#Chefs kis I will be thinking about this for the rest of my life

[k2ntoss]

so i was about to fall asleep but then i started thinking about constantine's sidekick!reader again and just imagining a little scenario where they and jason are having a little tiff or something after some kind of mission...like they're both running on adrenaline and maybe a little manic cuz one of them almost got really hurt or something, and then just at one point reader gets tired off the back and forth and just uses their magic to pull jason over by his collar and kisses him to shut him up? and jason just melts immediately?? mmmmmm god i seriously cant stop thinking about this man

-🦊 (thank you for indulging my brain rot every day, it makes me smile sm every time i see your thoughts and additions to my lil ideas😙)

YA GIRL IS FUCKING BAAAACK i do have news but lets leave them for another moment, now i'm here to be amazed by your ideas that feed the little beast inside my head, chef kiss, michelin star kinda shit

it's been years since you started by john's side, it all ending in you learning a few (almost all) of his traits, a mini me and an obnoxious sorceress is what most people would call you, but a caring person nonetheless and that's something you also got from your mentor. john constantine was a drunk silly man, a jerk but he took you in like his kid, he took care of you and protected the only stream of light that his life had.

all of that made easier for you to notice when someone cared for you, making jason's anger melt your heart right now even if you've been pestering him all the way round. the aftermath of this mission was a ton of adrenaline, a big nasty wound on your side and both of you covered in disgusting hellish goo.

some dumb criminal decided that summoning demons was a good idea to terrorize gotham, as if the city didn't had enough demons already. when jason and you attended that particular call you never thought you would end up hurt but how could you not after pestering a demon, all cocky and smug around it before it all ended up in a few more inferior demons attacking you but hey, you managed yourself.

"for once, learn to keep your smart mouth shut or you'll get yourself killed" jason starts, he's towering over you and his arms are crossed on his chest "you're always testing your goddamn luck and look where it got you"

"dick always runs his mouth when he's fighting, it's funny, jay" you smirk, the mention of his older brother makes him shake his head and sigh heavily "it's not that bad, mom" but a sudden pinch of pain makes you grunt when your hand brushes the wound.

"yeah, not that bad" jason is probably a bit more angry when you laugh softly "mind telling me why are you laughing?"

"it's nothing, mommy hen" you shrug before leaning into a wall under his gaze, you can see jason is worried but once again would it be you if you didn't teased the guy a little? "it's hard to think when we're both covered in sticky goo" and even if the comment is meant to tease him, jason looks at you unamused.

"it's not gonna work for you, let me see your side" he speaks while walking closer, jason takes his gloves off and tugs them into one of the pockets of his tactical cargo pants "you have no spell or shit to heal this so we'll do this my way"

"not gonna happen, mr. hood" and jason stops, taking off his helmet too to let you see his stern expression and it's enough to let you know you've gotten under his skin "you expect me to undress here? just like that? no foreplay?"

"i'm being serious, y/n" there it is, jason's voice turns lower and you know he is indeed worried.

a soft sigh escapes your lips, using the resting energy on your body to use your telekinesis and it's hard because jason is good on resisting magic but when it comes to you he almost always let's you get away with it. his body is pulled closer to yours, his body sliding all the way towards you and when he's right in front of you it's your hand the one that tugs him from the collar of his shirt before your lips collide with his in a chaste kiss.

there's a small smile on your lips because he melts into your touch, kissing you back with one of his hands on your waist and the other one cupping your face.

"is it always this easy to shut you up?"

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

March 2021 Part 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. 

This is a LONG ONE, it’s been A WEEK everyone. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 5 - a little slow this week, but at least Gene finally flirted back, and very cute flirting it was, too. Also we got Aey’s motivation, background, and love interest. Thank goodness for that. 

Brothers Ep 8 - still pants, what can I say? Clearly I am a BL masochist. Very embarrassing for everyone concerned. 

1000 Stars Ep 9 - the conflict over Tian’s father was REALLY well done. The plot of this drama is excellent, the leads are great together, and yes I totally cried. What, you didn’t? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Word of Honor (China) Ep 16-18 - big battle fighty fighty stabby stabby. Ep 17 switches to “this drama isn’t big enough for two chaotic-neutral godlings!” So what do they do? Drink together and bicker... A LOT. Then in Ep 18 we all get the dubious joy of really freaky puppets. (I HATE puppets.) Also how is China letting this be so SO VERY VERY GAY?  Also, I wanna walk through the forest wearing a smanshy purple robe and waving a big fuck-off white fan around simply because I’m a pretentious fuss monger. And frankly, I feel like this is an achievable life goal for me. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 4 - not gonna lie, this is looking to be one of my top 3 BLs of 2021. It’s SO GOOD. Big bonus to this ep for treating stalker behavior like the mental illness it is and not as some dumb representation of enduring love. 

The Most Peaceful Place is My Place (Vietnam) Ep 1 - finally dropped (find it under NƠI BÌNH YÊN NHẤT LÀ VỀ BÊN EM on O2′s channel). It’s got actors already comfortable with BL and looks pretty good so far. An angry tsundere uke reunited with his ex, a stoic chef, giving us lots of snap, crackle, and pop out the gate. 

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 2 - I want to love it, but it is just moving too fast. There’s not enough character dev and then they’re throwing flashbacks in? It feels like a treatment rather than a show, and a rushed treatment at that. Bummer. 

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 2 (AKA Ep 3-4) - let the cheesy popcorn continue! Idiot remains an idiot; ingenue remains an ice queen; nice gay guy remains nice and gay; obsessive stalker brother is getting ever more whackadoddle. Of course these last two have the best chemistry. (It’s caregiver codependency and the salvation trope. We got us a Leo/Fiat situation going on.​) Plus lots of classic BL tropes because OF COURSE there are lots of tropes. 

Occasionally, I am tempted to argue that shows like H4 or Cherry Magic or Ossan’s Love aren’t technically BL because of the office setting and age of the protags - but then they all behave like high school students anyway, so *shrug* 

Stand Alones

Cute little Taiwanese micro BL Friend or Lover dropped, about bisexual realization within a friendship group. Normally these are too short for me, but this one did pretty good with its 15 minutes of charm, plus it’s abad boy + shy softy pairing. 

Breaking News - Thai BL

Fish Upon the Sky released its actual trailer. The upside-down kiss is gone, which makes everyone sad, and it seems far less rivals to lovers than the first iteration, which makes ME sad. But it still looks good and a more classic BL than GMMTV has given us in a while. New trailer focused more on the makeover trope and they’ve upped Mix’s role (the object of everyone’s affection) now that he’s proved himself. (Or they are using him more to carry the trailer since he has a fan base form 1k*). Starts April 9 on GMMTV in 1K*’s time slot, probably with a 10 ep run. 

2gether the movie is apparently coming April 22 to Thai theaters. F4 Thailand must be having issues or GMMTV just wants to milk the BrightWin cash cow. It’s rumored to be a combination of 2gehter + Still 2gether with some extra scenes and ending. Also, one assumes a lot will be cut out, if it’s movie length.

Call It What You Want released its updated trailer. If anything, it looks more scary than before. What are we in for? April 9th. 

Nitiman got a release date, May 7 on One31. 

I Told Sunset About You 2 got an updated release date of May 27 on LineTV. 

Second Chance the series is coming to LineTV on March 29. I don’t know much about this one. Tons of familiar faces (mostly TharnType side dishes) and some nice looking new talent but a dearth of eng subs. I think it may take on Brothers’ time slot. Line did eng subs for Brothers so maybe they will do 2nd Chance too? 

Close Friend the series is coming April 22. This is a combination of 6 couples with 6 story arcs as music videos (maybe)? It’s an epic fan service with familiar faces like OhmFluke (UWMA), MaxNat (LBC also in Y-Destiny), YoonLay (YYY also in Y-Destiny), KimCop (GenY), and JaFirst (TT2).

Y-Destiny starts March 30, and has starting dropping couple’s trailers. I’m still suspicious given the director but it seems like there is plot (or plots) and a theme. Looks to be a series of 7 single ep vignettes (amended, see comments, might be 2 eps each for 14 eps total), different couple each time, some with supernatural elements, all with decent chemistry and acting chops. 

Sun MaxNat’s tutor/student arc

Mon jaded rich kid meets poor innocent  

Tues sports romance enemies to lovers 

Weds the messy realistic actual dating one 

Thurs hot ghost boyfriend (sad) 

Fri YoonLayPerth coping with loss and finding new love (sad). This one will all rest on Lay's acting so we know it’s in safe hands. Our boy is going to KILL it. 

Sat time-slip memory loss reunion romance 

I’m thinking we can’t expect any of these to end happy or be classic BL. They’re gonna be more slice of life-ish. 

Gossip - BL Outside of Thailand 

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) got a legit teaser (eng sub here). @curriculumvtae​ reports that it’s releasing April 15th on WeTV (Philippines & Thailand) and Idol Romance (South Korea), while Will of Thai Bl says it’ll be on Viki too. It’s a short run of 8 ep built on a fake relationship trope (arranged marriage variant):

Ryu Ho Seon’s (Kang In Soo from You Wish) arranged marriage turns out to be with his expected bride’s brother, Choi Ki Wan (Lee Se Jin from Mr Heart). Ryu tries to undo the marriage, but his ill mother opposes this saying the scandal would be too much. Meanwhile, Kim Tae Hyeong (Jang Eui Soo from Where Your Eyes Linger), a senior at Ryu’s school, comes to congratulate him and falls in love with Choi. Then one day, the original bride disappears.

Okay it seems a bit twisty turny for ONLY 8 EPS, but oh my goodness how excited are we? Our first intentional historical BL out of Korea!

We already knew Hong Kong was doing a remake of Japan’s Ossan’s Love under the same name (not my favorite Japanese BL but so very popular) but it’s now reported to be coming to Viu in June. Who knows how the CFA will take it. Depends on whether Hong Kong bows before the NO GAY KISSES regs or if they are going to use this as a political nose thumb... things could get cray with this puppy (the original has several kisses and s shower scene). Are we back in Addicted territory only with added comedy and civil unrest?

Speaking of Japan, Absolute BL (AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko) dropped sooner than anyone thought, March 27. But being Japanese who knows how/when/if we get subs. Protag finds himself trapped in a world of BL, but being straight he fights against any hot guy that draws near, but the whole world (literally) is conspiring against him. It’s a parody adapted from a yoai.

What with Absolute BL from Japan plus Lovely Writer and Call it What You Want from Thailand, is 2021 the year of BL being ultra self referential? Sure feels like it.

In Case You Missed It

Faded a gay micro film from Taiwan from 2017 deals with parental acceptance and serves up a ton of BL tropes (piggyback, forehead kiss, etc). I’m pretty sure this was a propaganda piece for legalization of gay marriage, and it’s an interesting nugget of BL history as a result. Yes, it ends happy. It’s cute. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

Man there’s a lot going on right now! Spring has sprung... I suppose. 

P.S. I cannot believe I missed Absolute BL as a blog name. Numbnuts = me. 

[tsuki-sennin]

Sonoooooooo... Sonoshi? Sonohead? Sonoyes. Sono-very busy this week. Didn't have a lot of time (as you can imagine), sooo...

I'd like to make a brief addendum from last time. Sonoshi's Noto form is not an Arashi reference, but instead a reference to Kamen no Ninja Akakage, a manga-turned-Toei Toku production that aired from late '87 to early '88, before eventually making its way to anime form. I uh, have not read this manga nor seen either adaptation yet, but I plan to eventually.

I also learned that Sonoshi is canonically non-binary! From what I've seen, the fans have taken to them somewhat fondly. I do not know what their deal is yet, but I suppose we'll just have to learn now, eh?

Spoilers, I guess...

-Our dog came home!

-The world only needs one of Dog Man.

-Final Boss Time?

-I see the Noto are much more into the whole team thing than we realize.

-How we lookin', Haruka?

-Terrible, okay!

-"You fool! I believe in you..."

-Hello, Sononi! Your dog came back!

-Yeah, smile :)

-Odeeeeeeen!

-How you doin', chef man?

-Wife back. Good job, Kijino.

-Yeah, you tell yourself that, Saruhara.

-I kinda like how... expressive Sonoi's letting himself be lately, he seems like he's really enjoying his life.

-NOI-CHAN

-I love telephone gags so much. Uh, there was this one I distinctly remember from Zack and Cody, from when I was a kid.

-"YOU THINK I'M STUPID AND SMELL LIKE A YAK?"

-Free lunch!

-KNOTS

-Oh hello, Sonoshi! I see you're here now.

-Noooo, the seats!

-You seem like a real freak.

-Tarou, you have very little to say about being rude.

-Is that

-That's a fucking Ocarina.

-Ah, callin' in the fightin' force!

-Yeah you go, shef man!

-What an outfit.

-Sonoshi. There they are.

-They vanished!

-"I'm your new manager."

-"You're too gay to function, you're getting friendly with another chick's man, and you... whew, you..."

-Oh my God, motherfucker has pixie dust.

-Kneel before them.

-"After you've scrubbed all the floors in Ideon, then we can talk about mercy!"

-Announce one's selves!

-Nanaju-hachi Paasento!!!

-Extinguished.

-A duel!

-Haruka's the... warrior poet type, just like Shinichi!

-OH EWWW EARWAX

-The fuck, man?

-Ohhhh, yaaaas, Shinichi, speculate!

-...I think you're aiming a little too high though.

-Oh hey Don Kaito. Yeah, the health inspector came by and shot their cocaine everywhere.

-Disinfect, disinfect!

-Oh, they're actively doing that, okay.

-Sonoshi, you motherfucker.

-Fukeyo, Arashi, Arashi, Arashi! ...yeah, I know I corrected myself about them not being Arashi, but...

-Gonna mop the floor with them, huh Tarou?

-"Kick his ass, Tarou-san!"

-Poor Haruka.

-God, they just... blow away in a whirlwind of earwax. That is... horrendous.

-SONOZA JHKKHG

-I love you.

-"Fighting is easy. It's dealing with that dipshit that's the problem."

-Y'know, it makes incredible sense that Sononi's a master archer. Cause Shinichi just got shot down in spectacular fashion.

-Ohhhhhhhh, we can... steal that, okay?

-Okay, I'm trying to imagine what kinda Hitotsu-ki he'd steal the form of...

-Man, Sonoi.

-Oh yay, Minoru-san's okay! That's good. ...did uh, somebody pick him up from Noto Jail? Cause, like, I definitely didn't see Tarou pick him up when he died at Sonoi's hands the second time.

-My man was about to become a Hitotsu-ki for the fourth time.

-Actually, wait no, more than that, you can just... catch those things whenever?

-Boyfriends doin' rollcall.

-I see Haruka's very happy about that.

-Nah, don't worry Sonoshi, he's just... sorta there sometimes and not there the other.

-Ideon Sentai... Notoranger!

-Had squibs set up the whole time!

-Interrupting Jirou!

-"Get in then, moron!"

-Don! Don! Donbrothers!

-"Oh shit, I'm deeeeead..."

-Noooooo!

-Ohhhh, that's clever.

-Veryyy clever

-Get fucked, idiot!

-"Rest in piss, Hitotsuki!"

-I uh... don't think I can discern what Hitotsu-ki it is. Seems kinda animalistic.

-We already had Uchuu-ki and Ginga-ki, if I remember right. ...Seijuu-ki? Seijuu-Ki, that fits. Our first ever animal sentai, iirc.

-Tiger Peach!

-Dog appears.

-Light of the Galaxy...

-Sonoshi falls!

-See you around, Earwax!

-Ape shall not kill ape, gotcha.

-Oh...

-Ohhhh, Tsuyoshi, what the hell. That ain't bad.

-Shef.

-Tsubasa, we gotta cook.

-I enjoyed Sonoshi's presence in this episode quite a bit, as you can imagine. As a he/they myself, I uh... hope they get a bit more character development than "Obnoxious Bureaucrat", I'd hate to see a rare NB character in a mainstream toku amount to such little screentime and not even get to fight at full capacity in their own form. Naki didn't get to do too much either, still a bit burned by that.

-That being said though, I find Sonoshi very entertaining and want them to stick around as the Noto's very own Don Kaito. Just this above-it-all superhero with a shitton of random skills and resources. ...only replace Kaito's implied smugness with very explicit smugness.

-Right yeah, see you Monday then. ...maybe.

[apiratewhopines]

Thanks to @teamhook for the artwork and for helping me pick a movie that wasn’t already done!

Midnight

Chapter 6 — The Mice

Summary: In which our heroine wins the battle but loses the war

Chapter 6 of 7 on AO3

“The way you changed my life

No, no, they can’t take that away from me”

-They Can’t Take That Away from Me, Fred Astaire

After the excitement of the morning passed, Sidney grumbled until they returned to the table. Still shaken by whatever Arthur said on their brief phone call, Killian declined to join them and returned to their room. No doubt to dream up a make-believe pregnancy for her. Most probably twins this time.

“I thought you told me we would have smoked salmon for our bagels,” the man complained to Guin, face upset as if the plentiful choices offered on their breakfast buffet were insufficient.

“I’m sorry, dear. I know it’s your favorite, so I made sure it was on the menu I gave to our chef,” she murmured coaxingly. Looking at the butler who was filling Arthur’s coffee cup, she asked, “What happened to the salmon?”

“There was a mistake, ma’am. It was left out of the last delivery, and since the phones have been out all morning, we couldn’t contact the market. I’ve sent one of the girls into town to buy some, so we will have it tomorrow morning. If the gentleman prefers, we can prepare a plate for him this afternoon.”

“Nonsense,” she replied. “The phones are in perfect working order. We just made a call to Europe to check on the Baron’s daughter.”

“No, ma’am, only the internal phone system is working. An accident took out the lines last night.”

Emma reached over and grabbed Arthur’s hand under the table as they shared an uneasy look when the other three people at the table all glanced at her with questions in their eyes. Lance broke the silence. “I don’t understand…”

“I’m afraid he’s right. I wasn’t on the phone with my mother-in-law. In fact, I don’t— No, I don’t want to burden you with my problems,” she said haltingly, her mind racing with ways to get out of this mess. The words tumbled from her mouth so quickly she didn’t have a chance to think through the consequences, which seemed to be the way she operated these days.

“Oh, please, you can’t stop now. This little mystery is the only thing distracting me from my lack of fish,” Sidney countered. He was studying the wide variety of fruit compotes and toppings for his pancakes and sounded desolate. “Please.”

“Well, let’s just say the Baron’s family has a touch of eccentricity,” she continued with a grimace. She had their rapt attention; even Sidney abandoned his food and gawked at her. “My first hint was at the wedding. I was opening the gifts, and his grandfather gave us a broken compass covered in Thousand Island dressing.”

“Yes,” Arthur broke in, determined to help. “Now I remember hearing there was a streak of madness in the family. His father was known as the Mad Baron of Cambridge. He liked to give people roller skates with missing laces instead of flowers.”

“The truth is…we don’t have a daughter.”

“Oh, this is much more delicious than breakfast,” Sidney gushed, pushing his plate away and moving to the seat across from her. “Tell us more.”

“I don’t want you to think bad of him. Most of the time, he’s lucid and the sweetest man in the world. That’s the man I fell in love with. But when he’s having one of his episodes, like this morning, he can get quite aggressive if confronted. It’s best to go along with whatever he’s saying. It always starts when he first wakes as if he can’t shake some odd dream in his mind,” she grabbed her napkin and dabbed at fake tears. “There was one time about six months ago he woke up convinced he was Captain Hook. He wore eyeliner for weeks and refused to use his left hand. When I tried to make him see reason, he insisted I call him Captain and tried to have me arrested as a mutineer.”

“You poor thing,” Guin said, genuine sympathy in her expression. “I wondered why you called him that. I thought perhaps he served in the Navy.”

“And you’ve stayed with him all these years?” Lance’s gaze, which was always admiring, held a new respect for her now. It didn’t make her feel any better. “You’re wonderful.”

“Hmm, yes, absolutely amazing,” Arthur murmured under his breath. The smirk was back, and she could tell he was enjoying her web of lies. At least someone was. “Is there some medication he can take? Perhaps you should have him committed.”

“No, I would never. I promised to stay with Killian in good times and bad. It will pass eventually. It always does,” she bit out, kicking him under the table. Before anything else could be said, she heard the Captain whistling as he practically skipped out of the house toward them dressed in the sky blue scrubs of a surgeon. The color made his eyes even more beautiful, and the tiniest smattering of hair visible above the v-neck of the shirt did things to her heart.

“Arthur, Guinevere, thank you for the hospitality, but we really must be going. I have to get back for my shift at the hospital.” Everyone jumped at the pronouncement, exchanging loaded glances and trying to figure out what to say or do next.

Guin smiled at him shakily and in a calm voice asked, “The hospital, Baron?”

“Not a baron, I’m afraid. And this woman isn’t a baroness. You notice I didn’t say my wife because she isn’t that either,” Killian informed them as he stopped by her chair and reached down to place a hand on her shoulder.

“Killian, you don’t mean that,” Emma responded. She would have laughed at his look of confusion at the lack of reaction to his revelation if she wasn’t so sure it would come back to bite her in the ass.

With an admonishing look, Lance said, “See here, Baron, there’s no need to insult the woman who has stayed by you through thick and thin.”

“Thick and thin? We met five nights ago, and she couldn’t wait to be rid of me. She’s an imposter. And I’m a doctor who has real things to do in the real world. Come on, Swan, let’s leave these lovely people to their breakfast.”

“Oh, I get it. You think she’s Elizabeth Swan from Pirates of the Caribbean.” Sidney snapped his fingers as if all the pieces had fallen into place.

“What? No, I think she’s a bounty hunter and the most impossible woman I’ve ever met,” Killian argued, determined to make them see the truth. The more he spoke, the more their faces cleared of all emotion like they were afraid a smile or frown would push him further into his delusions. He pulled her from the chair gently, and since she felt like pond scum for the lies she told, she let his arms circle her waist. As an added benefit she didn’t deserve, the position allowed her nose to be tickled by the chest hair so temptingly on display.

“Maybe she’s a mutineer,” Arthur offered.

Looking at the group, Killian shook his head in disbelief. “I think you’re all crazy.”

“Yes, that must be it,” Guin said soothingly. “Why don’t you have some breakfast, Baron?”

“I’m not sure how I can be more clear. I’m not a baron. We’re not married. We met in the middle of the road a few nights ago, and I pretended to be her Uber driver so I could give her a ride to a strip club. It turned into the best night of my life.”

Undeterred, Guin patted his arm, which was still wrapped tightly around her. “What a lovely courtship you’ve had. Now, let’s get you something to eat. Do you prefer coffee or tea to drink?”

“Are you not listening to a word I’m saying? We’re fakes! We haven’t known each other for more than a week. She twisted me around her little finger in two minutes. As infuriating as she is, I fell in love with her smile. The sound of her laugh makes my blood pump faster, and when she talks about not believing in love, it makes me want to prove to her that it exists every day for the rest of our lives.”

She was fading, her will to stick it out with Arthur and give him a happy ending melting in the heat of Killian’s honeyed words. His genuine concern at how nonchalantly they were accepting his confession should have been funny, but all she could think about was how he said ‘the rest of our lives.’

Like he meant it.

“Well, fakes or not, I’m still hungry,” Sidney answered, trying his best in the face of impossible odds. “Maybe your patients could wait a few hours until the salmon arrives. It’s quite good.”

“Bloody hell, this is a madhouse. Come on, Emma, enough is enough. Let’s go,” he urged her again. Taking the napkin from her hand, he threw it on the table and switched his grip to gently hold her upper arm and guide her away from the group.

They were immediately halted by Lance, thunder in his expression and lightning in his eyes. “She’s not going anywhere with you, Baron. We know all about your illness. She won’t be safe.”

“My illness?” Understanding dawned on his face and his head tilted back like he was searching the morning sky for answers. With a wry chuckle, he sighed. “Bravo, Swan. You told them I’m crazy. And I played right into it, didn’t I? Because I’ve been acting crazy, a man driven out of his mind at the sight of his most cherished dream waltzing away from him like he was nothing. Like everything he felt was nothing as far as she was concerned.”

She choked up at the bitter twist of his mouth. He was so brave, declaring his feelings in front of everyone, even convinced she would reject him again. Was it any wonder she had fallen head over heels for him?

And what did she do? She lied. She tricked. She ran. Then she rinsed and repeated.

“Captain,” she whispered, her hand moving to cradle his face when a sickening crack was heard and he crumpled at her feet.

Behind him, looking proud of himself, Sidney was still holding a pan aloft like he thought Killian might jump to his feet and demand a second round. Fear flooded her and she dropped to her knees to cradle his head in her lap. Helplessness, her hands fluttered over his body, her mind trying to sort out the impossible situation that was entirely her fault. “Why the hell did you do that?”

“He looked homicidal.”

Shaking him gently, she begged, “Killian…Killian, come back to me. Don’t leave me here alone.”

“You aren’t alone, sweetheart,” Lance promised, trying to move her away.

She swatted at his hands and refused to leave. The movement caused Killian’s head to lull to the side, and she saw a smear of red dripping from his hairline. “Someone call 911. He’s bleeding!”

Sidney glanced down at them with a mildly alarmed look and then at the weapon he still held. He ran his finger across the bottom and, with some relief, announced, “That’s not blood. It’s raspberry compote.”

—

Arthur’s personal physician made a house call to attend to the victim. Of course, the woman knew Killian Jones, MD, who was apparently the Director of Pediatric Oncology at Storybrooke General and one of the foremost experts in his field.

He was a saint in addition to being her Captain.

He deserved so much more than a lost girl who was too scared to know a good thing when it stopped on the side of the road to save her.

“This couldn’t have worked out better, my dear,” Arthur commented with an eyebrow wiggle. “Lance is beside himself. He just announced he plans to hire a divorce attorney this very afternoon. Run along. I’ll make sure the good doctor makes it back to town safely. I’ll even throw a couple thousand his way for his performance.”

“Shut up, Arthur. This is terrible. An innocent man got hurt, and it’s all our fault. My fault,” she corrected with a whisper, running her hand softly through Killian’s hair. He regained consciousness as the doctor checked him out but fell asleep while she assured them no permanent damage was done. Replacing the ice pack against the goose egg forming on the side of his head, she silently pleaded with him to wake up so she could grovel properly and beg for forgiveness.

“He seems quite taken with you.”

“Maybe he’s crazy after all,” she joked, but her heart wasn’t really in it. She doubted she would find anything funny until she saw his electric blue eyes again. “Can you leave us alone? I want to be able to explain when he comes to.”

“Of course, just call if you need anything.” He gave her a probing stare as if trying to decide whether to say something else before he left.

When she heard the door click shut, she leaned over and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. “I’m sorry. For running. For lying. For putting you in a situation where you got knocked out. I know that’s not nearly enough, but I am.”

“It’s a start,” he groaned as her hushed tone drew him from sleep, one hand moving to cover hers where it held the ice to his head and the other reaching out to play with the ends of her hair. “What happened?”

“I happened. This is why we don’t work, Captain. I’ve brought you nothing but pain and suffering since the moment we met.”

“I didn’t figure you for the melodramatic type, Swan. We had some good times before this farce began,” he reminded her as he shifted into more of a sitting position. “Are you ready to admit there’s something between us, or do I need to jump back into the fray and take a punch bowl to the face?”

“I never denied there was something between us, just that it was a good idea. I believe a raspberry-flavored concussion proves my point perfectly.”

His hand drifted to her cheek, calloused fingers glancing over soft skin. She wanted to look away from his intense gaze, but he tenderly grabbed her chin and held her in place. “Love, come away with me. It doesn’t have to be forever; we can sort that part out later. I’m simply asking for your company now, to give us a chance before you decide against it.”

“I want to, Captain. I want the carrot and everything else behind Door Number One,” she murmured with a watery chuckle. His gentle caresses grew hotter and more insistent. Finally he pulled her to him, her body half-covering his, as he claimed her mouth in the kind of scorching kiss that would burn through her memory forever.

She had nothing to offer him, and she had a long way to go before she would be worthy of this kind of love. Unconditional. All-encompassing. The kind she didn’t even know existed until he rescued her.

“I sense a but coming…”

“But—“

With a sad smile, he interrupted her. “On second thought, don’t. Please. I can’t bear to hear you say the words. To watch you run one more time. Let’s call it a day now so we can remember it fondly in the years to come.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as I am.” He tapped her nose lightly with his fingertip, observing the tears in her eyes as she fought to keep them from falling. Giving her a bittersweet grimace, he added, “Just promise you’ll take care of yourself, Swan. No more skipping meals. No more pretending to be anyone other than the amazing woman you are.”

The tears that were a threat until then slipped past her defenses, leaving trails down her face. He swiped at them and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Then he was gone.

Arthur found her later in the exact same place, not having the energy to move. He slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “This is the last time you’ll ever have to live this day, my dear.”

She knew he was trying to make her feel better, but the knowledge he was wrong caused her to feel light-headed as she turned into his embrace. She would never have to say goodbye to Killian again, but she knew she would relive it over and over until the day she died.

—

He approached her on the shoreline as she watched the blue waters of the Atlantic crash against the rocky beach forming one side of Arthur’s estate. Heat lightning flashed in the distance; the far-off storm robbed of its noise and violence when viewed from the calm of land. Emma knew it was only a matter of time until he sought her out. He was a smart man, a gambler and a rogue, so why not press his advantage?

“You disappeared on me after the baron left.” Lance never referred to him as her husband, always ‘the baron.’ She wasn’t sure if it was his way of skirting the immorality of his pursuit or simply to rob the other man of any claim on her, but it was starting to piss her off. Which was silly considering he wasn’t really her husband. Or a baron.

“He told me he was filing for divorce on his way out. That he hoped you found happiness but had come to realize it wasn’t going to be with him.”

She had yet to look at Lance, but she felt her heart break a little at the scene he painted. It was just like the Captain to try to help her all the way to the bitter end. She supposed he simply couldn’t stop himself. Breathing in the warm salty air, she wanted to let it fill her lungs and sweep out the misery that had taken hold in the core of her.

She was an idiot. She had let someone who had never loved her, never really even cared about her, twist her into someone who would do the same thing to a man who was perfect in every way. If she hadn’t already sworn to get even with Neal Cassidy, this would have driven her to it.

She was damaged now, unfit for human company, clinging to a sham because it was easier than facing the fact she made the biggest mistake of her life. Only this time, there was no boogeyman in the form of a cheating, lying ex to blame. She did this to herself.

But she didn’t have to double down on it.

With a deep sigh, Lance dropped on the sand next to her. He was more casual than she had ever seen him, and somehow it made him more approachable. Barefoot and with his pants legs were rolled up to mid-calf in a nod to the tide, he observed, “He was wrong, wasn’t he? You still love him.”

“Yes,” she admitted, staring at the horizon.

“And you aren’t a baroness…”

“No,” she confirmed, this time chancing a sidelong glance at him. “Everything he said was true. I’ve been here under false pretenses.”

“To come between Guin and me. It has the smell of an Arthur scheme all over it,” he explained with a wry grin. “Well, I can’t say I didn’t deserve it. I never intended for it to go this far, but once it started, we kept getting deeper and deeper until I couldn’t see a way out. And then I didn’t want to. I love her, I probably always will, but she’s not mine. You helped me realize that. A gorgeous wake-up call designed to turn my head and steal my heart. Losing you is my penance. One I can’t regret because I have a feeling you saved several lives by playing along.”

“You’ll be back in the saddle again soon, I’m sure, and the women of the world will be better for it. Do yourself a favor next time, though. Choose an available woman, and once you find her, don’t let her go. Don’t make the same mistake I did.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“Pick up where I left off, I suppose. I have some debts that still need to be paid and a fugitive to bring to justice. Maybe if I keep busy enough, keep moving, this will all fade and seem like some fever-induced dream.”

“I meant, what are you going to do about Jones?”

“I think I’ve done enough already. The best thing I can do for Killian now is to stay away.”

“For someone so smart about other people, you have a rather glaring blind spot when it comes to your own life. A mistake is only a mistake if you keep making it. You know where to find him, you know he wants you to, the only thing stopping you is fear.”

“Fear is enough, Lance.”

“You know what fear has gotten me: Absolutely nothing. I was afraid to put myself out there, so I only got involved with women who I knew would leave me before the whole thing even started. It’s hard to mourn the loss of a relationship that never stood a chance to begin with. It cost me my best friend and two women I care about. You’re better than that, Emma, and doesn’t he deserve the best version of you? But more importantly, don’t you?”

@teamhook @kmomof4 @jrob64 @stahlop @motherkatereloyshipper @xarandomdreamx @xsajx @klynn-stormz

[mason-knight-retired]

this is so self-indulgent I want to crawl out of my own skin with second hand embarassment rn (happy father’s day, mase)

+++

It’s only by virtue of his phoenix reflexes that Mason manages to snatch the potato flying at his head out of the air a split second before it connects with this face.

He stares down at it in his hand in the middle of the Morrisini villa’s sprawling kitchen. “What the hell do you want me to do with this, Zeus?”

Nico shoves a small contraption at him, as well as a large bowl and a bulging hessian bag. “Peel it.”

“Peel…? What?”

“Peel it,” Nico repeats. He gestures to the bag. “And all those too.”

“Uh, no. These hands were not made for manual labour.”

“Mase,” Marie huffs, her hands on hips on the other side of the sprawling island bench. “I expect that from Sinclair, but not from you.”

“He’s become too accustomed to the good life. Too pampered,” Maddox says from his perch on a stool nearby. He pops something into his mouth and crunches loudly as he smirks in Mason’s direction.

Mason snorts. “Like you can talk, Ajax.”

Outside, the sun shines across the villa’s grounds and the wind carries in the excited squeals of the children as they race over the lawn and splash in the villa’s pool. It was another one of Nico’s family gatherings, one of the many he insisted on each year and that everyone knew better than to argue about. One year, before they had the twins, Mason and Ethan had been off world and the earful they’d copped had them immediately hightailing it back to Earth from Citadel space to make it in the nick of time.

They all know better than to argue when Nico puts the call out now.

Mason peers through the large windows overlooking the vineyards. It was beautiful here, he couldn’t deny it, and the twins loved catching up with the Morrisini brood but being put to work by Nico in the kitchen was more than what Mason was prepared to take.

“Actually, you know what, I’m just going to go see if Ethan needs any help with the ki-“

“Sit your ass down and start peeling, Huntsman.”

“Better do as he says,” Archer says. He rests on a stool, one leg out in front of him and a lethal looking blade in one hand. There are slabs of red meat on the chopping board in front of him. “Or you might end up having to do something worse.” “Is that what you’re doing?”

“Just putting some long dormant skills to good use.”

“Well, we didn’t all marry celebrity chefs in our youth, Rose,” Mason chuckles just as Luca comes tumbling through the doorway.

“Nic! Marie! I need potassium hydroxide and ethanoic acid and um, like a really big stick.”

Marie frowns. “Well, I can give you two out of those things but what do you need them for?”

“No time to explain, have you got it- never mind, this will do!” he’s gone again in a flurry of wild curls.

Silence drags around the room and there’s a distant squeal and a pop that has them all tensing suddenly. Mason waits with bated breath for inevitable wail of tears that will send them all rushing outside but it doesn’t eventuate.

“What is he doing out there?”

Marie takes a calming breath and pinches her nose. “I… I don’t want to know.”

Nico slides his arm around her and kisses her temple, whispering something into her ear Mason can’t (and probably doesn’t want) to hear. She seems more tired than usual and it’s not lost on Mason that her glass is only sparkling water and not wine. He wonders if baby number five might be on their way for them.

Five. Mason shudders inwardly at the thought. The twins were a handful on their own and that was with help. There had been a long, long period there that Mason wondered if his and Ethan’s sex life would ever recover.

“You’re still not peeling, Huntsman,” Nico warns, turning his attention back to him.

“Make Rose do it,” Mason grumbles, only for Archer to swirl that lethal looking knife over the chopping board in front of him.

“He’s already put me to work, as you can see.”

“Seriously, Mase,” Marie huffs as she busies herself with slicing up the fresh bread. The spread of food was insane, much of it grown on the villa grounds, more of it transported from Cerillo’s farm on Nova Terra. “Who does the cooking in your household if you won’t even peel a potato then?”

“The... Ah… Help…”

Marie’s knife pauses as she looks up at him suspiciously. Maddox goes to swipe an olive from the tray but she swats him away without taking her eyes off him. “How many do you have now?”

Mason doesn’t like where this is going. “Three?”

“Three?!” Marie splutters but he’s pretty sure that might be jealousy in her eyes. He shrugs, nonchalant. “Oh my god, well, aren’t you living the good life.”

“What do you expect? Pampered wardog over here,” Maddox comments, pilfering another olive. Nico snatches his wrist.

“Next time you go for another one, I’m gonna stab you.”

Maddox growls. “Fine. Hurry up already then. I’m going to go check on Mini in the nursery then check on the kids. Who knows what Sinclair has got them up to.”

He exchanges a filthy kiss with Archer before he leaves that has Mason rolling his eyes.

“It’s not Ethan you should be worried about,” he mutters as Archer snorts.

“Huntsman!” Nico barks. “Potatoes!”

--

The evening is balmy with summer and it’s well into the twilight by the time they all come to eat at the long trestle table piled high with food under the trees of the Morrisni villa. Fairy lights drape overhead, shedding a sparkle over glasses and kids squeal and thread among the adults as they enjoy the meal.

Mason does his best to balance Max on his knee they eat and the entire affair is noisy and chaotic, full of laughter and warmth and old friendships forged in blood and fire. Nico reigns supreme at the head of the table like some kind of benevolent god and he might as well be. It’s Nico that has been the one to draw them all together, year after year, no matter how far they spread across the galaxy. Familiar faces they’ve fought alongside of, faces they love now gone their separate ways now that the war was over. Their time on the Berlin felt like another life, a long ago memory that might have happened to someone else.

Mason never thought he’d miss it, but it’s long been regulated to a portion of his past alongside his early childhood in Sydney and Phoenix One.

He juggles his wine glass over Max’s head and listens in to the conversation around him. He presses his leg against Ethan’s under the table, needing the contact suddenly. Ethan catches his eye and wordless smile graces his lips as he leans in to brush a kiss to Mason’s cheek and lightly ruffles Max’s hair.

“Want me to take him for a bit?”

“No, he’s fine, as long as he stops squirm-“ Mason rescues his wine glass just before it goes flying. Max was almost getting too big for this, but Mason didn’t like to think about that. “Whoa, easy there.”

“Sorry, Dad.”

“You’re okay, mate. Where’s your sister anyway?”

Max shrugs, leaning back against Mason and chewing on a piece of bread but Ethan motions with his head to look down the table. He spies Ben at the other end with Lexi’s arms tight around his neck and she’s giggling as Luca attempts to juggle spoons beside them. Mason smiles then stabs the gnocchi on his plate and lifts it up to show his husband proudly.

“Hey so while you were outside with the kids, I made these.”

Marie pauses her conversation with Isaac and Archer on the other side of the table to laugh. “Mase, you peeled one potato.”

He waves his fork dismissively. “Still counts.”

They all chuckle, Archer’s more muted on account of the small bundle on his chest. It doesn’t feel that long ago that Lexi and Max were that tiny and Mason is about to mention as much to Archer before their conversation is interrupted by Ciara crashing into her mother’s side. Her gold eyes wide as she gushes excitedly about fireflies.

Mason glances back at his own daughter. She’s on Ben’s lap now, trying to feel him with all the grace of a five year old’s giggling and over exuberant enthusiasm. “Does Lex need anything?” he says to his husband.

Ethan smirks as they watch on. Ben has a smear of sauce down one side of his mouth and across his chin. “It looks like Uncle Scoots has it covered.”

Max scrambles off Mason’s lap and latches himself straight to Ciara’s side. Mason protests softly. “Hey, where are you going?”

“Ci says she knows where the fireflies are!”

“Oh, no you don’t. Finish eating first. Then fireflies.”

“Aw, dad!” Max’s whine is joined by Marcello and Enzo’s as they materialize out of the dark and they all groan dramatically. “But fireflies!”

“You’re not allowed to go running around in the dark by yourselves. Someone might get hurt.”

There are more protests before Eva climbs to her feet. “I can take them, if you like?”

Mason looks up at the Fury. If they’re safe with anyone, they’ll be safe with her but he slides a questioning glance at Ethan anyway. “Are you sure?”

Eva shrugs, a small smile on her lips. “Sure. Luca and Ben will want to come too.”

“We’ll all go,” Marie announces. She stands up and motions for everyone else to as well. “It’s about time for the bonfire anyway.”

“Bonfire?!” The kids squeal and take off running into the darkness.

“Wait, kids-“

There’s a wink of blue in the distance when Eva appears in front of them, sending the kids all shrieking in excitement. Mason downs the rest of his wine for fortitude then pulls his husband in for a kiss in case he can’t steal any later.

“Come on, Sabre, let’s go.”

--

If they find fireflies, Mason doesn’t see them.

The excitement of time spent with their adoptive family and the bonfire have both kids melting down from too much over stimulation and it’s touch and go for a while until they both crash in his arms. Mason watches the flames dance and listens to Luca’s voice as he strums his guitar, Lexi’s head tucked under his chin while Ethan sits beside him with Max asleep against his chest.

They should probably get the kids back to the villa, tuck them into their beds, but he’s reluctant to move and spoil the moment.

Luca sings, his voice carrying clearly over the crackle of the fire, first upbeat songs with words half substituted thanks to the buzz of Nico’s homemade grappa he insisted they all sample. Ciara twirls barefoot, hair streaming out behind her as Maddox takes her on a makeshift waltz around the bonfire and Nico hands out mugs of mulled wine as Isaac and Eva sit with heads bent together roasting marshmallows in the flames. On their other side, Marie is flanked by each one of her sons, both slumped against her, not quite asleep but dangerously close. And Archer, cane discarded by his chair and a baby on his chest, sits quietly beside Ben, staring thoughtfully into the fire.

“You know, if anyone had told me on P1 this is how our life would end up, I’m pretty sure I would have laughed myself out an airlock,” Mason says to Ethan. “Sometimes I can’t believe it.”

“We’re the lucky ones,” Ethan agrees quietly. The firelight catches the line of his jaw and sends his hair shining gold. He’s still the most beautiful man Mason has ever met and he’s all Mason’s.

After ten years, it still hasn’t got old.

“Any regrets?”

Ethan turns to him and leans in. Mason meets him halfway, pressing a kiss to his mouth, mindful of the dual weights on their chests and careful not to wake them. Then Ethan draws back. “Not a single one.”

“Me neither,” Mason murmurs but then the moment is interrupted when Nico shows up. 

“Here,” he grunts, handing them each a metallic mug. Something spicy Mason doesn’t recognize wafts up.

Mason takes the mug hesitantly and looks up at Nico with a silent lift of his eyebrow. “Am I going to have to peel anymore potatoes if I take this?”

“No,” Nico rumbles. “Tomorrow we’re going to slaughter a pig and make sausages.”

“We’re gonna what?”

“You heard me. And you can do the honors. Time to earn your keep, Huntsman.”

Nico moves away and Mason stares into his mug. “This is payback, isn’t it?” he says miserably to Ethan. “For giving him all those shitty ops back in the day?”

Ethan’s lips twitch. Mason thinks he might be laughing. “It might be, babe.”

“Well, Fu… Fudge.. me,” he slumps against Ethan’s shoulder as Luca plays his songs and the stars continue to wheel overhead.

[kurodachimagic]

Chocolate and Cherries - Chapter 3

Summary: When Adachi falls into the arms of a kind stranger his life changes for the better.

Rating: Pg 13

Tags/warnings: Fluff, getting together, au, Writer Adachi, Chef Kurosawa.

Word count: 6.2k

A/n: This story was written for the cherry magic mini bang! Thank you@hiwatari-art for inviting me to join! Had a lovely time working with you as always. Thank you to my other artist over on twitter guacagabs. The entire story is being posted right now.

Read on ao3

Adachi adapted to his new and strange life as a wizard fairly quickly. He realized that he just needed to take the morning train before rush hour and the night train after it to avoid most of the accidental mind-reading incidents. It cost him precious time out of his day, but he didn’t mind it as much when he gave in and started typing on his phone to put his best foot forward in maintaining his writing schedule. Some sacrifices needed to be made and such was life.

With his writer’s block under control, Adachi threw himself fully into his book. Every second that was not spent working or sleeping, he was writing or doing research for it. Days soon started to merge into each other, but that was completely fine in his opinion; as long as his book became a reality, he was willing to sacrifice his free time.

At some point during the following week, Adachi ran into Kurosawa while taking out the trash. He turned around and there he was, sporting a bright smile that was akin to familiar with how much they had been seeing each other. Then, something odd happened. Adachi felt blush rising to his cheeks as he stood so close to his neighbour that he could smell his cologne. He instinctively closed his eyes and inhaled that sweet aroma, a foreign feeling settling in his stomach. He wasn’t sure of what could have caused him to react like that, but he clearly needed to rest for a bit. Maybe so much work was giving him anxiety. He said a quick goodbye to Kurosawa and rushed back home.

The following day Adachi pressed the wrong button in the elevator and exited one floor below his own. Not noticing his mistake, he tried to open a door that looked just like his, only to jump back when it opened swiftly to reveal Kurosawa wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

Adachi choked on his own spit, his eyes unable to ignore the fact that Kurosawa was not wearing a T-shirt - or clothes at all for that matter - and that his hair was dripping onto his torso, the droplets continuing to travel down his body in a mesmerizing way.

“Hello!” Kurosawa smiled. “I think you got the wrong flat - unless you wanted to pay me a visit.”

“Uh, yeah,” Adachi said, his eyes finally meeting Kurosawa’s. Then, he noticed a familiar smell, perhaps vanilla and chocolate.

“Would you like to come in?” Kurosawa asked, setting his hand on the doorframe, his fingers softly brushing against Adachi’s.

Adachi suddenly felt as if he was inside of a movie, romantic music and all. He could see Kurosawa pulling him inside by the belt loops and kissing him deeply as he dropped his work bag to the floor. He moaned, letting himself be guided into the flat without breaking the kiss, the door shutting behind them just as the towel started to come undone on its own, revealing Kurosawa’s -

Adachi removed his hand from the door frame and blinked repeatedly. “I have to go, sorry!” He mumbled and ran the remaining flight of stairs leading up to his flat, before hurrying inside and locking the door. ‘What was that?’

That night Adachi paced so much around his flat, for a moment he considered the possibility of the floor just giving in and him falling straight into Kurosawa’s flat. Had those been Kurosawa’s thoughts or his own?

--

Ever since that night, Adachi’s thoughts and dreams were plagued by Kurosawa’s face and his naked torso. It was often some sort of fantasy where Kurosawa cooked for him and fed him wearing only an apron or coming up in only a towel, asking to use his shower as he bit his lip and ran his fingers through his hair.

After many nights of waking up with a start and drenched in sweat but awfully satisfied, Adachi had no choice but to start questioning his sexual orientation. Maybe there was an actual reason he had never felt the need to pursue a woman. To be sure of his conclusion, he would need to avoid Kurosawa until he had found a definitive answer.

--

Funnily enough, the more Adachi avoided any and all common areas in the building, the more he saw Kurosawa. His plan had a fundamental flaw: they lived in the same building and Kurosawa knew exactly how to find him.

Perhaps the reason he had never come knocking on his door was the fact that they saw each other fairly frequently - increasingly so, even - but now that Adachi had made the decision to avoid him, his neighbour just kept coming up under the most ludicrous pretences.

Sometimes he would come asking for cooking ingredients like milk or sugar, two other times he brought Adachi’s post up, one time he offered to take out his trash for him since he was on his way down. You see, the nice old lady living next door had laughed at Kurosawa’s demands and told Adachi that his neighbour was a professional chef and she knew for a fact that he always had cooking ingredients on hand because he did her shopping every day as well as bringing her food or cookies on occasion.

Adachi had blinked repeatedly, truly baffled by his behaviour but at the same time, he had started to look forward to their little meetings, especially now that there was no doubt that Kurosawa was purposely seeking him out - and baking him cookies in the middle of the night.

He’d narrowed his eyes but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he took advantage of this new source of information and asked about Kurosawa’s girlfriend, but after providing a short description, he found out that the woman in question was his sister. To his surprise, this made him feel absolutely gleeful; it brought such a huge smile to his face that he felt a bit flustered and after a quick thank you and a small bow, he ran back home.

He had flopped onto his bed and placed his arms behind head pondering about this new development. His reaction to finding that Kurosawa did not have a girlfriend, paired with all the dreams Adachi had had about him, had made him realize that he was interested in him, as a person, as a friend, and as everything the other was willing to give him. The problem was that Adachi had no romantic experience at all and the sole thought of going in search of Kurosawa had made him feel sick to his stomach, so he’d decided to wait for the perfect opportunity. That day came two weeks later.

A Friday night, barely past midnight, Kurosawa knocked on his door, once again, with a box quite similar to the one he had received before.

“Hi,” Kurosawa said, biting his lip.

“Hello,” Adachi answered with a small smile. “What can I do for you, Kurosawa?”

“I hope it’s not too late. I wanted to ask you a huge favour.”

“No, of course not,” Adachi said, purposely placing his hand on the door frame, closer to Kurosawa’s. “What do you need?

As if they were magnets, Kurosawa rested his head against Adachi’s hand. “Would you try these cookies for me? I think this is the final version of my recipe.”

Adachi gasped. He could see how long Kurosawa had been working on the recipe, how nervous he was to get his approval, not only because he had inspired the cookies but because he trusted his opinion.

“Absolutely, I love cookies,” smiled.

The image changed before his eyes. Adachi sat on his sofa with a grin, Kurosawa straddled his legs and fed him bits of cookie, watching him raptly, asking if he liked them.

Deciding it was best to stop snooping in Kurosawa’s mind, Adachi removed his hand from the frame and took the box before walking in. “Come in, please. I’ll make us tea.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Kurosawa walked in, set the box on the coffee table and looked around curiously. He grabbed a cookie before coming to stand beside Adachi, watching him fill the kettle and move around the kitchen.

“What?” Adachi asked, feeling Kurosawa’s eyes burning holes through him.

“What?” Kurosawa said in the same exact tone.

Adachi blushed and focused his eyes on his tea set. “You are looking at me weirdly!?”

“Oh,” Kurosawa laughed. “I’m sorry. It’s just - would you mind trying the first cookie without the tea? It could change the flavour profile.”

“Oh. Of course!” Adachi said, extending his hand to grab the cookie but Kurosawa was having none of it. Instead, he held the cookie to Adachi’s lips, waiting for him to just take a small bite.

With a resigned sigh, Adachi bit into a cookie and moaned as a bit of cherry exploded inside his mouth adding a touch of tartness to the chocolate. He didn’t really realize what he had done until he saw Kurosawa’s eyes widen.

“Is it that good?”

“Yes,” Adachi said, trying to regain his composure. “These are the best cookies I’ve ever tried. I could eat them every day for the rest of my life.”

“I’m glad you like them. I created this recipe thinking of you.”

“Really?” Adachi asked, already knowing the answer.

Kurosawa simply nodded.

Adachi closed his eyes trying to find the courage needed for what he was about to do. “I wanted to talk to you,” he finally said.

“Oh?”

“I know why you keep coming,” Adachi said as he stepped closer to him.

“Why?” Kurosawa asked, taking another step forward, his lips almost brushing against Adachi’s.

Adachi looked at his lips and closed the distance between them, surprising even himself with his boldness. He felt Kurosawa’s hand on his arm, grounding him.

Suddenly, they were standing in the kitchen, cooking together, wearing matching rings. Then, they were walking under the moonlight with sakura petals falling over them. The image changed again and this time, they were standing at the altar, Kurosawa giving him a lopsided smile as he said “I do.” The scene rapidly changed, Kurosawa picked him up and threw him into their bed effortlessly before crawling over him, kissing him, slowly removing his clothes one by one until -

Adachi gasped and stepped back, bringing a hand to his lips, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. Then, he smiled realizing how right that felt even if their lips had barely touched.

Kurosawa’s usual smile deepened as he pulled Adachi close for a proper kiss; the first of many.

[tomorrowsdrama]

Give me your romance drama recs / drama update

I’m in the mood for a romance drama but am kind of stumped on what I should watch, so PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR RECS!  It can be kdrama, jdrama, cdrama (just maybe not contemporary cdrama since those really aren’t my bag), whatever.  Or even a period English piece.  I’m watching Do You Like Brahms? and really enjoying that so I wouldn’t mind something similar.  Of course, I am also down for something more adult/steamy.  Dysfunction is fine but it needs to have a happy ending.  I guess I’m feeling kind of sappy.  The key is that I want to swoon/feel those butterflies.  

To kind of give you an idea of what I’ve watched/am watching:

Currently Watching

Do You Like Brahms? - LOVE LOVE LOVE.  Slice of life and sweet romance done right.  When Song Ah and Joon Young smile at each other, I smile along with them.  Adorable and sweet without being twee.  An undercurrent of melancholy without being morose/a kill joy.

My Beautiful Bride - I’m loving this and highly recommend it for anyone who likes thrills, action, and a HOT  male lead single-mindedly devoted to his otp, who will go to the ends of the earth to be with her.  He literally lives only to make his otp happy.  While his love for her is what drives the plot of the story, this isn’t necessarily a romance drama.  I mean, sure, I swoon and my heart flutters when I see him beat a group of gangsters to a bloody pulp with nothing but his fists and a key.  And trust me when I say my hormones rage like crazy whenever he’s onscreen.  But I’m looking for a more ordinary kind of love story to add to my roster of dramas.  My Beautiful Bride is like two straight shots of the strongest whiskey in a shady dive bar - it’s intense, exciting, and totally gets me amped up.  However, sometimes I need a break from the Johnnie Walker and slight sense of danger and want a nice, soothing, cup of warm tea instead. 

Cruel City/Heartless City - So I know I just said I needed to mellow out my current watch list but I just LOVE this drama.  It’s got a great otp but again, its main focus is not romance.  Although, it does have one of the hottest kiss scenes in recent years.  If you thought Jung Kyung Ho was nothing but a lanky, beta, weenie, this drama will totally change your mind.  Plus, this is a re-watch so I don’t have to pay attention to everything.

Finished

Flower of Evil - I fully expected to not like this drama before it started because of the terribly misleading promos.  The only reason I checked it out was because I liked Moon Chae Won and Lee Jun Ki.  And boy am I glad I did!  I love me a devoted otp who also stop to take the time to make out.  The way Ji Won saved Hyun Su by just being herself and loving him and the way Hyun Su devotes his entire life to taking care of Ji Won and being a good husband to her - *chef’s kiss*.  OH, also, Kim Ji Hoon’s glorious long hair.  

My Unfamiliar Family - I don’t usually watch family dramas, but this was a nice little surprise.  The romance was sweet.  The healing family trauma aspect was heartwarming and done very well.  Not overwrought at all.  Some of the red herrings/misleading endings threw me a loop but overall, I enjoyed how they resolved the misunderstandings and conflict.  The re-discovery of love between the parents was nice to watch.  Really easy and enjoyable watch with a great slowburn friends to lovers pairing.  I identified with the female lead a bit too much sometimes heh.  Fun fact: The actor playing the dad also played the king in The King and the Clown who was obsessed with Lee Jun Ki’s character.

Dropped

When I Was the Most Beautiful / When I Was the Prettiest - This drama was so disappointing, it kind of upset me to be honest.  The first two episodes started off so promising.  My early 2000s dysfunctional jdrama with questionable teacher/student relationships loving ass thought I was finally getting a return to the good ol’ days (before anyone says anything, no, I do not condone teacher/student relationships in real life).  I mean, they had Ji Soo, the king of playing high school students with impossible one-sided crushes who you want to root for, playing a high school student with a one-sided crush on his art student-teacher.  We also had renowned hottie Ha Suk Jin playing his older brother and Im Soo Hyang playing the woman in between the two hot brothers.  It had all the makings of a wonderful throwback to the old school dramas. But instead, we got stuck with whatever the hell this drama is.  Anyway, disappointing!

The Merchant: Gaekju - I love Jang Hyuk.  I love sageuks.  I love Jang Hyuk in sageuks.  But this story just wasn’t working for me and there was not enough shirtless Jang Hyuk to keep my attention.

Kinda Watching On/Off

Me Too, Flower!  - An old drama that I randomly picked up because I wanted to watch something with Yoon Shi Yoon.  I am only watching this because of the Yoon Shi Yoon-Lee Ji Ah pairing because frankly, the rest of the drama kinda bores me.  Something I put on after work when I don’t want to be too involved/don’t need to concentrate too much.

Angry Mom - I started re-watching portions of this drama because of how pissed off I was about When I Was the Most Beautiful and the disappointment I felt when I foudn out Kim Hee Sun was playing Joo Won’s mom instead of lover in Alice (although from the looks of the posts in the tag, maybe she’s gonna be both? hahaha).  This is Ji Soo’s break out role and for good reason.  His crush on Kim Hee Sun’s undercover high school student mom is adorable and not creepy at all because (1) He doesn’t know she’s an ahjumma (a bit of suspension of disbelief is required for this drama because no matter how great KHS looks, high school student she is not); and (2) it’s completely one-sided and not reciprocated by KHS at all.  Sigh, I just want to watch KHS in a hot noona romance and Ji Soo in a good romance where (1) he gets the girl and (2) the plot is not completely asinine.

Stopped Watching but Really Need to Return to 

Ever Night S1 - Ok, I literally have less than 10 episodes left of this drama but for some reason I keep on putting it off.  I have a real problem finishing dramas I love.  Aside from the fact that I get easily distracted and hop from one drama to the next quite often, I think it’s also because I don’t want the drama to end.  I know there’s a second season, but it just doesn’t seem the same.  Anyway, I should just buck up and finish this drama already.

Novoland Eagle Flag - I took a break because the angst was just non-stop and I needed something a bit lighter. 

Six Flying Dragons - I binged like 10 episodes one day and took a break to give my poor eyes and brain a rest.  Then, in true me fashion, I got distracted by some other drama and now I can’t remember where I left off.

Mr. Sunshine - I love Lee Byung Hun as an actor and I am also a big fan of Byun Yo Han.  This is also the hottest Yoo Yeon Suk has ever looked to me.  But I kind of lost interest when it became apparent that all three male leads were going to be in love with the female lead.  I like the female lead just fine but it’s kind of annoying how everybody is in love with her.  I know this is a quality drama but honestly, I don’t think I will return to this unless I have nothing more interesting to watch. 

[australian-desi]

Qurbaan Hua ~ Episode 2: Of Flowers, Doctors and Evil Family Members

Helloooo, I totally didn’t abandon liveblogging this show because of my lack of ability to balance my life and also because I really could not make myself do it, but now I’ve finished 1 year of uni and I feel like I should be able to do this now, but I also have a habit of starting things and not following through with them so we shall see how this adds up. Now that this self depreciating rant is over, welcome back to Qurbaan Hua a show I am watching just for Karan Jotwani, his face, body, mind and spirit. Also because it’s been a while since I’ve watched an extremely toxic man and wonder how this one’s gonna outdo the rest???? I need a better hobby. 

Also I will be liveblogging this episode, and the last week, coz otherwise, it will take too long, but I will make posts here and there if something aggravates me enough. 

So anyway lets get this show on the road 

Just a quick recap for me and the rest, we left off at the girl (whose name we do not know as yet), sitting in a bus next to Neil, who prayed to god that he would never see her again coz she’s a ‘teekhi as shezwan sauce’, to his utter disbelief his seat is next to hers, they have a spat over the window seat, and coz he’s assigned that seat, she gives in. After that some goons appear in the bus to kill her as she saved some kids from their boss, and Neil, in typical tellywood style, claimed her as his wife

Also Neil is a the token family disappointment coz he decided to become a professional chef rather than the head pandit, he has a sister that could give Anjali competition and she is also preggers and has a shady husband. 

Now we can truly get this show on the road:

I have truly forgotten how our girl got sindoor on her forehead but it is working towards this whole “husband saves wife” ting 

OMG I CANNOT THE GOONS DO NOT LOOK SCARY IN THE SLIGHTEST

Also she warned Neil that they are ‘very dangerous’ and he’s reassured her by telling her to play along

“Sorry madam humein bola tha ke uss ladki ne peela suit pehna tha aur kunwari thi, lekin aap ki toh shaadi ho chuki hai” LOLLLL SO THEY KNOW WHAT SHE’S WEARING AND HER MARITAL STATUS BUT DO NOT KNOW WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE, TF?????

“Haan humein shaadi ko 6 mahine ho gaye hai” “LEKIN BHAI-JI PICHLE 6 MAHINO SE ISSNE MERA JEENA HARAM KARDIYA HAI” loving this overacting ki dukaan and the whole ins and outs of their “marriage” that the bus now knows

The goon is even like “bitch I’m out”

omfg she’s trying to thank him, and he’s all up on his high horse. Just takes the thanks and move on, why you gotta be all up with the ego (also I’m not gonna post anymore photos or we’ll literally be here all day, screencaps will be back once I’m upto date)

And he’s calling her shezwan sauce again coz she’s always getting him into musibats and “shezwan sauce ka kaam hi yeh hota hai... seene mein aag lagana” ALSO FYI THIS IS THEIR SECOND MEETING SO TRULY WTF, (but I’m also here for this) 

ohhh sifaljiya means sar dard without ilaaj (aww they’ve given each other nicknames how cute)

HAHAHAH HE SAID SAME TO YOU AND SMIRKED

I like his sass 

So she’s come home after 3 months, to see her baba, who is overweight? and she’s his dietician because looking after your parents is directly correlated with sanskaar 

Also coz she’s smart she’s realised that she’s gonna meet him again so this would be enjoyable and she wants to get rid of all ehsaan he has on her so they never meet again 

basically I spoke too soon coz she genuinely thinks a simple thankyou will stop them from meeting again

And he’s gone

OMG I THOUGH THEY WONT SEE EACH OTHER BUT THEY DID SO OMLLLLL

Nice touch with the masjid and the mandir in opposing directions, and her turning away from him to pray and now they’re facing in opposite directions towards their faiths, I’m gonna guess that’s their major conflict 

ALSO WHAT DID I TELL Y’ALL IN THE LAST LB, THIS FLOWER WILL BLOOM BECAUSE OF THESE TWO, SO SUCK ON THAT NEIL’S DAD

Also welcome to the beginning of another toxic yet addictive ‘love story’

So her dad is a carpenter of sorts

Also he looks quite skinny so what was the fat shaming for?????

WE FINALLY HAVE A NAME - CHAHAT BAIG? 

No, he’s a gynaec and carpentry is a ‘shaunk’ 

Oh no, I see where this is going, god fucking dammit dave (yes I talk in tiktok now)

So she’s become his ‘doctor’ when he’s an actual doctor, also he’s asking her questions that a fkn year 7 kid would know the answers to 

And now they’ve ‘earned’ each other’s hugs how normal and sweet

She has come first in MBBS - I’m actually really proud

Also, I would like to give this show a shoutout for actually giving me a female lead who is more educated than the male lead. Like all the other shows I’ve watched, except for Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan (which I don’t consider mainstream ITV) and EDKV (but even in that Shravan was more educated than Suman), the female leads weren’t even college graduates and finally there’s one who has a MBBS. 

And we have someone named ‘Ghazala’ who makes it seem she is a sore spot for Chahat

And ofcourse we are back to the dramatic poojas and saying manhoos things to poison the dad’s brain against his own son

HOW MANY GODDAMN MANDIRS DOES THIS HOUSE HAVE 

What is this random relative, who sometimes cosplays to be blind, sometimes ties his feet together

Also why is this family so dramatic about him being a little late

What if mans had an accident, or he got hurt, or he died? But nah, mans is just disrespectful and hates his family and god 

There is not one family member maybe except for Anjali2.0 who I care for and she’s gonna die 

omg not again with this idiot calling her Sarasti and he’s been declared as the rightful next head priest

And ofcourse Shyam1.5 (coz he’s not as badass as the original), is going to be all fake and be like “noooo, Neil is the rightful owner of this position” etc. etc.

The dad is predictably blinded by his whole act and asking him how can he be so selfless 

Now we have cut back to Ghazala???? who has all these women getting her ready like its the 1600s (one of them is called Shabnam, which is my mum’s name so this is awks) 

It’s the heavy urdu and obsession of beauty for me 

She’s the evil stepmother.tm 

Why are these tv dads either sooooo dumb, soooo cunning or soooo dead, like can’t there be a normal tv dad who is alive and smart and loving 

like this whamen is playing him, and he’s a bloody doctor and he’s letting it happen

Also I ain’t seen itv female leads with alive parents, always one or both of them gotta be dead

LOLLL IN TRUE SNOW WHITE FASHION, THE MIRROR ON THE WALL (I.E. MAIDS) HAVE SAID CHAHAT IS 10X PRETTIER THAN HER STEP MUM 

It’s the mirror breaking and the Mrs. Baig, for me 

HAHAHHA SHE THOUGHT THAT CHAHAT WAS GOING IN FOR THE HUG, BUT SHE’S ACTUALLY GONE TO SEE THE NAME PLAQUE THINGY HER DAD HAS MADE FOR HER 

And the Kedarnath soundtrack is back 

Our mans has finally come, and picked up his sister, scaring her in the process

Awww I’m actually devastated that their killing Anjali2.0 off, I like her bond with Neil (no matter how co-dependent/toxic it may be)

Why is Ghazala, a grown adult woman, jealous of her husband’s kid, that is weird and creepy

I love the whole my name is Chahat Rahil Baig because without my dad, I have no identity etc. but does she not realise, that Baig is also given to her from her dad????

LOLLLL THE DRAMATICS OF SEEING SINDOOR IN HER HAIR (umm surely this isn’t that serious of a situation, she could literally just say idk) 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, I will be liveblogging here and there, but proper liveblogs will happen when I’ve caught up. I hope all of you are happy, safe and well!

[aqlyrics-blog]

Still Waiting

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Still Waiting

–Chorus– I’m still waiting on you Yes, I’m I’m still waiting on you Yes, I’m I’m still waiting on you Yes, I’m I’m still waiting on you, you, you Taking it back just like that

–Verse 1: Royce da 5’9″– I’m still waiting on you niggas to inspire me Lately, I’ve been feeling like retiring, UBSing I take a pull from the Romeo and Juliet Just like if niggas ain’t leveling, hiring, UPSes I’m challenging y’all niggas to move the needle If not, fuck it, I made enough, it’s cool with me though The quickest way to have your pimping in doubt Is to let the hibachi chef throw a shrimp in yo’ mouth That’s a flag like it’s crips in the house, fag like a dick in the spout Past life itchin’ just to come out All of y’all just be telling them lies Most exciting thing y’all can do is jump out the closet yelling “Surprise!” I’m a product of Funkadelic and Parliament I blow the roof off and make all you chicks suck my doggy dick I give you niggas a Mardi Gras full of martyrs to party with It’s apparent, I slaughter you and your guardian So tell your muscle I make a doctor open him up And button him looking like a skeleton wearing a Cardigan Now, who the fuck want it? Now of you who got [?] Who the fuck want it, bro? I got the scolio Y’all niggas be wanting too much dough, slow your roll I don’t know how much I’ll loan ya, I’m not OVO Woah, for those who try to live the rough life Pistol through your clothes, slugs ripping through your cashmere Give a nigga a buck 50 like I’m the cashier Leave us left for the beef, resting in peace, you tough, right? I’ll punch a nigga to Timbuktu I got a drum, I’ll front a nigga ten bucks too The outcome of playing big bank to little bank with me Will prolly be a hundred thousand in ten bucks too Uh, y’all lonely savage on the mollies acting like your life is violent I’m catapulting bodies, catching ’em like a virus Try to violate me, my ETA is a major scene And it will be the day, it will be the GTA “wasted” screen

–Chorus– I’m still waiting on you Yes, I’m I’m still waiting on you Yes, I’m I’m still waiting on you Yes, I’m I’m still waiting on you, you, you Taking it back just like that

–Verse 2: Nick Grant– I could tell by your dress code you extra hoe I guess the rap game’s ’bout who flex the most All these funny niggas with cloudy jewelry at these award shows Was never rich, but dropping gems to poor souls Tap a super model, she [?] in morse codes Screaming with my head in her box, it ain’t a Vogue pose God’s favorite, a public enemy, love my women in all flavors If I made it, we all made it ‘Pac reincarnated, spitting on cam, fuck ’em But I’m just me, I never claim to be the toughest Ain’t gotta tell fake dope stories for you to love ’em Blood rushing like when I rush in, it’s hugging a Kalashnikov Busting, cousin used to tease me, call me crack baby Tell ’em nothing changed, still dope, baby Lately, I ain’t for the monkey shit Shooters with banana clips, dumping ’em Catching ’em slipping and peel ’em up at the family function and Tell me who I’m up against, I run this shit Nigga, the only thing could kill a legend is a double dish Ride on ’em, me and Nickel Nine on-a ya You know I snuck the thing in this bitch just like a foreigner Pay no mind, it’s no biggy, but shit I’m warning ya The way I ball gon’ make a nigga corner ya Tell the coroners “come”, baby, there’s been a murder Never was underrated, nigga, I’m unheard of You outta line like you ain’t got a lotta drive Fuck around and clash with some niggas you idolized Bottom line, I’m a man with a lot of pride Got my mama’s eyes From the ghetto, I’m traumatized, where I lie confined As I watch my demons ménage screaming “I’m alive” Life is a freak, I put faith is this lady mama lie I just sign on the dotted line It’s for rappers who look like they get sodomized, you outta time

–Chorus– Just like that, that, that, that That

–Verse 3: ElZhi– I’m poisonous pesticide, extra wide nostrils Hostile infects aside, it’s the chainsaw massacre Texas side in a Lexus fried doing donots As if I grabbed the coffee with it for breakfast This shit I write it make you ball up your fist to fight and Take off on a nigga, make him think he missed a flight So you shouldn’t ignore me then, I can trade lines with Scorpion Or pretend I’m not Kevorkian, just his dorky twin And I ain’t got a lock when I’m sticking the door key in Cause I got this in the bag like apartment 4B when Jigga was a hustler who later wrote about it on the intro To In My Lifetime, and you’s a customer Not accustomed to how I’m on the cusp of greatness And at the top of the food chain, I could hump the waitress and How you do these dishes? I’m truly vicious I know you wish my life sucked and Death blew me kisses But I’m extra closer to the Testarossa The best, supposed to make you sick to your stomach till you possess an ulcer You know my reputation, who in yo’ camp wanna step to Jason? A sick disease that cut into you like six degrees of separation You’ll find it’s more lines in this rhyme than a brick of ki’s That any crime unit would be quick to seize From some high rollers who are thick as thieves Who love the top dog and how he flick his fleas And I could give you food for thought before fricassee’s Or I can just rub you out like two crickets’ knees They rather see me chatching murder charges ‘stead of Jamaica in the spot on my third massage Living the life that’s in need of a narration Give me the spotlight, you can keep the interrogation At the sheriff station And I swear if you tryna play the don Think before you dive in murky waters with a megalodon