#my life has been media rich lately

[artificial-condition]

Also another update is that I’ve reread all of murderbot (again) (but this time the audiobooks!!) and I’m frothing at the mouth

[thepoisonroom]

it's so goofy to see people theorizing that the current wave of really cute family-friendly queer rep is like a stepping stone to having more options when the lesbians on skins (2007-2013) would absolutely have eaten nick n charlie alive

[erkhyan]

On how a video game about fucking a bear interrupted furry discourse

People don’t realize the absolute comedy that just went through Furry social media.

See, feral smut (i.e. smut of four-legged characters who otherwise satisfy the Harkness test) has always been a contentious subject in the furry fandom, due to how easily it leads to unwarranted real-life accusations of zoophilia. It’s an annoying bit of discourse that has been rearing its head every other year since the modern fandom began four decades ago.

Which, you know, pretty rich, coming from the fandom where a pretty large percentage readily admit to having had some form of sexual awakening over the Lion King and My Little Pony franchises.

And anyway, that discourse was exactly what was going on last week. People getting harassed on Twitter, as an extension of the whole “groomer” moral panic. A lot of fandom relative newcomers parroting arguments right out of the Burned Furs movement (a late 1990s/early 2000s movement dedicated to “purifying” the furry fandom of “perversion” and “degeneracy”).

And then, just as the discourse was at its most heated, Baldur’s Gate 3 entered the chat.

Suddenly, everyone was talking about the game that will let you fuck a bear. Yes, a bear, as in Ursus arctos. A Druid shapeshifted into a bear, to be fair (again: the Harkness test), but a bear nonetheless.

And mainstream media erupted with reports that the game’s sales skyrocketed based on that scene alone.

And the discourse suddenly screeched to a hilariously embarrassed halt.

10/10 comedic timing, no notes.

[redbullgirly]

Million Dollar Man [LS18 smau]

Lance Stroll x reader [social media au]

Masterlist

Summary: Lance's girlfriend isn't afraid to show how much her boyfriend loves and spoils her. Unfortunately, "fans" seem to think she's a gold digger. But who would Lance and Y/N bee if they just let it slide?

Warnings: A lot of hate towards the reader by online trolls and just toxic fans, at the end she and Lance shuts them up but if you're not in the right head-space to read this, then please don't.

yourusername posted on instagram

liked by lance_stroll, fernandoalo_oficial, astonmartin and 192,344 others

tagged: astonmartin and lance_stroll

yourusername life lately... how about you? 🍰💐

view all 3209 comments

user1 more like: life lately 💸💸💸

user2 LOL

lance_stroll life lately has been great ❤️

liked by the author

user3 Lance don't worry we're going to save you!!

user4 our guy is lyinggggg i can feel it

user5 Oh my god let them live a happy life you trolls🤦‍♀️

user6 how can you know it's happy when she clearly uses him for money?🤨

user5 And how can you know it's not? Besides I don't think she uses him for anything🤷‍♀️

user4 then your just as naive as him user5 lol

user7 she's so classy a love it!😻

user8 Can she even drive or she just wanted to take a photo in his car?

fernandoalo_oficial You are slaying Queen!😉

fernandoalo_oficial Did I do it correctly yourusername?

yourusername it's great nando, just please never use that emoji again and you'll be ready do graduate from my gen-z university!

fernandoalo_oficial Damn it I knew all you use these days is this one: 💀

yourusername 💀

user9 OKAY I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ANYONE SAYS ABOUT HER AND LANCE CAUSE I LOVE Y/N AND NANDO INTERACTIONS MORE THAN MY OWN LIFE!!

user10 i'm convinced she holds both aston drivers hostage in her basement and is forcing them to comment on her posts

user11 It's probably not even her own basement but Lance's😭

user12 nah she ain't even that pretty

user13 omg no way this post is the way I found out lance mf stroll has a girlfriend?🤠

user14 GIRL you have so much lore to catch up on

user15 Yeah welcome to the worst wag ever fandom xd

user13 wait I'm so confused... why do we hate her???

user14 bc she's basically a gold digger, like from the moment her and lance started dating she's been posting only about shopping and showing off herself and her bf's money

user12 plus she ugly af

user15 Yeah and there are rumors on twitter about her being really mean to everyone and that the whole paddock hates her and stuff...

user13 okay I get that but tbh we can't believe everything that's on f1 twitter

user14 idc she's a bitch even without the rumors

user15 I can tell Y/N is trying so hard to have the rich girly aesthetic... it's actually embarrassing😂

astonmartin Wow you have a great car right there😍

user16 more like her sugar daddy lance has it lol XD

user17 guys be fr if you had a rich boy you'd be spending his money too!!!

twitter

yourusername and lance_stroll posted on instagram stories

yourusername posted on instagram

liked by estabanocon, lance_stroll, astonmartinf1 and 206,948 others

tagged: astonmartinf1 and lance_stroll

yourusername thank you spa for having me! what a race, congrats to my favourite driver lance_stroll on p9 & his teammate fernandoalo_oficial on p5! great team work, hope to see you on another grand prix in the future astonmartinf1 💚🏆

view all 4022 comments

astonmartinf1 we hope to see you on another grand prix as well Y/N!🤩

liked by the author

user1 you don't have to lie admin, it's waste of money on her... better give the paddock pass to someone else

astonmartinf1 well, we definitely won't give it to you user1, so no need to worry about it 😙

user2 daaaamn, the admin is coming for y'all haters

user3 Of course she had to wear the racing suit... c'mon that's so embarrassing🙄

user4 actually it's pretty normal, I'm pretty sure Max's gf also wore his racing suit at some point

user3 Yeah but I at least like and respect Kelly... Y/N is a horrible gold digger

user4 well then I'm pretty sure it's your problem, not hers🤷‍♀️

user5 girl stop pretending you care about racing we all know you do it just for pr and cash xdd

user6 Honestly I'm not a Lance Stroll fan, but he deserves someone better than her...

lance_stroll Thank you to my favourite wag! 🥳❤️

yourusername love you baby!!!💞

user7 favourite wag😂 good joke😂😂

user8 am I the only one who finds their interaction cute??

user9 yeah you are user8... like just look at it, it's so forced... wouldn't be surprising if their whole relationship was fake

user10 You can hate on her all you want, but she's actually gorgeous in the third pic😻

user11 YUUUCCKK🤮🤮🤮

user12 you see I would be fine with this post if she didn't have to show off the aston martin car again!!!

user13 Hey did you notice she tagged Nando in the caption and he didn't reply to her? I call it ✨karma✨ lol

user14 maybe he escaped from her basement😭

user15 💚💚

user16 sorry but I can't help it. There's just something fishy about Y/N and I can't bring myself to like her at all

user17 Guys who is this girl and why does she get more hate in her comments than hailey bieber??💀

user18 I hate how she makes the whole Grand Prix about herself

user19 no but fr... like honey, idc about you and your favourite driveeer

user20 Tf?? She literally called LANCE her favourite driver how is that about her... you haters are so dumb🤦‍♀️

user21 I bet she read the comments on twitter about how she's bad gf for not going to any races and decided to fix her image by this XD

user19 lmfao didn't probably work the way she hoped

messages between Y/N and Lance

lance_stroll posted on instagram

liked by yourusername, sebastianvettel, f1 and 330,219 others

tagged: yourusername

lance_stroll As some of you now, I am not very active on social media. Today I'm making an exception for Y/N, my lovely girlfriend I've been dating for almost a year now. She is one of the greatest, most kind, caring and selfless people I know. I don't know where the idea of our relationship being unhappy, one-sided or even insincere came from, but I would like to make it very clear once and for all that these assumptions are as far from the truth as they can be.

In my life, I experienced a lot of hateful comments and reactions myself. It is not something I wish anyone should have to go through and it's disgusting. I love Y/N with all my heart and I hope that one day, she'll make me the happiest man alive and allows me to marry her, build a family together. No one will ever again speak about her in an inappropriate way, or they'll be blocked and possibly face legal actions taken agains them. I am very serious about this.

Y/N, I'm not afraid to call you the love of my life. I never want to see you cry because of some meaningless hater. Love you to the moon and back, sweetheart ❤️

view all 4823 comments

user1 It's just so heartbreaking how Lance himself had to go through so many waves of hate because of his dad and now he had to watch Y/N go through it too...😓

yourusername love you to the moon and back too lance!!!💖

lance_stroll Wouldn't have it any other way honey!😌

user2 you know it's serious when sebastianvettel shows up

astonmartinf1 once the it couple, always the it couple!💚 proud to say we were never a hater😘

user3 i still think it's fake

fernandoalo_oficial and I think you are fake🤪

user4 LMAO nando come and get the haters lets goooo

user5 That's how you shut them up xd

fernandoalo_oficial how do you children say it? I AM LANCEY/N DEFENDER

user4 yeah yeah nando exactly that or you can say your a lancey/n truther

liked by fernandoalo_oficial

user5 omg I can't believe I just had online conversation with THE Fernando Alonso😭

user4 GIRL ME TOO AND HE EVEN LIKED MY COMMENT😭😭

f1 What a beautiful couple you are!🙌 Hope to see you in the paddock after summer break!😏

user6 "they'll be blocked and possibly face legal actions taken agains them" daaammmnn man is standing on business here

user7 Tbh I never understood why y'all hated on her sm she's literally so beautiful and seems kind as well🤷‍♀️

lilymhe pretty giiiirl

lance_stroll I couldn't agree more!❤️

yourusername oh stop you two I'm blushing

user8 Can we take a moment to appreciate how beautifully the caption is written?🥹 Lance really has some poetic talent!

liked by yourusername

user9 aaah she's still a gold digger and he's too blind to see it😂

user10 Yeah she probably charmed him in bed or sm

user11 Ohh user9 and user10... I wonder how it feels to know Lance and probably some other drivers hate you🫢

chloestroll My brother and my future sister-in-law!🥰

liked by the author and yourusername

yourusername 🥰🥰

user12 im actually so happy to see y/n replying to some of the comments and just being active without so much hate on her now!!!

yourusername posted on instagram

liked by lance_stroll, kellypiquet, fernandoalo_oficial and 299,102 others

tagged: lance_stroll and dior

yourusername they say if he wanted to he would... I say he wants to so he does 🌹❤️

comments have been limited

lilymhe she ate you jealous people up with that caption

liked by lance_stroll and fernandoalo_oficial

lilymhe also alex_albon me when??

dior Wow!❤️‍🔥

lance_stroll That's what real men do instead of trolling others on the internet.

yourusername daaammn baby

lance_stroll What? I'm just stating facts 😌

kellypiquet shopping trip to Paris when?😍

yourusername anytime you want!!!💕

astonmartinf1 So lucky to (basically) have you on our team💚

fernandoalo_oficial I call that a slay admin

astonmartinf1 ...should I tell him slay is kinda out dated??

yourusername aaah let him have his moment

fernandoalo_oficial WHAT?! YOU TRAITORS I THOUGH I WAS GEN-Z APPROVED

yourusername 🫢

THE END

Author's note: I hope you liked my first ever social media au story! I'll be glad for every feedback, comment, like, reblog and everything! You can definitely send me asks and requests for another smau's and even 'normal' fanfictions. Have a great day!

[respectthepetty]

Upcoming Taiwanese BLs

We are over halfway through 2024, and as usual, I've only had two Taiwanese BLs (Unknown, Anti Reset), so even though I'm sitting on a stack of BLs to watch every single week from other countries, call me Smaug because I need MORE!

Honorary Korean BL: Uncovering the Curse of Taekwondo (2024)

Former friends (and possibly lovers) reunite at a funeral after going their separate ways for over a decade, but, honestly, I don't care about the plot because this comes from Hwang Da Seul who was behind Blueming, To My Star, and Where Your Eyes Linger, so I know it's going to be amazing. There is a movie and a series version, and the movie already premiered at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea at the beginning of July. The runtime was 154 minutes, but the series is eight episodes around thirty minutes each and is currently seeking distribution.

First Note of Love (August 2024)

My most beloved, Charles Tu, from my favorite BL HIStory 4: Close to You is finally returning to me in the form of a washed-up singer who stepped away from the spotlight due to a tragic event only to be dragged back in by an up-and-coming composer who is also a longtime fan. It is a joint production with Thailand's Star Hunter Entertainment (the company behind Big Dragon, Love Senior, City of Stars, and Sunset x Vibes) and features a side couple of a Thai singer and a Taiwanese agent. It will involve singing, but I'm already too comfortable in my seat with my snacks to care.

Fragrance of the First Flower Season 2 (2024)

The lone GL holding down this list finished filming late last year and Gagaoolala has been releasing BTS images since filming began, so it'll likely land there once it is released. The series is a continuation of the 2021 first season, which people were not thrilled about because of the ending, so this season should solve some of the angst we were left with by exploring the two women actually coming together to navigate life as a couple.

The Only One (August 2024)

Directed by Liu Kuang Hui, who directed Your Name Engraved Herein, written by the same folks behind The Untamed, and based on Mu Su Li's novel A Certain Someone which is about two boys whose parents are dating and move in together, so the mains go from enemies-to-??? and the only reason for the question marks on a Taiwanese BL is because the word on these BL streets (and his MDL page) is one of the actors works heavily in China, so this might be the reason this one has been was in limbo even though filming finished earlier this year, but the socials are still posting it's coming this year.

See Your Love (Filming Complete)

This co-production with Japan is about a rich man who falls in love with his hearing-impaired caregiver. It finished filming at the end of May and will have those sweet sweet Taiwanese BL cameos from some Be Loved in House: I Do and Plus and Minus folks PLUS it will be the first cameos for the Kiseki: Dear to Me guys since the company that produced their show is the same one for this show.

Impression of Youth (Filming Complete)

Very little is known about the plot of this teacher-student romance, but it comes from the same folks who produced DNA Says Love You and one of the mains, Muji Hsu, was also the lead in 2020's Because of You. Filming finished at the end of May, and the company stated it would be out before the end of the year.

Islanders (late 2024/early 2025)

This is based on a novel, Islands, by Lolita Hu, features some well known Taiwanese actors, and for a bit was under the name Sea of Intimacy. It's being presented as an 'older BL' but the MDL summary is sparse of the BL-plot: Hung, a successful entrepreneur, has three intimate relationships: his wife, his mistress, and his girlfriend. The lives of these individuals in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s are intertwined because of romance, but their story extends beyond that. When Hung faces criticism on social media and loses everything, the way they react tells us how they see the world.

Wishing Upon the Shooting Star & The Young Gangster (2025)

These two deal with completely different plots but are together because of one reason: Ray Jiang. He is the director for these two and was the director for Unknown, My Tooth Your Love, and We Best Love. The companies behind them have stated the series are coming next year, but the guess is Ray's busy schedule is part of the hold up since he has a Netflix series in the works and apparently a film featuring Sam Lin (We Best Love) on the way. The Young Gangster is based on a novel and deals with a research assistant gathering information on the mafia (and we know how the mafia works in BLs), while Shooting Star deals with a man wishing that nobody notices him once he returns to his hometown after being fired. The wish backfires and nobody recognizes him, not even his dad or the boy he confessed to in high school! BL Mafia, Sideways Wishes, and Ray Ray are my favorite types of snacks!

Pray in Love (2025?)

A police officer falls in love with a man only to realize that man is the son of a prominent leader on the day of his arranged wedding in which he was hired as security for the event. The series already released a short film of the basic premise for fundraising efforts and festival rounds. Apparently, filming has started on the series, but there is no concrete confirmation from the production company.

Eternal Butler (2025)

Edited to add thanks to @cankersoregirl! This is a sequel to VBL's Anti Reset and began filming in early July. It focuses on Ever 4 who is sent to be a bodyguard for a young rich man only to encounter a rebellious man.

That Year, 162 Rainfalls (In Production?)

Is this a movie? Is it a series? Is it happening?! Who knows, but last year, it finally got funding and a director attached to it, but the real kicker is Lin Pei Yu is the screenwriter, and she is the writer behind all of my favorite Taiwanese BLs: We Best Love, HIStory 3: Trapped, My Tooth Your Love, Kiseki: Dear to Me, and so much more. Basically, the company struck gold getting her for this story about two archers and best friends. One gets confessed to but admits he actually is in love with his best friend, but before love can happen, the best friend has an accident and falls into a coma. It is based on a novel of the same name, and the plot is way more hefty than this, but I know Lin Pei Yu will make it work!

Four Seasons (Pre, Pre, PRE-Production?)

This is supposed to be four different stories focusing on different seasons, and is rumored to be VBL's next group of shows since the company has stated it wants to continue its formula from last year of releasing slightly connected shows. VBL/Vidol was behind Stay by My Side, VIP Only, You Are Mine, and Anti Reset. Winter is about a scrooge CEO and a florist who is hired to decorate for the CEO's Christmas event. Spring is about two boys meeting on a bus and falling in love over music. Summer is about a market owner and a chef falling in love over food. Autumn is about two former best friends seeing each other ten years after graduating and exploring their hometown together.

Connecting to You (Pre-Production?)

It seems to have gotten funding, but it's been quiet since which isn't surprising because when it comes to Taiwanese BLs, nothing is really heard until filming begins or even after it ends. I still have my hopes high because this is *THE* BL for me as it deals with a man who can see colored threads connecting people and one day runs into a policeman whose thread connects to him. The thread between them begins to change color, from silver-grey to yellow, representing friendship, and even to red, representing love. If I have to sell an organ or two to fund this myself, I. Will. Do. It. I NEED THIS!

And this wouldn't be a Petty Post if I didn't include this final one:

HIStory 15: Freed (GIVE IT TO ME!)

I don't care if this a long shot. I don't care if I seem crazy always asking for this. I. Deserve. It. HIStory 3: Trapped ended with our best mafia boy in prison, and it's time he got out! The HIStory franchise has not had a series since 2022's HIStory 5: Love in the Future, and although there have been rumors that a HERstory story might be next, I think bringing back a popular story would be just as good. I will ask for this every chance I can until I get it, and I plan on living a long life, so I got time!

[daegu-based-terrorist]

Hope it's alright to ask, as a communist to a communist (rather than tokenising or something), but would you say that even in conditions of siege, DPRK is more democratic than ROK? Guess it's partly a question on you and your mother's view of it.

Like, as an example, Mr. Choi, who was interviewed in Loyal Citizens, did say there was less persecution and a weaker police than in the south and USA, and praised its proletarian dictatorship. (Honestly, his view does seem rather authoritative, considering he went to the south to get rich and left the north because he didn't fit in, but ultimately preferred it)

(I do wanna read books about DPRK, it's just that there are so many books, a reading list that doesn't have any about Korea yet... also the question is prompted by someone I know saying "any democracy is better than none" :^) )

I asked my mother!

Translation corrections: || *hometown is actually “back home || *labor is actually “the Workers' Party of Korea” || *that worked is actually “it worked” || *You can vote for fascism, but you rarely vote for communism is actually “You can vote your way into fascism but people rarely vote their way into communism, so we see here that the vote is flawed.” || *In Korea… is actually “there is an illusion of choice in the Republic of Korea because people don’t realise all the parties are the same wearing a different face.”

I know I could have just translated it myself but I’m lazy and it’s late, forgive me.

Having lived most of my life in the ROK but having my mother’s stories to compare to I honestly don’t see democracy in its current state doing us any better then borderline dictatorship does in the DPRK.

Every political party here starts at conservative and gets progressively worse until you end up at some of the worst strands of fascism the right has to offer. Voting in South Korea is like that meme that was going around about the US elections, your voting for Hitler or 10x Hitler when you’d rather just not vote for Hitler.

Communist/Socialist parties are band in South Korea, flying a North Korean flag gets you arrested, our national security act is censorship on a scale so bad the UN regularly tells us to calm the fuck down. You can’t distribute or own anti government material or recognise the DPRK as a real sovereign state.

In 2002 (I think?) a South Korean solider was sentenced to two years in prison for saying that he blames America for the separation of the Koreas and not North Korea. They claim that this comment made them suspicious and they raided his home and found illegal books and that’s what he was charged on.

From 1960 to 1990 twenty nine people were sentenced to death for violating the anti-communist law here in South Korea.

Cases are rarer now days, usually the police just beat you up in secret but there have been a couple in recent years under Yoon Suk Yeol.

So yeah SOUTH Korea being “democratic” hasn’t stopped it from literally being the media’s caricature of NORTH Korea.

I’m not against democracy in North Korea don’t get me wrong, but I think until there is better geopolitical circumstances it’s important that North Korea has a strong government instead of having to worry about changing over power every other five years.

Also contrary to popular belief the WPK doesn’t get 99.9% of the votes they get like 85%. The Korean Social Democratic Party regularly gets about 10% of the vote. While other smaller parties together make up a combined 5% and then usually 1% are votes for independent candidates. All of the parties end up in parliament anyway in this weird coalition thing we’ve got going on.

[coriosbunni]

⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆ - sugar rush

pairing: senator!coriolanus snow x baker!reader warnings: fluff , slight ooc!coriolanus snow, i was listening to laufey so soft coriolanus snow hehehe authors note: so sorry for the late post pls ive been so busy w life </3 summary: prompt is from this request ! i hope i do u justice anon <3

the smell of the freshly baked goods fills his nose as he enters a beloved bakery in the heart of the capital. coriolanus has made it a habit to come to your bakery after every media engagement for his campaign.

he always bought the rich chocolatey brownie topped with a raspberry either for his grandmaam or for himself—always finding a way to support the beautiful girl who runs the bakery.

he has admired the owner of the baker since the early days of his academy. as snowflakes dance through the air, blanketing the capital in a soft, white layer, your bakery stands as a warm, welcoming haven. coriolanus upon seeing the cozy scene inside, decided to do a pit stop to avoid the strong wrath of the snow storm.

the windows are fogged with condensation, offering glimpses of the cozy interior lit by the gentle glow of pendant lights. the bell rang as he entered the shop. the aroma of freshly baked bread, sweet pastries, and rich coffee mingles with the scent of cinnamon and vanilla, creating an irresistible invitation to coriolanus.

he took a moment to appreciate the comfortable environment of the bakery; candles gleaming, wooden tables and countertops to match the white framed countertops, and baked goods encased in glass.

behind the counter, you stood. your eyes, a warm, inviting shade, locked onto his, and time seemed to slow. your smile was soft and genuine, lighting up your face and radiating a kindness that made his heart skip a beat. it was as if the storm outside had ceased to exist, leaving only the two of you in this perfect, serene moment.

ever since then he had locked eyes with you, he couldn't stop thinking about you. the way you light up every time you see him enter your shop. you have memorized his order by now, he was also consistent with his brownie and black coffee.

one late evening, coriolanus decided to help you clean up after the last customer left. it wasn't unusual for him to be the last customer there, you always were grateful for him.

you were putting away coffee cups on the table when you stopped to look at the snowy atmosphere outside your shop.

the lack of noise filled his ears and he stopped cleaning the countertop to look if you were alright, "are you okay darling?" he asked softly. coriolanus often called you pet names and to be honest you didn't mind it at all.

you didn't look back at him and continued admiring the snow gently falling, "you know every time it snows i think of you," you admitted to him.

he walked to you to admire along, "why is that?" he curiously asked as his heart fluttered at your declaration of thinking of him.

"it reminds me of when we first met, i was setting up the sign outside the store when I slipped on a frozen concrete and you caught me. " you reminisced

"you're honestly my knight and shining armor" you joked as you looked up at him, suddenly right beside you. he was already looking at you and you noticed this longing look on his face and it made your heart skip a beat. he was way too gorgeous to be looking at you like that.

all of a sudden you got shy and looked away, "why are you looking at me like that snow" you said flustered. he smiled softly at the change of your attitude

"like what rose?" he places his finger under your chin to make you look at him. the eye contact was different with him this time. he was looking at you with an intense, almost aching desire in his eyes. it tugged at your heart and you couldn't help but look between his lips and his eyes. longing for his lips to connect with yours.

and like he read your mind, he tilted your chin up and leaned in. time seemed to stop as your lips finally met, a kiss that was both gentle and passionate, filled with the unspoken emotions that had been building between you. it was a kiss that spoke of longing, desire, and the sweet relief of finally giving in to what you both wanted.t

[leviathanspain]

fucked my way up to the top

roman roy x reader

synopsis: the recent shroud of attention towards the roys lands a spotlight on you, causing you to question your marriage

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

the public didn’t favor you as a roy wife. you were labeled a gold digger, virtually nobody, a poison, a cancer. it didn’t matter that your own family was rich and prosperous. not as public as the roy family was, but respected in their industry.

you had grown up with roman, for a few brief summers at least. neighboring his summer home with your grandfather’s, you’d find yourself sneaking away at odd hours to visit the sullen boy.

after losing touch, you had reconnected with the youngest roy son at a business conference that you had accompanied your father to. he was impossible to shake off after, and soon you found yourself walking down the aisle.

but your relationship behind closed doors was extremely unconventional. in the year you’ve been married to roman, you never had sex. you came close once, on your wedding night, but nothing else since. you understood him the most, and his issues with intimacy. you’d wait around for him as long as he needed, because you loved him.

you loved him more than anyone else in his life, and he didn’t know why.

roman was still roman, in the best way he knew how to be. he’ll make inappropriate comments at you in professional settings, defending it with “she’s my wife!”, or sticking his hands down your pants whenever he got cold. you never really understood his methods, but it was affection nonetheless.

although you had a history with corporate america, you wouldn’t deny that your marriage to roman had sped up your career. only because roman has insisted that you work alongside him. it was either that or not work at all.

so the media, in the raging shit storm that kendall had started, had picked you and your marriage as the weakest link, attacking you in many headlines. twitter had been worse, causing you a mild headache for weeks.

roman had assured you’d that it would all blow over, that as long as you both knew the truth, that nothing else mattered.

but it did. everything mattered.

“hey ro-“ he had answered your call before the second ring. he sounded breathless, but you could hear the bustling office environment over the phone. there was the sound of leather, assuming he moved to sit.

you looked at yourself in the mirror, giving yourself one last look before walking over to the door, “i just wanted to call and remind you that i’m going out.”

roman made a noise over the phone, “ughhhh- that’s tonight?” he looked at his watch, checking the time, “right. that’s fine, yeah.”

“ro?” you asked, a smile on your face as you heard him hum in response. “i wasn’t asking if it was fine. remember what we talked about?”

roman sighed, rolling his eyes slightly as he leaned back in his chair, “that you’re my wife, not my property…”

you laughed, “when you put it like that it sounds awful. whatever roy, i’ll see you later.” he could hear the clicking of the apartment lock, you were already leaving.

“okay, bye bye now sweetie!” he mocked an elderly lady with his tone before hanging up quickly.

on nights you’d go out with friends, roman wouldn’t go home. he would eventually find his way home around two or three am, but only because you’d call to let him know you were going home. there was no point of being home if you weren’t there.

he had done it once, but there had been a pit in his stomach the entire time. as if he was doing something wrong.

he had heard the apartment door click, and his head turned from the random late night news channel to the door. you were standing there, wavering slightly as you stepped forward.

“baby-“ you slurred, and immediately roman stood up. he walked towards you, and a sheet of concern washed over his face. “i’m sorry baby, i know how much you hate it when i drink.” you grabbed onto roman’s shoulder, hand clutching him as you tried to steady yourself.

roman scoffed, “when did i say that?” his tone turned defensive, but mainly confused.

you shrugged, “i know you do.” you let go of him and stepped towards the couch, “you get in that mood.” you had meant to sit down, but you found yourself on your back instead. you closed your eyes, swallowing thickly, “you pull away.” roman scoffed again, “y/n, im right here.” his hand grazed your face as he leaned over you. he rested on the couch’s edge, but you couldn’t keep your eyes on him.

“no- it’s not like that. everytime i want to,” you faltered, and roman inhaled sharply, “it’s like you shut down. and we’ve danced around it for almost a year and-“ your words slurred slightly but roman had understood you perfectly.

“what do you want me to say? hmm? that i don’t want to fuck you?” he got off the couch and stood up, “do you want a divorce? is that it? since we didn’t fuck you can probably get a good deal out of that, you should go fucking try it!” roman didn’t know where this anger was coming from, but he felt it come out like word vomit. and he couldn’t stop.

tears escaped your eyes and you sniffled, feeling your face heat up with embarrassment. “no- i don’t want a divorce, roman.” you shook your head as you cried, wishing the couch could swallow you up.

roman continued to spit more words at you, but you cried harder. “i just want my husband to touch me! i want to be desired- to be loved!” you shouted, words overtaking his.

“i want you every minute of every day. i wake up with you on my mind, even when you’re asleep next to me i want you. i fucking want you, so bad.” his voice dropped and he stared down at you.

you shifted your eyes over to him, and tried to stand up. roman noticed what you were doing and took your hand, pulling you up.

“have me, roman. have me and never let me go.” your arms draped around his neck, pulling him into you. you leaned into him, and kissed him roughly. roman felt himself hitch a breath before pulling away.

“i cant.” your hands dropped from his collar and you stared, speechless. “i want to, y/n. but i-“

you pushed past him, not letting him finish as you tried to stumble towards the door. “you’re a fucking coward.” you slurred, tears muddling your vision. you fumbled for the door handle, “i never want to see you again! you hear me! i hate you!” you stomped a foot as you struggled more for the door. “fuck!” you cried out, feeling defeat and heartbreak wash over you in an instant.

this feeling was crippling. closing your eyes as you slid down in defeat. you couldn’t fight anymore, you didn’t have it in you. your husband didn’t stay to linger, slipping away quietly.

the separation was taking its toll. it was starting to get noticeable to those around you. you had wished for space from roman, who had hesitated but obliged. his only request was that his family doesn’t know, and so far, they hadn’t.

but little things, questions regarding the other had raised a few flags. kendall had asked about you once, bringing up the question to roman on your whereabouts. roman had lied and said he had just seen you in your office, but kendall knew you weren’t even in the building. or when shiv had texted you to ask if you’d be joining the family to scotland, but you had to play off your absence with a separate work trip. when in reality you had no idea that roman would even leave the country.

shiv knew something was off. she was finding roman more intolerable by the day. he was more disheveled, prone to outbursts, constantly on the defensive, and it definitely had to do with you. you were his happy little pill.

as much as you wanted to keep the secret, roman made it difficult. he rarely ever saw you anymore, and he would often exclude you from meetings regarding family or work. you didn’t mind at first, until it started affecting your work. you’d have to talk to him about it, eventually.

logan had called for a meeting in his office. usually big meetings with all of the roys and close workers meant bad things. typically you’d stay out of these things and find out from roman. but you had no roman to come home to anymore, and you’d have to learn how to fight for yourself sooner rather than later.

you were the third one to arrive. kendall was already perched beside his father. you admired kendall for his ability to resurrect himself and crawl back under his father’s thumb. you respected him, but not lately. greg and tom were also in the room. their little duo was dangerous, you’ve warned roman to watch out for them.

“y/n!” tom stood up from his seat, awkwardly hugging you. you stiffened in his arms and pulled back with an awkward smile, “tom. didn’t know we did that!” your eyes slid to logan and kendall, who seemed as equally as surprised by your presence.

“sir.” you looked at your father-in-law, who’s eyes shone at you, “y/n. what a delightful surprise.” he kept his tone even, but you still smiled nonetheless.

kendall had his wits about him, for once. “what changed?” he squinted his eyes at you and you laughed slightly, “it’s nice to see you too, ken.”

just as you turned, you heard a whistle at the door, “where is everyone? you said at 11:30 right?” roman looked down at his watch before looking up, eyes settling on your face.

you hadn’t expected to see him so face to face, for the first time in weeks. he looked away slightly, cracking another irrelevant joke before walking over to a chair.

he didn’t even greet you, and that didn’t go unnoticed by everyone else. more and more flooded in, and you couldn’t stop the pounding feeling in your head even as the conversation began.

“roman!”

logan’s shout had broken you out of your daze. you blinked, eyes narrowing on the clock as you realized thirty minutes had passed. you had missed most of the meeting, and seemingly caught the end. but this wasn’t just any end, this was logan handing your husband his own ass.

you listened to roman get chewed out. you weren’t in the loop to roman’s work, and you felt lost.

logan’s insults turned into abuse. you felt your mouth go dry as you stood up, words spilling out of your mouth in roman’s defense.

you didn’t know what you had done until it was done. you were locked in a stare with logan, who was in disbelief at your outburst. you felt you face heat up and you inhaled sharply. logan didn’t say anything, but kendall had waved his hands, “alright. let’s just- end it here.” he shifted his gaze over to you but you didn’t meet his eyes.

roman stared at you, from across the room in his chair. you blinked, words faltering as you stared at him.

you didn’t bother apologizing as you excused yourself, practically running down the hall to shut yourself away.

there was a soft knock at your door. roman. it had to be roman. you felt your chest heavy with pressure as you stood up, walking over to your door. you unlocked it, but hesitated as you pulled it open.

“yes?” you peeked out, beads of sweat lining your forehead. your eyes met his and roman stared at you, “let me in.” he nodded to the door and you hitched a breath, opening the door as you stepped back.

“ro-“ without another word you threw yourself into his arms. he grabbed you tightly, reciprocating your need for affection.

“i’m so sorry.” you choked out, “i’m so fucking sorry.” you knew logan had a difficult relationship with his son, and this didn’t help any of it. logan must hate you now.

roman shook his head, “fuck that. fuck that old ass guy. it’s okay, you-“ he pulled back and you felt his lips on your cheek, “you know i would’ve done that for you.”

you hugged him tightly, and hoped this warmth would last.

[sweetteainthesummerx]

THE LOVE LASTS SO LONG (4)

In which Ollie and Aubrey's interaction is captured online

series masterlist

notes: hey y'all! this is super slow burn but I promise its worth it :) Leave a comment ( I go feral for those) and ask to be added on the tag list if u please

★・・・・★・・・・ ★・・・・★

f1_09gossips posted

clip one: An iPhone camera captures a slightly grainy video of Aubrey Yang, wearing a newly given Ferrari cap, greeting Charles Leclerc and Alexandra Saint Mleux after the Monaco Grand Prix. She shakes his hand and gives her a hug in greeting. The three converse in rapid French, laughing once in a while. Ollie Bearman walks by mid-conversation, and Charles grabs his arm. The tall boy turns and sees Audrey, cheeks flushing visibly. Her back is now turned to the camera, but she waves and he smiles at her. The paddock is crowded and loud, but the camera shakily zooms in on the group. She shakes his hand, and he bends down to ask her something, speaking into her ear. She smiles and nods and he looks to his manager for something. His manager hands him his phone and he takes a selfie with her. He lifts his arm and she slides under it as he hands the phone to Charles. They both hold up peace signs, arms wrapped around the other. She offers him a hug as his manager calls him to leave to an interview. He returns it eagerly, bending down a little to hug her properly. Her hands loop under his arms to pat at his back gently, and his are wrapped around her waist. When they break, he says something again and waves as he leaves. Alexandra and Charles watch on with thoughtful looks on their faces.

clip two: Aubrey Yang, walking hand in hand with Lily Muni He as the two navigate through the paddock.

f1_09gossips Aubrey Yang seen in the paddocks yesterday!

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dudududumvp GUYS I SAW THEM and let me tell u ollie was fangirling

-- user1 hello???

-- dudududumvp yeah he was blushing and everything it was so cute

aubreyyang posted

aubreyyang Was an absolute privilege to film in my home city. WE LOVE YOU VANCOUVER 🇨🇦

White Jade Tiger is a project that is so close to my heart. As a second generation immigrant, this book meant so much to me as a child. Now, getting to play Jasmine and bring her story as well as thousands of others to life is an honour. Oh, and a Dallas pic to feed your soul :)

WHITE JADE TIGER OUT JANUARY 2025

tagged: whitejadetigermovie, dallas_liu

liked by alexandrasaintmleux, olliebearman and 670,332 others

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dallas_liu 🔥🔥🔥

user1 oh i didn't know she was canadian

-- aubreyyang born and bred, baby!

-- aubygfan1 OMG ILYSM

charlesleclerc felicitations!

-- aubreyyang merci! j'espère de vous voir (et Alex) à la première

-- f1wagsfvr damn everyones flocking to her insta she must be so lovely

-- dior.n.goodjohn trust me she is

-- user2 dior what r u doing here 😭

macecoronel congrats!

this comment was removed

WESTERN ASIA MEDIA PRESENTS

Dallas Liu and Aubrey Yang for White Jade Tiger

Western Asia Media Interviewer: Welcome, you guys!

Dallas Liu: Thanks for having us, man.

Aubrey Yang: It's so good to see you!

WAMI: It really is. Last time we saw you both, you were working on Crazy Rich Asians and Shang Chi respectively.

DL: laughs and shakes his head. Woah, that was actually so long ago.

AY: Don't, I feel old.

WASMI: Okay, so before we get started, we have a couple of personal questions... Aubrey, we didn't know you spoke French!

AY: Oh, that. I grew up speaking Canadian French at school, because it's mandatory in Canada. But actually, I've met some really good friends lately who are Monégasque, so my accent has been leaning towards there.

WASMI: Are these friends by any chance very famous motorsports racers?

AY: Yeah, Charles and Alex. They're both super cool.

WASMI: Onto you, Dallas...

f1wags posted

f1wags Ferrari rookie Ollie Bearman and model girlfriend, have allegedly broken up, according to sources.

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user1 NO WAY

bearmanheart MY CHANCE BRO

user2 aww they were cute

user3 rip

olliebearman posted

olliebearman Monaco you never disappoint 🇲🇨 ❤️

liked by charlesleclerc, aubreyyang and 78,972 others

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user1 i think him and Estelle actually did break up she hasnt been at any of the races for like weeks

-- user2 do uk why

-- user3 prob because shes so much older

charlesleclerc what are you doing partying 🤨

-- olliebearman sorry dad 😔

aubrie_yangfan WAIT IS THE BREAK UP CONFIRMED my Aubrey ollie pipeline might come tru

-- username5 ur actually delusional 😭

★・・・・★・・・・ ★・・・・★

Taglist: @callsignwidow

© sweetteainthesummerx.tumblr. all rights reserved. unauthorized copying, translation, or claiming of my writing or any works as your own is strictly prohibited.

[vax-merstappen]

press delete (cl16)

summary: after your breakup with charles, you can't stop thinking back on your memories together as you go through your photos. you try to get over him as you realize he has moved on.

warnings: angst, drunkenness, breakup

part 2!

After everything, you didn't know how he could have moved on so fast. It had been years of love, or so you had thought. But maybe with someone so rich and famous as Charles, he would always be looking for something better. Or in this case, someone better.

The pictures of him with some supermodel had spread like wildfire. They were on his yacht in Monaco, the same one you had sailed together on only four months earlier. Of course he would dump you for a model. He was always striving for a level of perfection in his life that you didn't even think was possible. And clearly you didn't fit within that lifestyle.

Instead, you sat on the couch in your apartment, scrolling through your camera roll and debating whether to delete all the pictures of him with you. And as each one went by, you couldn't help but remember all the times you had, all the moments you spent in his arms, and all the memories you made together.

Your eyes settled on a picture of you dancing in the rain and you let your mind wander.

---

As you were walking back from eating dinner at the local cafe down the street from your shared apartment, the sky had opened up and rain started pouring down onto the two of you. Neither you or Charles had thought to bring an umbrella.

The rain continued to pour down and you ran down the street towards home, laughing and trying not to step in any puddles. You saw one particularly big large puddle and an idea came to mind. As Charles went to step around it, you gave him a light push and of course he stepped right in it.

"Mon amour!" he exclaimed, giving you a look of exaggerated disappointment.

You gave a playful shrug and continued running back towards your apartment.

"Oh it's on now!" he said, chasing after you. He was slightly faster than you and caught up quickly, picking you up as you giggled trying to free yourself from his grasp.

"Put me down Charles!"

"Not until you're as wet as me."

"Oh? You want to make me wet?"

"Not like that!" he laughed.

You couldn't help but laugh back, giving in as he set you down in a puddle. You pulled him into the puddle with you and you found yourselves holding each other.

"Let's dance in the rain!" you exclaimed. "We're soaked already."

And so you did, guiding him through the steps of a dance you made up as you went. You didn't see the camera at the time, but when you saw the photo on social media the next day you saved it to your phone. It was a stunning picture after all even if it was taken by a fan.

You wondered if his new girlfriend would be willing to dance in the rain with him.

It didn't matter now and so you pressed delete.

---

Countless images later, you found yourself staring at a picture of the two of you on your apartment balcony late at night. You had spent countless nights there just the two of you, reminiscing about life until the early hours of the morning. As you looked closer at the image, you saw a bottle of wine in the background and you remembered that night.

"What if I told you I loved you?" Charles asked, slurring his words a little.

"You're my boyfriend, I would hope you love me," you laughed back, hiccupping a little.

Both of you were clearly drunk and your words were starting to show it. You had lost track of how long you had sat on the balcony, drinking wine and enjoying each others presence. You had no intentions of stopping because of a little drunkenness.

"No, mon amour, I love you sooooo much. More than I love aaaanybody else."

"Me too, Charles. I love you more than anyone. More than the tifosi."

"Noooobody loves me more than the tifosi."

You felt a surge of anger. "No! I love you most! I'll fight every Italian man who thinks they love you more!"

You tried to stand up as if to physically go find every Italian man and ended up tripping over your own chair.

"Are you ok?" Charles asked, reaching to help you up.

"It will take a lot more to stop me than a damn chair," you hiccupped, grabbing his hand and settling back into said chair.

"Tu es veeeery strong, ma cherie. Les italiens vont be sooooo afraid."

You started laughing uncontrollably. For some reason you always found it funny when he would get really drunk and speak in a mix of French and English.

"Can I tell you something funny?" you asked between laughs. "It might sound insane."

"Oui."

"I think you're the prettiest man in the whooooole world."

"Well can I tell you something even crazier?"

"Yeah."

"I think you're the prettiest girl. I've never seen anyone so belle."

You only vaguely remember the moments that happened after that. The both of you laughing, finishing the bottle of wine, and at some point in the night heading to bed.

As you looked at the drunken selfie that you had taken sometime during the night, you wondered how the man who had once gushed over you like so had moved on so fast. Did he tell every girl he saw that he loved her more than anyone else? Or was that reserved for you?

You knew now that all those words that had meant so much then were empty now. Another picture deleted from your phone, another memory you'd rather forget.

And fuck him for leading you on for so long. For making you think you were more than enough just to leave you behind like a toy he'd grown bored of.

---

After an hour, all the pictures were gone except one. It was the only one that you had decided to keep. The one that would be your souvenir to remind you of it all. The good and the bad but most especially the ugly.

It was the last night you had seen Charles in person. You had been out for a day on his yacht. The past few weeks had been rocky with the two of you getting in more and more arguments. It had started with petty things, like his refusal to do the dishes and your unwillingness to pick where to eat dinner out. But then it escalated to him being away too often and your desire to "control his life."

It had all boiled over when the two of you had been cooped up together on the sea.

"Charles!" you exclaimed, completely exasperated with his childish behavior. He had pushed you towards the water, hoping you would fall in. Past you would have taken it as a joke, but not after he refused to take you seriously for months, always pushing aside everything you said.

"Mon amour, it was just a joke. Don't take it all so serious. We are here to have a good time, no?"

"Not if you are going to throw me in the ocean."

"You are so dramatic sometimes."

"Says the king of drama himself. You always blow things out of proportion, always acting like you're better than I am."

He scoffed. "You know I don't do that."

"You're literally doing it right now."

You couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but you knew he had just rolled them at you. When had it become like this? How had you gone from loving each other more than anyone else in the world to actively hating his presence?

You had walked over to him. "Is it always going to be like this? You thinking you're always right? That I don't deserve to be with someone like you?"

The silence was telling. He paused for a few moments before responding. "Of course I don't think that way. It's just you keep starting arguments with me. Can't you just appreciate being on a yacht in the sea? Not always turn it into a problem?"

You bit back an angry response. How dare he go back and pin everything on you? Like he always did?

You pulled his sunglasses onto his head, making him look you in the eye. "I don't think this is going to work anymore."

"Mon amour..."

"No, don't call me that now. Not when you've made everything about you. Not when I can't do anything that makes you happy."

He sighed, running his hands through his hair. He looked back at you with his stunning blue eyes. The ones you still hadn't been able to get out of your head ever since.

"Okay. We can take a break. But let me get one last picture of you to remember you by. And when we get back together, I will delete it off my phone so we don't have to remember this day? Ok, ma cherie?"

You had nodded. The picture stared back at you now. You were dressed in one of his oversized shirts over your swimsuit. Your skin was sun-kissed from summer days outside. And your eyes looked anything but happy, your smile only going as far as your face.

You wondered if he had kept the picture, still waiting for when you got back together. He had promised after all. But even though you had broken up with him, he was the one who moved on. To someone better, to someone who might love him like you once did.

Even if he did keep the picture, you doubted the day would come when he would delete it for the reason he described.

So with one last bit of motivation, you pressed delete. Deleted the last of your memories, the last of your time with him, the last of your hope for the future.

And just like that, he was gone.

[hopefull-mindset]

Design Analysis: Kouyou Ozaki

Have you ever wondered why everyone has assumed Kouyou to be a courtesan or brothel owner when there has been no specification in the main series?

First, there is the fact she refers to herself using “wacchi” (わっち), a pronoun that had been used by Geisha and Oiran alike in the Edo Period. Second is that, while she doesn’t have as many layers or hair ornaments, her large Obi is still tied at the front, and wears a Uchikake over her kimono. An Uchikake by itself is not an indicator, but I would think she has it to accentuate what she’s meant to resemble.

An Oiran is a general term for a high-ranking courtesan who has taken up some traditional arts and refined in their entertainment skills, putting them above the common prostitute. The term “Oiran” (花魁) means “flower leader”. It was said to be used by Kamuro and Shinzo to refer to the older courtesans and eventually became their title. It is theorized to come from the phrase "oira no tokoro no nēsan" (おいらの所の姉さん), but there is no exact and official origin of why they’re referred to as such.

They are exclusive because of their price ranges and the highest ranking had a degree of choice in who they had in their company. They get confused with Geisha often because of their similar skill sets and when you don’t know what you’re looking for visually, but in addition, this is mostly the fault of the Occupation of Japan with many coupling both of them into what they’d call “Geesha Girls” and mistaking Geishas for prostitutes. Many even called themselves a Geisha to bring in business, but Geisha’s legally couldn’t promote sex (that didn’t stop them though sometimes if they needed the cash). They are not distinctive only because one of them can practice sex work and the other cannot. Besides my previous comments on accessories, layering, and their distinctive Obi, Oirans have more extravagant coloring and designs on their clothing.

Not to be confused with the Tayū, whom Oiran had taken after in their clothing. Tayū are not as relevant in pop culture, so do not worry about trying to tell the difference in fictional media because they’re 100% going to be an Oiran unless specified. If you would like to learn more about Tayū and not look at confusing wiki pages, I recommend reading these: Karyukai Workers and Roles, The Look of Oiran Versus Tayuu, and this nice video about a modern day Tayū.

While Shinzo are the new debuting girls late into their training, a stage before that is the Kamuro. Kamuro are young girls sold by their parents to either pay off debts or have fewer mouths to feed, and some were even born into it. On the surface, the deal of their daughter becoming someone so luxurious was desirable and made it easier for them to give her away, but not all of them got that life and had to fight for that position. Kamuro were put under the care of senior courtesans who would teach them the skills they’d need while Kamuro did their chores for them. Kamuro were also considered a social marker of how rich the courtesan was to be able to provide for these girls, but they were limited to only caring for two. It was an exploitative and abusive industry that groomed them into this life. These girls can’t leave because they’re stuck to a never-ending contract that they need to pay off in their work because of the costs of their living, so competition for the top spot wasn’t only for the idealized life promised, but to get a higher paying customer to pay off their contract to escape.

Kouyou’s backstory is heart-wrenching in this context. We don’t have details of how she ended up there or the rest of what happened, but you can’t deny the resemblance between the life of a young girl in the red light district trying to escape her conditions with a man who has promised her freedom and Kouyou wanting to live in the light outside of the Port Mafia’s unlivable darkness with someone who wanted to show her that. Along the same lines, Kyouka can be seen as a Kamuro that Kouyou has taken under her wing and wanted to leave herself. Granted, using sexual favors is manipulation 101 and she could’ve learned this anywhere, but it would make sense if she had learned this from Kouyou as a courtesan. Kamuro weren’t ignorant of what their “Older Sisters” did.

There are many differences between the life of these girls and the bloody one Kouyou had lived in the Port Mafia, and it’s not as if I’m implying she had lived the life they did as we don’t know much, but the similarities can’t be just coincidence. As for “brothel owner”, the Yakuza unsurprisingly stick their nose into the sex work business, so it wouldn’t be too hard to assume Kouyou was looking over these things.

Side comment: “Ane-san” is old-fashioned, so the only time you’ll see it be used instead of just “Ane” or “Onee-san” is in a historical context, or with the Yakuza to refer to the upper echelon female members.

(I refuse to use something not from mayoi, bones art… is ugly)

Kouyou’s crimson hair comes from her name “紅葉”, which can be translated to “Red (Autumn) Leaf”, or roughly “Crimson Blade”. It’s referred to as crimson in the light novels, but we all want to call it deep pink. Either way, both colors are deep-seated in love and she wears it all over. Her uchikake starts light at the top and deepens the lush cherry blossom pink into a bloody red where it drags at the floor with trailing bellflowers (or some type of thin petaled bellflower). Her inner kimono is pure black, except at her shoulder where only a piece of pink is left, and at the bottom are prominent red spider lilies. Their color is emphasized with a transitioning dark shade of purple.

Red spider lilies are infamous because of their connotation with death, but there’s more to it. They’re considered “hell flowers” and could lead the dead to reincarnation. Used in funerals, legends say that seeing someone you will never meet again will have these flowers bloom in your path. They’re flowers that bloom in autumn and the meanings they have are: painful memories, abandonment, passion, independence, giving up, longing, and “never to meet again”.

Kouyou is a mournful soul whose past has never left her, especially in the face of confronting Kyouka’s choice. For these flowers to appear in the inner darkness of her design is significant to how deeply his death had affected her, but also the abandonment of what she regards as her “born nature”. That man had wanted to show her light but had only contributed to the growing darkness that she wasn’t allowed to escape. She had died that day with him, and could only keep walking in the flower field of death she had created. It’s only the piece of light on her shoulder that is left of her past self.

Now, the bellflowers on her uchikake can mean: Loyalty, gratitude, faithful, unchanging, honesty, and discipline.

If the Port Mafia had once been a place of terror and misery, then Mori had changed that for her and made the Port Mafia her home. She is forever grateful for what he has done to make this life livable again and dawns this flower gracefully with light colors. She chooses to wear these light colors over her kimono because even if she resents the hypocrisy of the people who can live in the light without criticism, she still wants some semblance of that dream after her soul has been blackened to that gain. Harukawa, when designing these characters, keeps in mind what organization and type of person they are when color coding them. It’s also with the understanding of what shades will appear darker and lighter in the manga style. Harukawa says that she made sure to give Kouyou light colors and kept her eye from being dark to signify that she’s a good person.

In the manga, her outfit is slightly different from the anime’s design. Her uchikake is paler and does not have any flowers on it, and the flowers on her kimono are much more... vague, so if there are better candidates than my guesses, then be my guest and throw me a bone. From the silhouettes, I will assume that the largest visible flower is a water lily and/or lotus and the flowers growing on the branches are sakura blossoms and/or plum blossoms. It’s fitting considering she is introduced with sakura blossoms falling around her, but they could be plum blossoms too as “花魁” can refer to them in some cases.

Water lilies and Lotus flowers are very recognizable, and I’m sure most of you have seen them around. Their meaning of “purity of heart” comes from how wild water lilies will usually be white. Similarly, lotus flowers are seen as pure because they can bloom in mud without staining themselves. Other meanings water lilies are given are: Rebirth, trust, faith, and kindness. With lotus flowers, they are: Rebirth (again), “to change someone’s mind”, “eases suffering (of the heart)”, and resilience.

Ignoring the meaning of faith and trust since we had already gone over it with the bellflowers, both possible flowers emphasize her good nature and the renewal of life that Mori had blessed her with. Mori had eased the mindless suffering caused by the old boss and changed her mind about what the Port Mafia was to her. She pushed through the muddy waters of the old boss’s darkness and stood her place well in her strength.

Sakura blossoms and plum blossoms introduce two different meanings in their symbolic usage. Plum blossoms bloom in the winter cold in the signal of spring coming, showing the prosperity of life in the hardest of conditions, while sakura blossoms remind us of life’s impermanence and that its beauty can only last for so long. Plum blossoms also can mean: elegance, nobleness, patience, loyalty, hope, and renewal. If these are Sakura blossoms, then they can mean: renewal (again), violence, and hope (again).

In the context of these flowers appearing on her kimono, they mean something different than the renewal of a new era Mori had brought. The remark at the beginning of chapter 17 gives us a personal meaning for Kouyou to what sakura flowers are to her. They are the blooming hope of a girl’s wishes, but they eventually have to drop not long after growing up and facing their reality. Remaining a bud is impossible, so Kouyou, in defiance of this eventual fate of this girl, sees slashing the girl’s heart to be more merciful than the long, doomed drop they all have to face. Kouyou is a bloomed Sakura flower who has already dropped, and her change had started there, not when she bloomed. Even if a part of her had died, she still clings with no real hope.

This is the only image we have of her kimono without anything covering it. This is right at the end of the Guild Arc where they are celebrating their accomplishment. Kouyou sheds her outer bright colors because there is no room for that in this setting and trusts Chuuya and Mori enough to shed any pretenses. They’ve all dressed casually, so she would too. The leaves are meant to be red maple leaves that also show up in the flashback of Kouyou of you look carefully. As I’ve said before, these have to do with her name. The vague firework-like design that shows up are either enlarged spider lilies or chrysanthemum flowers. Assuming these are the white kind, they mean: truth, loyal love, admiration, and sincere heart. However, the yellow kind can mean “slighted love”.

She is sincere inside and out, even if some of that sincerity isn't as pretty as what it looks like from a distance. “A flower that blooms in the dark can only survive within the dark” is a sentiment she lives by after all. If it is a yellow chrysanthemum, then its meaning is what you’d expect from her lonely heart.

Bonus round

Welcome if you have read this far, this is where I stray from her main outfit and talk about outfits that only appear once. This first kimono is what she wore when staying put in the Armed Detective Agency’s capture so that Kyouka would be able to live out a dream she can’t bring herself to live out. The white kimono is covered with columbine flowers. They can mean: risk-taking, good fortune, faith, folly, hope, and specifically for white columbines, “I’m concerned for this person”. Negative/inverse meanings include: The emblem of deceived lovers, ingratitude, and faithlessness.

What this means in Kouyou’s overall situation shouldn’t be too mind-boggling. She is in this room for Kyouka’s sake and is fairly concerned about how this plan of many risks will play out, but has faith in Dazai’s abilities. She is her most stripped version of herself and works with good intentions with Dazai under this idea, so she only wears light. Kouyou though is only left to her thoughts, her own past in that room. She is glad for Kyouka, but it only leaves fear that Atsushi won't be able to live up to something he promised so she ensures that he is committed to helping her into the light and strong in a way that man wasn't able to be. 

The second one is from the chapter art with Kouyou and Mori leading Soukoku away from each other. It’s an outfit that reflects her mindset during her time with the old boss, an inverted palette from what she’s currently wearing. She hasn’t fully embraced her environment yet. Unfortunately, almost all of the flowers and plants are a bit too vague for me to point out. There is only one flower I think I recognize on her right sleeve that looks like a bird, and it is called an Egret Orchid. The only meaning of significance here is: “I think of you even in my dreams.” Some sources will say, “My thoughts will follow you into your dreams”, but I think this made more sense in this context.

This sentiment is regarding that man who had told her such an innocent lie. She not only hid her sorrowful, pure yet broken heart inside the guise of flowering darkness but weaponized this sorrow in her violence and climbed the ranks of the Port Mafia. He is a source of regret, hate, and sadness. He is her only semblance of what hope and love could resemble, and it has become a corrupted and negative thing to her in his death. Pure darkness is the only thing can trust for people like her… but she still ponders what that life will be. His influence had never left her, whether it was for better or worse. 

—

Alright um

I don’t typically do analysis like this as I don’t find clothing all that interesting to look into, but there is merit to thinking about what a character is wearing even on a surface level. It can be a show of their social rank, their job, their interests, their personalties, their culture, etc. but there isn’t always a deeper meaning to their clothing on a theming sense and I can’t find it in me to usually be interested in doing it myself. In most media, the clothing only indicates the era the characters are from and how marketable they can be.

Luckily, BSD is one of those stories that do put heavy consideration on what the characters are wearing and how their clothing changes overtime for some. Obvious examples include Harukawa’s color pallet consideration to indicate what type of person they are and what organization they are from, Dazai’s clothing swap when he leaves the Port Mafia, Chuuya’s many outfits as show of his growth in belonging to the Port Mafia, the coat passed down from Mori to Dazai to Akutagawa, and the Yin-Yang coloring of Atsushi and Akutagawa that stays consistent even in Beast where they swap.

When doing clothing analysis you’re almost expected to overanalyze and stray into your own interpretations of what certain things mean, when sometimes there isn’t any intended meaning. None of that is a bad thing though! You don’t have to rely on an author or artistic word to analyze a thing, but I tend to have a hard time with just making claims like that. So I picked this concept for Kouyou because I have my own ideas for the thought process behind her design that felt right and find it intriguing enough to share. I had actually asked a friend if I could take her from their hands since they had been planning to do their own clothing analysis, but got stuck. So thank you for letting me steal it!

I’m not a historian or whatever, but I do like sharing what I do know about certain topics! Unexpectedly, this took more out of me than I thought. I’ve written more in a shorter time, but I got stuck with having to write about one certain topic than the character entirely. I will probably never do something like this again, at least not with flower meanings. Who knew how much work it was to actually explain what they mean in context in such a big bunch?

The day I finish that Odasaku analysis is when I’ll read The Golden Demon.

[wingzie]

The Life of a Jikooker, Online and Offline

Sometime last year I revealed my real first name on Twitter. Though I am known more prominently as “Wingzie”, a name given to me by a good friend of mine, I wanted to add a bit more of a human touch to my account. It was a reminder that, even if I spend a rather large amount of time making posts, I also have a life away from the screen. There's been a few occasions when my army life and personal life have become interlinked.

I am lucky enough to have made wonderful friends since becoming Army. Thus, I will always say that your fandom experience and enjoyment will depend on who you interact with and what you engage with. It's because of these friends that I have been to South Korea or gone to Olle in London for BTS’ tenth anniversary. I've explored new local places or exchanged gifts. It's also because of these friends that I felt safe enough to talk about Jikook in my first ever group chat in 2019. I feel a certain love and connection between us, online and offline, that I don't think many others will understand. 

However, there is a certain loneliness in being a jikooker. I have been unfairly judged or dismissed just for talking about them. Either individually or as a unit. It calls into question why this is. I personally do not see myself as a shipper. The definition of a shipper is that you WANT them to be together and that is not the case with me or many other jikookers at all. The definition of shipping has changed so much that we are seen as bad people just for talking about them, when we are just talking about their moments together.

In the last few months or so I have experienced more of an Army life outside of Twitter. I have been to various offline events and spoken to so many and I couldn’t help but notice two things: 1) Jikookers have a terrible reputation

2) People are scared to talk about them as a unit compared to others. The first part can be somewhat understandable and it’s why I never bother fighting. It brings negative attention to them, when we should be boosting them instead. All they see are people just attacking each other and it is sadly true that a small number of Jikookers are Tae antis. I have left a few group chats because of that or because of ex-jikookers hating on Jimin or Jungkook. However, there are also a huge number of us that DON'T behave this way and it depends on what you focus on.

At a previous event I bumped into a local Tae bias. She clearly knew who I was and was under the impression that I hated Tae. I soon proved her wrong but I guess this is where some of the problems lie: There are a lot of focus on stereotypes, without giving us the chance to prove otherwise. I have also been to events where Army have cited misinformation and they needed to be corrected. I am aware that not everyone has my memory, but they were so callous about their comments that I was shocked. There was a huge disconnect between reality and what they were thinking and it is so important to check sources. Especially when BTS' history and ours is so rich and can be easily accessible in this social media age. 

Being scared to talk about Jikook is something that will always confuse me. I joined a BTS Discord and left shortly afterwards when I realized that they had a channel for every until apart from Jikook. I also went to an event shortly after the “You can handle it” Weverse Live and the group I was with mentioned every single part of that Live, apart from when Jimin was in the comments. They also said some things about Jungkook that made me feel really uncomfortable and they ignored what I was trying to say. They saw him as a puppet, for their own desires, rather than his own person. And I think that is also something I have seen on the increase lately. It should be allowed and in fact encouraged to talk about them as a unit without being shamed for mentioning them together. Ignoring them doesn't help either.

I am Jimin and Jungkook biased, but the definition of having a bias itself has also changed. You cannot say you have a bias now without automatically saying “but I love all of them”, when that should go without saying. I have seen this change since Mots:7 and it emphasises how much the fandom definitions have changed and how it has also shaped our communities. I have been to other events where I am sadly seen as an anti, once they find out my Twitter ID. My account includes all members, I just happen to post about Jikook and their moments most of all and there is nothing wrong with that. Ultimately, I wrote this without any clear message or goal in sight. I just wanted to express what I have experienced and my feelings about it. I will always cherish the memories I have with those that are closest to me and our beautiful conversations about BTS or Jikook. I just wish others did the same and understood what this community is actually about, online and offiline. My account will always be a safe place for all the members and I refuse to be villainized for talking about Jikook at the same time.  Much Love Wingzie/Becca

[anabdaniels]

Cowboytober Day 1: Feederism

Paring: Agent Whiskey x Plus size female reader

Word counting: 2k

Rating: 18+

Warnings: Self-fatphobia, minor eating disorder (if you read between the lines), reader has PCOS, unprotected sex, creampie

Main Masterlist | Cowboytober Masterlist

Calories, a lot of calories. That used to be the only thought on your head when you ate anything aside from fruits and vegetables, had grown up as a fat kid didn’t help at all with your relationship with food.

God or whatever above knew how much you tried to fit a size 0 jeans, how many crazy diets and fasting methods you tried all your life, but your genetics were inclined to the weight gain and the late diagnostic of PCOS assured you that the size 0 would be almost, if not impossible to reach. You hated to look at yourself for a long period, until you realized that it was pointless, being so mean to yourself wouldn’t make you skinny and it made you feel horrible for nothing.

On the complete opposite side of all this was Jack.

At the very moment you extracted from Ginger the names of Jack’s exes and went a bit too deep on their social media, you hadn’t a single doubt that he wasn’t truly interested in you and all that was a joke, because, in your mind, there was no way he would look at you after have dated girls that easily could be on the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

What you didn’t know was that it had an explanation. While living in Bardstown, his hometown, he didn’t have many possibilities aside from skinny girls, both the fact that the small town hasn’t been dominated by the big city’s bad habits or because there, as in a lot of rural towns, girls would be taught since the early age that their lifetime goal could only be getting married, and no man would want a fat wife. When he got into Statesman, despite being in Louisville, Kentucky’s most populated city, the social circle in which he had been inserted was the high-class one and Jack knew very well that rich ladies would spend 90% of their lifetime on a doctor’s table if it was necessary, doing absurd amounts of plastic surgery just for the sake of remaining on that humanely unreachable skinny frame.

And then the night you met happened.

Jack got immediately interested as his eyes laid on you and when the common friend of you two told him cowboys weren’t your type, it didn’t prevent him from taking his chances with you, ending with you two getting married around five months later.

If anyone got to search for the meaning of happiness, the result would probably be an image of Jack randomly looking at you during the day. Not only were you the best wife he could ask for, loving his country life and dear animals as much as him, but you also made him feel loved and cherished for the first time in his life and looked like a damn walking dream in front of his eyes.

Jack always knew he’d be completely obsessed with every curve of your body at the moment he put his hands on you, what he didn’t expect was all the rest that seemed to awake inside him. It wasn’t just your plump body that drove him completely feral, but the idea that he could put a bit more weight on you casually making your favorite meals or buying your favorite snacks or candies and that he would get to see you eating every crumb of it got the man almost climbing up the walls.

His thoughts on that late morning weren’t so different from that as he cooked lunch while you were grooming and playing with the dogs. As you entered the kitchen, the warm smell of food felt like a caress on your nose. You approached Jack with a curious gaze, unable to suppress a smile when you saw that he had made gyoza, one of your favorite foods.

“You’re not from this world, cowboy.” You joked while wrapping your arms around his waist, hugging him from behind.

“What’s so shocking about a man pleasing his wife?” he turned his head slightly with a smirk, pressing a soft kiss on your forehead, then holding one gyoza for you “Try it, my love.” You didn’t hesitate before doing it, chewing it slowly so you could savor every little taste your palate was able to identify. Jack couldn’t help but smile at your pleased expression.

“Damn, this is amazing.” You said after swallowing all the food “I’ll take a shower, then I’ll get back to smash these gyozas.” You chuckled and kissed his cheek before following upstairs.

You took a good time in the shower to get rid of all the fur from the dogs that was on you, when you walked back to the bedroom, you found quite a scene: the lights were turned off so the only lighting was from the windows, which wasn’t much considering the cloudy day; your favorite soft comforter on the bed, your all-time-favorite movie ready to be played, and the plate of gyozas on the nightstand.

“What did I miss?” you questioned approaching the bed and looking at Jack with a smile.

“Well, we have no work for the rest of the day, so I thought you might enjoy a little rest.” He said with that charming smirk, sitting on the bed and taping his thigh. You promptly moved to nest on his lap, smiling like a happy kid as he coed you in his arms.

You got quite entertained by the movie, even being the thousand time you watched it, having to worry about nothing but chew the gyozas since Jack was making sure to feed you. Being distracted by the TV, you didn’t promptly notice Jack’s fascinated expression observing you eat.

If he asked to, Jack would be unable to explain that feeling, but the simple image of you degusting food so unworriedly made him feral; your jaw moving as you chewed, the soft motion of your throat muscles as you swallowed, the way your belly got rounder when you got carried away and ate too much. Every single detail of that made him completely out of his mind, and it just got worse when he causally found some pictures of your wedding and confirmed that you had put on some pounds since then.

Jack got absorbed in his thoughts, still feeding and petting you, unable to suppress everything going on in his mind. You were clueless about everything until you shifted slightly to settle better and felt something pressing against your leg. At first, you assumed it would be the belt buckle, another second passed and you remembered Jack was wearing sweatpants, then it could be just one thing. You turned to look and confirmed what you already expected while seeing that familiar budge.

“Did I miss anything?” you questioned both curious and confused.

“I haven’t lied when I said you look adorable while eating.” Jack shrugged while caressing your neck. Despite his sincere tone, you got slightly self-conscious as you realized how many gyozas you had eaten, looking down with your cheeks flushed. “Hey” Jack grabbed your face between his hands “Don’t get shy, little bee.” He leaned to press a soft kiss on your forehead, moving his hands down to your stomach, caressing it gently, and taking a sigh from you. “C’mere. Let me show you how much I love every inch of you.” Easily he manhandled you to straddle his thighs, leaning to kiss your shoulder while caressing your hips.

You could only melt on his hands, enjoying how he grabbed handfuls of you, massaging and squeezing your plump flesh, leaving no doubts about how much he desired you. Being a smooth lover, Jack got you so entertained while kissing and groping you that it took a moment for you to realize he had taken off your nightgown, making no flourishes before sitting you on his cock since you were already dripping wet. It felt like your brain was turned off, your thoughts were a complete blur as your husband’s strong rough hands held and caressed your hips, keeping you comfortably in place as he fucked you slowly, his eyes never losing sight of every little detail of your plentiful frame.

Jack intended to hold his wider desires, but at the same time, he couldn’t control his imagination, so he decided to feed his thoughts, more exactly, feed you. Your wandering mind was brought back to reality as you felt a gentle rub on your bottom lip and you opened your eyes, finding Jack looking at you with a satisfied smirk, like a mischievous cat observing a fish. You didn’t quite understand what was the matter as Jack grabbed one gyoza from the plate on the nightstand but wasn’t hard to figure it out as he approached the delicacy to your mouth.

You weren’t totally surprised, was an open-spoken fact that Jack loved to see you eating, but yet you didn’t expect something that exotic. Yes, you knew it wasn’t that peculiar, but was a novelty between the two of you. Enjoying the idea and curious about how it’d come out, you parted your lips and sighed while, once more on that afternoon, Jack fed you. If you thought about that in another moment, you would have found the idea of eating during sex kinda strange, but somehow it was surprisingly good. The boozing feeling of having to process the amazing taste in your mouth and the marvelous steady thrusting on your cunt was unexplainably good.

And surely you weren’t the only one enjoying it.

If separately, having you on his lap while buried inside you or watching you eating was enough to get Jack out of his mind, both things happening simultaneously was almost too much for him to deal with. You were so pretty being all soft and letting out your pleasured noises, but doing that while chewing and swallowing food produced an overwhelming feeling in Jack that he would never be able to explain; the satisfaction of seeing you well-fed and the expectation that it might give you a couple extra pounds always made his brain shut down for a brief moment.

Somehow it was like both of you could read each other’s thoughts: you knew that Jack loved to keep you eating every chance he had and, despite your occasional self-conscious thoughts, you were aware of how much Jack loved and worshiped every part of your body, and, in the other hand, Jack knew you enjoyed to feel cared and accepted in his arms, getting rid of your concerns about anything and no less important, he knew you loved his food, so why not join it all?

At the pace another gyoza was carefully placed in your mouth, things started to get hard to manage, and you chewed the food with more strength than necessary since your body was starting to get slightly out of control. Realizing that and feeling his control vanishing, Jack gave up on his thoughts, grabbing your jaw with one hand, smirking as he felt you doing the best you could to chew the gyoza while his free hand sneaked between your legs, giving you a little push through the edge. You grabbed his arms, sinking your nails in his skin and hiding your face in the crook of his neck as you dived into pleasure, finally reaching that satisfying release while Jack pulled you closer, nibbling on your shoulder as he filled you up. The two of you remained like that for a moment, a total mess of softened limbs.

You mumbled quietly when Jack settled you better in his arms, caressing the chubby folds of your side and planting a couple of kisses on your temple. You looked up at him with a soft smile, closing your eyes as Jack pressed a soft kiss on your forehead, reinforcing your wish to not get out of that comfortable spot.

“I have a question.”

“Tell me, sugarcube.”

“Do you already have plans for dinner?” you did your best to hold back your laugh as Jack raised one eyebrow looking at you.

“I didn’t, but now I’m starting to have some ideas.” He answered in that cocky manner and leaned to press a soft kiss on your lips.

Tagging: @missladym1981 @alex-does-art-things @beefrobeefcal

[quynhorlose]

okay so.

i have seen a pattern lately and i am not gonna let it slide. i know that fancasts in general are a way bigger debate than they should be in this fandom, and i’ve loved the spike in diversity between them thats come up recently! i genuinely don’t care about fancasts or have any real faces in mind when i picture these characters, but if you like to, good on you.

here is where i have been very frustrated lately: some of y’all seem to really struggle understand that asian ethnicities are not interchangeable. its become a really popular (and very lovely!) hc to picture sirius and regulus as asian. i love to see it! but i have seen people throw together a korean and a vietnamese person and go: “ta-da! sirius and regulus!” i have seen them defend their choices to asian people by saying some variation of “it doesn’t matter” “they look similar enough” or even just straight-up “well, they’re both asian” and like. it makes my fucking blood boil.

it’s one thing if it’s an honest mistake. it is entirely another if an asian person calls you on it and you decide that it truly doesn’t matter to you.

i could get into the harm that the cross-race effect has, but really i just need to say that perpetuating the idea that all asians look the same is inherently problematic. if you are the kind of person to declare that you see no difference or that there is no difference between different asian ethnicities: you are promoting a long-standing racist ideology and i’m sick and fucking tired of seeing it.

i (again) genuinely do not care about fancasts. picture whenever you’d like as whomever you’d like! but the moment that you cross the line into “whatever they’re both close enough”, that is where i will take issue with it. if that’s an idea that you carry with you outside of fandom spaces: THAT is what the problem is.

japanese people, vietnamese people, chinese, korean, philippine, desi, north south east west fucking ALL OF US have deep and rich cultural backgrounds and distinct features that differentiate us and make us all beautifully unique.

it matters to people. it matters in characters. in the media. in life in general. don’t fucking erase that because you can’t differentiate. do not knowingly and willingly erase us.

either take the time to learn and recognize that or stay in your fucking lane.

[wildflowerteas]

The Second Perspective ♠

A masterthread/post of all the easter-eggs, fun facts, and references to literature, BSD canon, film noir, and history included in my Soukoku fic, The Second Perspective.

♠

The Timeline ->

1958 to 1978

The gap of twenty years was super intentional. By the late 50s, McCarthy was censured by the senate, the Second Red Scare and anti-Soviet rhetoric were slowly losing public support and popularity. My choice to include the Rats in the House of the Dead was mediated by that fact. The late 50s is also when the LAPD and law enforcement across the country started making psychological evaluations ( of suspect quality ) mandatory, starting in Northern California, actually. Kinsey's publications in 1948 and 1953 were explosive--especially to the stifling, extremely heteronormative, nuclear-family morals of post-war 50s America. In 1970s, the term 'Serial Killer' officially enters the public's vocabulary. Despite not being an ongoing investigation, the re-opening of the Angel's Ripper case aligns with what is called the 'golden age' of serial killers. The 'second look' and the desire to re-sensationalize the case is due to Detective Dazai's belongings turning up, but also timely, as it would feed into the public's paranoia and fascination. I took some liberties with Los Angeles's mayoral election schedule ( which, if I'd been meticulous and historically accurate with, would have had TSP take place in the early days of 1977 or late in 1976 ). Los Angeles in the 70s was also suffering from serious smog--almost 200 bad air days a year. Akutagawa's lung condition ( which hasn't been touched on just yet with the exception of a throwaway lines at Tycheron and with Yosano ) is largely due to this bad air quality.

July 17th, 1958

The date of the Red Camellia murder was also chosen with intention. July, the peak of summer, rife with Americana, fireworks, and full California beaches, is everything the winter season of Camellia isn't.

Organizations -> The Double Black

A bit obvious, really, but the club's logo of the two black Ace playing cards is an obvious nod to Soukoku being equally matched partners, even if in this au their dynamic is wildly different ( If anything, Chuuya has the upper hand in this one--even if he doesn't quite know it yet ). The Double Black is also described as more Golden Age of Hollywood-like, since Kouyou runs it and she's quite the traditionalist, I figured she'd cringe ( or pass out ) at the sight of plastic plants in the vases and blue carpeting.

The Golden Coast Guild

The TSP equivalent of Hearst corporation, run by William Randolph Hearst, a media company that covered everything from celebrity gossip to politics with over a dozen papers and magazines. Hearst became obscenely rich, and in real life, used his wealth to support Marion Davies, an actress ( and his mistress ), whose life he nearly ruined. F. Scott Fitzgerald ( the actual author ) loathed Hearst's willingness to print yellow journalism ( basically, bullshit ) and Jay Gatsby's mansion is loosely inspired by Hearst's home in New York, I believe. I thought it would be funny to combine the two. I also have a soft spot for Fitz in canon, even if he does speak with the sound of a cash register in every word and there's an American flag behind him wherever he goes.

Tycheron and the House of the Dead

First, Tycheron, Sigma's casino business, gets it's name from the Greek goddess of luck--Tyche--named Fortuna by the Romans. I couldn't call it the 'Sky Casino' because well, there's no sky. But a goddess is pretty up there. California gambling law is extremely complicated, but casino boats, docked 3 nautical miles outside of state borders ( usually from a point in Santa Monica, where the bay/bight made those laws a bit easier to work around ) were a neat exception--at least, until they started getting repurposed for WWII. So, Sigma still evades the law by being 'out of bounds' with The Angelica gambling boat. The casino business as a way for the DoA to stick their noses into the L.A. political landscape is also a loose reference to Bugsy Siegel, and the Italian-American Mafia's attempts to expand westward with the establishment of casinos and the nurturing of Las Vegas. Siegel's mansion, where he was murdered for his thefts from the Mafia, also inspired the Mori estate.

Characters ->

The Red Camellia

The real life Nakahara Chuuya was quite the romantic. His poetry is described as 'Bohemian,' so I thought having him be a bit of a drifter-like character, almost mysterious and unnatainable to his fans and SSKK in the present, would be a bit similair to how much of what we know of Chuuya doesn't come from the main story in canon, either. Combining that with Dazai's obsessive desire to lock him in ( haha ) with a comitted relationship and his serious levels of devotion, makes for a pretty interesting dynamic, I think. Though, Dazai's no Catherine Tramell, and Chuuya is certainly not Curran--BI's dynamic has been flipped almost completely with TSP, but the crazy is the same. And though I describe him as a drifter, that's not to say this au's Chuuya isn't fiercely loyal, it's just his loyalties haven't had the chance to be tested just yet. I made the choice to have Chuuya called the Red Camellia in life because it's a direct subversion of other flower-tagged murders like: the White Rose murders, the Lilac Murder of William Desmond Taylor, the Black Dhalia ( inspired by the film, Blue Dhalia ), the White Gardenia murder, etc. etc. All of those monikers are posthumous, and created for the sole purpose of selling the story of a dead individual. Also, rather than having a journalist bestow it to him, Dazai is the one who comes up with it. Do what you will with that info . . . Additionally, Camellia japonica is native to East Asia, not the U.S. It can survive here, but it will struggle. The choice to set the story in L.A., in a period of harsh post-war crackdowns on Japanese/East-Asian immgiration into California also influenced this title. It was also a choice made based on the appearance of 椿Tsubaki in Soukoku official art. Their Japanese meaning of passionate love and a noble death, also holds true here.

KEY LAPD Characters with interesting qualities

Sasaki Nobuko, Homicide Detective - reference to canon Sasaki's background in criminology and experience as a lecturer at a Tokyo university. Captain -> Commander Fukuzawa Yukichi - Holds a position of authority similar to his role as the ADA's president in canon, but he's unenthusiastic about his career in the LAPD.

Note the lack of private eyes in the story so far!

Interesting PM Character references keeping this light for obvious, spoiler-y reasons

Elise - Elise is intentionally a grown woman in this au. And a nurse! A reference to both her presentation in BEAST and the Great War in the main BSD storyline, and a reminder of the timeline ( she'd have been 8-10 years old in the past TL! ). Her feisty nature is also retained. I was inspired by Lauren Bacall's Vivian in The Big Sleep, especially her meeting scene with Marlowe, when writing her meeting with Atsushi at the Mori Estate.

***SPOILERS procede with caution***

The Angel's Ripper

A reference to Los Angeles, but also Dazai's title as the Demon prodigy of Yokohama. Ripper, rather than Killer being used because of the surgical nature of the deaths ( Jack the Ripper was thought to be either a doctor or a policeman ).

Films ->

some of my major inspirations for this fic are:

Chinatown ( 1974 )

The Maltese Falcon ( 1941 )

Vertigo ( 1958 )

Last Night in Soho ( 2021 )

The Batman ( 2022 )

The Third Man ( 1949 )

The Silence of the Lambs ( 1991 )

The Big Sleep ( 1946 ) and lastly, on a much lighter note:

The Nice Guys ( 2016 ) I couldn't get Gosling's outfits out of my head after watching it. I took one look and thought: I need to get a BSD character in this obnoxiously-70s blue suit yellow shirt combo ASAP.

Phew. What a mess. This has largely been for me to keep track of my own thoughts and the tangled web I've been weaving with this fic, and it will likely get several updates over the course of me writing the second half of Part II and ( the much shorter ) Part III to TSP. But if you read it, and enjoyed it, I'm extra glad <3 I've been having a blast talking about my love for these films and this AU after keeping it bottled up for so long. I'm like shaken, corked champagne haha.

Signing off with the aesthetic of The Second Perspective's ending:

ty <3

[wackybuddiemewbs]

Buddie Moodboard - Red, White & Royal Blue AU

So, guess who's been watching this movie adaptation way too often as of late? I'm taking the usual moodboard-y liberties, including mixing in some stuff from the book and the movie adaptation and keeping them at their ages from the show (and change their roles in society up as well...) Also, just imagining Oliver getting to speak with his actual accent lives in my head rent-free, as do many other things. But that's definitely up in the Top 10. Cheers!

Vice President Eddie Diaz could not be any more excited to attend the wedding of his friend Chimney and Princess Madeleine, Maddie for short. Well, he could be a bit happier, if Prince Evan, Maddie's brother, did not attend. He can't stand the guy ever since they met at a climate conference years ago. Eddie just doesn't have the patience to deal with entitled rich boys the likes of Prince Evan. After all, Prince Evan's only achievement in life seems to be to have a new girl every other week to have his picture on the front page of every tabloid there is.

While Eddie will insist that Prince Evan started this, he winds up having some part in what later spreads across social media as #cakegate. Which means the Vice President of the United States and the Prince of England are caught on camera, covered in cake, in Buckingham Palace, at a royal wedding.

Like winning re-election for President Robert "Bobby" Nash wasn't hard enough as it is. To relieve the situation, Eddie is stuck flying down to London for several photo ops to sell the story that him and Prince Evan are year-long friends. After all, alliances with Britain will be important, moving forward in Bobby's campaign.

Though the more time he's forced to spend with Prince Evan, the less he seems like the guy who was being such a jerk to him at that climate conference years ago. In fact, he seems like a genuinely good person. Who could have guessed?

While Eddie will insist that the prince enlisting MI6 to get his personal phone number, it does amuse him that Prince Evan seemingly wants to stay in touch. Over the next couple of months, the two wind up messaging each other almost daily. And to his even greater surprise, Eddie finds himself opening up to this man more than he's opened up to anyone ever since his wife passed away.

Prince Evan, or "Buck" as only friends get to call him, turns out to be anything but the persona portrayed by the Palace as well as the tabloids. Sure enough, he is a flirt, but a lot of his bravado covers up a rather insecure person who feels like the weight of the world is resting on his shoulders. Though the moment he is just with Eddie or Christopher, Buck seems perfectly at peace.

And strangely enough, Eddie does as well. After everything that's happened, he struggled trusting people with his son - and with himself. But with Buck, it's shockingly easy.

But things get complicated fast at the new year's party hosted at the White House. Because Eddie was not prepared for only just a second that Buck would end up kissing him.

And he did not expect to end up liking it.

Because he most definitely thought he was straight.

But after a few very awkward conversations with his friends, Eddie starts to realize that his actual sexual orientation may have been one of those other things he has since repressed. Who would have thought?

Buck is mortified at first, as he did not intend to confess his feelings for Eddie. But when they see each other again and Eddie kisses him back like that, Buck starts to believe that Eddie actually likes him back.

As both do not want a coming out just yet, considering their current situations as public figures, the two promise to keep things "casual". This arrangement works for a while, or so it would seem. Because it gets hard to stay "casual" when you start to care about someone so very deeply.

Buck makes some shocking discoveries surrounding his brother Daniel, which sheds a very different light on what he thought was his "destiny" and why his parents are acting that distantly towards him. To support Buck, Eddie invites him over to Los Angeles - where he normally lives, if not for his current political duties calling him to Washington. He wants to be there for Buck, and hopes that spending quality time with Christopher is going to get Buck out of his own head.

The plan proves to be a disaster, though. Buck spending a day "incognito" at the pier with Christopher results in both of them getting caught up in a tsunami. While both thankfully survive the natural disaster mostly unharmed, Buck is livid in the aftermath. He is convinced that he lost Christopher and thus failed him and Eddie.

Eddie draws very different conclusions after the event. After nearly losing both Christopher and Buck, Eddie is done being afraid of what other people - including his family - may think about him and his sexual orientation. He makes plans to bring Buck to Texas with him, to get to know his family, and to come out to them. And to make it clear that he is serious about wanting a relationship with Buck, as he has since fallen in love with him.

Just as Eddie is about to profess his feelings, Buck flees the scene and flies back to London. He refuses to talk to Eddie after that. But Eddie is not willing to give up just yet. So Eddie takes Christopher with him on his last-minute trip to London. Buck is in shock when he sees the two basically storming a castle to see him. Eddie confronts him about rushing off and ghosting him. Buck tries to act the part, but Eddie has since understood that Buck is just putting up a facade.

Buck eventually drops the act. More than anything, he wants to spend his life with Eddie and Christopher. He simply didn't dare to think that he could, given his role in life, and the fact that he still blames himself for what happened during the tsunami.

The two eventually reconcile, now sure of each other's true feelings for one another.

But just as they are about to get their lives back together and plan for a future together, chaos strikes when news start to spread about their relationship. Buck is yet again terrified, as the journalist running most of the stories is Taylor Kelly, an ex he thought he could trust in. And now it may cost Eddie his career, Bobby his re-election, Maddie's freedom away from the palace to find happiness with Chimney, and Buck the future he finally dared to fight for...

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