#the proud detective/justice officer

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

"Drunk Reverse"

[Stanley texting Haru when drunk] :3c

(TEXT): Haru. I want you. I need you.

(TEXT): please reply. Or call. I can't wait any longer. I want you so bad.

(TEXT): I want to fuck that tight hole and make you mine. I'm sure you miss my big dick.

*5 dick pictures send in Haru's message, along with a picture of his pecs*

Haru was eating something for lunch but that's when he was getting a text message seeing it was from Stanley. As he was drinking some soda, he suddenly blinks.

(Text): Stanley, did you get into your hidden stash again?

"He must be again..." he sweat drops but as he reads them, his face blushed a light pink till he sees the pics only to blush worse with a nosebleed. He didn't say anything but felt hot to remain silent gripping his phone. "Damn it.."

[journen]

do you have a list of good CoD fanfics, or favorite writers in general?? <3

Presented in no particular order, here are some of my personal faves / fics I really enjoyed, and my own summaries for them. Hopefully you enjoy, thanks for the ask, anon!!!

I didn't tag all the authors because I'm not sure if they all have tumblrs, but also I'm shy tagging people ahjdfhkaheje. If any authors here are mentioned tho and you have a tumblr, feel free to lmk and I can update this post to include your tag!!:)

Anything rated mature I colour coded the name in red, and anything explicit green. Not all the mature fics feature smut, but yeah! I didn't want to link anything tooooo explicit here, but if anyone wants any, I can definitely rb this post to add a few more 😅

Also, just beware the tags on any of these fics because some feature kind of heavy subject matter. 👍

COF FIC REC LIST:

A Very MacTavish Christmas - @m3rrywe4ther

Prob my fav fic in the fandom lololol. HUGE RECCOMMEND. It's about Johnny who gets roped into spending the holiday Christmas season with his , for the most part, very not so nice family, and Simon accompanies him. So much stuff happens in this fic and it's such a great character exploration of Simon and Johnny independently, but also as a couple, and just so much stuff happens in it lol again, HUGE RECOMMEND!!!

We'll make Death Proud to Take us - Literal_Satan

Fic where, it starts off really sweet where Simon goes to Scotland with Johnny to spend Christmas with him and his family, but things take a drastic turn when Soap's brother, a police officer/detective, gets a little too curious about mysterious Simon, and the story spirals from there. All the guys end up on this crazy goose chase tracking down some of the people who were involved in Roba's brainwashing operations. The fic gets v dark at times and deals with some very heavy trauma so beware, but it's SO. GOOD.

Dream a Little Dream - Angelicasdean

Again, one of my total fav fics in the fandom!! AU where Simon leaves the army to raise his nephew Joseph, who's the sole survivor of the Riley family massacre, and Johnny is one of the daycare teachers at the daycare where Simon takes Jo 🥺🥺👍👍

Pretend to love me like I do - FetteEule

Really cute fic of Simon who accompanied Johnny to Scotland for his sister's wedding, under the ruse they are dating. They are v much pining but not there yet. Features lots of really cute domestic moments and Simon being really sweet to Johnny's kid nephew 😭🧡

Something important - Anonymous

One of the fics that has me totally brainrotted rn. It's about Simon's who's been de-aged to 6 years old, and Price, Gaz and Soap all taking care of him and trying to figure out how he got turned, and how to turn him back! They all get tested on their abilities to care for a child, and unwillingly learn a lot of details about Simon's childhood they never knew. This summary doesn't do it justice tho, so I'd just recommend checking it out! Beware tho again, there is some dark childhood trauma stuff but there are warnings at the start of each chapter that contains references to it.

Seasons - StinglessWasp

In this fic every chapter is set during a different season and tells a unique sort of story/mission/interaction Soap and Ghost have. Definitely some v good angst&hurt/comfort stuffs too. Starts off pre-relationship, and explores their characters a lot! It's just really good HUGE reccommend lol.

What the Eyes Don't see - WhiplashRogue

One of my FAVESSSS! So the premise is like, Soap can actually see ghosts ever since he was a child (which most other people can't see and also don't believe in), and Ghost has 2 spirits attached to him that follow him around(Joseph, and Roach). The fic starts off pre relationship, and it mostly about Soap trying to learn more about these two spirits and discovering more about Ghost's past.

All that's said in the Low Light - Headlocket

Probably one of the most emotional I've ever read LMFAO. It's about Johnny, who receives a back & knee injury bad enough he gets discharged from the army, and is back in Scotland living with his parents as he recovers. He and Ghost lost contact a bit since the accident, and it's sort of a story of them reconnecting. This description doesn't do it justice, just read it, but it will emotionally destroy you lol

Time Loops Suck (series) - Enter_fand0m_reference00

The first installment of the fic takes the idea that Soap is stuck in a time loop during the alone mission! And all the optional dialogues and interactions in thE alone mission are separate attempts of his trying to survive the loops and rendez vous with Ghost. It's just sooo good!! And then there's a follow up fic where it deals with the mental aftermath of the loops and Ghost comforting soap through it, then there's 2 other installments of Simon who instead goes through a time loop! They are such great character explorations in how both Soap and Ghost experience the loops, and I whooleee heartedly reccommend.

Yellow Card - SkerryB

Soccer au fic!! It's so good! Simon is the captain of a soccer team Soap is drafted to as their new goalie. Simon has had a history with Soap before though, that he was the only goalie Simon could never score on! So that's how it starts, and it's just so good from there!! Simon's family are also alive in the fic and his nephew is adorable.

You swept me off my feet - @ghoulishhone

Ghost is down bad for strong Soap, the fic xD This was a fic Ghoulishone and I were paired together to work on for the Ghostsoap server reverse bang! They wrote the fic and I made some accompanying art. Just a cute fic of Soap having to pick up Ghost after he gets injured and some other shenanigans that ensues:)

Dear Mr Ghost - @shortcuts-make-long-delays

SUCH A CUTE FIC!! The majority of the fic is these letter/pen pal exchanges between Ghost, and Soap's young niece Chloe...it's just. So. Good. And was written by a friend of mine too! BIG RECCOMMEND.

Give me Hope and Let me Down - MechanicalBones

Some of the best Ghost whump I read lolll. Ghost is captured by some people with ties to Roba and tortured. Meanwhile Soap is on his way to rescue him, and eventually he does, and there's a lot of hurt and comfort. It's also a getting together fic. 🥺

Unspoken Love - Hammy101

( Super amazing oneshot. I feel I can't do this fic justice with any summary. Just read it. 🥺 It has decent Ghost whump AND domestic off duty cute ghost soap angsty stuff it's just one of my faves ever!!!!)

Except You, You can Stay - Iravaid

Really realistic, believable portrayal and expansion upon a lot of the key events that happen in the Ghost comics. From his childhood, to the mental aftermath of Roba, his family dying...it's heavy but really really good. And has a happier hopeful ending that's Ghost/Soap 🥺

Hat Trick of the Heart and the sequel Family, Gotta Love em - Librarian_FanFicFan

Absolutely am obsessed with these fics!!! It's an AU about Ghost who is recently discharged from the military due to injury, and on a flight back to London where he is seated next to Soap, a famous footballer/soccer player. Ghost doesn't know who he is tho, but they hit it off and exchange numbers. The second installment features Simon's family!!! And Tommy being dramatic and shocked over the fact his brother got the number of this famous sports player... SUPER CUTE IF YOU LIKE RILEY FAMILY STUFF.

As for my fav CoD authors I wholeheartedly recommend anything by:

RedClegane, m3rrywe4ther, Hammy101, TheEdwardianOne, Iravaid, and so many authors but I can't list them all ahaha...but hopefully this is a good start!

Hopefully this helps anon! Sorry it took me a while.

[bethdutten]

“I won’t say it again, Red,” Frank snapped, slamming his hand down on Matt’s desk. “Stay the hell out of this.”

Matt sighed, fingertips massaging his temples like Frank was just a big headache he could make disappear. Like hell Frank would let it go that easily.

The door to the office opened sharply, and Frank had his gun out and facing the new guest faster than Matt could issue a warning.

It was a woman wearing a Yankees hat pulled low and a nondescript black jacket, no doubt an attempt to appear low-key. Because once Frank got a glance at her face, god damn. She was gorgeous.

Barely even registering Frank, she strode past him and tossed a manila folder on Matt’s desk. “It’s all there. Make me proud, Stevie Wonder.” She glanced at Frank, who had lowered his gun and was blatantly staring now, as she headed back out, raising an eyebrow. “Oh. Hey, Castle. Thought you were dead.”

With that, she was gone, Matt letting out an exasperated sigh as he took the folder she has left and waved it in Frank’s direction. “You’re lucky I have other things to worry about right now, Frank. But I won’t forget.”

Frank blinked. “Who the fuck was that?”

Pulling out a few papers and running his fingers over the braille, Matt’s brow furrowed as he turned his focus on the documents. “Huh? Uh, a detective I’m working with. She’s giving us information on a case.”

“Thought you hated cops.”

Matt smirked, shrugging. “Not ones that care about justice more than closing a case.”

Frank wondered if Matt was sleeping with her.

“No, we’re not together. Go for it.”

Rolling his eyes, Frank remembered once again why he hated being around Red. The bastard was way too perceptive. “Maybe I will. You can’t tell but she’s fuckin’ beautiful.”

“I can tell.”

“I don’t wanna know how,” Frank grimaced, giving Matt one last glare. “And I mean it, Murdock. Next time I won’t just be aimin’ for your shoulder.”

Matt wasn’t even paying attention as he sifted through the files, and Frank left hoping he didn’t need to deal with him again in the near future. He had bigger shit to deal with.

Like the fact he might be in love with the hot detective that just became one of the select few in the city that knew he was alive.

***

You left Matt’s office with your head down, headed towards the subway while keeping an eye out for any tails. You didn’t think you were being followed, but tonight wasn’t the usual drop-and-go.

Usually, you didn’t face the business-end of Frank Castle’s gun when you dropped off your findings to Matt’s office. It didn’t surprise you he was alive; the Punisher seemed like he would be hard to kill. It did surprise you he was back in New York.

You head footsteps behind you, and subtly checked over your shoulder.

A man with his hood up was behind you a few meters away, and you smiled softly when you recognized the sweater. You turned the corner, casually leaning against the storefront wall until the man appear.

“Hey, Frank.”

Frank wanted you to know he was following you. He could be invisible if he needed to be. But he didn’t want to scare you, either.

He took you in, slowly leaning beside you but keeping his eyes on the ground. “You, uh… don’t seem very concerned, Detective,” he said lowly.

You shrugged. “Matty defended you. If he was on your side, so am I.”

“That’s generous. You must trust him.”

“I trust his taste in clients,” you murmured, observing Frank. He looked okay— tired, maybe. Bruised and healing from a few cuts, but you wouldn’t expect anything less. “Do you need anything, Frank?”

He looked at you then, confused. He didn’t know you. You didn’t know him. He knew you were helping Matt and you were a police officer, but you didn’t seem too concerned about him being here. He didn’t even know why he followed after you, other than you were a beautiful woman who seemed to care about justice the way Matt and he did, and you spoke to him like he was a human being.

“I, um… need somewhere to stay, ma’am.”

You smiled softly, nodding. “I can help with that.”

So Frank followed you home, hoping to hell this woman wasn’t going to be his downfall. He wasn’t holding out much hope.

[dicenote]

I just had a terrible idea for a roleswap between my four fav dn characters so here we go

Lawliet "L" Wammy (age: 18)

A brilliant student but a bit of a shut-in

Spends all his time either in school or locked in his room on the computer

True Crime fan before it was cool

His father Quillsh is proud of his impressive grades but really wishes he'd go out more

A bored Shinigami (maybe Ryuk? idk about swapping the Shinigami) directly hands L a Death Note because they thought he'd have fun with it.

L immediately uses it and his detective skills (along with his connections online) to solve cold cases.

"Light" (age: 24)

Real name: Tsuki Yagami

A mysterious, faceless detective who works alongside his mentor "Asahi" to solve cases that seem fun.

"I am the Light that will purge Kira's darkness! I am Justice!"

^^Total drama queen. The maniacal laughter with his voice modifier is just *chef's kiss*

Has no problems with using criminals to get results, but Asahi will often call him out on his more questionable choices.

Officer Misa Amane (age: 23)

During the Kira case, her alias is Misaki Anai

Just recently hired on the NPA

Often gets sent to fetch people coffee, much to her dismay

Wants to protect innocent people, but is unsure about her stance on Kira most of the time

Works on the Kira Task Force alongside Light and the other NPA officers

(Maybe Aizawa's the chief in this timeline? Idk about putting Quillsh on the NPA, it might be more fun to see how Kira would operate without that inside info)

Pretends to be Matsu-Matsu's manager to keep an eye on him

(She has way too much fun with the manager gig and hates having to pass it off to Mogi later. Or maybe she's a lot sneakier during the Yotsuba arc. idk)

Touta "Matsu-Matsu" Matsuda (age: 22)

Not-so-successful model (but he's having fun with it)

After finding a dropped Death Note and reading the rules, he figures out that Kira must have one too

He uses secret messages to find Kira on a Kira fansite

The two of them try to crack cases and go after criminals together

I'm still debating if Matsu gets the Shinigami Eyes. If he thinks it's the only way he can be useful to Kira he might do the trade. But also I want him to live so 😭😭

He's a pretty good cover for L once the two of them meet in person- L can pretend that he's made a friend in school to keep his father off his back

[shihomouri22]

Hey, have you thought about what professions you would like the girls from Detective Conan and Magic Kaito to have?

While I was remembering the post I made about Kazuha being a teacher, I can't help but think about the professions of the girls, especially when I was reading fanfic on pivx about Kaiao and I thought I wanted to make a mini list of the professions I saw in the fanfics and see which one. It's my favorite because as you know both in the canon and in the fandom, unlike the boys, they still don't know what they want to be.

Well starting with my girl half forgotten by gosho 🤧

Aoko: police officer, detective, employee in a candy store, housewife, office worker, backstage assistant, makeup artist, nurse, owner of her own candy store, cafe employee, owner of a flower shop. (I feel like with Aoko it's a bit obvious because I love it when they put her in an active role where she can be a leader and you can also tell that she is a girl who will always seek justice)

Keiko (Aoko's super forgotten friend XD): Housewife and lawyer (With Keiko, since not much is known about her personality apart from being Aoko's friend, I couldn't give much opinion, I'm surprised that people still remember her)

Akako: model, fortune teller, actress (Akako I feel like by law her job would revolve around her appearance or her magic because it's obvious that's what she's most proud of)

Ran: karate teacher for children or adults, model, nurse, lawyer, housewife. (With Ran I feel that I would like to see her work with something that she has been interested in such as karate or acting)

Sonoko: owner of the susuki companies and presenter of a gossip program.(well I think with Sokono I feel like she wouldn't mind running the company or being a housewife)

kazuha: Japanese teacher, housewife. (I already said it once and I will continue to say it, I love thinking about Kazuha being a teacher)

Ai Haibara/Shiho: chemistry teacher, pharmacist, owner of her own brand of bags or clothing, manager, model, makeup artist (I added the last professions but I would love to think of a future where Ai chan has nothing to do with her past)

Ayumi: police officer(well with Ayumi I couldn't say exactly because she is still a child but I feel like she would work as a detective or that would be one of her options thanks to Conan)

and well these are all the professions that I have read in fanfics or that have occurred to me to be honest as I am more immersed in Magic Kaito and I have not yet returned to Detective Conan for some things I have not put in much of DC but if you have something I can say and incidentally recommend fanfics:"3 xd

[aslightaddity]

Dappy!verse Riddler lore

Born Eduardo Enigmar to Franklin Enigmar and Julia Osorio, in a small city in the east coast. Together they were a happy enough family.

He was a quiet kid and often was left to manage himself and often was used to console and comfort his parents. He was terrified of disobeying the rules as his mother would refuse to talk to him or look after him for days at a time when he would misbehave.

At school, He was always talented, well behaved, and was placed in advanced courses or pushed up by a few grades. He didn’t have many friends as he was seen as weird and creepy by the other kids.

He loved detectives, his favorite books as a child being Sherlock Holmes. He’d often investigate small mundane things for fun, find out what keeps getting into the trash, whose moving in next-door, and one day he decided to investigate where his father went for his frequent business trips.

He followed Franklin to another town and watched as he rejoined a family. A mother and son he hadn’t seen before but Franklin seemed to know. Before he was caught he rushed himself home and told his mother.

His mother was angry with him for running off and coming back with a crazy story. She refused to believe him.

Shortly after the birth of his younger sister, Malory who was almost 15 years younger than him, his parent’s marriage became rocky and the truth finally came out that Franklin had a second family.

Throughout the divorce proceedings Ed tried his best to be supportive and helpful to his mother but was only met with anger, she blamed him for it all. He had dropped out of his senior year in high school to take care of his mother and Malory. His mother would always shout and treat him with distain as she only saw Franklin when she looked at him, to the point where she tried to get Malory to never look at him.

After a few years, when Malory began school, one petty fight between Ed and his mother boiled over into him leaving without a way for them to contact him.

He traveled around, couch surfing, and never being able to hold a steady job. It was slim as to which stores would hire him due to his lack of a diploma. After awhile he ended up in Gotham, where he not only got forged documents but he also changed his name. From Eduardo Enigmar to Edward Nygma to finally distance himself from his family and the man that ruined his childhood.

In Gotham he became a PI, unable to be employed by the GCPD due to his lack of proper training, a rather successful one at that, due to his affordability mainly. Despite being an upstanding investigator the GCPD officers he worked with never liked him, often poking fun at him or messing with evidence.

He was hired to investigate a murder one day, the problem however being that, the murder wasn’t reported to the police before the case was given to him. So when the police were tipped off there was no other possible suspect but him, there was a jarring lack of evidence to prove his innocence.

What ‘incriminating’ evidence was found was his forged documents, a name change, and a manic denial. After a psychological evaluation he was deemed criminally insane and sentenced to Arkham.

The brutal treatment in Arkham (electroshock therapy and misperscribed medicine) and the trauma of being framed finally culminated with his anger and left him catatonic for months and prone to hallucinations. However, In an outburst he attacked and seriously injured a guard and himself causing him to need a mobility aid once it healed. After the attack he was resigned to solitary.

There his hallucinations only got worse and He realized people were always going to blame him for things gone wrong and only see evil in him. So he decided to let go on trying to be the good person he had been trying to be for so many years. He realized that no one but himself cared about his justice.

As he was used to investigation and puzzle solving, escaping from the asylum was rather easy. (He was quite proud that he was able to switch his place and his aloof guard’s)

However once he was out it was trickier, he couldn’t return to his apartment or office as the leases had broken during his incarceration. After wandering through the labyrinth that were the Gotham streets he sunk into the iceberg lounge for a place to sleep.

He managed to lay low and go unnoticed, thanks to the help of two of the women who worked there (Nina and Diedre) for a few days before Oswald took notice of him.

Their first interaction included Oswald blackmailing Ed with his estranged family and Ed threatening Oswald’s life. Despite the rocky start Ed soon proved himself to Oswald to be usefully and trustworthy (through many heists and investigations to rivals) and Oswald proved himself to be caring to Ed, something he had not been accustomed, and they became closer. Both have confided in the other about their pasts and trust no one more than the other.

With Oswald’s influence and the help and support of Nina and Diedre he became more and more bold with his crimes and eventually became The riddler we know and love

[tennessoui]

hi kit! I was rereading your playmaker au (I absolutely love it btw!!!) and I have soo many questions! Like? How does qui-gon react to obi-wan showing up to the ball/gala/thing(?) with anakin? is he angry? upset (probably not lol)? does he talk to obi-wan/anakin or does he just ignore them outright? does anakin provoke him (of course he does but howwww???)

also, obviously your writing is amazing and I love literally everything you do!!!! <33333333

here is what happens at the policeman's ball! told from mace windu's pov (in this au he was like obi-wan's supervisor)! i think qui-gon is definitely furious, but after this night he also pivots to try and get obi-wan's loyalty back -- but before that, there's the anger

(2k)

Mace Windu has a headache and a terrible feeling about this whole thing. He never likes anything that has to do with the City politicians, especially the Mayor, and the annual Policeman’s Ball is probably the thing he likes the least. 

It’s opulent and gaudy and uncomfortable to have so many eyes on him, on their work, as if they care about him and the department any other day of the year. But he knows as well as any of the detectives that this Ball is the bed they must get into with the politicians, the city’s most wealthy. Here is the night money slides across palms, deals are struck and good men leave their morals at the door.

Just for one night. Just for the sake of their offices, their men. Those who schmooze the best, woo the most politicians, the most wealthy elite, are the ones who get the better budgets, the newer equipment. And Mace is Coruscant born and bred: he, like everyone else, knows that morals are the first things to go when lives are on the line.

Maybe it wasn’t always like this, but Mace cannot remember another way. Not in this city where even the politicians don’t have the actual power nor the funds or means to oust the men who do--the men and women who cut through the crowds with sharp smiles and rough palms, heads high and proud, draped in diamonds and pretty things, suits clean-cut and perfectly tailored.

Members of mobs, inside the city and out. Leaders of far-reaching crime syndicates, the kind Mace has committed his life’s work to fighting, to rooting out of Coruscant.

Everyone knows who they’re climbing into bed with when they shake Asajj Ventress’ hand to seal a deal, when they laugh too hard at Rush Clovis’ comment, when they fall over themselves to give Anakin Skywalker their attention.

No one admits it. 

Mace has lost men—good men—in the pursuit of justice against the mobs of Coruscant, sure that with enough evidence, he can put at least one away for life. It’s a dream he and his captain, Qui-Gon Jinn share.

Tilting his head, Mace finds his superior in the crowd, the man’s tall and unmistakable hair making him stand out as much as his stony silence and refusal to play along this year.

He wonders if Jinn feels the same exhaustion as Mace does. The dream has never felt farther away. The price has never seemed so steep.

Jinn lost his son, not even six months ago. The boy had been bright and clever, and Mace had looked at him and felt hope for the future of the city, all bundled up in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s soft smile.

He never should have been sent undercover. Mace shouldn’t have allowed it when Jinn passed down the orders. Kenobi was too young, too willing to prove himself, too naive for the mission.

And Vader took him, made him into just another bright young light snuffed out before its time.

Mace downs the rest of his drink and cuts through the crowd to reach Jinn’s side when he notices the mayor approaching. Jinn had insisted on coming—truly, he couldn’t not attend as their captain—but he will not be at his sharpest, at his most willing to play along tonight.

Jinn has always had the strongest morality of any guy Mace knows in the force, but he’d been willing to say what he had to say in the past to look out for his men, play nice with the politicians for the better budgets, the new supplies.

Losing his son changed something in him though. Made him colder. Made him cling even tighter to his morals. 

With a dead wife and an estranged son, his convictions were all he had left—save for his job.

“Mayor Palpatine,” Mace says easily, holding his hand out to shake the mayor’s hand. “You’ve outdone yourself this year.”

The mayor smiles at him with a sick sort of grin, but his attention is almost completely focussed on Jinn. “You know how much I enjoy the Policeman’s Ball. All of Coruscant’s best and brightest in one place for one night…a marvelous opportunity to strengthen our friendships, build trust, and honor those who protect us.”

Jinn’s returning smile looks stretched far too thin across his face. Mace closes his eyes in silent prayer that Jinn will hold his tongue.

“All of the riches of Coruscant in one place,” Jinn says, “and those who are bound by duty to protect them.”

“And what a noble calling that is,” the mayor smiles and there is something wrong about it, something terrible. “Only few are truly cut out for such a path, Captain Jinn, and we thank you for your stalwart service.”

He pauses and his face shifts into one of regret. Mace feels on edge.

“In fact,” Mayor Palpatine says, “I was just chatting with your son, and he—”

“He’s here?” Jinn straightens his shoulders, posture becoming ramrod straight as his eyes leave the mayor to roam around the rented room. “How?”

“Oh?” Palpatine raises both his eyebrows in mock surprise. “You didn’t know?”

“My son is no longer with the Force,” Jinn bites out, voice filled with more venom than Mace has ever heard before.  “He should not have been allowed to come tonight.”

“Ah,” Palpatine says. “I see there’s been some confusion. Your son is attending as Mr. Skywalker’s companion for the evening, not as a member of the police force. Though—there they are actually. I do hope I did not ruin a surprise visit!” 

Mace, with a feeling of dread welling up in his gut, turns his head to look at the two men Palpatine is now gesturing forward.

Anakin Skywalker prowls towards them like some great beast returning from a hunt with prey already dead between his jaws, or like an emperor returning to his city fresh from a conquering.

He looks neat and pristine, eyes crinkling with the force of his smirk as he guides Obi-Wan Kenobi to meet them with a hand pressed to the boy’s lower back.

Still some paces away, Skywalker leans down to whisper something into Obi-Wan’s ear, and the boy snaps back with a scowl, voice soft so as to hide his words.

The boy’s hair is short and rather awkwardly cut, but it’s the same strawberry-blonde Mace remembers seeing the boy’s mother wear. His eyes are hers as well, clear, light blue, though they have none of the softness Mace recalls him having before they sent him undercover.

He looks well-fed at least, and he holds himself close to Skywalker’s body, as if he truly feels safe in the claws of a dragon.  

Since the last time he saw the boy leaving the precinct, on his way into Skywalker’s arms, he has wondered how Obi-Wan liked his new life. If he felt like it was worth it, to lose his job and his father and his future for the mobster who would never be capable of loving him back, not truly. 

Looking at Obi-Wan now, dressed in expensive, soft-looking clothes, and carefully held in Skywalker’s arm, Mace can’t deny that the boy looks fine.

Healthy. Happy, if not for the current scowl marring his features.

“Gentleman,” Skywalker says when they reach them, holding out a hand for Jinn to shake.

Jinn does not move.

Skywalker’s eyes flash like flint sparking, and he adjusts his grip on Obi-Wan, pulling him fiirmly into his side and slightly in front of him, even as he drops his hand.

The tension in the air chokes any sort of conversation starter Mace can think of before it leaves his lips.

His eyes, without his conscious permission, remain stuck on the face of his biggest regret, unable to overlook the way Obi-Wan turns into the line of Skywalker’s body, as if taking comfort from his touch—as if Mace and Jinn are the lions and Skywalker Obi-Wan’s champion.

“I hadn’t realized you—” Palpatine starts to say, but he is cut off.

“Obi-Wan,” Jinn says suddenly, tone harsh, every inch the captain of the police. The tension in the air increases exponentially. Mace hadn’t realized that was possible. “You cut your hair.”

Something dark flashes across Skywalker’s face, and Mace watches as he moves his hand up to brush over the collar of Obi-Wan’s shirt, the exposed back of his neck.

“It’s in regulation,” Obi-Wan replies, looking for the first time this evening at his father. “Are you proud?”

The question is heavy, weighted: it always has been with Jinn and his son. Obi-Wan always did care less about if his father liked something he did and more about if he was proud.

“That your hair is in regulation?” Jinn’s lips are tight, jaw clenching and unclenching. “Obi-Wan, you have not spoken to me in six months. And you come tonight, to this event, on the arm of that monster, allowing him to move you about and speak for you, wearing clothes he bought you with money soaked in blood, and you ask if I am proud that you wear your hair to police standards? You have made a mockery of my life’s work, and you have lost yourself completely.”

Obi-Wan’s eyes look wet, and his hand is tangled in the pocket of Skywalker’s pants, seeking out connection. Mace closes his eyes and barely resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He has been witness to more fights between Jinn and his son than he cares to remember. 

Jinn always finds the worst words to say. 

And Obi-Wan learned how to fight from his father’s example. 

They’re ruthless and they’re cruel, and they fight each other like they’ll accept no survivors. 

“You are no son of mine, Ben,” Jinn says, even though Mace knows how much the loss of Obi-Wan has affected the older man, knows he misses him, knows he loves him still.

Obi-Wan blinks rapidly, hurt naked on his face, before he wipes it clean off and raises his hand to tuck a short piece of hair behind his ear. The motion is slow, pointed, and Mace’s eyes catch immediately on the angry red lines circling his wrist.

Handcuff marks. 

Mace takes a fortifying sip of his drink when he hears Jinn’s sharp inhale at the sight.

“Daddy,” Obi-Wan says, “can we go home? It’s close to the twins’ bedtimes, I don’t want to miss it.”

It’s Skywalker who responds, because it’s Skywalker Obi-Wan was looking at when he spoke. It’s Skywalker who wraps his arm securely around Obi-Wan’s waist and presses a kiss to his temple, dark eyes never straying from Jinn. “Yes, of course, sweetheart,” he tells Jinn, smirking like the cat who captured the canary right under the birdkeeper’s nose. “Gentlemen,” he says to Mace and the mayor. “Apologies for leaving early, but family calls.”

They are only half-turned around when Jinn recovers his tongue. “They are not your family, Obi-Wan,” he says. To Mace, he sounds as if he is begging. He wonders what Obi-Wan hears in his voice.

The boy turns his head to the side, posture perfect and nose pointed slightly up in cold disregard. “I would hardly call you an expert in family, Captain Jinn. You do not even have a son.”

Jinn moves sharply forward at this, reaching to touch his son’s arm. But before he can touch him, Skywalker intercepts him and grabs his wrist so tightly that Mace can see his hand flexing with the effort. Jinn’s bones must be grinding together. “Do not,” Skywalker says lowly and darkly, every syllable dripping with implicit violence. “Do not try to touch what is not yours, Captain.”

“Ani,” Obi-Wan murmurs, turning in his hold so as to rest his hand lightly on Skywalker’s chest. Mace tenses, wondering if Obi-Wan will be treated with the same violence, the same dark look for having the nerve to try and tame the beast. 

He is not.

The moment their eyes lock, Skywalker lets go of Qui-Gon’s wrist in favor of tucking a piece of hair behind Obi-Wan’s ear once again. There is nothing performative about the action now—just a man who cannot help but touch his—his lover.

The thought sickens Mace, and he knows it must be worse for Qui-Gon, who is still standing where he was left, hand halfway reaching out to his son and far, far too late to ever catch him.

[silvfyre-writings]

I'm tired, hold me (BSD Fanfic)

Silver, I know it isn't Christmas yet, but I am impatient and it's close enough LMAO

My first time writing daran, and it was fun. I definitely want to write them again at some point, but I hope I did them justice enough here!

Thanks for being a good friend~

===

Gift for @beastranpo, the overseer of all things daran.

Enjoy!

Edogawa Ranpo was arrogant, he was confident, he was proud, and his sense of justice was so skewed it had many wondering just why he was in the business of being a detective that was supposed to help people. Truly, Edogawa Ranpo was an enigma to those that didn’t know him, and he was also one to those that did—even to those that had known him for well over a decade, although they did have a better understanding of the man than most. But despite Edogawa Ranpo’s faults and quirks, he was still human and well…

… right now, the genius detective was sick.

Ranpo had, unfortunately, been caught in the rain that had hit Yokohama a few days ago while out on a case, and even though he’d returned to the office and drunk a copious amount of orange juice at Yosano’s urging, the detective hadn’t been able to escape the cold that befell him the very next day. And rather than rest at home, Ranpo chose to continue coming to the office, and refused to listen to any attempts to get him to go back to the dorms and rest, although he never gave a reason as to why he wanted to be at the office in the first place.

Regardless, all they could do really was wait and see what happened next.

Dazai watched from the comfort of his own desk, the one he was supposed to be doing paperwork at, but was instead watching his colleagues move about the office, as Ranpo once again, dozed off at his desk, head dipping towards his chest over and over until it finally settled there. This was the fourth time that day that Ranpo had fallen asleep, and while it was better than the coughing fits that’d been echoing throughout the office periodically, Ranpo certainly hadn’t fallen asleep in a comfortable position.

“Again, really?” A sigh from Kunikida beside him drew Dazai’s attention, and he let out a hum as his eyes slid over towards the man.

“Again, indeed.” Dazai commented, leaning forward to rest his head on his hand, eyes sliding back towards Ranpo’s sleeping form. He made a noise. “Ah, Kenji’s going to wake him this time.”

“Maybe Kenji will have better luck convincing Ranpo to go home.” Kunikida said, the both of them now watching—although Kunikida was still actively trying to complete his work—as Kenji approached Ranpo, and shook his shoulder until green eyes flew open and coughing broke the silence that had fallen over the room momentarily.

Dazai watched intensely as words were spoken between Kenji and Ranpo, although he couldn’t hear what was being said in the first place on account of being across the room, and with Kenji facing away from him, and Ranpo wearing a mask on his own face, he couldn’t even read lips to know what was being said. But he could still read body language, and with someone as expressive as Ranpo, that was more than enough. “I don’t think Kenji’s having much luck. Besides, didn’t the President try to send him home the last time Ranpo dozed off?”

“He did, and somehow Ranpo convinced him to let him stay.” Kunikida said, and then sighed. “I don’t understand why he wants to hang around when he’s not even doing any work. Surely being at home, in his own bed, would be much better than constantly falling asleep at his desk.”

“You were the first one to try and send him home, weren’t you?”

“Yes, and regrettably, I allowed him to win that argument. But I did manage to convince him to take some medicine.”

And that was big, convincing Ranpo to do something, even if it was as simple as taking medicine. The oldest member of the Agency was notorious for only doing what he wanted to do, regardless of who was at his feet, begging—unless you were a certain silver-haired swordsman, then Ranpo would do anything. Which was still a mystery to that day, although Dazai suspected it had to do with Ranpo’s… unknown past.

He says unknown, because for the most part, Ranpo’s life before the Agency was unknown, with only a select few people being privileged enough to know the truth and entirety of it.

And Dazai was one such person, but only after jumping through every hoop imaginable.

“I think I’ll give it a try. Maybe I’ll have better luck” Dazai flashed Kunikida a sly grin when the man looked at him incredulously, and he pushed his chair back, rising to cross the room. He didn’t wait to hear his colleague’s response, already focused on the man across the room who already looked two seconds away from falling asleep again.

Not a sound came from Dazai as he approached, sliding up until he could drape himself over the back of Ranpo’s chair, one hand coming to poke at the elder’s forehead. Ranpo’s face scrunched up in response, and his eyes opened just enough to look at Dazai before they slipped shut again, a groan escaping him. “Go away, and let me sleep.”

Dazai ignored the request, and moved to run his hand through Ranpo’s hair, allowing his face to soften a little when he relaxed into the touch. “No, I don’t think I will, because sleeping in your chair is going to make you sore, and while I love to hear you complain, neck pain from sleeping wrong isn’t one I do enjoy hearing.”

Ranpo let out a hum, and said nothing, just leaning into Dazai’s touch even more.

In response, Dazai trailed his hand from Ranpo’s hair down to his cheek, and tilted the other’s head up to look at him. Ranpo’s eyes were bright, as they usually were, but the fever that he was ailed by currently made them look even brighter than normal. And accompanied by the flushed cheeks that were peeking over the mask he wore; he truly looked the part of someone that was ill. Dazai pulled his hand back. “If you aren’t going to rest at home, at least go and sleep on the couch instead of your chair.”

“What, aren’t going to try and convince me to go home like everyone else is?” Ranpo grumbled, turning away from Dazai to stare at his desk.

“Now why would I do that?” Dazai raised his eyebrows in fake shock. “You’ve already said no to everyone else after all. I am merely compromising with you. You want to stay in the office, and we all want you to rest.”

For a long time, Ranpo stared at him, eyes narrowing as he thought over Dazai’s words. Just the fact that Ranpo was even considering his suggestion told Dazai that he’d won this fight, so he stepped around to the front of Ranpo’s chair and grabbed the detective’s hands, wrapping his own around them, tugging and squeezing until finally, Ranpo sighed and stood. “You’re so annoying. Why did I ever agree to date you.”

Dazai snorted at Ranpo’s words, and let go of one hand so that he could drag the detective over towards the couch. “Because you fell in love with my good looks, obviously. And am I really annoying, or is that just your inability to accept help from others talking?”

“I’m not going to answer that.” Ranpo huffed, and then broke out into a coughing fit that had him hunching over, clutching at his chest, which gave Dazai the opportunity to push Ranpo down onto the couch none too gently—although he did make sure that Ranpo stayed upright so that he didn’t choke as he coughed, because he wasn’t that mean. He did actually care. And when the coughing didn’t immediately let up, he put a hand to Ranpo’s back and moved it up and down to try and encourage him to breathe through the fit.

Eventually, the coughing died off, and Ranpo slumped against the back of the couch, looking even more exhausted than before. Ranpo’s eyes flicked up to look at Dazai, and in an unusually affectionate manner, reached out with his hands and made grabby motions towards him, which honestly, Dazai hadn’t expected. Although it wasn’t out of the norm for Ranpo to become a little clingy and affectionate whenever he was injured or sick, usually it was done in private, away from the prying eyes of their colleagues, so for him to be doing it in the middle of the work day, he had to be feeling awful.

So who was Dazai to begrudge him that comfort?

Removing his coat first, Dazai then sat on the couch beside Ranpo, and managed to count to four before Ranpo threw himself across his lap, curling up and burying his face into Dazai’s stomach. Dazai let a fond smile cross his face—only because Ranpo couldn’t see it from his current position—and reached down with one hand to run his hand through Ranpo’s hair, and used his other to drag his coat over Ranpo’s body so the other could use it as a makeshift blanket, which just made Ranpo cuddle even closer.

Dazai tugged lightly on a stray strand of black hair. “You know, if you wanted my attention, you could’ve just asked for it. I would’ve stayed home with you.”

Ranpo shrugged, and blinked tiredly up at him from where he was laying.

“Well.” Dazai moved back to smoothing Ranpo’s hair. “I say, you take a nap, and then we use your illness as an excuse for me to escort you home, and then we huddle up underneath your futon and call it a day. That sounds like a good idea if you ask me.”

Ranpo chuckled, and Dazai knew that if the other was in a much better condition, he would be rolling his eyes. “You’re just trying to escape work again, aren’t you?”

“Maybe I am, but are you going to refuse cuddles with me?”

“Hmmm… well you are warm, and I am quite cold right now.” Ranpo said.

Dazai rolled his eyes and shifted so that he was lying down on the couch, dragging Ranpo up until his head was resting on his chest. “Better?”

With one hand, Ranpo pulled Dazai’s coat around him tighter, and with the other, he wrapped it around Dazai’s waist and closed his eyes. “Much.”

[best-tv-theme-song]

Polls will start to be posted within the next week or so.

Bracket list under the cut!

UPDATE: LIST CANCELLED

*Starred shows have multiple theme songs or I have combined shows in a franchise in an effort to include as much as possible. These will have preliminaries built-into their polls on the first round. This is how it works: 1. all of the songs will go into a poll together against one other show; 2. the COMBINED votes for those songs will determine which show wins that poll; 3. only the top voted song for that show/franchise will move on, if the show has won the poll. (If you are confused it will make more sense when we start, I promise!)

The 100

30 Rock

9-1-1*

The Addams Family

Adventure Time*

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

All That

The Amazing World of Gumball

American Dragon: Jake Long

Animaniacs

Arcane: League of Legends

Arrested Development

Arthur

Assassination Classroom*

Austin & Ally

The Backyardigans

Barney & Friends

Barry

Batman*

Bear in the Big Blue House

Ben 10*

Better Call Saul

Beverly Hills, 90210

The Big Bang Theory

Big Time Rush

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Black Sails

Bluey

Bob the Builder

Bob's Burgers

BoJack Horseman

Bones

Boy Meets World

The Brady Bunch

Breaking Bad

Bridgerton

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Buffy the Vampire Slayer*

Captain Planet and the Planeteers

Charmed

Cheers

Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers

Choo Choo Soul

Code Lyoko

Codename: Kids Next Door

Cold Case

Community

Cory in the House

Cowboy Bebop

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend*

Criminal Minds

CSI*

Cyberchase

Danny Phantom

Daredevil

Dawson's Creek

Death Note*

Desperate Housewives

Detective Conan

Dexter

Dexter's Laboratory

Diff'rent Strokes

Digimon*

Doctor Who*

Dora the Explorer

Downton Abbey

Dragon Ball*

Dragon Tales

Drake & Josh

Ducktales*

ER

Ever After High

The Fairly OddParents

Firefly

The Flintstones

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

Fraggle Rock

Frasier

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Friends

Fringe

Full House

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood*

Futurama

Game of Thrones

George Lopez

George of the Jungle

Gilmore Girls

Glee

The Golden Girls

Good Omens

Gravity Falls

Grey's Anatomy

H2O: Just Add Water

Hannah Montana

Hannibal

Happy Days

Hawaii Five-0*

His Dark Materials

Horrible Histories

House, M.D.

How I Met Your Mother

How It's Made

Hunter × Hunter

Huntik: Secrets & Seekers

I Dream of Jeannie

I Love Lucy

iCarly

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

The Jeffersons

Jeopardy!

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure*

Jonas

Justice League

Kim Possible

The Last of Us

Laverne & Shirley

Law & Order*

LazyTown

The Legend of Vox Machina

Leverage

Lilo & Stitch: The Series

Little Einsteins

Lizzie McGuire

Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies

The Love Boat

M*A*S*H

Mad Men

Madoka Magica*

The Magic School Bus

Malcolm in the Middle

The Mandalorian

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Merlin

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Mob Psycho 100

The Monkees

Monster High

The Muppet Show

Murder, She Wrote

Murdoch Mysteries

My Babysitter's a Vampire

My Hero Academia*

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

The Nanny

Naruto*

NCIS

Neon Genesis Evangelion

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

New Girl

NFL (various network themes)*

Ninjago

The O.C.

The Office

One Day at a Time*

One Piece

Only Murders in the Building

Orange Is the New Black

Ouran High School Host Club

The Owl House

Parks and Recreation

The Partridge Family

Phil of the Future

Phineas and Ferb

Pinky and the Brain

Pippi Longstocking

Pokémon*

Power Rangers

The Powerpuff Girls

Pretty Little Liars

The Price Is Right

The Proud Family

Psych

Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure

Reading Rainbow

Reba

Red Dwarf

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Riverdale

Rugrats

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat

Sailor Moon

Sanford and Son

Saturday Night Live

Schitt's Creek

Scooby-Doo*

Scrubs

Seinfeld

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Sesame Street

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Sherlock

The Simpsons

Smallville

Sofia the First

Sonny with a Chance

The Sopranos

Spider-Man

SpongeBob SquarePants

Star Trek (instrumental themes)*

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star vs. the Forces of Evil

Stargate*

Steven Universe

Stranger Things

Succession

The Suite Life of Zack and Cody*

Suits

Taskmaster

Ted Lasso

Teen Titans

Teen Wolf

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teletubbies

That '70s Show

That's So Raven

Theory of Love

Thomas & Friends

Tokyo Ghoul

Total Drama

Totally Spies!

Transformers*

True Blood

The Twilight Zone

Twin Peaks

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

VeggieTales

Veronica Mars

Victorious

Voltron: Legendary Defender

W.I.T.C.H.

The Walking Dead

WandaVision*

Welcome Back, Kotter

The West Wing

Westworld

What We Do in the Shadows

The White Lotus

Wild Kratts

Winx Club

The Wire*

The Witcher

Wizards of Waverly Place

Wonder Pets!

Wonder Woman

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!

The X-Files

Xena: Warrior Princess

Yellowjackets

Yu-Gi-Oh!*

Yuri on Ice

Zoboomafoo

Zoey 101

[mayamistake]

"A California man with a history of political violence was sentenced on Friday to 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

David Nicholas Dempsey's sentence is among the longest among hundreds of Capitol riot prosecutions. Prosecutors described him as one of the most violent members of the mob of Donald Trump supporters that attacked the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify Joe Biden's 2020 presidential election victory.

Dempsey, who is from Van Nuys, stomped on police officers' heads. He swung poles at officers defending a tunnel, struck an officer in the head with a metal crutch and attacked police with pepper spray and broken pieces of furniture, prosecutors said.

He climbed atop other rioters, using them like “human scaffolding” to reach officers guarding a tunnel entrance. He injured at least two police officers, prosecutors said.

“Your conduct on January 6th was exceptionally egregious,” U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth told Dempsey. “You did not get carried away in the moment.”

Dempsey pleaded guilty in January to two counts of assaulting police officers with a dangerous weapon.

Only former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio has received a longer sentence in the Jan. 6 attack. Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years for orchestrating a plot to stop the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election.

Dempsey called his conduct “reprehensible” and apologized to the police officers whom he assaulted,

“You were performing your duties, and I responded with hostility and violence,” he said before learning his sentence.

Justice Department prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of 21 years and 10 months for Dempsey, a former construction worker and fast-food restaurant employee. Dempsey’s violence was so extreme that he attacked a fellow rioter who was trying to disarm him, prosecutors wrote.

“David Dempsey is political violence personified,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher told the judge.

Defense attorney Amy Collins, who sought a sentence of 6 years and six months, described the government's sentencing recommendation as “ridiculous.”

“It makes him a statistic,” she said. “It doesn't consider the person he is, how much he has grown.”

Dempsey was wearing a tactical vest, a helmet and an American flag gaiter covering his face when he attacked police at a tunnel leading to the Lower West Terrace doors. He shot pepper spray at Metropolitan Police Department Detective Phuson Nguyen just as another rioter yanked at the officer’s gas mask.

“The searing spray burned Detective Nguyen’s lungs, throat, eyes, and face and left him gasping for breath, fearing he might lose consciousness and be overwhelmed by the mob,” prosecutors wrote.

Dempsey then struck MPD Sgt. Jason Mastony in the head with a metal crutch, cracking the shield on his gas mask and cutting his head.

“I collapsed and caught myself against the wall as my ears rang. I was able to stand again and hold the line for a few more minutes until another assault by rioters pushed the police line back away from the threshold of the tunnel,” Mastony said in a statement submitted to the court.

Dempsey has been jailed since his arrest in August 2021.

His criminal record in California includes convictions for burglary, theft and assault. The assault conviction stemmed from an October 2019, gathering near the Santa Monica Pier, where Dempsey attacked people peacefully demonstrating against then-President Donald Trump, prosecutors said.

“The peaceful protest turned violent as Dempsey took a canister of bear spray from his pants and dispersed it at close range against several protesters,” they wrote, noting that Dempsey was sentenced to 200 days of jail time.

Dempsey engaged in at least three other acts of “vicious political violence” that didn’t lead to criminal charges “for various reasons,” according to prosecutors. They said Dempsey struck a counter-protester over the head with a skateboard at a June 2019 rally in Los Angeles, used the same skateboard to assault someone at an August 2020 protest in Tujunga, California, and attacked a protester with pepper spray and a metal bat during a August 2020 protest in Beverly Hills, California.

More than 1,400 people have been charged with Jan. 6-related federal crimes. Over 900 of them have been convicted and sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to the 22 years that Tarrio received."

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

~ Wet Dream ~

You bury your face into Stanley's pecs and whines in pure bliss by how good they feel against your face. You feel Stanley running his fingers through your hair an talking softly , which makes you melt. You're rock hard and begging to fuck the tough cop, but he makes you wait because he didn't want you to get hurt by accident. You whines by his words and you moves away then pin Stanley, despite being shorter than him. Stanley was surprised, but also turned on.

{Rest is up to you ;3

{Haru Katou

Haru was panting, grinding against him seeing Stanley just panting feeling heated that he was able to do this. Most times he's the one that's dominant but Haru was this time. He leaves kisses and squeezes his pecs already feeling more flushed to kissing one nipple. However, he was hard wanting to while seeing Stanley panting and covering his face with his arm.

He moves his arm to see his flushed face but kisses him already seeing how weak he grew under him. He was already working on pulling his pants down but he was grinding against him wanting to be inside so badly as he was flushed. His heated breathing was shown that as he tried to push in.

~~~~~

Haru gasped waking up but he blushed feeling aroused to whine. Darn it, and it was getting good too.

[beardedmrbean]

RENO, Nev. —  U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2001, died Wednesday after being struck by a vehicle in Nevada. He was 80.

The Reno Police Department was called to a vehicle-pedestrian crash near the federal courthouse in downtown Reno at about 2:15 p.m. Hicks was transported to the hospital but died just after, authorities said.

The driver involved in the crash remained on the scene and is cooperating with the investigation, authorities added. Impairment does not appear to be a factor in the crash.

Officials paid tribute to Hick, who was remembered for his love of his family and Reno community.

"Today’s news regarding the Honorable Judge Larry R. Hicks who served Nevada for over 53 years is tragic," Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said on X. "Despite his notable accomplishments, Judge Hicks once stated, 'My greatest thrill in life is my family.' His life philosophy was based on a balance of family, work, and self."

“Larry Hicks was a one-of-a-kind man, revered in our community and, most importantly, beloved by his family. On behalf of my family and the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office, we extend our deepest condolences to Larry’s son Chris, the current District Attorney, and all of Larry’s family. Judge Hicks’ legacy will forever be noted in Washoe County.”

On Wednesday night, the District Attorney's Office released a statement on behalf of the Hicks family:

"Today, our community lost an extraordinary man. Judge Larry Hicks was a deeply admired lawyer and judge, a devoted friend, mentor, and a committed servant to the administration of justice. To us, he was first and foremost a man who put nothing before family. He was a hero in all manners, a loving husband of nearly 59 years, a doting dad, an adoring Papa, and brother. His loss is beyond comprehension."

District attorney, judge, family man

Hicks was a former Washoe County district attorney and the father of Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks.

In a video interview with his son in 2022, the judge talked about the quality he was most proud of that he got from his parents: "Devotion to family above and beyond all other qualities. My mother and father were totally dedicated to their children."

In the interview, Hicks said he and his wife, with whom he also had two daughters, would be celebrating their 57th anniversary.

Hicks was born in Evanston, Ohio, and his family moved to Reno from Los Angeles when he was 13. He graduated from Reno High School and became the first person in his family to attend college when he entered the University of Nevada, where he joined Sigma Nu fraternity, according to the interview.

In 2020, Chris Hicks posted a tribute to his father after he won an award.

"Recently, the State Bar of Nevada honored my dad, Judge Larry Hicks, with the Presidential Award recognizing his illustrious career," Chris Hicks wrote. "The prestigious award is presented to those whose conduct, honesty, and integrity represent the highest standards of the legal profession.  

"Congratulations Dad. There is no one more deserving! Thank you for being the father, mentor, and lawyer you are."

Earlier this month, Hicks presided over a private investigator's lawsuit that claimed Sparks police detectives violated his rights by naming him as the person who put a tracking device on Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve's vehicle.

Hicks called David McNeely's argument "unpersuasive and unsupported" and dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning a similar lawsuit cannot be refiled.

The U.S. District Court said flags over the federal courthouses in Nevada will be flown at half-staff in honor of Hicks.

[letapollojusticesayfuck]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. spread the self-love ❤

Ah! Hello! Thank you!

Time for some self-reflection, I guess...

Lucy's Five Favorite Fics (in no particular order):

1. undeniable you (the currents pulling me onward) (T, 59k)

Kristoph Gavin is found dead in his prison cell, and Klavier Gavin is the prime suspect. With nobody else available to defend him, Apollo Justice flies in from Khura'in to take the case--but during the course of the trial and its aftermath, long-hidden secrets come to light.

This is probably the fic I'm most proud of! I wrote this during the summer of 2020, when I got the idea that I should try and write a continuation to the Ace Attorney series that ties up all the loose ends I was so frustrated with. It's my first ever casefic, and the longest thing I've published to date, and it's been long enough that I forget not everyone knows that This Took Up My Life For Months. It's got court scenes! it's got investigation! it's got the beginning of me shipping faraskye! it's got a happy ending!

2. perspective (T, ~4k)

Klavier Gavin, through the years. (an introspective look at the man behind the rockstar façade)

I wrote this one in a frenzied couple hours, but it's still close to my heart and informs basically everything about how I picture Klavier. Did I do a lot of projecting? yes. Do I also still stand by my headcanons? also yes.

3. Keeping All Your Hopes Alive (T, 3k)

After their chance to prove themselves as competent detectives with a big break in an important case goes south, Kay finds her partner Ema drowning her sorrows in their shared office. They have a heart-to-heart--which ends with Ema crashing on Kay's couch (and the acknowledgement of some inconvenient shared feelings between them).

SOOO this is one of those "scenes from a longer fic I'm going to write someday" fics. In my head I have a whole big casefic centered around Kay and Ema learning to work together as detectives roughly 6 years post-Investigations after they've been out of contact for years. I'm still super proud of this one and the mix of angst-to-feelings-resolution.

4. imperfect resolutions (T, ~3k)

When Miles Edgeworth returns to his office to find a stranger lying in wait, this time, the shot doesn't miss. In the immediate wake of his death, his family, friends, and acquaintances struggle with how to move on, and question whether they can leave the mystery of the Yatagarasu half-solved.

Gotta talk about this one with the recent Investigations news! A bad ending fic where AAI 1-1 goes wrong, and Franziska and Kay are left to pick up the pieces. I was really trying to capture the odd timelessness that happens when something tragic occurs, and the way you still have to deal with all the stupid little details of daily life. It's a little obscure, but pretty personal to me for Various Reasons.

5. scoop of the century (read all about it!) [+ sequel]

Working at a gossip magazine aimed at teenage girls is just a way for Apollo Justice to pay his law school tuition--until his article rating Klavier Gavin's outfits goes viral. After that, he's got half the Internet reading his articles, and it's inevitable that Klavier finds out.

What would a list of my favorite fics that I've written be without my article-writer Apollo fic? This one was partly borne from wanting to use fun formatting on AO3, partly from wanting to explore social media and Klavier Gavin, and partly from Having A Bad Fever And Thinking I Was So, So Funny. I never expected this fic to get the response it did, and I'm 100% telling the truth when I say that all the comments and kudos on this fic made me want to write so much more for the fandom. And then I wrote a sequel, two years later! Out of the blue! And I think that one's pretty cool, too.

Thank you so much to Caddis for letting me ramble about my own writing for a while here---now I'm thinking about all the things that are sitting in my drafts waiting to be posted. Soon, I hope! <3

[detcodrivels]

Crossroads

(A Detective Conan Short)

Ran had left that morning like an overcast sky filled with dark grey clouds, drooping low and heavy with the threat of rain. But like that calm before a violent thunderstorm, she had gone in silence. Sometimes he took her resilience for granted, he supposed, her sweetness, her natural inclination to forgive, to try to accept and understand. She gave so much of herself to others. He wondered where she got that from. Not him, surely. Eri, then? He frowned and reached for the breast pocket of his suit coat, shaking a cigarette loose from the package before he remembered he was in a nonsmoking establishment. With a sigh, he dropped it back again, changing course for the cup waiting for him to his left. No, he decided as he took a healthy sip, he and Eri were fiercely proud individuals, too proud…Far too proud. Certainly, neither of them shared their daughter’s tolerant nature.

Then again, it wasn’t as though she let people walk all over her. She put up with a lot, certainly, but Kogoro had seen her snap, had witnessed the end of her long rope, and though ferocious and tempestuous, like lightning flashing in a night sky, it was somewhat awe inducing, something which caused his invisible heartstrings to pull with pride that he supposed only a father would know. His beautiful, independent, strong-willed, but patient and caring and selfless little girl.  The various cushions that had been reduced to threads and the dents that peppered the walls of the office did not share in this pride, but it was his privilege as a father to overlook the destructive price her repressed turmoil unleashed. And he understood. More than she, hopefully, would ever know. He knew how she struggled, how hard she worked to keep her own emotional rollercoaster from running off the rails. And he knew his own contributions to the storm.

Yes, that part he knew all too well.

He knew it didn’t help that he and Eri refused to settle their score. He couldn’t even remember why they’d split up in the first place now. And maybe it didn’t matter. The love was still there. He felt it every time he even thought of her name…yet it was so hard, so incredibly impossible when they were eye to eye.

He knew it didn’t help that he made the wrong choices again, and again…and again. The late nights with his mahjong buddies, the pachinko parlors, horse racing and ever enticing bliss of copious alcohol consumption; it all added fuel to the raging inferno that was rapidly spreading over every corner of his simple life. But these habits, as deplorable as they may be in hindsight, felt more and more like his last and only escape.

He had always valued justice, honor, and integrity…that was why he had become a police officer, and why he’d pursued private practice after that. In every system, every hierarchy, there was opportunity for corruption, for red tape and restrictions to limit the scope of one’s ability to influence, to help and to be true to their convictions. Not that the Metropolitan Police were in any way unethical, he just found that the regulations could interfere with the lengths he wanted to go in order to ensure righteousness prevailed. But the tangled, intertwined web he now found himself wrapped up in was more than he had ever bargained for. Be that as he may, he was determined to see it though. To play his part. Even if that part was to be the fool.

He wasn’t the brightest bulb. He could admit that to himself. He tried to portray a poised and confident suave demeanor, but it crumbled fast, his ego battered and beaten by the many times he had found himself as the punchline of many a joke. He got flustered and muddled. Try as he might, the clues rarely consented to add up together properly, or worse yet he’d miss something crucial altogether. But with every case he tried to see it, to piece the infuriating puzzles together as quickly as his many colleagues managed to do so, to study their approach and mimic it. He tried to be what the newspapers said he was. THE Sleeping Kogoro, a genius detective. But the act could be incredibly tiring, exhausting down to the bone, and the stakes were greater than ever now, all of it culminating into a pressure too great for his shoulders, and in his moments of weakness, when it was all too much, then he slipped back into the worst of those bad habits, let himself down, let Eri down, and Ran, too. And Ran truly didn’t deserve it. She had enough of her plate as it was without having to feel like the adult between the two of them, responsible for her father.

The walls around his life seemed to have been narrowing over the last year, ever since Yusaku Kudo paid him a visit to explain the most bizarre, unbelievable, ludicrous, and terrifying situation he had ever heard. Fumiyo Edogawa had left with Conan just a half hour prior. Ran had just gone off, summoned urgently to Sonoko’s for some kind of wardrobe emergency (Or so the phone call indicated). And then, as soon as she had exited the office door, it had opened again. Yusaku Kudo. Kogoro tried not to resent and envy him. He had always been so bright, so above it all, seemingly, and he never struggled to connect the dots in any case. Nonetheless, he had not the drive to put his exceptional mental abilities to work solving crime and getting the bad people off the streets. Instead he gallivanted all over the world, thinking up more and more ingenious ways for criminals to get away with murder.

But Kogoro had welcomed him in and offered him a seat at the couch, started tea, since Ran wasn’t there to do so, and muttered something about not realizing he was back in the country. It was as he turned back from the kettle that he’d noticed the urgency in Yusaku’s eyes, the utmost seriousness and Mouri had reacted by stiffening his own shoulders, as if he were about to be given an order.

“It’s about Shinichi, isn’t it,” Mouri had guessed.

He had tried to not to get too worked up when the kid had stopped showing up in school, but Ran mentioned it almost daily. He knew Shinichi shared his father’s keen and shrewd mind, but with an accompanying itch for justice and truth that probably got him into more trouble than was good for a sixteen year old. But then, Shinichi hardly seemed sixteen sometimes. He had lived alone, taken care of himself and was generally responsible, so when Ran had come home from Tropical Land and said he’d run off following the lead on a case, neither of them had been particularly alarmed. Surely he would turn up sooner or later. But then days turned into weeks, and weeks into a month. They’d been busy. Conan showed up, for one thing, and Mouri had been occupied with cases almost every day of the week. His bouts of amnesia had started, too. The time had slipped by and then finally Shinichi had reached out to Ran, some story about the being held up on a case longer than he expected and Mouri had let the matter rest. It was negligent, in retrospect.

Yusaku’s solemn nod was morose and grave. He had leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, a pyramid formed with his fingertips, like some kind of imitation of Holmes. “Where to begin…” he had mused with a helpless quirk of his brows. Then, without waiting for Mouri’s response, he went on, “I’m sure you’re privy to all available details regarding the circumstances of Shinichi’s absence.”

Kogoro had nodded, a nervousness creeping up under his collar. “Ran said he was on a case… I know he hasn’t been at school, but he sticks his nose into cases here and there. Calls often enough… I figured he at least let you two know where he is exactly…”

Yusaku bobbed his head in accordance with Mouri’s summation of the past month’s events, but with an anticipative air, waiting for his moment to pick up the tale. “He’s closer than you’d think,” Yusaku murmured dryly. “Truthfully, it’s been hard for me to believe it, but with the impossible removed all that remains is the improbable, and as Occam’s Razer says, the simplest answer is the best.”

Leave it to Yusaku Kudo to find the most complicated way of saying something.

“What I am saying is that my son disappeared after visiting Tropical Land and that very night, on the outskirts of said amusement park, a six year old boy was discovered by the security officers, a boy who ran from the police straight to my house, and who Ran found with Dr. Agasa in my library. A boy,” he finished, his youthful face betraying lines of fatigue and stress, “Who coincidentally bears a name created from the conglomeration of two famous mystery authors, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Edogawa Ranpo.”

Mouri had swallowed a hard lump, jogged into motion by the sputtering of the kettle. “Dr. Agasa said he was a relative. You’re saying Shinichi’s disappearance and Conan’s appearance are connected?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Mouri waited patiently through Yusaku’s dramatic interlude.

“From what I understand, and I’m likely to know more in the next few days, Shinichi stumbled across some kind of illegal transaction between members of a sophisticated, international crime syndicate and a business owner. While he was gathering evidence of the crime, he was discovered—.”

Here, Mouri had interrupted, “—But Ran has spoken with him! He calls! If he was hurt or… He solved a case just the other day over the phone…!”

“The associates of the criminal organization intended to silence him, but their plans went awry in a most unexpected way,” Yusaku supplied readily. “It seems they had developed a poison, one which would dissolve within its victim, traceless, lethal, a terrifying advancement in chemistry, and they chose Shinichi as the lab rat. But the drug did not work as intended. In fact, it worked in a way I’m sure the organization could not have begun to predict.” Yusaku’s earnest eyes met Mouri’s with a willing intensity, pushing him connect the pieces together.

Once the thought entered Mouri’s head, there was no dispelling it, no matter how insane it seemed. Could Conan Edogawa and Shinichi Kudo be one and the same? Was that the conclusion Yusaku was trying to imply? In some small way, it made a lot of things make sense. The kid was always fluttering around at crime scenes, pointing out small details, poking his nose behind the crime scene tape without a bit of the natural reservation one would expect for a six year old, none of the fear or disgust that ought to be present. And the details he pointed out were always important, always key bits of evidence. Only a mystery nut like Shinichi would come up with a stupid alias like ‘Conan Edogawa,’ too! And Kogoro had seen more success since the boy showed up. His fame, his recognition as a detective only started AFTER Conan had arrived and started guiding the investigations. His amnesia had started up around then, too.

And the more he thought about it, the more sense it made, the more he felt as though he already knew, even before Yusaku spelled it out for him. He knew the pricking feeling, like a spark against his skin, the last thing he’d feel before he’d wake up having solved another case. And then there was the time that he’d started to rouse just slightly and he could hear himself, as if the voice were emanating from the air itself, so competent, so controlled, exposing the devious tricks of the culprit to the room of stunned and attentive suspects. He’d done the logical thing and told himself it was just some kind of delusion, some kind of side effect of his isolated memory loss. He only THOUGHT his mouth wasn’t moving. He only THOUGHT his voice was emanating from elsewhere. It made sense if the brat was somehow shooting him with a tranquilizer and inducing the sleeping state, then emulating his voice to deliver deductions, because no one would listen to the deduction show of a six year old…

The emotions had flooded him in distinct and ferocious waves. Indignation, fury, confusion, worry… Why hadn’t Shinichi just explained the truth? How could he so callously let Ran wait for him, let her carry to burden of his absence and yearn for his presence while all along he was standing right beside her? How dare he repeatedly inject him with God only knows what kind of serum and impersonate him!?

“I can’t pretend I’m entirely on board with how he decided to handle the situation,” Yusaku remarked, as if reading Mouri’s mind. “He had to think fast, though, and Dr. Agasa did suggest that he position himself alongside you, and keep his identity secret, just in case the syndicate came to check up on their attempted elimination. It is true that were the criminals to know the truth, both about the drug’s effect and that Shinichi survived, it would pose danger to all of his associations. I have made contacts with friends in Interpol and other authorities in an attempt to facilitate their capture and dismantling, but so far I have no leads, and in the meantime, Shinichi Kudo cannot exist. You may have suspected already, but Fumiyo Edogawa was just Yukiko in one of her disguises, and we have a plan by which we intend to show him the true danger he’s in. It is my hope that we can take him out of the country, but…” Yusaku sighed, breaking off his stream of words with an almost wistful expression, “Knowing my son, no matter how the next couple of days play out, he won’t want to leave. He’ll want to solve this case, to hold the criminals accountable for what they’ve done and bring the organization to justice. That is why I came to see you. Because in order for him to do that, should he choose to, in order for him to remain here with access to information to cases and criminal activity, he would need to remain in your custody.”

“So you want to run away to America again? You said it was an international syndicate. What if they follow you?”

“Our information is so limited right now. There’s little else that can be done…”

Something about the way Yusaku finished made Mouri think there was an unspoken “Unless” lingering in the stale air between the two of them.

Mouri surprised himself when he filled in the unspoken statement himself, “Unless we wait for them to make a move, linger and wait in the right place, for the right time.” He warmed to the concept quickly, gathering momentum with every word, “The more cases I take, the more likely I’ll stumble upon their activity. The more information I can glean, the better chances we have to take down the organization, to determine the components of the drug and procure an antidote. You won’t say it, but you’re asking me to play along, aren’t you? To let him stay here, to let him hide behind the ‘Sleeping Kogoro’ he created?”

“It’s a lot of ask…”

Mouri flashed him a dark glance.

No, Mouri wasn’t the brightest. He wasn’t a genius. He wasn’t like these crazy natural detectives with their lightning fast deductive abilities and photographic memories, with databanks for brains. But he didn’t need to be a genius to understand the situation as it had been laid before him. He didn’t have to be a mastermind to see how he could be helpful. By taking in Shinichi, or…Conan Edogawa…He would shoulder the dangers if he stumbled upon important information. He would be the shield. The cover. The mask. And all he had to do was act oblivious to it all, to let “Conan” solve the cases through him, and if this secret organization came calling, they wouldn’t suspect the six year old kid—they’d suspect the “great” detective.

“I don’t want him to know…” Yusaku murmured, seeming to sense that Mouri had already, without words, agreed without question.

Mouri arched a brow. “Why is that? Wouldn’t it be more effective if we worked together as a collaborative team? He wouldn’t have to knock me out as much. I could easily deliver the deductions if he guided me through his thought process. Besides, the tranquilizer or whatever he’s using is already losing its effect on me.”

“Shinichi is proud,” Yusaku replied thoughtfully, “And has a chivalrous fault. I’m sure the reason he didn’t tell you initially was to spare you the burden of the knowledge. No doubt he felt that by keeping you and Ran in the dark if the organization were to question you your answers would be honestly innocent. If he knew your involvement, he might do something rash, like refusing to stay. I need him somewhere relatively safe and controlled. This syndicate is a bigger nest of rats than even I could have dreamed up…”

“Why not just order him to go to America with you? Force him to let the authorities handle it.”

Yusaku met Mouri’s gaze, holding it just a moment too long. “Were it you, would you be able to live with yourself if you ran and hid?”

And that was how Mouri ended up with Conan Edogawa as a temporary house guest, though lately it seemed like a permanent arrangement. Yusaku kept him updated with the progress of the case against the “Black Organization” and in the meantime he solved cases and allowed, within reason, Shinichi do his own line of investigation. Of course, part of the deal was that he had to keep the organization from having Conan Edogawa on their radar, a harder job than Mouri had bargained for. Shinichi seemed to forget he was supposed to be a grade-schooler the moment a mystery presented itself, running head first into the trouble, crawling all over crime scenes, and countless times Mouri felt he was being just a TAD too obvious. At those times, Mouri quite relished in his ability to pick him up like a sack of potatoes and toss him out of the way…

The tranquilizer had long worn of having any effect upon him at all, but he still spun and flopped around the room until he found a convenient place to plop himself down and assume the pose of the sleeping detective. Sometimes, just for fun, he would prolong the moment, making it more and more ridiculous, playing his character. Other times, he almost felt the two of them were working together, Shinichi “Ah-le-le-ing” the clues so that Mouri could slowly, slowly get the picture. Those times felt good, like he was learning, like Shinichi trusted that he had the ability to make the deductions, giving him the extra time he needed in order to do so. Other times, he was just a snotty little brat, like he was enjoying the chance to be as annoying to Mouri as possible.

And at the end of the day, Shinichi remained, as he had promised to Yusaku, oblivious to Mouri’s knowledge of his true identity, close enough to keep an eye on, but with enough free rein to investigate, to do his part to seek justice. And Mouri played his part, silly and slow and stupid, because the Black Organization might feel threatened by the astute Sleeping Kogoro, but not when they saw him carefree and drinking, making racing bets and wasting his time at the mahjong table. They were his means of escape, part of his disguise, and lately the only place he could turn to because there was no one to talk to, no one he could tell and little he could do. The inaction ate at his insides. The silence was suffocating; the danger too real.

But it was also the reason Ran was so upset this particular morning. Another late night, home after midnight, stinking of alcohol, pathetic… She had a big Karate thing going on at the school this morning, starting quite early. She was no doubt expecting he would be up to see her off and wish her luck, but he’d been out so late that by the time he awoke she was already dressed and ready to leave, not to mention she had lost sleep herself getting him to bed… She hadn’t made breakfast, leaving him and Conan to fend for themselves.

He ruffled the page of his paper, the tiny print blurring. The headline was something about crime rates rising, but he hadn’t been reading it this whole time, just holding it in front of his face while his mind wandered endlessly. For a moment, he returned to reality, aware, briefly of the muffled conversation from the tables surrounding him, but it was fleeting. His head was far too muddled to focus, far too lost in swirling emotion over the whole ordeal of the last year.

Had someone told him he’d be allowing Shinichi to live under the same roof as Ran at sixteen, if someone told him he’d be casually getting breakfast with him on a Saturday morning, he would have told them they were crazy, and then probably dealt them a fair cobra twist for good measure. But for all the grief he gave Ran about all of Shinichi’s worst qualities, he knew he would rather she was with him than anyone else. And after her return from her class trip to Kiyomizu, he was fairly certain they had graduated from childhood friends to something closer. And he wasn’t so sure he liked it…

The cocky annoying brat…

He ought to be focusing on his case, on the evil murderous syndicate looming over his life, not running off on a school trip, somehow, miraculously, returning to his original form just for the occasion, flashing his face all over Kyoto, engaging in grandiose deduction shows and finding time to cement his relationship with Ran to boot. It wasn’t safe, it wasn’t smart. For all his genius, he could be incredibly stupid, Kogoro fumed.

And it wasn’t exactly fair to Ran either, to send her back from the school trip the same way he had left her at that fancy restaurant, and in London, disappearing as if he were the phantom thief! One minute there, the next minute gone, leaving Ran to wait endlessly, day after day, wondering when the next news would arrive. All the while he was right there, eating dessert with her at the restaurant, holding her hand as they walked across the street on the way to their respective schools. So near, yet so far. Mouri knew the pain of being apart from the person you cared most deeply about. He knew how the ache could eat at one’s soul, and he couldn’t stand to see that pain in his daughter’s eyes.

Of course, it wasn’t Shinichi’s fault exactly that the makeshift antidotes always seemed to wear off at the worst moment. And Mouri had recognized the tragic, lost expressions on Conan’s face time and time again, an expression of longing and frustration that no child could suffer. There were times that Shinichi got on his nerves, especially when he was being particularly indiscrete at a crime scene and making not only Ran, but everyone else suspicious, and he had taken advantage of their dynamic to make many a pointed comment about Shinichi’s defects in front of him. At the same time, however, he had also seen Shinichi’s face grow weary and sad, weighted down by the immensity of the situation he had found himself in. At times like that, Kogoro did what he could either to redirect his attention, involve him in a case or just offer some slight praise to Shinichi, some slight nudge of encouragement, even if he couldn’t say it outright. In his own small way, Kogoro tried to uplift him when he could. Because, ultimately, that boy was going to be his son-in-law. And Yusaku was right, Shinichi was chivalrous and proud, and he adored Ran with an undying loyalty that Mouri had to respect.

“Kogoro-no-ojisan!”

There was a nudge at his elbow and he jolted, jostling his coffee mug and the hot, dark liquid sloshed over the rim and polka-dotted the front of his suit. Looking down at the young boy beside him on the booth seat he scowled menacingly, gruff with his reply, “What do you want?!”

“It’s time to order!”

Startled, he turned his head to find T­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ooru Amuro grinning with polite patience. “I’ll get you some napkins!” He turned quickly, running his fingers through his bangs to brush them out of his eyes in his haste.

Mouri waved away the concern, however, calling him back. “Don’t bother, not much spilled.”

“I can come back if you’re not ready yet.”

Shaking his head, Mouri ordering his usual absentmindedly. Beside him, Conan chirped that he’d like an egg on toast and Amuro turned away back to the café counter. Mouri was about to return to his perusal of the paper when he noticed Shinichi’s eyes lingering on his face with that same, unnerving, calculating stare Yusaku had, like he was peeling back false pretenses, looking directly into Mouri’s deepest thoughts. He bristled, crooked an eyebrow and glared back. “What do you want?” he snapped. Unable to hold back from mocking him a little, he added, “The comic section?”

He noted the reddish tint to Shinichi’s ears at being talked down to like the child he appeared to be and it satisfied Mouri’s pettiness. Gradually he shook his head, “You seem distracted…”

“Sometimes adults have complex thoughts.”

“Is it a case?” Conan pressed with a hopeful eagerness. He’d been pouting most of the morning, slouched in the booth with his arms crossed, though Kogoro wasn’t sure why, and the possibility of something to do seemed to instantly excite him.

“It’s not a case,” Mouri replied, dashing the boy’s hopes.

He slunk back into the cushions, his feet dangling pathetically and his chin dipped into the collar of his shirt. “Oh.”

Pathetic.

“What’s your problem today?” Mouri relented to ask, setting the paper aside and leaning back.

“Nothing…”

“You know you shouldn’t WANT there to be cases,” Mouri patronized, “A case means someone committed a crime.”

Conan’s eyes flashed behind the lens of his glasses. “I don’t WANT there to be crime.”

“Then why do you seem so disappointed?”

“No reason.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and dipped even further in his seat. “I wonder how long the tournament is…”

Mouri rolled his eyes. “Don’t you have your Detective brat squad to loiter around with today?”

“They’re going to see the Kamen Yaiba movie.”

“You’re not?”

Conan shrugged. “I told them I was going to Ran’s karate tournament.”

Mouri frowned. This particular tournament, more of an exhibition that the Karate club had organized to get more members, was not open to public audience. Since it was a Saturday, and the school access was limited, attendance was restricted to Teitan High students only. Conan couldn’t go. And now it made sense why he was sulking. Because had he been Shinichi, he would be cheering Ran on, supporting her, being the kind of person she could depend upon… But he was forced, in yet another way, to let her down.

Sighing, Mouri drained the last of his coffee. “Maybe after we eat we can walk over there, then,” he found himself saying, “Maybe we can sneak in.”

Conan’s head bobbed up at this, undisguised surprise clearly painted across his features. “You want to go, too?”

He grunted. “I have a lot to make up to her, too.”

[ajwrites52]

BATOBER 2023-DAY 1: REVEAL

‘What is a detective? It’s a question I’ve asked everyone who joins the mission.’

Batman stands tall in an all-too-familiar setting, the scene of a violent crime. He stood at the edge of the yellow caution tape in the corner of the living room, allowing him to peer over every inch of the crime scene. It was a homicide, and there were no signs of a broken window or any traces of a murder weapon that the officers could find. All that they found was the body of a dead man in the center of the room and a Teddy Bear stained with the victim's blood.

‘Each of them had a different answer to the question. I think it was an early way to determine how they would pan out as they grew and how they saw the mission.’

Batman knelt and removed the tarp from the victim’s body; a frown found its way onto his face as he recognized the gentleman. Thomas Matthew, they’d crossed paths once or twice when he served as a henchman for Falcone to pay off gambling debts. Bruce Wayne had helped fund his recovery and even given him a job as a staff accountant for Wayne Enterprises. Now, he was just another victim, left for dead in his home from what appeared to be a stabbing to his major organs. He then turned and looked at the Teddy Bear; it was pink with the addition of red from Thomas’ blood and sat close to his right hand.

‘With Jason, his answer was blunt yet clouded by his experiences on the street. A detective is someone smarter than everyone else in a room. Which is, sadly, something that’s all too true in certain circles.’

As he reached for the bear, he stopped and noticed something that grabbed his immediate attention. Thomas’ fingernails had two things underneath them: human skin tissue and cloth fibers.

‘Dick’s answer was simple yet hopeful, which reminds me of our mutual friend. A detective solves the mystery and brings them to justice. Which isn't wrong given certain individuals.’

He left the apartment crime scene and went downtown via the Batmobile, his mind still pondering over the teddy bear left behind at the crime scene. He pulled up the supercar in front of the destination, Wagner Toys, a small toy store in the Lower East Side of Gotham, and the location that gave Thomas a receipt for the bear the day of his death—closing hours had long since passed, not that it mattered given the lock pick he'd always carried on his utility belt.

‘Stephanie was close to the actual answer, probably the closest of everyone. Someone who takes the pieces of a puzzle and makes a solid image. I can admit that it almost got a chuckle out of me.’

Batman entered the store slowly; the appearance of shattered glass and broken furniture had ransacked it. He went to the register without signs of tampering or a forced cash withdrawal. That's when he turned his head upwards and saw a security camera staring back at the caped crusader with a red light blinking.

‘All of them had different answers. Each varied in its complexity and depth. Barbara said that, The law recognizes a detective as someone who can solve a mystery. I hope Jim is proud of her for that answer; she thought of him as she said it.’

The bedroom window was open, and Batman, ever an opportunist, sneaked through the window as he entered the apartment. The apartment didn't have much: a queen-sized bed, a flat-screen TV, and a fully furnished bathroom with a shower. But he could tell the difference between a home and a prison. As he walked towards the nearest door, he paused and ducked to avoid a baseball aimed at his head.

‘Harper was literal with it, but it carried a similar sense of anger as Jason did in his youth—a police officer who investigates and solves crimes. But in Gotham, it's just a cop who can get away with the real scum stuff. I should call her and see how she and Cullen are doing in Metropolis.’

Batman avoided another swing from the assailant before landing a solid punch to the attacker's stomach and uppercutting him into unconsciousness. Batman stood over his defeated opponent, Chris Mariano, a former driver for Falcone who was “fired” after it came out that he was planning on stealing one of Maroni’s shipments to sell Falcone. Batman had saved his life in exchange for information and told him to leave Gotham immediately. Batman looked disappointed in him before realizing he wasn't the person living there; he was just the guard to ensure the prisoner stayed in.

‘Cassandra only had one response to the question. Batman.’

Batman entered the next room and found a young woman handcuffed to the bed frame; black tear marks from her mascara stained her tanned cheeks. She was terrified, but even through tears, he could recognize her as Fabiola Maroni-Sal Maroni’s granddaughter.

‘Cassandra’s made me chuckle, but that wasn’t the right answer. Damian’s answer was, close-A detective hunts down criminals and brings them to justice.’

Cristiano groaned as he slammed the fridge shut after retrieving his fifth beer of the night, cursing up a storm as he slumped into his chair. As he continued his enjoyment of the Gotham Knights Football Game against the Fawcett City Tigers, he didn’t notice the pair of cold white eyes that sat behind his chair with only the blue light of the TV illuminating his black cowl.

“Cristiano Vinceti,” said Batman in his trademark low register. Cristiano screamed and fell out of his chair in panic as he threw his drink at the Dark Knight, who moved his head to the side and followed him slowly as he reached for the doorknob. A Batarang slammed into the door's wood frame, stopping him in his tracks; he turned to run the other way, only to slam into the cloaked frame of his stalker. Batman stood in silence before looking down at his bandaged right arm, the pieces were coming together. “We need to talk.”

‘Of those I’ve taken into my home and the ones I’ve raised. Only two have ever come close to the answer Henri Ducard taught me during his schooling. Tim and Duke.’

Jim Gordon sighed as he walked out to the rooftop, he’d been alerted by one of the rookies that saw something on the roof of the GCPD. Jim couldn’t help but chuckle as he walked outside to find a bruised and beaten Cristiano tied up to the Bat Signal with a bandanna around his mouth and a Manila folder taped to the seasoned criminal's chest. The folder said one thing, Truth.

‘A detective has one function that makes them different from any law man. A detective must reveal the truth and bring the culprit to the light.’

Jim pulled it off and smiled, reading the evidence found inside before looking around to find his caped friend waiting for him beside the Batsignal.

“Been awhile since you pulled this trick, what? Feeling nostalgic?” Jim chuckled at his own joke as Batman just walked out of the shadows.

“The murder of Thomas Matthew. I looked into it tonight, Cristiano Vinceti is the culprit.”

“Wait. Really? You think this goon would involve himself with a single random murder? I know this idiot, he started running with Black Mask’ gang as just a driver. Do you really think he’d kill a man he doesn’t know?

“He knew Thomas, maybe not intimately, but he definitely knew him.”

Jim opened the folder to find pictures of Thomas and Fabiola on several romantic dates, and some of just Fabiola in her apartment alone with her dogs and even sleeping. Jim growled in disgust as he found some that were of her just on the subway or with her friends.

“Even going back, I found psychological records from Cristiano’s time in college. He’d been expelled from Blüdhaven University after stalking several Freshman Girls back to their dorms. It was until one of them fought back and exposed him to the dean, that girl just so happened to be Fabiola. During his meeting with the board, he attested to doing nothing more than following his heart and being in love.”

“So then he murdered Thomas for nothing more than dating his target.” Gordon spat on the floor in the direction of Cristiano before closing the folder. “Thanks again Batman. We’ll make sure he gets his just desserts, but what about…”

“Fabiola? Turns out after killing Thomas, Cristiano hired help to kidnap her. I found her in an Burnside apartment, he might’ve had plans to go back but she’s already free and back with her family. You may be receiving a call from The Salvatore asking about Cristiano’s whereabouts.”

“Yeah well, I don’t blame him. That bastard messed with a man’s family, that amount of rage would drive normal men mad.”

“Yes. Yes it would Jim.” Batman said as Jim turned to head towards the door.

“So, you're gonna help us cut him down from there or…” Jim turned back and saw that the caped Crusader had already vanished like tradition. Gordon couldn’t help but smile as he looked forward and saw his friend looking back at him from several rooftops away. The two men exchanged a glance before the Dark Knight vanished into the night, there was still more work to do, and many more truths to reveal.

A part of my yearly attempt to write short stories based on Batober prompts created by Chris Samnee! Follow him on other platforms and let me know what you think!

[roadtogracelandx45]

Freeze| Blue Bloods One Shot

Summary: After hearing the call for an officer down, Libby Reagan and her training officer Renzulli rush to the scene and knowing she was faster Libby went after the shooter. 

@prettyinpayne

masterlist coming soon

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Central Park New York

**

“You know your brother Joe spoke very highly of you.” Sergeant Renzulli said, watching his new partner. Libby Reagan-O’Malley beamed before shaking her head, “I hope only good things. He and Danny use to talk me into stupid stuff when I was  younger.” 

“Like what?” 

“I would rather not talk about it, I will break out in hives if I do.” She laughed. 

“You have a twin brother right?” 

“Yes Jamie, he is at law school.” 

“Smart kid.’ 

“Very smart. I should have followed him out of New York.” 

“Why?”

Libby rubbed her lips together and twirled her straw around her almost empty glass.

 “I got accepted into Northwestern, which was my top school. I wanted to go so bad.’

 “Then why didn’t you?” 

“My husband stopped me from going and he got  so mad when I decided instead to get my bachelors degree in criminal justice and join the police academy.” 

“He should be proud.” 

“Keyword should be.” She said, “he wants to drive a wedge between me and my family.”  

Tony started laughing long and hard at that, her family, the Reagan family was infamous for being tight knit. 

Always checking in. 

There had even been rumors about her grandfather and father having her and her older sister Erin followed on their dates.

 Which Tony himself said he would do if he ever had a daughter. 

He watched her mouth twitch in a smile for several long minutes before speaking up, “If you are unhappy Libby, then you need to change that. You are a Reagan, you don’t need a man to be happy. And no offense Michael is an ass.

” 

That got her to laugh, “That is true. But he won’t let me leave. I have spent more time at my parents house than I have in the last 4 years. Just to get away from him.”  

“You need to leave him, if I can tell you aren’t happy, then your family definitely can.” Libby nodded her head as she went to talk, static filled the air, “10-24 officer down! We need back up!’ 

Libby’s blood ran cold as she stood up, quickly knocking her chair over.

One thing she had always feared being in a family that housed not only the commissioner but the chief of deans and two other officers that one day those calls would be involving one of them.  And hopefully this time was one of those situations that didn’t involve them.

 “10-4 show us responding.” Tony said as they rushed out of the diner and down the street to their squad car.

Libby’s heart was in her throat as she threw herself out of the car.  Her hand trembling as she grabbed ahold of her gun. 

Her partner was on her heels. 

“We need more back up. NOW!”  Renzulli shouted into his radio. 

“They came out of nowhere!” 

Riker shouted, putting his hands on the bleeding wounds that his partner had.

 “What way did they go?” 

“That way!’ She glanced over her shoulder at her partner who nodded quickly. Out of the two of them, she was the quickest.  

Having been on track and softball in high school as well as an avid runner now so she had a better chance of catching the shooter. 

She tore down the path quickly, her heavy belt banging against her hips and upper thighs. 

“I really need to become a detective so I don’t have to wear this stupid belt!” She muttered to herself, “HEY! FREEZE!” 

The prep wasn’t a man like she was expecting but a teenage girl, close to her sister-in-law Mary’s age, in fact she was friends with Mary, she just couldn’t put her finger on the name.

 Her radio had static as Tony radioed for more backup for her and a bus.

  The girl turned around and looked at her, her gun trembling as she pointed it at her. Libby raised her gun and pointed it at her.

 “I don’t want to shoot you.” 

“Do it! Shoot me!’ The girl shouted. 

She was trembling from head to toe, she obviously was frightened by what she did.

 “I am not going to shoot you. I need you to put the gun down now.’

 Running footsteps alerted her that she wasn’t alone now. 

“You okay Libs?” her older brother Joe asked, coming to a stop at her elbow, his own gun drawn. 

“Yes.’ She answered as their older brother Danny joined them. They had been surprised when Renzulli’s voice came onto the radio calling for backup. 

They wanted to be with Libby to shield her from this. They could survive if it was anyone else that answered the call but since it was their little sister they wanted to be with her.

“Look, I am going to put my gun away.” Libby said, flipping the safety back on and putting it back in the hostler and holding her hands up. 

“See, we aren’t going to hurt you. I just want to talk.” 

“Talk? Yeah right!” The girl laughed, wiping her eyes off on the back of her hand. 

‘Your name is Tessa right?” She asked, taking a step closer to her, her two older brothers following her. 

“How do you know that?” 

“I am Mary’s sister-in-law Libby.’ 

“I heard about you.” Tessa started waving the gun around, “Her mom doesn’t like you very much.” 

Libby glanced out of the corner of her eye at Danny who gave a slight nod. He didn’t want to take a shot at the girl. Girls like this were innocent. 

“I heard your brother was killed.” Libby said, 'In Attica.I am so sorry, I don’t know if I would survive without any of my brothers.’ 

“The guard killed him! He did nothing wrong!” 

“Michael told me what happened. There was a riot, your brother Randy was involved in it.’ 

“No! That's not true!” Tessa pointed her gun at Libby who held her hands up and took another nervous step forward. 

“Tessa, it is true, I am sorry.” She said, “Grief is an unspeakable thing.’ 

“What do you know? You live in an ivory tower and everything is good and wholesome.’

 “No, Tessa, that's not true at all. Last year, my son MJ, died. He was a year old and he was hit by a car. He died on the way to the hospital.” 

Danny made a noise deep in his throat, he would never forget that day, hearing Libby scream and then hold her son's crumpled body to her chest. He never wanted her to live through something like that again. 

The driver had been distracted texting and hit the youngest Reagan grandchild. The grief that Libby had been in had been heartbreaking. 

It was something that he never wanted to see again. It had just been recently that she started to come back to them and be apart of their family again. And they wanted that for as long as possible. 

Tessa watched the pretty police officer for several long minutes before squeezing the trigger. The gunshot sounded like a broom breaking loudly and as if  in slow motion  the bullet flew through the air and landed in Libby’s midsection. Joe grabbed a hold of her elbow and helped her lower down on the ground. 

“Libby?!’  

Another loud bang filled the air and Tessa crumbled to the ground face first. Riker had come up from behind her and shot her. 

“We need another ambulance over here!” He said into his radio before going over to the trio.

 “I am okay.” She gasped between breaths of pain. “I don’t think she hit anything.” Danny reached his hand out and put it on her stomach. It came back bloody. 

“Oh shit.” She muttered, “Mom is gonna be so pissed.”