#Protective dad Mouri

[quaint-ignorant]

he's just like me fr

wish this was my room😔 (chap.648-vol.62)

[whenishipiluxurycruiseit]

After reading some twts about how the reveal should not affect the kaishin fandom bc of how old it is and how most old shippers had the suspicion of kaishin being related and proceeded to not care and accept and even ship them more leads me to the acceptance stage and the realization stage where this is all fiction and not true thus it will not affect anyone greatly and most of us should realize this too HAHAHA

I mean i had my suspicions too ya know but like i was expecting them to be distantly related not this closely related gahdang gosho JAGDHSHS also i was kinda closing my eyes when i saw how similar toichi and yuusaku looked like when i saw them so AHDGSHS lovelies lets just think that the reveal made the ship spicer that ever

Kaishin may be cousins and what? Its fiction, this ship is old, there are even more worse ships than this, will this hurt anyone? No (unless ur really in deep like delusional deep), will this change the world? No, will this affect your daily life? No, will this change your morals? For me no, cause i know they are not real, why on earth would they change my morals.

Honestly its not just kaishin, there are a lot of ships with this kind of relationship, and other shippers must realize the fact that they are not real and no one will get hurt. If you get disturbed by the fact that we ship cousins/twins/siblings then you may close your eyes and move one to the other post, im not like validating this bc in the real and current world this may seem disturbing but everyone must know the difference between real and fiction, do not do what fiction do but you may learn what fiction do, just put it at the back of your head as an additional knowledge and the possibility that some other people might mix up fiction and real life.

Anyways so much for the monologue JAGSHS

THE REVEAL FIRED ME UP INTO MAKING ANOTHER PROMPT YEEEEY

Like im not even focusing abt how kaishin is cousins anymore but at why toichi did that to his son, what is incest compared to betrayal (not rlly cause kaito still didnt know hes alive BUT STILL THATS HIS KID??? HIS CHILD IN THE EYES OF DANGER?? AND HE LET HIS CHILD DO THAT?? BOY?)?

Like i know he protects kaito at the side (it was on magic kaito 1412 i forgot what episode) but he protects kaito with kaito experiencing trauma bc how tf how dare u use my dead dads face you traitor like that like bro??

I dont even also think that chikage knew that her husband is alive, only yuusaku (like wow cute they mustve been such close siblings but thats not the point) knows that hes alive and yuusaku probs only also knows cause hes yuusaku and yuusaku knows everything in just once glance for some weird ass reason

ANYWAYS SO

My prompt is that (please know that some of the characters are ooc!!! Esp the parents cause they dont show much wth JAGDHSH also ill put in a oc for plot purposes WAHSGAHSGA)

Shinichi, still as conan, was in a pinch and was suddenly saved by a mysterious guy. Whom he thought was like akai san but he sensed someone different like.. KID? No.. dad??

Toichi who saw a kid who looked like his nephew when he was a child is being chased by men in black (who suspiciously looked like snake for some reason but snake doesnt wear shades in the dark cause thats a foolish move) decided to help him and lose the pursuers off his back

“Boya are you ok?” “…..(hmm? What is this feeling.. i feel like i’ve met him somewhere but..)” “boya?” “Ah! Un! Thank you uncle!”

Toichi suddenly thought of shinichi when he heard conans voice saying uncle, it sounds just like 10 yrs ago when he visited yuusakus house to teach yukiko the art of disguise

Toichi then took conan to his guardians when he found out that his parents was in america apparently (1) and he also found out that his guardians were the mouris (2) which was 2 points of suspicion which wasnt that bad but just weird cause why didnt his younger brother tell anything, not that that shit tells him anything at all. Adding to the fact that he has not seen his attention loving smart nephew in the news for a while now then pops out a child that looks like him makes the suspicion highly likely. (Their family kinda has a knack for attracting dangerous orgs, from what he seen to himself and his son, he just hopes his younger brother and nephew didnt get it (which was highly unlikely now too))

Consider his suspicions correct when his younger brother decides to okay dumb (he knows ok, theyre twins for a reason and hes a older brother for a reason) the problem now was which shady org was it and how much does his nephew and younger brother know….

2 weeks later he found out

Apparently he wasnt the only one suspicious of someone

His, (knew it), dear shrunken nephew was too! Bc of one comment from mouri kun (have we met somewhere before?) and his suspicions were proven right when he saw yuusakus phone lying around with his message on the notif screen

(Toichis so proud, thats my nephew, be nosy kid you will go far in life)(it made his nephew cute too 🥰)

and color him suprised when his nephew has a shady org at his back too (he was kinda hoping that his nephew only stumbled on the scene of the crime that was he was chased not being a victim himself sighs the family curse)

and toichi and his nephew (whom just found out they were related with the first kaitou kid, who was supposed to be dead) made an alliance! (it kinda feels good to not only have one person know about your secrets, it also makes him relieved that his nephew has a lot of trusted people at his back other than some bigass shady org)

it also makes toichi happy that his son could be himself (not just kaitou kid but really being kaito his son whom he left with his wife toprotecttonotpullintothismessbutthey-) with his cousin

his son was inlove with his cousin

oh shit

yuusaku why did we not let them meet again

how he found out? he got the front seat

with snake

but does that really matter

(is akai kun included when hes so far away from the build the confession was happening)

(akai kun just shoot snake pls)

then it all went to shit (from his perspective cause wdym kaito did not even notice snake was there so its ok uncle shinichi kun did u also not notice my mental breakdown too)

they apprehended snake, and found out he was just some lackey in the black org and wanted to be the same lvl as gin so hes chasing after some immortality granting stone (yea hes not gonna be on the same lvl as gin hes stupid says his dear cutified nephew)

he told his younger brother about the confession

his younger brother knew all along ever since he caught kaito sneaking in their house to leave a jewel that he stole and saw him caress shinichis face.. yuusaku told him with the face of did u really not see that coming, we never let them meet when they were old enough to remember.

like valid? but at least share the tea gahdang

yukiko also knows? brother? i thought bros before hoes? (he nearly got mauled to death by his mystery loving younger brother, bc how dare you call my wife a hoe? ur the hoe u *spits real talk that hurts*)

after yuusaku hurt him internally he has come to the fact that yea he was worse than his son.. (also who can blame him, shinichi kun has yukikos genes (not that his darling wife is any less beautiful than yukiko, his wifes beauty came from being reckless and he likes that in his woman sighs i miss my wife) and their reckless genes so, with his wifes beautiful and shiny loving gene with his reckless loving gene, shinichi, conan, his nephew was the perfect person for his son. not ignoring the fact that shinichi kun is also a very understanding person. his nephew grew a lot (internally cause well.. he shrunk physically))

and now shinichi is looking at him weirdly

no way

did he not hear his sons confession

"shin kun... what did you think about what my son said to you?" "hm? ah that chase?... isnt it just a chase? oh im sorry uncle if i hurt kaito, it was needed to make it look convincing haha, i dont plan on capturing him rn dw!" "... oh! its ok shin kun ^^"

it was not okay, how does his nephew not notice his sons confession to him? (his son was a child of two phantom thieves, making a heist even grander than it already is shows that his son is courting his nephew SO HOW TF- oh, oh yuusaku just told him that every heist shinichi went to was always that grand so he might not see the difference? oh. oh my gosh.)

how to break this to his son who thought his father was dead

yuusaku just smiled (useless asshole, just bc hes still close to his son even though his son is in another identity now and can still pretend to be his new sons identities father bc of the disguising art that toUICHI HIMSELF TAUGHT HIM)

shinichi kun said to wait till evrything was over, or wait till the black org is down cause he will help explain too cause he hid it too after knowing his undeadness (at least his nephew was helpful, might be yukikos gene)

"you know, ever since i met kaitou kid, i knew that i might need his help to bring this org down, but i never knew that it would be the first kaitou kid that will help me hehe"

his nephew is so cute (yep its yukikos genes, yuusaku could never be like that anymore, still regrets the day where he showed off to his younger brother his magician skills)

the org was brought down but the antidote for shinchis problem still hasnt been made but time is an essence they need to reveal the truth to his family now or it might get worse

family reunion time! :DDDDDDDDD

shinichi went to get his son and wife while he and his younger brother prepares his execution letter

(if u wanna know how shinichi went to get kaito and chikage pls comment! ill write it up on the other post)

"yukiko chan can u-" "nope"

"yuusaku istg id u dont help me we're twins for a reason if i die you die too" "fk u" (helps him)

then it all went to shit (pt 2) (shinichi kun can see it now too, toichi thinks even hakase next door can feel it)

his son did not walk out bc of shinichi kun ("kaito, listen to you father please, you know my situation, its kind of the same but in your fathers case, you are ran" "at least you were close to her!" "does it really matter when all she saw was conan not shinichi?" "but-!" "kaito, the woman i love is slipping before my eyes because i cant go to her like before now! everytime i go back to my body temporarily all i think about is how she will get hurt if the organization realizes i was one of the victims they failed to kill and will go after her and her family and friends! there are numerous people in the org who already knew about my real identity, they mightve been killed or decided to not tell about it but there is no saying they might decide to not do the opposite!"

[superwavesmasher]

My Fanon for my Fics - Cye's HC

Soooo here are my Cye head canons. There will probably be a second post because I've got so many.

In my fics, Cye's the youngest. It goes Sage, Rowen, Kento, Ryo and Cye

The boys ages run from 17-19. *shrug* the art style didn't make them look like kids and it always bothered me. Soooo I moved stuff up a bit.

Cye's mother is from the UK and his dad is from Japan. His father is in the navy (or Japanese equivalent) and was shipped around to different places. He meets their mother on his first station in the UK. Then he was moved back to Japan. 10 years later he was asked to move back to the UK which is where Cye was born.

Cye's father dies right after he gets the armor. His mother blames Cye for not being able to save their father even though there was no way he could have known or done anything about it.

Mrs. Mouri runs from being waaaay too helicopter over her precious son to being that toxic helicopter. Where he's gaslit into believing stupid things. (I thank you perfect fanfic writer from early 2000s for these headcanons because I live for them)

One of the main thing she gas lights him on is being weak and that his sister should have found the armor maybe then their father would have been alive.

Sayako is a protective spit fire of a woman who looks like the perfect house wife until she opens her mouth. She's learned the proper way of the Japanese wife but when prompted can just lose it and will beat you for touching her brother. She can also drink anyone under the table. Kento may or may not be terrified of her and she loves it. She was convinced that Kento was going to get her brother's heart and is in shock when it winds up being Rowen.

Sayako doesn't take her mothers crap and will throw it right back into her face.

Out of the 5 armors, Torrent has to regularly be "recharged" and taken to the ocean to retain it's power. If Cye or the armor is away from water too long it can negatively impact his health.

Because of this Cye worries that he's the weakest warrior out of all of them when we know it's not true.

The armor is always trying to push Cye back towards the water even when it's not healthy for him to do so. (big in my POTS universe).

Torrent is the armor that connects the other 8 to each other and holds them together in a bond. Without Cye or Torrent the team would fall apart and could turn evil very easily (actually have a fic written off this). Basically the others have to keep him alive above all else but the ancient forbids Cye knowing about it.

He has the stuffed whale named Suki and it's the size of a large teddy bear and it goes EVERYWHERE when they are spending the night. Kento doesn't blink an eye and just talks to it like he's a real thing.

Cye also has a slight addiction to squishmellows and sea creature stuffed animals. He has a killer whale plush that fills up the entire love seat in his apartment.

He has normal pajamas and slippers but he owns a few one piece shark, killer whale and dolphin pajamas. He'll never admit to it out in public.

Because of his mother and the fact that he couldn't save his father, he feels like he's a disappointment and so he never shows how he truely feels to anyone except Kento at first. He hides when he's hurt and refuses to worry anyone else to the point it gets ridiculous.

He loves baking (just like actual fanon) but can make beautifully decorated pies, loafs, etc.

He loves cooking just as much. He will use recipes and has so many books but also makes his own up and they rarely fail.

He has a sky blue checkered apron with a killer whale on it that he stitched all by himself.

While he doesn't always show it, Cye loves being witness to drama and will sit and nod politely acting as if he's caring but is only taking it in to spill to Sayako later. XD

He's more jealous than he comes across and can be a bit of a brat sometimes. Kento knows this and warns everyone else but no one believes him until they get to NY and Cye basically kicks Runa/Luna down the stairs after she gets too close to Rowen. ("So sad." He looks back not wincing at the crash before smiling innocently, "Anyway, we're going to find Mia and Yuli in Little Tokyo"

He's addicted to tea. He needs it and pouts when he doesn't get it or can't make it.

He loves to host people and have proper tea. He's very knowledgeable about it across the board for the world wide practices as well.

His favorite TV Show is Midsummer Murders and he forces Rowen and Sage to watch it.

He's also a disney fan and loves the movies. (Little Mermaid is his favorite, obviously)

He will nag the hell out of you with anything you are doing. He's the equivalent of a back seat driver x 10000.

I have more but these are off the top of my head XD. @kosmicpowers (tagging because you said you were excited to know more. The other guys are coming soon.)

[ravenclawwitchc]

Fruitless

*Kudo Shinichi and Edogawa Conan are brothers AU

*Edogawa Conan is fostered at Ran's place

*Edogawa Conan×Mouri Ran

Bgm: my little airport - 詩歌舞街

The clamorous music, crashing waves, and scent of spirits intermingled with a riot of sounds and lights.

The final chord dissolved into the sudden torrential downpour. Tents sprang up in the camping grounds, footsteps shuffling against each other, and though I refused to admit it, the swell of the crowd momentarily lifted my shoulders, providing a fleeting solace amid the chaos.

"Have a little fun."

It was her farewell when we stumbled upon each other by the tent.

My vision blurred as I recall the moment—was she facing me or turned away? For an instant, I saw her smile, the star-like glints beneath her eyelids, and the ivory nape of her neck as her ponytail swayed. No, the third act happened long ago, when she departed with her luggage, carrying away the summer heat in her wake.

Leaving meant rendering everything null and void; embraces, nestled within her warm embrace, or when she wept within mine, knowing he would never return. Hand-holding and praise, “Don’t run away, Conan, you’re a good boy.” I had to stretch my arm to reach her hand dangling by her side, cold as ice. "Conan is comforting me too," she said. No, comfort doesn't mean I want you to hide away when you cry.

"Hey, hey, Edogawa, are you okay?"

Is there a clear boundary between good and bad? Dizziness engulfs me. Last time I felt this lightheaded, someone was there to take care of me, our foreheads pressed together, her voice transmitting like the delicate flutter of butterfly wings, growing into a turbulent storm within my mind, throat, and scorched heart.

As she rose to fetch medicine, I held her back with little force, and she softened, her tender lips overlapping my cheek. It felt like a kiss—her kiss, tattooed upon me, permanently radiating pain. She no longer uttered those repulsive words, "Conan, that's not how it works," and I no longer had to feign ignorance or exercise those little brother privileges.

"I'm an adult now," I told her.

"Ah? I know, you just had a drink, didn't you?"

The strength that supported me in the crowd paused for a moment.

And then everything just went downhill.

First, it's Shinichi Kudo's return. Second, her boyfriend's return. Third, unfortunately, these two are the same person. Fourth... what was it again? I'm not sure. "Failed deduction" crashed down upon me, mocking my premature sense of victory. I demanded an appeal—I had been misled, given false leads. Mom, Dad, whose side are you on? Why am I the only one on trial?

And her. Ah, yes, she's part of it too.

But it's okay—I would help her escape the courtroom. If she's willing, that is.

At that moment, a car approached, its headlights flickering as if the damp road had frozen over. A slow-motion frame captured light caressing her pale cheek. He stood three steps away, lifting her luggage, then his hand rested on her shoulder—an act so natural it seemed rehearsed countless times. It was time for the curtain to fall on this perfect drama. I found my name listed under the 'cameo role' column, but no one paid me for my role.

When it came to payment, that person did say "thank you" to me, "Thank you for protecting my girlfriend." Truly childhood friends, annoying in exactly the same ways. "Conan, thank you for protecting me," she said, as the spotlight dimmed and rain poured down. Offstage, who held the umbrella at my side?

Her appearance and disappearance were equally abrupt. When she vanished, she bid farewell—“Goodbye, Conan, have fun,”—while her arrival was met with silence. Or was it simply inaudible to me? Inching closer, I realized my error—too close, dampening her clothes with my proximity. Gleaming starry glints, warm breath, her gaze locked onto mine, and a sobering verdict: “Conan, you're drunk.”

A downpour drenched the street in inky darkness, I looked up, the deep blue umbrella was the night sky untouched by rain, her lips were so close. I must be dreaming, how else could it only not rain here? I wanted to kiss her, like I used to, watching her sleeping face on some late night, wondering, were you awake then? I could hear your sudden, shallow breaths. Yet her footsteps glided away, like a startled bird taking flight, and I struggled to hold onto the umbrella, its canopy tilting.

And once again, the rain enveloped me.

Then we began to stroll. The crowd gradually thinned out, finding their tents, finding their cars, finding their friends.

"Where are you?"

I smiled shyly, "Studying at your university."

During her college years, she opted for off-campus housing, with a cozy, warm-hued sofa. I was nine? Or ten? Her friends would pinch my cheeks, calling me cute, and then receiving her comforting ice cream. Her room was our secret hideout, for the girl with a boyfriend abroad and the boy with parents abroad. We were family, chosen by each other.

The kitchen, the balcony, her college campus—the seat where she diligently took notes, the memory of her wiping away my ice cream stains with a napkin.

"How's it going over there?"

That question was a bit difficult to answer. Raindrops splattered on the ground, light spots dancing. For a moment, a certain word was poised on the tip of my tongue, but the ambiguous boundary took effect. I shifted the answer slightly to the right, telling her I was doing fine, Edogawa was becoming a bit of a celebrity at school, breaking cases that would eventually break someone else's records—sooner or later.

She fell silent. Her silence always made me uneasy. I glanced at her, seeing her answer the phone, the sea cucumber on her phone shaking incessantly. Someone else was listening in.

"Sorry, what were you saying just now?"

She turned her head, and I wondered if I should tell her that the rain had smudged her eye makeup. It was like an imprint of scars or tears trampling over her. Tears—they always fell on the rabbit cushion or on me, damp and warm, until I grew too tall to be her pillow.

Does she still cry like she used to?

She changed the subject, trying to spare me the awkwardness, even in my less-than-sober state. How could I tell her that from the moment I begged her to stay, I had cast aside any embarrassment, shame, or pain, or whatever else?

My friend nudged me, “Hey, hey, Edogawa, stop spooking me."

Someone nearby commented, "Who let him drink so much tonight—was it after he met that woman that he started acting up? Do you guys know who she is?"

Who is she?

I pondered, my head aching, throat sore, the tattoo on my cheeks also throbbing faintly. Were they referring to the caring person who held me close late at night, or the despicable one who left without looking back?

Rain is a synonym for mercy, an antonym for flame. Flame had once forced itself upon us, so close and suffocating, so I told them, "She held me and we jumped off the building."

They thought I was joking, and they all burst into laughter.

FIN.

[leonawriter]

i know im late but

Kogoro Mouri?

First impression

That was a long, long time ago, but probably "deadbeat who can't be bothered to deduce his way out of a paper bag hat." A lot of frustration, or just dismissing him outright at times, probably.

Impression now

I still feel the frustration, but I feel like a lot of it is more on Gosho shoehorning him into the role of "needs to be a dumbass" rather than Kogoro actually being a dumbass. He's had so many times when he's shown how smart he is that there are some times when he acts stupid that just... don't make sense.

Favorite moment

I think it's the Fourteenth Target movie, where he shoots Eri with perfect aim in order to get the guy holding her to let go?

More recently, I can still remember the moment from the Stradivarius case where he does exactly what Conan says without even asking or complaining and only then does he ask himself why he just... followed the orders of a seven year old.

Basically, any moment that lets him be a badass.

Idea for a story

Anything where he puts things together.

Kogoro having a one to one with "Conan" and getting a few ground rules down, talking things over, so they end up collaborators and the whole "Sleeping Kogoro" thing is a joint effort.

Shinichi at one point saying "Sure, sure. But if you start derailing an investigation, I WILL knock you out and take over."

"Deal."

Unpopular opinion

What are the unpopular Kogoro opinions? I mean, part of me sometimes wonders if it'd be better if he and Eri split up properly and just let themselves be friends, at times. Gosho wants to show that they're still in love, but unless Kogoro's womanising is a bluff, that's... hm. She could do better.

Favorite relationship

Funnily enough, I love seeing how he is with Conan/Shinichi! Kogoro is basically like Shinichi's second dad (fitting, considering how Yuusaku is absent so much), and it shows. They'll mirror each other and not even realise it. Kogoro will also, in spite of how he complains about "the brat," protect him just as much as he protects Ran.

Favorite headcanon

That he's put things together, no matter what Gosho says.

Just now I was even thinking that he could easily have come up with a "deduction" that is scarily accurate, but he convinces himself that it "can't" be true because it's just the sort of thing that those around him usually laugh at him for coming up with. It doesn't leave his head, but it's just like a conspiracy theory that refuses to not make sense.

There've been times he should have been looking straight at Conan when he shot his dart, or should have woken up before the deduction is over. It fits.

[goldenteaset]

Hinamori Citadel Sword Timeline (in-game)

...For posterity. I could just do this with images, I know, but I couldn't actually see the dates that way. Wound up bolding the swords that became important to the Citadel's canon (and swords not in bold might become important later). After awhile the memories came flooding back, so there's random bits of Citadel history/headcanon notes too! (I often made choices Airi would be too cautious to attempt, heh.)

Assume that the Government swords/Munechika are still important in the grand scheme of the Citadel history even if they're not in bold, by the way!

The long list is under the cut~

First Day: 8/26/2021

Starter Sword: Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

First Tantou: Sayo Saimonji

First Smith: Akita Toushirou

Battlefield Tantou:

-Midare Toushirou (Airi's BFF and wingman)

-Yagen Toushirou

-Aizen Kunitoshi

-Maeda Toushirou

-Hirano Toushirou

Results of First Day Smithing (figured I'd wing it):

-Nikkari Aoi

-Yamatonokami Yasusada

-Yamanbagiri Kunihiro

-Nakigitsune

-Kasen Kanesada

-Okurikara

-Kashuu Kiyomitsu

-Souza Saimonji

-Tsurumaru Kuninaga (First Tachi)

-Shishio

-Nagasone Kotetsu

-Urashima Kotetsu

Day 2: 8/27/2021

Smithing results:

-Horikawa Kunihiro

-Doudanuki Masakuni

-Yamabushi Kunihiro

-Sengo Muramasa (Airi's soulmate is discovered! Becomes Unit 1 Captain into perpetuity)

Battlefield Tantou:

-Shinano Toushirou (the first sword I decided would pine for Airi, still unsure if it would go anywhere)

-Gokotai

First breaking: Akita Toushirou. Horrified, I decide to forge stronger swords to protect everyone while furiously grinding for Akita.

Stronger Sword Plan Results are as follows:

-Izuminokami Kanesada

-Heshikiri Hasebe

-Shokudaikiri Mitsutada (Got on the pining train before Hasebe, haha)

-Azuki Nagamitsu (his Dad Energy is so powerful he gracefully exits the harem and joins Sayo and Mitsutada in kitchen duty)

-Ichigo Hitofuri

-Hizamaru and Higekiri (back-to-back! They become fixtures in the Citadel rather than on the battlefield)

Day 3: 8/28/2021

Battle Tantou: Akita Toushirou (this felt like weeks)

I took a "break" until the Underground Treasure Chest on 9/1/2021. After this, counting days becomes very difficult ^^;

UTC Swords 9/1/2021:

-Honebami Toushirou

-Imanotsurugi

9/4/2021:

Arrived in the mail:

-Mikazuki Munechika

9/5/2021:

Smithing Results:

-Juzumaru Tsunetsugu (Airi's second BFF! He goes on Unit 1 and stays there almost in perpetuity)

9/9/2021:

UTC Results:

-Namazuo Toushirou

9/10/2021:

UTC Results:

-Atsushi Toushirou

-Houchou Toushirou (one of Airi's adopted sons now like Sayo and Akita)

-Hotarumaru

-Gotou Toushirou

Somewhere around here, I obtain a copy of Hakata Toushirou. Which leads to...

Second breaking: Hakata Toushirou (via boulder to the head ;_;)

9/11/2021:

UTC Results:

-Ishikirimaru

-Taroutachi

9/12/2021:

UTC Results (or possibly smithing? Things get blurry)

-Tomoegata Nanigata

-Monoyoshi Sadamune

-Taikogane Sadamune (is taller than Airi and grows to really, really like that. Biggest "Will They, Won't They?" of the cast so far, sorry bud...)

9/22/2021

-Hakata Toushirou

10/3/2021:

-Mouri Toushirou

-Tonbokiri (after many Tantou copies. Hasn't appeared in fic yet!)

10/4/2021:

-Otegine

10/9/2021:

-Kikkou Sadamune (Airi's third harem member is established immediately)

10/11/2021: (I believe there was a Training Event here?)

-Uguisumaru (Airi's third BFF)

10/17/2021:

-Akashi Kuniyuki

10/18/2021:

-Kogitsunemaru

10/20/2021:

-Jiroutachi

10/22/2021:

-Nenekirimaru (Hinamori Citadel's resident himbo/problem-solver re: The Move)

10/27/2021:

-Koryuu Kagemitsu (Airi is "in danger" and Mutsunokami watches him for any Casanova shenanigans)

11/1/2021:

-Iwatooshi

11/4/2021:

-Nansen Ichimonji

11/6/2021

-Nikkou Ichimonji

Somewhere between here I beat the Ikedaya Inn in World 6!

Third Breaking: Fudou Yukimitsu, who breaks in the aforementioned attempt on that accursed bridge.

11/17/2021:

-Shizukagata Nanigata

November-December 2021 In General: "The Winter of Kiwame".

-Sayo Saimonji

-Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki

-Sengo Muramasa

-Akita Toushirou

-Kikkou Sadamune

12/4/2021: (Hanafuda event for sure)

-Kotegiri Gou

12/5/2021:

-Kuwana Gou

12/7/2021:

-Buzen Gou

12/9/2021:

-Matsui Gou

12/11/2021:

-Samidare Gou (Poetry Club, assemble!)

12/17/2021

-Murakumo Gou

12/24/2021

-Fudou Yukimitsu

Regimental Clash happens with Fukushima Mitsutada, fourth love of Airi's life. For various reasons, he does not come home and I'm despondent about it.

2022 In General: There are so many Kiwame that I don't remember the exact dates of (same with 2023) that they needed their own post [will link here]

1/14/2022:

New Year's Stamp Collection:

-Kokindenju-no-Tachi, who I actually started the game for

1/16/2022:

-Oodenta Mitsuyo

1/26/2022:

-Kenshin Kagemitsu (Airi overprotects him, much to his chagrin)

2/17/2022:

-Nihongou

3/2022 in general: The Great Invasion occurs, bringing with it a sense of truly global scale I had never encountered in a game before. Everyone fights to protect their Citadels, and in Hinamori Citadel Mutsunokami sets out to save Munechika's life and prove his story's worth.

Led by Sengo Muramasa as Unit 1 Captain, Hinamori Citadel does its meager but worthwhile part in the fight to protect everyone's histories.

3/8/2022:

-Hyuuga Masamune (arrives with supplies /half-joking)

In between these two dates, Kashuu Kiyomitsu goes on Kiwame and helps turn the tide. Munechika returns as well, and with Mutsunokami's help Hinamori Citadel is saved.

3/23/2022:

-Hakusan Yoshimitsu (Hinamori Citadel's final reward for their Great Invasion efforts)

5/20/2022: (Edo Castle)

-Kogarasumaru

In Hinamori Citadel canon, Fukushima Mitsutada arrives 6/18/2022. In reality it takes a much longer time for me.

July 2022:

-Mitsutada goes on Kiwame, resuming his on-again off-again flirting status.

-Fudou Yukimitsu also goes on Kiwame, and much for the better. ;v;

7/14/2022:

Juurakutei Special Investigation Event tests everyone's mettle and Airi's temper, thanks to...

-Yamanbagiri Chougi

7/22/2022:

-Chiganemaru

7/27/2022:

-Chatan Nakiri

7/28/2022:

-Okanehira (appears out of the sand and will become the next Kiwame a few weeks later)

7/30/2022:

-Chiyoganemaru

7/31/2022:

-Sasanuki (gains the honor of Airi's first dubcon boyfriend)

8/18/2022: (Mutsunokami's Special Investigation)

-Hizen Tadahiro

8/19/2022:

-Nankaitaro Chouson

In late August, Taikogane Sadamune goes on Kiwame and flusters Airi terribly with his "groupies" line.

9/23/2022:

-Minamoto Kiyomaro

-Suishinshi Masahide

10/16/2022:

-Inaba Gou

10/21/2022: (Kasen's Special Investigation)

-Jizo Yukihira

November 2022 in general:

Fourth and Fifth Breakings: Higekiri and Hizamaru in their first time in battle during Training Camp. It's a tragic blow for Hinamori Citadel. Forgings are immediately attempted for a week straight, until...

11/10/2022:

-Hizamaru

11/13/2022:

-Hanjin

11/18/2022: (Kashu's Special Investigation)

-Ichimonji Norimune (Dangerously attractive??)

12/15/2022:

-Higekiri (after Hizamaru as always)

12/23/2022:

-Daihannya Nagamitsu (I finally decide Airi's an "Osafune Saniwa" after all, because goodness)

2023 Kiwame: There are less this time, but still a lot [here]

1/1/2023:

-Ningen Mukotsu (the first successful Winter Regimental Clash for Hinamori Citadel! Poetry Club is now even more powerful)

1/4/2023:

-Nukemaru

1/6/2023:

-Sanchomou

1/14/2023:

New Year's Stamp Pick:

-Onimaru Kunitsuna

Shortly after, in forging:

-Hacchou Nenbutsu

2/19/2023:

-Taiko Saimonji (the whole Saimonji family is reunited!)

3/6/2023:

-Himetsuru Ichimonji

6/27/2023:

-Jikkyuu Mitsutada, the last new sword in Hinamori Citadel

-Fukushima Mitsutada, officially home at last

The Last Kiwames (in the days before EoS):

-Daihannya Nagamitsu

-Higekiri

-Akashi Kuniyuki

-Hyuuga Masamune

[lotho]

Detective Conan but Kogoro Mouri knew since the beginning. 

He drunkly found the shrunken Shinichi and bc of being drunk believes him immediately. It starts raining and Shinichi is just telling him to take him to Dr Agasa but even when stupidly drunk he is still a father and carries the little shit being “noooo little kids need to be at home before they get a cold and sick. They need to be warm and tucked in.” He later wakes up to see his daughter fussing over the bloody “six-year old” “kid” and realizes that shit he knows. 

1000+ episodes of having to control this shrunken teenage genius to not die while also solving cases to make sure the little shit stops being a little shit. 

I just have so much brain rot for good dad mouri, like mini chapters and arcs in between the murder and beytral. Like I wanna shit on the somewhat absent parents shinichi’s parents were and Mouri being like ‘wtf I need to protect and help this child as much”. Like one of it being the parent’s day where as a shin’s parents were never there for it or any other big things in his life now as Conan he has to relive that shit but instead Mouri comes in saying things like “Hey I am temporarily your guardian, so deal with me doing guardian shit.” I mean he is here flirting with kid’s mom and teachers but he is doing his dang best. I also want Conan just help the shit in Mouri and Eri’s relationship, calling Eri over and making small dates to make sure they aren’t arguing, calling Eri mom or something and doing cute kid shit to ease the tension between them (eri later finding out? she is one of the smartest characters in the series soooo :))) )

I also thought with this with HeShin and KaiShin in mind for when Shinichi is back as a teenager and all Kogoro could think is six-year old Conan and just really fucking disapprove. ( “YOU SIX, YOU DON’T NEED A BOYFRIEND.” “I AM 18″) 

idk just brain rot, I sorta wanna write it but at the same time I am like ep140 and need like 900+ to go ;’)

[ranmouridesu]

i hate how lightly ran relationship with her parents is treated.

movie 2

i know kogoro and eri relationship is filled with the comedy scenario most of the time but everytime ran tries to get them back together, it actually breaks my heart.

she really looks up to her parents love.

file. 984-986

especially as a kid.

file. 570-573

"maybe...they still like each other?" crying </3

file. 264-266

eri left kogoro when ran was little, and although his father is an alcoholic who needs to be taken care of, ran has chosen to live with him. she learned to take care of herself and her father at a young age.

i bet sonoko and shinichi were there for her when that happened. i wish gosho would stop introducing new characters and focus on his main story and protagonists. i always wanted to see how they ended up like this, how ran decided to stay with her dad, how ran felt during the whole thing...

this brings me to think about people who blame ran for being a crybaby and useless. for crying and missing shinichi constantly. for these people is really easy to talk... because this poor kid must really suffer from abandonment issues. i mean her mom "left" her, her childhood friend are her anchor and one of them "left" her, no wonder she feels that way and misses him.

(note: i'm not blaming shinichi or anything, to clear things up, i'm just saying that it's normal for her to miss him so much, especially in the first chapters where she didn't even have his phone number.)

she attempted and failed to get back a united family so many times during the manga.

file. 163-165

she really tries her best.

file. 708-710

yet these two act so childish.

file. 708-710

i really love mouri family but they don't really think about their daughter's feeling. yet other charaters seems even to make fun of her wanting her parents to get back together. honestly i hope gosho doesn't disappoints me with kogoro and eri story. especially ran pov of the whole thing !!

i mean look how much she loves them !!

file. 374-376

must protect~ ♡

[dreamphoenixxx]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime, books, movies or tv series)? Thanks....

Hey there, of course I don't mind, I love getting such asks. I had actually never thought about ranking my favourite characters till now, so compiling this list was a lot of fun (although choosing just 10 characters was also really hard, I have way too many faves😅). So, here it goes:

10. Kyoko Mogami (Skip Beat! - manga)

Her growth and development is just chef's kiss. Someone who suffered through so much growing up, was betrayed by the people she trusted, lost the ability to love anymore, and gave up hope on ever achieving her dreams; was able to regain her trust in people, was able to make friends, fall in love and believe in herself all over again. She really deserves the world.

9. Christian Allister (The Maddest Obsession - books)

I am completely obsessed with his character. I read this book at least once every month, and it still sends my heart racing every time. He's my favourite male lead from a romance novel.

8. Ran Mouri (Detective Conan - anime)

This girl is an absolute badass. Strong enough to take down tough criminals, caring enough to take care of her irresponsible dad, patient enough to wait for her sorta-boyfriend to return from God knows where, and under-utilized enough to be a female character in a shounen manga. Seriously, I wish the author would give her more than just a "Ran, call the police/ambulance."

7. Itsuomi Nagi (A Sign of Affection - manga)

Most of my favourite male characters tend to be super possessive, Itsuomi is the only exception in this list, and the only one I would want as a real-life boyfriend. Seriously, he's an amazing boyfriend to Yuki and a really great guy overall.

6. Misaki Ayuzawa (Kaichou wa Maid-sama - manga)

I absolutely adore this girl. Her tsundere-ish personality, the strength she displays in order to protect her loved ones and how she's always grateful for the times she received help.

5. Mion Takamine (Pretty Rhythm - anime)

This was my introduction to the anime world and will forever have a special place in my heart. Mion's tsundere personality quickly made her my favourite character.

4. Haiba Jin (Tsuiraku JK to Haijin Kyoushi - manga)

I love how even though he acts disinterested and annoyed at his students' antics, he's always looking out for them and covers up for them, despite knowing it will put him in trouble. The way he's always making sure that he isn't holding Mikoto back, and telling her to leave all the troublesome parts to him and enjoy life as much as she wants, the way he acts possessive but never gets in the way of her freedom and just wants her to be happy. I just really want to see him have a happy ending with Mikoto.

3. Yona (Akatsuki no Yona - manga)

If there's a fictional character I aspire to be like, it's got to be Yona. She's another character whose development was absolutely amazing. The once naive and sheltered princess who didn't know a thing about her country's problems, goes though so many hardships and struggles and transforms into a fierce warrior, ready to lay down her life in order to protect her kingdom and her people.

2. Usui Takumi (Kaichou wa Maid-sama - manga)

I first read the manga when I was like 13/14 years old and Usui had been my absolute favourite since then. It wasn't until a few months ago that somebody finally topped him. But I still love him a lot, toxic traits and all XD.

1. Oya Toshiomi (Koi to Dangan - manga)

This Yakuza underboss is legit the sweetest, most gentle and caring person ever. The way he dotes on Yuri, whenever he gives that gentle smile of his, and by God, whenever he gets flustered, I feel like my heart's gonna explode. Seriously, this guy has all my heart.

You'll notice that when it comes to girls, I love the tough and reliable ones, and when it comes to guys, I love the head-over-heels for their love interest ones.

Special mentions to (because I just couldn't leave them out of it): Son Hak, Jae-ha, Kija, Shin-ah, Zeno, Yun (Akatsuki no Yona), Kei Takishima (Special A), Nana, Hachi, Shin, Yasu (NANA), and Tomoe (Kamisama Hajimemashita). I absolutely adore these characters too, but unfortunately couldn't fit them up there.

[balancingdiet]

Tabula Rasa

Detective Conan & Magic Kaito Characters: Shinichi/Kaito Words: 3000 ish Chapter: (1) ...��(14) (15) (16)

Shinichi always finds his neighbour weird. But he didn’t expect to find his neighbour lying on a patch of grass and donned in Kaitou Kid’s costume, too.

“You can never start anew when something is still holding you back. The mere fact that you’re running away from the media already says as much.”

...

“You should really go and find her.”

Shinichi pricked the skin under his thumb, glancing at the door to Mouri’s Detective Agency for the hundredth time in that fifteen minutes he’d spent standing in the middle of the stairs.

Most instances when Shinichi ever come to take a quick look and wonder how Mouri was doing, he always watched from a distance, or at best, from the front of Cafe Poirot. But today—after more than three years had passed since he returned back to his body—was the closest he had even been to the place he once called home.

“You should really go and find her.”

Swallowing, Shinichi took another step up the stairs.

“You should really go and find her.”

And another.

“You should really go and find her.”

Closing his eyes and taking one last breath, Shinichi reached out for the door handle and opened.

There was a ring Shinichi didn’t recognise above him, and on the cue, the sound of footsteps started pattering out from the kitchen.

“I’m so sorry, Mouri Kogoro isn’t—”

Shinichi turned, the last echo of the bell died away once the door closed behind him.

And then there was silence.

“You should really g—”

“Hi, Ran.” Shinichi raised a hand awkwardly. “I’m Kudo Shinichi.”

Ran’s quiet stare changed to a chortle, and even after so long, Shinichi was relieved to know he could still recognise if her laugh was a real one; and it was.

“Hi, Kudo Shinichi,” Ran said after she regained back her composure. “Are you here to consult my dad about a case?”

“Um—”

“I’m kidding. Have a seat.” Ran gestured him to the couch (which Shinichi realised was new, too). “Tea?”

Holding back the loud sigh of relief, Shinichi nodded. “Thanks.”

----

Hattori had advised a script, but really, all Shinichi could think of to say when Ran returned with two cups of tea and sat on the couch opposite of him was:

“I am sorry.”

It wasn’t the first time Ran heard the same three words from him, but her current reaction was the first time for Shinichi.

Not horrified, no angry tears...

She was simply calm. Quiet, and calm.

Shinichi gulped.

“It’s been three years,” Ran began. “More than three years, actually.”

“Yeah, more than three years,” he echoed, not knowing what else to say,

Ran tilted her head. “Azusa-san is right. You’ve lost some weight.”

Shinichi blinked.

She lifted the cup of tea to her lips, taking a sip. “I have gained some weight though, while I was in college.”

Now Shinichi really had no idea what to say.

Ran raised an eyebrow, and when Shinichi still didn’t say anything, she sighed.

“You’d told so many lies in the past, and now you can’t even say one to humour me about my weight?”

Shinichi winced. “Well...”

“Alright, I’m sorry. I should stop with the jabs.” Ran laughed behind the back of a hand. “But you should stop acting like a stiff cucumber too.”

Stiff cucumber? Shinichi squirmed in his seat. Now that he moved, he did feel a release of tension in his back. He tried relaxing his shoulders a little more, and while he did, Ran smiled.

“I do understand now; all those lies and things you'd done,” Ran suddenly said. “In the end, they were all to protect and keep me safe, even if they did hurt me temporarily.”

Shinichi gaped, being caught entirely off guard at Ran’s sudden flow of the conversation.

“It didn’t take me long to figure them out,” Ran continued, “In fact, I understood everything the moment you told me the truth, but I wanted to be angry, and refuse to forgive you just for the sake of it.”

Shinichi nodded in silence.

“I thought if I left for college—and never see you again—things would get better, but it didn’t.” Ran showed a bitter smile. “In fact, your neighbour has a point when he said how time—”

Shinichi straightened, and for the first time, he spoke, “My what?”

“Ah.” Ran bit on her lower lip. “I didn’t mention that I’d been to your new house, did I?”

“No.” Shinichi’s heart began to race. “When was that?”

“Around two weeks or so, after Ai— I mean, after Shiho-san told me your new address.” Ran looked away awkwardly as she brushed a fringe off her face. “Again, you weren’t at your new home at that time, but I saw your neighbour, and he was scrubbing your mailbox, for some reason.”

How initiative. Shinichi muttered drily in his head. But if the mentioned timeline of events was true... then the fried rice conversation Shinichi had in Kuroba’s house took place way after he knew about Ran.

Then why didn’t he say anything?

Ran scanned across Shinichi’s face. “In case you’re wondering, I told him not to tell you,” she explained.

Shinichi glanced up. “Oh.”

“The truth is, I was embarrassed,” Ran blabbered. “I wasn’t even sure if you knew I’ve returned. And... what if you’ve started anew? And that you don’t want to have anything to do with me anymore?”

“I would never think that.”

Ran smiled, but there was some guilt in her eyes. “But I did, before I left for college.”

“I...” Shinichi shrank back into his seat and shook his head. “Nobody can fault you for it.”

They exchanged a significant look, and a beat of silence passed before Ran broke it.

“Anyway, to make sure he wouldn’t tell, I gave your neighbour some context, saying we had a fight and I was angry at you for a while.” She sheepishly rubbed a hand over the side of her arm. “I hope it didn’t change his impression about you, or something.”

He already knew more than that. “No, it didn’t,” Shinichi assured.

“That’s good to hear.”

“You said he also has a point about something,” Shinichi prompted. “What is it?”

Ran twiddled her thumbs, a wave of nostalgia breezed past her features as her eyes slightly glistened.

“I once thought that distance makes the heart grow fonder, but I supposed that’s not the case anymore,” she mumbled. “And turns out, like what your neighbour said, time doesn’t heal all wounds either; it’s what we do, and the choice we make, that lessens or distracts the pain.”

“It’s me,”

Wide eyes, Shinichi lowered his gaze to his hands.

“I stabbed myself.”

“—Shinichi?”

“What? Sorry.” Shinichi straightened out of his trance.

Ran looked at him with concern. “Are you okay? You look... a little disturbed.”

“I’m fine.” Shinichi took a long sip of his tea, trying to buy some time to calm himself. He set the cup back on the table. “Is that all he said?”

Ran frowned and parted her lips, probably wanting to comment at length about Shinichi’s discomfort, but it seemed she changed her mind in the end, and instead, she turned, staring out of the window at the sound of a distant horn.

“He told me I should forgive you,” she said quietly, “That’s how I can lessen my pain.”

Shinichi stared, unblinking.

“And you.” Ran returned Shinichi a look. “Only if you know I forgive you, then it will lessen yours.”

“Ran...”

“I actually wanted to visit your house again in a few days’ time; Kazuha-chan encouraged me too.” Ran smiled. “But turns out you beat me to it.”

“I should be the one who finds you first,” Shinichi muttered. “I’m just... constantly running away.”

“But you’re here now; it’s more than enough to prove that you’re not running away anymore.”

Shinichi’s chest swelled.

Even when he didn’t want to find any excuses for himself, Ran did it for him.

Her kindness knew no bounds.

Shinichi lowered his head. “Do you really...”

“Yes, I’ve forgiven you, Shinichi.”

Shinichi bit his lip, enough to stop it from quivering. He took in a deep breath. “Thank you, Ran.”

They allowed the forgiving silence to sink in for a while, but soon, their conversation drifted away from their past but to the things they had missed out on each other’s lives. Frankly, the only happening Shinichi had besides his job was Kuroba and Kaitou Kid, but there wasn't any leeway available for him to share about that, so instead, he listened to more of Ran's stories as she talked about her college life, like how she had met a couple of great friends, stressed out in some of the math modules, and even dated once, though it ended half a year later (and strangely, the thought that Ran had found someone new during their separation didn’t bother Shinichi as much as he thought, or as much as he should be, too).

“Are you currently finding a job?” Shinichi asked, taking a piece of cookie from the plate that Ran brought out in the midst of their light conversation.

“I’m going back to my college.”

Shinichi frowned. “Haven’t you graduated?”

“I’m not returning as a student.” Ran smirked. “I’m going for a trainee program to become a Karate Instructor. One of my college professors arranged it for me.”

“Wow, that’s really great; it’s something you’re interested in, isn’t it?” Shinichi smiled when Ran nodded cheerfully. “When will the program start?”

“Next week,” Ran said. “That’s why I’d thought of visiting you in a few days, at least before I go.”

“I see…”

The bell by the door suddenly chimed, and both of them turned as they watched a woman, probably in her mid-thirties, stomped into the agency in a hurry. She glanced around before acknowledging their presences on the couch.

“Is Mouri Kogoro in?”

Shinichi and Ran stood up, but it was Ran that spoke, “I’m sorry, he’s currently away and will be back later. Can I schedule a meeting for you?”

“Do you mind if I wait for him here till he returns?” The woman glanced at the time on her phone. “It’s something urgent.”

“If it’s something urgent, we have another detective here.” Ran gestured towards Shinichi. “I’m sure he can help.”

The woman looked at Shinichi up and down. “It’s fine. I would prefer to speak and trust Mouri Kogoro.”

Shinichi and Ran exchanged a brief look, and they had to stifle a smile before the woman caught on.

As Ran invited the client to take a seat, she picked up the empty cups and cookie plate from the table and headed to the kitchen. Shinichi temporarily followed.

“I should go,” Shinichi said. He rubbed a hand behind his neck. “Will we... stay in contact?”

Ran laughed. “Of course, mystery geek.”

Shinichi couldn’t help but smile at the nickname. He glanced back at the living room and at the empty chair by the window, the one Ran’s father used to twirl around in with a newspaper in his hands….

He’d never thought he’d ever see this sight, let alone the shadows of everything here anymore.

“You can never start anew when something is still holding you back.”

“Please help me send my regards to your dad,” Shinichi said.

Ran’s eyes softened in understanding. “Sure.” She nodded, before her face lit up. “Oh, and send my regards to your neighbour too.”

Given Kuroba’s disguised history, he would rather not. So without making any promise on it, Shinichi bade a last goodbye, and left the agency.

----

Earlier in the morning, before Shinichi decided to find Ran, his car had actually broken down (and Shinichi briefly wondered if it was a sign from some kind of deity that he should postpone his meeting). But now, after he’d gotten the balls and all things were cleared, Shinichi thought sending his car for servicing might be the best idea that happened that day (besides seeking for Ran’s forgiveness, of course); having no car meant he was given the chance to take a rare walk, and walking meant he got to observe, and when he observed, he often found new and interesting things.

(And when one heart’s felt free, those things all seemed a little different now; in a good way of course.)

It was the little things at first, like how he noticed fresh layers of paint on some buildings, the weird cafe names that the owners came up with, the way couples synced their steps together so easily, and eventually how Beika street was actually not that far from the district Kuroba used to live.

By the time Shinichi realised, he was only a few stores away from the Ramen restaurant Kuroba recommended.

Shinichi checked his watch. It was a little early to have dinner, but really, his body should rather be pleased that Shinichi even considered having anything for dinner… He stepped into the slightly empty restaurant.

“Welcome— Oh! Shinichi-kun?” The owner waved Shinichi over to the empty seat in front of the counter.

“Yes.” Shinichi nodded as he hooked his jacket on the wall rack behind him. “You have a pretty good memory to remember my name.”

The owner laughed. “It’s hard not to, especially when you’re Kaito-kun’s friend.”

Friend? Shinichi settled on his seat. Deciding to forget about the comment, he picked up and scanned across the menu. He remembered the different ramen broths Kuroba had recommended, and he wondered if he should try them today…

“Why didn’t you and Kaito-kun come together?”

Shinichi glanced up from the menu. “We’re not together,” he blurted, scratching the side of his cheek when he realized his answer sounded a little weird. “I mean, I was alone and coincidentally nearby so I decided to drop by a visit. I don’t think Kuroba is around though.”

“He is!”

Shinichi paused. “He is?”

“Yeah.” The owner flipped the ramen in the air and plopped it skilfully back into noodle strainer. “He left shortly before you arrived. You two must have missed each other.”

An even earlier dinner? Shinichi stared outside the restaurant. He was sure Kuroba didn’t walk towards the direction he came from, so the only possible explanation was Kuroba had headed towards the other direction.

And that direction was…

“Does Kuroba come here often?” Shinichi asked the owner.

“He used to—”

“But there’s a period when Kaito-senpai stopped coming,” Chihaya—the owner’s teenage daughter—said as she backtracked to Shinichi’s side after she delivered a bowl of ramen to the customer. She playfully plopped onto the empty seat next to Shinichi. “He returned only just recently, like maybe a couple of months before he brought you here.”

Shinichi nodded. “I see…”

“You must be someone special,” Chihaya said as she started wiggling her eyebrows. “Besides Aoko-chan, you’re the first person he ever brought along.”

Shinichi blinked.

The owner raised his cooking chopsticks threateningly. “Oh, shush, you.”

Chihaya pursed her lips and gave a quick glance around the restaurant. “It’s fine, Kaito-senpai isn’t here anyway,” she said and waved her father off, though Shinichi detected some relief in her voice.

Shinichi caressed the menu, feeling the tiny imprints under his skin. Besides how his experiences as Edogawa Conan were enough to put all actors’ resumes to shame, he had been in legitimate undercover situations during his period of inspector work; it would definitely take little to no effort to get Chihaya to explain all the things Shinichi wanted to know, like why it wouldn't be fine if Kuroba was here and had heard all the things she just said...

But he did none of those.

Instead, Shinichi slotted the menu back to its holder and looked over to the owner behind the counter. “I’ll have one signature, please. And some dumplings too,” he said.

The disapproval look towards his daughter was gone, and the owner gave a thumbs up. “Coming right up!”

Chihaya left to do her other duties too.

It was fine like this; Shinichi figured if he wanted to hear a story, it would be best coming from the original source.

----

“Bong”

“Bong”

“Bong”

Shinichi raised his head, staring at the tall and mighty clock tower before him. Unlike the previous time, the bell didn’t stop its chime, and neither did the light show, as rays of white lights continued to shine in the darkened sky for the next couple of minutes or so.

Tourists, and mostly locals, started crowding in front of the tower and whipping out their phone to record the magnificence rather than observe through their eyes. Shinichi scorned; he wasn't prejudiced against anyone in particular, but it was a little frustrating, and distracting, given that now it made things all the harder for Shinichi to find what he was really looking for.

Kuroba Kaito.

Rather than reasoning and evidences, this was one of the rare times Shinichi relied on intuitive sense and guessed this as the place Kuroba headed to instead of the direction towards home...

All of the sudden, Shinichi's stomach made a loud, churning noise, and he sighed, rubbing his stomach.

Because he wanted to prove his intuition right, yet didn’t want to suddenly run out of the restaurant without eating, Shinichi ate in the speed of light when his food arrived (maybe he shouldn’t have ordered the dumplings, but he couldn’t resist). Now his stomach felt a little funny. Bloated, maybe. And it didn't help to feel that everything was a wasted effort when there was not a single person, nor a shadow, that looked like Kuroba, and all the pigeons and birds that loitered around the parade looked and sounded nothing like Kuroba’s doves too.

Despite that, Shinichi still refused to think he was wrong.

But he needed to sit down though.

Shinichi turned and pressed a hand on his back, feeling as if he was some embarrassing pregnant lady. He began trudging around, searching for a place to sit while pushing past the people who were still gushing over the clock tower…

Then, everything soon fell away—the chimes’ echoes, sound of snapshots, even his fullness—leaving Shinichi only the sight of a lone bench, which was far away from everything yet close enough for Shinichi to also see what was on it.

It was a stalk of blue rose.

[penprp]

On P5/DCMK...

I saw a very interesting post earlier that compared P5 and Detective Conan/Magic Kaito, drawing parallels between Hakuba and Kasumi, and between Akechi and Shinichi. (Not reblogging because the OP does not need my word vomit clogging up their dash.) I’m going to have to say that honestly, I see it the other way around-- Akechi is Hakuba and Kasumi is Shinichi. I suspect the OP has seen a bit more of the Royal trailers than I have, of course… but I’m gonna do a bit of a deep dive into Hakuba and Shinichi’s character evolutions first, and then explain the way I see the correspondence. I know the OP was focusing almost totally on their relationships to Joker... but I’m going to nerd out a bit further.

Okay, so it all starts back in the late 80’s with the manga Magic Kaito. Aoyama’s first manga series, if you can believe that. Magic Kaito introduces us to Kuroba Kaito, teenage magician, prankster, and occasional pervert. (It was manga in ‘87, that was practically required.) He slapsticks his way through a school day, and then discovers that his father, long dead in an accident, was the legendary thief Kaitou Kid! But Kaitou Kid is holding a heist tonight! Kaito crashes, dressed in his dad’s old costume and learns that his father’s accident was actually murder, and swears to bring the culprits to justice. So right away, we’ve got the tone set-- a lot of slapstick and silly humor, with the occasional dramatic suckerpunch hitting when you don’t so much expect it.

That goes on for two volumes, with mostly silly stories about Kid escaping an army of robot surveillance cameras, Kid helping a little boy deal with bullies, Kid dealing with an honest-to-god witch who’s attempting to put him under her spell, Kaito and Aoko hunting ghosts that turn out to be a teacher trying to hide his research into hair growth formula… you get the idea. Then in 88, Kid went on hiatus, as Aoyama had moved onto his next manga, Yaiba!

Then we hit 1994. Yaiba has just ended, as has a short baseball-themed series called Yoban Saado, and so Aoyama comes back to Kid. His drawing style has evolved and so has his storytelling-- seven years of continuous work will do that to you. There’s still a lot of slapstick and silliness, but the drama has tightened up its act and is now setting snares for you instead of just punching you and running off laughing. It’s in this period of time that we meet Hakuba Saguru.

I should pause at this moment to say that Aoyama Gosho has some of the strongest special interests I have ever seen in a mangaka. The man loves Sherlock Holmes, Arsene Lupin, stage magic, and baseball, not necessarily in that order. He also loves working in a semi-unified world. Yaiba ended with a character announcing that “Kuroba and Nakamori,” IE, Kaito and his best friend Aoko, were finally going out. The new volume has a chapter in which Kid goes up against Yaiba in one of the most ridiculously slapstick things the series has done at this point. Remember this for later.

So into this mess comes Hakuba Saguru, transfer student. Hakuba’s role, as suits the slightly more focused and dramatic tone of the series in this volume, is to be an antagonist slightly more competent than Nakamori. His initals make him a reference to Herlock Sholmes, but as he’s half-British, reading his name in the Western fashion does evoke Sherlock Holmes. Really, at this point, Saguru is not narratively one particular reference as he is The Detective-As-Antagonist. He’s handsome, smug, confident, charming, brilliant, and basically a rival to Kaito in every arena, from school to romance to their nightly activities. His very first appearance has him ignoring the trick that the rest of the police fall for, forcing Kid to step up his game. Not long after that, he actually manages to realize that Kuroba Kaito is Kaitou Kid, and comes up with a clever plan to prove it. Unfortunately, he’s still in the Magic Kaito manga, and thus is thwarted by a witch riding in on her broom. (It makes sense in context.)

It’s towards the end of this volume that Kid learns of the gem Pandora, the reason his father was murdered, and vows to find the gem himself and destroy it. At this point, Kid switches from stealing various interesting baubles to targeting gems and only gems.

… And cue Detective Conan, which has been running for, as of this writing, twenty-five years. (Dear God.) This introduces us to Kudou Shinichi, detective and Sherlock Holmes otaku extraordinaire. One of the first things we learn about Shinichi is that he is incredibly privileged. (He’s also a huge dork, but I digress.) He’s handsome. He’s rich. His parents love him, but they’re out of the country, leaving him to live on his own with a ridiculous degree of freedom. He has cases to stimulate him. He’s a brilliant detective whom the police and media adore. The kids at school love him, though none can really be considered his friends except Mouri Ran, his best friend. Shinichi’s biggest problem in life is that Ran has a nasty habit of cracking concrete with her fists when he says something insensitive. Later flashbacks and retcons tell us that Shinichi, while he can be hugely thoughtless, is nevertheless instantly ready to throw all of that power and privilege behind protecting the weak and the innocent. He’s just… better with victims and witnesses than he is with normal social interaction.

Contrast this with Hakuba, who while, yes, he’s rich and charming and his father has enormous social and political pull as the Superintendent of the police... he’s still half-white. And thus will always be, on some level, an outsider. Neither manga does a lot with this, but it is still there.

Then he witnesses a drug deal, gets shrunk into an elementary-schooler, and it all goes down the tubes. Shinichi starts off as being very much like Hakuba-- or rather, Hakuba was a sort of proto-Shinichi. But Shinichi has twenty-five years of appearances and is the protagonist, so he gets the kind of character development Hakuba could only dream of. Shinichi loses almost everything and has to build it anew, without the privilege he had to begin with. In the process, he grows and changes, becoming more thoughtful and more appreciative, with less smugness and ego.

Into this world, Gosho decides to do one of his usual things, and drop Kaitou Kid in for a story. Holmes vs. Lupin, it’ll be fun, right? The fans ate it up, and so Kid became a regular guest star. After that, when doing Sunset Mansion, a story loosely based on Young Kindaichi’s “House of Wax” story, which involves a detective gathering, Hakuba Saguru was a natural choice. And here we come to one of Hakuba’s issues as a character.

It’s now the year 2000. Detective Conan, always more serious in tone than Magic Kaito, given the rampant murders, has progressed in the past six years. The art is better, the storytelling is more dramatic… And Hakuba’s previous narrative slot has been filled by Shinichi. What does Gosho do with him? I think a lot of the characterization that follows was Gosho trying to get a handle on who Hakuba IS, in a world where all the characters he played off of have changed so dramatically. In Sunset Mansion, he acts more like James Bond than either Herlock Sholmes or Sherlock Holmes. He’s handsome, charming, and dangerous, and while he’s not convinced of Kid’s essential benevolence, he is adamant that Kid is no killer.

Fast-forward to 2006. Hakuba shows up again for the Tantei Koshien, a detective competition that seems designed to play up the differences between Hakuba and Hattori Heiji, Conan’s best friend and fellow detective. This is quite possibly the most characterization Hakuba gets, and he’s… not shown in a great light. He’s scornful of Heiji’s impulsive nature and rash action, and lets his focus on thefts and frauds mislead him into identifying the wrong culprit. He takes his correction rather graciously, but hasn’t appeared in Detective Conan since.

And now it’s 2007. Kid is rabidly popular, enough that Gosho puts out another volume’s worth of Kaitou Kid chapters. Now that we’re back behind Kaito’s eyes, we see a combination of the goofy prankster in the earliest chapters and the smooth gentleman thief we’ve come to know in Conan’s tales. These stories are more tightly plotted, with more danger and escapes, the magic tricks used to set up a central “howdunit” for the chapter, and there’s a bit more character development. Kid also evinces more detective skills, as there’s often a mystery for him to get to the bottom of, as well as his own tricks for others to decipher. Hakuba makes a guest appearance, calling Kaito to give him information when he’s going head to head with another kaitou over a rare gem, and then shows up when Kid is threatened by a murderous thief named Nightmare. At the end of this case, he agrees with Kid in deliberately hiding the truth of Nightmare’s identity, as the man is dead and the truth would only hurt his family now.

Hakuba is still charming, flirty, and confident, and to be honest, still kind of smug. But now he’s being shown as someone capable of empathy, not a detective concerned only with the law, or even the truth. He’s come to understand that justice requires mercy. But we don’t get to see any of this happen, and he’s still only in a few pages in two stories out of five.

Hakuba and Shinichi both have complicated relationships with Kid that can’t be boiled down to “rival” and “enemy” quite so easily. The biggest difference, in my opinion, is that Hakuba is chasing Kid to catch and stop him, while Shinichi really sees Kid heists as a chance to match wits with an intellectual equal. Hakuba is concerned with Kid’s breaking the law, while  Shinichi seems to consider that mostly a non-issue, being focused more on beating Kid as almost a matter of pride. He’ll give it back and nobody died, no big deal. … That said, Hakuba’s characterization in spinoffs such as the Magic Kaito specials is leaning a bit more towards actual rivalry, but that’s because in that continuity, he has bigger spiders to fry.

So why did I go into all that? We don’t know much about Kasumi, but we know a lot about Akechi, so I’m going to start with him. Visually, he resembles Hakuba much more than Shinichi, with the perfectly pressed appearance, light hair, and visually adult fashion choices. He’s a media darling, and is incredibly charming. Beyond that, in all his interactions with the Phantom Thieves before his reveal, he is apart from them, even when assisting them. His outfit is brilliant white and gold, rather than the blacks and reds of most of the team. He even tells them that while he will help them clear their name of murder, they have to stop thieving. This is all very Hakuba. Of course, it’s all a mask, but even so… he wants to stop the Phantom Thieves. He’s tied into the forces of law and order, both in his mask persona and as Yaldabaoth’s pawn. (Law and Order being two different forces here… although maybe not so different as they seem.) He’s strongly drawn to Joker and winds up helping him, despite what his position and duties would suggest.

Kasumi is… well, we don’t really know. Visually, however, as a thief, she strongly resembles Joker. We’ve seen that she seems to act as a Phantom Thief, even if she’s quoted as saying that she doesn’t believe in their justice. (“Thieves are boring,” Conan scoffs, right before meeting a nutter in a white top hat.) A lot of her visual shots are set up to suggest a strong parallel between her and Joker, and there’s a possibility of her being yet another Wild Card. Kaito and Shinichi are canonically said to resemble each other strongly, and while this is probably partially Gosho making fun of the fact that all his hot teenage boys look alike… he’s said there is a deeper reason for it.

This is all speculation, of course. We won’t really know until the game comes out. (Can we get a Switch port Atlus? Please?)

[yesyunniechan]

Movie 22 Trailer - English Translation

Sorry for being terribly late, I have a lot of work to do now =)

A: I have something I need to protect even at a cost of my own life.

C: What?!

C: Secret Police's...

H: Right... He was called Amuro.

C: A mysterious man with triple face.

C: A huge bombing incident that was aimed at Tokyo Summit.

C: Behind the scenes of it

C: A single man started to move

R: Dad?!

K: I didn't do anything!

E: Is there any evidence?

R: Help...

R: Dad...

R: Will get arrested!!

A: Once it involved Mouri Kogoro, you do your best...

A: Or maybe

A: That's for "Ran-nee-chan?"

A: How did he...

[One who uncovers the truth]

A: We're the PSB, and we're thinking in the interests of what will be best for this country!

[One who reaches for justice]

C: I won't admit this "justice"!

H: Found.

H: An object that's detected...

M: Prime-Minister!

M: Shoot-down order!

C: Oh no!

A: Roger.

C: Clashing souls

Ku: Don't fail it.

C: Secret Mission Mystery

Ka: A man called Amuro

Ka: Is a murderer.

Ko: Don't leave my side!

E: Y-yes

[Important thing]

A: No matter how much hatred I'll get

A: Until the end...

[Protect to the end]

C: So it's ok for people to die for "justice"?!

C: Oi-oi... That's a lie, right?

[mintchocolateleaves]

Hey there! I know that you're probably busy right now and that you aren't taking requests, but I have 2 questions that have been bugging me. Are Heiji's, Aoko's, Kazuha's and Ran's dads responsible parents?? Is there a link or a theory you could make as to why Gosho is making the 3 mentioned girls without a mother that looks after them (or that they're living with just their dad)?? Such a topic is probably overlooked by fans and Gosho so I don't blame you if you don't have an answer :)

Okay. So, I’ve spent the day thinking about this now, and I’ve got a few opinions and ideas on this so, I’ll answer beneath the cut:

Okay, I’m just gonna do the first question right now, because I don’t have a whole lot of time.

1.) Are Heiji’s / Aoko’s / Kazuha’s / Ran’s dads responsible parents?

I think what we need to consider here, is what we’re classifying as responsible. I did a quick online search as to parental responsibility, and maybe I’m taking it from a legal standpoint but that’s only so that we can keep this objective:

A parent must serve a child’s emotional and physical needs and protect the child from abuse from the other parent or another household member. Additionally,parents must meet their children’s basic needs for food, clothing, housing, medical care, and education. [x]

So from a legal viewpoint, fulfilling these conditions is what makes a parent responsible. Within the series’, each of the parents have met their children’s basic needs. Aoko / Ran / Kazuha / Heiji all have a home, all attend school and don’t go hungry. They all have clothes, which Gosho draws in a way that shows us they’re not tattered or old. And Heiji’s been injured enough times within the series that we know he’s received the appropriate medical care.

(While Ran cooks their meals, this doesn’t make Kogoro irresponsible, because he’s still providing money to pay for food and to support them. So, we can’t call him irresponsible on this front.)

There’s no abuse within their families, so we can miss that part out. Although, you could argue that abuse outside the family - e.g. through crime scenes - is something parents should protect their children from. 

So let’s see: We’ve only seen Kazuha’s father in eight chapters, so there’s not much I can say. From the way he reacted to Heiji so much as yelling at Kazuha though (Ch319), it’s plain to see that Ginshiro is pretty protective of Kazuha, and if he won’t let someone shout at Kazuha, then he’s definitely not going to let her walk into danger.

Ginzo, Aoko’s father, is protective of Aoko too. For example, in the most recent chapters, when Aoko falls in the pitfall trap, Ginzo tries to track her and blames KID for using a signal jammer. That he searches, means he’s obviously trying to find her. Kogoro as well, is protective of Ran (and Conan) and well, I’m not going to reference any particular chapters because if you’ve read / watched DC and haven’t concluded that Kogoro cares, then anything I put up isn’t going to convince you now.

Heiji’s father is a different compared to the others. I guess you could say that he’s irresponsible due to the fact that he openly uses Heiji as bait during a case (although Otaki was used to keep them safe) and arguably punching him was a dick move but… Does this make him a irresponsible parent? I’m not sure. I think maybe, the downfall on Heizo’s part is that he treats Heiji less like a son, and more like one of his detectives, although that’s pretty subjective on my side.

AND THE FINAL PART - EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL NEEDS. As far as we can tell, all physical needs are accounted for in regards to shelter, safety, medical care. It’s the emotional needs that we need to talk about.

So… As far as I can tell, Kazuha’s dad has given us no reason to debate him not offering emotional support. So let’s just say he offers it. Aoko / Ran / Heiji’s father’s have.

Let’s start with Aoko. From MK and that one file where her father forgets her birthday, we can assume that Ginzo is… kinda absent. I wouldn’t say that he’s overly so, but that he does overlook Aoko sometimes - however, there are times when he’s shown at home spending time with Aoko (and maybe I’m leaning on the anime more so than the manga). I think it’s fair to say that he’s there, if she needs emotional support, but that he’s also pretty work orientated.

Kogoro - listen, I’m not sure I can write about Kogoro without influencing you with my own personal views. So let me just throw my opinions in right now. Kogoro is a good father, he has flaws, yes. But if he were a bad father, Ran wouldn’t stay with him. Have you seen that post going around with the Mouri family shenanigans? He may be flawed, but Kogoro does offer emotional support to Ran.

And lastly. Heizo - he’s a very serious and seemingly cold person, so I’m not sure how much of a emotional support he is, and he and Heiji do seem to be on opposite sides during their interactions. But being a good father doesn’t equate to always being on the same side. I think that it’s probably Heiji’s mother who offers the emotional support in the Hattori family, but Heizo is a support network either way.

So - what’s my conclusion from all of this. Well, I’ve thrown ideas at you, and you can choose either way whether you think their parents are responsible. But personally, I think that they are.

(Does it show that I’m not good at conclusions?)

[maplebiscuit]

This is very spoilery so... yeah, look out for that.

Ok, so basically there's this guy called Shinichi Kudo (High school detective extraordinaire and a big fan of Sherlock Holmes) and his childhood friend and secret crush, Ran Mouri (Martial arts champ). After solving a VERY morbid case in an amusement park, Shinichi notices that two individuals dressed in black that were with them on the case but were innocent still looked very suspicious and chased after them after telling Ran to wait for him. He witnessed a transaction between one of the guys (Vodka) and a business man but while he was trying to film it he forgot about the other man (Gin), who knocked him out and fed him an experimental poison pill that was supposed to kill him and leave no trace of it on his body but it actually turned him into a child. After running to his neighborhood and convincing his neighbor Professor Agasa that he is indeed Shinichi, Agasa warns him to keep his identity secret from the organization that tried to kill him (Black Organization), Ran shows up looking for Shinichi and starts asking who he is, and Shinichi looks at the covers of the books on the library and comes up with the name Conan Edogawa (from the mystery author names Arthur Conan Doyle and Edogawa Rampo), Shinichi's alter ego is born and he starts living with Ran and his dad Kogoro Mouri, a detective who's really bad at being smart, and has a little credibility. With the help of Agasa and his helpful gadgets he starts looking for information about the organization and helping Kogoro solve cases, specifically using his watch that throws sleeping darts and making him fall asleep and using his voice modulating bow to speak for him and solve the case without being noticed. After a while he finds people who he can trust with his secret, or figured it out themselves, some of those people are:

His parents (Yusaku and Yukiko) who are never in the country and when they are they mostly annoy Shinichi, warn him about his desire to catch the organization and create alibis for him to distract Ran.

Heiji Hattori, who's also a very famous high school detective from the West, he was a rival to Shinichi but since he figured out he was Conan he basically became his bro (much to Shinichi's annoyance) and frecuently pretends to be him, so no one figures out his secret and protects him when he gets on dangerous situations, they solve a lot of cases together and became really close friends.

Ai Haibara (real name Shiho Miyano) who was a scientist working for the organization and is the one who created the poison drug that turned Shinichi into a child, when she tried to escape the organization she used the pill to turn herself into a kid and was found wounded and unconscious by professor Agasa, now she changed her name to Ai and lives with the professor, trying to make a permament antidote for the drug (because Shinichi wants it) and hiding from the organization. She and Shinichi are very close confidants and have both saved each other's life multiple times, she also has feelings for Shinichi but she never admits it. Ai has the ability to sense when people from the organization are close by, filling her with inmense dread. She also had a sister who knew about Shinichi's identity, Akemi Miyano, but she was killed by the organization (because she was dating an undercover FBI agent), and died before Shinichi could help her. It still affects Ai very deeply.

There's also Kaito Kid but he only knows that Conan is Shinichi in the movies. He is a phantom thief that is also in an endless journey to find Pandora, which is a gem that grants inmortality, and destroy it so it doesn't fall in the hands of a mysterious organization (it is not the same one from Detective Conan), he likes Shinichi because he is the only one who can go toe to toe with him and loves to get reactions out of him with his magic tricks. He has also helped Shinichi multiple times and Shinichi has some extreme faith in Kaito in the regard that he can get away with almost anything and not die, so Shinichi asks him outrageous things sometimes, like disguising as Shiho Miyano without telling him that she was being chased by the Black Organization and almost getting him killed, which Shinichi laughs off.

The plot progresses at the speed of molasses so don't expect to go to an episode and find something very important going on, tho it is still an incredibly fun episodic show and it is really easy to het invested, hell only last year we finally saw Shinichi get a kiss on the cheek from Ran and it only took what, 23 years?? :')

I think I already spoiled a lot so i'll shut up now.

Someone please summarize Detective Conan for me so I don’t have to watch all 98757623 episodes thanks

[lisatelramor]

A Summer’s Day

I never seem to be able to write femslash pairings for February, but this at least I finally got something out. I’ve been wanting to write more ladies. <3 I pulled random names for the heck of it a while back for characters to kiss, so expect some really random fics from me for a while. Aoko/ Ran – Summer

Cloudless blue sky was met by a long stretch of turquoise waves and a stretch of golden sand. People and towels dotted the beach already despite it still being early in the morning. Aoko didn’t care about them though, not when there was warm sand and cool water to be enjoyed.

“The beach!” she yelled, dropping her things at a free spot above tide level and running for the surf.

She laughed wildly as water surged around her toes, spinning to embrace the whole picture. I’ve been waiting all summer!”

“Having fun already?” Ran called from further up the sand. She and Akako picked their way closer.

“Yes!” Aoko had wanted to go so much, but you couldn’t take Kaito to the beach and expect him to swim. He was too likely to run into a fish and panic. Keiko didn’t like sand and burned easily. Thankfully Akako liked the excuse to wear a bikini and Ran was more than happy to tag along to play in the water with Aoko. Yet another reason Aoko was glad they’d become friends. About the only good thing to come out of Kid heists in her opinion.

Aoko left the water and charged back to where Ran was carefully laying out towels. Akako surveyed the beach behind oversized sunglasses, a satisfied smirk on her face. With reason; she had a great body and her bikini was just the right shade of red to compliment her hair.

“I’m so glad you could come!” Aoko said to her friends. They couldn’t ask for a better day with the bright sun and a breeze coming off the water to keep them from overheating.

“It’s our pleasure, Nakamori-chan,” Akako said. She adjusted her sun hat and put her hands on her hips. “You can leave your stuff with me. I think this is the perfect spot.” She was already eying some of the boys glancing in her direction. Aoko bet she’d have them at her beck and call within the hour. So long as she was having fun though.

“Thanks, Akako-chan.” Aoko stripped off her jacket, embracing the sunlight against her skin.

“Don’t you look nice,” Akako said, still smirking. She poked Aoko’s bare midriff. “Aren’t you unusually bold. And Kuroba isn’t here to see it.”

Aoko crossed her arms over her belly, blushing. “If he was coming I wouldn’t wear it,” she retorted. Kaito teased her enough as it was. He’d probably annoy her half to death over showing a bit of skin.

“It’s nice,” Ran said. “The ruffles are cute and the blue suits you.”

Aoko blushed harder. Ran was just so...nice. Akako had a sharp tongue and Kaito could be a total jerk, and while Keiko was nice, she was a bit spacey sometimes. Ran was nice and down to earth and just... Mature and pretty. Aoko wasn’t quite sure what she felt when Ran complimented her. “You look nice too,” she said. Ran had a one piece suit that suited her well. It was red like Akako’s but a less eye catching shade.

“Thanks,” Ran said with a dazzling smile.

Akako snorted. She sat on one of the beach towels with far more fluidity than such a simple motion should have had. “You two have fun in the water.”

“You too!” Aoko said. She bounced on the balls of her feet as Ran took the time to put some sunblock on, offering the tube. Aoko shook her head. She didn’t burn, just got tan all over. “Water?” Aoko asked as Ran finally tucked her things in a neat pile.

“Yup!” Ran said.

Aoko grinned and caught her hand, pulling her toward the water. Ran laughed, letting herself be pulled.

“You sure like the beach,” she said.

“Of course! It’s the best part of summer. I used to go all the time as a little kid, but most of my friends these days aren’t beach people.” And there were reasons why there weren’t family trips anymore. With her mom gone and her dad always busy....well, she was glad that she had some new friends to go with. Aoko splashed straight into the waves.

Ran yelped as cold water splashed up her legs, letting go of Aoko’s hand as her arms went up to protect her middle. “Cold!”

“Not that cold,” Aoko said. She was up to her shoulders now. “You just have to go right in. It’s easier than wading in.”

Ran looked at the water, then screwed up her face. She ran forward and all but dived into the next wave. She came up sputtering and shaking water out of her hair. Aoko laughed at her.

“Was that so bad?” Aoko teased. She floated closer.

Ran scrunched her nose. “Yes. It’s cold!”

“That’s the point!” Aoko laughed. Hot sun, cold water, the perfect summer combination.

Ran stuck out her tongue and sent a splash in Aoko’s direction.

Aoko grinned. It was so on. Ran shrieked as Aoko sent a much bigger splash back. In minutes they were laughing and splashing salt water everywhere.

“I surrender!” Ran said after Aoko escalated to dunking her with an enthusiastic tackle. She was warm in the cold of the ocean. Aoko was overly aware of where their bare skin slid against each other as they treaded water. “You’re good at that,” Ran said.

“I usually have splash fights against Kaito at the pool,” Aoko said. She was more out of breath than the splash fight should have merited. “Kaito likes to play dirty so I had to be better.”

Ran giggled. “We should team up some time and catch him off guard.” Maybe it was light reflecting off the water but her eyes seemed to sparkle more than usual. “We should take Shinichi too and dunk him. He always tries to act like he’s too old for that kind of thing.”

“I should introduce him to Kaito. Kaito’s like a little kid so maybe they’d balance each other out.” Or Shinichi would snap and try to kill Kaito, but that would hardly be the first time someone lost their patience with Kaito. Aoko did on a daily basis after all. And if Kaito had gotten Hakuba to lighten up, he could get anyone to.

Ran giggled again. “It’s a plan.”

Aoko’s stomach fluttered at the conspiratorial smile on her face. They were still too close after that last tackle. Aoko swum backward and pointed at a random rock a bit away. “Race you?”

“Go!” Ran said.

The swim helped settle the fluttering feeling in Aoko’s stomach, replacing it with the adrenaline rush of a challenge and a good workout. Still, Ran reached the rock a few seconds before Aoko and is too nice to even gloat like Kaito always did. She even offered a rematch later.

For a bit, Aoko just floated, letting Ran swim where she wanted. The sky was so big and open here. No city skyscrapers or smog in sight, just blue expanse with wisps of fluffy white cloud and seagulls riding the air here and there. With her ears underwater everything was so peaceful. She could just drift here like this forever.

She had to move eventually though, and when her stomach started to rumble, Aoko made her way back toward Ran and the shore. “Time for a picnic?” Aoko offered.

Ran nodded. Back with their things, Akako had gathered a half a dozen hangar-ons and was sipping a fruit juice drink of some sort through a straw.

“Does she do that sort of thing a lot?” Ran asked as they got out of the water.

“Yeah.” It was one of those things that either bothered people or they accepted it and moved on. “I think she just likes the attention honestly. The only person she’s ever seemed actually interested in is Kaito and he doesn’t like her back.”

“Huh.”

“She’s not mean about it though. Akako-chan is just...different.”

“I’d like to get to know her better,” Ran said. “Since she’s your friend.”

Aoko smiled. “She’s a lot nicer than she seems at first,” she said.

Akako waved away her admirers as Ran and Aoko came over, sending them off with a wink and an implied promise to chat more later. “I saved you both some cold waters,” she said, pointing to two drinks set under Akako’s beach umbrella alongside her fruit juice. “The boys insisted I keep hydrated.”

“Thanks, Akako-chan!” Aoko chirped.

Akako eyed the sand clinging to their wet feet and legs. “You might not want to step on your towels. Until you dry off a bit more.”

“Good point.” They could still sit at the edge of the towel to eat lunch though.

Ran picked up the small cooler she’d brought along and pulled out three stacked bentou boxes. “Lunch?”

“She even cooks,” Akako said with a grin. “How nice.”

“It’s just a bentou,” Ran said, handing out the boxes. “Nothing special.”

Aoko begged to differ. There were four different dishes and a little salad in each box and a serving of rice on the side. It all looked delicious. “Thank you so much for making these.”

“No problem. I like to cook.”

“Even nicer,” Akako said under her breath. Aoko poked her with a sandy toe and got an eye roll in return. “Thank you, Mouri-chan, it looks delicious.”

Aoko gave thanks for the meal and dug in. It was just as good as it looked and she could picture Ran standing over the stove to get the chicken bites fried to perfection and cutting the cucumber into thin slices for the fresh pickles on the side. So good. She didn’t even care that Akako was laughing at her again. “I can’t cook even half as good as this.”

“I’m sure you can cook well,” Ran demurred, eating at a much slower pace. How did she make eating pickles look good? Even Akako’s dainty eating methods didn’t look that graceful. Aoko slowed down, aware that she probably looked childish in comparison.

“She can cook,” Akako said, “but it’s not going to have pretty results and it’s probably going to be too salty.”

“Tou-san likes salty foods,” Aoko muttered.

“You might want to cut back on the salt. It can’t be good for his blood pressure.”

Aoko winced. Kid wasn’t good on her father’s blood pressure.

“We should cook something together sometime,” Ran said, smoothing everything over. “I can share one of my favorite recipes and you can show me one of yours.”

Aoko smiled into her rice. “Yeah. That’d be nice.” This time it was Akako’s foot poking her. She tilted her head questioningly. Akako raised an eyebrow in return, but Aoko wasn’t sure what she was getting at. Akako rolled her eyes and went back to her food.

She was done eating a lot sooner than everyone else. She drank the water Akako got them, letting her mind wander. Maybe they should swim more? Or play beach volleyball—people always played that in manga, right? Only there was really only Aoko and Ran to play because there was no way Akako would ever dive for a ball, and they didn’t bring a ball in the first place. They hadn’t brought a melon, though they did bring sparklers. Sparklers were better at night though, and Aoko wasn’t sure if they could actually light them on the beach in the first place. Her eyes lingered on sand stuck to Ran’s ankles... and her calves. Which were attached to her knee, which led to thigh, which—

Aoko swallowed too big a mouthful of water and slammed the bottle back to her beach towel. “Sand!” she declared as both Ran and Akako looked in her direction. “I am going to go build a sandcastle! Ran-chan, thank you for the meal!”

“You’re welcome?”

Aoko hoped her face wasn’t as red as it felt. Maybe she could pretend it was the start of sunburn—only no, that would mean she’d have to have sun screen and maybe Ran would offer to help put it on her back—! Aaaah.

This had not been why she invited Ran to the beach. This was not how a person interacted with friends either. Aoko splashed into the ocean just to let the cold water shock her. It helped, but not much. She crouched, staring at sand and tiny pebbles and bits of shells. It figured she’d mostly worked past her crush on Kaito only to latch onto the first new friend she made. And she couldn’t think of anyone more different than Kaito in all ways. How even?? No. she pushed all of it back down and away, determined that it wasn’t going to get in the way of the fun day. Besides, it wasn’t like Aoko liked any other girl before. It was probably just. Admiration. Or a healthy amount of respect. Because Ran was an amazing person.

Blah.

Aoko scooped up handfuls of wet sand and pulled it back away from the water so she could use it to build a castle. She did mean to build one. It was a bit of a pity that she hadn’t thought to bring a shovel or bucket though. That would have made it easier.

A lumpy square shape built up from the sand, then a sort of dome on top of that. It wasn’t very castle like, but Aoko supposed that it would do. Artistry was more Kaito’s thing. She wasn’t surprised when Ran joined her. She didn’t say a word, just scooted over so that Ran could have access to wetter sand as Aoko tried to hunt down different sizes of smooth rocks and pebbles.

She found ten ragged feathers, some driftwood sticks, a half of a shell and a handful of smooth rocks ranging from almost the size of her palm to barely bigger than her thumb nail. Ran, it seemed, did have artistry. She took the lumpy shape and smoothed the edges into something more square and added dribbled towers of sand. There were little indents for windows and Ran had started in on what might be a moat.

“You’re good at this, Aoko said.

“Sand used to be my favorite part of the beach,” Ran said as her hands scooped damp sand into valleys and hills. “You can make things in it or you can look for things. Like searching for buried treasure.” She grinned up at Aoko. “One time I spent the whole day digging holes because I’d watched Treasure Island and I was convinced that there had to be something hidden in the sand.”

“Did you find anything?” Aoko put feathers into the top of each tower like some sort of flag.

“I found two five yen coins, rocks, and half of a dead fish.”

Aoko wrinkled her nose. “Eew.”

Ran giggled. “The coins were a bit like finding treasure. I scraped my hands raw though.”

Aoko, who had only dug a bit of sand, could understand why. Digging into damp sand felt a bit like digging into fluffy sandpaper. If she kept digging where the sand was more compressed, it would probably feel like scraping against a rock.

Ran used Aoko’s driftwood to make a bridge over the moat and they both took turns placing smooth stones in a circle around the dome of the sand castle. By the time they were done, it vaguely resembled a building. They were also completely covered in sand.

Ran retrieved her cell phone and took a picture of it. “To keep the memory,” she said. Aoko knew that with or without a photo, she wasn’t going to forget this beach day.

After rinsing off the sand, the rested in the shade of Akako’s parasol for a while. There were too many people at the beach coming and going for it to be truly peaceful, but Aoko felt relaxed all the same.

Akako hummed beside them. “We should get ice cream.”

“Ice cream?”

“Unless you planned on swimming more?” Akako’s eyebrow peeked past the rim of her sunglasses.

Part of Aoko wanted to go swim more and just float in the swell of the waves. The rest of her didn’t want to move, too content to bask on a warm beach towel. She rolled to look at Ran. Ran looked just as content to lay there as Aoko. She had a bit of pink across her nose, just the hint of sun.

“Ice cream sounds nice,” Ran said. A good way to round out the day since they couldn’t stay forever.

They shook sand out of their belongings and packed them back up to go stand in line for ice cream. In a moment of impulsiveness, Aoko hooked arms with Ran and Akako. “We should do this again,” she said. Again this summer. Again next summer. Just again, to have more moments of fun and taking pleasure in companionship. She wanted more of Akako’s teasing and comfort in her own skin, more of Ran’s warmth and playfulness.

“We should.” It was Akako that said it, surprising since Akako wasn’t really social the way most people were. She didn’t spend time with people, people spent time on her, but she was a friend now and Aoko knew it wasn’t just humoring Aoko these days when she agreed to come along. Aoko leaned against Akako for a brief second in thanks, then against Ran just because she could.  

“To the beach,” Ran agreed, “and doing other things. There’s a festival coming up. Let’s meet up for that.”

“You can bring Shinichi and I’ll bring Kaito,” Aoko said, “and we can see if they balance each other out or not.”

“I vote we invite Hakuba-kun too,” Akako said. “I’m sure it would make an interesting evening.”

Aoko nodded with a few reservations on the idea. She liked Hakuba. But Hakuba and Kaito got along about as well as oil and water mixed sometimes.

“Hakuba Saguru?” Ran asked. “The detective?”

“Yes. A gentleman,” Akako said with her usual smirk. “He’s make a lovely escort for an evening.”

“We’ve met. I think Shinichi would probably get along with him. We could let the boys talk and go do festival games.”

Aoko smiled. “I call goldfish scoop.”

Akako laughed. Their arms stayed linked right up to reaching the ice cream stand.

Aoko got a strawberry cone, all creamy and sweet as it melted fast in the summer heat. Akako—getting a popsicle instead—stood with them eating for a handful of minutes before meeting the eye of one of the boys from earlier. Aoko saw the spark of intent in her eyes before she opened her mouth.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. Watch my stuff?”

“Of course, Koizumi-san,” Ran said.

Aoko hadn’t really thought about how close they were standing off to the side of the ice cream vendor until Akako wasn’t there to balance the scene out. Strawberry ice cream dribbled down her knuckles and Aoko chased it with her tongue. Ran ate her ice cream with a spoon, no drips at all with the little plastic dish holding it all in. Aoko opened her mouth but words didn’t come. She filled it with ice cream instead.

“Thanks for inviting me,” Ran said, filling the silence.

“Any time.” Aoko licked strawberry from her lips. “I mean it. You can visit whenever. Call whenever. I like spending time with you and you’re a good friend and I’d love to spend more time.” Aoko cut herself off.

Ran was smiling at her when she got the courage to glance up. “I like spending time with you too,” she said.

If Aoko didn’t do something she was going to combust. Or die of complicated emotions and objectless embarrassment. She shoved her cone in Ran’s direction. “Bite?”

Ran didn’t even look surprised as she took a bite. “It’s good.” She offered a spoonful of her matcha ice cream back and Aoko’s teeth scraped against the plastic spoon, chilled by the cold ice cream. It barely registered, her mind too preoccupied by the fact that Ran had had the same spoon in her mouth moments ago.

“Yum,” she said. She couldn’t even taste the flavor over the pounding of her heart. Could she...? Did she dare...? “Ran...”

“Mm?” She had the spoon hanging from her lips and her hair was mussed from the breeze and drying with salt water in it and there was still that pink strip of sunburn across her face. The ice cream in Aoko’s hand was dripping down her wrist, but she barely noticed it. Ran’s tongue licked ice cream residue off her lips and Aoko found her own tongue mimicking the action, the flowery-green aftertaste of matcha ice cream lingering on her taste buds.

“Ran-chan I...I am really glad to have you as a friend,” Aoko said, chickening out last moment.

Ran blinked at her. Her head tilted to the side, something contemplative crossing her face. Aoko couldn’t quite look at her face for more than a moment. Aoko didn’t want to ruin it all. Not their friendship or the day.

“Aoko-chan.” Ran’s fingers, cold and a bit damp from the ice cream container, touched Aoko’s cheek. She jumped, looking up. Ran had a smile on her face, but her eyes were serious. “I like you too.”

Ice cream dribbled down Aoko’s elbow as she gaped. “What?”

“I’m glad to have you as a friend and,” Ran leaned in. Aoko’s eyes couldn’t get any wider. Her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her ribs with how fast it was beating. Ran’s lips pressed hers, damp and just a bit sticky and shockingly cold from ice cream. It was chaste, a there and gone brush of lip on lip, but it was enough for Aoko’s knees to wobble and her face to burn. “And I like you too,” Ran finished, a blush blending with her sunburn.

Aoko licked her lips. Matcha and bitter sweet. “Oh.”

“Oh finally,” Akako said.

Ran and Aoko jumped apart. Aoko hadn’t even realized they’d been gravitating closer and closer until that moment. Her brain felt like it had fled with the kiss. It couldn’t be healthy for her heart to beat so fast or for her breath to keep catching in her chest. “What?”

“You are both sickeningly obvious,” Akako said. She grinned and bit into her popsicle. “I thought you were both going to be idiots about it,” she said after swallowing the bite. “I underestimated you Mouri-chan.”

“Akako-chan!” Aoko squeaked.

Akako rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how much of a third wheel I felt watching you stare at each other when the other wasn’t looking. By the way, your ice cream is turning into soup.” She nodded at Aoko’s cone.

Aoko shoved the sticky mess into her mouth like it could stop her face from burning. Ran held out a handful of napkins as Aoko struggled between too big of a bite, brain freeze, and trying not to choke on melted ice cream and waffle cone bits. She looked about as embarrassed as Aoko though she was handling it with more composure.

“I hadn’t realized you were paying that much attention,” Ran murmured. She helped wipe ice cream residue off Aoko’s arm.

Akako snorted. “I have eyes. And flirting doesn’t take that much of my attention.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I’m glad for you two. You’re cute together. In a cloying overly sweet way.”

Ran raised an eyebrow. “Thanks. I think.”

“I think I’m going to go back into the ocean and drown,” Aoko mumbled, finally swallowing the last of her cone.

“It’s not that embarrassing,” Akako dismissed. “Kuroba-kun has flashed your panties to the whole class. Objectively speaking, that is far more embarrassing.”

“Has he now?” Ran asked, getting a strange look in her eye that reminded Aoko of the time Ran literally kicked the butt of someone that tried to steal Aoko’s purse.

“Kaito’s an idiot,” Aoko said. “Idiots get whacked with mops.”

“Hm.” The look didn’t leave Ran’s face.

“Are we about ready to go?” Akako asked. “The next bus is leaving in fifteen minutes. By the time we get back to Ekoda, it will be almost dark enough to pull out those sparklers.”

“Ran-chan?” Aoko asked.

“If you’re both ready, I am,” Ran said. She had finished her ice cream, the container tossed into the nearby garbage can like the considerate person she was.

“Lovely.” Akako finished her treat and tossed the stick toward the garbage can. It went in by a narrow margin. She strode forward, passing people parting for her like she was a queen as she led the way. “Let’s go so we don’t miss that bus.”

Aoko laughed softly, still off kilter. Ran shook her head. Neither of their blushes had quite faded. Ran held out her free hand. “Shall we?” she asked.

Aoko looked at the hand for a moment before smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. “Yeah!” All the back and forth nerves of the day seemed to transform into a giddy rush of energy. Ran liked her! Her! Liked Aoko! She took Ran’s hand and twined their fingers together, so wonderfully aware that she could and didn’t have to wonder if it was crossing a boundary.

This was the best day ever.

[kyutoryu]

ask game: SHINICHI (dc)

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral (he looks pretty generic) | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: he’s a gooberworst quality: doesn’t tell ran that he’s conanship them with: HEIJI (and to a lesser degree out of nostalgia i’ll get emo about shinran)brotp them with: the mouri family bc FUCK you kogoro is his real dadneeds to stay away from: his parents. or at least, yuusakumisc. thoughts: i will protect him,