100 Drabbles of 2012 #41-50
41) swimsuit
Time Period: Victor & Alice's honeymoon
Notes: Okay, this is just me and Victor being silly. In "Alice: Madness Returns," Alice has a dress called the Siren for the underwater area (Deluded Depths) that has a seaweed necklace. I came up with a similar outfit for Victor that has a seaweed tie. So yeah, this is me playing around with that idea.
“Victor, what are you doing with that seaweed?”
“Adding a tie to my outfit.”
“. . .You’re wearing a swimsuit.”
“Yes, but I can’t be a proper gentleman without a tie, now can I?”
“I would say you’ve been out in the sun too long except I know for a fact you have to hide under our umbrella. Although I will say it’s impressive you can actually knot that into a tie.”
“Years of practice. If we are ever invited to a formal beach party, I will be prepared.”
“I suppose I should be too. Think this would make a good necklace?”
42) stink
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage kids era
Notes: Dunno how I came up with the idea of "experiment gone wrong" for this, but I think it makes for an amusing drabble. After all, Lorina is a mad scientist -- the occasional accident is to be expected.
“What the – did something die in your room, Lorina?!”
“Chester! Thank God, I thought it was Dad for a minute. . .you’ve gotta help me get this cleaned up!”
“What the hell did you do?”
“I was messing with some skunkweed samples, and I was trying to deodorize them, but I grabbed the wrong thing, and – well. . . .”
“Oooh. Yeah, I think we’d better get these out of the house. Or the country, preferably.”
“What’s going – yikes! Were you trying to create a plant that makes knockout gas, Lorina?”
“Not intentionally! Though – that’s actually a good idea, Vincent. . . .”
“Less Inventing, more removing, sis!”
43) shell
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2" (with Chester about two years old)
Notes: This one was inspired by a convo my friend Rose and I had, where she wondered what would happen if Victor met Willy Wonka from Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (it and Corpse Bride had overlapping filming schedules). I couldn't come up with anything featuring Victor and Willy actually meeting, so I decided news on the contest was the next best thing. (Besides, I have to admit -- I see Wilder!Wonka as more appropriate for Secundus. The factory would probably be a combination of Wilder and Depp, though.) How it relates to the prompt: "coming out of one's shell," which is what Wonka's doing a bit with this contest.
“Victor! Look at this!”
Victor abruptly had the front page of the Secundus Gears & Grind thrust in front of him. “‘Wonka Holding Contest To Enter Factory?!’”
“He sent a letter to the paper,” Alice nodded. “He’s wrapped golden tickets around five of his chocolate bars, with the intent of five children finding them. Whoever does wins a chance to go into the factory.” She smiled ruefully at him. “Too bad our Chester’s too young, hmm?”
“Too bad indeed,” Victor agreed. “I eat enough of Wonka’s chocolate – do you think I could pretend I’m a teenager?”
“Too famous, I’m afraid.”
44) dive
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage children era
Notes: I've been trying to nail down the personalities of some of the kids I don't mention so often, and this drabble is a result of that. I have both Chester and Verne as being a bit on the daredevil side (Verne in particular is an athlete who likes to do semi-dangerous tricks), so it made sense for them to be friendly.
“Woo!”
“Hey, be careful!” Victor called as his oldest dove off the rock into the lake.
“We’re just having some fun!” Verne Brown yelled back from his perch.
“I know, but really, don’t hurt yourselves!” Victor, admittedly, was impressed by seeing Chester do a flip before hitting the water. It was just tempered by the worry his son would break his neck.
“I’m fine, Dad,” Chester said, surfacing. “You know I’ve got Mom’s--”
The splash from Verne’s dive cut him off. Victor shook his head as the two started wrestling. Who would have guessed both him and Doc having daredevil sons?
45) tropical
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-epilogue (pre-Victoria's off-screen wedding, to be exact)
Notes: This is a prequel, of sorts, to all the drabbles about Victoria and Emily's honeymoons (69) tent in a forest, 9) cabana, 25) snorkel). For some reason, this prompt inspired me to do them talking about their upcoming adventures instead of doing an actual adventure. Maybe I just wanted a little more of both girls in the table. Victoria's comment about country trips is from my idea that the Everglots probably consider a real "trip to the country" to involve staying at a manor house.
“Richard and I just decided on our honeymoon.”
“Really?” Victoria looked up from her list of flowers. “Where are you going?”
“To a little tropical island,” Emily giggled. “Somewhere near the Equator. We agreed we wanted to go somewhere sunny and warm, since we’re getting married in October.”
“Oh yes, quite understandable,” Victoria agreed. “Christopher’s taking me camping. He says spring in the forest is beautiful. And I’ve always wanted to go to the country without having to spend all my time in the house.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Emily said, grinning. “We’re really lucky girls, aren’t we?”
Victoria nodded. “Yes, we are.”
46) sweet
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," kids starting to get married era
Notes: I wanted to do something about Alice and Allison, exploring their relationship a bit. I've always imagined that Allison gets along very well with her mother-in-law, despite being her opposite. Being friendly and honestly having no trouble at all with how Alice lives her life helps a lot. Allison is honestly one of the most genuinely sweet people a person could meet. I need to do more with her. (And yes, for those of you familiar with my Forgotten Vows Verse, she was kind of the template for June Thatcher.)
Alice had thought she wouldn’t like Allison Laidlaw.
After all, the two women couldn’t be more different. Allison was the type of girl who enjoyed homemaking and didn’t want to get a job. One of her favorite activities was stitching samplers. And she’d never touched a weapon in her life. Alice was the primary breadwinner in her family, hated decorative sewing, and never went anywhere without her Vorpal Blade. She and Allison were like night and day.
And yet – Allison was friendly, open, and completely without prejudice. And she genuinely respected everything Alice did. Who wouldn’t like someone like that?
47) salt water taffy
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Looked this up, and apparently this was invented in and is a staple of the New Jersey boardwalk scene. So our characters gotta get it by mail. Uncle Artie and Aunt Sylvia are references to the people who would be Marty's grandpa and grandma if the family tree worked properly. In this world, Artie is George's twin brother (in "BTTF: The Game," Artie's basically a George clone in looks, in keeping with the 'McFly men either look like Marty or his father' theme), who lives in Jersey. (We might see a bit of him in "Secundus 2.")
“Salt water taffy?”
“Yeah – my Uncle Artie and Aunt Sylvia sent us some from New Jersey,” Marty said. “Apparently it’s taffy, just with – salt water?”
“Well, we may as well see if it’s as good as the other kind. May I try a piece?”
“Be my guest. You can be official candy taste tester, Victor.”
“Heh – if only that were a real job. . .” Victor popped the piece into his mouth and began to chew.
“So? How is it?”
Victor managed a smile. “Gut. . .”
Marty snickered. “Okay then, I guess we’ve discovered it’s at least as sticky as regular old taffy. . .”
48) sour
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: Backstory on Emily! I wanted to show the argument she had with her father about Barkis. It's linked to the prompt in two ways: a) Emily is in a sour mood here; b) after she's Reanimated, this is one hell of a sour memory.
“Emily, I just want what’s best for you!”
“No you don’t! You just don’t want me to grow up!”
“That’s not true! I just --”
“It’s because he’s poor, isn’t it?”
“No! I don’t like him because – there’s something off about the way he talks, Emily. Like he’s trying too hard to convince me he’s got good intentions.”
“He does! He’s the most charming man I’ve ever met! You just don’t like him because he’s not rich!” Emily jabbed a finger at her father. “I tell you now – I don’t care if you disapprove or not! I’m going to be Mrs. Bittern!”
49) crab
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," moving into grandkids era
Notes: This started out as just Chester and Victor talking about how Victor survived having a newborn in the house, but somehow warped into something with Alice when I went to actually write it. Still, the same spirit is there -- baby-related sleep deprivation sucks.
“Well, you look like hell.”
The look her son gave her told Alice her bluntness had not been appreciated. Fortunately, Victor stepped in to play diplomat. “The baby keeping you up at night?”
“What do you think?” Chester snapped, then sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be so crabby. Walter’s got an ear infection, which means he cries almost constantly, which means. . . .” His head thunked against the table.
Alice patted his back. “We’ve been there. Eventually he’ll get better, and start sleeping through the night.”
“I won’t make it that long.”
She grinned at him. “You’re a Liddell. You will.”
50) fish
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus"
Notes: Rather than do something else relating to Victor's distaste for fish due to overexposure, I decided to do something about the cannery instead. Specifically, how William's a bit more focused on it than his kid.
“So – what’s it like, having a father who runs the most successful fish cannery around?”
“All right, I suppose,” Victor replied. “We c-certainly never lacked for money, if that’s what you’re asking. Could always afford the best.”
“Bet you could. But what sort of dad was he? He drag you with him to work?”
“Sometimes. But – w-well, he was always sort of distant. More involved with the cannery than me and Mother. I – I get the feeling he never really understood me.”
Marty shook his head. “The more I hear about your family, Victor, the more I’m grateful for mine.”
Time Period: Victor & Alice's honeymoon
Notes: Okay, this is just me and Victor being silly. In "Alice: Madness Returns," Alice has a dress called the Siren for the underwater area (Deluded Depths) that has a seaweed necklace. I came up with a similar outfit for Victor that has a seaweed tie. So yeah, this is me playing around with that idea.
“Victor, what are you doing with that seaweed?”
“Adding a tie to my outfit.”
“. . .You’re wearing a swimsuit.”
“Yes, but I can’t be a proper gentleman without a tie, now can I?”
“I would say you’ve been out in the sun too long except I know for a fact you have to hide under our umbrella. Although I will say it’s impressive you can actually knot that into a tie.”
“Years of practice. If we are ever invited to a formal beach party, I will be prepared.”
“I suppose I should be too. Think this would make a good necklace?”
42) stink
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage kids era
Notes: Dunno how I came up with the idea of "experiment gone wrong" for this, but I think it makes for an amusing drabble. After all, Lorina is a mad scientist -- the occasional accident is to be expected.
“What the – did something die in your room, Lorina?!”
“Chester! Thank God, I thought it was Dad for a minute. . .you’ve gotta help me get this cleaned up!”
“What the hell did you do?”
“I was messing with some skunkweed samples, and I was trying to deodorize them, but I grabbed the wrong thing, and – well. . . .”
“Oooh. Yeah, I think we’d better get these out of the house. Or the country, preferably.”
“What’s going – yikes! Were you trying to create a plant that makes knockout gas, Lorina?”
“Not intentionally! Though – that’s actually a good idea, Vincent. . . .”
“Less Inventing, more removing, sis!”
43) shell
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2" (with Chester about two years old)
Notes: This one was inspired by a convo my friend Rose and I had, where she wondered what would happen if Victor met Willy Wonka from Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (it and Corpse Bride had overlapping filming schedules). I couldn't come up with anything featuring Victor and Willy actually meeting, so I decided news on the contest was the next best thing. (Besides, I have to admit -- I see Wilder!Wonka as more appropriate for Secundus. The factory would probably be a combination of Wilder and Depp, though.) How it relates to the prompt: "coming out of one's shell," which is what Wonka's doing a bit with this contest.
“Victor! Look at this!”
Victor abruptly had the front page of the Secundus Gears & Grind thrust in front of him. “‘Wonka Holding Contest To Enter Factory?!’”
“He sent a letter to the paper,” Alice nodded. “He’s wrapped golden tickets around five of his chocolate bars, with the intent of five children finding them. Whoever does wins a chance to go into the factory.” She smiled ruefully at him. “Too bad our Chester’s too young, hmm?”
“Too bad indeed,” Victor agreed. “I eat enough of Wonka’s chocolate – do you think I could pretend I’m a teenager?”
“Too famous, I’m afraid.”
44) dive
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage children era
Notes: I've been trying to nail down the personalities of some of the kids I don't mention so often, and this drabble is a result of that. I have both Chester and Verne as being a bit on the daredevil side (Verne in particular is an athlete who likes to do semi-dangerous tricks), so it made sense for them to be friendly.
“Woo!”
“Hey, be careful!” Victor called as his oldest dove off the rock into the lake.
“We’re just having some fun!” Verne Brown yelled back from his perch.
“I know, but really, don’t hurt yourselves!” Victor, admittedly, was impressed by seeing Chester do a flip before hitting the water. It was just tempered by the worry his son would break his neck.
“I’m fine, Dad,” Chester said, surfacing. “You know I’ve got Mom’s--”
The splash from Verne’s dive cut him off. Victor shook his head as the two started wrestling. Who would have guessed both him and Doc having daredevil sons?
45) tropical
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-epilogue (pre-Victoria's off-screen wedding, to be exact)
Notes: This is a prequel, of sorts, to all the drabbles about Victoria and Emily's honeymoons (69) tent in a forest, 9) cabana, 25) snorkel). For some reason, this prompt inspired me to do them talking about their upcoming adventures instead of doing an actual adventure. Maybe I just wanted a little more of both girls in the table. Victoria's comment about country trips is from my idea that the Everglots probably consider a real "trip to the country" to involve staying at a manor house.
“Richard and I just decided on our honeymoon.”
“Really?” Victoria looked up from her list of flowers. “Where are you going?”
“To a little tropical island,” Emily giggled. “Somewhere near the Equator. We agreed we wanted to go somewhere sunny and warm, since we’re getting married in October.”
“Oh yes, quite understandable,” Victoria agreed. “Christopher’s taking me camping. He says spring in the forest is beautiful. And I’ve always wanted to go to the country without having to spend all my time in the house.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Emily said, grinning. “We’re really lucky girls, aren’t we?”
Victoria nodded. “Yes, we are.”
46) sweet
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," kids starting to get married era
Notes: I wanted to do something about Alice and Allison, exploring their relationship a bit. I've always imagined that Allison gets along very well with her mother-in-law, despite being her opposite. Being friendly and honestly having no trouble at all with how Alice lives her life helps a lot. Allison is honestly one of the most genuinely sweet people a person could meet. I need to do more with her. (And yes, for those of you familiar with my Forgotten Vows Verse, she was kind of the template for June Thatcher.)
Alice had thought she wouldn’t like Allison Laidlaw.
After all, the two women couldn’t be more different. Allison was the type of girl who enjoyed homemaking and didn’t want to get a job. One of her favorite activities was stitching samplers. And she’d never touched a weapon in her life. Alice was the primary breadwinner in her family, hated decorative sewing, and never went anywhere without her Vorpal Blade. She and Allison were like night and day.
And yet – Allison was friendly, open, and completely without prejudice. And she genuinely respected everything Alice did. Who wouldn’t like someone like that?
47) salt water taffy
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Looked this up, and apparently this was invented in and is a staple of the New Jersey boardwalk scene. So our characters gotta get it by mail. Uncle Artie and Aunt Sylvia are references to the people who would be Marty's grandpa and grandma if the family tree worked properly. In this world, Artie is George's twin brother (in "BTTF: The Game," Artie's basically a George clone in looks, in keeping with the 'McFly men either look like Marty or his father' theme), who lives in Jersey. (We might see a bit of him in "Secundus 2.")
“Salt water taffy?”
“Yeah – my Uncle Artie and Aunt Sylvia sent us some from New Jersey,” Marty said. “Apparently it’s taffy, just with – salt water?”
“Well, we may as well see if it’s as good as the other kind. May I try a piece?”
“Be my guest. You can be official candy taste tester, Victor.”
“Heh – if only that were a real job. . .” Victor popped the piece into his mouth and began to chew.
“So? How is it?”
Victor managed a smile. “Gut. . .”
Marty snickered. “Okay then, I guess we’ve discovered it’s at least as sticky as regular old taffy. . .”
48) sour
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: Backstory on Emily! I wanted to show the argument she had with her father about Barkis. It's linked to the prompt in two ways: a) Emily is in a sour mood here; b) after she's Reanimated, this is one hell of a sour memory.
“Emily, I just want what’s best for you!”
“No you don’t! You just don’t want me to grow up!”
“That’s not true! I just --”
“It’s because he’s poor, isn’t it?”
“No! I don’t like him because – there’s something off about the way he talks, Emily. Like he’s trying too hard to convince me he’s got good intentions.”
“He does! He’s the most charming man I’ve ever met! You just don’t like him because he’s not rich!” Emily jabbed a finger at her father. “I tell you now – I don’t care if you disapprove or not! I’m going to be Mrs. Bittern!”
49) crab
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," moving into grandkids era
Notes: This started out as just Chester and Victor talking about how Victor survived having a newborn in the house, but somehow warped into something with Alice when I went to actually write it. Still, the same spirit is there -- baby-related sleep deprivation sucks.
“Well, you look like hell.”
The look her son gave her told Alice her bluntness had not been appreciated. Fortunately, Victor stepped in to play diplomat. “The baby keeping you up at night?”
“What do you think?” Chester snapped, then sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be so crabby. Walter’s got an ear infection, which means he cries almost constantly, which means. . . .” His head thunked against the table.
Alice patted his back. “We’ve been there. Eventually he’ll get better, and start sleeping through the night.”
“I won’t make it that long.”
She grinned at him. “You’re a Liddell. You will.”
50) fish
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus"
Notes: Rather than do something else relating to Victor's distaste for fish due to overexposure, I decided to do something about the cannery instead. Specifically, how William's a bit more focused on it than his kid.
“So – what’s it like, having a father who runs the most successful fish cannery around?”
“All right, I suppose,” Victor replied. “We c-certainly never lacked for money, if that’s what you’re asking. Could always afford the best.”
“Bet you could. But what sort of dad was he? He drag you with him to work?”
“Sometimes. But – w-well, he was always sort of distant. More involved with the cannery than me and Mother. I – I get the feeling he never really understood me.”
Marty shook his head. “The more I hear about your family, Victor, the more I’m grateful for mine.”