hello there!For the 5 sentence prompt,how about a tired Viktor receiving some well deserved comfort from reader?maybe something domestic,if you feel like it!
For days he’d told you that he would be home on time, yet for the fourth evening in a row, he was late. Late by several hours. Despite your righteous fury, you manage to stand up and grab your jacket off the coat rack in the hallway, toss it over your shoulders, and get halfway through lacing your boots up before the front door jiggles and creaks open, and Viktor hobbles in.
The two of you stare at each other for several seconds, both surprised to be caught in some kind of act. “Where are you going at this hour?” Viktor asks, and the sheer exhaustion in his voice is enough to mitigate your earlier anger. Your shoulders droop, and you peel the jacket off your back to hang it back up.
“Coming to get you,” you sigh, pulling your boyfriend further into your home and locking the door behind him. He takes a breath to say something -likely an apology for his tardiness- and you quickly hush him. You take his hand and lead him into your shared bedroom, where you start tugging at the various buttons on his vest and dress shirt.
He doesn’t fight you as you gently help him out of his work uniform and into his pajamas, though you certainly fight him when he tries to do the same for you. “Sweetheart,” you say, softly, “you’re exhausted. So go lay down, okay?” He looks like he wants to argue about it, but you give him a very pointed expression and shoo him towards the bed.
Thankfully, it takes less than a minute for you to join him beneath the blankets, and he immediately latches onto you like an octopus. You snicker at how clingy he is tonight, and wiggle around a little until he’s comfortably situated with his head on your chest instead. After that, it doesn’t take him long to fall asleep; with the feeling of your fingers carding through his hair, and the steady thrum of your heart beating in his ear.
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For the ask: "Why do you live?"
Questions/Comments to be sent anonymously (or not!) | Accepting
"Because it's that or bein' dead, and being dead just isn't an option, now is it?" Hopefully they aren't hoping for some deep, personal answer from him. "I'm bein' serious. Whether you like it or not, your body does absolutely everything it fucking can to keep you alive. You could be fucking miserable, it doesn't care. Self-preservation's a bitch."
And yet, some people are so fragile, so weak, can drop dead in the blink of an eye. Negan's seen it far too much since the world fell. Of course he, whether for better or worse, isn't one of those people.
"I live because I'm goddamn built to." Memories of traversing the apocalypse numb and on autopilot flash through his mind. Surviving because that was all that was left for him to do. "And because the rest of these sad fucks would probably get themselves killed if I wasn't here to keep them in line."
It's more sincere than he makes it sound. When Negan joined the group that would eventually become the Saviors, he found purpose alongside them. A reason to keep going that wasn't just 'surviving.'
Not that he would ever admit it.
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Oh gosh. Oh man.
So, onesidedness is probably the main criticism of the Heiji and Shinichi friendship, and when potential romance is added to the mix, the prevailing thought—at least, in my experience—is that Heiji's affection would never be returned.
If Shinichi is interpreted as a character who experiences romantic attraction, it's an argument that doesn't sit well with me. "It feels a lot like, 'Well, of course the desirable protagonist could never romantically love the dark-skinned boy,'" I once expressed in the tags of a post. "And maybe that's unfair of me, but I can't deny that that's how I feel. Shinichi clearly has a lot of love for Heiji, and this OVA [9, 'The Stranger From 10 Years Later'] shows that he finds Heiji attractive. Like... I really don't think it's as implausible as it's made out to be."
But it's not that I don't understand the reasoning behind the hopeless, unrequited reading. There are implications of Shinichi's strong feelings for Heiji, bits and pieces that you can put together if you turn your head to the side and squint, but Heiji is loud with his love, unabashed, an open door. He speaks so fondly of Shinichi that Kazuha initially believes they're dating (Episode 118), and yet, any similar sentiments that Shinichi holds for Heiji are only quietly mentioned and barely tangible. There's a reason that Dr. Agasa calls Heiji to help Shinichi (Episodes 189, 277), a reason that the most constant adult presence in Shinichi's life believes no one else can reach him, a reason that Heiji is considered Shinichi's best friend, but on the surface, Shinichi brushes off Heiji's invitations to get together (Episodes 238, 381), states on more than one occasion that he's only accompanying Heiji because Heiji forced him to (Episodes 381, 479), and consistently has a sour look on his face whenever the two of them cross paths unexpectedly (Episodes 166, 189, 221, 381...).
I've always chalked up the attitude to Shinichi's inherent tsundere nature. He's embarrassed to show his affection for others, so he conceals it with annoyed faces and pouts and teasing (that I know is supposed to be fun but tends to come off as overly cold and meanspirited to someone as sensitive as me). Heiji isn't the only one on the receiving end of this kind of behavior from Shinichi—even Ran, Shinichi's childhood sweetheart, experiences it (Episodes 58, 927...).
So, I've never read Shinichi's grumpy behavior around Heiji as evidence that he doesn't love his friend or enjoy his company. There are plenty of examples of how that's clearly not true. Literally every Heiji case after the Reveal (Episodes 57-58), so far as I've seen, at least, depicts an excited, enthusiastic Shinichi who pointedly cherishes sharing deductions with the Detective of the West—even the cases that began with a cranky Cone!—and Conan is notably devastated whenever he's separated from Heiji or left to solve a puzzle on his own (Episodes 117, 118, 174, 224.).
It's not that Shinichi dislikes Heiji. He just doesn't shout his love to the heavens like Heiji does for him. Shinichi's love is whispered and soft, but that doesn't make it any less meaningful or real.
Still, I'm also fully willing to admit that the level of reciprocity I do interpret or could interpret in Heiji and Shinichi's relationship is simply an overanalysis—a desperate, futile attempt to justify why I'm fond of these two and their interactions despite the snotty attitude that Conan often directs towards his fellow detective.
But that's just the thing I only now realized: Conan's snotty attitude towards Heiji. When Shinichi is Shinichi, the nastiness he subjects Heiji to vanishes. The irritation that colors their dynamic fades away. There are broad smiles (Files 257, 653). There's an eagerness to work together. In "The Scarlet School Trip (Bright Red Arc)" (Episode 927), the partnership arguably takes precedence over the case, as Shinichi doesn't instantly race to solve it only to belatedly remember Heiji's presence, but instead immediately wakes Heiji so that they can unravel the mystery as a team.
Even the first time the two ever directly meet (Episodes 48-49), Shinichi treats Heiji kindly, explaining the flaws in Heiji's deduction without being insulting and devoting his time and energy to encouraging his so-called rival to be a better detective—all while he suffers horribly from the effects of the antidote wearing off.
So, this thought crawled into my head, built a nest, and refused to leave me alone: maybe the main source of Shinichi's grouchiness around Heiji is not his tsundere tendencies, but rather that he hates being Conan in Heiji's company.
It makes a heartbreaking amount of sense. Heiji is comfort to Shinichi, a reminder that, to quote Undertale, a game I've never actually played, "Despite everything, it's still you." But it's comfort that aches, a warmth as soothing as it is agonizing, because Conan is Shinichi but not, because as reaffirming as it might be to spend time with someone who always sees you as you are, who flounders and struggles and fails spectacularly at seeing you as anything else, there has to be pain in that, too, the pain that you aren't yourself anymore, you can't be, and you're trapped being something you're not, that you never wanted, that no amount of "Kudo"s can fix or undo.
More than that, Heiji represents everything Shinichi's lost. Conan can't be the teen detective that Heiji's freely able to be, with his name in the papers and his deductions widespread. Whenever the two are together, Heiji has to be sneaky or lie or conjure up excuses to keep them that way. Whenever Heiji calls, Conan has to hide or pretend he's talking to someone else. Whenever they speak, Heiji has to crouch to meet Conan's eyes—a gesture that's meant to signify their equality but simultaneously underlines how they're not equals, not as things are, not to the rest of the world.
While I can't say I'd ever excuse the undeserved annoyance that Shinichi pushes on Heiji, considering the behavior with this lens makes it a whole lot more sympathetic. It's humiliating for your friend to see you sitting on someone else's lap like a little kid when you're not one (Episode 166). It hurts that you can only talk candidly with your friend after he's manufactured a reason to send everyone else away (Episode 189). It stings that your friend has to orchestrate a plot so that you can attend the Detective Koshien when, had you been in your own body, you could have made the decision to go yourself (Episode 479).
It's not that Shinichi dislikes Heiji. He just dislikes the unfortunate necessity of being relegated to the child sidekick instead of the peer that he is. He just dislikes that he can't fully be the Kudo that Heiji thinks of him as.
If you consider "Conan's Dream Vacation," after all, it's one of Shinichi's greatest desires to be by Heiji's side, with Ran and Kazuha... but as himself.
Anyway. I already liked Heishin, but the idea that Shinichi's bouts of stinkface around Heiji are largely because Heiji reminds him of how desperately he wishes to return to himself does soften what I considered to be one of the friendship's most glaring flaws. And while the answer to the question of onesidedness here is of course up to interpretation, that Shinichi clearly has a lot of trust in Heiji (asking for advice in Episode 189!), and that Shinichi enjoys Heiji's company in cases and misses him when he's gone, and that he displays a palpable joy when working with Heiji as Shinichi (Episodes 522-523, 927-928), and that he dreams of being together in an official illustration, all demonstrate to me that there's a lot of love here.
The thought that Shinichi is upset that he can't be Shinichi for Heiji only adds to that feeling.
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autumn prompts: 25 + polyphantoms
Ever since getting involved with Alex, and then getting dragged into his 'wait this isn't just a weirdly codependent friend group it's a polycule', Willie had been... well, happy. Happier than he'd been for a long time. He had Alex, of course, which would have been more than enough. But he also had adventures with Reggie, and cuddles with Luke and Bobby, and 'going to the thrift store to find fabulous outfits' with Flynn and Julie, and that one time he'd thought his old boss had sent a limo to kidnap and murder him but it was really just Carrie taking him for mani-pedis.
With the help of his new friends, boyfriends, and 'we made out one time but it was way too weird', he managed to... unlearn a lot of toxic stuff. Like how your manager wasn't supposed to make you practice your dancing waiter routine for six hours after hours until your feet blistered and then not pay you for it. Or how opening up wouldn't result in being mocked or shamed. And also the joys of deep-fried Oreos.
So Willie owed them. Like a lot. Even though they assured him he didn't owe them anything, they loved him. He still wanted to... he didn't know. Prove to them he could contribute. As more than just a pretty face or mani-pedi partner.
So when Willie found out they all went hard for Halloween, he did some research. He'd spent pretty much every Halloween since he was sixteen and had been hired at the Hollywood Ghost Club, working. But he was determined to do it right. So he got all the decorative gourds. He found the perfect scary and not-so-scary movies for them to watch. He even tried to make caramel apples. (Thankfully Bobby helped him put out the fire and clean up all the mess before anyone else got home.)
Another Very Important Part of Halloween, he'd learned, was the costume. This year, they'd all agreed to dress up as ridiculous 'Sexy' costumes. (With a very thick robe at the door in case of any trick or treaters who didn't see the 'take one (or two, we're not cops)' bowl of candy and cute little toys on the little table in front of the porch.)
So Willie did his best. Like, his very best. He'd seen the pictures of Halloweens Past, okay?
The party was a great success. Alex looked delicious in his Sexy Alexander Hamilton costume. Flynn and Julie looked amazing in their She-Ra and Catra costumes, while Carrie had gone for 'Sexy Carrie'. Not Sexy Carrie Wilson, which she'd wanted to at first, but horror movie Carrie. The sight was... unsettling.
Luke had somehow managed to make the little Among Us Amogus sexy, while Reggie had opted for Sexy Ghost, with a white sheet cut high enough to just catch a glimpse of his red panties to go with his black fishnets and red heels.
Bobby was met with some boos and dismay, seeing as he was just dressed as the fox from Robin hood, no fishnets or booty shorts in sight, just a regular costume with an added fox tail and ears. "The fox from Robin Hood is totally sexy!" he insisted. "He was Luke and Reggie's first crush so shut up!"
And hey, from the way Luke and Reggie were all over him, it seemed to be really working for him.
Willie had kept his costume in a bag until the last minute. He hadn't wanted to ruin Alex' upholstery on the way over. So he slipped off into the bathroom with five cans of spray on body-paint and the rest of his supplies.
When he came out, it was worth it. Alex gaped at him as he made sure his duck-bill wasn't crooked. His body paint matched the booty shorts perfectly, and it made the yellow fish nets and heels stand out. He'd put his hair up in a tight bun so he could whip his hat on and off dramatically.
"You're a... sexy... teal..." Willie turned around to show his tail. "Platypus?"
Immediately, heads popped out of doorways, Luke and Reggie and Bobby stacked on top of each other as if they were a cartoon. Reggie was grinning from ear to ear, especially when Willie donned the brown fedora dramatically. Alex still looked confused.
"PERRY THE SEXY PLATYPUS?" Luke and Reggie shouted in unison. Willie shot them some finger guns, doing the little Perry-the-Platypus rumble he'd been practicing for weeks now.
"Oh my god you ruined my childhood," Bobby said, half glee and half horror. "Well done."
Yeah, it was a pretty successful party. Even if the sheets in Carrie's guest room were absolutely ruined with teal body paint the next morning.
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