#to have a favorite character and just. not seeing her bloom into fruition

[alteredphoenix]

You know what, fuck it, I’m going to say it:

If Episode Final had revealed so much as a hint as to who Michelle’s parents were and what her heritage was and just left it hanging, unanswered, I would have been absolutely fucking livid.

Here’s a girl who’s spent fifteen years of her life where nothing in particular remotely happened, nine of which were spent raised under the care of a man whom I honestly don’t think is related to her at all who taught her medical science in a little village by the sea in Sheep Country, and tells her she’s definitely not this “goddess of healing” everybody else has been calling her as of late because those artes may as well be miracles performed in the flesh and that she shouldn’t be so dependent on them. She doesn’t know who her parents and where they are, other than being doctors that were born outside of Sheep Country, but they’re not in her life and haven’t been for as long as she can remember she can’t even put a name or face to them, and the one person who does have the answers for them keeps putting the talk off for years until one day he gets to hear said girl tell him that no, she’s not staying put and letting the adults get the ingredient they need to heal the Random Joe that got poisoned by a beast that shouldn’t be so close to their little village by the sea, she’s going out there, and she’s doing it with her artes - the same artes she uses to help heal people with, except this time they’re weaponized, he had no idea where she had learned to do all of that, and by Origin she’s hitting the coast and getting that damn flower whether he wants her to or not - and she gets it. She gets it with the help of a soldier passing by and makes it back home in one piece, none the worse for wear. (And isn’t it so strange that a girl raised among sheep is using a wolf in her repertoire of magic? Isn’t it just so strange she’s using the shape of not only one of the sheep’s most fearsome predators but her country’s - and her faction’s - greatest enemy, as well?) But even as she goes back home to help make the medicine that’ll save her patient, she never stops asking the questions she spoke out loud in the Salty Cove: What were my parents like? Were they worried about me getting hurt when I was a child? Which one of them did I get my artes from? Did I get them from both of them? How come they never came to see me?

Here’s a girl that’s running the counter at the clinic like usual, a normal day in a rather normal life, and one day the man that’s been raising her for almost ten years decides to tell her that lunch can wait, there’s something more important they need to do - that he needs to do, something more important that she needs to hear, and he lays it out to simple and clear: he’s going to tell her everything about her parents, the people she’s always wanted to know about, and put all those questions she’s been asking him and to herself to rest. No more secrets. Here’s a girl who’s this close to knowing, this close to having the truth be revealed, and in a fit of cosmic irony - be it out of a sense of morbid humor or cruelty - they get cut off. They find out a man’s been injured; he’s in dire straits and he needs to be tended to and fast. Here’s a girl that’s ready to tear through the house for medicine that might ease his pain when there’s a knock on the door, and it’s the lady soldier from before at the Cove. She tells her that a guy got attacked not by beasts but people and showing signs of a disease that infects the person with a change that turns them into something other, more demon than man, and he needs to be found ASAP.

And then her grandfather gets bitten. The change is already taking hold of him. And then she finds out from the soldier that once it happens there’s no cure. There is no saving someone from infection, and that’s there only recourse, and that recourse is death. Death before the virus can spread. And suddenly all the answers that she could have had about her parents, the family she never knew, are ripped away from her. Suddenly the man that held those answers, the man who raised her and gave her a childhood, is on death’s door, and there is no saving him from the infection that is going to rob him of his will and thought and turn him into a monster whose only goal is to kill and keep the virus going. Suddenly the soldier, the medic who’s been traveling the countryside searching for the group that was infected to put them down, is drawing her blade with a remorseful look in her eye. Suddenly, the life as the girl knows it comes crashing down, just like that.

She snaps. For the first time she’s not using her artes to heal but to hurt, to stop the soldier from killing the only family she has - the only family she has left and has ever known - and gets him out of there, passing him off to a friend with the promise that he gets her grandfather as far away from the little village by the sea as possible. And then she turns her sights on the soldiers that accompanied their captain, these people that have the nerve to take away her family from her. And so she turns the wolves on them, and in their shock they’re driven from her home, and that is good enough for her. It’s good enough for her to run and catch up and find her friend and grandfather. Except when she does he tells her her grandfather managed to get away, making for the Salty Cove. And so she runs, Federation soldiers and their lady knight hot on her heels.

Very briefly, she considers bolting for the north, the land of her enemy. Very briefly, she considers finding refuge and hope and solace within the Land of Wolves, where the sheep dare not tread.

Here’s a girl that finally finds him, worse than he looked before at the bite’s onset, and the knight corners her. There’s nowhere left to run. She tells her it has to be done. Doing it hurts her just as much as the sight of the man suffering from his infliction hurts the girl. If there was a way to save him she would do so in a heartbeat. But there isn’t; the choice has already been - she must kill him. But so has the girl. The girl tells her she won’t let her take him from her. And the knight agrees. She knows what she’s about to do is awful and is going to stick with the girl for the rest of her life - for both their lives. She does not condemn for her feelings. If that is how you truly feel, she tells the girl, then show me your resolve!

And so they fight. Neither will back down. And yet, despite the reaction the girl had at the little village by the sea, the knight tells her that in doing so she had saved everyone from suffering the same fate that’s befallen her grandfather. That by removing him from human contact, she has effectively put an end to the threat that would have hung over them. Through her, the disease will be vanquished from the face of the Land of Sheep. And here’s a girl who denies it, that she didn’t do it out of altruism. Here’s a girl that denies she did it for the man who is her only family and not for others. Through him she was given a purpose. Through him her life was made valuable. And still the knight does not condemn her. Still she tells her that even with things coming to a head as they are now, her feelings are not wrong. She loves her family more than anything in the world.

And then her grandfather gets up and charge when they’re at a standstill. And then the knight moves, too fast for the girl to see, and runs her blade through him. And then they learn that he wasn’t as far long as he appeared, that he made the choice of his own free will, and spends his final moments in the girl’s arms, voicing his regrets. And then he lets her go. And then he dies - and with it all the answers she could’ve had. All the value and purpose she had been given in her life has been rendered null - just like that.

Despite it all, we never get any more information on her family beyond that. We don’t even get a mention of there possibly being a note, something, that Ollie could have left behind to at least give Michelle an idea as to where to start looking. Could she have found it at Aedis? It’s possible; after all, Grace was the one that gave her the admittance letter to pack up and leave the only place she’s ever called home. It’s at Aedis she finds a new family to call her own, friends she has only ever dreamed of having and a school she has always imagined herself being in. It’s through Aedis she would have found a new purpose and find the value she thought was lost - or, rather, perhaps she thought was never there.

Can you imagine what it would’ve been like if the game decided, out of blue, to tell the player the names of Michelle’s parents, or showed them in silhouette, and never brought it up again, because the game shut down? Can you imagine getting just that and only that and nothing else because the game didn’t make enough money to justify what was being put out on an MTX cash shop that it didn’t require?

I would be livid. I would be furious. I would be just as blue-balled from the beginning as I would’ve been toward the end, because despite the parallels Michelle doesn’t quite get the same closure that Hugo gets at Episode Final. While her backstory entertains the idea, she - given what little canon has showed us and as far as it’s considered - chooses to forego leaving the Federation behind and defecting to the Empire as he did, even if the reasons might’ve ended up differently (although I wager, if not for Grace and whatever conclusion Michelle arrived at - to get her into the mindset of - between accepting the letter and deciding on leaving for Silvayer, she would have settled on throwing her lot in with Gildlla, if not out of a desire to protect the people of Bazine, then perhaps for one where she would find purpose and value over there). However, in Hugo’s defense, he doesn’t have the question of who he is and why he is like Michelle does hanging over his head, because that wasn’t what he was introduced with from the onset. The game at least decides to answer why he chose to side with the Empire and is doing what he has to do to protect his friends and family across the border, even if that means his decision comes at the cost of inevitably coming to blows with them and potentially damaging those ties he has with them forever.

But his is an easy mystery to solve, because among all the other mysteries that linger in the background finding out why a student from Aedis betrayed the Federation and is now fighting for the Empire - the same Empire that set Anthwan on fire and razed Le Sant, his hometown, to the ground - is a rather easy question to answer. Traitors are a staple to the Tales franchise, and what would be more enticing to learn the revelations and reasonings of a marked traitor than the person that was designed to be in the role of the traitor in mind from the very beginning?

Of course, the topic of parents - and the lore behind them - are just as essential to the Tales narrative as the traitor archetype, and it’s Michelle that has that question, and many others proceeding them, that go unanswered in the end. Who are they? Where did they come from? How are her artes related to them? How important are they to the story and the Greater Scope Plot, and what is it about them that made Ollie hesitate so much he couldn’t bring himself to tell her until she told him she was going to go out into the wild and use her artes to protect herself from the beasts and monsters that would have gotten in her way?

Who knows! Because at the end of the day it’s money that makes the world go round and money is the lifeblood that flows through an IP, especially in an entry that’s made on a mobile phone. We might never get an answer to those questions that the narrative, and even Michelle herself, proposed, and with it the character arc - positive or negative - that Michelle could’ve had as a result.

#tales of luminaria #in which i rant a fucking LOT #i have THOUGHTS #and i will keep having these THOUGHTS until they get answered #like. how do you come w/ a character whose backstory is such a mystery #that when you look at her timeline the first fifteen years OF HER LIFE is a total blank slate? #you can't tell me shit didn't go down between the time she was like 5-6 up to when she's 15 going on 16 #like idk if they would've been important ppl but you just KNOW they would've been important to the plot #and those artes ARE tied into them #ESPECIALLY the wolf b/c guess what! it's the only animal in michelle's repertoire that has a primordial representing it! #and that's the oddest thing b/c what person in the federation would want to use artes that uses the beast #that represents the faction that caused the biggest tragedy in the anathema war? #i suppose you can apply the above post to a couple other families a'la leo's and edouard's. maaaybe celia's and falk and vanessa's #but it's the fact that michelle's parents are such a core component to her arc that draws me more to her than anybody else #and i couldn't tell you WHY that is. only that it does #and it's such a tragedy that we might never get more answers #b/c i think michelle would have been up there as having one of the better story and character arcs in the game #it's so unfair #to have a favorite character and just. not seeing her bloom into fruition #but it's even more unfair to pull the plug on a story and just leave it unfinished #with not a word as to whether or not it's worth continuing #all because it didn't make enough money to justify all the work that was crafted into it and putting it out there #i suppose if on the off chance story details ever got leaked i might be content #but to be completely honest i would not want to see them #b/c i didn't earn the right to see them through my own volition #anyway thanks for coming to my TED talk #i know ep final was mostly about hugo #and for good reason #but i still haven't watched it b/c it's just his third ep spliced w/ leo's and lisette's #and tbh hugo doesn't have anywhere near the hold on my heart that celia and michelle do

[dearestones]

Yandere! Belgium Headcanons

Warnings: Yandere character, yandere behavior, manipulation. 

Anonymous Request: Could I have headcanons for yandere Belgium?

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Platonic or not, Belgium will instantly act motherly and overwhelm you with affection. It doesn’t matter your race, your gender, or your interests, once she’s interested in you, she will forever be interested in you.

So what makes her interested in you in the first place? As a Nation who isn’t as flashy or as openly extraverted as many of her peers, she’s content with either people watching or hanging out in the background. What catches her eye, at first, would probably be the fact that you notice her first. Saying hello to her before meetings, carrying her things whenever she has trouble, or holding the door open for her is one of the many ways that you can steadily worm your way into her heart. She has bold, intriguing features, but she dresses in a way that is inconspicuous and not as fashionable as some of her neighbors. To know that you consistently look out for her in the crowd makes her heart flutter. 

Soon, Belgium’s mothering nature blooms into full fruition when she realizes how much she craves your presence in your life. Whenever you say hello to her while passing each other in the halls, she’ll immediately break away from her previous arrangements just so she can run up to you and wrap her arms around your figure. Hugs are basically her love language—second to making waffles and quality gourmet food, of course! 

Speaking of waffles, while she does have an insurmountable amount of pride in that beacon of deliciousness, that doesn’t mean she’ll woo you over with just that. Once she has you in her grasp—a hug! she loves her hugs—she’ll cook you her favorite comfort foods that not a lot of foreigners talk about when they visit her house. If you do beg for her Belgian waffles, she’ll roll her eyes in good nature, but don’t be surprised if she decides to feed you something completely different, but another signature of hers. 

She might ask you what made you so intent on noticing her in the first place. Was it because she was such a beautiful Nation? Her physical features that France even said were on par with his own beauty? Or was it something else? She’s obsessed with you no matter what you say, but consider your fate sealed when you say something that she doesn’t expect from you. 

Belgium’s fascination with you grows into an obsession. She would never resort to kidnapping you. Oh no. If anything, she’ll make you come to her. Willingly. Enticing someone like you would be easy, she thinks. If it was her physical features you found attractive, she’ll dress up just a smidge nicer to gain and keep your attention. If her food was the reason, she’ll shower you with meals until you decide to visit her house just so she doesn’t leave to give them to you. If it was something else, Belgium will be sure to enact or do it just to keep your attention only on her.

Belgium is a patient Nation. She has to be when she’s surrounded by her brothers of opposing personalities and the many powerful neighbors that have warred with each other in the past. However, while she is as patient as she is virtuous, she has a business mindset that has not disappeared in modern times. Every action that pertains to you—indirectly or directly—will be calculated many moves in advance. Chess has always been a longtime pastime for many Nations, what difference did it make that she was trying to mate you in the long game? Her every action is insidious, but you will never see it coming. Even if you ever have any doubts about her intentions, you might end up dismissing your instincts. It’s Belgium! She would never think about hurting you!

If you are far too enamored with her to ever think about leaving, Belgium’s motherly nature turns for the worse. She goes from meddling to mothering. From mothering to outright smothering. If you don’t set up boundaries right away, she will dictate what you eat, wear, what activities you should do, etc. Oh, you’re free to leave any time you want, but she just wants what’s best for you! And if you do successfully leave, then why do you feel so guilty? Why do you remember all the good times that you had with her? Please don’t fret if you find that your guilt outweighs your self-preservation; Belgium will make it all better!

Belgium will always make it better. 

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DISCLAIMER: I do not condone yandere behavior outside of fictional settings. Please don’t mistake the actions of fictional characters displayed in works of fiction to be considered harmless in real life.

If you want to donate a Ko-Fi, feel free https://ko-fi.com/devintrinidad.

HETALIA AXIS POWERS/WORLD SERIES MASTERLIST

#hetalia #hetalia axis powers #hetalia world series #hetalia belgium #aph belgium #hws belgium #hetalia x reader #aph x reader #hws x reader #yandere x reader #yandere hetalia #yandere belgium #yandere belgium x reader #hetalia belgium x reader #x reader #gender neutral #gender neutral reader #gn! reader #hetalia axis powers x reader #hetalia world series x reader #yandere character #yandere #yandere behavior #dearestones #devintrinidad

[arcadekitten]

Spoilers for Blackout Hospital.

I just finished the game for my first time after getting the true ending on my first try and I have to say that it's my favorite game of yours. There's just so much to love and appreciate about. The characters, the atmosphere, the music. Everything about it works on such a great level that it easily destroys any of the popular console games I played recently. There is such a earnestness to everything that I love.

As for some specific highlights of my playthrough:

I screamed and almost fell from my chair after seeing Twyla.

I knew I could not trust Reginald at all and to battle after all the garbage he put Mary throughout multiple games was so cathartic. And I'm interested to see where his character goes from here since I theorize for him to be the same Reginald as from Cemetery Mary. Also, Angel's golden defibrillator literally saved Vasilis and that's amazing.

Seeing the unicorn woman instilled such fear within me that is impossible to describe.

I was really worried I would get a bad ending by not staying with Mary when she was having a seizure.

The pictures in the true ending are cute, amazing, and I'm so happy for them. I was really interested in seeing how Vasilis and Mary would be since they're normally drawn together but never have their friendship explored until now.

I love Angel. I want to cosplay as her.

Seeing Rune being level 99 was the biggest jumpscare ever.

There was one specific glitch that happened during Mallory's and Lucky's fight, where a black box would start flashing over them. It might just be my computer though.

Rune doing that at the end was so cool and utterly terrifying.

I just remembered that I didn't even go to Reginald's office. I wonder what's in there.

Drekaride and Minspella are amazing and I wish them the happiest afterlife ever

Oh my goodness, this is so positively sweet of you!! I'm incredibly proud of the game, so to hear that all my effort does not go unseen makes me very happy! Thank you so much!! ♡

I was so excited for when everyone was able to see Vasilis and Mary's friendship bloom into fruition! I had been waiting for so long and it was so very satisfying to be able to show their friendship to everyone!!

I definitely recommend checking out Reginald's office, as it does give a bit more insight into some of the lore of the game/his character! There's a tutorial in the walkthrough, though I know a few playthroughs on youtube also show what's hidden in his office!

Gosh, I love hearing all the little bits from your playthrough though!! That's so fun, I'm so happy you enjoyed it!!

#blackout hospital #reply

[richincolor]

Interview with Author Crystal Maldonado

The bloggers here at Rich in Color have been reading Fat Chance, Charlie Vega over the past month in preparation for our book discussion that will be posted tomorrow. We were so excited to also have an opportunity to hear directly from author Crystal Maldonado. It’s always a treat to be able to find out a little bit more about the writing journey of an author.

Crystal, thanks so much for taking time to answer a few questions today. Sharing a novel with others takes some bravery and often thick skin. What convinced you to actually send your book out into the world?

Becoming a published author had always been a dream of mine, but I wasn’t sure it would ever come to fruition. In 2018, I had just turned 30 and I was happily married, I was traveling, and I was really enjoying myself, yet the yearning to publish a book and use my voice for good was nagging at me. I just felt like I had all of these words and stories inside of me wanting to come out! At that time, I was sitting on the finished manuscript for “Fat Chance, Charlie Vega,” with no plans for next steps. I realized that I was giving up before I’d even tried for fear of failure. I asked myself what was worse: never trying and always wondering, or putting my story out there and possibly failing? At least in the latter situation, I would have given it my best effort. Giving myself permission to fail was the spark I needed to try to make this book real — and now I get to hold a story I wrote in my hands!

Charlie has more than a few moments of awkwardness throughout her story. As a reader I was feeling for her. How does it feel as an author when you are writing those types of scenes?

It feels awkward for me, too! I do my best to get back into the mindset of what it felt like when I was a teen by listening to music that I enjoyed when I was in high school. Doing that means I sometimes feel the same awkwardness my characters do. But it’s really nice to be able to experience those things again, and I hope it ultimately adds a feeling of authenticity to the stories I write.

What is it like to do that delicate dance between fiction and your own experiences as you plotted?

Putting your heart into any story can feel very vulnerable, but I think you need a little bit of that vulnerability on the page in order to make the book feel real. So, I like to use experiences from my life as inspiration or reference material, but then heavily fictionalize them and make them work in my character’s lives. While my experiences may start as the seed, getting imaginative and creating new characters, scenarios, and dialogue is really what makes the story bloom.

The cover of your book is lovely. What was it like to see her for the first time rendered by someone else?

Thank you! Seeing the cover for the first time was pure magic. I sat in stunned silence for a moment and I can remember the feeling of my heart pounding, just taking this gorgeous image in. I cried. It was powerful to see a fat, brown girl right there, on the cover, for the world to see. I imagined how meaningful this would’ve been for me as a teen, and I thought of every fat brown girl out there who doesn’t get to see herself enough, and it made my heart full. Ericka Lugo, the illustrator for this cover, truly captured everything about Charlie so perfectly in this image, and I loved that she also included some flowers behind her, as if Charlie herself was blossoming. I hope others love it, too!

What have been some of the surprising aspects of moving in the publishing world?

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how welcoming authors are! I was so nervous to get into publishing because I worried I’d always feel like an outsider looking in, but finding my debut group and then connecting with other incredible Latinx authors through Las Musas has been such a wonderful experience for me. I’m shy and introverted by nature, so much so that I didn’t tell anyone except for my husband that I was working on a book; it was a relief to get invited into these spaces with open arms and feel like I was able to easily connect with some truly inspirational authors. Now I consider many of the people I’ve met over the last year really great friends.

What books shaped you as a young person and are there any books out now that you would have appreciated then?

When I was really young, one of my favorite books was “Corduroy,” a sweet picture book about an overall-wearing teddy bear who is looking for a friend. I loved this story because it celebrated friendship and taught me early on that we should love ourselves exactly as we are! As a teen, I really loved “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros, which I feel is such a beautiful and poignant novel. But I didn’t get to see many fat and/or brown main characters until I was well into adulthood. I would’ve loved to have read books like “Dumplin’” by Julie Murphy, “Love is a Revolution” by Renee Watson, or “Juliet Takes a Breath” by Gabby Rivera when I was a teenager!

If you could write anywhere, where would it be?

If it was just a vacation, I’d pick Greece, as it’s a place I’ve always wished to travel. I imagine writing somewhere in Mykonos and overlooking the water and creating my own version of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” It sounds so dreamy! For a long-term place to write, I’d love to go to Puerto Rico and explore my dad’s hometown and reconnect with my family there. I would really love a chance to spend some time there with my husband and daughter.

Thanks so much! I loved reading your book this past weekend. It brought me many smiles. I also wear glasses so am always excited to see a main character wearing them. The cover is also just beautiful overall. 🙂

Thank you so much for asking such great questions! I’m so happy you enjoyed the book!

Crystal Maldonado is a young adult author with a lot of feelings. Her debut novel, FAT CHANCE, CHARLIE VEGA (Holiday House), was released on Feb. 2, 2021. By day, she is a social media manager working in higher ed, and by night, a writer who loves Beyoncé, shopping, spending too much time on her phone, and being extra. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog. Follow her everywhere @crystalwrote or visit her website at crystalwrote.com.

#author interview #crystal maldonado #fat chance charlie vega

[degenerate-yandere]

Yandere Original Characters

Oh you best be sure I used picrews for this, ya girl can’t draw to save her life. Picrews used: (Ray), (Damon).

Anyway, people seemed sort of interested in my ocs so (⺣◡⺣)♡* here they are. Hope y’all like my boys.

Also special thanks to @darlingyanderez​ for inspiring me with her wonderful OCs.

Feel free to ask me anything about them if you’re interested! Please ask I have a lot of cute information for them. 

Also the names are just placeholders at the moment, I’m terrible at naming.

Name: Ray

Height: 183 cm (6′0)

Age: 19

Bio: A reserved, introverted college student with a dream of becoming a renown manga artist - a dream that he hopes will come to fruition from the inspiration his beautiful little muse instills. Suffice to say, he’s utterly obsessive. Skillfully drawn panels litter the walls of his bedroom, each depicting a character that bears a striking resemblance to his darling. Ray draws himself taking them on dates, embracing while they watch the fireworks, exchanging tender kisses; fulfilling every sappy shojo trope his little heart desires. Then, of course, there’s his private collection - the pieces he frantically drew as a wild blush bloomed across his face. Every perverse, deviant fantasy is drawn in intricate detail. He’d love to show them to you, one day.

Ray’s a terribly shy man, so he’s not one to outwardly approach his darling. Instead he opts to watch them from afar. He simply wishes to know everything about them! The route they take home, what their apartment looks like, the kind of clothes they like to wear, what time they to go to sleep... He has a list of ‘reference notes’, a compilation of all their information. Ray just wants to make sure he remains true to the source material. Pictures of his darling line his walls, his favorite one taking permanent residence within his wallet. He could stare at them for hours.

Ray’s apologetic, soft-spoken and nervous, even as he ties his darling to the post of his bed. He’s submissive in that regard; wishing only to dote on his beloved, to take the utmost care of them. He loves to drag them onto his lap as he plays his video games, gush about how cute they, tell them again and again how much he loves them. This man is a tad touch-starved, so he’s very handsy - but any ounce of reciprocation will leave him in absolute bliss. He’ll keep them safe, but more importantly, he’ll keep them his. Ray is gentle, completely adverse to any physical discipline. But he’ll do what’s necessary to keep his inspiration by his side, where they belong.

Name: Damon

Height: 197 cm (6′6)

Age: 22 

Bio: A thug with a troubled past of delinquency which, when coupled with his imposing stature and strong physique, make him quite the intimidating figure. Usually, seeing the fear upon peoples faces while in his presence instills him with a sense of pride. But if his darling avoids him, or flinches away whenever he walks near them, his heart shatters. That dread-filled expression that paints across their beautiful features makes his protective instincts kick into overdrive. Damon wants to keep them safe; to wrap them in his muscled arms and hold them as tightly as possible so that nothing can hurt them. He wants them to see him as their protector, and he’s quick to anger if they don’t.

Romantic rivalry is sure to bring out Damon’s sadistic side - he takes wicked glee in reducing anyone he deems a threat into an unrecognizable pulp. He thinks about showing you all his hard work, maybe you’d be proud of him. He’s quick to grow insufferably jealous, you are his after all. He’s possessive, sure, but what’s to be expected from a man so used to simply taking what he wants?

Damon is not a man of eloquence - he’s gruff and calloused. His actions speak volumes over his grumbled words. He’ll snatch their hand in his larger one, mumbling something about walking them home. Any protests will be outright ignored. He makes it clear how much bigger and stronger he is than you - if he wants something from you, he’s not adverse to simply taking it.

When Damon finally has them all to himself, he’ll be demanding and stern. He makes it clear that they are expected to crawl onto his lap whenever necessary, they are to kiss him and tell him just how grateful they are that he’s protecting them. His punishments are painful and ruthless. He’ll feign apprehension, but there’s a subtle, maniacal glee that he gets from putting them in their place. Just be good for him, and he can make all that pain go away.

#yandere oc #yandere ocs #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x yandere #yandere original character #yandere original characters #damon #ray #ocs #original characters #my ocs

[darkpoisonouslove]

Erendor x Samara Headcanons

This somehow happened... even though they are literally my least favorite Winx characters. I wanted to develop them somewhat more so that I could stop despising them so much. I think it worked... even though there are some problematic things.

TW for mentions of murder and infertility.

It was a semi arranged marriage in that Erendor was the one who was having negotiations with Samara’s family since he was already king. His parents were currently residing at one of their numerous estates, however, and were as removed from the ruling of the kingdom as possible since the monarchy was hanging by a thread. Erendor had to find a way to settle the growing tension for which he needed some strong allies and it just so happened that Samara’s family was the most influential.

Samara was actually a second child but her elder sister was already promised to a nobleman from another famous lineage and pulling that apart would be bad for the monarchy as well as the other family was bound to turn against them. So Erendor was to marry Samara and have the endorsement not only of her family, but also the new house that her sister was to join soon. They had a perfunctory engagement that only served to not make it look like the situation of the monarchy was so dire that Erendor was taking desperate measures to stabilize it. They married as soon as possible to fortify the alliance and start working on continuing the royal bloodline.

Samara was extremely good at pretending and showing exactly what was expected of her. Her mother had been dragging her to beauty pageants ever since she’d had anything to show in the talent portions of the competitions and she’d learned from little to read what people expected from her and then show them just what they wanted to see. She could get under anyone’s skin and steer them into doing whatever she wanted. It was the skill she’d perfected while her sister had spent more time in education as they’d hoped for a better marriage for her. Samara’s mother had hoped exactly for that result as it gave them guarantee that Samara would be able to control her husband while they controlled her to give them even more influence and power.

Erendor was wary of Samara at first. He was way more observant back then when the future was being built on a day to day basis and he’d seen enough to know she could charm anyone, which made her the one with the real power in their marriage. He had to win her over on his side if he wanted to ever have any real control over Eraklyon and that would be a challenge since she already had everything she could want, including the crown. He could never beat her at her own game so he tried a different approach by being dangerously honest with her which threw her off every time to give him an opportunity to peek under her facade and get to know her better.

He learned that the price of her smile was a ring on her finger and the price of her heart was holding her hand in his. She was indeed used to getting everything she wanted but he hadn’t known she wanted commitment to her that her family had never shown as they’d been using her ever since she’d learned to walk and freedom that she could only get if she had more power in her grasp than her mother held. He paid enough attention to her to learn how to never disappoint her with a gift and gave her the choice of what to do with the power she held – give him equal control of it by taking his hand or keep being pulled like a doll by the strings her mother had wrapped around her until death cut them off. He gave her the decision to choose whose hands to put the control over the kingdom in and that was more than her family had ever given her.

Her mother never expected that Samara could choose her husband over them. She’d never thought that a man could win her daughter’s trust after she’d raised her to view people as means to an end because that was how they’d view her. It was too late by the time she realized she’d made a mistake by demonstrating that to Samara herself. Her daughter had all the important people in her hand and she put them in Erendor’s pocket to throw her family so out of the loop they would never be able to come back. They lost any control they had not just over the kingdom but over most of their estate and assets as well and had to leave Eraklyon before Samara bankrupted them completely. She didn’t spare the family her sister married into either in case her mother tried to make her comeback via them and all the wealth was distributed to the struggling economical branches to patch up both the holes in the kingdom’s resources and those in the people’s trust.

The monarchy was saved and the two of them were left with their blooming alliance. They got along perfectly when he asked her opinion on everything and let her handle most of the diplomacy, only ever interfering when his presence was needed. Outside of the throne room, their shared time was limited by mutual agreement. Samara liked to use her newly found freedom to choose her personal endeavors herself and Erendor could use the break on his ego (he knows he couldn’t have done it without her but sometimes it is still hard to swallow his pride even though Samara has never flaunted the fact in his face, perhaps due to her own experiences of being dependent on someone else).

Besides, it takes them both a little while to process whatever slips into one of those honest conversations they tend to have in the middle of the night–there’s always room for Samara in his bedchamber and she’s rarely refused an invitation to go as well–or early in the morning over breakfast. He still catches her off guard–and himself, too–when he admits something that requires trust that their mutually beneficial deal does not justify. Samara actually likes it because it feels like she can trust it’s real and she’s even confessed a couple of things herself on her own initiative even though the word love has never been approached by either one of them. Erendor’s honesty is always blunt and has zero romance to it but Samara prefers it that way as she’s not sure how long it will take her to trust romance.

It all seemed well until they learned that Samara had fertility issues that got in the way of conceiving an heir. Samara retreated and locked herself into her bedchamber. She wouldn’t even let Erendor in, let alone go to the throne room or even the dining hall. Erendor had to forbid all maids and other servants from going to her until she came out, steaming about him breaking their deal that they were equals and he couldn’t control her. Not the best plan to get her to talk in hindsight but he didn’t have much choice.

They talked once Erendor explained himself and she calmed down. She was upset not only over the discovery of her problem but also over the fact that all their efforts in putting the monarchy back together had been wasted. Erendor tries to reassure that nothing has changed – she is still the queen (aka indirectly reassuring her that he wouldn’t divorce her over that which not only went through her head but she was also leaning towards after he broke their deal). They can still adopt a child and the monarchy will have an heir. Samara warns him that his brother will not stand to have someone outside the bloodline take the throne from under his nose. She knows the ambition and bitterness of being a second child and her family wasn’t even in line for the throne. Erendor promised they would figure it out but, meanwhile, there was a war brewing between the Ancestral Witches and Domino and his alliance with Oritel was enough of an excuse to buy them some time to think.

As it turned out, the solution presented itself. The royal dog breeder almost lost control of the hounds as she prepared them for a hunting session. After Erendor only didn’t bite her head off in the literal sense, Samara had her turn as well which saw the woman breaking down and confessing that she’d found herself pregnant and abandoned by both the father and her family. Samara instantly pieced together the plan that could be the solution to all their problems and after Erendor agreed, they offered the woman to give her baby to them. They would make him a prince and she could see him grow with every one of his needs taken care of if she would keep her mouth shut about the deception they were pulling. They reached an agreement and brought their scheme to fruition by presenting the boy as the royal heir while the official version was that the dog breeder’s baby was stillborn.

Distrustful of the emotional goodbye the woman said to her child, Samara decided to tie up their loose ends. Erendor had already dealt with the doctor supervising the birth through semi-legal means and it was just the mother that could reveal their ruse. Samara poisoned the dogs with a mix just strong enough to drive them mad with pain but not kill them so that they would attack their breeder and tear her to shreds. It happened almost as she’d planned it but before the dogs could be put down by the guards, they slipped away, having been pulled out of the effect of the poison by the grief over killing their caretaker. The woman had an unusual gift for training the animals and immense skills to top it off that Erendor could have never rivaled even despite his time in Red Fountain spent taming dragons. She was known as a dog whisperer and the animals had all formed a bond with her that was unbreakable so when they killed her, they turned into mindless beasts with the rage and pain of betraying their own mistress like that.

The hounds got lost in the forest to spread all over the kingdom and terrorize it for years to come. With everything else that was happening, Erendor’s focus was not on getting rid of them. The alliance with Domino was broken to the result of losing an entire city and being plagued by guilt. Without their strongest ally, the kingdom was soon swallowed in wars and debates over the future of the monarchy. The hounds were yet another crisis that was pulling Eraklyon thin over all the fronts it was stretched on.

The problem only got solved once Sky signed up for Red Fountain. Along with Brandon and a handful of other soldiers, he tracked down the hounds and killed them to stop them from wrecking havoc. Curiously, they didn’t run from him or try to attack him which he found odd but shrugged off as his gift for taming dragons obviously working on other animals as well (they never had hounds in the palace again after the “accident” with the last dog breeder). The last hound was the only one that put up a fight but it turned out it was because she had a puppy she was trying to protect. Unusually for dogs, it was only one. A small white female dog. It was so little Sky could snap its neck with two fingers but he took pity on it and took it in, swearing to his parents that he could tame it and make sure it would never hurt anyone. He named her Lady to further his point as she was extremely well behaved and obeyed every one of his commands, even letting Samara pet her despite her obvious dislike of the queen.

Lady was put down after going rabid out of the blue and attacking the queen. Samara didn’t like having to worry whether the dog wouldn’t tear her to shreds if Sky weren’t there to stop it so she got rid of it as well. Over the years she’d tried to provide for Sky both the warmth and discipline he would need to turn into a good prince as she didn’t want him growing up the way she had and being a pawn in the schemes of others. There was a certain duty to be upheld as an heir to the throne (of a country falling apart no less), though, which was why she and Erendor were pushing the marriage with Diaspro on him. The girl was more than respectful towards them despite being a spoiled brat otherwise and she was a princess aka their best choice for his fiance. They could use an alliance amidst the brewing situation in the kingdom.

With the years and the state of Eraklyon going downhill after the alliance with Domino fell apart, keeping the kingdom afloat was weighing down on Erendor on top of the guilt her felt for his deal with the Ancestral Witches and he became more selfish and rudely outspoken. He didn’t care much about diplomacy when he was counting on Samara to take care of it. She herself started falling into the rabbit hole of being queen and having the power to make everyone bow to her, however, and she abandoned her persuasive way with words for more forceful approach. After the whole fiasco with the dog breeder, she had to make sure nothing else would go astray to topple their unstable thrones and she had less and less patience for coaxing people to go her way rather than coercing and even forcing them to. The image of the monarchy was falling apart once more which was why Erendor was so hasty about passing the title of king down to Sky. Their son was very well liked amongst both the high society and the commoners so they had to leave the power in his hands at least in appearance.

#winx club #winx erendor #winx samara #erendor x samara #winx sky #winx headcanons #headcanons #can you tell why she named sky sky?

[poached-egg-rookie]

I watched Fate: The Winx Saga recently. From when I saw the trailer and read that it will be quite different from its original material and aimed for older audiences, I knew I had to level my expectations. I can’t exactly organize my thoughts and I am just one of the several others who were disappointed in seeing our beloved childhood series turned into yet another mode unnecessarily edgy teen drama (hello, Riverdale).

Winx was such a fun watch, I was always amazed by its world building that combines both magic and advanced technology, as well as the diversity of the main characters. I am especially drawn to Musa because as an Asian girl growing up, I did not see enough representation from people that look like me on television and film. So imagine the disappointment when I saw that her character was whitewashed. I have no ill feelings to the actor who played her I think she has done a decent job given the material she was given with. In fact, one of the few parts I liked about Fate,was the dynamic between Musa and Terra, who is based from the original character Flora.

Apart from the character changes, I also found some of the dialogue funny, like, they’re supposed to be teenagers, right? But they did not really sound like they were. I also cannot believe that Bloom was born in 2004. I mean we’re not actually surprised that we see actors who don’t actually look like teenagers play teenagers.

And the clothes? Winx was extra charming because of the clothes! They were everything! Tell me, at one point, you would have wanted Stella’s wardrobe or Flora’s? I did not really see that in fruition in Fate, at least they had to do that.

I think showrunners in general, should not downplay the idea that audiences are willing to see their favorites (think Archie comics, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, W.I.T.C.H.) in their original charm. Forcing them to just become dark without promise and keen execution is just meh. All these felt like nostalgia-bait.

#fate the winx saga #writeblr #thoughts #series #just my thoughts #huhubells

[honey-makki]

Hiiiii Kristen!! Congrats on your milestone Baby! You are doing amazing!!! That such hard work an amazing writing!

I would love to celebrate it with you so... Can I please have Iwaizumi Hajime, 16 Angst and She/her pronouns?

Thank you so much!! 😊

Without you

The moon glow, The river flows

But I die without you, The world revives

But I know blue, only blue

Lonely blue

without you- leslie odom jr

Tw: major character death (I’m so sorry if this isn’t ok please resubmit it and ill rewrite it!! I just had a vision and it needed to come to fruition) 

The chilled breeze on your balcony had become a frequent companion. The bite of the air could reach through your numbed exterior like no other. It wasn’t comfortable by any means, sitting out here in a thin pair of shorts and Iwaizumi’s favorite t-shirt, but it reminds you that you are still here. Physically at least. 

Silver light shines through the lonely expanse of the blue night sky. Looking at the moon used to be a favorite pastime of the two of you, but the moon seems a lot lonelier up there now. You know there are stars blooming in and out of existence but for you and Tokyo, they are just out of reach. 

The stars continue to shine, the city bustles, the birds still sing, but without him, all you see is the image of the moon. I guess that’s better than seeing Iwaizumi’s face everywhere. You don’t see him in every passerby, you don’t hear the bass of his voice over the radio, you just feel him. 

His presence in the kitchen when you go down to ake your coffee in the morning, even though you haven’t exactly figured out how to make it just right. His smile on the photos in the stairwell reminding you that at some point you did experience true love. The small wooden box on the mantle with his name engraved filling the room with reminders that he isn’t going to come back. 

You didn’t think you would ever feel lonely with Iwaizumi in the same room as you but you never expected his entire life to be reduced to a small wooden box, photos, and the ring you found on his nightstand.

#shuffled with kristen #kristen writes #iwaizumi #mer92 #tw death #qristen

[ladyloveandjustice]

Summer 2019 Anime Overview: Given

While the rest of my reviews are gonna be quick takes, I love Given so much that this ended up being something close to a proper review. Gotta love on the stuff that deserves it!

Given

Given is definitely going to be in the top five anime of the year for me. I say that with complete confidence even through the year isn’t over yet. That’s how good it is.

This is a story that combines band and music drama with high school boy romance drama and even throws in some grad school guy love drama for good measure. But it’s also an incredibly moving, well-executed story about coping with grief and survivor’s guilt. It can be very funny, very adorable and is often heartwrenchingly emotional.

I adore the two leads and their relationship. Ritsuka is endearing from the second he bursts into the scene- He’s a dork who’s instinctively kind and helpful even as he blusters about it and complains dramatically. He can be bad at communicating but he really does try his best, bless him. He’s just a complete mess constantly overwhelmed by the feels he gets from this weird guy he’s crushing on. 

Mafuyu is equally wonderful- Ritsuka describes him as a “lost puppy” when he first meets him and, well, that’s not inaccurate.The kid is little awkward and taciturn, yet his strong emotions and high enthusiasm shine through all the time. Mafuyu is also a lot more complex than he initially appears. He has a TON of baggage and intense turmoil he’s going through underneath his sweet, spacey-seeming exterior.

Unlike a lot of characters in the BL genre (and teen romance in general lbr), Mafuyu has a romantic past, he’s well aware he’s gay and his ex isn’t some one dimensional evil caricature either. It’s also later revealed Mafuyu IS aware of how he comes off and gets sad about not being able to express emotions and socialize like “normal people” do. He’s a very resonant and well-thought-out character, and his journey is nuanced, fantastic and tugs on the heartstrings.

Then there’s the two grad school guys, Haruki and Akihiko. They’re fun,interesting characters who’ve got some thorny romantic tension going between them. They both seem, realistic for their age. I mean, Haruki is  constantly burying his face in his hands and internally screaming, which is extremely relatable and absolutely accurate to my grad school existence at least. Their different relationships with their sexuality and feelings also have a touch of realism and nuance. One of this pair has been in relationships with plenty of guys and girls alike and is pretty comfortable with his sexuality-but he clings to some of his past in what might be an unhealthy way. On the opposite spectrum, the other man accepted his feelings long ago, yet never acts of them, seemingly deciding it’s hopeless.

When they’re not busy being disasters themselves, these two act as mentors and sorta big bros to our disaster teens. This honestly rules. As I said in my Bloom into You review, it’s my favorite thing when media reflects how different generations of people in the lgbtq+ community can help and support each other.

In fact, there’s a really touching and realistic conversation where Ritsuka talks about his insecurities over his emerging crush with one of the older guys and shares a bit of his own experience to reassure Ritsuka. He lets Ritsuka know, no, there’s nothing wrong with him and  there are people who’ve been there and who understand. The whole thing is just really well done. It’s also great because it feels like the show is really trying to warmly reassure any viewers who might be struggling. It shouldn’t be a rare thing to feel like a story about queer romance is truly keeping the queer audience in mind, yet it is RARE. So it makes me happy to see this story reach out.

Given is on point with it humor, characters, romance, exploration of grief and deals well with issues- but it’s got even more going for it than that! It’s a really well directed anime. The pace is slow and contemplative, with an absorbing atmosphere that really draws the viewer in and makes them feel like they’re living day-to-day with the characters. The dramatic moments, the funny moments, the sweet moments- they all hit just perfectly. The care taken in telling this story really comes through. 

The animation budget was clearly not super high, but the story makes the most of it, and the characters are really expressive when they need to be. The music is also very nice and generally well integrated, with one song in particular guaranteed to break your heart right in half. The season also stops at a good point. Though the manga is still ongoing, these eleven episodes tell a pretty complete, lovely little story that still leaves the door open for more, with stuff that has yet to be resolved lingering in the background for a sequel to pick up on (and it will be picked up on-a sequel movie focusing on the grad school guys has already been announced).

The anime is tasteful, so my content warnings have more to do with themes of the story rather than any gaffes.

(I try to keep it vague but there are slight spoilers in the following paragraphs. You’ve been warned).

Suicide and depression are discussed and referenced heavily throughout the story, but dealt with sensitively and no graphic content is present. As mentioned, the story explores grief and survivor’s guilt, so if that hits too close to home, be aware. 

As far as consent issues go, there is a surprise kiss at one point, but the character who initiated it was so emotionally overwhelmed at the time it takes him a while to even remember he did that, and when he does, he’s mortified and freaks out. There’s also a small gag with one of the guys wanting to take a picture his crush sleeping after said crush barges into his house and crashes on his couch. And finally, there are hints that there’s something kinda shady going on with one of the grad school guys, but it doesn’t come to fruition in this part of the anime- stuff might go down in the movie though! But overall, the main romance in this series is just super wholesome, adorable AND emotionally gripping!

(spoilz end)

By the way, there are actually girls in this series, though they play pretty minor role. Ritsuka’s sister is great, she really speaks her mind and she and her brother have a fun, somewhat combative, but still clearly loving relationship. There’s also a girl who has a crush on one of our guys, and while she does do some questionable things, she’s has a bit more self-awareness and is treated with more sympathy than her archetype usually gets.

If I haven’t already made it clear, 10/10 anime, would recommend. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

#given #given anime #summer 2019 anime #anime overview #ritsuka uenoyama #uenoyama ritsuka #mafuyu sato #mafuyu satou #sato mafuyu #akihiko kaji #haruki nakayama #reviews #my reviews

[chemicalmongrel]

The Union of Beauty and the Beast

Birthday Gift for Francis! | @yunalaqi

Author - Ghost Characters - Warwick, Qiyana, Sizani and Firefang. Word Count - 5,538

It began as many stories of happiness and fulfillment do--with a single spontaneous moment. One crucial meeting that might’ve never happened had the stars not aligned just right, something inconsequential at first blooming into something beatific and majestic. Much like a seed germinated in rich, fertile soil that will one day grow mighty with the right hands to nurture it along and the right level of determination to weather any hardship.  For this, the moment was the day Qiyana and Warwick’s agents agreed on putting together a collab between the two artists. The soil was the constant proximity they had, and their desire to ensure a finished product of superb quality. Meanwhile, the growing fondness they had for one another, the distance between their hearts shortening, were the hands responsible for nurturing the sapling. And their determination to endure strife came through in their refusal to cut off contact once the project came to a close.  They knew one another for several years following their collab, and nothing was ever the same after.  It was most apparent in the works produced by Warwick.  No longer were they harsh, cutting to the quick about seemingly disparate things without any genuine passion behind the words. Rather, more and more harmonious melodies came forward to accentuate loving lyrics directed towards an unseen individual. Each verse was delivered with such enthusiasm and heart that none thought him capable of before. More videos were released about issues around the world, paralleling an increasing effort on the part of the concrete jungle’s king to leave the world a better place than he found it.  Without warning, the beast seemed to have found his long-lost spark amid the embers of the dying fire in his breast.  More subtly was the change in the empress of True Death.  She’d always been a hard-working woman dedicated to seeing the dreams of her and the family she found in the band come to fruition. But after the collab project? It was as if she was trying to outdo herself at every opportunity: rhymes became more fluid, beats resonant all the quicker, the meaning behind every word hit home harder, and the choreography of each video more and more eye-catching.  All in all, it seemed the woman was hellbent on ensuring the stride she hit with her band was but the first stage of TD’s success.  But they never let their evolving relationship slip out to be disseminated to the public. It was all very hush-hush--kept to the coziness of private moments. Of course, this didn’t stop some tenacious people from capturing snippets of intimate moments. Nor did their efforts fully curtail any rumors from being born and spreading to anyone willing to listen. Yet no one realized the entirety of the situation, all thanks to the two’s desire to keep these moments private.  That is until the day Warwick, without concern for anyone watching, decided to take a knee before his queen, his empress, with an outstretched hand and open box.  Then the world of music was abuzz with commotion.

Warwick never expected the sheer scope of planning and setting up a wedding required. This was compounded by the fact that preparing parties had never been his forte, let alone something as paramount as a wedding. This was due in large part to his disdain for large get-togethers. He’d never seen the appeal of trying to rub shoulders with socialites or other well-to-do folks, whether they were part of the music world or not. His dislike for such affairs as those was so great, in fact, that his agents more or less had to bribe him to attend soirees that were very important to his career.  This time, though, was very different--he actually cared about the proceedings, for one. He cared so much that the consideration of performing all manners of awfulness on anyone who tried to spoil the proceedings had crossed his mind a number of times. Yet while he wouldn’t be happy if Qiyana wasn’t, Warwick did his best to console his betrothed when the idea of something going awry worked its way into her head. One way he did so was by taking an active role in helping set the whole thing up.  That way, at the very least, she didn’t have to shoulder the burden alone.  However, this was easier said than done as Qiyana insisted the two of them refrained from seeing one another until the day of, not until she was walking down the aisle. She explained to him--over text--how disaster awaited any bride or groom who met in person before the ceremony. And while he may not have believed such superstition, he was more than willing to humor her to abate her concerns.  Thus he kept his phone on his person at all times, and never let a single notification from his cell go unnoticed.  A notable instance of Warwick needing to shoulder something Qiyana couldn’t see to because of how hectic her schedule was growing the closer the date approached: when she asked him to meet with the wedding planner to help decide on the types of flowers to be used in the decor. It seemed rather trivial to him, but the planner ensured that the proper arrangement of beatific bouquets would cement the memory in every guest’s mind. The skeptic in him wanted to disagree on principle. But he held his tongue and went to go meet with the planner.  They met at the building where the ceremony would be held. I t was an extravagant ballroom lined with massive windows along the back wall as it curved around and provided an overlook of a sandy coastline, the tide lapping against the beach’s particulate without rhyme or reason. One could close their eyes and be serenaded by the oceanic hymn nature was so gracious to provide. There was a gray overcast preventing the usual soft streaks of radiance from cascading through onto the polished marble floor. Rows of seats draped with stark silk and tied off towards the center with an indigo bow provided an aisle for the bride and groom to walk down. Where the aforementioned couple would stand, in front of the priest, was an archway carved out of a single immense block of marble. Floral patterns were conjoined with idyllic scenes of a perennial forest that could trace its history back before the emergence of mankind, all etched into its surface. This ornate aesthetic was furthered by the strips of fine fabric hung from the trusses of the ceiling, each accented by strips of golden embroidery.  Truly, the only thing missing from such a scenic view was a final splash of life and color--the flowers.  “So, I have a few options based on you and your bride’s tastes to choose from--although considering Qiyana’s favorite seems to be the hibiscus, I thought it best to narrow the choices down to species of that specific type.” The way the planner spoke caused Warwick’s ears to chafe.  The woman snapped her fingers three times as she walked with the towering beast down the aisle, stopping and turning to face him once at the spot where the vows would be sworn. Several other people hurried up with an armful of fresh hibiscus bouquets in tow, the bright scarlet heads of the flora bouncing in sync with their carriers’ step. Tiny pearls of gold dotted the tip of the flowers’ stigma, yet the vivid appearance belied a rather modest fragrance.  “These look good, yeah,” Warwick murmured, nodding to himself.  These would no doubt compliment the overall decor if placed with the seats as per Qiyana’s outline. But something nagged at him.  “...these also gunna be used ta scatter on t’e aisle?”  Preoccupied with jotting something down on the papers attached to her clipboard, the planner dismissed the people with a wave of her hand. “Hmm?”  She didn’t even look up from her notes. “Oh. Yes, that would be the plan.”  Looming over her, the beast tapered his eyes and lifted his lips high as either ear stood to attention. He’d never enjoyed having someone not afford him the courtesy of meeting his gaze during a conversation. But this woman, in particular, irked him something fierce.  “Wou’d it be possible ta change t’e kinda flow’r used fer t’at?”  This was enough to catch her attention, evidently, as she looked up with bewildered eyes.  “Ye-es...?”  “Oka’, t’en I’d like ta use Forget Me Nots instead, thank ya.”  “...might I ask-”  “No.”  And with that, the man was sauntering off.  Later that day, he’d crash back into the sofa of his living room with an exasperated sigh before pulling out his phone. Even with the custom design meant to accommodate his unique biology, it was still a hassle to use. Regardless, he pulled up his wife-to-be’s contact information and send her a text--he only hoped she wasn’t busy with anything or too tired to respond.  >>Rohi--I need to ask you somethin.  Afterward, he placed the thing facedown onto the fabric straining against his chest and waited. Thankfully it wasn’t much of a wait. For within the span of a few minutes, the notification blip caught his attention.  >>Yes? What is it? And did you talk with the planner about the flowers?  >>Yeah, I did--that’s actually what I wanted to ask you about. Is it okay that I asked her to change what kind was used on the aisle?  >>Well, what did you change it to?  >>Forget-Me-Nots.  >>Your favorite? They’re really pretty, can I ask why you wanted them?  >>Forget-Me-Nots represent memory, ya ken? Like, if you use em, then it’s like saying you never wanna forget somethin. Mom said she had em next to her when I was born... they were there when she died, too. Our gettin together? Is somethin I never wanna forget, not for a second.  There was no response for several moments.  >>Rohi?  >>Sorry, sorry. That’s so sweet, I love it <3  >>Anythin for you, lov’ <3  Without realizing, Warwick had started smiling like some lovestruck fool--because he was one when it came to Qiyana.  >>I love you so much, Warwick <3  >>Not as much as I love you  >>Nuh uh, I love you more, I have a trophy that says so  >>Well I’ve got four times as big a heart as anyone out there, so I got much more to love with  And it went on like this until the chimera, along with his wifey, passed out.

Frazzled nerves and a stomach full of butterflies were common experiences for women on the day of their joyful nuptials, but Qiyana was anything but a common woman. For her, the day leading up to the ceremony filled her with exponential euphoria and excitement at the thought of being united with her hubby. She’d been smiling the whole time while touching up her visage with a tidbit of makeup. But these feelings were nowhere near as intense as they were now that she was standing in front of a mirror in the dressing room of the building the marriage was taking place in. Something which did not escape the notice of her omele, Sizani, even while preoccupied with helping her grandchild slip into her wedding dress.  At her ripe age, Qiyana's omele was still a beatific woman wielding wisdom and overt authority in equal measures from the dark pools of chocolate amid an ocean of white in her eyes. She was the kind of individual people came to for sage advice yet never understood what was given until the exact moment they’d need it. Her snow-white hair was pulled taut into numerous dreadlocks that curled down past the nape of her neck and rested against her shoulders. Sizani was often seen wearing delicate fabrics colored in differing shades of purple, accentuated by the ornate jewelry commonly found on her person.  Suffice to say, Qiyana owed her beauty to what she inherited from her omele--or so the old woman claimed.  Despite all of her stern demeanor, though, Sizani was more than eager to crack a few jokes and tease her grandchild with her choice of man. It was enough to get Qiyana to crack a smile and giggle alongside her grandmother. She even returned the ribbing in kind as they continued to fit her for her dress--spending time with her omele always put a smile on her face.  Eventually, the dress was fitted snug over Qiyana’s curves.  The outfit boasted a soft palette of pinks and shades of white, as well as the finest silk money could buy. A window exposed her back, framing the veiled skin like a picture one would keep on their nightstand. Strips of transparent material along either fitted sleeve evinced her mocha flesh, each coming to a unified point at a single ring of precious metal around her middle finger. And up from the profuse transparent frills billowing out from the chapel trailing a foot behind her to the decotellage exposing her cleavage, stark embroidery fashioned in the likeness of blooming flowers interwoven with heart-like shapes decorated the fabric. Said decotellage brought attention to the various pieces of jewelry Warwick had bought for her over the years with the centerpiece being a necklace that had half of a heart-shaped locket dangling at the end.  It was as if the Empress of some exotic, far-off kingdom had come to bless the peasantry of a third-world nation with her presence.  Spinning in a circle once, twice and thrice, an ear-to-ear smile worked its way onto Qiyana’s countenance. The same delight was evident on Sizani’s face as she clapped several times. Save for the moment she was signed on by the TD producer, there was no moment in her life that filled Qiyana with as much euphoric joy as the day of her marriage.  “You look perfect~!” Sizani said.  “I know I do, but thank you for reminding me,” Qiyana responded.  As if to further reinforce this fact, there was a series of excited yaps from the third occupant of the room. He normally came up to his mother’s, Qiyana, knee but now was only about mid-shin height with her high heels on. Big ears he’d yet to grow into had only just begun stiffening a few weeks prior, so both were still partially floppy. There was a tiny pink ribbon secured around his neck in place of a collar for the special event. A coat of tawny brown fur with accents of fiery gold covered the body of a wolf puppy that’s barely a month shy of half a year old. This pint-sized bundle of energy and jubilation was Firefang, Qiyana’s most precious baby.  Firefang had been snoozing away atop a fancy downy pillow near where the two women had been fiddling with the dress, and now that they were done, he was up and ready to hoard all of his mommy’s attention.  “Seems like your baby wants to remind you, too.”  She shuffled over and bent over to pinch either of her baby’s cheeks, stretching them out with a grin and giving his head little shakes. Qiyana even scritched behind his ears and placed kisses atop his forehead. This was met by more yapping and a blep of his tongue. He was satisfied with the affection she showered him in.  “Careful, you’ll need to reapply your makeup if he starts giving you kisses.”  “Thank you for the concern, but it’ll be fine-”  There came a knocking at the dressing room’s door, then the voice of Sizani’s husband informing the trio that it was a few minutes until they had to go. So, unfortunately, the hijinx occurring between those within the room had to be concluded.  Sizani approached Qiyana with a soft grin, hands folded over one another against her waist, before reaching out to swaddle her grandchild in either arm. While usually reluctant, the melodica empress leaned into the embrace with a tightness her normal disposition belied. It was the kind of affection she’d never received from her supposed sisters, even her own parents. That was but one reason why she made sure none but her omele and her husband received an invitation to the wedding.  There was fierce yapping from the side, garnering the women’s attention, as Firefang demanded to be included. They smiled and scooped up the canine to be squished between them in the hug. After a moment, once Firefang was balanced atop Sizani’s shoulder, they pulled away and Qiyana finally glimpsed the sheer intensity of pride and exultation burned in the other’s eyes.  “I’m so proud of you,” Sizani whispered.  “I’m so happy you came,” Qiyana breathed.  “I wouldn’t miss my precious granddaughter’s big day even if someone offered me the whole world.”  To witness the sheer joy softening the bride’s face at that moment would’ve been to gaze upon the sun itself as it crested the mountainous horizon with its rose-tipped fingers. For a moment, warm liquid welled up at the corners of her eyes--but being who she was, Qiyana did her best to wipe them away.  Another knock came at the door to serve as a reminder.  “Yes, yes, we heard you the first time, []! Everyone can wait while I congratulate my baby!”  This earned profuse apology on the part of her husband, a confused mmm-ing from Firefang and a hearty chuckle from Qiyana.  The elderly woman huffed a moment, annoyance contorting her visage a moment, before laughing with a sigh and moving Firefang from her shoulder to a more stable grip in either arm and hand.  “No matter what anyone says about you, know that your omele loves you more than anyone--even that lumbering man who’s fallen for you. Okay? You’re the best singer out there, and that man is the luckiest man alive to get to be with you.”  “I know, I know-”  “And if he ever mistreats you!--”  “Omele, please! He’d never do that, but, still... thank you, thank you so much for everything. For always supporting me; for always being there for me. It meant... so, so very, very much.”  An ear-to-ear grin spread across Sizani’s face, “It was always a pleasure to support you...”  Without another word, the two shared yet another tight embrace before parting anew and moving towards the door.  “Shall we?”  “Lets~!”  “YAPYAP!!”  When the door opened, Qiyana was greeted with the jubilant warmth of her omele’s husband and one of her best friend’s smiling faces. They were present for several reasons with the chief among them being to take Firefang off their hands. Each gave the bride their congratulations, sharing a hug and cheek kiss with her while passing off a bouquet of Forget Me Nots and hibiscus, before going off to take their seats with the tiny spitfire in tow. There was a brief moment of struggle when doing so, though, as the puppy was loath to be apart from his mommy. But since it was two people he liked doing so, with the aid of Qiyana’s kisses and reassurances, Firefang was willing to acquiesce.  After they departed, Sizani extended an arm towards her granddaughter and Qiyana took her up on the gesture and interlocked it with her own arm while resting the opposing limb’s hand against her omele’s bicep. Then they began their trek.

Qiyana heard before she saw anything as a delicate piano began its solo serenade of the people invited to the affair. For a moment, there’d been the chatter of those now seated accompanying the piano. But they were very quick to die down to nothing. Then her nose picked up on the duet playing out between the modest fragrance of the hibiscus and the much stronger scent of the Forget Me Not flowers, the latter of which was far more restrained than what it could be had whole Forget Me Nots been used. And once she turned the corner into the open archway leading into the ballroom, she, at last, saw what she’d been anticipating from the moment Warwick got down on one knee.   A trail of Forget Me Not petals led up to where Warwick and the priest stood beneath the marble arch. The former boasted a charcoal black tuxedo, even its custom size left the fabric straining against his bulk, bereft of its sleeves with a maroon red tie secured around his neck. The fur atop his head was slicked back to match the rest of his kempt pelt’s tidied aesthetic. Either of his ears was upright until she appeared, then they angled back slightly as his forehead smoothed while his brow raised up. His eyes, brimming with emotion, widened and his muzzle relaxed, jaw dropped ever so slightly. Framed by the soft palette of reds, yellows and oranges with indigo undertones that would grow increasingly skewed towards violet as the evening marched on into dusk were the people that’d been invited. It was not a large gathering of people by any means as this was a very intimate, private ceremony between those important to the bride and groom, primarily: the members of Qiyana’s family; Yasuo, Akali, Senna and her husband, her best friend and omele’s husband who made sure to keep Firefang from acting too rambunctious atop his seat, the wedding planner, the photographer hired to capture every second of the event, and a seat reserved for someone paramount to the groom.  Who was this individual?  Why it wasn’t a person at all.  Rather, the cushioned seat propped up a single framed picture--the picture it contained was of Warwick’s mother, smiling with her arms wrapped around someone that’d been removed by someone who’d torn the photo.  Sizani tightened her arm around Qiyana’s, getting her to look her way to exchange one final smile before regarding the path ahead of them anew.  In sync with the piano, the two sauntered down the aisle as everyone present turned to watch the scene unfold. Everyone was smiling and quiet, save for Firefang who started yapping upon noticing his mommy. And with every step closer she got to her soon-to-be husband, Qiyana’s heart skipped a beat.  Finally, her and her omele parted with a kiss as she took her place in front of Warwick and Sizani took her seat next to her husband. The look in Warwick’s eyes, as they usually did, told Qiyana everything she needed to hear--just like that, in an instant, every second they couldn’t be together was forgotten, swept away by the deluge of overwhelming joy coursing throughout her psyche. Then the piano came to a waning conclusion as the priest cleared his throat and opened the book he’d been holding against his breast.  “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today, in the presence of God, to witness the joining together of Warwick and Qiyana in the holy covenant of marriage. Warwick and Qiyana recognize that marriage is an important part of God’s plan for mankind. Marriage is not just a social occasion with a religious touch thrown in. It is a service of worship from beginning to end, in which vows are made, prayers are offered, and blessings are given.  “Warwick, if it is your intent to marry Qiyana, please respond with “I do.” Warwick, do you take Qiyana to be your wedded wife, to live together in holy matrimony and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, for as long as you both shall live?”  “I do.”  “Qiyana Yun Tal, if it is your intent to marry Michael, please respond with “I do.” Qiyana, do you take Michael to be your wedded husband, to live together in holy matrimony, and forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her, for as long as you both shall live?”  “I do~”  By now, those in charge of him managed to quiet Firefang down.  “The ceremony of marriage is the first and oldest ceremony in the world. It was celebrated in the beginning of time in the presence of God himself. Marriage is a gift from God, given to comfort the sorrows and magnify life’s joy. Qiyana and Warwick, in all of life, rare is the moment that is filled with more hope, more joy, and more expectation that this sacred moment. By God’s design this moment will never be repeated, but rather be cherished as long as you both shall live.  “A good marriage is created.  “The little things in your life will become the big things. You will never be too old to hold hands, never be too old to say good night or for a gentle kiss. A good marriage is remembering to say “I love you” on a regular basis. It is never going to sleep angry. It is standing together, leaning on each other for strength and support. It is having the capacity to forgive and forget. It is providing an atmosphere in which each of you can grow. It is finding room for the fruits of the spirit; which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  “It is not only marrying the right partner--it is being the right partner.  “So much preparation has gone into making this moment a special occasion for you two and your guests. These next few minutes are more important than anything else that will happen today. These are the moments that you will look back and remember when you have children, when you have arguments, when you buy your first house together.  “Don’t ever forget the words that you say this day; with God’s help, they will sustain your marriage through all of life’s ups and downs.”  The subtle angling and twitching of the man’s ears were no doubt caused by picking up on people tearing up from the occasion.  “To all those who have joined us to witness this special commitment by Warwick and Qiyana,” he made a broad sweeping gesture out towards the bridal party, “you play an important role in the lives of this couple. Your attendance here shows that you care for them and are supporting this marriage. I would ask that your support of this marriage not end on this day, but that you continue to support the union that they commit to.  “It is often easy for us to undermine the value of the marriage commitment by saying simple things like “you don’t deserve this, you really should think about divorce” or even taking sides in an argument. Guard the words that you say, in jest and in counsel to this couple. Commit today, as friends and family, to uphold this marriage to the best of your ability and never do anything to harm it.”  He turned and regarded Warwick, craning his neck up to do so.  “Warwick, God has given you a unique personality and talents that add to this marriage. When Qiyana was asked why she chose to marry you, she says that you make her laugh, you got along with those most important to her, and above all else, you cherished her like no other. She said that she appreciates that you value her opinions, yet she can trust you to make good decisions for your family. Paul reminds us in Ephesians, that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. At this moment your love for your bride is apparent, I challenge you to grow in that love as you grow old together in life. Put her needs above your own and lead selflessly.” And then he shifted his gaze down to Qiyana.  “Qiyana, as is apparent today, your groom finds you beautiful! When asked why he chose you to be his wife, Michael’s first response was “she saw something in a lumbering beast.” In our conversations together, it became apparent that without you around, Warwick might have stayed forever numb to his surroundings, forever maintaining a cold, stony heart! Warwick values your intelligence and that you are supportive of him as a person and the things that he enjoys doing.”  Then he returned his gaze to between the two of them.  “The two of you have a chance today to start your own family. You complement each other. Where one is weak, the other is strong. When one of you falls, the other can help pick them up. Choose today to keep God as the center of your marriage and there will be nothing that you could encounter that would tear you apart.”  “These vows that you are about to commit are just words, but they cement forever your commitment to one another. Please, join hands and face one another as you recite the vows that’ve kept you up for so many nights crafting, perfecting, for one another.”  They did so without delay, Warwick extending either of his massive mitts to take in Qiyana’s as they met each other’s gaze.  They both started at once, then stopped to chuckle before allowing Qiyana to go first.

 “Before I met you, Warwick, my life was dedicated to my baby, Firefang, and the family I found in Akali, Yasuo, Senna, her husband Lucian and Ekko. I didn’t believe I had the time to fit in something as intimate and precious as what we have now. Never before did I think I’d ever find a man or woman who’d become the entirety of my universe like you have. So no matter what, until the day I breathe my last, I will never listen to the people questioning our relationship, people expecting us to be normal--I will stand by your side, loving you with every fiber of my being.”  Further disproving everyone who decried Warwick as a heartless beast of a man, tears began rolling freely from his eyes as Qiyana recited her painstaking vows. The runnels bled and diffused into the fur of his face. His hands tightened around hers as he cleared his throat to speak.

 “’ve... nev’r been good w’th expressin’ myself through werds, and I of’en prefer showin’ someone ‘ow I feel rather’en tellin’, ya ken? So... what more ken I say t’at I’ve not already shown? So very much, I foun’ out as I thought ‘bout it... Qiyana, when I call ya Rohi, nev’r told ya what it meant--it means, “My soul.” Cause ya ar’ jus’ t’at, yer my soul, my everythin’... I wouldn’ be the man I am now without ya, wouldn’ be doin’ my momma proud without ya--bein’ more ‘n more like my old man... Yer the sun t’at brightens my day ‘n chases the ov’rcast away; yer the muse of my ev’ry song now; yer the woman t’at saw somethin’ a wurth in the body of a monst’r who couldn’ care less if som’un died in front’uv ‘is eyes...  “Yer... everythin’--I cannit even think of a life without ya...”  Now it was the Empress of True Damage’s turn to start shedding tears--something a scarce few people have ever seen. They carved a path down her face, smearing aspects of her makeup and dripping off her chin onto the marble floor.  After a moment of quiet, save for the whining of Firefang at seeing his mommy cry, the priest continued on as he gestured towards the individual standing at the back, near the archway. This person was none other than Ekko as he carried the rings atop their pillow towards the bride and groom.  “Warwick and Qiyana have chosen to present rings to each other as a token of their promise before God and these witnesses. They are a visible sign of an inward bond which unites two hearts in endless love. Warwick and Qiyana, from this day forward, the two of you shall be one.”  Once there, Warwick took the much smaller of the golden bands as he held her left hand.  “Do you Warwick, give this ring to Qiyana, as a token of your love for her?”  “I do.”  “Qiyana, will you wear this ring as evidence of your love for Warwick?”  “I will~” He then slipped the ring onto her index finger.  Then Qiyana took the much larger band.  Because of the groom’s unique situation with his sheer size, a traditional ring couldn’t work comfortably. So a solution was devised revolving around a snapping mechanism that could secure the earring in a hole of his left ear that’d never healed.  “And do you Qiyana, give this ring to Warwick, as a token of your love for him?”  “I do~”  “Warwick, will you wear this ring as evidence of your love for Qiyana?”  “I will.” And so she snapped the ring into place in his ear.  Once his role was finished, Ekko placed the pillow under one arm and stepped to the side.  “Warwick and Qiyana have pledged their love for each other, and have expressed their commitment before God and before this gathering of friends and loved ones. They have given themselves completely to each other and declared it publicly by the giving and receiving of rings. Acting in the authority invested in me by the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit--what God has joined together let no man separate.  “Warwick, you may now kiss the bride, as it is with great joy that I present to you, Mr. and Mrs, Yun Tal.”

 And kiss they did.

#✍️ Mun's Writing - Drabble ✍️ #🎤 A Life of Rhyme 🎤 #❤️ An Empress and Her King ❤️ #🐺 Gnawing Hunger - IC 🐺 #👑 yunalaqi 👑 #🍃 AMBITIOUS SASS - Qiyana 🍃 #🐺 The Beast - Warwick 🐺

[chilligyu]

info: kwon soonyoung/reader, teen+, hanahaki/dystopian au genre: angst, romance | word ct: 5k warnings: blood, gore, major character death summary: no one told her about hanahaki, no one told her about the risks, the dangers. no one told her that if she were to love kwon soonyoung she might as well be dead. notes: formerly known as if lilies were red

cross posted on ao3

She wasn’t told about Hanahaki when she was young. At least—she was never told the truth. She didn’t know what the symptoms are, how the disease would spread, nothing. All she knew was that Hanahaki was once a disease that was uncontrollable, devastating, unavoidable, and always fatal. According to her teachers it would claim hundreds of lives yearly. Eventually the government was able to find a cure and Hanahaki was effectively purged from society. The Cure was a complete success, no one worried about it anymore, and there wasn’t a single recorded case of Hanahaki since.

So when she watched her teacher cough up blood onto the floor, purple petals falling from her lips, she didn’t know what it could possibly be. She didn’t know why anyone would cough up flowers, why she tried to run, why government officials suddenly stormed the classroom and took her teacher away. And she didn’t know why her teacher denied it happening when they came back two weeks later, explaining her absence with illness.

She remembered raising her hand in the air innocently, asking a question no one had thought to ask.

“What sort of disease makes you cough up flowers?”

It was a question she would have for years, one she would never get an answer to. Whoever she asked either had no clue or told her to mind her own business. Neither of which gave her much closure on the subject. Her parents tried to convince her time and time again not to worry about it, they even made her promise never to ask the question again. Yet no matter how much she wanted to or how hard she tried she couldn’t forget those purple flowers floating in blood.

Her curiosity didn’t relent as she transitioned from a rosy cheeked child into a young woman. She did learn to be more discrete, quietly researching in her spare time. Always wondering what sort of affliction could cause petals to spill past ones lips and why no one wanted to provide the answers she sought out so desperately. Because there wasn’t a single medical journal she happened upon that could describe the illness her teacher once had. She couldn’t find evidence of it anywhere.

When she was volunteering at a blood bank she witnessed that strange disease again. She was with Soonyoung, a good friend, unloading a delivery at the local hospital. Soonyoung joked about her being weak, she stubbornly stuck out her tongue and carried on. She could remember slipping and cutting open her elbow on the floor in her hubris. He had taken her into a bathroom to bandage her up. They were laughing when it happened, they were completely naïve.

“Get away from me!”

They both froze at the sound of someone shouting out in the hallway. The person, whoever they were, sounded sick. She could hear them coughing horrendously, light splats resonating as something wet hit the floor. A part of her wanted to help him, but fear kept her rooted where she stood. Then—footsteps. Plenty of them. Loud too. They were chasing the sick person, they continued to scream until she heard a sickening crack.

Then there was silence.

Both Soonyoung and her were too startled to move at first, they had no idea what just happened. Soonyoung admitted to her later that he didn’t want to know. But as she bravely cracked open the door, cautiously peering out into the hallway, she saw the bloodied yellow petals scattered across the linoleum. Without a doubt she knew it was the same disease that plagued her teacher all those years ago.

“We have someone here in the last stage of Hanahaki.” Silence. “No sir, he wasn’t on our radar.” Silence. “That was our mistake sir, we’ll get him into the operating room now and fix this. The Cure will be administered.”

Hanahaki? She asked herself, closing the door. I thought—I thought that disease was eradicated?

Silence and fear washed over them, blanketing them in a tension that she struggled to breathe through. There was an undeniable weight on her chest, her rapid heartrate was a thunderstorm in her ears. She had never felt more terrified in her entire life. Beside her, Soonyoung trembled, neither of them knew what to do. The only thing that they did know was that if they made a wrong move their fate would be sealed.

“We need to get out of here.” Soonyoung whispered in her ear. “I don’t like how this sounds.”

“Neither do I.” She admitted. “But—but what do we do? If we run and they see us? I don’t want to think of what would happen to us—”

“So don’t.” He stated plainly, taking her hand in his. “Concentrate on what we can control, we’ll run only when we know it’s safe.”

Even though she still felt on edge, Soonyoung’s words calmed her considerably. After lacing their fingers together she was able to think more clearly, breathe a bit easier, her heartrate slowed until she could no longer hear the blood rushing in her ears. As the feeling of dread dissipated she was able to concentrate on what she heard.

“Soonyoung?” She asked, her face paling in terror. “What—what is Hanahaki? Like—like what’re the symptoms?”

He looked at her in disbelief. “You want to talk about a disease that was cured over a hundred years ago? Now? We’re a little busy if you haven’t noticed.”

“That’s the thing, I—” She muttered underneath her breath. “I don’t think it was cured.”

In that exact moment she had no idea how right she was.

Neither of them spoke of that day after their escape. And not from lack of trying on her part. Even though she feared what would happen to her if her search for the truth was made public, she wasn’t deterred in the slightest. If anything, the terror she felt fuelled her. There was something strange transpiring around her and she wouldn’t stop until she got to the bottom of it.

The last piece of the puzzle came to her after her grandfather passed, a grandfather she didn’t even know existed. He worked for the government on the other side of the country, and did so until the day he died. Her family gathered in the foreign town to offer condolences and also to help her uncles clear out his house. She had been lifting boxes and transporting them to the moving truck when she dropped a heavier one full of books. As they scattered across the attic floor, one caught her eye.

The Origins of Hanahaki

For a moment, time stopped. She couldn’t believe what she had just happened upon, the very thing she had been trying to find for years was only two feet in front of her. Cautiously, she looked over her shoulders, hoping that her parents wouldn’t come looking for her. Dropping to her knees she took the old text in her hands and hesitantly began leafing through the pages. Her mind soaked up every single piece of information, the tiniest detail, until she was finally enlightened.

Hanahaki wasn’t something that could truly be prevented, only cured. Everyone had the illness within them from the day they were born. And its physical symptoms are brought on by unrequited love. A bouquet of flowers slowly blossoming in your chest, the favorite flowers of the one you love, until you finally suffocate on the petals. Once someone has it there were only two ways to rid yourself of the affliction. Either move on from the person who couldn’t reciprocate the feelings, or have the flower inside of you removed. If Hanahaki went without cure, the host would eventually die.

Along the margins of the book her grandfather had written notes of varying importance. Some were corrections to the information provided, others were diagrams of flowers, and the most important of all were the notes on curing Hanahaki. What was written along the edges detailed a theoretical process in which Hanahaki was cured before it could even take root. He had written THE CURE in big red letters at the top of the page and then UNPRACTICAL in blue several years after.

Everyone, no matter how old or how young, had flowers embedded in their lungs. According to her grandfather’s theory, those flowers could be removed even before they had a chance to bloom, before a person was cursed with Hanahaki. Though it came at a cost. Removing the flowers permanently cuts off ones capacity to love. Or to feel any emotion at all, that’s why doctors initially didn’t recommend the treatment unless Hanahaki had already begun.

She was never without that book in the following years. Always hidden, never seen, but always with her. She learned everything there was to know about Hanahaki from those pages, she learned about a disease that humans would never be rid of completely. It was in their DNA, it was a part of them. Even with all of this information she still had questions, she felt as if she would always have questions. But one question eclipsed all others, the one she could never stop thinking about. How was it that there had been no reported cases of Hanahaki if the Cure her grandfather suggested never came to fruition?

Soonyoung distracted her from her overactive mind whenever they were together. Something she deeply appreciated, a semblance of normalcy in her life. They had graduated high school and gone on to attend the same university. He was her best friend, the one person in the world she felt as if she could trust. And yet—she never told him about what she learned. She didn’t tell him about the truths of Hanahaki, she didn’t tell anyone, but perhaps she should’ve. Looking back, she wished that she had dared to trust him long enough to prevent what would happen to her next.

“She said yes!” He exclaimed one day. “Jimin actually said yes!”

The girl Soonyoung was referencing was one he had an ungodly crush on for the longest time. He gushed about her daily, fawned over her fair looks and sweet voice, and no one heard more about her than his best friend. She didn’t mind, she was happy for him. She was happy that he was moving forward with his life. Even as she told him those exact words easily, she couldn’t deny the ache she felt in her chest. That ache only grew stronger and more tenacious in the following weeks until it disappeared almost overnight.

She was completely unaware that it was already too late.

When Hanahaki first presents itself you start by coughing horrendously. The flowers begin to emerge from the lining of your lungs and the irritation causes an immense pain in your chest. It’s mostly overlooked in the beginning, writing it off as just a bad cough. Most people don’t even know that there are flowers blooming inside of them until the bloody petals spill from their lips. She was no different.

The first time she coughed up flowers she was at home, thankfully. In the middle of the night she could feel something making its way up her throat and in her lethargic state she barely recognized what was going on. Quickly she ran to the bathroom, practically tearing the door of its hinges as she collapsed onto her knees and emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet. Wiping off the corners of her mouth with a towel she noticed the blood stained lilies floating around in the water.

Shock hit her almost instantly, followed shortly by denial. She couldn’t believe her eyes, she refused to. She shook her head back and forth, covering her mouth as quiet sobs wracked her body. In all of her studies, in her search for the truth, she never imagined that Hanahaki would affect her directly. The idea that she would be afflicted with the disease never crossed her mind. She cursed herself for being so foolish as she plucked petals from between her teeth.

Despite her situation, she did her best to continue on like nothing was wrong. Mostly to no avail. She couldn’t help it, couldn’t shake the anxious feeling coursing through her. Everywhere she went she was afraid someone would see her cough up petals into her handkerchief. And more afraid of what would happen to her next. She didn’t go to the doctors, she tried not to go out at all if she could help it. Mostly she spent her days working from home doing her best to remain hidden until she overcame whatever unrequited love she was apparently enduring.

The thought occurred to her to tell the authorities, to go to the doctor to have the flowers permanently cut out from her lungs. Surely the procedure still existed, Hanahaki wasn’t something that was going to go away just because the government said it would. She didn’t know who caused the flower to bloom in the first place, it wasn’t as if cutting off her emotions would’ve brought her any sadness. It was a viable option, one she cast aside almost as soon as she thought of it. The idea of never being able to experience happiness, love, it wasn’t worth it.

Soonyoung stopped by when she offhandedly sent him a text saying that she was “sick”, hoping it would keep him away. He didn’t need to know about her disease, didn’t need to be troubled by her silly mistake. That didn’t stop him, few things could. When he set his mind to a task nothing could get in his way. It was one of many things that made her happy that he was her best friend.

“Hey sicky.” He smirked, poking his head in through an open window suddenly.

Startled, she backed away instinctively and let out a shaky laugh. “Holy shit, Soonyoung. You can’t just scare a girl half to death like that!”

“Apparently I can.” He continued to tease her. “Why aren’t you answering my text messages?”

“I already told you.” She sighed. “I’m sick.”

He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. “Is that so? The best friend that I know and love is completely glued to her phone whenever she’s sick. Can’t get her off of it. Isn’t that strange?”

Blushing, she discreetly coughed into her hand. “Okay, fine. I’ve been ignoring you, I’m sorry.”

“You better be sorry!” He exclaimed matter-of-factly. “I even knew that you were ignoring me and I still came here to cheer you up.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “We’re already aware that you’re a far better friend then I am.”

“That’s true.” He grinned proudly. “I even considered giving you the cold shoulder—but I couldn’t. I’ve just missed you so darn much.”

Eyes widening, she was suddenly overcome by a coughing fit. This one was worse than those that had come before, she couldn’t even stand up straight as she felt a flower make its way up her throat. Quickly she ran to the bathroom, spitting the lily into the toilet before Soonyoung had a chance to catch up. She was able to flush it just in time for him to appear in the doorway, worry creasing his soft features.

“Is that—” He swallowed nervously. “Is that blood? Have you seen a doctor yet?”

Wiping the warmth from her chin, she nodded. “O-of course I have. What sort of person doesn’t see the doctor when they’re sick?”

He offered her a reassuring smile. “Stubborn people. Which you might be from time to time.”

Snickering weakly, she splashed some cold water into her face. “Did you only come here to make fun of me and call me names?”

“I wish.” He joked. “I brought you some flowers on Jimin’s request. If you were really sick I thought you could use some cheering up.”

Watching him reach into his jacket, her heart warmed considerably. Soonyoung truly cared for her even if at sometimes it was hard to see. He always knew what to do or what to say to make her feel better. Unfortunately for her, no amount of kindness from her best friend could heal the illness she was plagued with, only she could.

She paled when she saw that he had brought her lilies, the flower she was more than acquainted with, but she quickly plastered on a fake smile. “Thank you so much, Soonyoung. Did Jimin pick these out?”

“No.” He chuckled as he shook his head. “I did. They’re my favorite.”

When her knees suddenly gave out and she vomited into the toilet, it wasn’t because of Hanahaki.

It never crossed her mind that she could possibly be in love with her best friend. Never. In hindsight it probably should’ve been her first guess. They had been friends since they were kids, they did everything together, knew everything about each other, it only made sense. Soonyoung was the person she could turn to for anything and often did. He was there for her when she needed him most, and evidently the one person to seal her fate with nothing more than a beautiful white flower.

The day she feared for her life came shortly after when she stepped out for a moment to get groceries. She was eyeing eggs, checking to make sure none of them were cracked when she heard two older women whispering about a missing co-worker. Writing it off as office gossip, she approached the counter and paid for her food. She was at the door when something she heard stopped her in her tracks.

“They say he had Hanahaki.”

“What? That’s impossible!”

“You and I both know that Hanahaki has never been cured. Only hidden.”

“I know that’s—we shouldn’t talk about this here. We don’t want to disappear like he did.”

Her suspicions had been correct all along, the government was hiding Hanahaki’s presence by taking anyone who presented symptoms. They were probably forced to undergo the procedure that cured them if her memory of that one dreadful day when she was hiding in the hospital was correct. The thought made her stomach sink like a rock, she couldn’t tell anyone. She was going to wind up dead one day and no one would know why.

When days bled into weeks, weeks into months, her disease only got worse. It became harder and harder to keep Soonyoung away. As he was actually a doctor he insisted on caring for her, persisted even. She had to refuse, she had to stay away from him. Because each moment she spent near him she could feel the flowers in her chest multiplying, like she was even in love with his presence. Why she didn’t tell him about what he was doing to her, why she didn’t finally tell him about the innocent petals that were slowly killing her, she would never know. He was the one person she could trust above all else.

“How’re you doing?” Soonyoung asked cautiously over the phone. “Any better?”

“Loads.” She lied easily. “I’ll be back in fighting form in no time. Just you wait.”

He sighed. “I really have no idea why you won’t let me take you to the doctor. You obviously need medical attention.”

“You know why.” She reminded him. “I’m—I’m terrified of doctors.”

“It would just be me!” He exclaimed, clearly frustrated. “I’d get you in and out of there quickly, no one would even know!”

Coughing and spitting a bloody petal into a tissue, she had to remain strong. “I’m sorry Soonyoung. I know you’re worried about me I just—I can’t.”

“Then let me take care of you at least.” He continued to push. “Let me stop by a couple of times a week to monitor your breathing. There’s no way this can be mono, I don’t care what you say.”

“Soonyoung—” She started, only to be interrupted by the flower crawling up her throat. “You really don’t need to do all that, I’m—I’m going to be fine!”

“I’d rather stop by and be completely sure.” He insisted. “Please, please let me do this. I’m practically tearing my hair out over here because I’m afraid that if I don’t hear from you for a day it’s because you finally coughed up a lung. Do it for me, do it so I stop driving Jimin crazy.”

She winced at the sound of her name. “Soonyoung, I don’t—I don’t think—”

“Please.” He begged her. “I love you and I don’t want to lose you.”

You’re going to anyway. She reminded herself morbidly with a sad smile. “I love you too. So—so if you want to stop by for a few minutes—”

“Thank you.” He interrupted. “Thank you thank you thank you thank you. I’ll be right there!”

Letting her hand drop into her lap, she couldn’t stop the tears that she had kept bottled inside. She loved Soonyoung, she loved him so much. The pain of Hanahaki didn’t compare to the ache in her heart. Sometimes she wondered how soon it would claim her. She had been suffering from Hanahaki for several months now, almost a whole year. And while some people had lived for a whole decade after they first noticed symptoms, others had passed in as little as three months. Where she would fall was a complete mystery, probably sooner than she hoped.

The next few weeks while Soonyoung examined her were perhaps the hardest yet. With him being so close to her, the vase of fresh lilies he brought with him resting peacefully on her nightstand, it was hard for her to breathe. Countless times to had to swallow a stray petal that threatened to expose the truth she was so terrified of. Her body was rebelling against her, the flowers he had given life to within her were desperate for him. It was a strange feeling, like they were actively reaching for him as if he were the sun.

“I brought you more lilies.” He said each and every day as he offered them to her. “They always seem to make you happy.”

Soonyoung smiled and her heart ached. It always did. He reached out for her and she could feel a lump forming in her throat. She could feel the flowers that blossomed within her chest threatening to spill forth and unveil her lies. But no matter how much it hurt, how much it pained her to keep this secret, she didn’t dare mare the beautiful lilies that Soonyoung loved so much.

“I love them.”

Eventually, with time, she was able to hide her symptoms better. She started going out in public, hung out with friends, things were almost halfway normal. Every now and again she’d have to excuse herself, the uncomfortable tightness in her throat got to be too much. But, other than that, she was fine. Soonyoung stopped worrying about her as much, life carried on. She even dared to hope that her condition was improving.

Apparently childish whims weren’t beyond her.

She collapsed one afternoon out on the busy street. Her lungs had either filled up with flowers or one had cut off oxygen to her brain. She only lost consciousness for a moment, but that was long enough for someone to call an ambulance. Hunched over, she coughed up a handful of lilies and immediately sprinted towards a dark alley. There was no way she was going to the hospital, she wasn’t going to give anyone the chance to remove the flowers from her lungs.

Sometimes she could swear she was beyond delusional. The notion that she’d rather keep the seeds of unrequited love in her chest than live a full life was absolutely ludicrous. Every day she reminded herself of this fact, logic and reason screamed at her to make the right decision. Still she refused. Because every single time her mind tried to convince her to save herself, her heart would ache thinking about how Soonyoung would never be able to make her smile again.

Her love for Soonyoung was more deep and more profound than she initially thought. It took time, but finally she realized how pivotal to her life he really was. He was the light that woke her up every morning, the star in the night sky that watched over her in her dreams. With just a smile he could lift her spirits, his laughter dried her tears. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for him, nothing she wouldn’t give. Soonyoung was, and will always be, the keeper of her heart. And the man who would kill her in a little over a year.

She tried to keep up appearance as best she could, but her condition was getting harder and harder to hide. The face mask she wore would often be spattered with blood, she could leave a meadow of lilies in her wake, she didn’t have much time left. And yet, despite all of that, she decided to stay by Soonyoung’s side. She continued to be his best friend until her very last breath.

“We’re getting engaged!”

When Soonyoung and Jimin invited her over for dinner, she didn’t expect to hear those words spill from his lips. She expected anything but. The pain she felt inside of her was different than before, it was—it was almost final. And she wasn’t sure if it was because her heart was breaking or because Hanahaki was about to overtake her. She did her best to smile as her ears began ringing uncontrollably and the room starting spinning. Her heart was racing, she was getting lightheaded, another handful of seconds ticked by and she collapsed to the ground. Soonyoung’s worried cries were the last thing she heard.

By the time she woke up, she was in Soonyoung’s car. She was splayed out on the backseat, blood pooled from her mouth and dripped onto the upholstery. Everything was a blur, she could barely see anything, her head ached terribly, and trying to sit up was perhaps the most agonizing thing she attempted in her entire life. Her body was revolting against her, she rolled onto her side and coughed up perhaps a dozen lilies all perfectly intact. All drenched in her blood.

“I need you to keep the drop off clear.” Soonyoung said to someone on the phone. “I have someone who needs treatment for Hanahaki now.”

Her heart skipped a beat, then two. Three beats later and she wasn’t completely sure if it had stopped entirely. She had to get out of the car, she had to run away. She wouldn’t be cured, she didn’t want to be. Mustering up all the strength she could, she reached for the door handle, her bloodied hands slipping against the cool plastic. Tears streaked her face, tears of desperation and fear, betrayal and heartbreak. Soonyoung was going to rip out her emotions without batting an eyelash. She found herself kicking the door in anger.

“Holy shit!” Soonyoung swore, clearly startled. “You’re—you’re awake? Oh thank God, are you okay?”

“Don’t take me to the hospital…” She begged him. “Please Soonyoung, don’t do this to me...”

“What the hell are you even saying!” He exclaimed. “If you haven’t noticed, you’ve been coughing up blood for the past hour! Of course I’m taking you to the hospital!”

She clenched her jaw when a large flower began pushing its way up from her lungs. “I—I don’t care… I can’t go to the hospital…”

“I’m not letting my best friend die from Hanahaki!” He shouted angrily. “Why didn’t you tell me that this was happening to you? Obviously you know that coughing up flowers isn’t natural!”

“I know…” She muttered weakly, her throat sore from her illness. “How do you—how do you know about Hanahaki? All of the information on it was destroyed…”

“I’m a doctor.” He halfway explained. “We know that Hanahaki wasn’t really cured, only prevented. I’ve—I’ve seen people with Hanahaki before, you don’t know how bad it can get. Watching someone’s chest ripped open and—it’s not something I ever want to see happen to you. I’m not going to let it happen. You need a doctor.”

She shook her head in defiance. “I don’t want to see a doctor, Soonyoung.”

“That’s only because you don’t know what’s about to happen!” He persisted. “You don’t know what it’ll do to you, what it’ll—”

“I know all about Hanahaki, Soonyoung…” She all but whispered. “I’ve—I’ve always known.”

Soonyoung eyed her in disbelief through the rearview mirror. “You’re telling me that you’ve known that you’ve had Hanahaki this whole time and you’ve done nothing about it? The procedure—”

“Isn’t worth it.��� She interrupted bitterly. “How could you even think that?”

“And you think it’s worth dying for someone who doesn’t love you?” He offered in a snide tone. “Do you really love them that much?”

“Of course I do.” She answered with a sad smile. “Isn’t that obvious?”

Running a hand through his hair he sped through a red light. “I’m going to be honest with you, as your best friend, if they don’t love you then they’re not worth it. Don’t let some asshole end your life like this!”

“If he were an asshole it would be easier…” She offered quietly. “But I couldn’t see myself loving anyone else.”

He exhaled a frustrated breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Fine, you love him. You don’t want to get the procedure. I just—I can’t figure out why the fuck you didn’t tell me! I thought we were friends, best friends. I could’ve helped you through this!”

“I had my reasons…” She tried to deflect, tears stinging her eyes. “I—I had my reasons…”

“What reason is worth dying over!” He shouted, slamming his fist into the steering wheel. “I can’t believe you right now, I really can’t.”

Swallowing nervously, the pressure inside of her chest was almost too much for her to handle. “I’m—I’m sorry Soonyoung, I just—I know you love lilies. I didn’t want to ruin them for you.”

“What?” He questioned, obviously confused. “What the hell are you even saying—”

He was interrupted by the gut wrenching scream that escaped her lips.

“Oh no…” He muttered, realizing what that sound meant. “Fuck! I don’t care what you say, you’re getting the procedure. I’m not losing you because you keep deciding to be stubborn!”

“No!” She managed to shout through the pain. “Soonyoung, please! I can’t—”

As she lifted herself up, leaning over the center console just slightly, a dozen bloody lilies rose up from her lungs and spilled all over the arm rest. One after another they made the same sickening splat against the upholstery, one after another Soonyoung’s eyes contorted in a heartwrenching sadness. Because just one look at them and he finally knew the truth. He knew why she never confided in him. He knew that he was the one who was going to kill her in the end.

“Why…?” He asked no on in particularly, tears dripping from his chin as he pulled off the road. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Wiping off her mouth, she still smiled. “I couldn’t put that burden on you. I—I know how much you love Jimin, I didn’t want my predicament sway you to do something stupid…”

“Like refuse treatment for a disease that is completely curable?” He seethed through his teeth. “I can’t believe this is happening, I can’t believe you would fall in love with me!”

She offered a weak laugh. “You can’t be surprised, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

Putting the car in park, he pressed his palms into his eyes. “Please—please let me take you to the hospital. Please don’t make me the murderer of my best friend! I’ll—I’ll do anything! I’ll tell you that I love you, I’ll—I’ll—”

“Soonyoung…” She whispered, crawling into the front seat and taking his hand in hers. “I’m not asking you to love me, I would never do that to you because I know you never will. This wasn’t your fault, it’s not your fault that you are who you are. I don’t care that you don’t love me, I’m just begging you not to take away the love I have for you.”

His lower lip quivered as he looked at her. “I want to love you… I—I want to save you, but I—I—”

“Not everyone can be saved.” She gritted through her teeth, gripping his hand tighter than expected. “All you can do—all you can do is try your best.”

“I—” He practically whimpered. “I can’t let you die like this... I just can’t…”

As she rubbed her thumb against the back on his hand to comfort him, she could feel her ribs splintering. Like something was crawling out of her chest. It was like nothing she had ever felt before from Hanahaki, the pain was unbearable. She knew she only had minutes left.

“You’ve done everything you can.” She somehow managed. “I’ve—I’ve done everything I can. I tried so hard to move on from you—hngh!—I did everything that I could. Nothing I did made a difference. I didn’t care that it would kill me, I’d rather die than stop loving you.”

He reached out for her suddenly, pulling her back into him and wrapping his arms tightly around her. This was their goodbye, the goodbye she had been dreading for months. He sobbed freely into her hair, never letting go of her hand while despair shook his shoulders. In his arms she had never felt more at home, and more like a stranger. The one place she always wanted to be but the one place she never belonged. It was her last comfort.

The last thing she heard before she died was a sickening crack. It was instant, almost painless as the flowers he had planted in her lungs finally burst forth. His cries would’ve deafened her if she could hear. Her chest opened up, several dozen bright white lilies blossoming from her breast, and she was dead. The flowers that cursed her were positively breathtaking even as blood soaked the edges and poured from the open wound. She was beautiful, beautiful in a way no one wanted to admit. Even in death love made her beautiful.

He made her beautiful.

#svtcreations #soonyoung fanfic #soonyoung scenario #hoshi fanfic #hoshi scenario #soonyoung #m:ksy #g:angst #g:romance #w:5k #t:oneshot #p:3rd #r:pg15 #chilligyu #lex writes #*lilies #fic:svt #tw:blood #tw:gore #tw:mcd

[blayzez]

So I recently rewatched Voltron s1e01 - The Rise of Voltron to compile screenshots of my favorite Lances of that episode, as I believe that episode animated him BEAUTIFULLY while the rest of the series tends to make him more off-model than any other character (don't deny it, you know it in your heart it's true).

Anyway, while doing that, I made a few... observations. As per the usual with pilot episodes, a lot was packed into this episode. Some of it probably seemed pretty throw-away, early season stuff that won't really make reappearances in the future. However, I am seeing some stuff that actually DID reappear -- sometimes late in the series. I am referring to these as planted seeds; these seeds were planted in the very first episode, but some of them are just late bloomers.

So I have decided to make a meta about this. I want to point out the different seeds that were planted in this episode and when they actually bloom later in the series. Keep in mind that some of these are very obvious and stuff that everyone knows, but I feel they should be here for reasons I'll explain later (and just to have these seeds in a nice compilation).

DISCLAIMER:

I have nothing against ANY ship. While I don't ship many things myself in this show, I'm not against the ships people have for this show, regardless of what those ships are. That said, my confidence in the endgame ship is Klance, and as such, other Lance- and Keith-related ships may not be shown in the best light in this post as one of the points I make in this meta is WHY I believe Klance will be endgame. I will not use the full ship names other than Klance so that this post will stay out of the tags of those ships. THAT said, know that I do not find the ships I'm trying to disprove unhealthy, wrong, or bad in any way, I just don't believe they'll be endgame. Please go into this with an open mind.

All that said, let's get this show on the road!

I am starting with the most obvious and well-known seed:

Okay, we all know about this one. Pidge being iffy about the Kerberos mission, eventually revealing to Shiro that the two people who accompanied him on the Kerberos mission were her father and brother, showing us that she desires ro find them in space. We all know this, the show has beaten us over the head with her arc repeatedly. Still, this seed was planted in this first episode and so it warrants mentioning. It's also noteworthy that this seed did not fully bloom until season 7 -- one season away from the finale season. This is important, but I will get to it later.

Onto the next one!

Another obvious seed. Allura's insecurities as well as her expectations of herself and the Voltron crew to carry her father's legacy. This seed is still growing and got a lot of focus in seasons 5 and 6, where it bloomed the most. This is a seed that I don't think CAN blossom until the series is complete, though, as bringing peace to the universe is how Allura and Voltron can fulfill her father's legacy. Not much to say here, just posting it for prosperity's sake and to show that, like most of the seeds on this list, this seed did not/will not fully blossom until the very end as well as the fact that it's something we see throughout the show and does not get ignored.

As for this next one:

I hesitated to add this one because it is a bit of a reach. After deliberating, I decided it was worth adding in.

So Allura was integral in Pidge's season 1 arc regarding Pidge's identity. I've noticed that Pidge seems to be reciprocating come season 7 -- Allura helped Pidge by trying to get her to admit to her true self but also keeping it a secret and letting Pidge be to one to reveal it, and now Pidge is Allura's MVP in getting back the castleship.

Allura is impressed by Pidge in this scene. This is actually Allura's first impression of Pidge, as Pidge didn't say much before now. And her first impression of her is that Pidge is extremely intelligent and has a mind that can be relied on. I think it's possible this is a seed that is sprouting now in season 7, when Allura is relying on the intellect of Pidge and Pidge's family get back a piece of Alfor's legacy -- the Castle of Lions. Allura even eluded to this in The Feud, when she chose Pidge to leave the game show and said it was because Pidge and her family have the best chance of finishing what Alfor started. And that started right here in this scene, I think.

So, next seed:

This is a small seed, and an unexpected one. I've always viewed Iverson as a jerk and thought this scene no different. Fresh off the heels of season 7, I rewatch this scene and realize how... honestly concerned Iverson sounds. He doesn't sound angry or too business-like or gruff, he sounds concerned and confused and seems to actually have Shiro's well-being in mind when he requests they put Shiro under. His voice, especially when compared to how he spoke to the Garrison Trio, is softer and hints that he really isn't as bad a guy as we've all pegged him to be. Come season 7 and we see how right that actually is. He ISN'T a bad guy; he's a strict guy, yes, but he has everyone's best interests at heart and honestly feels gutted when that entire crew is wiped out.

I know that was a small seed, but it still counts. Next seed, ahoy:

This explains a lot regarding Allura's connections to the lions, but we don't really see the fruits of this until season 6. In season 6, Allura was able to use her powers from Oriande to take Shiro's soul from the Black Lion's consciousness and place it into Clone Shiro's body. Yes, she has powers from Oriande -- that's how she was able to mess with Shiro's soul like that -- but it was her connection to the lions that allowed her to connect to Black Lion's consciousness in the first place. Oriande didn't do that -- Alfor did, and this scene proves it.

This next seed is... wow:

This one caught me by surprise because holy crap how did I miss this???

Okay, so I made a post talking about that Lauren Montgomery art and how it's playing into the show in unexpected ways. Please go read that to understand this to the fullest extent.

This scene? This scene foreshadows Lance's inclusion in Shiro's arc. Shiro offers a hand -- his Galra hand -- to Lance for shaking (Lance being the only person in the room aside from Keith whose name he knew). Lance looks at the arm trepidatiously for a split second before smiling and reciprocating the handshake.

This moment is focused on for a reason and I can't believe I missed it. Because isn't it interesting that Shiro offers his GALRA arm despite it being a symbol of his trauma and not something he'd be eager to flaunt? Isn't it interesting that the episode puts so much focus on his handshake with LANCE, but his handshake with Pidge is barely given any thought?

It IS interesting, and here's why.

Lance was much more important to Shiro's arc than we thought. While Keith brought Clone Shiro to an end, and Allura brought the real Shiro back to life, Lance was the support he needed. Clone Shiro wasn't doing so well. I mean, he's a Galra-created clone being controled by Haggar, of course he's not doing well. The ones who suffered the most from this were Allura and Lance. Allura stood up for herself and refused to be pushed around and sometimes managed to get her way. Lance, however, respected Shiro too much to do more than try and keep the peace. He didn't stand up for himself, didn't call Shiro out on his bullcrap, just tried to keep him calm and keep the peace among the team. It's no wonder that Lance is the one Clone Shiro goes to about how he's actually feeling. And what does Lance do? He supports him. Comforts him. Promises him they'll figure it out together. He's worried at first, much like how he showed worry before accepting Shiro's hand in s1e01, but he ultimately puts that aside and accepts Shiro.

This scene was the planted seed. It was subtle, so subtle I completely missed it, but here it is. And it took a while to bloom, BOY did it take a while! Took until season 5 before we got to see it blossom. But it did and Lance was the support Clone Shiro needed to stay sane until Keith could come in and fix the situation.

Speaking of Lance:

This seed came to fruition in season 3 -- it was definitely foreshadowing. Most of the other paladins get are shown alone when shown their lions. There are two exceptions to that (one of which I will get to later).

This seed is the first exception. Lance and Keith are both shown with the Red Lion here, rather than Keith alone. Come season 3, Lance becomes the Red Lion's new pilot.

With this next seed:

This was planted in this first episode and didn't really see the light for day for AGES. We were told from the very beginning that Hunk is the one who is meant to help keep the team together, but we don't actually see that happen.

Until season 7.

Hunk's arc in season 7 seems like it came out of nowhere (his family arc kinda did), but it was foreshadowed from the very beginning. There was always going to come a time when the team seemed like it was falling apart and it'd be up to Hunk to keep them together. And in season 7, that's EXACTLY what happened. This seed actually sprouted in season 6, when Hunk got their Galra allies to stop arguing during a crucial moment. It stagnated then, until season 7 came along and this seed finally bloomed in full.

I love this next seed:

This seed is one of my favorites, because the principle of its existence helps prove a point I will make later in this post.

It's Leifsdotter! This is a seed that didn't begin blooming until season 7. I know, the showrunners could have just needed a design for an mfe pilot and pulled hers out of the episode, but there are two things that make me disagree with that notion:

1. Her design is so much more... detailed and not standard-background-character-ish than the rest of the students in that scene. She's not the focus of the scene and doesn't even speak, yet her design makes her stand out. The showrunners WANT us to see her.

2. Hers is the only mfe pilot design pulled from that episode. That group had multiple different character designs and all of them could have easily suited the mfe pilots. But the showrunners didn't do that, which makes me think this was very deliberate and planned out.

I will be getting to these points soon.

Now for the seeds that have been growing throughout the series but have not reached full bloom. First off, we have...

Okay, this one is super subtle. Shiro actually has had a hand in Lance's romance arc since this first episode. We have a very tiny hint of Shiro's sexuality with this shot:

Color theory is often used in media to portray subtle clues to the audience about something happening in the background or as foreshadowing. This scene is the latter; it foreshadows Shiro's arc by using a rainbow in the background, right above his head, and the lemur-sloth-thing that's guiding them blocks the rainbow off from extending to Pidge as well, keeping the rainbow strictly to Shiro. So we had a subtle hint in this very first episode about Shiro's sexuality.

And I think that alludes to the expectation we all have of Shiro helping Lance with a sexuality arc. It makes sense, and it's interesting seeing that Shiro has kinda of been involved in Lance's romantic arc this whole time! Right from the first episode!

We see it continue throughout the series; the people that are most annoyed with Lance's flirtations are Shiro, Keith (who isn't really verbal about it but almost always looks disgruntled), and Allura (who is often on the receiving end of said flirtations). Shiro interrupts flirtations on multiple occasions and has shown a lot of annoyance with it.

This... kind of continues in season 7 with the reveal of Shiro being gay. He doesn't have much interaction with Lance, but I think his sexuality being revealed here (however... too subtle it may have been) is paving the way for the climax of Lance's romance arc in season 8.

The next seed is not nearly as subtle:

Black Paladin Lance! This is the second exception to the paladins + their lions scene I mentioned earlier.

I know a lot of people lost hope in this, but not me. There has been way too much set up for this, and as I will talk about soon, almost everything that has been set up has come to fruition.

So let’s look at this scene.

The Green and Yellow Lions have scenes with their paladins alone -- no other paladin is in the shot. For the Red Lion, both Keith and Lance are in the shot, which foreshadowed Lance eventually taking over the Red Lion -- which happened in season 3. Then we have the Black Lion. Three people are in that shot -- Shiro, Keith, and Lance. Shiro is, of course, the original Black Paladin. Keith took the helm in season 3 and then again in season 6 - present. So this shot foreshadows that. This leaves Lance.

I want to point out how this shot is set up. Shiro is the largest, which makes sense as he was the Black Paladin for the longest -- seasons 1, 2, 4, 5, and half of 6. Keith is the second largest. Again, this makes sense as he's been the Black Lion's pilot for seasons 3, half of 6, and all of 7. So he has been the pilot for the second longest. Lance being the smallest makes sense if he's only to be the Black Lion's pilot for a short while. So theory time!

I believe something will happen to Keith in season 8 -- he'll be captured or perhaps Honerva mind-controls him. The Black Lion then enlists Lance to be its pilot long enough to get Keith back, who will then take over as the Black Lion's pilot and Lance goes back to Red.

And it makes sense, considering how this shot is set up, for it to have taken this long for Lance to be the Black Lion's pilot. He's the smallest in the shot, smaller than Keith, and Keith had only just gotten back to piloting the Black Lion. With the way the series is set up, it wouldn't have made sense for Lance to pilot the Black Lion sooner; seasons 4 and 5 (keeping in mind that seasons 3 and 4 and seasons 5 and 6 were meant to be single seasons each and were split up last minute), while not featuring Lance -- although Lance has always been developing in the background, it's just slowly done and not at the forefront -- do show the changes he goes through in losing Keith to the Blade of Marmora. We see him become isolated, ignored, and any confidence he had built up being Keith's right-hand was shot. Season 6 was about resolving the overall problem of which Lance's issues were a side effect. Season 7, meanwhile, allows us to see Keith coming back into action with a clearer mind while also showing us how much he relies on Lance despite being a much better leader. You can see the difference in Lance's actions in the show between seasons 4 and 5 and seasons 6 and 7; in season 7 especially, he's much more in-action, plays a much bigger part, and shows how necessary he really is. This was all needed for Lance's arc -- getting rid of this flow (even if season 4 was not the best by any stretch of the means) would have weakened Lance's arc and made him less able to be the Black Lion's pilot.

Another point I want to bring up is the "following in his [Keith's] footsteps" thing. This is something that has also been a constant in the show -- not the phrase, but the action. Because Lance is ALWAYS following in Keith's footsteps. ALWAYS. He literally followed Keith's footsteps in this episode to save Shiro. The series shows how often he follows Keith -- they're constantly next to each other, Lance often wants Keith's glory, and in more serious points, he takes over Keith's lion, takes Keith's role as right-hand man to Shiro, gets a sword like Keith gets.

Quick diversion, on the subject of the sword, Lance has yet to use it despite having it for three seasons. In my opinion, this was to show us how alike he is to Keith and serves little purpose beyond that (perhaps will have a plot point sometime in season 8).

Back to the point, Lance has always followed Keith. "Don't follow in his footsteps," was something that was a focal point of the scene it was said in. It was that scene's finale line, a line that we were supposed to pay attention to and remember, and then the episode shows Lance disobeying that repeatedly and constantly following Keith's footsteps. This seed was planted -- a whole scene gave us focus of it being planted -- and it has slowly grown and blossomed over the course of the series. It hasn't fully bloomed yet, but season 7 did not ignore it like some might think. There was a bump in the road, but we saw him really slide into the role of right-hand man to Keith, showing himself reliable and actually being better as a right-hand than Keith was. He's followed in Keith's footsteps and, in some ways, has surpassed him. We also saw his relationship with the Red Lion and how similar it is to the relationship the Red Lion had with Keith. He's been following Keith's footsteps throughout the show and that hasn't stopped -- season 7 made sure to showcase that.

One last point I want to make is Lance's progression. His main issue in leading the team in this episode was his ego. Season 7 is such a huge jump because Keith leaves the team in Lance's hands and we see how responsible and logical Lance is in doing so, making keeping the team safe his number one priority and not even caring about the glory. When Keith put his, Pidge's, and Kosmo's lives in Lance's sniping hands, Lance had a chance to brag to his sister and the mfe sniper that was with them. He didn't. He explained what his gun does in a no-nonsense manner and left it at that. There was no ego, not talk of the glory he'd get for his skills, no showboating. He stayed on the task and his only concern was getting his job done right and keeping his teammates alive and safe. That seed was planted in the first episode -- that was his starting point, and much like his leadership seed, he has grown and bloomed into something much bigger and better than what he started out as.

And there's my point here: His leadership skills have grown. This seed is the seed of his leadership, and it has slowly grown as the show has gone on. It sprouted in season 3 and now season 7 is showing how beautifully it's blossoming. A seed planted in this episode didn't really start to blossom until the second-to-last season! As mentioned before, yes I will come back to that particular point soon (we're almost to the culmination of these "soons" and "laters", I promise).

I swear this next seed is important please bear with me:

I know the A//urance in season 7 scared a lot of people off, but PLEASE bear with me, I swear I have a point. Also, I promised Klance would be a big part of this meta and I was not lying so just... be patient. This is important.

Lance's arc has always been romance and that became the most obvious here. I want to say that out of all the un-bloomed seeds on this list, this is the one that is nearest to completion because his arc with Allura will conclude -- I predict -- early on in season 8.

Allura is important to Lance's arc, we can't deny that. His crush on her is superficial at first. This is proven later in the season; when Allura sacrifices herself so Shiro can escape the Galra ship, Lance is no more worried about her than the other paladins. Honestly, Coran and Shiro are more worried about Allura than Lance is. And that's saying something considering how much he worries about her later in the series.

The A//urance seed -- which I believe is mostly platonic and only dips into romance a little bit but will go right back to platonic -- was planted in this episode. It doesn't really grow much until season 5. That's not to say Lance's thing for Allura is not mentioned or focused on until then. No, what I mean is it is not DEVELOPED until season 5.

In the first two seasons, it's basically a running gag, there's not real seriousness behind it. Season 3, after Lance supports Keith's leadership, shows a turn in their relationship from running gag to actual friendship. However, season 3 doesn't show us much of this -- we only get focus on it in episode 2. After that, their relationship is sidelined for Lance and Keith's development.

We got a scene or two in season 4 of their friendship, but relationships aside from Pidge's and Matt's are not really explored or focused on in this season.

That's where season 5 comes in, because that's when we see them have serious scenes together that are akin to their scenes in s3e02. It's also where we see that Lance's crush on her is no longer a gag. In fact, until season 6, it's practically non-existent. Season 5 instead focuses on their friendship. Season 6 focuses on his one-sided crush.

And season 7...

Here's the thing: Season 7 isn't as A//urance-friendly as is believed. Sure, they get two nice scenes together, one including mutual blushing, and both including teasing from Lance's sister. However, there's something much, much different about their interactions here than in the previous seasons, and that is Lance's attitude.

Because Lance doesn't seem that terribly happy that Allura might be reciprocating his crush. He smiles, yes, but he only really blushes because of his sister's teasing, and he denies that Allura could possibly have any feelings for him. While, yes, that could be due to his insecurities, but if season 7 showed us anything about Lance, it's that his insecurities are finally lifting and he's finally gaining confidence in himself and his abilities.

If season 7 showed us anything about their relationship, it's that Allura initiated both of their scenes. Aside from that? Lance... actually kinda of ignored Allura for most of the season. His attention was more focused on his family and, well, Keith.

And that's something I've noticed has been consistent throughout the series since season 3.

In season 3, once Lance became Keith's right-hand man, his flirtations stopped COMPLETELY. He not only stopped flirting with girls in general, he even stopped flirting with ALLURA. And this stuck throughout the rest of season 3.

Season 4 had Keith leaving the team, yet Lance's flirting didn't pick back up. I believe this was because he really missed Keith and wasn't quite ready to fall back into his old habits. Season 5 is much the same.

Now his sudden flirtations with Allura (he only flirts with her on two occasions, I must point out) in season 6 seem out of nowhere. However, there was some build-up to it, what with his development with her in the previous season and the fact that he was jealous of Lotor's closeness with Allura. Not a lot of build-up and was still kind of sudden, but there was some.

However, I want to point something out: He started flirting again in the same season that has Keith's return. I believe this was deliberate and will play an important role later on.

Season 6 is also when we find out the depth of Lance's feelings -- it's not love, but it's a much deeper crush than he used to have.

This seed was planted in the first episode and was focused on quite a lot throughout its introductory episode and the episodes through the rest of the season. It took a while to grow, but it finally is and it is nearing it's blossoming. Like I said, I believe this seed will reach its full bloom early in season 8.

The last seed, however, will not reach its own full bloom until the end of season 8.

And the very last seed is-- oh come on, you know exactly what it is.

Yes, it's Klance. Of course it is.

Okay, so Lance's and Keith's relationship was one of the focal points of the episode. The seed that is their relationship was planted here and it's been growing this entire series. We've watched it grow and bloom, its growth being a focal point of the series, and season 7 did not ignore this. Actually, season 7 showcased their growth. It showed how much their relationship, which was once built on jabs and competition, is now built completely on mutual trust and respect and devotion. For God's sake, Lance called Keith the future! Compare that to how he interacted with Keith in the first episode and you see how much their seed has bloomed and how much season 7 did not only NOT ignore this growth, but actually made it one of the season's main themes.

I want to bring up these screenshots:

This might be a reach, but I find it interesting that Lance is standing in between Allura and Keith in this shot. Like, right smack dab in between them. Meanwhile, he isn't even looking at them. He's looking at Coran's pod, his face being in neutral territory. To me, this screams a subtle hint of Lance and his two love interests.

His front is facing Allura, his back to Keith. This seems like a visual to Lauren Montgomery's "He knows what he wants but not what he needs" thing. He wants Allura, is facing her, and he has his back to what he actually needs because what he wants and what he needs to not align. His face is in looking in neutral grounds, showing that while he prefers one side to the other, both sides are options.

It's also interesting to note that Allura is above him because of the pod. Later in the series, we find out he believes that Allura is above him, that he is beneath her, inferior to her.

Keith is below him but is stepping up to reach Lance's spot. He stays on the steps for a bit, but...

He obviously makes those final steps and a few minutes into the scene, he is standing beside Lance (something that happens a lot throughout the series). This is interesting because while Lance always secretly viewed Keith as being above him (i.e. better than him), him and Keith have always been on level ground with neither of them being superior to the other -- they just have different strengths and weaknesses and it takes Lance time to realize that just because he and Keith don't have the same strengths doesn't mean Keith is better than him because there are things that Lance is better at Keith in (shooting, being stealthy, strategies, etc.). They were always on level ground. Lance and Keith, neck-and-neck.

We have this shot:

In this one, everyone is looking at Shiro, and everyone's faces has the expression of excitement (and trepidation for Hunk because he's concerned about the bodysuit's size in proportion to him). Everyone is looking at Shi- no wait, Lance is definitely looking at Keith.

See? His line of sight is pointed directly at Keith. Someone pointed out that he supposed to be looking at Shiro, that his line of sight, if continued, points to Shiro. This is what I had to say to that:

"See I thought that, too, which is why I didn’t catch it until now. Lance’s line of sight COULD be leading to Shiro, but instead of looking at his face like everyone else, he’d be looking at Shiro’s man-titties. And while they are very nice, I doubt Lance was actually looking at them. If he was supposed to be looking at Shiro like the rest of the team, his irises would have to be right in between the top and bottom lines of his eye outlines. That’s how everyone elses shes are animated – even Keith’s irises are positioned upward to properly look at Shiro. Hunks irises are more down, yes, but that’s because hes taller than Shiro. But Shiro is slightly taller than Lance, so the position of Lance’s irises if hes looking at Shiro doesnt make sense as his irises would have to right in between the top and bottom lines of his eye outlines. Instead, they’re pointed down, at Keith."

Here's a quick edit I did to show where Lance's irises would have to be to be pointing to Shiro:

NOW he's looking directly at Shiro. But that's not the official animation we got. No, what we got was this:

While this could boil down to Lance having small irises, making it difficult to animate exactly where they need to be, I don't buy that. Hunk's irises are small in this shot and were animated fine, and s1e01 has some of the best animation the series has seen (I'd say only The Black Paladins tops it). The animators knew what they were doing. This was deliberate.

Then there's this screenshot:

I just think this one is pretty.

I also want to show just how often Lance and Keith end up standing next to each other. Here's a link to a compilation someone made of all the times Lance and Keith stood next to each other in just the first episode.

This? All deliberate. There is no way this was done accidentally, considering how often it happened in just this one episode and how often it happens in the series henceforth. One post would not be enough to showcase all the times they stood next to each other throughout the series. They're next to each other more often than any other character -- they always gravitate to each other, are constantly and consistently animated next to each other, even in season 7.

A lot of people assumed that A//urance and Ka/cxa was now set up for the endgame ships, but I think those people are jumping to conclusions waaaaaay too quickly.

You see, here's the thing about endgame ships.

They happen at the end.

Any ships being set up in season 7 are going to be rushed because they are not endgame. Josh Keaton keeps repeating that this is being written as a slow burn -- he wants us to remember that, so he's constantly saying it. Only Klance fits that term.

I want to bring in the Legend of Korra for just a second to prove my point.

LoK did not start off with Korrasami. One of the creators (Bryan, I think) really liked the idea of Korra and Asami being together, but they were operating under the assumption that they only had one season and Makorra was considered the easier relationship to develop. So Korra and Asami started out somewhat as rivals -- what with both girls liking the same guy, and Korra being suspicious of Asami's father and allies. Then they got greenlit for more seasons. What's the first thing they do? Season 2 dismantles Makorra and the season finale makes sure we know that these two are NOT getting back together and will not be endgame. Seasons 3 and 4 then go on to develop Korra's and Asami's relationship, but it was done subtly, to the point where there were many fans that thought the romance in their relationship came out of nowhere. They were wrong -- the friendship between these two was probably the most developed one of the series. Asami ended up back with Mako in season 2 after he and Korra broke up, but their relationship was shown to have ended season 2-3, where Asami began developing with Korra more. Both Asami and Korra had romantic relationships before ending up as each others endgame, and their relationship didn't take its real dramatic turn until season 4 -- the series' finale season.

Keith and Lance's relationship share a LOT of similarities -- which makes sense considering how many of Voltron's showrunners worked on Avatar and LoK. Klance is practically genderbended Korrasami IN S P A C E. A lot of what I mentioned up above about Korrasami fits Klance a lot -- both relationships started out rocky, turned into a friendship of mutual trust and respect, and are the most developed relationships of their respective series. The difference is that Voltron's showrunners knew how much time they had and didn't have to divert the relationship's endgame like LoK had to do with Makorra/Asamako/Korrasami. Klance's relationship development ended up much slower but much smoother because of it.

I actually regret judging season 7 as harshly as I had, because there was a lot of goodness in there and it really didn't kill Klance (a conclusion everyone, myself included, jumped to). A//urance and Ka/cxa? Yeah, it's there. But they're so tacked on that they're practically afterthoughts. The relationship that actually got focus this season? Klance. We saw the inherent trust Keith has in Lance in almost every episode, and we saw the high opinion Lance has of Keith as well as how much Keith leaving hurt Lance more than anybody else. Their relationship was a focus in season 7, one that I feel a lot of people overlooked because of a few tacked-on scenes featuring the other aforementioned ships. Honestly? I'd say that while this season isn't as Klance-centric as season 3, it probably fits in the number two spot. Don't believe me? Go watch it again, like, REALLY watch it and see how much Klance meat is in this season. Because there's a LOT.

Their relationship has always been a focal point of the series, and while some seasons didn't focus on it as much as others (compare seasons 1, 3, and 7 with 2, 4, 5, and 6 -- keeping in mind that seasons 4 and 5 hardly had Keith in it and seasons 2, 4, and 6 still had some noteworthy Klance moments), it has still been the most focused-on and developed relationship.

And that started with the very first episode.

The very first episode planted their seed and that seed's growth has not been ignored, contrary to popular belief. And that's where the "laters" and "soons" come in.

Because see the finished seeds list? All of those seeds were planted in the very first episode. And how long did it take for them to blossom? A LONG TIME. The earliest one we got was the Lance and Shiro seed, and that took until SEASON 3 to bloom. Another took until SEASON 5 to even SPROUT. The rest? Took until season 7. SEASON 7. That, to me, is proof that the showrunners have not thrown out the seeds they've planted in the beginning; it's just taking a long while for them to sprout and blossom. The fact that most of them took until the second-to-last season to fully come to fruition is absolute proof that early-planted seeds are not suddenly being ignored. We just need to be patient. Just because these seeds aren't blooming fast enough for our liking doesn't mean they're not blooming at all. It's not over until it's over. We still have another season for those seeds to blossom, so let's look to the future with hope and confidence!

#voltron #voltron s7 spoilers #klance #lance #keith #shiro #pidge #hunk #allura #leifsdottir #meta #season 7 positivity #my post

[ramajmedia]

Big Bad BeetleBorgs: 10 Facts You Never Knew | ScreenRant

Children's entertainment forever changed in 1993 thanks to Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. With low production costs and booming toy sales, Saban Entertainment was sitting on the most successful television model ever. The lucrative success of Saban's Power Rangers eventually opened the door for other live-action kids' programming. One '90s show that millennials recall is Saban's Big Bad BeetleBorgs, which ran for 88 episodes on Fox from 1996 to 1998. The basic story was three kids were given beetle-themed superpowers so they could battle evildoers summoned from comic books. But as well-remembered as BeetleBorgs is, there's still a lot about it that people don't know.

RELATED: 15 Greatest Power Rangers Rip-Offs

10 Based on two Japanese shows

It's no secret Saban hit pay dirt with Power Rangers. Their economical formula — mixing footage from the Toei productions with new, in-house footage — was raking in the dough. They implemented the same strategy with Masked Rider and VR Troopers. And like the latter show, BeetleBorgs' battle footage was lifted from multiple Japanese series — Heavy Shell B-Fighter and its direct sequel B-Fighter Kabuto. When BeetleBorgs entered its second and final season, it became BeetleBorgs Metallix. Their new suits, weapons, and villains all came from B-Fighter Kabuto. To tell the stock and original footage apart, remember that Japanese shows were shot on film as opposed to video.

9 The Rappin' Granny

Something BeetleBorgs did that its Japanese counterparts did not was show the kids' families. We often saw Roland's (Green Hunter BeetleBorg) mother Nano hanging around. She was quite the character too. When she wasn't running the kids' favorite hangout Zoom Comics, she was practicing martial arts. In real life, her actor Vivian Smallwood was well-known for her rapping skills. She was so talented and beloved, she earned the nickname of the Rappin' Granny. Aside from BeetleBorgs, she appeared in shows like Everybody Hates Chris and Malcolm in the Middle. Unfortunately, Smallwood passed away at the age of 84 in 2017.

8 "Flabber, you are not the weakest link."

The pubescent heroes of BeetleBorgs were aided by a gang of monsters living at a local haunted house called Hillhurst Mansion. This included a werewolf, a mummy, a Frankenstein's Monster-type character, a vampire, a living statue, and a trio of spirits. The most important Hillhurster was Flabber, an eccentric phantasm with genie-like powers. He bore a striking resemblance to both Elvis Presley and Jay Leno, with intentional emphasis on the former. There's some Liberace thrown in for good measure too. His actor Billy Forester states on his Twitter he was a champion on the US version of The Weakest Link.

RELATED: 30 Things That Make No Sense About Power Rangers

7 The real reason why the show ended

Plenty of shows get cancelled because of low ratings, but BeetleBorgs was not one of them. BeetleBorgs ended with Metallix because Saban Entertainment exhausted the Japanese footage. B-Fighter and B-Fighter Kabuto had a total of 103 episodes and a short movie between them. Of course, BeetleBorgs was not a 1:1 adaptation so they used only so much raw footage from the original shows. As a result, the second season ended on an unresolved cliffhanger. Interestingly, the Toei franchise that Heavy Shell B-Fighter and its sequel were part of — the Metal Heroes Series — ended due to low ratings for B-Fighter Kabuto.

6 Alex Borstein played a monster in one episode

You may know her best from Family Guy, MADtv, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but comedian Alex Borstein has a history with Saban properties. After playing Queen Machina in Power Rangers Zeo, in addition to one-off villains — Bloom of Doom, Lipsyncher, Madame Woe — in previous Power Rangers seasons, Borstein lent her voice to the monster Cataclaws in the episode "Yo Ho Borgs." In said episode, Flabber makes a flub and brings Captain Blackbeard back to life so he can help the kids with a school project. Unfortunately for the BeetleBorgs, Cataclaws poses as Blackbeard in an attempt to get the kiddos.

RELATED: The 10 Worst Family Guy Episodes Ever According To IMDb

5 Easter eggs for Power Rangers fans

With both Power Rangers and Big Bad BeetleBorgs being owned by Saban Entertainment, it's of no surprise there are some Easter eggs. Commonly seen in the background at Zoom Comics was the head of King Sphinx, a monster from the first season of Mighty Mophin' Power Rangers. Another Easter egg for fans was when Green Hunter BeetleBorg and ShadowBorg were seen among the Machine Empire's army in Power Rangers Wild Force episode "Forever Red." Costume recycling was very common during this era of Saban television, which explains why fans would see enemies in future episodes despite the fact they were already defeated.

4 Spider-Man appeared in BeetleBorgs

In episode 19 "Convention Dimension", the kids attend San Diego Comic-Con. When they're not battling the bad guys, they run into Spider-Man. Sadly, it's just someone in costume. But how did BeetleBorgs get away with the blatant cameo? At the time, Spider-Man: The Animated Series was airing on the same network, so it was safe to use his image. This also explains why there's someone dressed as The Tick in one scene. While watching this episode, one may ask why San Diego Comic-Con seems so lifeless. Even dull. Well, remember it's 1996. This was long before the event became such a spectacle.

3 The Power Rangers/BeetleBorgs crossover that never happened

It was good marketing for Saban to do crossovers between its shows. Yet BeetleBorgs never stepped foot in the Power Rangers series. However, there were plans at one point to do a crossover between Saban's mainstay and BeetleBorgs. There's even a photo of Blake Foster in costume as the Blue Turbo Ranger with the Hillhurst monsters. Alas, the televised crossover never came to fruition for some unknown reason. Instead, Acclaim Comics published a one-time issue in 1997 called Power Rangers Turbo vs. BeetleBorgs Metallix. There it's established that the Power Rangers are fictional characters who the BeetleBorgs recognize from television.

RELATED: 20 Craziest Power Rangers Crossovers Ever

2 A tale of two Red Strikers

Shannon Chandler (Jo/Red Striker BeetleBorg) departed after the first 39 episodes simply because she wanted to leave. Rather than replacing Jo with a new character, another actress (Brittany Konarzewski) assumed the same role. The writers created a bizarre storyline where an awry spell alters Jo's physical appearance and voice. The spell needed time to wear off, but in the meantime, Flabber cast another spell that caused others to see Jo only as her former self. To her fellow BeetleBorgs and the Hillhursters, Jo continued to look and talk like Konarzewski. It's worth noting that in Heavy Shell B-Fighter, Jo's Japanese equivalent was also replaced halfway into the season.

1 VR Troopers was cancelled because of BeetleBorgs

Saban's VR Troopers was already using up to three different Japanese shows' battle footage. They needed more once they were through with Superhuman Machine Metalder, Dimensional Warrior Spielban, and Space Sheriff Shaider. If things had been different, Heavy Shell B-Fighter would have been the fourth, and scenes from that would have been used in the potential third season of VR Troopers. Unfortunately for VR Troopers, Saban opted to cancel the aforesaid series altogether, and they made another show from B-Fighter. The fact that VR Troopers' toy sales were not living up to expectations did not help matters either. Thus, Big Bad BeetleBorgs was born, and VR Troopers was over.

NEXT: 18 Power Rangers Episodes That Went Way Too Far

source https://screenrant.com/big-bad-beetleborgs-unknown-facts/

#screenrant

[cannibalizetheself]

0:00 AM (The high-schoolest story)

So I guess I should start by explaining myself about the so-called folders. I started with one short story in high school, set in medieval fantasy, which eventually became one of my favorite genres and a guilty pleasure in general. Then that story became a slightly longer story that was terrible. Then that became another story that was slightly less terrible. BUT. Then that story became a goddamn multi-book concept with a gigantic setting and thousands of years of simulated history. My largest project by far. Of course, eventually, focus wavers, new inspirations happen, or, more accurately described, I think something is cool, it gives me a shitty, derivative idea, and I chase it like a mad dog, then try to polish it into something remotely justifiable much later. 

Arguably the second major project I ever thought of was inspired by the anime Tokyo Majin Gakuen: Kenpucho and its opening theme “0:00 AM”. Even though I never did finish watching it, I loved the high school setting mixed with darker, bloodier tones and equally stylized magical powers. So I took the name of the song as the title for a new story in that vein. Add some Bleach in, because I loved it despite its serious flaws, add some Egyptian mythology, because I’ve also always loved that and because I’m clearly insane, and the result was the second clearly mine, clearly thing of writing I ever made.

0:00 AM is the story of the far-too-opulently named Hohenheim Nacht, a blonde, blue-eyed German high school student in Japan who cares nothing for high school, and Tsugumi Shiku, a Japanese high school student who is crushed by the weight of the real world as college entrance exams loom, and also looks like she came out of a well in a creepy Japanese television. Shiku has always had an unwanted connection to the supernatural, ever since she saw Death (a little brown girl with pigtails and a blindfold, wearing all white with a scythe) take her parents away after a car crash when she was young, and when Hohenheim shows up, her head is a constant alarm giving her migraines. She stalks Hohenheim relentlessly, who is extremely put off about being followed anywhere, until she inevitably discovers that he is what he calls a Blood Reaper: metahumans who are in tune with the supernatural and possess a craving for the blood of monsters, which makes them stronger when consumed, but can be dangerously addictive for the reckless and uninitiated. Blood Reapers have Souls which are embodied weapons or abilities with which to hunt monsters, and the strongest Blood Reapers possess a power called  Conquest, which is the ultimate manifestation of both their Soul and all of the monster power and abilities they’ve consumed over time, and represents the conquering of the self. After discovering his secret, and unintentionally causing the destitution of his temporary residence in Japan, Shiku is forced to hide Hohenheim in her own home, and friendship (and eventually very weird, standoffish teenage romance) blooms between the two.  At first, 0:00 AM was nothing but high school wish fulfillment and shounen tropes. Hohenheim is a monster-slayer with supernatural abilities, orphaned at a young age and subsisting solely on fantasy: fantasy of being a hero, revenge fantasy of becoming strong enough to slay his parents’ murderer. He meets other metahuman allies, he wraps up Shiku in his adventures, and together they discover the pantheon of Egyptian gods, all modernized and bureaucratized, that govern the world, as well as the enigmatic Blood Reaper with a shotgun Soul, the Dead Man, who seeks to upheave it. They fight the King of Monsters, the Dead Man’s plot comes to fruition, the world is pushed to the brink, and subsequently saved. Completely cliche. 

But I eventually realized that that wasn’t what was important about the story at all. Despite being born of patchwork cliches and tropes, what ended up making me excited and care about 0:00 AM’s characters wasn’t just how cool or funny they were or what powers they had, but how they get through the story together. It wasn’t a story about Blood Reapers, Nekogami, and the Egyptian gods, but about reaching adulthood. Hohenheim refuses to acknowledge the real world, tries to subsist solely on fantasy and become a hero or rebel or really anything that allows him to escape. His loss pushes him to want to exist solely among the supernatural, and pushes him to only want to connect with others superficially. When he is no longer able to consolidate the two worlds, it drives him further into escapism, and he starts consuming blood like an addiction, justifying it by thinking that if he can simply fulfill his revenge fantasy and be done with it, a happy life will be waiting on the other side. Meanwhile Shiku is on the other extreme, of being crushed by loss, shutting herself off from things like dreams, hopes, and emotions. She is both physically and emotionally unapproachable because of her peculiar gothic appearance and stoicism, and has few friends as a result. She has a passion and love of painting, but resigns herself to the “truth” that it will not bring money or allow her to survive in the real world. She rejects even the slightest measure of idealism and thinks it is her fate to end up a miserable old woman. The two of them together pull each other up from their pits without knowing it, and despite the heavy fantasy involved in things like Blood Reapers, an Egyptian pantheon, and the end of the world, the story ends with both characters looking forward to a more mundane, but happier future. 

This was the first time I learned that characters have a tendency to bring out what’s really important and meaningful in a story, its own soul, so to speak. My tastes and my inspirations still bleed through in painfully obvious ways, and I fear I’ll never really be able to escape derivation entirely. But being able to see through the styling, setting, and fantasy elements to what a story is really about and what the people in it are really doing, I feel, helped me make progress towards writing better stories overall. I still think the coming of age mixed with Blood Reapers, and Nekogami, and Nephilim, and Egyptian gods, and all the supernatural powers and mechanics, and the wacky high school adventures, and all the subplots involving other students are all cool as fuck, but knowing that, at its core, the story has a heart and soul that are fundamentally human, is what makes it worth working on and polishing.

#writing

[demitgibbs]

Anna Kendrick Talks Fluid Sexuality, Kissing Blake Lively

The pitch is perfectly crazy in Anna Kendrick’s walk on the dark side of filmmaker Paul Feig’s warped sense of humor, A Simple Favor. It’s martini-sipper mom versus martini-swigger mom. Target mom versus Met Gala mom. Aspirational versus extra.

It’s regular mom-meets-mom business, a modern mom-com – until Emily (Blake Lively) goes missing. Emily’s sudden disappearance prompts Stephanie (Kendrick) to mount an investigation by employing her keen Nancy Drew smarts and posting distressed clips of herself on her dorky craft vlog. (Friendship-bracelet tutorials are just gonna to have wait.)

A bit camp? Yep. A bit queer? Obviously. And naturally so, as Kendrick’s 15-year career is steeped in queerness: at age 17, she cut her acting teeth on Camp, the 2003 teen musical-comedy directed by out filmmaker Todd Graff; as Beca, she brought covert aca-gayness to the three-part Pitch Perfect franchise; and in 2014, the 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actress slipped into Cinderella’s glass slippers for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. And her long, impulsive kiss – “just another Tuesday,” Emily notes – with Lively in A Simple Favor, well, it’s not exactly straight, she says.

Here, the longtime ally talks about attempting to allow the lesbian love to bloom between queer-coded Pitch Perfect leads Beca and Chloe (Brittany Snow), what irks her about self-congratulatory reactions to celebs coming out and, when it comes to her own sexuality, being open like Emily.

A car sing-along, a little camp, some martinis and a mom makeout sesh: Anna, you sure know what the gay community wants at this point in your career, don’t you?

(Laughs) Oh my gosh! I wasn’t thinking of it in that way, but yeah, it is kind of camp. It takes itself a little seriously, but we’re always winking or having fun. It’s bright and colorful, and there’s an unabashed campiness to it – even though the stakes are very real in places.

You didn’t recognize a queer sensibility going in?

To be honest, when I was going in, there was just so much to play with. I remember having one of those conversations with Blake where we both felt like, “Are we high right now? Are we having a stoner conversation?” Because we were talking about how in a traditional comedy there’s a slider that you’re on from how subtle to how broad, and with this it felt like you weren’t just on this linear slider – you were in three dimensions, and you could go to all these places.

It was so much fun as actors to have that, and I know that sounds really stoner-y and existential and dumb. But the world Paul created had so much possibility, and so I wasn’t really thinking about one group. I was barely getting my brain around what the movie was in the first place! But I think Stephanie is very much an underdog and she’s finding her place in the world. I feel like that’s something that queer people can relate to at one point in their lives or another.

WATCH:

What was it like coming to set for the first time and seeing the giant painting of Blake-as-Emily’s vagina front and center in Emily’s front room?

OK, this is actually really interesting: So that painting – fun fact – was never once on set. That is all post effects. Sometimes it was green screen, and sometimes it was this other painting that was very nice but very Tumblr art. It was actually Blake’s idea to have it be a little bit more, um, obscene. Certainly it’s art, but a little more shocking for Stephanie to see. Not so polished, not so pretty, not so coy. I thought that was really brilliant.

Regarding Pitch Perfect: Are we ever gonna get the Beca and Chloe love story that they so deserve?

I know. I definitely wanted to have an ending that was a Bechloe ending, and we did shoot one version where Brittany and I tricked everybody into just shooting one that was just the two of us getting together. We knew it was a long shot. It meant so much to us that there was this following around their latent relationship and, yeah, I thought it would’ve been really cool if it would have ended up coming to fruition in the end. If we ever do a four, I will fight tooth and nail for it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna happen.

Because the studio doesn’t want to go there with their sexuality?

It wasn’t like Universal was like, “There can be no lesbians in Pitch Perfect!” Because obviously Cynthia Rose is an openly gay character. But I think they were just confused by it because they weren’t listening to all the online chatter about it, whereas I see it every day, and I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is what they want!”

Best lesbian Bechloe fanfiction you’ve read?

OK, I’ve actually only tried to ever read one. It was so sweet and puppy-lovey that I was like, “Aww, I wanted to read some sauciness!” I thought I was gonna get scandalized! Instead, I was like, “Aww! This is, like, so sweet! This reminds me of The Baby-Sitters Club books.” But I haven’t actually followed up on it.

You once met a guy at a Gelson’s market who told you he does your Camp character, Fritzi, in drag. First of all, how often do you run into drag queens at grocery stores who tell you that you’re their inspiration?

(Laughs) Not often enough! That was one of my favorite moments of being recognized, ever. And I’m sorry, what’s the second part of your question? I got too excited.

Which other characters of yours might make good drag material?

Stephanie has a real Sandy-in-Grease vibe, where she doesn’t become the bad girl, exactly, but she loosens up and shakes it off a little bit. But I do always still like Rizzo in Grease, who is more fun than Sandy, so I’m not sure that Stephanie is necessarily the one. She’d have to really just be letting her hair down.

You’ve said you downplayed Fritzi’s sexuality when you filmed Camp.

The thing that made me uncomfortable about Fritzi was I was 16, but it wasn’t so much that she was gay – it was that unrequited gay love situation. I think if she’d been crushing it and getting girls, I would’ve been like, “Awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was just, at 16 you don’t want to be playing the girl that nobody likes, which I totally recognize as I get older is such a silly insecurity issue. But at the time I was definitely like, “Can’t somebody just have a crush on me in a movie – god!”

Would you have approached Fritzi differently in retrospect?

The truth is, I think I would have just enjoyed myself. Todd Graff is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have had him as my first film director. And he really got me to do everything that I think that I would’ve done as a more experienced actor, regardless, but I guess I regret that I didn’t enjoy myself more.

You recently won the Choice Twit award at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your crowning tweet: “Lot of people seem really proud of themselves for announcing they ‘already knew’ Barry Manilow was gay. Yeah……ur the true heroes today guys.”

When a public figure comes out, taking the attitude of like, “Duh, we knew,” is the weirdest thing to me. Even when celebrities announce that they’re pregnant, people aren’t like, “Duh, we could tell three months ago.” They’re like, “Aww, she’s finally ready to talk about the fact that she’s pregnant! That’s amazing!”

And you would think that your sexuality would just be really supported (because) they feel comfortable talking about it now. It’s a really weird topic to feel a sense of superiority that you figured it out first.

So much of what you do is just a bit gay. Was that the case for your role as Santa Claus’s daughter in the forthcoming Noelle?

Again, I would say Noelle has a touch of camp, so hopefully that will be enjoyable. It’s been so long and I haven’t even seen a cut of it, so I’m like, “What did we make?” Oh, but they did make a point to have same-sex couples wherever we went, whether we were at the North Pole or outside the North Pole.

Getting back to A Simple Favor: Where do you think Stephanie and Emily fall on the Kinsey Scale?

That’s a good question. I think Emily is a surprise for Stephanie, and she is completely in love with her in a way that she can’t totally understand. I do think that Stephanie probably would define herself as straight, except that there is this woman and she really is kind of in love with her and there is a part of her that is attracted to her.

That scene: I remember Blake and I both feeling like neither of us wanted to be the aggressor in the scene. Blake was worried that she would come off as taking advantage of me in that scene because I’m in a very vulnerable place, and I was worried that I would come off like I wanted so much more, and that Blake is just kind of playing and Emily is very comfortable with the fluid aspects of her sexuality, whereas Stephanie has more of an emotional component to it. So, I was worried it would be, like, really sad. We definitely struggled to find that perfect balance of, there’s just this moment and they both get caught up in it and it’s a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it was a fun day.

You’ve been open about your girl crushes over the years. Have you ever had a girl crush that was or could have been romantic?

Let me think about that. I definitely – there’s somebody I’m still friends with, and when we met we kissed. This was after high school, and it was the first time I had kissed a girl where it wasn’t just like, we’re at a party and boys are watching! That horrible performance silliness. But I think I haven’t had that emotional love for a lady, which isn’t saying it could never happen to me, but I think I’m more of an Emily than a Stephanie.

And your lip-lock with your longtime girl crush Blake Lively in this movie – thoughts?

(Laughs) I mean, all I’m ever thinking about in (kissing) scenes is, who has gum? Who has a mint? And I think Blake is probably the same because I’ve never experienced a guy, like, searching for a mint and searching for gum. So, we were the mintiest, freshest two people to have ever kissed in the history of America.

Congratulations!

Thank you. Call Guinness.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/09/06/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality-kissing-blake-lively/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.tumblr.com/post/177802820955

[cynthiajayusa]

Anna Kendrick Talks Fluid Sexuality, Kissing Blake Lively

The pitch is perfectly crazy in Anna Kendrick’s walk on the dark side of filmmaker Paul Feig’s warped sense of humor, A Simple Favor. It’s martini-sipper mom versus martini-swigger mom. Target mom versus Met Gala mom. Aspirational versus extra.

It’s regular mom-meets-mom business, a modern mom-com – until Emily (Blake Lively) goes missing. Emily’s sudden disappearance prompts Stephanie (Kendrick) to mount an investigation by employing her keen Nancy Drew smarts and posting distressed clips of herself on her dorky craft vlog. (Friendship-bracelet tutorials are just gonna to have wait.)

A bit camp? Yep. A bit queer? Obviously. And naturally so, as Kendrick’s 15-year career is steeped in queerness: at age 17, she cut her acting teeth on Camp, the 2003 teen musical-comedy directed by out filmmaker Todd Graff; as Beca, she brought covert aca-gayness to the three-part Pitch Perfect franchise; and in 2014, the 33-year-old Oscar-nominated actress slipped into Cinderella’s glass slippers for Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. And her long, impulsive kiss – “just another Tuesday,” Emily notes – with Lively in A Simple Favor, well, it’s not exactly straight, she says.

Here, the longtime ally talks about attempting to allow the lesbian love to bloom between queer-coded Pitch Perfect leads Beca and Chloe (Brittany Snow), what irks her about self-congratulatory reactions to celebs coming out and, when it comes to her own sexuality, being open like Emily.

A car sing-along, a little camp, some martinis and a mom makeout sesh: Anna, you sure know what the gay community wants at this point in your career, don’t you? 

(Laughs) Oh my gosh! I wasn’t thinking of it in that way, but yeah, it is kind of camp. It takes itself a little seriously, but we’re always winking or having fun. It’s bright and colorful, and there’s an unabashed campiness to it – even though the stakes are very real in places.

You didn’t recognize a queer sensibility going in? 

To be honest, when I was going in, there was just so much to play with. I remember having one of those conversations with Blake where we both felt like, “Are we high right now? Are we having a stoner conversation?” Because we were talking about how in a traditional comedy there’s a slider that you’re on from how subtle to how broad, and with this it felt like you weren’t just on this linear slider – you were in three dimensions, and you could go to all these places.

It was so much fun as actors to have that, and I know that sounds really stoner-y and existential and dumb. But the world Paul created had so much possibility, and so I wasn’t really thinking about one group. I was barely getting my brain around what the movie was in the first place! But I think Stephanie is very much an underdog and she’s finding her place in the world. I feel like that’s something that queer people can relate to at one point in their lives or another.

WATCH:

What was it like coming to set for the first time and seeing the giant painting of Blake-as-Emily’s vagina front and center in Emily’s front room? 

OK, this is actually really interesting: So that painting – fun fact – was never once on set. That is all post effects. Sometimes it was green screen, and sometimes it was this other painting that was very nice but very Tumblr art. It was actually Blake’s idea to have it be a little bit more, um, obscene. Certainly it’s art, but a little more shocking for Stephanie to see. Not so polished, not so pretty, not so coy. I thought that was really brilliant.

Regarding Pitch Perfect: Are we ever gonna get the Beca and Chloe love story that they so deserve? 

I know. I definitely wanted to have an ending that was a Bechloe ending, and we did shoot one version where Brittany and I tricked everybody into just shooting one that was just the two of us getting together. We knew it was a long shot. It meant so much to us that there was this following around their latent relationship and, yeah, I thought it would’ve been really cool if it would have ended up coming to fruition in the end. If we ever do a four, I will fight tooth and nail for it, but I’m not sure it’s gonna happen.

Because the studio doesn’t want to go there with their sexuality? 

It wasn’t like Universal was like, “There can be no lesbians in Pitch Perfect!” Because obviously Cynthia Rose is an openly gay character. But I think they were just confused by it because they weren’t listening to all the online chatter about it, whereas I see it every day, and I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is what they want!”

Best lesbian Bechloe fanfiction you’ve read? 

OK, I’ve actually only tried to ever read one. It was so sweet and puppy-lovey that I was like, “Aww, I wanted to read some sauciness!” I thought I was gonna get scandalized! Instead, I was like, “Aww! This is, like, so sweet! This reminds me of The Baby-Sitters Club books.” But I haven’t actually followed up on it.

You once met a guy at a Gelson’s market who told you he does your Camp character, Fritzi, in drag. First of all, how often do you run into drag queens at grocery stores who tell you that you’re their inspiration?

(Laughs) Not often enough! That was one of my favorite moments of being recognized, ever. And I’m sorry, what’s the second part of your question? I got too excited.

Which other characters of yours might make good drag material? 

Stephanie has a real Sandy-in-Grease vibe, where she doesn’t become the bad girl, exactly, but she loosens up and shakes it off a little bit. But I do always still like Rizzo in Grease, who is more fun than Sandy, so I’m not sure that Stephanie is necessarily the one. She’d have to really just be letting her hair down.

You’ve said you downplayed Fritzi’s sexuality when you filmed Camp. 

The thing that made me uncomfortable about Fritzi was I was 16, but it wasn’t so much that she was gay – it was that unrequited gay love situation. I think if she’d been crushing it and getting girls, I would’ve been like, “Awesome, awesome, awesome!” It was just, at 16 you don’t want to be playing the girl that nobody likes, which I totally recognize as I get older is such a silly insecurity issue. But at the time I was definitely like, “Can’t somebody just have a crush on me in a movie – god!”

Would you have approached Fritzi differently in retrospect? 

The truth is, I think I would have just enjoyed myself. Todd Graff is amazing, and I’m so lucky to have had him as my first film director. And he really got me to do everything that I think that I would’ve done as a more experienced actor, regardless, but I guess I regret that I didn’t enjoy myself more.

You recently won the Choice Twit award at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this was your crowning tweet: “Lot of people seem really proud of themselves for announcing they ‘already knew’ Barry Manilow was gay. Yeah……ur the true heroes today guys.” 

When a public figure comes out, taking the attitude of like, “Duh, we knew,” is the weirdest thing to me. Even when celebrities announce that they’re pregnant, people aren’t like, “Duh, we could tell three months ago.” They’re like, “Aww, she’s finally ready to talk about the fact that she’s pregnant! That’s amazing!”

And you would think that your sexuality would just be really supported (because) they feel comfortable talking about it now. It’s a really weird topic to feel a sense of superiority that you figured it out first.

So much of what you do is just a bit gay. Was that the case for your role as Santa Claus’s daughter in the forthcoming Noelle? 

Again, I would say Noelle has a touch of camp, so hopefully that will be enjoyable. It’s been so long and I haven’t even seen a cut of it, so I’m like, “What did we make?” Oh, but they did make a point to have same-sex couples wherever we went, whether we were at the North Pole or outside the North Pole.

Getting back to A Simple Favor: Where do you think Stephanie and Emily fall on the Kinsey Scale? 

That’s a good question. I think Emily is a surprise for Stephanie, and she is completely in love with her in a way that she can’t totally understand. I do think that Stephanie probably would define herself as straight, except that there is this woman and she really is kind of in love with her and there is a part of her that is attracted to her.

That scene: I remember Blake and I both feeling like neither of us wanted to be the aggressor in the scene. Blake was worried that she would come off as taking advantage of me in that scene because I’m in a very vulnerable place, and I was worried that I would come off like I wanted so much more, and that Blake is just kind of playing and Emily is very comfortable with the fluid aspects of her sexuality, whereas Stephanie has more of an emotional component to it. So, I was worried it would be, like, really sad. We definitely struggled to find that perfect balance of, there’s just this moment and they both get caught up in it and it’s a little uncomfortable. Yeah, it was a fun day.

You’ve been open about your girl crushes over the years. Have you ever had a girl crush that was or could have been romantic? 

Let me think about that. I definitely – there’s somebody I’m still friends with, and when we met we kissed. This was after high school, and it was the first time I had kissed a girl where it wasn’t just like, we’re at a party and boys are watching! That horrible performance silliness. But I think I haven’t had that emotional love for a lady, which isn’t saying it could never happen to me, but I think I’m more of an Emily than a Stephanie.

And your lip-lock with your longtime girl crush Blake Lively in this movie – thoughts? 

(Laughs) I mean, all I’m ever thinking about in (kissing) scenes is, who has gum? Who has a mint? And I think Blake is probably the same because I’ve never experienced a guy, like, searching for a mint and searching for gum. So, we were the mintiest, freshest two people to have ever kissed in the history of America.

Congratulations! 

Thank you. Call Guinness.

source https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/09/06/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality-kissing-blake-lively/ from Hot Spots Magazine https://hotspotsmagazin.blogspot.com/2018/09/anna-kendrick-talks-fluid-sexuality.html