Fanfiction: "Noise"
Apr. 7th, 2020 04:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deemoyzaTitle: "Noise" (3,716 words) [AO3]
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transistor
Rating/Warnings: Teen / Warnings for Language, Boxing-Typical Violence, and Blood.
Characters: Subject, Original Characters, Red
Summary: The cheers and applause from Red's audience were deafening, drowning out all other sounds around Auden, and coaxing back a memory from his fighting days that he would rather forget.
(Written for a fic prompt on Tumblr: "A deafening sound.")
Gib was as close a thing a guy could find to a coach in the back alleys of Baysign. A former fighter himself, with the scars and broken nose to prove it, he knew about all of the bouts happening across the city, both sanctioned and underground, and he knew just who to talk to to get a guy into one. He'd take a hefty cut of the winnings for himself, of course, because with enough success, his client would have no trouble navigating the circuit on his own, and old Gib needed something to live on while he waited for the next promising fighter to seek his services.
That he never seemed to run out said everything anyone needed to know about Baysign.
Today, he sat on a dented oil drum, across a narrow alley from Auden, and rattled off a list of locations and purses from a crumpled slip of paper.
"Looks like you're in luck, Audie," he said. "Got a couple of golden opportunities here, depending on how much you wanna risk. If you wanna play it safe, Highrise has a tournament coming up. Official, regulated, all that goody-two-shoes crap. Purse's enough to keep a roof over your head for another month or two, though, and to keep me well-fed."
Auden nodded. "And the other?"
"Other one's out in Sunset, an unsanctioned deal. The host's a real hotshot who convinced the Administrators to look the other way. Lucky for us, he's prepared to share his wealth. Win here, and you're set for the rest of the year, maybe longer! And me …" Gib chuckled. "Let's just say, you won't be seein' me around for a good, long while."
"Sunset?" Auden snatched the paper and read it over. "Huh. Never expected them to have something like this. I figured it was too rough for 'em."
"Too rough?" Gib's chuckle became a full-blown laugh, which turned into a hacking cough. He slapped his knee until the coughing subsided, then paused to catch his breath. "You don't know these people at all, do ya, Audie? 'Rough' is exactly what they want. All the sweat and spit and blood. Lets 'em get out their frustrations, get a little thrill, from the safety of their seats." He reclaimed the paper and tried to smooth it out. "So, whaddaya say? Which'll it be?"
Auden leaned forward, elbows on knees, and picked at a hangnail on his thumb. The Highrise tournament paid well enough, and it was the safer bet. But the Sunset purse … he'd never seen a number that high on something within reach. Of course, Gib would help himself to most of it, but what was left would still last him far longer than his cut from Highrise would. And, more importantly, it would buy him more time. Time to find a steady job that paid decent, and get him out of this business before he ended up like Gib. He looked up to find Gib grinning at him, ear-to-ear.
"I can see them wheels turnin'," Gib said. "Sunset, right?"
"Right."
"Good choice. Lemme make a call, getcha all set up. Just think, this time next month, all our problems could be over!" His expression darkened. "So long as you don't let me down."
"I won't."
"Better not." The shadow receded from Gib's face, giving way to another smile. "Well, I'm off!" He slid off the oil drum and started down the alley, whistling off-key.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Transistor
Rating/Warnings: Teen / Warnings for Language, Boxing-Typical Violence, and Blood.
Characters: Subject, Original Characters, Red
Summary: The cheers and applause from Red's audience were deafening, drowning out all other sounds around Auden, and coaxing back a memory from his fighting days that he would rather forget.
(Written for a fic prompt on Tumblr: "A deafening sound.")
Gib was as close a thing a guy could find to a coach in the back alleys of Baysign. A former fighter himself, with the scars and broken nose to prove it, he knew about all of the bouts happening across the city, both sanctioned and underground, and he knew just who to talk to to get a guy into one. He'd take a hefty cut of the winnings for himself, of course, because with enough success, his client would have no trouble navigating the circuit on his own, and old Gib needed something to live on while he waited for the next promising fighter to seek his services.
That he never seemed to run out said everything anyone needed to know about Baysign.
Today, he sat on a dented oil drum, across a narrow alley from Auden, and rattled off a list of locations and purses from a crumpled slip of paper.
"Looks like you're in luck, Audie," he said. "Got a couple of golden opportunities here, depending on how much you wanna risk. If you wanna play it safe, Highrise has a tournament coming up. Official, regulated, all that goody-two-shoes crap. Purse's enough to keep a roof over your head for another month or two, though, and to keep me well-fed."
Auden nodded. "And the other?"
"Other one's out in Sunset, an unsanctioned deal. The host's a real hotshot who convinced the Administrators to look the other way. Lucky for us, he's prepared to share his wealth. Win here, and you're set for the rest of the year, maybe longer! And me …" Gib chuckled. "Let's just say, you won't be seein' me around for a good, long while."
"Sunset?" Auden snatched the paper and read it over. "Huh. Never expected them to have something like this. I figured it was too rough for 'em."
"Too rough?" Gib's chuckle became a full-blown laugh, which turned into a hacking cough. He slapped his knee until the coughing subsided, then paused to catch his breath. "You don't know these people at all, do ya, Audie? 'Rough' is exactly what they want. All the sweat and spit and blood. Lets 'em get out their frustrations, get a little thrill, from the safety of their seats." He reclaimed the paper and tried to smooth it out. "So, whaddaya say? Which'll it be?"
Auden leaned forward, elbows on knees, and picked at a hangnail on his thumb. The Highrise tournament paid well enough, and it was the safer bet. But the Sunset purse … he'd never seen a number that high on something within reach. Of course, Gib would help himself to most of it, but what was left would still last him far longer than his cut from Highrise would. And, more importantly, it would buy him more time. Time to find a steady job that paid decent, and get him out of this business before he ended up like Gib. He looked up to find Gib grinning at him, ear-to-ear.
"I can see them wheels turnin'," Gib said. "Sunset, right?"
"Right."
"Good choice. Lemme make a call, getcha all set up. Just think, this time next month, all our problems could be over!" His expression darkened. "So long as you don't let me down."
"I won't."
"Better not." The shadow receded from Gib's face, giving way to another smile. "Well, I'm off!" He slid off the oil drum and started down the alley, whistling off-key.
