⛔ this blog is 18+ !! minors and ageless blogs please dni ⛔
part of adoptive parents!ghoap x reader
inspired by this tiktok
cw: afab!reader, series revolves around a child so be mindful!
“i’m sorry i’m a bad kid miss”
johnny freezes midstep at the unmistakable sound of zachariah’s voice. not too far from your classroom’s door, he comes to a full stop. the hallways are empty now, his arrival delayed by trouble at the coffee shop, which makes it easier for zach’s voice to carry down to him. he stiffens as the words register, not missing the wobble in his son's voice.
there’s no way you’d be telling zach, his son, that he’s a bad kid.
he wills himself to breathe deeply, inhaling sharply as his feet carry him silently to your classroom. he understands that his son requires extra handling. that his behavior and temperament when worked up are an adjustment to all those involved. but that doesn’t give any of them the right to attach such foul words to his boy. he has to pause a step before your doorway, taking deep silent breaths to ease down his temper. his hands flex inward, blunt nails pressing firmly against the calloused skin of his palms before he attempts to release the tension in his body. he has to keep it together and not cause a scene in front of his son, no matter how disrespectful he’s being treated.
what he doesn’t expect, is to find you knelt before zach. you have your back turned to him, focused completely on zach as you hold his face in your hands. and though he can’t see you, he can certainly see zach. his little boy’s face is covered in red splotches, his eyes watery, and his eyelashes wet as he blinks rapidly trying to hold back his tears.
“sweetheart,” you stoke your thumb across his cheek, catching a tear before it has a chance to fall. “you are not a bad kid.” zach presses his lips together at that. just like he does when simon tells him that clover will tell him if zach feeds her his vegetables again. or when johnny tells him that they can turn the frosting pink with strawberries, like he doesn’t quite believe him.
“where did you get that silly idea from, love?”
zach takes a breath, tries to, but a tremble shakes his small body. you stroke his cheek once more, speaking in a low comforting voice, “it's okay sweetheart. take your time. we’re not in any rush” he bites his lip, nodding slowly before he closes his eyes and tries for another breath, much steadier this time.
he doesn’t meet your gaze when he opens his eyes. instead, looking down as he talks, voice small, “everyone says im just a bad kid.” the trembling starts up again as he continues, “and you’re so nice to me.” he stops, another shaky breath rocking his body, “and i want to say sorry for being so bad even though you’re so nice to me.”
johnny’s been out of the service for years now. he thinks that he and simon have adjusted to civvy life as best as they possibly could, after everything. and yet, right here right now, he can feel soap stirring from his hibernating state. he thinks of seven inappropriate acts of violence he can perpetuate against the staff members of the school before he reels himself back in. he wants names. of every single person who had the gall to say something like that to his son. would like to see how they posture up when someone their size, possibly larger, meets them face to face.
for a brief second johnny wonders if you knew about this. had you said this to zach before?
the thoughts are wiped from his mind as he sees how your spine goes rigid. your shoulders tense, body unmoving but your hands stay soft and gentle for his boy. it’s only for a moment, then you ease up again, your back moving as you breathe deeply. he doesn’t need to see your face to confirm your innocence. not when he can see so plainly the way you hold his boy’s face as if you’re cradling the world’s most precious thing in the world. the way that you murmur reassurances as his tears fall and his body shakes, your fingers wiping away salty tears before they even leave their dewy mark on his skin.
“my love,” you start sweet and soft, “there is no such thing as a bad kid.” one of your hands moves to push back his hair, damp as a result of his tumultuous state. “do you know what the nice thing about being alive is?” zach shakes his head, lips still pressed tightly together but breathing a little easier now. “it’s everyone’s first time.”
you scoot forward a bit before you sit back on your heels, lowering yourself even more. “no one knows what they’re doing, especially not you! you’re only five!” zach shudders out a breath, nodding and johnny finds himself nodding along with him. he’s not a bad kid, for god’s sake he’s barely even five. he’s still learning what being a kid really is.
“do you remember when your daddy and papa first got clover? clover didn’t follow the house rules, right? but clover wasn’t a bad dog, she just didn’t know what the rules were. she was just learning.” the tears have stopped falling now and zach breathes better, albeit a little snotty, as he nods along to your words.
“you’re not a bad kid zachy. not at all. don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.” you continue to stroke across his forehead and cheeks, zach’s eyes flutter as you soothe him. “ you are an incredible kid and i’m so glad to have you in my class. it’s not a chore to be nice to you sweetheart. it’s one of the easiest things that I do. I promise.”
the words aren’t even out of your mouth before zach launches himself forward, with no warning. his small arms wrap over your shoulders, using the strength of his whole body to hug you. he whispers something to you that johnny can't make out. you simply stroke his back and remind him how happy you are to have him here. he’s doing his best and that’s all you could ever ask of him.
and johnny can see that you’re doing your best. that you are doing more for his son than any other educator in this entire building, hell his entire academic career, had ever done for him. it untangles the knot of anger that sat at the bottom of his stomach, replaced with something softer, warmer. his skin pricks up, goosebumps spreading across his arms and hair standing on end as he watches you console this boy who he loves so much and is raising as his own. he knows for a fact that you would never speak such ill words to his child. that if anything, you’re the shield that protects him from that and worse.
he takes a few steps back from the doorway, collecting himself before heading back, making sure his steps are heard. he knocks on the open door before stepping into the classroom, still finding you knelt on the floor but with zach in front and not wrapped around you. already, the redness is fading from zach’s fair skin, eyelashes still wet but with no new tears clumping them together. “ah sorry, was I interruptin’ something?”
you look over your shoulder at him, your small smile widening into a grin. “mister mactavish! right on time. I was just talking with zachy about what a good boy he’s been these past couple weeks.” you turn back to zach, and he giggles before you rise to your feet, no doubt a wink exchanged between you both. “a great improvement indeed mister mactavish. I think that warrants a reward, don't you?” you flash him a blinding smile.
johnny would give his son all of life’s rewards if he could. he knows how good his son is. but as he looks over at the sight of his son, his boy, leaning into your hip, looking at you as if you hung the stars, he can’t seem to find his voice. he simply nods.
“alright zach,” you pat him on the head, “go on and get your stuff so you and your papa can get back home to your daddy. alright?” another nod and zach dashes off to get his backpack and jacket from his hook.
johnny clears his throat, his voice finally finding him, “thank you.”
you blink bewilderedly at him, “what for?”
“reminding him he’s not a bad kid.”
your eyes widen just a fraction before you let out a small laugh, “ah, so you heard.” you break his gaze, looking over where zach is collecting his belongings. when you look back at johnny, your eyes have softened, “you don’t have to thank me for that mister mactavish. I meant what I said. he’s a wonderful kid. we just have to keep reminding him of that. especially when no one else will.”
192 notes
·
View notes
As a teacher, the suit couldn't really have come at a better time.
When he'd graduated from college, he'd been surprised to see Principal Nezu in the crowd with All Might and Aizawa-sensei, and even more surprised to receive Principal Nezu's invitation to teach at UA - in the hero course no less!
They'd assigned him to the 2nd year hero course -- the 1st years, who were often still figuring out the limits of their quirks, needed teachers who might be able to physically intervene if something went wrong
His first year teaching, he'd spent just trying to get his feet under him: he borrowed a lot of the previous teacher's curriculum while he tried to get the hang of classroom management, and and grading, and parent contact, not to mention conducting practical exercises with his students while he was quirkless
But his second year he started making the curriculum his own: his strength had always been his analysis and he wanted his students to have that, too.
He started adding in case studies for each unit; invited his friends in to give talks about declassified or appropriately anonymized cases they'd worked on
By his third year, he'd gotten his unit plans down to a science: intro topic, host guest speaker, complete case study, hold class discussion, conduct practical exercise, students submit a reflection, test
His first unit of the year was always his favorite -- an intro to battle analysis. He'd never gotten Kacchan to commit to coming on campus, but if Deku sent him footage from a fight, Kacchan would send back a recording of his analysis
Once the kids got over the initial hilarity of Kacchan roasting the shit out of hero or villain or both, they usually asked Deku to play the video back a few more times so they could see just which errors Kacchan had caught, how quickly they could arise, how consequential they could be. It was a great way to get them open to Deku's whole approach to the class, and a good way for them to know that he would accept their work in their own voices -- no need to hide their personalities for points
The rest of the units -- meant to get his students ready to apply for their provisional licenses -- all followed suit.
And since most hero agencies had given new priority to community relations, he could schedule through his friends' offices to get them on campus: Tenya, Uraraka, Tsu, Momo, Shinso were especially reliable guests
And while the first half of the year was dedicated to the practicalities of being on the ground as a hero; the second half was dedicated to the heart of being a hero
They looked at rise of the League of Villains and Stain, talked about the plight of heteromorphs; he pulled in primary sources, they discussed their own personal credos (he liked to use Kacchan's and Hawks' as examples of how different and personal they could be while still leading to similar work), discussed the sociological and psychological impact of challenging quirks
All that to say, year four is the perfect time for the suit to fall into his lap.
He's got his professional shit together
And, though he's let himself shed some of the weight he needed to maintain One For All, he's kept himself in good condition
(High school students are so easily motivated by a little good natured teasing, "you really gonna let your quirkless teacher lap you?" has been a remarkably easy way to keep his kids going through tough conditioning work)
So, after he's managed to stop crying on All Might long enough to schedule a call with Hatsume to go over the specs; and stopped crying after that call long enough to process everything she's shared about its function, he realizes he's going to need to train before he can take this thing out in the field
The suit is incredible: a light exoskeleton that'll enhance his strength, 360 degree sensors that will pick up objects moving at certain speeds or sudden changes in air pressure, a light propulsion system that will allow him brief bursts of flight or slightly longer periods to hover, a chord system that he can use to pull himself forward or restrain villains, a diffuser that will set off a smoke screen
He spends another hour or so after the call with Hatsume to cry about how closely they've tried to recreate the capabilities of One For All
And then spends another four thinking about all of the manual controls he'll need to learn to replicate the skills he used to be able to call forth with a thought.
Thinks too about the kind of conditioning he'll need to do in order to not lose speed or an arm to the weight and propulsion of the suit
He remembers fondly a dirty beach half a lifetime ago; remembers, too, a forest trail where a quirkless All Might declared he'd change the future. Deku can do this.
And there's no better way to address the Kacchan of it all:
He'd tried calling Kacchan after All Might had dropped the news -- and been sent straight to voicemail three times in a row; received back a terse text: u r welcome nerd
Which told him Kacchan wasn't ready to deal -- with Deku's tears, or his gratitude, or with a conversation about how Kacchan had dedicated all of his professional career to funding Deku's dream -- as if all the long hours, and parties missed, and extra shifts covered, hadn't all been some sort of declaration of intent about the rest of their fucking lives
Which was fine. What was Deku going to say anyway?
"Was this a proposal, Kacchan? Because if so, my answer is yes."
That could wait. They had the rest of their fucking lives, apparently.
But in the meantime, Deku needed to train. He couldn't afford to rush this. Kacchan would be furious if Deku got himself hurt because he was being reckless.
So he headed over to the gym in Kacchan's building after work, just in time to catch Kacchan coming in for his biweekly workout.
"I've got a plan. I think I'm going to need to dedicate some attention to these particular muscle groups to protect from injury. I think I probably need to gain a little more muscle, too. Then, I want to start training in the suit. I'll need to get a feel for how it works as a whole in combat and rescue settings. But then I want to work on isolations. Can I trigger just this response as quickly as possible in various circumstances. What can I do or not if I've just got control of the arms or just the legs or just one limb. I've put together a timetable. I think, if you'll help me, I could be ready for field work without injuring myself by the end of this school year."
When Deku finally pauses and looks up from his notebook, Kacchan looks visibly relieved, shoulders down from his ears, that gleam in his eye that's signals amusement in spite of himself, the start of smile tucked into the corner of his mouth
Kacchan snatches the notebook from Deku's hands and looks over the charts. Deku barely grumbles at all at Kacchan's free hand tousling Deku's hair while he skims.
"Alright, dweeb, let's get started--"
107 notes
·
View notes
Bit of a shame I left hp before I entered svsss because one of my favourite tropes at the time was 'dumbledore calls in External Support from different fandom during ootp and they show up to grimmauld to help (and utterly upstage everyone in the process)'.
And needless to say Sqq, at any point, would have been perfect.
Like. He's a teacher too. A scholar. Secretly from the modern world so he'd have no trouble with its intricate and mysterious workings, incidentally making himself look very cool and competent in the process. He'd have So Many Opinions. He'd incite bloody war with umbridge. He'd project his feelings for sj onto Snape with a side of commiseration for his role and fate. He'd mostly pretend to know so much less about hp than he actually does (which, hilariously, he canonically name drops in svsss, AND his system is pretty heavily implied to have previously worked in, like wow). He'd be constantly comparing Harry with lbh. He'd have a running internal dialogue bemoaning the world building, the characters, Harry's fate, the general decision making process, maybe some death of the author. Geeking out about magic. Raiding the library whenever he's free.
He might bring his students as part of an exchange, he might bring a fellow peak lord if it was a serious mission (liushen anyone?) he could bring adult lbh. Maybe sqh? Or sqh could be the messenger with the system and/or mbj.
A self aware character who couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least try to change Harry's fate whether or not he actually likes the kid? He could canon that divergence before you could say horcrux. That kind, oblivious, smoking hot exotic teacher who had people ruining their lives for him in a world that was used to people that pretty and also hated him specifically?? The hogwarts students wouldn't stand a CHANCE.
Man the scenes are coming to me so strongly I almost want to write it just as a like. Satire piece or something. Just Sqq ripping everything to shreds, accidentally or not. Diatribes on the author biases. Unintentional themes. Iffy world building choices. Nothing new, but through the lens of svsss' Sqq it'd be something for sure XD.
42 notes
·
View notes