100 Drabbles of 2011 #31-40
31) shade
Time Period: Victor and Alice's honeymoon
Notes: Another honeymoon fic -- I seem to do a lot of those for this challenge. Anyway, this one's a sort of companion to "7) sunburn." Poor Victor, he of the too-pale complexion.
Victor huddled under the umbrella, wondering again why they’d planned a beach honeymoon. Someone with skin as fair as his should never go anywhere with strong sun. Alice had that wonderful lotion, of course, but it was better to avoid the burns in the first place. Which meant hiding in the shade whenever possible.
What annoyed him most was that this silly situation was affecting Alice too. “I’m sorry we can’t really enjoy the sunshine,” he told her, sitting next to him on their blanket.
She squeezed his hand. “I’d rather be under here with you than out there without.”
32) watermelon
Time Period: "Secundus 2" era Notes: I really wasn't sure what to do with this prompt until I hit upon the idea of a picnic. From that, I decided to go ahead and put the whole thing in the time period of "Secundus 2." Farmer Peabody is a nod back to BTTF Part I and the pine tree farm that became Twin Pines/Lone Pine mall. Also, I'm sure you can tell when this is set in relation to Part III. . . .
“You’re just carrying it whole?”
“Yeah – we’ll carve it at the picnic site, so it’ll be fresh,” Marty said, placing the watermelon in a basket. He carefully slid a large knife in there with it. “You’ll like this – Farmer Peabody grows the best watermelons. When he isn’t obsessing over his pine trees.”
“I look forward to tasting it,” Victor said, running his fingers over the rind. “If I don’t fall into that ravine we’re picnicking near.”
“You’re not going to fall in,” Marty told him, lightly poking him in the chest. “Nobody’s falling into any ravines today. Cross my heart.”
33) swim
Time Period: Summer between Victor and Alice's honeymoon and "Secundus 2"
Notes: This is one that I posted mere minutes after I wrote it -- it was a boiling hot day, I had swimming on my mind, and the version I wrote down by hand hit 100 words exactly, so I figured "why not?" The Pool of Tears as Wonderland's premiere swimming location is an idea I've had for a while, for all the different universes. (And then A:MR came along and introduced the Deluded Depths. . .)
On hot days like this, Victor was glad that there was a place to swim inside Secundus. The Pool of Tears glittered in the sunlight, looking cool and inviting. Victor busied himself laying out the towels and making sure lunch was adequately chilled as Alice cleared away the snarks. Then it was behind the trees for a quick change before leaping in.
The water was wonderful -- salty like the ocean, but just a smidgen warmer. Victor and Alice lounged in the shallows, content to enjoy themselves with a minimum of exertion.
Now this was what summer days were all about.
34) war
Time Period: "Secundus 2" era (SPOILERS)
Notes: I really wanted to do a couple of fics dealing with the events of the sequel, and a certain incident in the climax immediately sprang to mind for this prompt. The tea grenade is a shoutout to one of Alice's "Madness Returns" weapons, the teapot cannon. Gordon Tannen is a bully of Victor's I've mentioned in other prompts -- and yes, of course he's related to Buford. (Even if I haven't figured out precisely how yet -- I'm thinking some form of nephew.)
Victor had always known Alice was tough. He’d seen her in action – slashing up a Fabricated monster with her Vorpal Blade, disabling a rogue Automaton via tea grenade, or stopping a zombie Reanimated with a blast of her Ice Wand. It took a lot to take her down and get her to stop fighting. She was swift, powerful, and merciless to those who meant others harm.
But it wasn’t until he saw her take down Gordon Tannen with her bare hands at seven months pregnant that Victor realized he’d married the toughest woman alive.
And he loved her for it.
35) sandals
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," when Alice is pregnant with the twins
Notes: This was a tough one, as I'd used up all my foot-related ideas doing the little "Family Feet" series you'll see in succeeding prompts. Not to mention I wasn't sure what sort of sandals Victorians would wear, if they even wore sandals. Finally, I remembered some stuff I'd read about pregnant women developing swollen ankles, and decided to go ahead and do that with Alice. As for the sandals -- well, Victorians must have had SOME form of beach shoe. . . .
“Are those sandals?”
“They are,” Alice said, sitting down at the breakfast table. “Something wrong with sandals?”
“Not at all,” Victor said hastily as he joined his very pregnant wife. “It’s just – odd to see you wear beach shoes. You’re so fond of your boots.”
“Correction: I’m fond of my boots when my ankles aren’t this swollen. I’m not going out today, so sandals are as good as anything. I’d go bloody barefoot if our floors weren’t so cold.”
“I see. Shall I put my fingers to work on a foot massage after breakfast?”
Alice grinned. “Damn right you will.”
36) boat
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," all the children
Notes: Another boat trip! This one owes a lot to my copy of The Annotated Alice and its notes on the chapter in Looking-Glass where Alice and the Sheep row down the river. I got all my terminology from there -- along with the tidbit that the historical Alice was not very good at rowing. :p
“Feather, Lorina!”
“Do what now?”
“Turn your oar blades,” Victor provided. “They’re dragging through the water.”
“Yes, you don’t want to catch a crab,” Alice nodded. “That means taking the oar handle to the chest because you dipped it too deep.”
“Why do they call that ‘catching a crab?’” Vincent asked.
“Because it’s like a crab has grabbed hold of the oar,” Alice said. “Old rower’s joke.”
“You seem to know a lot about rowing, Mum,” Chester noted.
“I learned from the best.”
“After being the worst, you once said,” Victor added playfully.
“Hush – I still know more than you.”
37) surf
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," all the children
Notes: Another day at the beach for the Van Dorts. The kids are bodysurfing in this -- you know, when you ride the waves into shore. This probably wasn't a common Victorian thing, but the family's supposed to be on a private stretch of beach, so the rules of propriety can be relaxed a little. In the first draft, Vincent willingly ate the sand as a joke, but I decided the "sibling fight" version made more sense.
“Wheee – ack! Bleh, bleh. . . .”
“Lorina?” Victor knelt down by his daughter’s side. “Are you all right?”
Lorina wiped her mouth and nodded. “Sand,” she said, grimacing at the lingering taste.
“Ah.” Victor patted her hair. “Lunch is almost ready, so you can rinse your mouth out then.”
Vincent floated up beside them, carried by the surf. “You eat sand, Lorry?” he teased her.
“Oh, I love sand. Here, you have some,” Lorina said, picking up a handful and smooshing it on her brother’s face.
“Hey! I’m gonna–”
“No fighting,” Victor scolded. “Let’s go see if any real food is available.”
38) mirage
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Yet another mildly-depressing story. Doc and Marty move back to Hill Valley in the two years separating the end of "Secundus" and the beginning of "Secundus 2." Victor naturally misses his friends a great deal. This is a rare one that hit 100 the first time, though I ended up tweaking it anyway.
Victor blinked as the figure passed him. That hair looked awfully familiar. Could it be. . . ? He spun around for another look.
For a moment, he couldn’t find the young man. Maybe he had imagined him. . . . No, there he was! With that head of dark brown hair. . . “Marty?” Victor asked hopefully.
The young man turned – revealing hazel eyes and an oversized nose. “Terrence, actually,” he said, and then went on his way.
Victor sighed. Alice put her arm around him. “You’ll see them again.”
“I know,” Victor said, wistfully remembering the old days in the lab. “But I do miss them.”
39) hike
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," fairly far future
Notes: This was inspired by something I first saw on tumblr: The Glasswing Butterfly. Isn't it amazing? A little research yielded it was a tropical butterfly, so I had Doc invent something to move the train through time and space to get the gang to the right area. The others are at home watching the kids.
“Okay, why are we in a Panama rainforest again?” Marty groused as they tromped through the vegetation.
“Don’t ask me, I didn’t pick our destination,” Doc said. “At least we made a successful test of my new time and space location device.”
“I suppose, but. . .”
“But it’s hot and sticky and you want to stop walking?” Alice guessed.
“Yeah. What’s got Victor so excited, anyway?”
“This.”
The others stared at the butterfly on Victor’s finger. “Whoa,” Marty breathed. “Are those wings–”
“Not glass – just transparent,” Victor said, grinning. “It’s not Fabricated.”
“Amazing,” Doc breathed.
“Definitely worth the hike,” Alice nodded.
40) solstice
Time Period: Between the end of the main plot of "Secundus" and the epilogue (aka before Victor and Alice's wedding)
Notes: Oh man, I had NO idea what to do with this one. Nobody's an astronomer, I had no idea how to incorporate the whole "longest/shortest day" thing into a story -- I was stuck. Finally, I went to Wikipedia in desperation, and stumbled across the Midsummer celebrations article, which take place around the solstice. And one of the celebratory activities was creating a bonfire. Granted, it seemed more a rural tradition and was petering out in the 19th century, but it was something I could work with. This drabble owes a debt to another story I did for Victor/Alice for a 30 Dances prompt table: 24. Bonfire - Pyromania. We've got a similar principle at work here.
“STOP! PUT IT OUT! DAMN YOU, PUT IT OUT!”
Victor froze, then dashed around the corner. In front of him was a group of boys, a large bonfire, and a nearly hysterical Alice. “What’s wrong, lunatic?” one boy jeered. “Don’t like Midsummer celebrations?”
“This bonfire tradition is idiotic! Do you want to set the city on fire?!”
“Isn’t that your job? You’re the one who cooked her parents!”
Cold fire raged up Victor’s spine. He stepped forward, pulling down his goggles. “I strongly recommend you put out that fire,” he said, voice icy. “Otherwise. . . .”
It was out in two minutes.
Time Period: Victor and Alice's honeymoon
Notes: Another honeymoon fic -- I seem to do a lot of those for this challenge. Anyway, this one's a sort of companion to "7) sunburn." Poor Victor, he of the too-pale complexion.
Victor huddled under the umbrella, wondering again why they’d planned a beach honeymoon. Someone with skin as fair as his should never go anywhere with strong sun. Alice had that wonderful lotion, of course, but it was better to avoid the burns in the first place. Which meant hiding in the shade whenever possible.
What annoyed him most was that this silly situation was affecting Alice too. “I’m sorry we can’t really enjoy the sunshine,” he told her, sitting next to him on their blanket.
She squeezed his hand. “I’d rather be under here with you than out there without.”
32) watermelon
Time Period: "Secundus 2" era Notes: I really wasn't sure what to do with this prompt until I hit upon the idea of a picnic. From that, I decided to go ahead and put the whole thing in the time period of "Secundus 2." Farmer Peabody is a nod back to BTTF Part I and the pine tree farm that became Twin Pines/Lone Pine mall. Also, I'm sure you can tell when this is set in relation to Part III. . . .
“You’re just carrying it whole?”
“Yeah – we’ll carve it at the picnic site, so it’ll be fresh,” Marty said, placing the watermelon in a basket. He carefully slid a large knife in there with it. “You’ll like this – Farmer Peabody grows the best watermelons. When he isn’t obsessing over his pine trees.”
“I look forward to tasting it,” Victor said, running his fingers over the rind. “If I don’t fall into that ravine we’re picnicking near.”
“You’re not going to fall in,” Marty told him, lightly poking him in the chest. “Nobody’s falling into any ravines today. Cross my heart.”
33) swim
Time Period: Summer between Victor and Alice's honeymoon and "Secundus 2"
Notes: This is one that I posted mere minutes after I wrote it -- it was a boiling hot day, I had swimming on my mind, and the version I wrote down by hand hit 100 words exactly, so I figured "why not?" The Pool of Tears as Wonderland's premiere swimming location is an idea I've had for a while, for all the different universes. (And then A:MR came along and introduced the Deluded Depths. . .)
On hot days like this, Victor was glad that there was a place to swim inside Secundus. The Pool of Tears glittered in the sunlight, looking cool and inviting. Victor busied himself laying out the towels and making sure lunch was adequately chilled as Alice cleared away the snarks. Then it was behind the trees for a quick change before leaping in.
The water was wonderful -- salty like the ocean, but just a smidgen warmer. Victor and Alice lounged in the shallows, content to enjoy themselves with a minimum of exertion.
Now this was what summer days were all about.
34) war
Time Period: "Secundus 2" era (SPOILERS)
Notes: I really wanted to do a couple of fics dealing with the events of the sequel, and a certain incident in the climax immediately sprang to mind for this prompt. The tea grenade is a shoutout to one of Alice's "Madness Returns" weapons, the teapot cannon. Gordon Tannen is a bully of Victor's I've mentioned in other prompts -- and yes, of course he's related to Buford. (Even if I haven't figured out precisely how yet -- I'm thinking some form of nephew.)
Victor had always known Alice was tough. He’d seen her in action – slashing up a Fabricated monster with her Vorpal Blade, disabling a rogue Automaton via tea grenade, or stopping a zombie Reanimated with a blast of her Ice Wand. It took a lot to take her down and get her to stop fighting. She was swift, powerful, and merciless to those who meant others harm.
But it wasn’t until he saw her take down Gordon Tannen with her bare hands at seven months pregnant that Victor realized he’d married the toughest woman alive.
And he loved her for it.
35) sandals
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," when Alice is pregnant with the twins
Notes: This was a tough one, as I'd used up all my foot-related ideas doing the little "Family Feet" series you'll see in succeeding prompts. Not to mention I wasn't sure what sort of sandals Victorians would wear, if they even wore sandals. Finally, I remembered some stuff I'd read about pregnant women developing swollen ankles, and decided to go ahead and do that with Alice. As for the sandals -- well, Victorians must have had SOME form of beach shoe. . . .
“Are those sandals?”
“They are,” Alice said, sitting down at the breakfast table. “Something wrong with sandals?”
“Not at all,” Victor said hastily as he joined his very pregnant wife. “It’s just – odd to see you wear beach shoes. You’re so fond of your boots.”
“Correction: I’m fond of my boots when my ankles aren’t this swollen. I’m not going out today, so sandals are as good as anything. I’d go bloody barefoot if our floors weren’t so cold.”
“I see. Shall I put my fingers to work on a foot massage after breakfast?”
Alice grinned. “Damn right you will.”
36) boat
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," all the children
Notes: Another boat trip! This one owes a lot to my copy of The Annotated Alice and its notes on the chapter in Looking-Glass where Alice and the Sheep row down the river. I got all my terminology from there -- along with the tidbit that the historical Alice was not very good at rowing. :p
“Feather, Lorina!”
“Do what now?”
“Turn your oar blades,” Victor provided. “They’re dragging through the water.”
“Yes, you don’t want to catch a crab,” Alice nodded. “That means taking the oar handle to the chest because you dipped it too deep.”
“Why do they call that ‘catching a crab?’” Vincent asked.
“Because it’s like a crab has grabbed hold of the oar,” Alice said. “Old rower’s joke.”
“You seem to know a lot about rowing, Mum,” Chester noted.
“I learned from the best.”
“After being the worst, you once said,” Victor added playfully.
“Hush – I still know more than you.”
37) surf
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," all the children
Notes: Another day at the beach for the Van Dorts. The kids are bodysurfing in this -- you know, when you ride the waves into shore. This probably wasn't a common Victorian thing, but the family's supposed to be on a private stretch of beach, so the rules of propriety can be relaxed a little. In the first draft, Vincent willingly ate the sand as a joke, but I decided the "sibling fight" version made more sense.
“Wheee – ack! Bleh, bleh. . . .”
“Lorina?” Victor knelt down by his daughter’s side. “Are you all right?”
Lorina wiped her mouth and nodded. “Sand,” she said, grimacing at the lingering taste.
“Ah.” Victor patted her hair. “Lunch is almost ready, so you can rinse your mouth out then.”
Vincent floated up beside them, carried by the surf. “You eat sand, Lorry?” he teased her.
“Oh, I love sand. Here, you have some,” Lorina said, picking up a handful and smooshing it on her brother’s face.
“Hey! I’m gonna–”
“No fighting,” Victor scolded. “Let’s go see if any real food is available.”
38) mirage
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Yet another mildly-depressing story. Doc and Marty move back to Hill Valley in the two years separating the end of "Secundus" and the beginning of "Secundus 2." Victor naturally misses his friends a great deal. This is a rare one that hit 100 the first time, though I ended up tweaking it anyway.
Victor blinked as the figure passed him. That hair looked awfully familiar. Could it be. . . ? He spun around for another look.
For a moment, he couldn’t find the young man. Maybe he had imagined him. . . . No, there he was! With that head of dark brown hair. . . “Marty?” Victor asked hopefully.
The young man turned – revealing hazel eyes and an oversized nose. “Terrence, actually,” he said, and then went on his way.
Victor sighed. Alice put her arm around him. “You’ll see them again.”
“I know,” Victor said, wistfully remembering the old days in the lab. “But I do miss them.”
39) hike
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," fairly far future
Notes: This was inspired by something I first saw on tumblr: The Glasswing Butterfly. Isn't it amazing? A little research yielded it was a tropical butterfly, so I had Doc invent something to move the train through time and space to get the gang to the right area. The others are at home watching the kids.
“Okay, why are we in a Panama rainforest again?” Marty groused as they tromped through the vegetation.
“Don’t ask me, I didn’t pick our destination,” Doc said. “At least we made a successful test of my new time and space location device.”
“I suppose, but. . .”
“But it’s hot and sticky and you want to stop walking?” Alice guessed.
“Yeah. What’s got Victor so excited, anyway?”
“This.”
The others stared at the butterfly on Victor’s finger. “Whoa,” Marty breathed. “Are those wings–”
“Not glass – just transparent,” Victor said, grinning. “It’s not Fabricated.”
“Amazing,” Doc breathed.
“Definitely worth the hike,” Alice nodded.
40) solstice
Time Period: Between the end of the main plot of "Secundus" and the epilogue (aka before Victor and Alice's wedding)
Notes: Oh man, I had NO idea what to do with this one. Nobody's an astronomer, I had no idea how to incorporate the whole "longest/shortest day" thing into a story -- I was stuck. Finally, I went to Wikipedia in desperation, and stumbled across the Midsummer celebrations article, which take place around the solstice. And one of the celebratory activities was creating a bonfire. Granted, it seemed more a rural tradition and was petering out in the 19th century, but it was something I could work with. This drabble owes a debt to another story I did for Victor/Alice for a 30 Dances prompt table: 24. Bonfire - Pyromania. We've got a similar principle at work here.
“STOP! PUT IT OUT! DAMN YOU, PUT IT OUT!”
Victor froze, then dashed around the corner. In front of him was a group of boys, a large bonfire, and a nearly hysterical Alice. “What’s wrong, lunatic?” one boy jeered. “Don’t like Midsummer celebrations?”
“This bonfire tradition is idiotic! Do you want to set the city on fire?!”
“Isn’t that your job? You’re the one who cooked her parents!”
Cold fire raged up Victor’s spine. He stepped forward, pulling down his goggles. “I strongly recommend you put out that fire,” he said, voice icy. “Otherwise. . . .”
It was out in two minutes.