vatheon | Selphie Singing - Serenades for Newcomers and Oldtimers

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Selphie Singing - Serenades for Newcomers and Oldtimers

Who: Selphie and All Everyone Ever
When: Early afternoon
Where: Plaza
Style: Whatever you want, baby.
Status: tinOPENer

That time of the month again, and Selphie noticed the people dropping into Vatheon. It's always an exciting time for her - all the possibilities for new friends. It seems to bring people out to the plaza too, making the place busier than usual. In short, Selphie's been having a pretty lonely time of it. She still feels weird about disappearing and coming back, and she's still bummed about missing the festivities because of her coma. So here she is, out in the plaza, ready to meet and greet.

Not too far from the fountain, the young woman is cradling an acoustic guitar. Passing by, you might hear a pretty little tune like this, and if you're lucky then maybe Selphie will be singing along softly too. Or perhaps you'll hear something a little different, like this. Mostly, Selphie's keeping herself happy and busy. But if she can keep others happy with her playing too, then that's all the better. Feel free to stop and listen, passerby, and compliments will go a very long way for this high spirited girl. Hecklers do so at their own risk - it won't be pretty.

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"I'm sure there's no amazing talent here," he said, looking at the guitar in front of him with a considering glance. "I'm not even sure where to put my fingers to support it." He had only vaguely noted what she was doing with them when she'd been playing, much preferring to concentrate on the sounds that she'd been making come from the instrument.

Still, he couldn't deny that a part of him was intrigued.

"You never know until you try!" Selphie's motto for more or less absolutely anything and everything. She smiled, hoping those glances meant that he could be persuaded. "Here. Like this."

Selphie lifted her leg slightly to show where the body of the guitar rested on her thigh. "And you can put your fingers up here anywhere you like." She wriggled her fingers over the neck. "And this hand rests just like this, and strum."

The sound the guitar makes is one pleasant chord, and she passed the instrument to Ky carefully, "Now it's your turn."

He took the guitar carefully, cradling it a little in his hands as he tried to imitate the way she had set it up. Being able to adapt to new things was one of his strengths, and he was careful with his mimicry to imitate the position she'd used as well as he could.

Not that mimicry was quite enough when it came to things like this, and he knew that, but it was a matter of adapting. The first strum was enough to make him wince, but he adjusted the pressure from his hands, to make something slightly better, if not as nice as what she had done. His face was a mask of concentration, neither pleased nor displeased by his efforts, just determined to do better.

Selphie sat back on the bench to watch him, not wanting to be in his way and obviously keeping an eye on what he was doing by leaning forward. Once he had it in place, she closed her eyes, waiting to hear the first sound. Sure enough, it wasn't fantastic, but the second one was much better.

She sat up then and moved a little closer to get a proper look, evidently amused by the look on Ky's face. Selphie liked the concentration that she saw there - and she was sure she had looked similar when she first started playing. Really, this guy was very cute. "Great! I knew you could do it! Now try putting your fingers on different strings to make another sound."

On different -- of course. She had been playing different notes, that must be how. He wasn't sure which hand he was supposed to move, but he supposed that he wasn't really targeting the bottom one so he shifted his top hand, lifting each finger and setting it down precisely in a different location, before he attempted to strum again. He was concentrated much more on the sound than any praise she might give -- he wasn't used to being praised for what he did, so it was easier to simply ignore it and focus on the direction.

"Absolutely! That's it!" He didn't appear to be too terrible at all. And if he was determined, she was sure he could manage more. After all, he seemed to have an ear for what sounded good and what didn't. "Good. So, let's try a chord."

Carefully, Selphie took up each of his fingers and placed them on the fret board accordingly. "This one is G. Strum and see what you think!"

He watched her move his fingers, then spent a moment trying to memorize where they were and how it felt under them.

He moved his other hand, strumming a little less cautiously than he had been, somewhat less worried he might break something. "...I don't know." What was he supposed to think of it?

"Listen to the sound that makes, those notes together. Play it again, and listen carefully. What does the sound feel like?"

Yeah, Selphie was going there - she was making Ky play chords on the guitar and expecting him to talk about how it makes him FEEL. Happy, or sad, that was all really, but not every man was always comfortable talking about feelings, especially not ones made by music.

What did the sound feel like? Ky wasn't sure at all how to answer that. What if it didn't really make him feel any way? He played it again, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Like music." He was pretty sure that wasn't the right answer, but it was a better one than anything else he could think up.

"Okay, good. Well, it definitely is music." Selphie has, after all, tutored small children in playing instruments. Not that she's being patronising, but she sure seemed to have a lot of patience with this.

"But what does it feel like? Is it a happy sound, or a sad sound? Try it again."

Ky wasn't sure how he felt about being praised for his work, when he clearly hadn't given her the answer that she wanted. He was just giving the only answer that he knew how to give.

"It's just music. Sounds aren't really happy or sad, unless they're like crying or laughter, but even there they're just a reflection of the emotion that the person who makes the sound feels. And I'm not feeling particularly emotional at the moment, so there's nothing to reflect."

Selphie bit her lip, watching Ky carefully as he described music in such a way. To her, it didn't make one bit of sense - musical sounds were so obviously sad, happy, even more. She didn't really understand how someone couldn't hear that.

But still, she smiled and nodded slightly, "Sometimes it's what you put into the sound, sometimes it's what the sound puts into you. Try again." And when he tries again, she'll hum along in harmony, hoping to make the sound more obvious.

Ky still didn't understand, didn't see what was being expected of him. He didn't think music could be said to be angry, to be guilty, to be determined, and those were emotions he felt much more than happiness or sadness. Emotions that he let himself feel more.

He listened, still trying hard to concentrate on it, but the focus seemed to make it worse, not better. He was clearly disappointing her, but he wasn't sure how to make it better. He wouldn't lie to her about what it made him feel. "I'm sorry."

Selphie watched Ky carefully because she's never had a pupil not understand this. Even those that struggled more emotionally could recognise some difference between a happy note and a sad note. But disappointed? She wasn't disappointed - she just knew that there might be some way to go if she was going to continue teaching him any further.

Despite all that thinking and concerning going on her head, Selphie smiled brightly and shook her head gently, "Don't be sorry. Let's look at it a different way. So the note you just played is a chord in the major key, which is a more happier sound than something in the minor key. Say you wanted to sing a happy song, you would use notes like the one you just played. When I sang my sad song, it was a little different, like this -" And she moved his fingers again to cover other parts of the string. "Try that."

At least if he didn't hear the emotional value of the notes, he should hear that they sound different.

Ky was used to being exceptional, although it was usually more noticeable in the realm of battle, of fighting and leading, than emotionally. He had long had the devotion to duty of a man twice his age, but he had spent his childhood fighting for a cause, and there were always sacrifices that had to be made. His main one had been his emotional maturity. It was hard to develop the way normal children did when he didn't have a normal childhood. He repressed too much, and when it came bubbling up it was more like a volcano than something that could be damped down. It wasn't a problem most of the time -- when his temper went off it was usually directed at someone who deserved it, and that was the emotion most likely to break over. He could feel genuine joy, of course, but even sorrow was something he did better about, replaced most of the time by guilt.

It was hard enough to understand where his emotions sometimes came from him, and to ascribe them to music was even harder. He had recognized her song as sad, but it spoke to him much more directly than the chords now. Perhaps much of the problem was that while he didn't want to disappoint, he didn't particularly want to moved to feel by the music either. Didn't it prove he had control if he wasn't?

He could of course hear and feel the difference in the music, but he shoved aside the part of him that wanted to feel as a result of it. It was just music. Still, he nodded seriously, strumming again. "I can hear the difference, of course, and the resemblance to what you did before. But without the lyrics..." It was more understandable to be effected if there were lyrics, right?

Selphie laughed gently at Ky's suggestion - that without lyrics, it was difficult to really think about what the music might be saying, if it was saying anything. That made sense. That's why she preferred to sing with her instrument. "I think you're a little way off from starting to write songs..."

That wasn't what he meant, she was sure, but it amused her anyway. "But sure. The lyrics should add to what the music is doing - it's not just poetry with some sounds attached, ya know?" She smiled at him and nodded towards the guitar, "Whaddaya think? Wanna try some more?"

His cheeks turned a little red, and he shook his head. "I didn't mean that I would..." He wasn't remotely sure where he would even start with writing a song, and that hadn't been what he'd meant to imply. Ky didn't have very much experience being teased, and even though he could recognize that she didn't seem offended or angry, he wasn't sure how to react. "I don't think they would be very interesting songs, with only one and a half chords making them up," he tried.

As for what he thought... "I don't know. You can get back to playing yourself, if you want." He really didn't want to impose.

Selphie laughed at that idea and nodded her agreement, "No, you're right. The lyrics might be pretty good, but the tune not so much. That'll take a few lessons more to get to that stage." She smiled at Ky, looking between him and the guitar. "But ya know, if you think they're important to you, it doesn't matter what they're about - they'll mean something."

She smiled patiently as she sat back on the bench, "That's up to you. Unless you wanna borrow it for a little while, and you can see how you come along."

"I think I can probably find another guitar to purchase, if I decide to devote time to learning." And there was no point to getting one if he wasn't going to practice regularly.

"I don't need to deprive you of yours."

Selphie laughed at that and nodded, "I got this one here after all, so I'm sure you could find one easy." She gave Ky a curious look, "There's plenty books to teach you how, and you could always call me up any time for some help. Think this is something you'll wanna keep going with?" Cause this guy seemed like he really needed some pressing to think about things more emotionally.

"It depends on how much there is to do for the Defense Force." That it might not actually require as much time as he put into it was a fact, but not one Ky was close to acknowledging. He'd needed to be busy, so he filled his time. And even things like paperwork, keeping everything up to date, were more important than a hobby. In his own world he never would have had the time amongst his responsibilities, and he wasn't sure how to admit he had the time now.

"I'll consider it."

"Ky... I don't know how much patrolling and paperwork one guy can do, but seriously, you don't have to do all that work. It's bad for you. Officially." Selphie smiled gently, but she meant business, nodding seriously.

"So, I think that guitar, or any hobby, will be good for you. Because you gotta keep your mind in a healthy balance. Otherwise the defense stuff is useless, ya know?"

"Ahh. I'm not certain that I agree that the defense force requires me to meet your particular set of standards for relaxation and having hobbies. If I choose not to divert my energy to other things, that simply means that I have more energy to devote to other people, to making it so they can safely enjoy their own hobbies."

He nodded, expecting her to be convinced now. "Officially, these things need to be covered."

"You mean that isn't in the official rules?" Selphie frowned, like she was processing that seriously. "Right... We really need to do something about that. Cause it's supposed to be in there somewhere. I know that Squall would have wanted it..." She managed to say that with a straight face, but the twinkle in her eyes was obvious.

Selphie shook her head and looked at Ky steadily, "You realise that you're not the only one in the defense force, right? So.. there are other people there also busting their asses so that everyone, and that includes you, can have some time off with a hobby."

"I'm certain that such a rule isn't necessary."

He looked into her eyes, radiating earnestness. "What makes me happy is to see other people's smiling faces, to make them safe. That means more than any hobby possibly could, and it's worth giving up the idea of a night off to help achieve."

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