Bright Beauty - Hell/Schön

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

Title: Bright Beauty
Author: Star of Heaven
Pairing: Hell/Schön
Fandom: Weiß Kreuz
Spoilers: For pretty much everything involving Schreient.
Notes: All quotes are from the Japanese version (because it was so much easier to pause and then copy down the subtitles), the screencaps were taken by me using InterVideo WinDVD 4, and names are in the "given name family name" order.

Shall we move onto the pairing now?


The Characters:



Name: Chizuru Aoi
Codename: Hell
Codename meaning: bright
Age: 27
Height: 5'10/175 cm
Hair: Dark blue
Eyes: Brown
Japanese V.A: Masako Katsuki
English V.A: Stacey Williams

"I loved you from the bottom of my heart, Masafumi."
-Hell, Episode 22

Hell is the leader of Schreient and the right-hand woman of Masafumi Takatori. She first appears in episode five, but she doesn't have any speaking lines until episode eight. Her first encounter with Weiß consists of killing a human-turned-monster that had been one of Masafumi's experiments. She is seemingly killed in a burning mansion with the rest of Schreient at the end of episode nine, but then they show up together again in episode nineteen.

Hell is very smart, but also very vengeful. She obviously becomes very angry after Masafumi's death. She blames Weiß and swears to take her revenge on them. She is determined to make them feel the same pain she did when Masafumi was killed. She is intensely loyal to Masafumi and the rest of Schreient, and she will do anything to protect them.

In episode eight, it is implied that Hell and Masafumi met at a college or university. It is assumed that they formed Schreient sometime later. In the Film Book, I believe, it is mentioned that Hell used to be part of the Japanese Self Defense Force. Her weapons of choice include throwing knives and a nightstick.



Name: Karen Kitaura
Codename: Schön
Codename meaning: beautiful
Age: 24
Height: 5'7/170 cm
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Green
Japanese V.A: Miki Itou
English V.A: Shannon Conley

"When I fell from being a top model into the depths of Hell, Masafumi gave me strength."
-Schön, Episode 22

Schön is another member of Schreient. Along with Hell, she first appears in episode five, but doesn't play a large role until episode eight. It is also in that same episode when she, with the rest of Schreient, kills an experiment that Weiß was trying to save. She disappears for a while until episode 16, when she makes a few subtle attempts to kill Ken Hidaka.

Schön is very beautiful, but also very vain. When her face is scarred by Ken, she is beyond angry. Like Hell, she can be quite vengeful. She may seem like she only cares about herself, but she actually does care about the other members of Schreient and Masafumi. She is extremely grateful to Masafumi and will do anything for him.

In episode nine, we see that Schön has decorated her room with pictures of herself. She used to be a highly successful model, but her career soon ended. She became depressed, probably to the point of suicide, but then Masafumi saved her and made her feel strong again. Because of that, Schön has sworn loyalty to him. Her weapon of choice is a whip, and it's definitely not for pleasure.

About Schön's name: if you can't get the umlaut above the "o," an alternate way to spell it is "Schoen." You never spell it "Schon," because that means already. Remember, Schön's name is supposed to mean beautiful.

The Pairing:



Schreient is like a mismatched but very functional family. They are extremely close. Hell and Schön are very open with each other. To those outside of Schreient, they show only how strong they are, but when they are alone, they are more comfortable with revealing their feelings. Schön freely admits to Hell how Masafumi is her strength, and Hell doesn't make any effort to hide her anger toward Weiß.

Near the beginning of the series, Schreient is almost like a single unit. Masafumi keeps them together, and they are extremely loyal to him. In some way or another, he saved each one of the ladies and thus they are eternally grateful. They are willing to do anything for him, even if it's morally wrong or illegal. Farfarello of Schwarz once remarks that Schreient is nothing but a group of dolls.

But Schreient is more than just a group of dolls. They generally care for each other and Masafumi. Masafumi wants to create a perfect world, and Schreient has sworn to do all they can to help him. Even when he transforms into a monster and seemingly turns his back on Schreient, they still refuse to abandon him.

Loyalty is what makes Schreient strong. They are ready to sacrifice themselves to ensure their teammates' protection. When you have four people following this mindset, it does create a powerful group. Schreient is so focused on protecting each other that they have to be strong. If they're not, they can't protect those they care about. Their strength is made quite obvious when Weiß needs Schwarz's aid to finally defeat them.

After Masafumi is killed, we begin to see Schreient as parts of a whole. This is when most of the interaction between Hell and Schön happens. Their only desires are to revive Masafumi and to seek revenge on Weiß. They have kidnapped Aya Fujimiya's comatose sister and plan to kill her to force Aya to feel the same pain that Schreient felt when he killed Masafumi.

As I mentioned before, Hell and Schön are close, and they seem to feel stronger when the other is by their side. When Schwarz first bothers them about Aya's sister, Hell and Schön plant their feet firmly and refuse to hand over Aya's sister. Brad Crawford offers to pay any price, but Schön says that Schreient is not interested in money. When Farfarello tries to take a more forceful approach, Hell and Schön immediately pull out their weapons, ready to defend themselves and to ensure that they don't lose Aya's sister. If luck is on their side, they might be a match for Schwarz. Crawford, however, knows that is it better if Schwarz doesn't fight Schreient. After all, they have other ways of getting what they want.

Things don't go as well when Schön is forced to confront Schwarz by herself. Her cool, calm demeanor is broken as Crawford shoots her. He intentionally misses her heart so that she can watch Hell and Masafumi die while slowly dying herself. She begins crying as she sees Hell become desperate and fanatical over Masafumi's second death. With her last breath, she apologizes to Masafumi for failing to protect him. As Schreient's mansion crumbles, Hell embraces Masafumi tightly as she says how she loved him from the bottom of her heart.

Hell/Schön is my absolute favorite shoujo ai pairing, and it's definitely one of my overall favorites. I've liked it ever since I first watched Weiß Kreuz. I wasn't quite so much into shoujo ai then, so it wasn't like I was just pairing up two random girls in hopes of coming up with a pairing that actually made sense. I honestly thought that Hell/Schön could work. It didn't matter to me that they were both women. (Besides, if you can get so much yaoi out of Weiß Kreuz, then why not yuri?) Unfortunately, because so many fans fall in that stereotypical "rabid yaoi fangirl that bashes all things female" group, shoujo ai isn't all that popular in the Weiß Kreuz fandom. I'm definitely not the first person who ever thought of Hell/Schön (the pairing is mentioned several time in some old topics in the forums over at ShoujoAi.com), but it's near impossible to find any sort of Hell/Schön fan fiction or fan art. (Actually, while I've found Hell/Schön fan fiction, the only fan art I know that exists online somewhere is mine.)

Physically, Hell/Schön is a very sexy pairing. Both the ladies are beautiful and have rather big breasts, so if you're more into the physical aspects of yuri, Hell/Schön does not disappoint. I have written implied sex for this pairing in the form of drabbles, but I'm more interested in the interaction between Hell and Schön. I really don't care about how sexy they are together, but others might, so that's why I pointed it out.

If there is only thing that Schreient truly has, it's loyalty. Hell and Schön are very loyal to each other and their teammates. It's easy to see that kind of devotion as romantic. (Although I am not trying to imply that Hell/Schön is canon. Unfortunately, it's not.) They obviously care very much about each other. One scene that I remember clearly is in episode nine. Masafumi is a monster, and he is destroying the mansion. Schön pushes him out of the way of a falling ceiling beam and is buried under a pile of debris, causing Hell to scream out Schön's name. It's just a little thing, but it's the small scenes like that one that make me a Hell/Schön fan.

Continuing along the devotion theme, I think Hell and Schön would be willing to put a lot of effort into making their relationship work. No relationship is perfect, so they require a good amount of hard work. Two people who really don't care for each other won't be motivated into creating a stable relationship. However, as evidenced by their extreme loyalty, Hell and Schön may be able to form a lasting romantic relationship. It will be hard work, but it will be worth it if they truly love each other. As some people say, nothing that is easy is worth it. Hell and Schön have some strong beliefs and will fight to defend those beliefs. If they were in love with each other, they would probably take care to make sure that love lasts.

Cheating on one's significant other can be a major problem in a romantic relationship. Would Hell and Schön have that problem? I may be repeating myself, but I think they're too devoted to cheat on each other. The members of Schreient desire only one thing: to protect Masafumi and each other. Betraying one's trust can cause much pain, and Hell and Schön would never want to bring that pain onto each other.

Communication is also important in a relationship. As I mentioned earlier, Hell and Schön are very open with each other. They both know how important it is to appear strong, but they also know that it is equally important to relax and to show others one's softer side. In episode 22, they discuss Masafumi and their desire for revenge against Weiß.

Schön: Masafumi is the sweet man who saved me. When I fell from being a top model into the depths of Hell, Masafumi gave me strength. And he brought me back when I was almost dead. Now we will bring him back to life!
Hell: That's right. We will be together with Masafumi again, just like before…
(Flashback to a successful experiment. Both Schreient and Masafumi are happy.)
Hell: I want to go back to those times when the four of us lived happily with Masafumi! Not only did they do this to Masafumi, but Weiß had to take away Neu, too…
Schön: I will make them pay!

As you can see by the dialogue, Hell and Schön make no effort to hold back their feelings. They are very open with each other. They have nothing to hide. Many relationships are ruined by secrets. But Hell and Schön don't seem like they would have that problem. Hell may be angry and Schön may be vain, but they are honest.

Now where does Masafumi fit into this? It's kind of obvious that he and Hell have a romantic relationship and Schön is extremely devoted to him. So does that mean Masafumi gets in the way of Hell/Schön? Of course not. It's because of him that Hell and Schön know each other. The two of them come from very different backgrounds; Hell is a scientist and Schön is model. Being realistic, how often do scientists and models get together? If not for Masafumi, Hell and Schön probably would never have met.

Also, while Masafumi dies in episode nine, it is because of him Hell and Schön become closer. Their common goal is to revive Masafumi. They are determined to do so. Their devotion gives them a purpose in life. They refuse to give up hope on him, and thus they stay together. They need the aid of the other to keep on going. They fight together, and they'll die together. But even if Schreient had disbanded after Masafumi's death, Hell and Schön probably would have still seen each other. But then their relationship wouldn't be quite so interesting. (After all, most of the interaction between them happens after Masafumi is killed.)

Hell and Schön were intensely loyal to Masafumi and stayed by his side until the end. It is implied that they were both killed in episode 22, but it's fun to think that they survived. Who knows, after all, since Weiß didn't find their bodies? Hell and Schön could have begun lives of two normal women, and there might even have been a chance at romance between them. I've probably reading way too much into this, but it's good stuff for fan fictions.

Exactly how would Hell and Schön carry out their relationship? Would they express themselves physically, or would they take a more subtle approach? How would they even first admit their feelings? Would they feel like they're two-timing Masafumi? Would Hell be able to overcome her anger management issues? Would Schön be able to see Hell's beauty over hers? If they did leave Schreient and attempt to live a normal life, would they only remind each other of what they've lost? Or would they be faithful enough to work through all their problems and have a truly romantic relationship?

In short, Hell/Schön is all about devotion. They are completely devoted to each other and will do anything to protect those they care about. Their loyalty is what makes them strong, and their affection is what makes them human. And that is why Hell/Schön is my favorite shoujo ai pairing.

The Fandom:

Fan fictions:
(By me:)
Light Beauty - My first Hell/Schön fic. Takes place five years after the Kapitel series. Very mild. [PG]
Lonely Love - AU, three parts. Also a bit of Masafumi/Hell, even though he doesn't appear in the story. The title and each chapter are named after a eurobeat song. [PG]
Killing My Love - Takes place during episode 22. Inspired by Leslie Parrish's "Killing My Love." [PG]
Cross My Life - A set of five drabbles for wk_100's "Music" challenge. The song used is "Ten Worlds" by Clara Monori. [PG-13]
Want more Hell/Schön drabbles? Then just look through the memories on my fan fiction journal.

(By gangstavidel:)
The Nearness of You - Songfic. Rather kinky at the end. [PG-13]

(By bleedingsand:)
For This Is Who We Are - Hell's POV. More like insight into the Hell/Schön pairing. [R]

(By koijewel:)
A Night In Heaven - Drabble. Written for me as part of wk_100's "Christmas 2004 Drabble Exchange." [PG-13]

(By daegaer:)
Untitled - Drabble. Also written for me as part of wk_100's "Christmas 2004 Drabble Exchange." [PG]

Fan arts:
(By me:)
Hell holding Schön. My first actual shoujo ai piece of art. Drawn during the great North American Black Out of 2003.
"Ties That Bind." Drawn for a LiveJournal layout that lasted ten months. Uses lyrics from "Killing My Love" by Leslie Parrish. My sister, destlockwood, outlined this picture.

I've uploaded a Hell/Schön music video at AnimeMusicVideos.Org. To view it, you need an account there, but they're free, so it's not much of a problem. The song is "Heaven's A Lie" by Lacuna Coil, and lyrics can be found at DarkLyrics.Com.

As you can see, Hell/Schön isn't that popular of a pairing. It's not hated; most people find it intriguing, but few Weiß Kreuz shoujo ai pairings get the attention they deserve. (Although Manx/Birman fan fiction and fan art are rather easy to find.) I have corrupted several people into liking Hell/Schön, but I would still like to see more fan fiction and fan art. I'm curious to see how others would portray my favorite shoujo ai pairing.


That's my essay on Hell/Schön. It was quite fun to write, and I'm pleased to have had the chance to explain why Hell/Schön is one of my favorite pairings. I hope you enjoyed the essay and that it got you thinking a little bit about the pairing.

Comments

[dropsofgleam.livejournal.com]

Wow. I shall go and ask my Weiss-loving friend to lolet me borrow her WK tapes to watch the series again. :D

Very, very well done. Seriouslah. :D

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

Thanks! If you watch the series again, you'll probably notice all the weirdly animated parts. It shall be amusing.

[tokkitsu.livejournal.com]

Very nice, and it's not often that the girls of WK get attention in the fandom. Well done! :D

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I think the Weiß girls need more attention, and that's one of the reasons I wrote this essay.

[ex-akai-sen.livejournal.com]

Not in the fandom, nor have i seen the show.

Seeing that WK has a reputation as a yaoi-able sreies, I'm glad you have the balls to pair up two of the girls together. Plus your reasons rawk. <3

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

It's not that hard to come up with a WK shoujo ai pairing that makes sense. The female characters get along quite well. (Although it might be hard to pull off pairing Aya-chan up with any member of Schreient.) It was fun figuring out why Hell/Schön would work out.

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Your recs kick ass! It's nice to see an essay for these two.

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I do my best.

[miduhyo.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Hell/Schön. My first ever yuri ship. This was so well-written and reminded me just what I loved about these two.

And thanks for the recs! I haven't read some of those!

[star-of-heaven.livejournal.com]

Hell/Schön was my first yuri ship, too! (Or at least the first one that I wrote about.) The essay was fun to write because it helped me figure about specifically what I liked about my favorite yuri pairing.