#first names

First names

Todoroki Shoto x Y/n

Had a hard time writing this part lol. I want them to be soft and sweet and everything at the same time lol. Like can they be shy but kiss?( Been plotting this, can't see it fit the series hahahahah)

The streets were quiet, the soft glow of streetlights blending with the fading blush of sunset as you walked side by side with Shoto. He carried the matcha drinks carefully, like he was afraid even the smallest jostle might disturb them. Every step was deliberate, measured, and he subtly adjusted his pace to yours.

“…Careful,” you murmured, glancing at the cup in his hands.

He gave you a faint smile, barely visible in the dim light, but it was warm. “…I want them… perfect for you,” he said softly. The words weren’t loud, but they carried weight — gentle, deliberate, unspoken devotion in every syllable.

You walked for a while in comfortable silence. The world felt slower somehow, almost hushed around you two. Shoto’s attention was quiet but unwavering; every few steps he stole a glance at you, checking that you were alright, checking that the drinks hadn’t shifted.

When you reached your street, he paused, his grip on the cups firm but careful. “…I… should walk you all the way,” he said softly. “…It’s… the proper way.”

You looked at him, smiling softly. “…You don’t have to, Shoto. I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head, his expression unreadable but his voice quiet and firm. “…I want to.”

You felt your chest tighten — not with anxiety, but with the warmth of how deliberate and caring he was being. He walked beside you up to your doorstep, setting the drinks down on the small table you kept by the door. Every motion was careful, as if he wanted to linger, to make the moment last.

When it was time to part, he stepped back slightly, eyes meeting yours with a quiet intensity. “…Goodnight,” he said softly, his voice low and deliberate, as if he didn’t want to disturb you… yet he wasn’t ready to go home just yet.

You smiled, lifting your hand slightly in a small wave. “…Goodnight, Shoto.”

For a long moment, he didn’t move, just held your gaze. Then, almost reluctantly, he gave the tiniest, shy wave back and stepped away, each movement careful, measured, deliberate, like he was savoring the moment before he had to let go.

As he walked away, you couldn’t help but feel the echo of his presence still beside you — soft, warm, protective, and completely his own.

The next morning, you found yourself walking to school with Iida, Uraraka, and Izuku. They were cheerful as usual, but there was a subtle shift in their expressions — quiet curiosity, gentle smiles, restrained but unmistakable.

“…So,” Izuku began hesitantly, glancing at the others, “…you two… seem… closer than usual?”

Uraraka giggled softly, not wanting to seem nosy but clearly noticing something. Iida adjusted his glasses, careful not to stare, but his posture betrayed the tiny interest he had.

You flushed lightly, glancing at Shoto who walked beside you. His hand brushed against yours ever so slightly, deliberate but subtle, as if confirming something without words.

Shoto caught your eye, and for a fleeting moment, the world narrowed down to just the two of you. There was the faintest lift at the corner of his lips, shy but confident in the smallest gestures — the first-name basis, the gentle touch, the way he matched his pace to yours.

“…Shoto,” you murmured softly, just above a whisper, almost to yourself.

He looked at you, eyes warm and unreadable, then gave the tiniest nod, a soft acknowledgment that made your chest ache. His gaze lingered before flicking back toward the street, careful not to draw attention, but unmistakably yours.

The group walked a little ahead, giving you space while subtly observing the quiet intimacy between you two. You and Shoto fell into an easy rhythm — soft glances, small smiles, gentle words exchanged quietly, the world around you fading into background noise.

“…You slept well?” he asked softly, voice low, cautious, as if testing the waters of closeness again.

“…Yes,” you murmured, glancing at him with a small smile. “…You?”

“…I did,” he said, eyes flicking toward you, then back to the path ahead. “…Better.”

You felt warmth bloom in your chest. Not loud, not dramatic — just soft and steady, like a quiet sun rising slowly. His presence beside you was deliberate, careful, protective, and intimately aware of you in a way no one else had ever been.

The walk continued, small talk weaving gently between the two of you, punctuated with moments of soft silence that felt like shared breaths. Shoto’s hand occasionally brushed yours in passing, never forceful, always deliberate, and every time it happened, your heart stuttered.

The group never intruded, letting the two of you have these moments — Shoto’s subtle, gentle protectiveness, your soft acknowledgment of him, the small domestic rhythms of walking together, speaking quietly, sharing laughter. It was painfully ordinary, and yet it felt like the most extraordinary thing in the world.

By the time you reached the classroom, Shoto lingered a moment longer at the door, eyes meeting yours with a quiet, shy intensity. “…Can I walk you home again?” he asked, voice soft, a bit shy yet sure. Sure, that he wants to walk you home. “If it's okay with you, of course ", he added.

“…Yes,” you said, smiling gently.

what's your opinion on government-approved names?

here in the USA, we have pretty lax restrictions on what you can name your kid (enter x-æ-a12 or... something) basically as long as it's not straight up naming your newborn hitler.

tho many countries have wayy narrower restrictions - Denmark, for example, has a list of 7k approved names, plus the given name must reflect the child's sex.

do you think this is a censorship issue, and should the government intrude on what you can name your child??

What's that? An oddly specific question that's only tangentially related to this blog's focus? Hell yeah. Don't mind if I do 😎

First off, let's explore current laws in the US in regards to naming children (lol wtf is wrong with me, what is this blog even about anymore? 😂)

I think that almost everywhere it has to be written out using ASCII characters (California might be in the process of changing this). ASCII contains plain letters in the English alphabet (capitalized or lowercase), without accent marks, punctuation, and numbers. So you can't name your kid 『打倒共匪』 even though that would obviously be metal as fuck. But it also means that some relatively common names like José, Zoë, or Lucía have to be written as Jose, Zoe, and Lucia.

I'm seeing that the Social Security Administration says... the SSN card has 26 spaces total for first/middle names, and 26 spaces for last name. Its internal fields allow 16 characters each for first and middle names and 21 for last name. So by my understanding that means... the maximum you can have is a 9 letter first name (plus a space), a 16 letter middle name, and a 21 letter last name. That means you're not allowed to name your child: Raghavendra Venkatasubramanya Kakaraparthi-Dharmavarapu, which actually seems like a pretty plausible name for a boy of Indian Telugu ancestry.

Multiple states seem to not allow numerals to be used in names. That's a bummer if you want to name your kid K8lyn

At least New Jersey, and probably others, don't allow "obscene" names. Although this concept is always up for debate, I would maybe caution parents against naming their kid something like Niggerfaggotbabyrapist. Well, at least in New Jersey.

I am wasting so much time on this lol. Okay anyways my opinion:

I think if you really squint, this topic at least censorship-adjacent, because names are expressive. They can carry all sorts of meanings related culture, religion, history, language, aesthetics, whatever.

Being forced to pick a name from a government-approved list cannot possibly be seen as neutral. It inevitably becomes a system where the state decides which identities are "normal" and which are not. That feels like the exact sort of bureaucratic cultural control that seems intended to punish immigrants, minorities, people who are just kind of generally weird, people from cultures the state doesn't understand, and anyone whose name doesn't fit the majority's idea of respectability.

Then again, naming your child is not the same as naming your band, your blog, or your shitty mixtape. A child is a separate person who has to live with the name and use it in day-to-day life. So I do actually think the government has some legitimate interest in making sure names are administratively usable and also just not outright abusive. But that interest should be extremely narrow.

I'm basically fine with rules like: the name has to be recordable in the government's system - so it can't be impossibly long, can't contain symbols that break databases, can't fraudulently claim an official title like "Judge" or "Dr." (even though that would obviously be hilarious for a baby), can't be actively abusive towards the child like a threat or slur, etc.

format: name - meaning, language it's derived from

side note btw, do NOT trust user-submitted meanings on Behind The Name...I don't know what they're smoking

alisher - given name ali + lion, persian

amayas - cheetah, tamazight

ari - lion, hebrew

arslan - lion, turkic

aslan - lion, turkic

babur - tiger, persian

baihu - white tiger, chinese

balam - jaguar, yucatec/k'iche' maya

barys - snow leopard, kazakh

bes - either flame, egyptian, or cat, nubian

boris - either short, wolf, or snow leopard, bulgar turkic

fahad - leopard or panther, arabic

felinus - cat-like, latin

hamza - lion, arabic

hu - tiger, chinese

izem - lion, tamazight

kaplan - tiger, turkish

kyarr - tiger, burmese

layth - lion, arabic

leander - lion man, greek

leo - lion, latin

leon - lion, greek

lev - lion, russian/ukrainian

luan - lion, albanian

lynkeus - lynx, greek

maues - tiger, scythian

nawel - jaguar, mapuche

pantheras - panther, greek

ruslan - lion, turkic

shir - lion, persian

singh - lion, sanskrit

taika - tiger, māori

tau - tswana/sotho

usayd - little lion, arabic

vepkhia - tiger, old georgian

enjoy! and, as always, please feel free to leave corrections or suggestions if you have any.

When We Collide — Chapter 28: The Changed Air

The dangerous thing is not kissing.

It’s knowing how she laughs when no one else is there. It’s knowing what your name sounds like in her mouth. It’s the changed air after that.

Read now on AO3