For our next event, make any type of visual content (gifs, edits, fmvs, fanart, etc.) of Asian media inspired by REVIVAL. You can interpret this in any way: for instance, literally, to refer to something about rebirth/ reincarnation, second chances, or a revival of an old drama or trend. Or, you could remake an old set or reinterpret a set you've done in the past, but now in a new style. This event will run from March 1 to April 23.
TO PARTICIPATE:
âżÂ join our network
âżÂ reblog this post
âż make visual content featuring this monthâs prompt
âż caption your post as follows: @userdramas event 20: revival [optional: insert quote/description/caption]
If you have any questions about the event, feel free to contact us via our tumblr inbox or in our Discord server. Weâre excited to see everyoneâs cool creations!
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in honor of women's history month, weâll be celebrating all beautiful women of color for our event this march. make any type of visual creation (gifs, edits, art, etc.) that centers women of color!
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
â join our network if you havenât already
â reblog this post
â caption your post with:
@creatorsofcolornet event 20: women
[quote/description]
â tag us in your post with #ccnet
RULES AND INFORMATION
â creations must center a woman of color or women of color
â you can start posting for the event starting march 1st
â the last day to submit your entry for voting is march 29th at 4PM CST (be sure to send your creation in our #event-creations channel on our server)
â voting will begin march 29th at 4PM CST and end march 31st at 6PM CST. the winner of the event will be featured as a pinned post on the blog!
feel free to message us if you have any questions! we canât wait to see what you create âĄ
hoii everyone!! welcome to paletmblr's twentieth event! i can't believe we've done 20 events oml!!
thank you so much to everyone that participated in our april event! congratulations to @elennemigo for being april's featured creator!! thank you for your lovely creation!!
after taking a poll, the may event theme was decided to be locations. your creations can be from film, tv, anime, etc. the only requirement is your creations should be pale /pastel /b&w!! hope you participate!
to participate:
â reblog this post !!
â make as many creations as you'd like !!
â include us in your caption !!
eg: â @paletmblr event xx: [ description ] â
â tag your creations with #paletmblr20 !!
if you have any questions for the event, feel free to send us an ask! we are excited to see all your lovely creations!
Hello my dear @deducingcircumference I was your @dcmksecretsantaâ this year! I decided to go for your idea about the Mori family, I really hope youâll like it! I had fun writing it, even though it was a lot harder than I thought. Iâm sorry that I wasn´t able give it to my beta before, Iâll repost it once itâs corrected. Still, I hope youâll like it! Have am merry, healthy and nice Christmas and a happy new year!
~ Shelling
Patchwork
 He should have known better.
These past dayâs the doorbell had only caused him trouble and pain.
Why had he even believed that it would be different this time?
Megure however, couldnât care less for Kogoroâs grumpy face. Â
âHis parents are still dealing with the FBI and the Professor has his own little problem right now. He can´t stay in the police department any longer, it would only raise further suspicions.â Megure swallowed, that was something he really didn´t want to deal with, on top of everything right now. However, he wasn´t sure if this really had been the best idea.
His former college looked at him like heâd gone crazy.
âSo, you dump him here of all places?â Mori growled, didn´t care about his tone, while he spoke with his former boss. Megure sighed, looking behind his shoulder where the âboyâ had only filched beneath Kogoroâs  voice. The officer rolled his eyes, heâd been through this question before, even though it had been the asked in a much higher voice.
The officer took a deep breath and shook his head.
âHeâs in no condition to help right now, and neither are you.â
âI have to go back to the hospital! I need to-â Â
âYou have to wait until visiting hours tomorrow.â Megure interrupted Kogoroâs argument.
He sighed, placing a hand on the manâs shoulder.
âI know youâre worried Mori-kun, but thereâs nothing you can do for her right now, but you can take care of one another.â Megure swallowed, finally taking a step aside to reveal the grad schooler whoâd been hiding behind his legs.
Kogoro took a sharp breath and despite his anger he could feel something inside him stirring at the sight of the âboyâ.  However, the detective desperately tried to ignore it, it couldn´t be more than the rising bile in his throat, looking at the lying freeloader.
Conan- or rather Shinichi Kudo didn´t dare to look up. At least the kid seemed to have a little bit of a conscience left. Kogoro knew what happed and why, after his kids â kid- his lovely Ran had gone missing, the truth had slowly come to light. And now Co- Kudo was standing here, asking him to take him in for the night, while his little baby girl was still in the hospital. Alright, she wasn´t frighting for her life- at least not when he believed in the doctorâs words, but she still wasn´t waking up, since a heavy blow to the head, while  tried to helpâŚhim.Â
The one who had lied to them for over a year, who used them and ignored her tears, being here and safe and fine, while she was still in medical care.
Well fine might have been a little exaggerate.
Actually, he looked more like death warmed over, after he destroyed a whole criminal organization. Even through the brat didn´t dare to look him in the eyes he could see that they where bloodshot, with dark circles beneath them, seeming even deeper due his pale complexion. His handâs where bandaged, his glasses where broken and a little voice inside Kogoro wondered why no one had told him to put them down. Damn! Couldn´t they see that it was dangerous, the boy could easily lose an eye when the glass- ah but why should he care, he didn´t thatâs for sure.
Mori bit his lips and shook his head while his gaze traveled down the boyâs legs, one being places in a walking cast to stabilize it, but even if he tried to hide it, Kogoro could still see that the kid was in pain, clearly favoring his left leg.
âAlrightâŚâ Megureâs tone ripped him from his analysis.
âIâll leave the two of you alone nowâŚâ The officer tired to catch the boyâs eyes, but the shrunken detective whoâd surprised them all didn´t dare to rise his galnce. So Megure briefly placed a hand on the kidâs shoulder. He was about to leave when he stopped close enough to Kogoro, to make one last request in a low voice.
â⌠and Mori-kun,⌠heâs already broken, so please try not to hurt him further.â Kogoro took a sharp breath, ready to protest when his eyes shifted back to the silent child in front of him.
âDamn right he is.â A voice inside him seemed to scream, while he watched Megure disappear at the end of the stairs. He couldn´t believe what the man was asking of him, after everything. He grumbled, but when his eyes reached the bruised body of the kid again, he couldn´t help but frown at the slight tremble in the little clenched fists.
Kogoro could feel the emotions inside him shift, putting pressure on his chest. He desperately wanted to believe that it was just anger he felt, but he knew that there was something else hiding in itâs mist. It couldnât be guilt or worry- even through the boy had lived with them for so long, it wasn´t his job to protect him, he wasn´t his father aft all.
But yet-
âIâm sorry..â the soft voice froze him on the spot, but it where his next wordâs or rather the name the boy used that finally brought him back to reality.
âIâm truly sorry Mori-san.â
Right.
Conan = Kudo
Not foster son, but little lying bastard.
He had to remember that.
The boy swallowed, finally finding the courage to look up, but Kogoro had already turned his back to him, climbing the stairs. Shinichi bit his lips, trying again, but Mori stopped him before he could finish his sentence.
âI-â
âDon´t, I don´t want to hear it.â
Mori hissed, taking the last steps to their- to his home and closed the door behind him.
XXX
The beer tasted foul.
It was his first that day- alright his third, but the first one since Megure had dumped the little freeloader at his doorstep. Being kicked out from the hospital, had left him with the urge to drink, to fill his mind with cotton so that the reality would drift far away. But he denied himself to be numbed by alcohol, he had to remain sharp if the hospital called, so he instead called his wife to update her. However, it seemed Eri had already known and of course this woman believed in the nurse words, that she would be alright, that there was no actual damage to her brain and that she simply was exhausted. Exhausted, his Ran, strong and brave, exhausted to the bone. He couldn't believe it, he wished he could, but the fear of losing her filled his mind with cruel pictures.
And it was all his fault.
"Damn brat..." he growled, taking another sip from his stale beer. Days ago he'd been worried when the boy had suddenly disappeared, he couldn't deny it... Since the not-child had been living with them for little over a year now. Of course, he wasn't found of him, he didn't care... why would he? Conan wasn't his son, nope, no way he dared to think of him as his own flesh and blood.
But he couldn´t help to admit that heâd been worried about the boy, before the constructure of lies slowly crumbled around him, heâd struggled to believe it in the beginning, the brat being that high school detective, hiding under their roof all those times.
âAnd I didn´t even notice, the great detective Mori⌠pffâŚâ
Kogoro sighed, his eyes wandered from his beer to the clock, before they moved to the front door, which he might have left slightly ajar, by pure accident of course. It nearly been three hours since Megure had dropped Kudo here and he couldn´t help but wonder what the boy might be up to.  But why should he care anyway? Itâs not like the great âShinichi Kudoâ wasnât able to take care of himself, he could be lucky that he hadn´t thrown him out. HoweverâŚ.
The sleeping detective chewed on his mustache, they way the kid had looked it would only be responsible to make sure heâs fine, besides so he could make sure that the boy wasn´t messing with his case files- Yes! That was it! He had to make sure that everything was still in place and the kid wasn´t messing up his work.  With that thought Kogoro nodded to himself, rising from his seat before he headed for the stairs. Â
The office was dark, but the door was closed now and he was sure he left it open when heâd turned his back to Kudo. Could it be- that heâd left?
With a frown on his face the detective stepped into his agency, still no sigh of live, or of the boy, everything seemed to be like he left it. Kogoro was on his way to his desk, when he finally spotted the little boy on one of the two sofaâs he normally used to talk to his clients.
Conan â no Kudo was asleep, but it didn´t seemed to be a peaceful rest. Mori swallowed, he knew that sigh, the kid was having a nightmare. Not the first he was about to whiteness, but now that he knew that he wasn´t a mere child, shouting his, or most of the time Ranâs name at night he couldn´t help but wonder.
Kogoro barely knew Shinichi, especially since his separation with Eri they hadn´t met the Kudoâs quite so often, before they left Japan. What he knew was, that the boy had a bad influence on his daughter, not to mention that heâd hurt her, disappearing just like that, leaving her in the dark, lying to her while he was right beside her all this time. So maybe it was the kidâs own conscience hunting him at night. But the way the boy tossed and turned in his sleep told him that there was more to it.
The detective made a face when the child suddenly yelped in his sleep, twisting his bruised body around without much care. Kudo was facing him now, even though he was still asleep. Kogoroâs hand twitched, in the attempt to rip the broken glasses from his face, before it could hurt him any further.
With a sigh he took a step towards the boy, slowly shaking his shoulder, even if his voice wasn´t as soft as it normally was, when he tried to wake the brat from one of his nightmares.
âOi! Co- Kudo-kun! Wake up!â But like so many times before the touch on his shoulder only seemed to stress the little one even more. Conan twisted and turned in his sleep, not caring for his obvious bruised body. Kogoroâs throat grew tight, it was hard not to pick the child up to carry him into his bed, while muttering some calming thoughts into his ears.
âItâs just a dream.â He told him instead, trying to reach for the boy again, but when Kogoroâs fingers touched him, the boy flinched away from his touch, jerking backwards so that his already bruised shoulder hit the back of the couch. Â Mori gasped when new blood seemed to break through the bandages and his shirt, all caution forgotten he bent down to the kid, cradling his upper body in his arms, while Conan still struggled in his touch.
âHey don´t, youâll just hurt yourself further!â The detective hissed, before he pulled the boy closer to himself, brushing some grime from his forehead.
âItâs alright⌠easy, Conan-kun.â His voice was gentle now and finally his breath grew even and he stopped to struggled in his arms.
âCome on now, wake up, everythingâs alright.â  Kogoro assured the child, who finally stirred one hand searching for the manâs sleeves. He blinked with eyes still heavy from sleep and the nightmare, before he murmured something that made Moriâs chest grew warm and tight at the same time. âO-OthosanâŚâ
Kogoro took a sharp breath, it wasn´t the first time the brat called him that by accident, but while he usually tried to ignore his fluttering heart as well as the words, when he put the kid back to sleep he couldn´t help but feel like heâd been frozen to the spot, unsure what to do. The boy suddenly looked not only broken but also even more tiny and vulnerable in his hands. Luckily the shrunken detective came to his senses before Kogoro had to decide what to do.
Conan blinked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, but hissed when he moved his shoulder. Kogroro could actually see how he finally caught up with the situation, struggling out of his arms, with the hint of a red on his cheeks.
âOjisan⌠huh- ah um Mori-kun.â
There back to normal.
Kogoro took a breath in relive, before he eyed the boy, who still looked up at him. The detective rose and eyebrow, taking a step away from the child both of them ignoring what just happed. He cleared his throat, looking down at the brat.
âWhat do you think youâre doing here?â Â He grumbled, but the boy blushed again, blinking in surprise before he seemed to search the answer on the floor.
âUh- sleeping?â Mori raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
âWell boya, but not in my office.â Conan flinched, but Kogoro already took a step towards the door.
âCome on, get up.â The grad schooler obeyed, but Shinichi wasn´t sure if he was supposed to leave or just supposed to follow. But his doubt should soon be answered by Kogoroâs annoyed voice.
âWhat youâre waiting for?â The older detective asked, opening the door before he nodded upstairs.
âI-uhm, Iâm coming.âÂ
Conan hurried up the stairs as best as he could and he could sense that it took Mori some strength not to hurry or maybe even carry him. But when he finally entered the place heâd called home for so long he took a deep breath, only now getting aware that heâd in fact missed it. But Kogoro cleared his throat pointing to their small dining table.
âHere sit down, Iâll see If I can prepare you something to eat.â Â
âBut you don`t have to!â Shinichi assured, while Mori just rolled his eyes, disappearing in the kitchen, almost shouting from the other room to answer the ridiculous request of the boy.
âApparently I do since your folks still dealing with this secret organization and Megure decided to dump you here.â The grad schooler winced but the detective was too busy in the kitchen to notice.
âBesides, when was the last time youâve eaten something?â Kogoro questioned, when he entered the living room again. He looked at the bruised boy, who looked more dead than alive on his feet. Â
âI- uh-â But the growl of his stomach answered for him.
Conan â Shinichi â the brat, jeez he still had trouble with that, just blushed when his stomach growled in protest of the lie that he was about to tell him.
âI see.â
Conan finally sat down at the table, staring holes into it, it just didn´t feel right, Mori should be fuming in anger at him, not trying to take care of him. However, the boy didn´t notice that Kogoro had moved behind him, before he took the broken glasses form his face. Honestly if he had to see the shade of glass nearly piercing the boyâs eyes any longer he would go crazy. Â
âIâll take these for a while- since you apparently don´t need them.â Mori told him, but when he finally looked down at the kid without the simplest of all disguises, he couldn´t help but wonder what a fool heâd been. How could he not have notice how much the brat looked like the annoying high school detective.
Kudo seemed to notice the eyes on the sleeping detective on his skin and took a shivering breath. Â
âOji- I mean Mori-kun, Iâm-â But Kogoro cut in between his sentence with a sigh and the shake of his head, before he could continue.
âI know⌠thatâs not what you planned to happen.â The detective muttered, while he moved into the kitchen where a very familiar chirm told him, that the bratâs food was ready. He returned with the food and put it on the table with a little bit more force than necessary. Â
âYet I can´t believe that you thought that Ran, that we would be safe with you living under our very roof.â He growled, while Shinichi just seemed to be sinking deeper into his seat.
âSorry.â
âStop apologizing kid, I know why you did it andâŚâ He remembered the nightmare, as well as the others before, Conan seemed to read his thoughts since he moved his gaze away from him.
âI know it might have not been easy at times, but Iâm still angry at you, and my poor Ran-â
The name alone however, was enough to move Conanâs eyes back to the older detective.
âAny news? About Ran I mean.â The detective swallowed at the despair in the kidâs voice.
âSheâll been fine, sheâs just exhausted and needs some rest.â
âWhat? R-Really?â Conanâs voice was high pitched, he looked at the detective in disbelieve. Â Kogoro suppressed a chuckle, and the urge to ruffle the kidâs hair who suddenly looked like the child he was supposed to be, with big shining eyes.
â Yeah and now don´t worry and eat.â
Conan took a breath in relive before he turned his attention to the âmealâ Kogoro had prepared for him- or rather microwaved. A cup of ramen, something he hoped to be rice and he wasn´t sure if the last of the three dishes was a hot chocolate or some kind of sauce.
Apparently Kogoro noticed the kidâs stare, raising an eyebrow at the obvious hesitation.
âWhat?â Conan flinched, but after a short hesitation Shinichi decided to answer.
âAh- nothing, nothing⌠I just- sometimes wonder how you and Kisaki-san survived before Ran took up to cooking.â Shinichi teases with the hint of a smirk on his face.
âWh- you ungrateful little brat!â Kogoro grumbled.
âBesides, you can be thankful that it was me who put in the Microwave instead of Eri.â The detective added in a lecturing tone. Â
âTrue, otherwise youâd serve me coal.â The older detective smirked, before he remembered that he was supposed to be angry with the brat, so he turned the kidâs head back to the food.
âPff⌠now eat- weâre going to the hospital early tomorrow and I need to check that shoulder of yours.â
âItâs fine.â Conan muttered between a spoon full of ramen, but Mori just snorted.
âAfter everything that happened to you, I Wonder If you even understand the meaning of this word.â
âOi!â But after a brief glare Shinichi did like he was told, while Kogoro searched his medical cabinet for some new bandages and pain medicine for the size of the boy.
 XXX
 Kogoro took a long shaky breath, he leaned against the cold metal back of the elevator, as he watched how the floor numbers slowly counted higher.  Heâd already called early this morning, nothing new, Ran was still sleeping but they expected her to wake any moment now⌠was that what he was supposed to hear for the rest of his life? Mori felt panic rising in his throat, sure the Doctors told him that she would be find, but he couldn´t help but worry.
The detective bit his lips, his fingers were itching for a cigarette and one glance at the little boy (who still looked kind of creepy without the familiar glasses) told him that Co- Kudo was nervous as well. Even through, he tried to hide it, Kogoro could tell from the tension in his body and his stern gaze to the floor that the kid was freaking out inside. To be honest, even without the bangs beneath his eyes the boy looked pale since they arrived her, with his bandaged hands and the cast he looked more like he should have his own bed in this establishment. After he changed the bandages on his shoulder yesterday, Kogoro had felt sick to the bone when he saw how many scratches and bruises littered the childâs tiny frame. Â
 The elevator chirmed suddenly, ripping Mori from his thoughts, when they finally reached the right floor. However, when the door finally opened the detective was met by a familiar face.
âMori-kun!â A young nurse offered him a welcoming smile.
âMiruna-san, good morning.â Kogoro tried for a smile as well, even though it was a little embarrassed, after his behavior yesterday. But she seemed to ignore the fact that heâd cried, shouted and wept some more in her presence, while sheâd reassured him over and over that his daughter was going to be fine. Instead, she focused her attention on the little boy beside him.
âNice to meet you again! And this must be your son youâd been so worried about yesterday?â She leaned down to the child, offering her hand and a charming smile.
âYou must be Conan-kun, right? You shoudln´t disappear like that, your dad was rather worried about you.â
âUh- he was?â Â He looked up to the old man, who deliberately turned his attention away from him, but the redness on his cheeks revealed her words to be true. Shinichi blinked in surprise, still staring up at Kogoro, who cleared his throat awkwardly.
âWell- we should go now.â
âOh sure, sure! You must be worried about your Neechan, right?â She ruffled his hair and Mori could see how the boy fell back to his old act, smiling brightly at her while Kogoro wondered how the arrogant brat heâd known, had learned to endure such a treatment. But the young nurse didn´t notice the frown on the detectiveâs face, when she turned back to him.
âShe should wake every minute now, her heartrate is higher now, maybe youâll be able to wake her.â Kogoro nodded.
âThank you.â She smiled and took their place in the elevator.
âyYuâll see everything will be alright!â
Mori took a deep breath moving forward to find Ranâs room before Conanâs voice stopped his movements.
âSo, youâve been searching for me?â The boyâs face showed a grin, but his eyes revealed his doubt.
âDon´t get the wrong idea, brat.â Kogoro huffed, rolling his eyes before moving forward.
âCome on, letâs go.â
Shinichi followed Kogoro through the hospital hallways, struggling to keeping up with him, with his short legs and the damn cast.
When Kogoro finally entered his girlâs room he took a relieved breath to see that Ran was indeed fine, even though still asleep. He moved to stand beside her, taking her hand in his own feeling her warm skin beneath his. It took him a few minutes to notice that the boy seemed to be frozen in the doorway, staring at Ranâs sleeping face and the beeping heart monitor beside her.
The detective swallowed, horror was written in the boyâs face and he remembered his first visit to the hospital after heâd shot Eri. He took a deep breath, moving over to the boy, who only noticed him, when he put a hand on the slim shoulder.
âOi, whatâs wrong.â
âI- I-â The boy stuttered, his body tense beneath his grip.
âComeâŚâ Kogoro assured him, pushing him slowly into the room.
âItâs going to be fine.â
Conan followed him beside the bad, but still keeping his distance, while the worried father slowly brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
âRanâŚâ
Both of their hearts skipped when they saw how Ran twitched beneath Kogoroâs fingers, before her eyes slowly fluttered open.
âOh- Othosan?â Her voice was weak, as she slowly tried to push herself a little more upright in the bad.
âRan! Youâre awake!â Kogoro exclaimed, almost shouting, before he put his arms around his daughter, holding her close before he moved away from her again, to take a closer look at the high schooler.
âHow do you feel? Is everything alright? Should I get you a glass of water- or a doctor or-â Ran chuckled. âIâm fine Othosan!â But her gaze moved from her father to the little boy beside the bad, who didn´t dare to look up at her.
âShinichi⌠Conan-kun.â A sad smile moved to her lips, while the boyâs voice was barely more than a whisper, when he finally found the courage to look up.
âRan⌠I-â
But Kogoro was not having any of that right now.
âOh enough of that!â He cut through the suddenly awkward tension.
âYou two can talk later and if you want to rip his head of Ran, Iâd advise you do it later, since it wouldnât make much of a difference right now.â Heâd advice, earning protest form the boy beside him. âOi!â
But Kogoro simply ignored him, grabbing the kid from the floor to pull both of his children in a thigh hug. âFor now Iâm glad the two of you are alright!â
âOthosan!â
âOjisan!â
But Mori just grinned and the two started to laugh as well, as broken as they all might be, patched up and together, they made a strange but good family.
AÂ @dcmksecretsanta 2020 main present for @speed-spark-time!
Relationships: Kogoro & Conan family dynamic
Rating: T, for passing mention of domestic abuse and mild swearing
Genre: Family
Characters: Conan, Kogoro
Content warning: Passing mention of domestic abuse
Word count: 1100
This fic was betaâed by Faith (TheWaterGoddess on AO3) and @mirrorfalls, and I am eternally grateful to them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
âOjisan, look. A shooting star.â
Kogoro grunted. He needed a drink. He needed a smoke. âI saw it. So what?â He felt in his pockets and fished out a crumpled box, but came up empty when he searched his other pocket for a lighter. He leaned back against the steps leading to the old mansion, unlit cigarette clenched between his teeth, chill air seeping through his clothes. It had been a bad case.
âBecause if you make a wish, itâll come true.â The runt was unusually solemn.
âThatâs just a fairy tale, brat.â
Conan didnât seem to hear him. âWhat would you wish for?â
âA lighter.â
âIâd wishâŚâ The boy fell silent.
âSo?â Kogoro said shortly, as the silence stretched. âWhat is it? Toys? Candy?â
Conan laughed, a bright, little-boy giggle. âDonât you know, Ojisan, if you tell someone then it wonât come true!â
âAh, whatever,â Kogoro snorted dismissively. âItâll be a toy. One of those robot things.â He knew about the robot things from when Ran was that age.
âSo whatâs your wish?â Conan needled again.
âPiss off, twerp.â
âIâll trade you this.â And the kid actually produced a real, honest-to-god Zippo lighter from one of his pockets.
âWhere did you get that?â Kogoro demanded, reaching out to touch it, just to see if it was solid, but Conan pulled it away. Kogoro could easily reach over and pry open his tiny fingers â and it was important â but something something taking candy from a baby, and he held back.
âFrom the maid. We used it in the experiment, remember?â
Kogoro didnât, but that didnât matter right now. âAlright, fine, brat. Iâll trade you a wish for the light.â
The twerp handed it over, and Kogoro took his time kindling the cigarette, cupping his hands around the tiny flame.
He took a long, sweet inhale and let it out, watching the smoke spiral toward the stars. A second streak of light shot across the heavens.
What did he want? Tickets to Yoko-chanâs next concert. Another cigarette. Megure to stop condescending to him whenever he wasnât on the verge of blacking out. To win an argument against his wife, for once. Free beer. To punch that Kudo brat for stringing his daughter along. A new air conditioner.
Daughter. He growled, âI want that detective punk to stop yanking Ranâs chain around.â
âWh-what do you mean?â the kid stuttered.
âItâs pathetic,â Kogoro muttered around his cigarette, âhow she gets when she talks to him. And he says he doesnât know when heâll be back, wonât even tell her where he is. Canât even be bothered to call regularly.â He took a sharp, burning drag. âChrist, what an asshole.â
âShinichi-niichanâs on a caseââ
Kogoro flapped a hand. âSo he needs to leave my daughter alone. Save her a load of grief if she forgets about him.â
âHe cares about her!â The kid sounded as upset as Kogoro felt, when he bothered to think about it.
âSo? Doesnât make him any less of a dick. You think love conquers all?â He took a deep inhale of his cigarette. âYou can love someone and still make them miserable.â
âButââ
âTake me and Eri,â Kogoro went on relentlessly, ignoring Conanâs little hiccup. âKnew each other all our lives, and when we got together it was Heaven. But the things that were important to me werenât the things she wanted. And what she cared about, I didnât want.â
He sounded bitter. He wasnât bitter.
âEvery other week she flew off the handle at something I did, the rest was me gritting my teeth at her choicesâŚâ Kogoro laughed, short and acrid. âAnd then one day she just left. Me, Ran, all of it. Jesus. Ran cried for a month.â It went without saying that he, Mouri Kogoro, hadnât. Most of what heâd felt at that time was rage, when he wasnât liquored into a stupor.
âYeah,â the kid said solemnly. âShe did.â
Kogoro paused, the cigarette dangling as he said, âHuh?â
âI⌠mean, thatâs what she told me!â
Kogoro grunted. So Ran had talked about it with the kid. That was⌠something. âItâs better this way,â he muttered. He let out a lungful of smoke and wondered what it was. Eri being gone? Ran opening up to Conan? Kudo not coming home? Sitting here inhaling carcinogens in the freezing cold?
Then the kid said into the silence, âBut I know Shinichi-niichan wants to come back and make things right,â and Kogoroâs blood pressure shot up again.
âWhatâs right, kid? Something you decide? Something your Niichan decides?â
âRight is right,â the kid said firmly.
âBullshit. Werenât you listening to the perp? Was she right to kill him?â
âNoââ
âSooner or later one of his lovetaps was gonna break her neck.â
âShe lied to the police and obfuscated evidence,â the kid said weakly.
âSo she was scared.â The cigarette was almost burnt down. Kogoro took one last drag and crushed it under his shoe. âPoint is, Kudoâs version of âmake things rightâ wonât be mine, and thatâs why that detective pain-in-the-ass wonât be coming near my daughter.â He slammed his fist into his palm like it was Kudoâs muzzle.
The kid flinched, as if it were him Kogoro was threatening, and not his uncleâs grandfatherâs cousinâs nieceâs whatever. âMaybe heâs scared too,â he squeaked.
âHe should be,â Kogoro growled. He ground his knuckles against his palm for emphasis.
Shadows sprouted briefly at their feet as the door behind them opened. A uniformed officer came out and informed them that the cleanup was done, that the inspector didnât need anything more from them, waving away their thanks as he went back inside.
He didnât know what made him do it, but as they got to their feet, Kogoro bopped his fist on Conanâs head.
âOw.â
Kogoro snorted. âDonât âowâ me, Iâve seen your brat friends hit harder. Hereâs some advice. When you get older, donât go getting attached to anybody like me. Or Eri. Or Kudo. OrâŚâ he added thoughtfully, âRan. Youâre not that good.â He started down the gravel drive.
âSheesh,â the kid sighed, trotting to keep up. âAnd Ran-neechan just wanted to know what to get you for Christmas.â
âWell, she could stop nagging about those horse races,â Kogoro grumbled.
âI donât think she will,â the kid said dubiously. âHow about a scarf?â
âShut your trap and get in the car.â
The kid was quiet as Kogoro pulled out of the driveway and onto the highway with a rumble of engine. Theirs was the only car on the road. Just the two of them and the fan of light from their headlights, and roadside signs that glowed briefly as they passed. No sound except the car itself and the faint sound of wind from outside. Kogoro looked over. Conan was slumped against the door, asleep.
Above, more stars fell, leaving fleeting white trails in the night sky. Meteors. Or meteorites, he could never keep them straight. Just hunks of rock, burning up in the air. Wishes. How stupid.
Eri. The rice fields raced by in the dark. And Ran. Tokyo was a shimmer of lights in the distance. Maybe even⌠the freeloader. The brat was almost bearable with his mouth shut.
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But this condition IlĂşvatar made, or it is the necessity of their love, that their power should thenceforward be contained and bounded in the World, to be within it for ever, until it is complete, so that they are its life and it is theirs. And therefore they are named the Valar, the Powers of the World.
for oneringnetâs july event, the topic is the valar. hereâs how to participate:
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itâs time to vote loveys!! event twenty is officially over! thank you @avacolemn @sansaes @marv-el-spot @siovhanroy for participating with your lovely creations! The winner will be announced with June event post and will be featured on our page <3
all entries for event twenty :
â the northern Great Plains gifset by @avacolemn
â hogwarts gifset by @sansaes
â loki gifset by @marv-el-spot
â guardians of the galaxy vol.1 gifset by @siovhanroy