![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
mjules.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
whiskeycoffeeTitle: (Only)
Author: m.jules
Fandom: Gunslinger Girl
Character: Henrietta (Giuse/Henrietta)
Rating: Teen for themes
Disclaimer: Gunslinger Girl and its characters and concept does not belong to me and I make no money from this fanwork.
Summary: When you work for the National Social Welfare Agency, life can take you by storm.
Warnings: Manga-verse, possibly incomplete understanding of the universe on part of the author, possible loli (underage het) squick, violence, spoilers for the 3 manga volumes released in the US. Self-beta'd.
Prompt Used: SPRING: A willow in a windstorm (![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
4purposes
The night after they learned of Elsa’s death, he couldn’t sleep. He lay awake, tortured and tormented, wondering what they had done to these girls. They had made the cyborgs feel deeper, more complex emotions than they had intended; chemically induced loyalty morphed into love and Giuse couldn’t say whether he’d earned Henrietta’s devotion (though he liked to think he had) or whether she had been conditioned to fall in love with him.
He tried to deserve it; tried to live up to the impossible image of him she held in her heart. He wondered if (no, he knew) that meant he was in love with her, too.
When she’s older, he would tell himself, then wonder when that would be. How could he define “older”? Her body never aged and she lost memories like sand through an hourglass every time they put her through the conditioning. He kept her away from the brainwashing as much as possible, not just because it would shorten her lifespan but because he was afraid that she would forget. Not him; they would condition her all over again to know and recognize him, to feel the same things toward him that she did now. But she might forget the night he’d given her the fancy red coat, the night he’d taken her up onto the roof to go stargazing.
She might forget the way he’d said her name a dozen times, the way he caught her when her foot slipped, the way he touched her, looked at her, smiled at her; all the little moments that built their history together. He didn’t want her to forget.
It wasn’t fair to make her fall in love with him when she would never be old enough for him to love. (He ignored the fact that he did anyway.)
A soft sound in the doorway of his bedroom alerted him to the tiny silhouette that stood there, illuminated in the dim moonlight that filtered through the curtains.
“Henrietta?” He pushed himself up in bed, worry tightening his stomach. “Is everything okay?”
She shook her head softly, her hair swinging around her face, and it was painful how very young she looked. How young she was.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… Giuse, I want…” She fidgeted, looking down at her feet, and he could imagine the flush on her cheeks, the one that always blossomed whenever she asked him for something. “I want to sleep with you.”
He nearly choked; his throat closed off and his chest constricted as the world spun crazily for a moment. She doesn’t know, he told himself. She doesn’t mean… Still, even the literal interpretation of that statement was improper. Like bringing her to your family home in Sicily on vacation isn’t.
“Henrietta, I don’t think…”
“Giuse, please,” she interrupted, her head coming up to fix him with her wide eyes, the whites of them barely visible in the half light. He had a sudden vision of one of those eyes missing, blood pouring out from the socket, and a dark red pool forming under her shattered skull. “Please.”
“You know we can’t do this once we get back to the agency,” he murmured, defeated, as he slid over to make room for her on the mattress. She was running toward the bed before he even finished his sentence. Of course, he knew she wouldn’t have asked if they’d been at the agency. Here in Sicily, with no one to interfere or tell him he was coddling her too much, things were different. “They wouldn’t like it.”
“I know,” she whispered happily as she slipped between the covers, easy and graceful, looking for all the world like the little girl he tried to tell himself she was (wasn’t).
She curled up beside him and he tried to ignore the way his heart skipped when she wrapped both of her arms around his, pressing her face into his shoulder and breathing deep. He told himself then and forever afterwards that he didn’t turn onto his side and cradle her to his chest, that he didn’t linger to inhale her perfume – the perfume he’d bought her – when he kissed the top of her head. And most of all, he told himself that she was only a child and he was only her brother.
Author: m.jules
Fandom: Gunslinger Girl
Character: Henrietta (Giuse/Henrietta)
Rating: Teen for themes
Disclaimer: Gunslinger Girl and its characters and concept does not belong to me and I make no money from this fanwork.
Summary: When you work for the National Social Welfare Agency, life can take you by storm.
Warnings: Manga-verse, possibly incomplete understanding of the universe on part of the author, possible loli (underage het) squick, violence, spoilers for the 3 manga volumes released in the US. Self-beta'd.
Prompt Used: SPRING: A willow in a windstorm (
4purposesThe night after they learned of Elsa’s death, he couldn’t sleep. He lay awake, tortured and tormented, wondering what they had done to these girls. They had made the cyborgs feel deeper, more complex emotions than they had intended; chemically induced loyalty morphed into love and Giuse couldn’t say whether he’d earned Henrietta’s devotion (though he liked to think he had) or whether she had been conditioned to fall in love with him.
He tried to deserve it; tried to live up to the impossible image of him she held in her heart. He wondered if (no, he knew) that meant he was in love with her, too.
When she’s older, he would tell himself, then wonder when that would be. How could he define “older”? Her body never aged and she lost memories like sand through an hourglass every time they put her through the conditioning. He kept her away from the brainwashing as much as possible, not just because it would shorten her lifespan but because he was afraid that she would forget. Not him; they would condition her all over again to know and recognize him, to feel the same things toward him that she did now. But she might forget the night he’d given her the fancy red coat, the night he’d taken her up onto the roof to go stargazing.
She might forget the way he’d said her name a dozen times, the way he caught her when her foot slipped, the way he touched her, looked at her, smiled at her; all the little moments that built their history together. He didn’t want her to forget.
It wasn’t fair to make her fall in love with him when she would never be old enough for him to love. (He ignored the fact that he did anyway.)
A soft sound in the doorway of his bedroom alerted him to the tiny silhouette that stood there, illuminated in the dim moonlight that filtered through the curtains.
“Henrietta?” He pushed himself up in bed, worry tightening his stomach. “Is everything okay?”
She shook her head softly, her hair swinging around her face, and it was painful how very young she looked. How young she was.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… Giuse, I want…” She fidgeted, looking down at her feet, and he could imagine the flush on her cheeks, the one that always blossomed whenever she asked him for something. “I want to sleep with you.”
He nearly choked; his throat closed off and his chest constricted as the world spun crazily for a moment. She doesn’t know, he told himself. She doesn’t mean… Still, even the literal interpretation of that statement was improper. Like bringing her to your family home in Sicily on vacation isn’t.
“Henrietta, I don’t think…”
“Giuse, please,” she interrupted, her head coming up to fix him with her wide eyes, the whites of them barely visible in the half light. He had a sudden vision of one of those eyes missing, blood pouring out from the socket, and a dark red pool forming under her shattered skull. “Please.”
“You know we can’t do this once we get back to the agency,” he murmured, defeated, as he slid over to make room for her on the mattress. She was running toward the bed before he even finished his sentence. Of course, he knew she wouldn’t have asked if they’d been at the agency. Here in Sicily, with no one to interfere or tell him he was coddling her too much, things were different. “They wouldn’t like it.”
“I know,” she whispered happily as she slipped between the covers, easy and graceful, looking for all the world like the little girl he tried to tell himself she was (wasn’t).
She curled up beside him and he tried to ignore the way his heart skipped when she wrapped both of her arms around his, pressing her face into his shoulder and breathing deep. He told himself then and forever afterwards that he didn’t turn onto his side and cradle her to his chest, that he didn’t linger to inhale her perfume – the perfume he’d bought her – when he kissed the top of her head. And most of all, he told himself that she was only a child and he was only her brother.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 02:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 04:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 04:07 pm (UTC)It definitely focuses on an aspect of the series that I don't tend to (the potential sexual tension).
My only real complaint is that it's just too short to really say much. It highlights a potential area of exploration within the canon, and one that the canon doesn't touch on much, but it doesn't do anything from there.
I'd definitely be interested in seeing this expanded a bit.
Consideringly,
Ana
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 04:26 pm (UTC)I'm glad you think it's good enough to expand on a bit, though; I had thoughts of trying to do that a little bit, so I'm glad to see you think it could be done.
Thanks again. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 05:18 pm (UTC)Very interesting. I've only read a few of the manga so I'm still a little lost in this fandom. So is it not known if they age or not?
Great job though.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 05:21 pm (UTC)And no, it's only my personal theory about the aging thing, although it does seem to be supported. But it's not hard canon.
I'm glad you enjoyed this! I've just gotten into the series so I'm drumming up new interested fans. ;)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 11:10 pm (UTC)This was so sweet. <3
Just adorable.
Will you be doing more like this? Or have you written fics involving any of the other girls?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-19 11:12 pm (UTC)I will definitely be doing at least three more Henrietta fics, as I claimed her for my
Thank you again for your kind feedback!
no subject
Date: 2007-01-20 03:08 am (UTC)I love this line; you seem to write this nice mix of wanting and refusal that just *pings*. I really like the little details that you have; the perfume in her hair, and Guise telling himself that she was only a child and he was only her brother.
I've watched a couple of episodes of Gunslinger Girl, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who looked at Henrietta and Guise and went, 'ohgodsoinlove!' Although, considering your warning, I was expecting a little more with the sexy.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-20 03:13 am (UTC)One of these days I plan to write one that's a little bit more with the sexy.I just didn't want anyone to come into this without being aware that I was "going there," even if I didn't *go* there. Figured it was better safe than sorry.But oooh, the manga? There's one whole chapter dedicated to two detectives from Section 1 investigating the nature of the Fratellos... and there's this whole bit where Henrietta outright says she's in love with Giuse, and Giuse silently admits that he's in love with Henrietta. And I was like "OMG!!YES!"
no subject
Date: 2007-01-21 09:26 pm (UTC)I may have to start reading the manga. I couldn't quite get into the anime because while it was gorgous, I kept thinking that everything they were showing be should be back story, and that the show needed a main plot.
there's this whole bit where Henrietta outright says she's in love with Giuse, and Giuse silently admits that he's in love with Henrietta.
Oh my god squee! (So happy I'm not the only person who meet them and went, there's chemistry here, and it's not sibling-esqe at all.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 12:30 am (UTC)SPOILERS FOR MANGA... sort of...
However, in Volume 4, they do this complete reversal and Giuse is all, "Meh, I'm bored with Henrietta," and everyone's saying, "Oh, he's substituting her for his little sister," and I'm going, "WHAT little sister? Shouldn't that have been brought up earlier?" and, "DUDE. He was NOT treating her like a little sister." So I'm ignoring that chapter and treating it like it wasn't there. *laugh*
But no, someday, there will be dark, hot, wrong lolita sex. Just as soon as Henrietta's old enough that it won't rip her in two. ;)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 12:33 am (UTC)*sigh*
There.
*laugh*
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 07:22 am (UTC)I have whole books that I do this for.
Gunslinger Girl may turn into one of those fandoms that I'm only by proximity, where I know just enough to go 'yay' over the fics but not watch/read the actual canon.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 02:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-20 07:41 pm (UTC)You still can if you want to, though! You're an excellent writer.Just one thing — the girls do age. It's proven in the manga that ADV hasn't translated. XD Henrietta still looks pretty juvenile in the sixth volume, though (she only got taller; up to Giuseppe's shoulders now, but the other girls definitely look different from their 1-3 selves).
Re: Aforementioned FFN section. They're in the midst of a scanlation process for volumes 4-7. A link to the progress. (http://www.fanfiction.net/fr/930385/4167/1465831/1/)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-20 11:44 pm (UTC)That's good to know! *pets her Giuse-muse, who looks muchly relieved* If I do post this at FFN (I'm horrible at keeping my account there updating as it is), I'll be sure to revise that bit.
Thank you for the links and information, and also for the compliments! And yeah, it does border a bit on the squick, but I can't see Giuse actually *doing* anything with Henrietta the age she is now, no matter how much I think there's something *there* with them, and not just on Henrietta's side.
Again, thank you so much! *happy smiles*