Fanfiction: "Presentable"
Mar. 16th, 2020 05:04 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deemoyzaWritten for GYWO Yahtzee. Prompt Set 1
Title: "Presentable" (500 words) [AO3]
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transistor
Rating/Warnings: General Audiences / No Warnings Apply
Characters: Sybil Reisz, Royce Bracket
Prompt: Bossy
Summary: Sybil tries to make Royce presentable for a Cloudbank function, but he is not particularly cooperative. (Inspired by the last image in this Tumblr post.)
Sybil placed a hand on either side of Royce's head and turned it forward again. "Sit … still!" she ordered around the handle of the hairbrush between her teeth.
"This is ridiculous," Royce muttered. "A waste of time, of effort."
"It wouldn't be so much effort if you ran a comb through it once and a while."
"I find grooming … tedious, time-consuming. I have much better uses for my day, for my waking hours."
"Like playing with your little Process friends." Sybil scowled as the hairbrush snagged again.
"Studying. Not playing. And they are not friends … they seem to lack the necessary consciousness to understand friendship, the basic range of emotions. Some are capable of displaying aggression, but that can't be correlated with human consciousness … after all, animals show aggression, they fight, for different reasons, many different reasons." He grunted as Sybil untangled a knot. "The Process is very mysterious, very intriguing. It warrants much observation, much study … study that takes time, that's worthwhile. Unlike … whatever it is you're doing."
"I'm trying to make you presentable! Tonight's gala is in your honor."
"No, it's not. It's in honor of Bracket Towers, of its update, its quarterly update. The building has nothing to do with me, anymore, nothing to do …"
"It's got your name on it, for goodness' sake! You have to be there."
"That's all. Just a name … a moniker, a reference to an idea that long outlived its appeal. These aren't the Bracket Towers I built. They're the Bracket Towers the people want. The people … flighty, uneducated … they don't know the first rule of good design, of good aesthetics. But … as the people go, so goes Cloudbank."
Sybil sighed. "Oh, come on, don't go getting all gloomy on me, not now! Look, we – you and me and Grant and Asher – we're working to change that, to make the Cloudbank of our dreams, of everyone's dreams. A Cloudbank where things last!" She patted his shoulder and leaned close, noticing him flinch and try to move away. "And who knows? You might find another suitable subject to that end tonight."
"I hate to agree with you, but you make a strong point." Royce faced forward and waved his hand limply in the air. "Carry on."
"Good."
The relative calm did not last, however; minutes later, Royce, apparently struck by a new idea, fished a notepad and pen from his pocket and began scribbling furiously, bending closer to the notepad with each stroke. Sybil tapped his head with the back of the brush, and he yelped.
"Sit still!"
He glared at her, then turned back to his pad. "Updated list, Friday, 1700 hours," he mumbled to himself. "As per last meeting, adding Ms. Yon-Dale, reason: weather stability."
"Can't you make your little notes later? And without talking them out?"
He ignored her. "As per recent events, I personally recommend adding Ms. Reisz–"
"What?" Sybil stepped back.
Another glare. "—reason: bossy."
Title: "Presentable" (500 words) [AO3]
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transistor
Rating/Warnings: General Audiences / No Warnings Apply
Characters: Sybil Reisz, Royce Bracket
Prompt: Bossy
Summary: Sybil tries to make Royce presentable for a Cloudbank function, but he is not particularly cooperative. (Inspired by the last image in this Tumblr post.)
Sybil placed a hand on either side of Royce's head and turned it forward again. "Sit … still!" she ordered around the handle of the hairbrush between her teeth.
"This is ridiculous," Royce muttered. "A waste of time, of effort."
"It wouldn't be so much effort if you ran a comb through it once and a while."
"I find grooming … tedious, time-consuming. I have much better uses for my day, for my waking hours."
"Like playing with your little Process friends." Sybil scowled as the hairbrush snagged again.
"Studying. Not playing. And they are not friends … they seem to lack the necessary consciousness to understand friendship, the basic range of emotions. Some are capable of displaying aggression, but that can't be correlated with human consciousness … after all, animals show aggression, they fight, for different reasons, many different reasons." He grunted as Sybil untangled a knot. "The Process is very mysterious, very intriguing. It warrants much observation, much study … study that takes time, that's worthwhile. Unlike … whatever it is you're doing."
"I'm trying to make you presentable! Tonight's gala is in your honor."
"No, it's not. It's in honor of Bracket Towers, of its update, its quarterly update. The building has nothing to do with me, anymore, nothing to do …"
"It's got your name on it, for goodness' sake! You have to be there."
"That's all. Just a name … a moniker, a reference to an idea that long outlived its appeal. These aren't the Bracket Towers I built. They're the Bracket Towers the people want. The people … flighty, uneducated … they don't know the first rule of good design, of good aesthetics. But … as the people go, so goes Cloudbank."
Sybil sighed. "Oh, come on, don't go getting all gloomy on me, not now! Look, we – you and me and Grant and Asher – we're working to change that, to make the Cloudbank of our dreams, of everyone's dreams. A Cloudbank where things last!" She patted his shoulder and leaned close, noticing him flinch and try to move away. "And who knows? You might find another suitable subject to that end tonight."
"I hate to agree with you, but you make a strong point." Royce faced forward and waved his hand limply in the air. "Carry on."
"Good."
The relative calm did not last, however; minutes later, Royce, apparently struck by a new idea, fished a notepad and pen from his pocket and began scribbling furiously, bending closer to the notepad with each stroke. Sybil tapped his head with the back of the brush, and he yelped.
"Sit still!"
He glared at her, then turned back to his pad. "Updated list, Friday, 1700 hours," he mumbled to himself. "As per last meeting, adding Ms. Yon-Dale, reason: weather stability."
"Can't you make your little notes later? And without talking them out?"
He ignored her. "As per recent events, I personally recommend adding Ms. Reisz–"
"What?" Sybil stepped back.
Another glare. "—reason: bossy."
