Stargazers

Bishova piece for @themystman! Happy birthday!

Pairing: Kate/Yelena Chapter word count: 9.1k co-written with my amazing friend @starlightswiftie

Kate knew she was in trouble the second her mother entered her office after Kate’s meeting concluded. She was calm and collected as she shut the door on Kate’s client, but as she turned around, Kate could see the barely contained fury in her eyes. “What kind of game do you think you’re playing at?” her mother asked, still barely keeping it together. “Uh, I’m not exactly sure what you’re talking about?” Kate had barely spoken to her mom that day, she’d only been in the building for an hour. She gave a resigned sigh. “What did I do this time?” “I understand if you’re mad at me for everything, even though I only ever did it to keep you safe, but sleeping with a known assassin?” Eleanor pinched her nose in frustration. “This is a new low, even for you, Kate.” “Wow, okay.” What did Kate even do with that? “First off, I’m not ‘sleeping with’ Yelena, we’re just—” “‘Just friends?’” Her mother scoffed. “Where have you been staying since your apartment burnt down?” Kate had no response for that.

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1. The FBI's Famous Cases & Criminals archive (fbi.gov/history/famous-cases) has detailed breakdowns of real fraud cases, Ponzi schemes, and confidence operations. The language they use is clinical and precise, which is perfect for getting the procedural details right.

2. The FTC Consumer Sentinel Network publishes annual reports on the most common fraud tactics in the US. Great for understanding how modern scams actually work and what makes people fall for them.

3. The Smithsonian's American Art Museum has a free digital collection of forgery case studies. If your character forges documents or art, this is gold.

4. Court Listener (courtlistener.com) is a free legal database where you can read actual court transcripts from fraud trials. Want to know how a real con artist talks under oath? This is where you find out.

5. The Internet Archive's collection of old newspaper crime sections. Search for "confidence man" or "swindle" in papers from the 1920s through 1960s and you'll find incredible real stories that would feel too dramatic for fiction.

Bonus: The Psychology of Fraud section on the Association for Psychological Science website has accessible articles about why people trust, how deception works cognitively, and what makes someone a convincing liar. Essential reading if you want your con artist characters to feel psychologically real.