100 Drabbles of 2011 #81-90
81) Author's Choice: belly
Time Period: Alice's pregnancy, not long before "Secundus 2"
Notes: I dunno, the idea of doing something with Victor amazed over his pregnant wife just hit me out of nowhere. She's pregnant with their first child in this one. [rest of notes redacted because it's talking about how people should be shocked over the idea of "Secundus 2" and that's old news by this point]
Victor pressed a hand to his wife’s abdomen. He could feel it clearly – something moving beneath his fingers and her skin. Something alive.
Their child.
The idea still stunned him. He and Alice were going to have a child. They were going to be parents. They’d created life.
He knew what some people might say: Victor, you’re a Touched who specializes in biology. Haven’t you already created life?
He had. He’d brought into being all sorts of different insects during his time as a Touched. And he truly did love each and every one.
But this – this was something else.
82) Author's Choice: birthday
Time Period: Anytime early in "Secundus" (before Victor confesses to Alice he loves her, anyway) Notes: Written in honor of Victor's birthday on June 9th! And yes, he and Marty do share a birthday, as Michael J. Fox and Johnny Depp do. (Interestingly, while Victor is exactly two years older than Marty, Michael is exactly two years older than Johnny.) You would expect someone like Victor to be a winter baby, wouldn't you?
“Hey, Victor, when’s your birthday?”
“June ninth.”
“. . .June ninth?”
“Er, yes. Something wrong with that date?”
“No, it’s just – my birthday’s the same day.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah! You’re exactly two years older than me!”
“That is strange!”
“You’re telling me. I never would have guessed you for a summer baby.”
“When did you think my birthday was, then?”
“Middle of winter?”
“Is this just because my skin is so pale?”
“I can’t help it, you look like you should have been born with snow outside.”
“Well, to be fair, even the height of summer can look like winter in Burtonsville. . . .”
83) Author's Choice: hero
Time Period: In the gap between the last chapter of "Secundus" and the epilogue (pre-Victor & Alice's wedding)
Notes: This one popped into my head the other day. Victor is hailed as a hero after the end of "Secundus," and I wanted to explore his initial reaction. Especially since Victor typically lacks self-esteem. I toyed around with Doc or Marty being in this one, but Alice, who fights monsters and thus is hailed as a hero herself quite a bit, was the most logical choice in the end.
Victor stared at the newspaper before him, stunned. SECUNDUS SAVED BY NEWLY TOUCHED HERO! the headline blared. And directly below the word “hero” – was a picture of his face.
He blinked a few times, expecting the paper to change. It didn’t. The words remained. Secundus was hailing him as its savior.
Him.
He felt a touch on his shoulder, and looked up into Alice’s face. She looked concerned. “Are you all right?”
The words came out without him really meaning them to. “I don’t feel like a hero.”
Alice smiled and kissed his forehead. “Don’t worry. I never do either.”
84) Author's Choice: embarrassment
Time Period: Three years after "Secundus 2," with Alice pregnant with Vincent & Lorina
Notes: This idea has been in my head for a LOOONG time, and now it finally gets expression. I always thought Victor's work as a Touched would probably skew his kids' understanding of reproduction. XD
“I am a failure as a father.”
Marty looked over at his friend. “Your son’s survived to three years old, and your wife’s pregnant again – doesn’t sound like failure to me,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
Victor shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “It’s about the pregnancy, actually. C-Chester asked me a-about it.”
“Didn’t you just tell him Mum had a baby growing in her tummy?”
“That’s n-not exactly what--” Victor shifted again. “He asked when Mummy was going to lay her eggs. And if the new baby would need lots of leaves to eat.”
He probably shouldn’t have laughed, but. . . .
85) Author's Choice: fairytale
Time Period: Future, young children era
Notes: I've had the idea of Victor warping a fairytale to fit the weirdness of Secundus for a while now, but it was watching Tangled the other day that inspired me to pull it out for this. I just think it would make a cute fractured fairy tale. The companion story is "86) Author's Choice: princess," which you can see directly below. (Yes, be amazed at me having two matching stories close together.)
“Tell us a story, Daddy!”
“What sort of story?” Victor asked, looking at his children.
“About princesses, dragons and adventure,” Lorina proclaimed.
“Yeah,” Vincent agreed. “But not like the usual ones. Something different.”
“Something new,” Chester nodded.
Something new? Victor frowned thoughtfully. He wasn’t really one for coming up with stories on the fly – that was more Alice’s forte. He was reasonably certain he could tell a story about a princess and a dragon, though. But how to turn it into something new?
Then it hit him. He grinned and leaned forward. “Once upon a time, there was a scientist. . . .”
86) Author's Choice: princess
Time Period: Future, young children era
Notes: The companion fic to "85) Author's Choice: fairytale," seen above. I wanted to do Alice's reaction to the story. I originally had this for the "two lovers in a tree picture" prompt, but I decided I wanted to save that for something else. That's why the two lovers had their True Love's Kiss in a tree.
“And so, having shared true love’s kiss in the tree, the brave princess and the clever scientist returned to the castle, where they wed. And they lived happily ever after. The end.”
“Great story, Daddy!” Lorina said, as her brothers applauded. “Thank you!”
“You’re very welcome. Now, I think supper will be ready soon, so you should go wash up.”
The children nodded and hurried out of the room. As they left, Victor felt someone squeeze his shoulder. “Interesting story,” Alice said with a laugh. “Am I really a princess in your eyes?”
Victor got up and kissed her. “Always.”
87) Author's Choice: nightmare
Time Period: Newlywed Van Dorts
Notes: I'm -- honestly not sure where this dark prompt came from. It just popped into my head. It originally had Victor waking up all the way and trying to pass off his recurring nightmare, but that wouldn't fit in the word count. And hell, this is heartbreaking enough already.
Hearing someone whimpering was not the nicest thing to wake up to, Alice realized. Concerned, she leaned over her husband. Victor was all curled in on himself, and his expression – he was not having a nice dream. She shook his shoulder. “Victor. Victor!”
Victor stirred, looking up at her. He seemed surprised to see her. “Alice?”
Alice nodded. “Are you--”
Victor grabbed her in a tight hug, sniffling. “Stay,” he whispered, sounding not quite awake. “Don’t want to be all alone in the dark. . . .”
Alice felt her heart break. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, hugging back. “I’ll never leave you alone.”
88) Author's Choice: time travel
Time Period: Vague future, probably post-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Oh come on, what other prompt could I have chosen for this number? XD I've got this at a very vague future date, mostly because I'm not sure when exactly Doc's time train will become fully operational. Having a time machine can complicate plot matters quite a bit. Originally I thought it would happen between "Secundus" and "Secundus 2," but it's probably better for it to work out sometime after the sequel.
A brilliant flash, a loud boom. . .and then they were back in the sunlight. Victor glanced around the cabin, then at his friends. “Did. . .did we make it?”
“The readouts indicate that we have,” Doc said, voice tinged with uncertainty.
“Check the house, Doc,” Marty suggested. “See if the train’s still there.”
Doc nodded and turned the train around. Victor fidgeted impatiently. Had they really gone back to yesterday?
The sight of the train on the flat’s roof gave them their answer. Victor gasped. “We did it!”
“We certainly did!” Doc beamed. “Congratulations, boys! We’re the world’s first time travelers!”
89) Author's Choice: handsome
Time Period: Victor & Alice's wedding
Notes: Companion fic to "15) wedding" (yeah, all the way back there). I didn't intend on doing this originally, but then "naamah_darling," a fellow muse, saw the first drabble when I crossposted it to charloft and admitted that she'd like to see a version from Alice's point of view. I got inspired, so here I am! I got lucky in getting this to hit exactly 100 in the notebook too.
Alice knew Victor didn't think of himself as particularly handsome. She did, though. His tall frame, black hair, pale skin, and deep brown eyes all added up to a very cute young man. Even if he'd ripped or dirtied his clothes in the pursuit of entomology, he still looked good to her.
Today, though -- today he looked the best she'd ever seen. And it wasn't because of his new wedding suit (though it helped). No, it was all because of that brilliant, devoted smile on his face. The one just for her.
She really was the luckiest girl on earth.
90) Author's Choice: grave
Time Period: In the gap between the last chapter of "Secundus" and the epilogue (pre-Victor & Alice's wedding)
Notes: Another sad one I'm blaming on "Alice: Madness Returns." I figured Alice would eventually want to bring Victor to "meet" her parents, and out of that came this fic. Poor Mr. and Mrs. Liddell -- I do think they would have liked Victor.
The headstones were taller than the norm, and beautifully engraved. The top of each sported a rose, underneath which was the name, the dates of birth and death, and the phrase “rest in peace.” Victor looked from left to right as he stood before them. “H-hello, Mr. and Mrs. Liddell,” he said softly. “It’s Victor Van Dort. Your daughter’s f-fiancé. Well, husband soon – we’re getting m-married July seventh. We thought you ought to know.” He shifted awkwardly, then sighed. “I wish I could have met you when you were alive.”
Alice squeezed his hand. “I’m sure they wish the same.”
Time Period: Alice's pregnancy, not long before "Secundus 2"
Notes: I dunno, the idea of doing something with Victor amazed over his pregnant wife just hit me out of nowhere. She's pregnant with their first child in this one. [rest of notes redacted because it's talking about how people should be shocked over the idea of "Secundus 2" and that's old news by this point]
Victor pressed a hand to his wife’s abdomen. He could feel it clearly – something moving beneath his fingers and her skin. Something alive.
Their child.
The idea still stunned him. He and Alice were going to have a child. They were going to be parents. They’d created life.
He knew what some people might say: Victor, you’re a Touched who specializes in biology. Haven’t you already created life?
He had. He’d brought into being all sorts of different insects during his time as a Touched. And he truly did love each and every one.
But this – this was something else.
82) Author's Choice: birthday
Time Period: Anytime early in "Secundus" (before Victor confesses to Alice he loves her, anyway) Notes: Written in honor of Victor's birthday on June 9th! And yes, he and Marty do share a birthday, as Michael J. Fox and Johnny Depp do. (Interestingly, while Victor is exactly two years older than Marty, Michael is exactly two years older than Johnny.) You would expect someone like Victor to be a winter baby, wouldn't you?
“Hey, Victor, when’s your birthday?”
“June ninth.”
“. . .June ninth?”
“Er, yes. Something wrong with that date?”
“No, it’s just – my birthday’s the same day.”
“What? Really?”
“Yeah! You’re exactly two years older than me!”
“That is strange!”
“You’re telling me. I never would have guessed you for a summer baby.”
“When did you think my birthday was, then?”
“Middle of winter?”
“Is this just because my skin is so pale?”
“I can’t help it, you look like you should have been born with snow outside.”
“Well, to be fair, even the height of summer can look like winter in Burtonsville. . . .”
83) Author's Choice: hero
Time Period: In the gap between the last chapter of "Secundus" and the epilogue (pre-Victor & Alice's wedding)
Notes: This one popped into my head the other day. Victor is hailed as a hero after the end of "Secundus," and I wanted to explore his initial reaction. Especially since Victor typically lacks self-esteem. I toyed around with Doc or Marty being in this one, but Alice, who fights monsters and thus is hailed as a hero herself quite a bit, was the most logical choice in the end.
Victor stared at the newspaper before him, stunned. SECUNDUS SAVED BY NEWLY TOUCHED HERO! the headline blared. And directly below the word “hero” – was a picture of his face.
He blinked a few times, expecting the paper to change. It didn’t. The words remained. Secundus was hailing him as its savior.
Him.
He felt a touch on his shoulder, and looked up into Alice’s face. She looked concerned. “Are you all right?”
The words came out without him really meaning them to. “I don’t feel like a hero.”
Alice smiled and kissed his forehead. “Don’t worry. I never do either.”
84) Author's Choice: embarrassment
Time Period: Three years after "Secundus 2," with Alice pregnant with Vincent & Lorina
Notes: This idea has been in my head for a LOOONG time, and now it finally gets expression. I always thought Victor's work as a Touched would probably skew his kids' understanding of reproduction. XD
“I am a failure as a father.”
Marty looked over at his friend. “Your son’s survived to three years old, and your wife’s pregnant again – doesn’t sound like failure to me,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
Victor shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. “It’s about the pregnancy, actually. C-Chester asked me a-about it.”
“Didn’t you just tell him Mum had a baby growing in her tummy?”
“That’s n-not exactly what--” Victor shifted again. “He asked when Mummy was going to lay her eggs. And if the new baby would need lots of leaves to eat.”
He probably shouldn’t have laughed, but. . . .
85) Author's Choice: fairytale
Time Period: Future, young children era
Notes: I've had the idea of Victor warping a fairytale to fit the weirdness of Secundus for a while now, but it was watching Tangled the other day that inspired me to pull it out for this. I just think it would make a cute fractured fairy tale. The companion story is "86) Author's Choice: princess," which you can see directly below. (Yes, be amazed at me having two matching stories close together.)
“Tell us a story, Daddy!”
“What sort of story?” Victor asked, looking at his children.
“About princesses, dragons and adventure,” Lorina proclaimed.
“Yeah,” Vincent agreed. “But not like the usual ones. Something different.”
“Something new,” Chester nodded.
Something new? Victor frowned thoughtfully. He wasn’t really one for coming up with stories on the fly – that was more Alice’s forte. He was reasonably certain he could tell a story about a princess and a dragon, though. But how to turn it into something new?
Then it hit him. He grinned and leaned forward. “Once upon a time, there was a scientist. . . .”
86) Author's Choice: princess
Time Period: Future, young children era
Notes: The companion fic to "85) Author's Choice: fairytale," seen above. I wanted to do Alice's reaction to the story. I originally had this for the "two lovers in a tree picture" prompt, but I decided I wanted to save that for something else. That's why the two lovers had their True Love's Kiss in a tree.
“And so, having shared true love’s kiss in the tree, the brave princess and the clever scientist returned to the castle, where they wed. And they lived happily ever after. The end.”
“Great story, Daddy!” Lorina said, as her brothers applauded. “Thank you!”
“You’re very welcome. Now, I think supper will be ready soon, so you should go wash up.”
The children nodded and hurried out of the room. As they left, Victor felt someone squeeze his shoulder. “Interesting story,” Alice said with a laugh. “Am I really a princess in your eyes?”
Victor got up and kissed her. “Always.”
87) Author's Choice: nightmare
Time Period: Newlywed Van Dorts
Notes: I'm -- honestly not sure where this dark prompt came from. It just popped into my head. It originally had Victor waking up all the way and trying to pass off his recurring nightmare, but that wouldn't fit in the word count. And hell, this is heartbreaking enough already.
Hearing someone whimpering was not the nicest thing to wake up to, Alice realized. Concerned, she leaned over her husband. Victor was all curled in on himself, and his expression – he was not having a nice dream. She shook his shoulder. “Victor. Victor!”
Victor stirred, looking up at her. He seemed surprised to see her. “Alice?”
Alice nodded. “Are you--”
Victor grabbed her in a tight hug, sniffling. “Stay,” he whispered, sounding not quite awake. “Don’t want to be all alone in the dark. . . .”
Alice felt her heart break. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, hugging back. “I’ll never leave you alone.”
88) Author's Choice: time travel
Time Period: Vague future, probably post-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Oh come on, what other prompt could I have chosen for this number? XD I've got this at a very vague future date, mostly because I'm not sure when exactly Doc's time train will become fully operational. Having a time machine can complicate plot matters quite a bit. Originally I thought it would happen between "Secundus" and "Secundus 2," but it's probably better for it to work out sometime after the sequel.
A brilliant flash, a loud boom. . .and then they were back in the sunlight. Victor glanced around the cabin, then at his friends. “Did. . .did we make it?”
“The readouts indicate that we have,” Doc said, voice tinged with uncertainty.
“Check the house, Doc,” Marty suggested. “See if the train’s still there.”
Doc nodded and turned the train around. Victor fidgeted impatiently. Had they really gone back to yesterday?
The sight of the train on the flat’s roof gave them their answer. Victor gasped. “We did it!”
“We certainly did!” Doc beamed. “Congratulations, boys! We’re the world’s first time travelers!”
89) Author's Choice: handsome
Time Period: Victor & Alice's wedding
Notes: Companion fic to "15) wedding" (yeah, all the way back there). I didn't intend on doing this originally, but then "naamah_darling," a fellow muse, saw the first drabble when I crossposted it to charloft and admitted that she'd like to see a version from Alice's point of view. I got inspired, so here I am! I got lucky in getting this to hit exactly 100 in the notebook too.
Alice knew Victor didn't think of himself as particularly handsome. She did, though. His tall frame, black hair, pale skin, and deep brown eyes all added up to a very cute young man. Even if he'd ripped or dirtied his clothes in the pursuit of entomology, he still looked good to her.
Today, though -- today he looked the best she'd ever seen. And it wasn't because of his new wedding suit (though it helped). No, it was all because of that brilliant, devoted smile on his face. The one just for her.
She really was the luckiest girl on earth.
90) Author's Choice: grave
Time Period: In the gap between the last chapter of "Secundus" and the epilogue (pre-Victor & Alice's wedding)
Notes: Another sad one I'm blaming on "Alice: Madness Returns." I figured Alice would eventually want to bring Victor to "meet" her parents, and out of that came this fic. Poor Mr. and Mrs. Liddell -- I do think they would have liked Victor.
The headstones were taller than the norm, and beautifully engraved. The top of each sported a rose, underneath which was the name, the dates of birth and death, and the phrase “rest in peace.” Victor looked from left to right as he stood before them. “H-hello, Mr. and Mrs. Liddell,” he said softly. “It’s Victor Van Dort. Your daughter’s f-fiancé. Well, husband soon – we’re getting m-married July seventh. We thought you ought to know.” He shifted awkwardly, then sighed. “I wish I could have met you when you were alive.”
Alice squeezed his hand. “I’m sure they wish the same.”