense that Yuta is the one to carry Satoru's will and kill Kenjaku (a major villain) and maybe even get to bury geto's body and Satoru's body... maybe next to each other?👀

I imagine Shoko will be there too at the burial...

On the other hand we have Yuji dealing with the main villain (the other thing that Satoru wanted to do and failed)..

I can see Yuji having the ability to see the afterlife of others like Sukuna and Maybe he will guide Sukuna and Gojo (and the others?) to go North?

Honestly this correlation between Megumi and Sukuna is interesting I don't know what it is exactly but...

The fact that we found out that Gege planned for Sukuna to possess Megumi from the start but he was told to change it!!??

AND The cursed womb arc (which I think is the heart of the manga) where Sukuna rips Yuji's heart out and says he can live without it but the brat can't..

(Which was a very cool and symbolic way to subtly tell us the difference in their ideals)

I don't know if it still has the double meaning in Japanese... it probably does

The shibuya stuff and everything was to get gojo out of the story so Sukuna can possess Megumi (which is what Gege wanted all along) so he can repeat what happened in the cursed womb arc again but in reverse.

Also..... there's a possible parallel between Megumi killing Tsumiki and Sukuna killing Gojo?????

Gege gave Megumi a sister that's important to him (and literally does nothing with her) makes me think she was made only so she can get killed by Megumi's hands, but not before making her possessed by a woman who's obsessed with teaching Sukuna about love. (Right before his fight with Gojo mind you) and then connecting this love thing with his fight with gojo (possibly Sukuna's important person?) Bringing up yorozu's words again and again and again during the fight!!

He killed gojo while in Megumi's Body!! (He didn't need to do that!! Don't you find it suspicious that right after killing gojo he turns into his true form??????)

He only gets into his true form when he starts fighting Kashimo (who's kinda Satoru's true form in a way) and he uses the weapon Yorozu gave him on Kashimo!!

And then more talk about love ensued !!!!

And love was never brought up again!!

Honestly this whole thing is diabolical I don't know how Gaygay managed to cook this hard !!

I still have no idea how this is gonna end though.. is Sukuna really just evil? Will we ever get his backstory? Will Yuji be able to actually reach him and make Satoru proud?

[athanasius-symposium-of-writings]

-"ah shit here we go again" gif here-

vampire spawn!tav x Astarion

Rated: M

Warnings: vampirism, manipulation, oral (male receiving), corruption kink

Vampires do not know love, vampires only know possession and control. It is in their nature to dominate, to consume, and to kill. Love was taken from these creatures the moment they unnaturally obtained immortality. Immorality follows as one with supernatural power and charms starts to care less about the consequences, they become selfish creatures.

Yet, you are by far the most infuriating kind of vampire he has ever met. When he saw you attempt to feed (before you found out he is a vampire), you were trembling as you held a mouse in your hands. Fangs not even completely bared and tears in those pretty eyes, you released the mouse and sat outside of camp with only the moon as your companion.

It infuriates him because you are fighting against your nature, fighting a battle you will only lose over and over again. Better to embrace reality than pretend to live in a world where everything can be solved by the Gods and love.

Yet… It becomes part of the reason why he wants you.

Maybe he wants to see how long you can keep this up. Maybe he wants to corrupt you himself— The latter being far more fun.

But alas, he cannot have you completely to himself when there are others around.

Everyone seems to have their clingy paws on you like dogs to their master— Like that damn white dog you found. Astarion much prefers the owlbear, as it can bring back some offerings or whatever. At first, he thought this was part of some plan: make everyone trust you, feed on them, maybe kill a few of them at some point. Of course, maybe you adjusted the plan once it is found out that the journey requires everyone in order to reach the source of these tadpoles.

No, turns out you genuinely want friends— Which is weird and is going against his own plan. Yes, he is using you— You should know better as a vampire to trust another vampire. Charming and teasing his way with sweet words into your thoughts, a mentor-like way of teaching you vampirism, and the physical touches of a man so gentle he has more than once left you flustered.

He nearly has you wrapped around his finger.

But alas, you are not alone.

Shadowheart though does not outright say it, her mannerisms are protective of you. Karlach even more so and outright says it. Wyll is… Too textbook gentleman and heroic. Lae'zel had straight out said she wants a taste of you; both respect and lusting for you, while remaining as friendly as her kind can be. Gale, a friend and teacher as you start to hone your arcane talents.

All of them with their paws out eager for you; none have your attention like he does.

The vampire spawn may not be able to isolate you but he can draw you in. Like a butterfly in a spider's web.

Astarion knows this, he knows how to hook you in and reel you close to his side. It is his very nature to be seductive; to whisper sweet nothings, to make empty promises, to drain everything given to him dry.

"Please," You say between quickening breaths, "Show me." Above him with his blood on your lips, claws (trimmed down to be a normal shape) digging into his chest. Desperate. You want so bad it is drawing out that beast within.

Where he wants to devour, taint you, utterly ruin you—And he is.

Your first, that one piece of yourself that your master did not claim, is given to Astarion. Though he clearly is a charlatan who will use you, he also is the only one who understands the need: trading one hunger for another. Curiosity and a way to free you from something that can be stolen by your master.

Through him, you find freedom; unaware you are binding yourself to a creature who only knows deception, possession, and control.

You touch his chest, exploring the flesh of a vampire and a lover. Maybe a lover, you will not assume he truly loves you but you trust him enough with this. With the only thing your master never stole from you during your captivity.

"Relax, my sweet," His hands seem bigger than yours, his fingers have calluses yet his hands are soft, graceful. You take a deep breath and resume mapping out a body that is not yours— Hells, you don't know your own body like how you want to know his. Pale, cold, and yours to touch.

"There just like that." Purring out his praise as you gain the boldness to kiss his chest, he smirks at the way your eyes light up when he moans when you bravely take a chance to bite his skin. "Lower." You nod as you kiss your way down between his open legs, hands trembling then feel his hands touch and guide them to slip off his trousers and undergarment. "Slowly, no need to rush."

The eagerness is definitely there and your mouth is warm, there is such a charm to how you try to mimic what a few novels barely grasp.

The raw unadulterated lust.

Those red eyes gazing up at him, mouth leaving his cock for the moment as he sits up to show you how to stroke his cock. You listen, you copy, then you try different paces and your mouth once again. 

"With how excited you are to let me in your mouth, I wonder how long you wanted to try this." Amused by your inexperienced desire, "Use your tongue," His hand petting your hair, "Up and down." Moaning with clear delight and approval.

His hand weights your head down signaling for you to go further down, and see how much you can fit before choking.

Of course, not a lot but you try anyway even though you had to pull away to stop from choking. Didn't stop you from stroking his cock or trying again.

"Good pet." Oh, you hummed around his cock at such a small praise. "Do you like being called my pet?" You don't need to answer, you know by that grin on his face he already knows. "My pet, I am going to fuck your mouth now." Playing with your hair before gripping it in a firm vice.

You try to relax your throat like he advised before this, easier said than done.

[letsgetrowdy43]

Meet the cast—

Au Masterlist!!

Yvette “Eve” Liu—

She was born in upstate New York, her father a lawyer and her mother an Educational Assistant, her two younger siblings were born years later in Michigan when they moved to Plymouth when their father was offered a senior partnership at a law firm.

She tutored a bunch of the usntdp boys in their junior and senior years, and that's how she found her Jack

Jack was very different from the other boys she put up with, he had a politeness that made her swoon. He never interrupted her, always paid attention, and always followed his sessions with a quiet thank you which had her in a puddle every time he left the library.

There was never a session where she hadn't shown up home after with big heart eyes.

Eve was always very school-oriented throughout her life, loved education, and loved furthering her understanding of the world, so naturally, she chose education as her career path

She goes on to study education at Rutgers and becomes a high school history and English teacher by 22 (started her teaching practicum at age 20, so technically she was teaching at 20h

Her and Jack ending up in the same city was a coincidence; her cousins who lived in New York were also going to Rutgers for their degrees, and she wanted to be close to her family, so she followed them. Jack just happened to get drafted there just a few months before her freshman year began

She had a cat in college, but she had to give it to one of her college friends when she moved into her apartment because Jack was allergic to it, her name was Penelope

Eve and Nico are also very close, Jack's real wife and his work wife are best friends and always team up against him, he gets either very upset at their kicking or very jealous that is wives love each other more than they love him

She owned a little box of every little thing Jack had ever given in her room, and he never found out till they moved in together in her senior year of college

She named their daughter, an ode to one of the more influential women in her life, her grandmother, and that's how they ended up with little Mei Hughes.

Mei and Jack are her entire life, and it's as simple as that.

Jack Hughes—

Jack was pretty sure Eve hated him their first few history tutoring sessions together, he could barely string sentences together, his palms were soaked, and he was a ball of nerves because she was just so pretty.

He was so blind to the fact that she was equally just as into him as he was to her. He accidentally misunderstood her asking him to homecoming in their junior year as her asking them to go as friends so when he picked her up she was expecting a cute little corsage and to maybe take some photos and instead, he showed up at her doorstep with Trevor and Alex.

Jack would never live that moment down for the rest of his life, but he definitely made it up to her a year later when he asked her out, as not-friends.

She definitely fell first but he fell harder.

Jack cried so many tears when he found out they were both gonna be in Jersey and really relied on her during his rookie year

While he was in Michigan during the 2023 season he bribed Luke with free liquor to drive up to Detroit and pick him up so he could stop at Eve's parent's house to ask for permission to marry her.

They are only engaged and plan to have a long engagement, but Jack refers to her as his wife to literally everyone

Jack is literally a wife guy, whatever his wife says goes, and everyone chirps him cause he's literally Eve's bitch, but he follows her blindly and with heart eyes and does not give a fuck what anyone says.

Jack is the girl dad at heart, and that's all im going to say cause I know you all completely understand what I mean.

Mei Jean Hughes—

Born January 8th, 2024 in New Wark NJ

Very chubby giggly baby with a head of perfect little curls

Jack asked Quinn to be her godfather during the second Hughes vs Hughes game, just days before Eve was induced. Quinn cried, but if you ask him he’ll say something was in his eye

Mei is Daddies girl for sure, she is obsessed with Jack, hates when he's on roadies and needs to talk on the phone with him before bed

Mei hates Trevor, she loves Cole and Alex, but Trevor is like enemy #1

Has Luke wrapped around her chubby little finger, he is literally Eve and Jack’s saving grace, the best babysitter ever

Mei goes through a tiara phase when she’s older

-

-

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If you have any thoughts or questions please leave them in my inbox!!!

[breyito]

@zukaangweek

Day 4: Free Day

Everything is Lost AU

After weeks of building trust, feeding him and nursing his always present wounds from interrogation, Zuko begins to care really deeply for this slightly older boy; so powerful and yet so helpless. The almost man that greets him with a smile, even when he'd bleeding. Who is funny, and kind and treats him with soft touches and lovely words.

At the same time, the reality of the world, and how the people outside the Palace are affected by the war becomes more and more clear. It is not something he can ignore any longer.

Zuko is a Prince, he has a duty. And he loves his family.

He just also loves Aang.

After weeks trapped in this newest version of hell, Aang takes every bit of kindness he can get. Zuko is shy, stubborn, and beautifully gentle. He's starving for affection and quick to return it. So soft, with that core of steel. He's also the nephew of his sworn enemy, a favourite of the Main Royal Family. He is allowed things few others would even consider...and Aang needs that.

He grows to love Zuko. He wants to protect him from his father's cruelty and his sister's machinations and build a future together.

Aang just has to save the world first.

The first thing Zuko does to defy his family is teaching Aang how to reach his inner flame, to keep warm as the nights grow colder. Then, he gets the keys to free him from the chain on the walls while he's visiting, so Aang can keep training. He comforts the Monk when things get too difficult, feeds him when it's necessary.

He helps plan out and execute an escape for him and his friends on the Day of the Black Sun. He even manages to find him an earthbending teacher to go with them, the best in the world (who just happens to be his betrothed).

But things get difficult when they are spotted getting Appa, and Zuko stalls by fighting the guards. They manage to get on the Sky Bison and are taking off when arrows come flying. They hit Zuko.

He lets go and falls.

The red ones are Zuko's, the orange ones Aang's.

This AU won't leave me alone, I swear. And we're not even at the middle!

A couple of interesting things, just because I want to dive into them later:

-Ozai is a spy. He wants the throne so very badly he's working with King Bumi to "stop" the Fire Nation.

-Omashu is the last stronghold of the Earth Kingdom because King Bumi managed to create metalbending and reinforced everything in the city. (There's also an academy, so the weapongry doesn't work that well.)

-Ozai punishes Zuko in the same way as cannon. Iroh is furious because he did it without permission. He kicks Ozai out of the Royal Family and line of sucession and orders his arrest (Ozai manages to escape.)

-Zuko, for weeks, gives Katara more water than she ought to have, and walks her through waterbending scrolls that he found in the library (those end up packed with their supplies).

-Toph is Zuko's betrothed cause the Beigfons are not stupid. Lu Ten chose her for him, since they are both so shy and calm and quiet.

-Sokka gets assigned to the stables, since he's the only one Appa lets near (they don't kill Appa simply to avoid an Avatar State).

Feel free to ask me more! Right now those are the Main things.

[aethon-recs]

So I saw that someone requested Professor Tom but what about Professor Harry? Shouldn't we give him some love to😏😉

Thanks for the ask! I also love the Professor Potter trope. I think Harry would have made a great Hogwarts instructor, whether for Defense or Quidditch coach or even Muggle Studies.

See below for a list of some favorite Tomarrymort fics featuring Professor Potter, arranged by alphabetical order. Here is a link to my previous rec list of Professor Riddle fics.

*

Professor Potter Tomarrymort Recs

Altered Course by @crowcrowcrowthing (T, 12k, complete)

Tom Riddle has a problem. He has so many plans, so many things to learn and accomplish during his time at Hogwarts, but one professor—one charming, talented, maddeningly handsome professor—is determined to get in his way. 

Being seen & being known by Baryshnikov (M, 2k, complete)

Harry had no intentions of being seduced by his student; Tom had every intention of seducing his professor.

Costumes (part 1) / Gowns (part 2) by @neurowriter14 (E, 7k, complete)

Tom has been absolutely and utterly obsessed with his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor since his first year.

Invisible Man by RenderedReversed (T, 10k, complete)

Harry doesn’t need the Invisibility Cloak to be invisible. With an unblemished forehead, he fades into the background—utterly ordinary. Voldemort begs to differ.

I'll Eat Your Heart Out, Sir by @katsitting (E, 18k, complete)

“You smell divine, Professor,” Harry heard Riddle growl, his eyes fluttering open to stare intensely into Harry’s own, breath fanning across Harry’s lips. And then Harry recalled just what the potion was meant to do.

Life tempts, but she is ever sweeter by SpitFire97 (E, 17k, WIP)

Harry Evans, their newly annointed Defense of the Dark Arts Teacher, gets under Tom's skin like no others. It is bitter-sweet, when she learns that she does, too. Quite literally.

Muggle Studies is Economics in Disguise by May_May_0_0 (M, 12k, complete)

Dumbledore acquiesces when Tom Riddle asks for the defense post. Harry stumbles into this AU version of Hogwarts hoping to teach defense. But there is only teaching one spot available: Muggle Studies. Chaos ensues as Muggle Studies becomes everyone’s favorite class. Tom Riddle is enraged, concerned, and… turned on?

My Beloved, My Only by @neurowriter14 (E, 3k, complete)

After a few months, Harry and Tom are professors at Hogwarts. Harry sneaks down to Tom's rooms in the dungeons and soon finds herself there for the night.

Seduction by any other name by Baryshnikov (M, 6k, WIP)

Tom might finally have met his match—his professor.

the eternal flame by @duplicitywrites (E, 25k, WIP)

There’s a well-dressed older man who enters the orphanage asking after Tom Riddle. “My name is Harry Gaunt,” the man says, the tenor of his voice soft and faltering, a reflection of Tom's deepest, most secret anxieties, “and I’m here to adopt you.”

To Sir, with Love by ShizukaU1 (M, 2k, complete)

Tom is devoted to the Greater Good. And what is greater than the goodness of being bed by Professor Potter himself?

Under the Mistletoe by Anonymous (T, 1k, complete) 

When the entirety of the Hogwarts populace just wants the oblivious Professors to kiss and get it over with, Scorpius, Albus, Rose, and Molly decide to take matters into their own hands.

you alone of all creatures by @duplicitywrites (E, 3k, complete)

There is no place for us in the light, where my robes bear a Prefect’s badge and you are addressed as ‘sir’, and so I have been cornering you, for weeks now, in darkened corridors and dusty, abandoned classrooms.

*

[faithrainee]

It hurts me so bad to think about Peter B Parker's story. This man lost his parents either at a young age or at an age he could somewhat remember them. Which in itself is traumatic, and painful, and changes a person for the rest of their life. How many birthdays did he go without having his parents with him? How many school events did he have no parent to take with him? "Take your dad to school day" isn't the same when your uncle, who you do love dearly, is the only masculine figure you can take to school. I can't imagine the looks, the conversations with teachers, the, "Is that your grandpa, bud?" questions that he probably was asked for years.

Then he loses his uncle. In ATSV we see its probably a sudden thing. Probably an accident or a crime being committed against him. Something along those lines. No one deserves that. How painful must it be to say you're the man of the house, the only man in the house, at 14, 15, 16+ years of age?

He becomes Spiderman. Its probably amazing, probably freeing and thrilling and- it's probably traumatic, let's be honest here. This is New York, I can only imagine the crimes he witnesses very young, if he got bit young like Miles. But even if he got bit as an older teen like some of the other spidermen, its still trauma. Getting hurt, seeing people die, being practically in charge of saving people. It takes a toll on you.

And then his aunt dies. And in ITSV his reaction to Aunt May's house hurts. He didn't want to even ring the doorbell. Why would he? She's gone. He doesn't want to see his dead aunt now alive, its not even his aunt. It's an interesting parallel to Miles seeing living Uncle Aaron. Miles hugs him and is shocked, rightfully so, but Peter doesn't react that way and its interesting to me.

And Peter has no one. He's actually alone. Besides MJ, and for a while I'm sure its okay. Until they divorce. He seems terrified of settling down, of having kids, of having people to take care of. Because realize, he had so many people that he likely feels he failed. They're gone because he couldn't save them. Why would he want kids? Why would he want to risk losing them? I saw someone post about how in ATSV Peter keeps Mayday close to him even in fights because he doesn't want to lose her. And I agree.

Peter is a clingy person, we see it with Miles. At the beginning of ITSV, Peter wants nothing to do with Miles, he wants to get back home and sulk and cry and be comfortable in his sadness.

And sure, comfort is nice, but he realizes caring for others feels so good. Loving others feels amazing. Being loved feels so warm. Being proud of others, being supported by others, being wanted and needed by others is the best feeling. It's uncomfortable, being so loved because he's afraid of losing it all. And after seeing Miguel lose his daughter, its likely worse. And after Miles feels betrayed by him for not visiting, for giving away his location, for planning not to tell him about his father's death, it's likely more worse.

He does not want to lose people again. He's happy and flippant and jokes around so much its funny on screen, but goddamnit is this man so full of hurt. He loves people so much, you can see it on screen. The way he teaches Miles in ITSV. The way he touches the people he loves, hugging Gwen and Miles close to show them pictures of his baby, holding Mayday close when he's feeling vulnerable, patting Miguel's shoulder to get him to loosen up, standing close to Miles trying to talk him down- he loves people and he loves them so big and he's just so scared to lose them.

[ruthlesslistener]

wait lurien has cut dialogue??? i am. very curius

anon: Lurien has a cut monologue? I tried to find the dreamer's cut dialogue a while back and barely got a couple of extra lines for Lurien in comparison to monomon who had a paragraph. Also PK offered to sire hornet??? Please tell me where I can find this I'm desperate for more info on the dreamers

...

Well, Lurien doesn't have too much cut dialogue, but here it is: I found it in the cut content section of the Hollow Knight fandom wiki, which requires a lot of dropdown clicks in order to actually get to it

And a transcript, bc this image is fuzzy:

"For this city and for King beloved, I become bond upon the Vessel."

"That black choice made, but not by me. Our King claimed that burden. My lot is easier, only to sleep and to serve."

"My city. Do you sustain without me? Do you thrive? I would see your streets again..."

"Our King appears as bug, and I shall take him as so. But his are traits that transcend our kind. His is a mind beyond ours. Deity given form. In sleep, I shall not look upon his like again."

"Remember our promise, sister! We three vowed to protect the seal with all of our devotion."

"Remember our bond... our sacrifice. For the kingdom’s sake... for the one we must protect."

He's not very verbose, but it's more so than Herrah's dialogue, which is as follows:

Transcript:

"For my daughter and my kind, I become bond upon the Vessel."

"Wyrm, your attempt may prove futile, but your offer I could not refuse."

"My child...For you, I would give it all."

"For her, I would give it all."

And here's Monomon's. I'm not even gonna bother with a screenshot lol, she rambles too much to get it all in one piece

Transcript:

"For diversity. For variance. For evolution. I become bond upon the Vessel."

"We sealed that plague, and thought we’d found an answer, but we were wrong. Our sacrifices... what did they win us? A world sealed in stasis."

"Only one path I see. The Seals must break. Will it bring destruction? Of course. It will bring change, too. Let it. To live forever in an unchanging world... Death, I would fear less."

"Will it bring destruction? Of course. It will bring change, too. Let it. To live forever in an unchanging world... that is the only death I fear."

"To sleep eternal, what difference from death?"

"Open your minds, brother and sister. Our vow was to protect...but do we? The Vessel weakens."

"My mind is seal upon that tragic being. But who shall teach them now? Who shall open their minds, where I cannot?"

"So... we found each other after all. Can you see me, here in this forgotten dream? I can see only light."

"Our sacred Hallownest... It was so old. An eternal, undying kingdom... unchanging. They called me 'Teacher', but what did I have left to teach? What did I have left to learn?"

"When the light came, we feared it. Of course we did! So we fought to keep things as they were. Our sacrifices... what did they win us? Simply another kind of stasis."

"We fought against you, too. Struggling against our fate. The light we caged away... it is alive, and we are not. Is that what draws you to it?"

I'm sure that the cut dialogue for Lurien is exactly the same as what you found when you encountered Monomon's, anon, but it does offer us a lot more insight into his character, showing us that he was extremely protective of the City of Tears, that he considered the Vessel plan to be a dark necessity that weighed on PK, and that he was one of the few bugs who actually met PK in the flesh and knew the truth of his nature. That paints a picture of someone who was at the very core of Hallownest's workings, alongside Monomon, who we know had a hand (tentacle?) in knowing the details about the vessel plan- something that fits with the formal 'sister/brother' titles used by them both, even though Monomon also extends that courtesy to Herrah (who seems indifferent to the other two, lmao).

There's also a developer note relating to Lurien that describes his potential character as 'more detatched than the other Dreamers' and 'taciturn':

Transcript:

More detached than the other dreamers? Maybe ponders how the Hollow Knight (vessel) feels after all this time. Would he make the same choice again? First few dialogues are very taciturn.

Which is something that I think comes across far better in his cut dialogue than just...cutting it out altogether. I get that they wanted him to be detached and mysterious, but what we have in-game is bread crumbs and a floating umbrella rather than a cohesive character, as evidenced by all the shitty fucking takes out there painting him as a 'simp', a 'bootlicker', and a 'creep', none of which really fit the concept of a mysterious, protective bug with ethical concerns about what his god-king was getting up to

[charmixpower]

Okay, so Selina the earth fairy as an antagonist

S6 did this by, for some insane reason, by making Selina Bloom's childhood friend who's always had magic which doesn't work on literally every level. So I'm going to try and come up with some ideas that make parts of it work

Selina the earth fairy that was taught by Eldora:

Tbh this is the easiest option

Selina is an earth fairy from the old days along with Eldora. During the WotBC attempted wiping out of all magic users they fled to Tir Na Nog and live under Morgana and Nebula

The Legendarum is a book created by ancient Faries that Selina's family has been in charge of caring for for generations

When the fairies of vengeance are released Selina is soooo excited to help kill the Wizards and the Winx, and their leader Bloom take their revenge away from them by complaining that they shouldn't be allowed to kill the people that tried to WIPE THEM OUT

Selina is pissed, and her teacher Eldora, the woman that saved her life, going on about how forgiveness is the way isn't helping

Season 5 teaches her about the rest of the magical dimension, season 5 teaches her about the Trix

The Trix are blinded by their desire for revenge and make the perfect pawns. They don't care what they lose as long as the winx don't win

And Selina assures them, the Winx will not win

Selina the earth fairy that was Bloom's friend:

This one is a very elegant solution me thinks and it's the FUN one.

Selina and Bloom are childhood friends and the main targets for Mitzi's bullying. Bloom has kind parents, Selina does not, and for eight hours a day they have to listen to people talk badly about them. Mitzi never puts hands on them but they're social pariah's and deal with constant verbal harassment and false accusations

First year of highschool is more of the same and Selina is prepared for it to be them against the world again in their second year, and then Bloom never comes to class

Selina is alone to deal with the bullying she at least had a confidant in Bloom to at least tolerate it with, and now she's alone

Mitzi tells everyone that Bloom was sent to a school that caters to the mentally ill to finally convince the 16 year old that fairies aren't real, and Selina makes things worse for herself by defending Bloom

They text each other, not often and Bloom won't tell her what new school she's going to but they still text. Selina comes over when Bloom goes back to earth (and goes home before the Trix show up)

And then the next year Bloom goes to Mitzi's Halloween party with her new, cool, pretty, friends. Bloom excitedly tells her about it, she's finally going to make Mitzi the butt of the joke and all Selina can think is that she's been replaced

That's not fair though? Bloom is allowed to be happy at her new school so she bites her tongue and pushes down her resentment and rejects Bloom's offer to come with

Next year is...fine. Bloom comes to her graduation party, and she's a bit mopey that she didn't graduate with honors like her new friends but is over all more excited to hear about Selina's college plans. Bloom goes on a trip in the middle of summer and comes back glowing because "the mistake in my grades was fixed and now I have honors!" And it sounds like a lie but Selina doesn't bother calling her out on it. I mean? What if she's telling the truth

Then season 4 happens, and then it's revealed that Bloom is a fairy

Not only did Bloom replace her with better, prettier friends, but she also lied to Selina about being a fairy. Lied to her face about everything related to magic because apparently Bloom never trusted her

And Selina burns with resentment

Selina stops responding to Bloom's texts and avoids her. Everyone asks Selina if she knew, if Bloom told her, who those aliens are, and all Selina has is half truths from the stories Bloom spun her to respond with

Seeing Mitzi become a fairy, unaware of the dead magic that run though her, unaware that the power Mitzi was given comes with a price no one should have to pay, Selina is furious. Incandescent

Magic returned to earth and Selina can float small objects. She's one of the few people that after the earth's magic core was repaired gained magic and she's on the bottom of the scale of power in a group categorized by how they're not as strong as those who can use magic without the core

Hatred fills her lungs like smoke

Season 5 Selina sticks to herself. Bloom usually isn't on earth like she was last year and this Diaspro chick who came from a different planet to help earth get caught up with the rest of the dimension is on the TV all the time talking about Bloom. Selina hates the fact that this woman who met Bloom though a knock-down drag-out fight knows Bloom better than Selina ever did

Did Bloom ever think of her as a real friend?

(Bloom couldn't take the one person that was her friend though all of that calling her a liar, she comes to regret this)

Eventually, while stumbling around the woods, far away from faces that could mock and lie to her she stumbles across a book. The Legendarum. It promises her power, Bloom's regret, importance. All she has to do is open it, anyone with magic can, her strength doesn't matter with the Legendarum doing the work for her

How could she ever refuse?

[maidragoste]

YES! READER TAKING RHAENA UNDER WING because, imagine, at Driftmark the king chooses to take as ward Rhaena who doesn't want that and wants her father to fight for her, but D doesn't do that, she only cares about Nyra so reader, fed up with them because she lost her sister, Daemon and Nyra may have fucked each other and so on..

"My king, allow me to come with Rhaena in King's landing, she can't be alone at court"

The king accepts it.

I believe reader will be a great teacher, telling Rhaena that her worth doesn't come from being a dragon, teaching her the ways at court and allowing her to visit Driftmark where Baela is.

Reader gathers allies and as soon her sons are born, it is obvious they are true Velaryons but reader wants Baela to inherit Driftmark, while her son inherits Harrendal.

And Rhaenys and Corlys are just supportive of her🥰

CAN YOU IMAGINE THE READER NAMING HER SON AFTER HER BROTHER BECAUSE DESPITE EVERYTHING SHE TILL LOVES HIM☹

Reader will definitely become Rhaena's teacher and also her second mother. Just like you said, she will teach her to live at court and that her worth does not come from a dragon. She will give her all the love and attention that Daemon didn't. I think of Reader going to do little Rhaena's hair every night before bed and listening to her with a smile tell Rhaena about her day.

"Why are you silent?" You were surprised to see the girl suddenly stop her story of how she managed to catch a butterfly with Helaena.

"You must be bored. Father was bored when I talked a lot" your heart aches for her.

"I'll never get bored of you, Rhaena" you kiss her head "your father is a fool who doesn't know how to appreciate good things"

🥺🥺🥺

Now I'm sorry to disappoint you but I don't think Reader would support Baela as heir to Driftmark. She loves her niece but she wants it for her son.

In Another Man we know that Reader is already pregnant. Spoiler alert: she's having twins. From the moment her children are born, she knows that one will be heir to Harrenhal and the other to Driftmark. She's going to fight for it, she has her own alliances and plans the marriage between Rhaena and her son to make the claim stronger.

Now about one of her children being called Laenor... I don't think it will happen. Reader still loves her brother and she reaches a point where she forgives him but I don't think her relationship will ever be the same as it was before Jacaerys was born.

If it's any consolation I can see that if Reader ever had a daughter she would name her after Laena 🥺🥺

[remy2fang]

The A.K.I. & F.A.N.G Thing in Street Fighter 6

Some people call it a ship. To me, I honestly don’t know what it is up to this day, so I just call it a dynamic. To me, ships have to be a two-way street, which A.K.I. and F.A.N.G’s relationship doesn’t have. A.K.I.’s infatuation for F.A.N.G is one-sided.

F.A.N.G is the father figure and A.K.I. is the adopted daughter. It is also the relationship between Master and Apprentice.

How did the most bizarre Street Fighter relationship started? I’ll explain based on what happened in Toxicity (which I read many times) and in AKI’s World Tour memory in SF6 (which I’ve played many times). I’ll try to keep this summary short and simple.

A.K.I. was a child living in the countryside and her parents work in the city. Her parents entrusted their relatives to take care of their child. A.K.I. didn’t get along with her relatives, so she ran away from them and head towards the city to find her parents. She eventually found them, but her parents didn’t make her feel at home. Eventually, A.K.I. became a street child and it is implied that the parents neglected her. This of course, would affected her psych. A.K.I. and other impoverished street children did all they can to survive, including stealing, mugging, and pickpocketing. And then A.K.I. and an older boy schemed a plan to blackmail child predators for money. First, let me get this out of the way. A.K.I. was never a child prostitute, nor was she ever trafficked. She only pretended to be one in order to have her accomplice record enough footage to blackmail her potential victims, frame them as pedophiles, report them to authorities, and scam money out of them. She didn’t have to do any physical contact with anyone. Nevertheless, she and her partner did this scheme because they need to survive their poverty stricken state. The plan failed when they tried it on F.A.N.G because the country’s database does not have his identity file. Plus, he’s not a creep and is not interested in that stuff. Nevertheless, he thought the plan was clever from both children.

Right after the scam didn’t work, A.K.I. actually became obsessed with F.A.N.G, at least that’s what she said from her World Tour memories for in-game SF6. What she saw was a man shrouded in darkness and she wanted to learn everything about him. So that means her infatuation started before she was raised by FANG. Later on, she saw him more as a father figure (Japanese dialogue made it more obvious), but FANG forbade her from calling him as such because their line of work might have them fight to the death (this was also based from FANG’s own tragic past). So AKI opted to call him “teacher” in Chinese, which also could mean “husband.” Basically, AKI reverted back to her crush phase but also weirdly acknowledging FANG as an adopted father.

Despite her strong feelings towards FANG, AKI is highly intelligent and is aware that FANG will not love her back in that manner, and she accepts that. Just FANG praising her would make her happy, and it doesn’t have to go any further than that. FYI, FANG may seem uncaring, but the first time he met kid AKI, he was actually reminded of himself when he had to deal with poverty, but his childhood was far more violent. He took her in because he saw that she has a strength that’s potentially greater than his and she would become his successor.

Thats the sum of it.

It’s never officially explained how A.K.I. manages to see F.A.N.G both as father and “husband.” But with fan speculation, there’s a belief that AKI suffers from abandonment and neglect due to past experiences with her family, so she puts all of her love into FANG. She knew there’s a possibility that he would abandon her if she’s not deemed useful, which I find it ironic because FANG already invested years of his life training and teaching AKI to be his next successor. Also she hates everyone, except FANG. Although not officially stated, this could be due to FANG’s principles being passed down to AKI. Life as an assassin, it’s a liability to have emotional attachment towards anyone, including towards FANG, which he himself learned the hard way. AKI seems to take this to heart, except she still loves her Master. Not really sure why she broke that rule for him, but maybe because she already formed attachments for him before the training started. Also, FANG has done so much for AKI after all, considering she had nothing when living on the streets. It’s really no wonder she loves him despite being discouraged to. And…there were signs that even FANG broke his principles for AKI, even though he may be unaware of it. There’s another reason why AKI hates everyone , but this is probably more of a stretch. Her life on the streets had her learn that everyone must fend for themselves and that the world is uncaring. And perhaps even her partner in crime on the streets was also just as uncaring and selfish as everyone else. Again, that’s probably a stretch.

How do I feel about the FANG and AKI dynamic? Admittedly, it’s still a complicated thing for me, even though I love it very much. On one hand, I always want them to have a wholesome adoptive father and daughter relationship, and that was long before the SF6 roster leak from June 2022. On the other hand, AKI’s crush mirrors my feelings for FANG, as it does for those who feel the same way about him. I think AKI is cute and funny for that. Which is ironic, because from 2022 and before I swore to myself that I would block any content that would put FANG and AKI in a creepy old man preying on a young girl relationship. But one of my circle of friends pointed out that FANG and AKI are not blood related, so there’s no incest involved. I didn’t know how to respond to that because all of us weren’t sure how the AKI/FANG was going to be like canonically when the game wasn’t even out yet. But also, I was a Fujoshi and still am because I’d rather have FANG be shipped with Bison or some other male character lol. But the more I learn about the dynamic with a few hints here and there before AKI’s dlc release, I became somewhat more open minded about it. A lot of it has to do with AKI pursuing FANG rather than the other way around. Again, I truly relate to how AKI feels about FANG. And there were early cute official art where FANG wanted to run away from her, so he doesn’t reciprocate his feelings towards her. Even up to this day, Capcom keeps on pumping cute art of AKI fangirling over FANG. So at this point, I’m totally fine with this kind of gag relationship because it works. In fact, I actually one my favorite things. It’s super entertaining, funny, and oddly endearing. A.K.I.’s intense love is problematic, but F.A.N.G rejects her advances so the awkward situations would not go any further. More reason to love F.A.N.G. He may be one of the most vile and evil villains of Street Fighter, but the man is not a creep and he has standards. But also, this dynamic works because both F.A.N.G and A.K.I. are villains. They are allowed to have this weird relationship because they’re not a beacon of purity. It would be a totally different story if they’re good guys. It would be really icky if they’re good guys. At least in AKI and FANG’s case, no actual intimacy is involved, even though they’re villains. It’s all only in AKI’s head lol. As long as F.A.N.G does not reciprocate, then I’m fine with that. Also, A.K.I. understands boundaries when she’s in the presence of her master, so she has to behave lol.

Most of the fanart I’ve seen of AKI & FANG depicted them in a canonical sense with an extra dose of cutesy, so I’m glad most fans understand the funny one-sided love dynamic from A.K.I. Yes, there are people who love this relationship between these two characters because they think it’s cute and funny. Very seldom do I see creepy art of the two. Thankfully it wasn’t a lot. A reciprocating FANG? Im not gonna judge those who like it, but I’ll be honest that I am not into that lol. But of course, the best fanarts are just simple parent and child, which was something I actually hoped for years before AKI’s reveal. I love cute and wholesome things the most. Testasase is my favorite artist as she perfectly depicts this dynamic. Her art truly speaks to me: https://x.com/testasase?s=21&t=iEGeYIIN_aP028wRnoVcUQ

It’s understandable that people don’t like this dynamic, or just A.K.I.’s part in it, because it goes against their moral code. Just to be clear, even though the canonical AKI and FANG dynamic is my current most favorite thing now, that does NOT mean I’m OK with the incest or adoptive family having romantic/sexual relationships with each other, even if they’re fictional. I still convulse whenever I see these kinds of subject matter. I skipped scenes from “House of the Dragon” (good show btw) because they disturbed me. AKI & FANG works for me because of the reasons I mentioned above. Otherwise, that kind of stuff gives me negative reactions.

But I will admit, my love for the AKI and FANG dynamic stems from the thought that FANG will not be forgotten. I have been a F.A.N.G girl for years. I love him very much, but it really hurts every time I try to find good content of him online because I always have to see slander about him. It’s always “FANG is the worst. FANG will never come back. FANG will be forgotten. I’m glad the new waifu is gonna replace him.” If AKI is indeed a FANG replacement, then I don’t want her to stop obsessing over him. Her always talking about him and admiring him was what keeps FANG in everyone’s memories. If AKI were to lose that, at least bring FANG back as a playable character. I’d like to see both F.A.N.G and A.K.I. playable in the same game. But if AKI were to forget about him and F.A.N.G doesn’t come back playable, then Street Fighter will be over for me. SF6 AKI will be her best rendition for me if future iterations make her stop talking about him. I’m fine with AKI being romantically involved with someone else like Rashid, Juri, Chun-Li, or whoever as long as she still highly admires and loves FANG as a father figure (no romantic feelings towards him). I want her to keep on talking about him in a respectable manner. It’s funny for me that I say this, because FANG is in SF6 in World Tour mode and has been receiving steady updates with his story. And he’ll surely have more coming right up based on the unused audio files. But not everyone plays World Tour mode. Most people play Fighting Ground and Online Ranked, so of course there’s a lot of people who still think FANG is not in the game, nor do they understand his importance to the story in SF6. And that is why I’m happy AKI still talks about him even when she fights online. I can’t speak for other fans of this dynamic, but that’s how I feel about it.

I dare say, AKI represents how I feel. She is a character that is made for me (not intentionally). I love her design, I love her personality, I love her play style, I love her backstory, I love her quirks, I love her umbrella hair, and I love her obsession about FANG. Not everyone can say the last bit, but that’s why A.K.I. is indeed a character made for me and those who too embrace that aspect of her. Atgrbread, whose AKI art was selected for the New Challengers screen for SF6, really really love the AKI and FANG dynamic. She is truly a mega A.K.I. fan and her winning spot in the game is well deserved. But back to A.K.I.’s character: I didn’t think an in-game character would love FANG so much like how I and other fans irl would. I never wished for such a character like AKI to exist because I was just fine with the BisonFANG fanon ship in the past. But Capcom went on and created AKI that way. And she clicked with me perfectly. To me, it’s beautiful that I see a character that genuinely loves FANG in canon. I don’t want that aspect of AKI to be taken away. I didn’t know I needed it until AKI was released. This is perhaps the only canon dynamic that I like more than the fanon. It’s usually the other way around for me!

Seeing how A.K.I. is right now, her obsession for F.A.N.G isn’t going away anytime soon. What we see now based on her World Tour Story, Arcade Mode, fighting voice lines, and win quotes, this will be her character for the entirety of SF6 lifespan. I’ll enjoy whatever time I have with this. But as I said many times, I’d be fine with AKI only loving FANG as a father figure. That’s what I always wanted. She doesn’t need to have an infatuation for him. As long as A.K.I. loves F.A.N.G in a pure and wholesome sense, she will always be perfect.

If you read this far, thanks for sticking around.

For more info on Toxicity, you can read my other post here:

https://www.tumblr.com/remy2fang/752286862919581696/toxicity-was-a-future-sneak-peak-of-the-sf6-story

Also, earlier I didn’t mention about how AKI was interested in FANG’s poison dagger in Toxicity. In this story, which is written from FANG’s point of view, had kid AKI wanting to go with FANG because she believed the dagger holds the power to change her life for the better. Oddly enough during AKI’s World Tour story, she made no mention about the dagger. From her point of view, she describes the time when she first met FANG, and she was only very interested in learning everything about FANG. But nothing about the dagger, even though it was made to be a big deal in Toxicity. I’m not sure why Capcom changed that plot, but I have a feeling they’re saving the dagger for a future story update. And I believe only F.A.N.G can talk about it. Though, that’s just my conjecture…but many of my conjectures often come true…

[natsaffection]

Hello baby, are u good? i saw someone requestin “prof nat x student reader” and i LOVE IT. For real, pls do it.

BUT i also love prof nat x prof reader, could you pls do that too? Like they both teach diferent languages in the same school and nat is super rough and feared by the students, and r is the cool teacher everyone loves, so they keep flirting at work and its cute and funny??

I would really love to see that please my love 🫶

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A/n: Okay, so first of all, HELLOUUU IM SORRY FOR NOT POSTING ANYTHINGG 🏃🏻‍♀️ Second. I’m blushing, blushing and blushing. Too many “pet”names in this request, urgh 🫣🥸

Also, it was fun to write something in my first language, soo🌚 Have funnnn

warnings: a little anxious student, flirting, mention of oral

Word count: 1045

pairing: Teacher!Natasha x Teacher!Reader

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It was fifth period today and everything went according to plan. You were well on time and the students were doing perfectly as well. That's what convinced you to become a teacher. To give your knowledge to the next generation and do something good. 

You used to hate school, though. But later you found out that it was simply because of the teachers. What's the point of yelling at students and giving them bad grades if they have a bad day? After all, they are not machines, they are human beings...

And that's what brought you forward. You wanted to be a great role model to your students. A person to talk to when things went wrong in life. And they could do that with you. Your students were grateful that they had you in this particular subject. 

German. 

Many have the mindset that it is one of the most difficult languages in the world. For you, it was relatively okay to speak and especially to learn. You had good prospects.

It was near the end of class when you noticed a student of yours couldn't stop wiggling her legs under the table. You panicked that it was your stuff and saved for yourself to talk to the person about it at the end, and when the time came, you did,

"Hey Sarah, do you have a minute?" The girl stopped and looked frantically at the clock hanging on the wall. "S-Shure!" She walked up, and you addressed it, "So..is something too heavy for you?" The girl could barely hold focus as she kept looking at her watch, "It's not really! I Just..I.." You notice, "Am I keeping you up? Are you about to write a exam?" The girl became more nervous, "N-No..I just have to go, you know?" She said quickly,

"What class do you have now?"

"Russian..." Ah, there it is. It was generally a mystery to you why you would pack two languages after each other. But it wasn't that. You knew who the person teaching Russian was, and you had a suspicion.

"Is it because Ms. Romanoff has the class?" You see an eye movement, "Yes..."

"Does she scare you?" She looks down, "Not scared, just...She's so strict...The complete opposite part of you..." You continue to look at her and realize she's not the first to say that about Natasha. However, you couldn't understand it since you only know her soft and caring.

"I'm sure things will be different today, really." Heh, and you know why too..

"Really?" You notice how her demeanor got better, and she stands up straight, "Yes and now let's go, it's almost time after all." The girl smiled and headed off, "Thanks Y/n!"

You sat down, appeased and went through the next few hours. When you were done and the end of the day knocked on the door, you make your way to your colleague. The bell rang for the end of class and you walked in. You immediately noticed the change in atmosphere,

"And don't forget the homework until next week, I don't want to have to tell you everything again, so do it thoroughly!"

Okay wow..you knew Natasha could get a little stubborn sometimes, but like this? You stopped at the door and saw the expressions on the students' faces. Most of them had their eyes on the floor as they walked past Natasha. Then, when everyone was outside, you close the door and Natasha looked to you, "Oh, hey Kotenok, How long have you been here?" You cross your arms and lean against the door frame, "A while..What was today's topic?" Natasha sits down at her table, "General debate...Only some get it right, the others don't." You hear that she was annoyed by this, "I just don't get it! Why do people sign up for classes and do nothing?"

You drop your arms and go to her, "Maybe it's not them but you..." Any other person would be headless right now, "Oh yeah, and why do you think that Detka, hmm?" You sit down on her lap, "I don't know, you think I'm great..." Natasha looked up at you, "You can only think you're great too..."

"Ha..ha, stop it. Now let's be honest, I had a conversation with a student of yours earlier and she was totally intimidated by you!" Natasha sat back, "Sarah, right? So that's why she was late. I think, Ms. L/n, you're a bad role model." That made you laugh,

"Me? A bad role model? Who doesn't want to tell the kids about the stuff a second time?" You look at her table to see what it is in detail, "Перестань смотреть на мою работу, милая.” (stop looking at my work, sweet.)

You look back at her, "Is it weird if I say I think it's hot when you talk to me in Russian? Weil ich kann das auch.” (Because I can do that too) Natasha had to restrain herself from jumping on you right away, "Fuck, that sounds so evil coming from you..." You lean closer to her, "Well..you know what else can come out of me?" 

"Oh hoh, Y/n you dirty girl..The exemplary one wants to be taken in a classroom, huh? Sorry to disappoint you there." She averts her gaze from you and is now sorting through the sheets on her desk, "I have work to do." You put a hand over hers, stand up and kneeling down.

"We can do that later..."

Before you could put your plan into action, though, Steve walked in. You pretend you dropped something and stand up. However, Steve knew what was going on, "I'm just going to ignore what I saw." You had to stifle a laugh and Natasha simply asked, "What do you think you saw, Rogers?" He walked up to the two of you, "Too much. Here, one of your students left this with me in the hall." He put a list on the table. Natasha looked at it for a moment and then back at him. The situation was relatively awkward..For all of you. "Soo?"

"It's okay, I'm going, god..." You both look as he goes to the door and before he closes it, looks at you again, "Have f-fun..." And the door closed.

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I HOPE ITS NOT TO MUCH RUSHED😭

[halloweenism]

girl jeri's year round job. when she's not at camp idontwannabang for the summer.

jeri loves children. she adores them. she wants nothing more than to help teach them and keep them safe. she's always been very motherly and loving with her sister, it only made sense she studied to become a teacher the moment she graduated high school.

it takes a while and it isn't easy, but she finally gets it. she sets up her her classroom and makes it hers. she puts loving care into every decoration, every name tag, every shelf. she goes over her lesson plans making sure each one is both educational and fun. she wants her kids to feel safe and engaged in her class.

she's gotten a class of second graders. they're so small and pure. they're such kind, sweet little things. she loves them, and they love her in return. after a year of blessings, another comes. as they leave, even more take their place.

this goes on for many years. she teaches second grade, and then during her summers, she's a camp counselour at camp idontwannabang. she does what she loves. and she's happy. for a while, she has everything she wants. she is happy.

then, the murders start. and she tries to ignore them, at first. it breaks her heart, but she turns a blind eye. she has to. but as they start stacking up, and the blood pools and pools, she can't take it anymore. she watches her children play on the playground, running and laughing, and suddenly, they're all lying in pieces across the yard.

she quits one autumn morning. it's just around the start of her 25th year teaching second grade, and she hands in her letter of resignation with shaky hands and barely concealed tears. she can't take it anymore. the screams, the blood, the bodies. it's too much. she goes back to camp that summer with a heavy heart, knowing she'll be free soon. she'll join her kids someday.