La Vie en Rose
or,
Genwaku no Melody
by Torscha (dhu_aoi@yahoo.com)
Standard copyright information applies. Gatekeepers and characters property
of GONZO and whoever created them, I suppose. Obviously used without
permission.
Er... yeah. This takes place at no particular point in the series. It's just
a moment in time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How are you doing, Suzume-chan? I'm fine. It's hard sometimes, but the
others are so nice and understanding... it almost makes me feel as if I fit
in, this time... But what about you? How's your family?"
Suzume didn't answer, and Reiko Asagiri didn't really mind. She knew the
sparrow had other things on her mind, as the bird winged off into the bright
Sunday morning to find more sustenance for her squalling brood. She had named
the bird more out of courtesy than anything else -- she had set up home
outside of her window, and in return for her trilling, delicate song, Reiko
could only attempt conversation now and again, and occasionally laid out
breadcrumbs.
She sighed happily and reclined back onto the couch edged right up against
the window. It didn't take much to make Reiko Asagiri happy, which, she felt,
was rather a good thing.
"But not everyone is so simple..."
Reiko sighed again, and this time it was in mild vexation. She had never
quite gotten the hang of getting angry, but managed a kind of anxious
annoyance from time to time, usually when thinking became too much of a drag.
It wasn't that she didn't like her new assignment of being a Gatekeeper, what
with the excitement of the invaders, and the sense of camaraderie she felt
during those engagements where she no longer stood out as the ditzy rich girl
who was tolerated only because she wasn't worth the trouble to seriously
hurt. But it was just that... sometimes, the others could be so complicated.
Take Ukiya, for instance. He was brash and loud and boisterous, as could be
expected from all boys his age, probably. But beneath his veneer of machismo,
he hid a great responsibility to duty and an even greater capacity to care.
She didn't know why -- she found it rather sweet. Ukiya, however, would be
mortified if anyone ever even suspected him of 'softness'. What sensitivity
he lacked could be blamed on his masculinity, and he really did try...
Ruriko-san was even harder to fathom. It was plain to Reiko that she had
strong feelings for their captain, but it sometimes puzzled her that nobody
ever commented on that, or stranger still, why she hid it with old, familiar
annoyance whenever confronted with those feelings. She supposed that everyone
already knew and didn't talk about it because it was old news. Maybe she was
just slow to catch on.
"After all, they've known each other for years before we all came together.
Maybe it's a game they're both playing."
She shook her head. Thinking too much was bad for her -- it made her head
hurt, and mentioning her greatest intellectual feats to others only made them
look at her oddly, as if what she said was only glaringly obvious. So she hid
the other, less important, observations, like how Megumi-san was struggling
so obviously with her sense of inferiority, or how Kaoru-chan knew she was
fighting a losing battle for Ukiya's heart with Ruriko.
All this was, of course, only obvious.
The sparrow returned to feed her offspring, and paused long enough to trill a
belated good morning to Reiko before winging off again, and the girl called
out, "Ohayo gozaimasuuu~u," after it. Talking to animals had come quite
naturally to her -- didn't witches have familiars? It seemed obvious that
they could talk to animals. She hadn't yet found any animal capable of
talking back, but considered that it was merely a matter of time until she
became a better witch.
Of course, even when animals didn't talk, they said plenty. The sparrow's
trilling outside her window was a call for love and companionship, impelled
by nature, and also an exultation in the sheer joy of living. A dog's bark
stemmed from primal instinct, protectiveness of its master and dedication to
its duty. What need did they have of rationalisations and deep thought? What
was important was that the sky remained blue and the sun remained to shine.
"Maybe that's why the others think you're strange." But that thought didn't
cause her as much distress as it did before. Even if they thought she was
strange, they still cared about her -- why else would they look out for her
when her own mistakes could have killed her, and inquired after her
well-being when they were the ones involved in most of the fighting?
Reiko Asagiri stood up, sliding easily off the couch. In private, grace
prevailed where in public selfconscious clumsiness reigned, and she caught
sight of her own reflection in the mirror, and blushed slightly. She knew
others thought she was beautiful, but she could never imagine who could ever
admire a ditzy, airheaded girl enough to act on it. Still, her mouth firmly
closed to prevent any stray comments from escaping, the willowy brunette
looked appealingly pensive.
Dismissing the thought with the ease of long practice, she cleared her mind
and sat at the huge white piano which dominated the room, the ribbon crowning
it as vivid as the day it had been given to her.
Mama... Papa... Reiko dipped her head for a moment, allowing private grief to
touch her with its melancholia and fill her with that sense of wistful
longing, missing most of all the happy memories that she would never have. As
the mental darkness grew too oppressive, she laid elegant fingers on the
ivory keys, and let light ripple forth from her fingertips, like a shining
river under the moonlight, winding around the room. The sound trickled at
first, then grew stronger, a gush of one girl's emotional catharsis, as she
let memories and thoughts seep from her veins, pouring her own self, more
precious than tears and blood, into the song. Tail-ends of sound curled
throughout the house as the song twitched and unfolded, with the sinuous
grace of an awakening cat. The shadows themselves seem to vibrate and dance
to her tune, snatches of song luring them to lose definition in the blinding
light of cleansing that burned through her, remaking the world into a place
where she could find her own kind of comfort.
The sun outside continued to shine, but the light inside the room danced and
warped of its own volition, no longer held in abeyance by any laws except
those of Reiko's heart. She felt the sensation of dizzying loss, of her self
being subsumed, her petty cares and thoughts submerged by a sea of glowing
warmth. She fell into it, feeling it open something within her, finally
allowing soothing balm to lave the wounds caused by reality's hard edges with
illusion's softened glow. It felt almost like a brilliant river carrying her
back to her childhood, and she let herself drift, giving herself over to the
dazzling melody.
~Owari~
Author's Note:
There are bound to be protests over Reiko's character. "No!" everyone
screams, "she -is- a ditzy airhead incapable of self-reflection!"
Granted, there's no proof in the series that she -ever- reflects on
things, except perhaps in the episode dedicated to her (You know, the one
Megumi calls her useless and she takes off in the Gate Robot with hilarious
consequences) but I think -everyone- has this little voice talking to them
when there's nothing else to listen to. Even if thoughts don't come to her
-at all- most times... hey, even in white noise, the body will manufacture
false sensations. Granted, she may have the mind of a child, but how is that
such a bad thing? It allows, in many ways, greater clarity of vision while
sparing one from the hard edges of cynicism. In fact, children are frequently
more self-inquiring than adults.
Which brings me to another point. Why do people have their own
unique Gate abilities? It's more than just their preferences -- it's a
reflection of their own personality. Okay fine, that's a little too glaringly
obvious sometimes (like Kaoru's Gate ability, or Ruriko's) but others aren't
so obvious. Why the Gale Gate for Ukiya, or the Gate of Illusion for Reiko?
Since I'm not an Ukiya fan, I'll leave the first one unanswered here.
But Reiko's case is actually very interesting. She doesn't create childish
illusions -just- because she can't accept and deal with reality. She just
views the world through rose-tinted glasses (hence the title, lit. "Life in
Pink" or something like that) which is something many people do. It's not
necessarily a character flaw -- merely a trait.
I put in the analysis of her team-mates' characters that the others
don't seem to get in out of pique. It may be a little out of character, but
what the hell, it's -my- fic.
As for the emotional babble and runaway prosaic tendencies... just
because someone can't or doesn't like thinking too deeply doesn't mean they
can't feel, because unlike deep thought, emotion is something everyone is
capable of. And the prose? Well... I just thought the flowery verbosity
suits her.
Am I reading too deep? Probably. So what?
Acknowledgement:
The phrase 'memories seep from her veins'is from the Sarah McLachlan
song, Angel. It's actually 'memories seep from my veins'.
The thing that made me think of the phrase 'la vie en rose' is the
nickname of the Di Gi Charat character Usada Hikaru -- Rabi~en~Rose. It's
a description that I think Reiko pretty much fits.
or,
Genwaku no Melody
by Torscha (dhu_aoi@yahoo.com)
Standard copyright information applies. Gatekeepers and characters property
of GONZO and whoever created them, I suppose. Obviously used without
permission.
Er... yeah. This takes place at no particular point in the series. It's just
a moment in time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How are you doing, Suzume-chan? I'm fine. It's hard sometimes, but the
others are so nice and understanding... it almost makes me feel as if I fit
in, this time... But what about you? How's your family?"
Suzume didn't answer, and Reiko Asagiri didn't really mind. She knew the
sparrow had other things on her mind, as the bird winged off into the bright
Sunday morning to find more sustenance for her squalling brood. She had named
the bird more out of courtesy than anything else -- she had set up home
outside of her window, and in return for her trilling, delicate song, Reiko
could only attempt conversation now and again, and occasionally laid out
breadcrumbs.
She sighed happily and reclined back onto the couch edged right up against
the window. It didn't take much to make Reiko Asagiri happy, which, she felt,
was rather a good thing.
"But not everyone is so simple..."
Reiko sighed again, and this time it was in mild vexation. She had never
quite gotten the hang of getting angry, but managed a kind of anxious
annoyance from time to time, usually when thinking became too much of a drag.
It wasn't that she didn't like her new assignment of being a Gatekeeper, what
with the excitement of the invaders, and the sense of camaraderie she felt
during those engagements where she no longer stood out as the ditzy rich girl
who was tolerated only because she wasn't worth the trouble to seriously
hurt. But it was just that... sometimes, the others could be so complicated.
Take Ukiya, for instance. He was brash and loud and boisterous, as could be
expected from all boys his age, probably. But beneath his veneer of machismo,
he hid a great responsibility to duty and an even greater capacity to care.
She didn't know why -- she found it rather sweet. Ukiya, however, would be
mortified if anyone ever even suspected him of 'softness'. What sensitivity
he lacked could be blamed on his masculinity, and he really did try...
Ruriko-san was even harder to fathom. It was plain to Reiko that she had
strong feelings for their captain, but it sometimes puzzled her that nobody
ever commented on that, or stranger still, why she hid it with old, familiar
annoyance whenever confronted with those feelings. She supposed that everyone
already knew and didn't talk about it because it was old news. Maybe she was
just slow to catch on.
"After all, they've known each other for years before we all came together.
Maybe it's a game they're both playing."
She shook her head. Thinking too much was bad for her -- it made her head
hurt, and mentioning her greatest intellectual feats to others only made them
look at her oddly, as if what she said was only glaringly obvious. So she hid
the other, less important, observations, like how Megumi-san was struggling
so obviously with her sense of inferiority, or how Kaoru-chan knew she was
fighting a losing battle for Ukiya's heart with Ruriko.
All this was, of course, only obvious.
The sparrow returned to feed her offspring, and paused long enough to trill a
belated good morning to Reiko before winging off again, and the girl called
out, "Ohayo gozaimasuuu~u," after it. Talking to animals had come quite
naturally to her -- didn't witches have familiars? It seemed obvious that
they could talk to animals. She hadn't yet found any animal capable of
talking back, but considered that it was merely a matter of time until she
became a better witch.
Of course, even when animals didn't talk, they said plenty. The sparrow's
trilling outside her window was a call for love and companionship, impelled
by nature, and also an exultation in the sheer joy of living. A dog's bark
stemmed from primal instinct, protectiveness of its master and dedication to
its duty. What need did they have of rationalisations and deep thought? What
was important was that the sky remained blue and the sun remained to shine.
"Maybe that's why the others think you're strange." But that thought didn't
cause her as much distress as it did before. Even if they thought she was
strange, they still cared about her -- why else would they look out for her
when her own mistakes could have killed her, and inquired after her
well-being when they were the ones involved in most of the fighting?
Reiko Asagiri stood up, sliding easily off the couch. In private, grace
prevailed where in public selfconscious clumsiness reigned, and she caught
sight of her own reflection in the mirror, and blushed slightly. She knew
others thought she was beautiful, but she could never imagine who could ever
admire a ditzy, airheaded girl enough to act on it. Still, her mouth firmly
closed to prevent any stray comments from escaping, the willowy brunette
looked appealingly pensive.
Dismissing the thought with the ease of long practice, she cleared her mind
and sat at the huge white piano which dominated the room, the ribbon crowning
it as vivid as the day it had been given to her.
Mama... Papa... Reiko dipped her head for a moment, allowing private grief to
touch her with its melancholia and fill her with that sense of wistful
longing, missing most of all the happy memories that she would never have. As
the mental darkness grew too oppressive, she laid elegant fingers on the
ivory keys, and let light ripple forth from her fingertips, like a shining
river under the moonlight, winding around the room. The sound trickled at
first, then grew stronger, a gush of one girl's emotional catharsis, as she
let memories and thoughts seep from her veins, pouring her own self, more
precious than tears and blood, into the song. Tail-ends of sound curled
throughout the house as the song twitched and unfolded, with the sinuous
grace of an awakening cat. The shadows themselves seem to vibrate and dance
to her tune, snatches of song luring them to lose definition in the blinding
light of cleansing that burned through her, remaking the world into a place
where she could find her own kind of comfort.
The sun outside continued to shine, but the light inside the room danced and
warped of its own volition, no longer held in abeyance by any laws except
those of Reiko's heart. She felt the sensation of dizzying loss, of her self
being subsumed, her petty cares and thoughts submerged by a sea of glowing
warmth. She fell into it, feeling it open something within her, finally
allowing soothing balm to lave the wounds caused by reality's hard edges with
illusion's softened glow. It felt almost like a brilliant river carrying her
back to her childhood, and she let herself drift, giving herself over to the
dazzling melody.
~Owari~
Author's Note:
There are bound to be protests over Reiko's character. "No!" everyone
screams, "she -is- a ditzy airhead incapable of self-reflection!"
Granted, there's no proof in the series that she -ever- reflects on
things, except perhaps in the episode dedicated to her (You know, the one
Megumi calls her useless and she takes off in the Gate Robot with hilarious
consequences) but I think -everyone- has this little voice talking to them
when there's nothing else to listen to. Even if thoughts don't come to her
-at all- most times... hey, even in white noise, the body will manufacture
false sensations. Granted, she may have the mind of a child, but how is that
such a bad thing? It allows, in many ways, greater clarity of vision while
sparing one from the hard edges of cynicism. In fact, children are frequently
more self-inquiring than adults.
Which brings me to another point. Why do people have their own
unique Gate abilities? It's more than just their preferences -- it's a
reflection of their own personality. Okay fine, that's a little too glaringly
obvious sometimes (like Kaoru's Gate ability, or Ruriko's) but others aren't
so obvious. Why the Gale Gate for Ukiya, or the Gate of Illusion for Reiko?
Since I'm not an Ukiya fan, I'll leave the first one unanswered here.
But Reiko's case is actually very interesting. She doesn't create childish
illusions -just- because she can't accept and deal with reality. She just
views the world through rose-tinted glasses (hence the title, lit. "Life in
Pink" or something like that) which is something many people do. It's not
necessarily a character flaw -- merely a trait.
I put in the analysis of her team-mates' characters that the others
don't seem to get in out of pique. It may be a little out of character, but
what the hell, it's -my- fic.
As for the emotional babble and runaway prosaic tendencies... just
because someone can't or doesn't like thinking too deeply doesn't mean they
can't feel, because unlike deep thought, emotion is something everyone is
capable of. And the prose? Well... I just thought the flowery verbosity
suits her.
Am I reading too deep? Probably. So what?
Acknowledgement:
The phrase 'memories seep from her veins'is from the Sarah McLachlan
song, Angel. It's actually 'memories seep from my veins'.
The thing that made me think of the phrase 'la vie en rose' is the
nickname of the Di Gi Charat character Usada Hikaru -- Rabi~en~Rose. It's
a description that I think Reiko pretty much fits.
