100 Drabbles of 2012 #21-30
21) blanket
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: Dunno why, but it popped into my head that I wanted to do something with Emily's resurrection for this one. Poor girl -- she did not have a good time of it when she first woke up. (And I wouldn't be surprised if she reacted similarly in canon.)
“Did it work?”
“Do you doubt my genius, Sally?”
“No, just – she doesn’t seem to be moving.”
“Hmm. Take off the blanket and let’s have a closer look.”
Sally obligingly removed the sheet covering the body. She felt a pang as she looked at it – a young woman wearing a wedding dress. Obviously she had a sad story to tell. If she’d even been brought back that is. She and Finklestein leaned over her, wondering and worried.
Abruptly, the woman’s eyes snapped open. Finklestein laughed maniacally. “You see! I told you--”
His gloating was cut off by the girl’s scream.
22) parade
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2", older kids era (in fact, the year 1907)
Notes: I really wanted to do something with one of the characters reacting to the fact that most of their kids seem to be marrying each other. Marty was the obvious choice, given that both of his kids are marrying one of his best friends' kids. Yes, there is a rash of proposals in 1907 (when most of the kids are in their late teens/early twenties) -- the weddings themselves bleed into 1908.
“Okay, wait, let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Marty said. “Marlene, my daughter, is marrying Jules, Doc’s oldest son. Douglas, my son, is marrying Lorina, Victor’s daughter. Vincent, Victor’s younger son, is marrying Mabel, Victoria’s daughter. And Jonathan, Victoria’s son, is marrying Charlotte, Emily’s daughter.” He held up his hands. “I miss anybody?”
“I don’t think so,” Jennifer said.
“Right. So, basically, everybody’s kids are all marrying each other. Jules proposing set off a cascade effect.”
“I guess so,” Jennifer laughed. “Is it really a problem?”
“I just hope I have enough room for all the wedding cake.”
23) straw hat
Time Period: Summer pre-"Secundus"
Notes: Just a drabble about Richard at his job. Since, you know, we never see him with customers in "Secundus" itself. . .
“There!” Richard set the hat on his customer’s head, then held up a mirror. “What do you think?”
“Oh, it’s marvelous!” the woman said, admiring her image. “And so light, too. . .but don’t you think the brim’s just a bit wide?”
“Summer hats are supposed to be wide!” Richard grinned. “And it’ll help protect your neck from the sun too.”
“Ah, yes, that is a thought.” She smiled at him. “It’s beautiful. You really know your trade.”
“Years of obsession, madam. Now, about the price. . . .”
A minute later, another happy customer left Mad Hatter Haberdashery, resplendent in her new hat.
24) tide
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: I kind of had to do something for Victoria for this one, because of what she says in the movie when he parents force her into marrying Barkis: "Yesterday, I thought my wedding would be happy. Now I feel like I'm caught in the tide, pulled out to sea." I took that idea and ran with it.
For the longest time, Victoria had been an obedient child. When her parents wanted her to do something, she did it. When they didn’t, she didn’t. She was the tide and they the moon – they controlled whether she surged toward the shore or retreated toward the sea.
But on coming to Secundus, she’d discovered her rebellious side. And she’d discovered what fun it could be to choose your own path, to follow your heart’s desires instead of your parents’ demands. Of course, she still felt guilty from time to time.
But she preferred steering a boat to being the tide.
25) snorkel
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," Richard and Emily's honeymoon
Notes: Sort of a companion fic to "9) cabana" -- deciding on Richard and Emily honeymooning in a tropical location suddenly made filling a few of these prompts a lot easier. Case in point, this one. I thought my twist on it was amusing.
“Excuse me, sir? Madam?”
Richard poked his head out of their cabana to see a man standing there, smiling. “It’s both,” he replied. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
“Excellent!” the man replied, holding up a curved tube. “Can I interest you in doing some snorkeling together, then? It’s the latest thing – this tube provides all the oxygen you need to stay under the water, admiring the ocean, for hours!”
“A tempting offer,” Richard said, then opened the cabana to reveal his own mechanical body and Emily’s Reanimated one. “But as you can see, we don’t really need to breathe at all.”
26) slide
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: This one was inspired by all the slide sections in "Alice: Madness Returns." One of the memories has Lizzie commenting on how fun the slide in Hyde Park was, and how Mr. Liddell would eventually take Alice -- I just adapted that for this.
Alice absolutely adored slides – the taller the better. There was just something about climbing to that high peak, then sliding your way back down to the ground. The wind in your face, the sky all around you, the way you zipped down so smoothly. . . . It felt like the closest one could come to flying. When she heard about the big slide in Hyde Park, she begged her father to take her. Henry laughed and promised they’d visit it that upcoming summer.
Five days later, the fire tore through the house.
Eleven years later, she still hadn’t gone on that slide.
27) boys of summer
Time Period: Post-main "Secundus," pre-epilogue (Victor and Alice's engagement)
Notes: This is a funny one inspired by the fact that I have Alice have four cousins -- and they're all rugby players. XD Poor Victor, so intimidated. . . Incidentally, this is the first time I've ever had all of them on screen, or mentioned all four names. They've gotten shout-outs at other times (Lionel's mentioned in "20) Mustard" in the 25 Foods prompts), but since they're generally out living their own lives. . .
“And this is Jerome, Stephen, Terrence, and Lionel.”
“P-pleasure to meet you all,” Victor said, trying to disguise the terror in his voice. He’d known Alice had cousins, but he hadn’t expected them to be this big. All of them were just masses of muscle. Please don’t snap me like a twig for daring to court your cousin. . .
“Likewise,” Lionel said, looking rather nervous himself. Victor couldn’t understand why. What did Lionel have to be nervous about? “Um – you’re not going to mutate us if we upset you, right?”
Oh – yes. He’d forgotten his reputation as Secundus’s most dangerous savior.
28) clambake
Time Period: Summer pre-"Secundus"
Notes: After looking up just what a clambake was, I decided I should be able to get a Doc-based drabble out of it involving Flint and The Roofless. After all, in this universe, Doc was born New England -- he would know about this. (Well, hopefully -- I'm a New Englander too, and I had to look this up. *fails at being from RI*) Also, the middle of this got a rewrite after both Doc and I realized the goofiness of what he was saying.
“Flint? You’ve got ‘New England Clambake’ on the menu?”
“Yup! Steamers, mussels, quahogs, and lobster mixed in with corn on the cob, carrots, onions, potatoes – and if you like, sausage!”
“Oh, I know what goes into one – I’ve lived in New England. It’s just a bit odd to see it advertised in your restaurant. Real clambakes are rather more complicated than using a machine to reconstitute water molecules into food. Er, in terms of preparation – you know what I mean.”
“I’m pretty sure I can get it to taste the same.”
“I’m positive you can. Just don’t include the seaweed.”
29) dandelion
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage kids era
Notes: This could be considered a bit of a follow-up to "96) Author's choice: graceful" -- I wrote that first about Victoria's daughter being an excellent dancer, and decided I wanted to do more with the idea. And I wanted to have Victoria teasing Emily about her daughter getting something from her best friend. If only because I could see canon!Victoria doing something much the same about her kids with canon!Victor.
“She’s so light on her feet! She reminds me of a dandelion seed on the wind.”
Victoria nodded, watching her daughter practicing her dancing. “She’s quite talented, isn’t she?” Then she smiled and nudged her friend. “She gets that from you.”
“What, are you suggesting I’m secretly the mother of your daughter?” Emily teased.
“You tell me. We all know how you love dancing in the moonlight.”
“Yes, but Mabel is dancing in the sunlight. Big difference.”
“Oh yes, huge.” The two women giggled. “But she definitely gets her grace from you.”
“Thankfully she didn’t also get the skeletal limbs.”
30) haze
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," Victoria and Christopher's wedding
Notes: I really wanted to do something like this, and I'm glad I found a prompt that allowed me to. Finis and Maudeline get a lesson in not judging here. I don't know how well it really sticks, but I do know Victoria's on slightly better terms with her parents than Victor is with his, so. . . (And hey, Sir Christopher is Her Majesty's White Knight, so it only seems appropriate. . .)
The elder Everglots attended their daughter’s wedding more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. They couldn’t say they were happy – Victoria was marrying a Touched, after all. A noble, rich Touched, but a Touched all the same. What was there to be happy about?
And then, as they entered the church, they saw her sitting in the second row.
The Queen.
The Queen who personally wished Sir Lloyd all the best.
Maudeline and Finis spent the rest of the wedding in a haze of shock, wondering if perhaps they’d been a little hasty in dismissing Sir Lloyd.
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: Dunno why, but it popped into my head that I wanted to do something with Emily's resurrection for this one. Poor girl -- she did not have a good time of it when she first woke up. (And I wouldn't be surprised if she reacted similarly in canon.)
“Did it work?”
“Do you doubt my genius, Sally?”
“No, just – she doesn’t seem to be moving.”
“Hmm. Take off the blanket and let’s have a closer look.”
Sally obligingly removed the sheet covering the body. She felt a pang as she looked at it – a young woman wearing a wedding dress. Obviously she had a sad story to tell. If she’d even been brought back that is. She and Finklestein leaned over her, wondering and worried.
Abruptly, the woman’s eyes snapped open. Finklestein laughed maniacally. “You see! I told you--”
His gloating was cut off by the girl’s scream.
22) parade
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2", older kids era (in fact, the year 1907)
Notes: I really wanted to do something with one of the characters reacting to the fact that most of their kids seem to be marrying each other. Marty was the obvious choice, given that both of his kids are marrying one of his best friends' kids. Yes, there is a rash of proposals in 1907 (when most of the kids are in their late teens/early twenties) -- the weddings themselves bleed into 1908.
“Okay, wait, let me see if I’ve got this straight,” Marty said. “Marlene, my daughter, is marrying Jules, Doc’s oldest son. Douglas, my son, is marrying Lorina, Victor’s daughter. Vincent, Victor’s younger son, is marrying Mabel, Victoria’s daughter. And Jonathan, Victoria’s son, is marrying Charlotte, Emily’s daughter.” He held up his hands. “I miss anybody?”
“I don’t think so,” Jennifer said.
“Right. So, basically, everybody’s kids are all marrying each other. Jules proposing set off a cascade effect.”
“I guess so,” Jennifer laughed. “Is it really a problem?”
“I just hope I have enough room for all the wedding cake.”
23) straw hat
Time Period: Summer pre-"Secundus"
Notes: Just a drabble about Richard at his job. Since, you know, we never see him with customers in "Secundus" itself. . .
“There!” Richard set the hat on his customer’s head, then held up a mirror. “What do you think?”
“Oh, it’s marvelous!” the woman said, admiring her image. “And so light, too. . .but don’t you think the brim’s just a bit wide?”
“Summer hats are supposed to be wide!” Richard grinned. “And it’ll help protect your neck from the sun too.”
“Ah, yes, that is a thought.” She smiled at him. “It’s beautiful. You really know your trade.”
“Years of obsession, madam. Now, about the price. . . .”
A minute later, another happy customer left Mad Hatter Haberdashery, resplendent in her new hat.
24) tide
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: I kind of had to do something for Victoria for this one, because of what she says in the movie when he parents force her into marrying Barkis: "Yesterday, I thought my wedding would be happy. Now I feel like I'm caught in the tide, pulled out to sea." I took that idea and ran with it.
For the longest time, Victoria had been an obedient child. When her parents wanted her to do something, she did it. When they didn’t, she didn’t. She was the tide and they the moon – they controlled whether she surged toward the shore or retreated toward the sea.
But on coming to Secundus, she’d discovered her rebellious side. And she’d discovered what fun it could be to choose your own path, to follow your heart’s desires instead of your parents’ demands. Of course, she still felt guilty from time to time.
But she preferred steering a boat to being the tide.
25) snorkel
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," Richard and Emily's honeymoon
Notes: Sort of a companion fic to "9) cabana" -- deciding on Richard and Emily honeymooning in a tropical location suddenly made filling a few of these prompts a lot easier. Case in point, this one. I thought my twist on it was amusing.
“Excuse me, sir? Madam?”
Richard poked his head out of their cabana to see a man standing there, smiling. “It’s both,” he replied. “We’re on our honeymoon.”
“Excellent!” the man replied, holding up a curved tube. “Can I interest you in doing some snorkeling together, then? It’s the latest thing – this tube provides all the oxygen you need to stay under the water, admiring the ocean, for hours!”
“A tempting offer,” Richard said, then opened the cabana to reveal his own mechanical body and Emily’s Reanimated one. “But as you can see, we don’t really need to breathe at all.”
26) slide
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: This one was inspired by all the slide sections in "Alice: Madness Returns." One of the memories has Lizzie commenting on how fun the slide in Hyde Park was, and how Mr. Liddell would eventually take Alice -- I just adapted that for this.
Alice absolutely adored slides – the taller the better. There was just something about climbing to that high peak, then sliding your way back down to the ground. The wind in your face, the sky all around you, the way you zipped down so smoothly. . . . It felt like the closest one could come to flying. When she heard about the big slide in Hyde Park, she begged her father to take her. Henry laughed and promised they’d visit it that upcoming summer.
Five days later, the fire tore through the house.
Eleven years later, she still hadn’t gone on that slide.
27) boys of summer
Time Period: Post-main "Secundus," pre-epilogue (Victor and Alice's engagement)
Notes: This is a funny one inspired by the fact that I have Alice have four cousins -- and they're all rugby players. XD Poor Victor, so intimidated. . . Incidentally, this is the first time I've ever had all of them on screen, or mentioned all four names. They've gotten shout-outs at other times (Lionel's mentioned in "20) Mustard" in the 25 Foods prompts), but since they're generally out living their own lives. . .
“And this is Jerome, Stephen, Terrence, and Lionel.”
“P-pleasure to meet you all,” Victor said, trying to disguise the terror in his voice. He’d known Alice had cousins, but he hadn’t expected them to be this big. All of them were just masses of muscle. Please don’t snap me like a twig for daring to court your cousin. . .
“Likewise,” Lionel said, looking rather nervous himself. Victor couldn’t understand why. What did Lionel have to be nervous about? “Um – you’re not going to mutate us if we upset you, right?”
Oh – yes. He’d forgotten his reputation as Secundus’s most dangerous savior.
28) clambake
Time Period: Summer pre-"Secundus"
Notes: After looking up just what a clambake was, I decided I should be able to get a Doc-based drabble out of it involving Flint and The Roofless. After all, in this universe, Doc was born New England -- he would know about this. (Well, hopefully -- I'm a New Englander too, and I had to look this up. *fails at being from RI*) Also, the middle of this got a rewrite after both Doc and I realized the goofiness of what he was saying.
“Flint? You’ve got ‘New England Clambake’ on the menu?”
“Yup! Steamers, mussels, quahogs, and lobster mixed in with corn on the cob, carrots, onions, potatoes – and if you like, sausage!”
“Oh, I know what goes into one – I’ve lived in New England. It’s just a bit odd to see it advertised in your restaurant. Real clambakes are rather more complicated than using a machine to reconstitute water molecules into food. Er, in terms of preparation – you know what I mean.”
“I’m pretty sure I can get it to taste the same.”
“I’m positive you can. Just don’t include the seaweed.”
29) dandelion
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage kids era
Notes: This could be considered a bit of a follow-up to "96) Author's choice: graceful" -- I wrote that first about Victoria's daughter being an excellent dancer, and decided I wanted to do more with the idea. And I wanted to have Victoria teasing Emily about her daughter getting something from her best friend. If only because I could see canon!Victoria doing something much the same about her kids with canon!Victor.
“She’s so light on her feet! She reminds me of a dandelion seed on the wind.”
Victoria nodded, watching her daughter practicing her dancing. “She’s quite talented, isn’t she?” Then she smiled and nudged her friend. “She gets that from you.”
“What, are you suggesting I’m secretly the mother of your daughter?” Emily teased.
“You tell me. We all know how you love dancing in the moonlight.”
“Yes, but Mabel is dancing in the sunlight. Big difference.”
“Oh yes, huge.” The two women giggled. “But she definitely gets her grace from you.”
“Thankfully she didn’t also get the skeletal limbs.”
30) haze
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," Victoria and Christopher's wedding
Notes: I really wanted to do something like this, and I'm glad I found a prompt that allowed me to. Finis and Maudeline get a lesson in not judging here. I don't know how well it really sticks, but I do know Victoria's on slightly better terms with her parents than Victor is with his, so. . . (And hey, Sir Christopher is Her Majesty's White Knight, so it only seems appropriate. . .)
The elder Everglots attended their daughter’s wedding more out of a sense of obligation than anything else. They couldn’t say they were happy – Victoria was marrying a Touched, after all. A noble, rich Touched, but a Touched all the same. What was there to be happy about?
And then, as they entered the church, they saw her sitting in the second row.
The Queen.
The Queen who personally wished Sir Lloyd all the best.
Maudeline and Finis spent the rest of the wedding in a haze of shock, wondering if perhaps they’d been a little hasty in dismissing Sir Lloyd.