Jack (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
finch) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
rainbowfic2013-05-27 02:41 am
finch) wrote in rainbowfic2013-05-27 02:41 am
Ochre, Bittersweet: That's Just Rain On My Face
Name: Jack
Story:commonplace
Colors: Ochre, Bittersweet 9. making a choice
Supplies and Styles: Tapestry, Saturation
Word Count: ~900
Rating: PG
Notes: He's the retired Demon General! She's a precocious lab tech! Together theyfight crimeangst on the roof!
Mods, can I get a color tag for Ochre please? Thanks!
1. Fe2O3
Akane was suddenly glad she'd spent so many afternoons sneaking up the rusty maintenance stairs onto the roof.
Oh, they'd find him eventually - even the Demon General wasn't invisible - but she could get up there without anyone realizing what she was doing or why. It would buy her some time.
9. H14MgO11S
"General Katsuya?"
He laughed, low but not mean. "Nobody calls me that anymore."
"I- I'm a big fan of yours, sir."
That got him to look at her - at her, not the lab coat. "A fan?"
"I read everything I could find. Used my mom's access. I even named my gerbil after you."
Kether stared for a minute, finally recognizing what she reminded him of. The kids up in Applegate - still young, but not really. "Thank you."
"You've been my hero for years."
"I'm not a hero," Kether shook his head. "I'm just a glorified lab rat."
4. ZrO2-12
"I wish I was - I'm not even a glorified lab rat. I'm just a control."
"Controls are important. Without them, you're not really doing science." He parroted his father's words automatically, but it didn't bother him as much as it usually did.
Akane sighed. "My job is- I just exist. To be the baseline. To be inferior next to her."
Kether reached out and started rubbing her back in slow, calming circles, and Akane realized she'd begun crying at some point. "When she first started going on missions, I was terrified something would happen to her. Not because I love her - I mean, I do love her, I guess I do. But because I was worried that if she died, Mother would snap my neck for the autopsy too. For comparison purposes."
7. AlF6Na3
"I'm just... invisible. Not just to my mother, either. I've been in the lab so long that Mother's techs ignore me. The rest of the building isn't much better."
3. C8H9NO2
"I'm going to tell you a secret."
Akane's eyes grew wide.
"This isn't something you learn in a lab. Either someone has to tell you, and mean it, or you have to figure it out for yourself. Me, someone told me."
She nodded. He leaned in until their foreheads were nearly touching.
"You are a person."
Akane felt like she'd forgotten how to breathe.
"When you understand that, it'll hurt, because you'll understand why the way your mother treats you is wrong. But it's important to know."
5. C10H16O1
"Understanding it happened in a blink, just like that. One day I realized I could walk out. Nobody stopped me. I don't think it occurred to them that I might leave."
He wondered if Akane's stare was surprise that he had done it or surprise that she could.
"What did you do?" she asked him, and he was glad she was listening.
"I got on a train. I moved to Yaanga." He shrugged. "I have a bookstore now. Not a big one, but I get by."
6. C6H6
Akane looked back at the skyline, not sure what to say. She had to set the idea of leaving away for later, to turn over when her mind wasn't occupied with the immediate presence of General Katsuya. "Why are you up here, anyway? I thought you were meeting with President Ballentyne."
"I am. But the discussion was getting a little heated, and I didn't want to lose my temper. It would have gone badly."
"For you?"
"For the President."
8. C2H6S
The door to the roof swung open again, and this time a young woman and an older man stepped out. "The President is waiting for you."
"That's my sister, Emiko," Akane whispered. "You should probably go."
He couldn't help noticing the tension in her spine, the way her eyes looked down at her sister's shoes instead of meeting her face.
"Emiko?" Kether tried to take the measure of the young woman. "You're the one..."
Emiko nodded crisply. "Mum designed me by following the notes we had on you, yes."
Kether gave a short nod and looked back at Akane.
"Don't worry about her," Emiko said. "She'll be fine. The President is waiting."
10. C6H12O6
Kether stood and pulled out his wallet. "Here's my card." He handed it to Akane, who used all her self control to stop from clutching it to her chest like a fawning teenager.
It had a name she didn't recognize, labelled Bookseller, and an address in Yaanga.
"Is this you?"
"It's who I am when I'm not the Demon General. You should come down some time and meet him. I think you'd like him."
Akane nodded.
"You're sweet, kid. Don't let the lab take that away from you."
2. H2o
The first drops of rain started falling as the other man led Kether inside. Emiko waited long enough to glare at Akane before slamming the door behind her. Akane heard the lock scrape into place.
Akane slipped the card inside her shirt, to keep it safe and away from any questions that might come up later. She'd shimmy back down the ventilation shaft in a few minutes - she wondered if Emiko knew she had another way in, or meant to lock her out - but for the moment, she wanted to think.
Despite the dark clouds and the drizzle, the city looked more full of promise than it ever had.
Story:
commonplaceColors: Ochre, Bittersweet 9. making a choice
Supplies and Styles: Tapestry, Saturation
Word Count: ~900
Rating: PG
Notes: He's the retired Demon General! She's a precocious lab tech! Together they
Mods, can I get a color tag for Ochre please? Thanks!
1. Fe2O3
Akane was suddenly glad she'd spent so many afternoons sneaking up the rusty maintenance stairs onto the roof.
Oh, they'd find him eventually - even the Demon General wasn't invisible - but she could get up there without anyone realizing what she was doing or why. It would buy her some time.
9. H14MgO11S
"General Katsuya?"
He laughed, low but not mean. "Nobody calls me that anymore."
"I- I'm a big fan of yours, sir."
That got him to look at her - at her, not the lab coat. "A fan?"
"I read everything I could find. Used my mom's access. I even named my gerbil after you."
Kether stared for a minute, finally recognizing what she reminded him of. The kids up in Applegate - still young, but not really. "Thank you."
"You've been my hero for years."
"I'm not a hero," Kether shook his head. "I'm just a glorified lab rat."
4. ZrO2-12
"I wish I was - I'm not even a glorified lab rat. I'm just a control."
"Controls are important. Without them, you're not really doing science." He parroted his father's words automatically, but it didn't bother him as much as it usually did.
Akane sighed. "My job is- I just exist. To be the baseline. To be inferior next to her."
Kether reached out and started rubbing her back in slow, calming circles, and Akane realized she'd begun crying at some point. "When she first started going on missions, I was terrified something would happen to her. Not because I love her - I mean, I do love her, I guess I do. But because I was worried that if she died, Mother would snap my neck for the autopsy too. For comparison purposes."
7. AlF6Na3
"I'm just... invisible. Not just to my mother, either. I've been in the lab so long that Mother's techs ignore me. The rest of the building isn't much better."
3. C8H9NO2
"I'm going to tell you a secret."
Akane's eyes grew wide.
"This isn't something you learn in a lab. Either someone has to tell you, and mean it, or you have to figure it out for yourself. Me, someone told me."
She nodded. He leaned in until their foreheads were nearly touching.
"You are a person."
Akane felt like she'd forgotten how to breathe.
"When you understand that, it'll hurt, because you'll understand why the way your mother treats you is wrong. But it's important to know."
5. C10H16O1
"Understanding it happened in a blink, just like that. One day I realized I could walk out. Nobody stopped me. I don't think it occurred to them that I might leave."
He wondered if Akane's stare was surprise that he had done it or surprise that she could.
"What did you do?" she asked him, and he was glad she was listening.
"I got on a train. I moved to Yaanga." He shrugged. "I have a bookstore now. Not a big one, but I get by."
6. C6H6
Akane looked back at the skyline, not sure what to say. She had to set the idea of leaving away for later, to turn over when her mind wasn't occupied with the immediate presence of General Katsuya. "Why are you up here, anyway? I thought you were meeting with President Ballentyne."
"I am. But the discussion was getting a little heated, and I didn't want to lose my temper. It would have gone badly."
"For you?"
"For the President."
8. C2H6S
The door to the roof swung open again, and this time a young woman and an older man stepped out. "The President is waiting for you."
"That's my sister, Emiko," Akane whispered. "You should probably go."
He couldn't help noticing the tension in her spine, the way her eyes looked down at her sister's shoes instead of meeting her face.
"Emiko?" Kether tried to take the measure of the young woman. "You're the one..."
Emiko nodded crisply. "Mum designed me by following the notes we had on you, yes."
Kether gave a short nod and looked back at Akane.
"Don't worry about her," Emiko said. "She'll be fine. The President is waiting."
10. C6H12O6
Kether stood and pulled out his wallet. "Here's my card." He handed it to Akane, who used all her self control to stop from clutching it to her chest like a fawning teenager.
It had a name she didn't recognize, labelled Bookseller, and an address in Yaanga.
"Is this you?"
"It's who I am when I'm not the Demon General. You should come down some time and meet him. I think you'd like him."
Akane nodded.
"You're sweet, kid. Don't let the lab take that away from you."
2. H2o
The first drops of rain started falling as the other man led Kether inside. Emiko waited long enough to glare at Akane before slamming the door behind her. Akane heard the lock scrape into place.
Akane slipped the card inside her shirt, to keep it safe and away from any questions that might come up later. She'd shimmy back down the ventilation shaft in a few minutes - she wondered if Emiko knew she had another way in, or meant to lock her out - but for the moment, she wanted to think.
Despite the dark clouds and the drizzle, the city looked more full of promise than it ever had.
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Can't wait to see more of these two together! Rooting for Akane to reclaim her personhood!
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I'm pretty happy that I figured out a way for Akane to have a good ending. I wasn't expecting to root for her, but I totally am.
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Second.
I'm kind of short on words here. My two favorite characters having such a beautiful rainy day moment together. And Kether's advice being so legitimately /good/ and him just wanting to be a bookseller and Akane finally smiling outside of gerbil-related matters.
You made my weekend. Thank you.
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Thanks. I'm actually really glad that I might be able to give Akane a happy ending. I wasn't expecting that.
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It appears to have actually transformed her character arc. XD Thanks.