Other Weekly Drabbles #11-15
4/27/2011: Wednesday Dandelions & Storms
Prompt: For today, we challenge you to write something inspired by this picture of a dandelion puff being blown apart on a stormy day.
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: I guess something about the picture inspired me about how many dandelion seeds don't actually land anywhere good for sprouting, and just how lucky the ones that do are. Victor must have been ruminating on the same thing.
The air was thick with the smell and feel of oncoming rain. Victor sat on the grass, watching as the sky above him filled with dark, heavy clouds. Here and there, bright sunlight sliced through, but the gaps were getting smaller and smaller as the afternoon wore on. It looked like a big storm was coming in.
A breeze drew his attention to a nearby dandelion. White puffy seeds flew off into the wild blue (or, well, very dark grey at this moment) yonder. Victor watched them go. He wondered just how many would get a chance to fly before the rain started and soaked their little fuzzy heads. How many would get the chance he had gotten, to spread out, see the world, and put down roots someplace fantastic and new.
And how many would be deprived of that chance.
He smiled, leaned down, and blew on the remaining seeds, sending them scattering. Then he gathered his things and turned to head home, where Alice and the children were waiting. He’d gotten the samples he needed, and it wouldn’t do to be out here when the rain started.
He vaguely hoped he’d find dandelions sprouting in the front garden later.
5/17/2011: Twosday yadsowT (Through the Looking Glass)
Prompt: For this challenge, visit this palindrome site (or one like it) and let a word or phrase inspire a story.
Time Period: Anytime just post-"Secundus"
Notes: When I visited that site, one word in particular stuck out at me: "rotavator" It immediately reminded me of a certain elevator seen in the Skool levels of "American McGee's Alice" – you can see it in this section of FFWF's playthrough. From that, this fic resulted. My first draft had Victor and Alice exploring the place and Victor worrying about safety issues as they went up, but I decided I wanted to go for comedy instead (to his detriment, I'm afraid XD). Don't know why it ended up dialogue-only, but it goes Doc, Mayor Elder of the mining gnomes, Marty cutting in later, and then Victor.
“And your bill for the work, Mayor Elder.”
“Hmm. Higher than I thought it would be, Dr. Brown. I didn’t think repairing the skool’s rotavator would be such a problem.”
“Well, it was a bit of a harder job than anticipated, but that’s not the reason for the extra charge.”
“Oh? What is, then?”
“See that item marked ‘abuse of Igor?’”
“. . .How is it my fault that Master Van Dort has a tender stomach?”
“Who’s the one who had him step onto that damn rotating platform to ‘properly demonstrate what’s wrong with it?!’”
“Yeah, poor Victor probably still can’t see straight.”
“Ooooh. . .I-I am s-sorry, Doc, I just. . .”
“It’s all right, Victor – I know you didn’t meant to throw up on me. How are you?”
“Room’s still s-spinning a bit. . . .”
“Lean on me, bud. We’ll get you home soon.”
“T-thank you, Marty.”
“I still don’t see why I have to pay for his upset stomach.”
“Well, I could always talk to Alice, see what she has to say about all this. . . .”
“Here you are! Don’t worry about the change!”
5/24/2011: Twosday Alternate Me
Prompt: For tonight's prompt, imagine you are a twin! If you had another you – would you be the good twin, or the evil one? Or perhaps it's not your twin... but another you from a parallel dimension. Let your imagination go and give us a drabble about the two of you.
Time Period: This would be post-"Secundus" if it actually happened
Notes: Here are my original notes on the subject:
*snort* Well, considering how much I love AU, this was really easy. The Other Victor here is from my newly-created Traveler-verse. It's a Victor/Alice crossover verse where all of each main's canon happened. It came about when I realized that, while I almost always had "American McGee's Alice" happen for Alice in the V/A stories, Victor never went through all of Corpse Bride. So I decided to make a "full-canon" verse to see what I could do with it. It's still under construction, of course (since Alice's next game hasn't been released yet), but I thought he and Butterfly Boy meeting would be interesting.
Yeah, you can see how dated this is now, can't you? XD I suppose this proves that I'll always be a sucker for crossovers. These days, of course, if Victor was to meet an alternate, it would be the him from the Forgotten Vows verse. . .in fact, I do have a vague plot set up. . .
“So,” Victor said, “in your world, you met Emily by awakening her from the grave?”
“Yes.”
“And you saw part of the afterlife – the Land of the Dead?”
“Oh yes,” Other Victor nodded.
“And Wonderland is its own separate realm, accessed through dreams?”
“That’s how Alice found it.”
Victor considered this a moment. “I must say, your world is rather strange.”
Other Victor looked at him a moment. “You have people made from parts of other people, mechanical beings capable of full human thought, and everyone wears goggles ‘just in case.’” He smirked. “Yours isn’t?”
Well, he had him there.
6/14/2011: Twosday Two Perspectives, One Event – Doc's Take
Prompt: Today, we challenge you give us a scene/event from your character's story from the perspective of one person involved...and then the same scene from the perspective of another.
Time Period: Chapter 19 of "Secundus" – specifically, when everyone's leaving the house of horrors
Notes: Didn't we technically just do this? Ah well. . . my original notes:
The scene in question is from just after the climax of "Secundus" – I just really wanted to write something from that time. Victor's been sedated at this point in the story, because – well, after his big moment, he freaks out a little. I don't know if things will play out exactly like this in the story itself, but it should be pretty close.
And if you've read the chapter, you'll see that it was! We're starting with Doc's perspective of that rough moment climbing over the rubble. . .
Great Scott, does it feel good to be out of that house. I never thought Lewis’s home could ever. . .well. I feel like I’ve just been through a war. Which I suppose I have.
Marty’s still hanging onto my elbow. The poor kid looks exhausted, and pale as a ghost. Not that I can blame him. After all the things we saw in there. . .not to mention what happened to Victor. . . I glance down at him, still lying limp in my arms. He’s never looked so – fragile. You wouldn’t believe that not five minutes ago he was ranting and raving with the best of them. Damn it, I don’t know how long Richard’s sedative is going to last, I have to get him someplace safe –
“You there! Where are you going with my son?”
Oh, God, it’s Mrs. Van Dort. The absolute last person I want to see at a time like this. Part of me wants to ignore her, but another part insists that she is Victor’s mother, and that she deserves to be informed of the situation. “Mrs. Van Dort–”
“What happened to him? You did something else to him while he was in there, didn’t you? Put him down right now! William, get the carriage ready, we’re taking him home! No more of this ‘Secundus is good for me’ nonsense!”
Damn, damn damn! I can’t let her take him! Not while he’s still – adjusting. Waking up in the carriage on the way back to Burtonsville might be the worst thing for him. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Van Dort, but it’s imperative that your son stays with us,” I say, backing up a step. Oh, God, how do I break this news gently. . .
“Why? So you can continue to experiment on him?”
. . .Forget gently. “Because it’s inadvisable to start dragging him all over the countryside right now! Mrs. Van Dort, your son has a very pronounced case of Atypical Scientific Neural Disorder!” Seeing her baffled face, I add, “In plain English, your son’s Touched!”
And judging by the look on her face, he may not have his parents anymore, either. Well, they can go to hell – he’s got me.
6/14/2011: Twosday Two Perspectives, One Event – Nell's Take
Prompt: Today, we challenge you give us a scene/event from your character's story from the perspective of one person involved...and then the same scene from the perspective of another.
Time Period: Chapter 19 of "Secundus" – specifically, when everyone's leaving the house of horrors
Notes: And here's Nell's view of the whole business! (I seem to have enjoyed contrasting Nell with people in these prompts. Probably because she's so easily contrast-able. Though she's surprisingly sympathetic in this one – I guess I wanted to prove I didn't see her as pure evil.)
I don’t like the look on that Alice girl’s face. It’s a little too stunned for my tastes. And the way she’s looking back at the house. . .damn it all, Victor hasn’t died in there, has he? I am not burying another child. Doing Anna was enough. Victor Van Dort, if you’ve gotten yourself killed –
No, wait, here comes someone – oh, it’s that dratted Dr. Brown and his Igor. And – wait, he’s carrying Victor! Who looks to be asleep – at least, I hope he’s just asleep. Dr. Brown’s looking all around – where does he think he’s going? “You there! Where are you going with my son?”
Oh, I recognize that look on his face. He’s not happy he’s been caught dragging Victor back to his lab. But I’m his mother, and I know best. “Mrs. Van Dort–” he starts.
“What happened to him?” I demand, pulling William forward as I rush to meet him. Then I decide I don’t really care – the important thing is to fix this bloody mess. “You did something else to him while he was in there, didn’t you? Put him down right now! William, get the carriage ready, we’re taking him home! No more of this ‘Secundus is good for me’ nonsense!” I shouldn’t have let him carry on in this way for so long. I should have put my foot down back when he ruined things for us with the Everglots. I should have known it was a waste of time to try and talk sense into him. What he needed was to be brought home and deprogrammed by one of our local doctors. Maybe then he’d be the obedient little boy he was before! I do hope we can salvage whatever may be left of his mind (which is more than I can say for his marriage).
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Van Dort, but it’s imperative that your son stays with us,” Dr. Brown says, backing away from me.
Oh no he doesn’t. This has gone on long enough. “Why? So you can continue to experiment on him?” Perhaps it’s not the smartest thing to say, but my temper’s up and I just want this mess to end. Besides, I’m surrounded by people, he wouldn’t dare–
“Because it’s inadvisable to start dragging him all over the countryside right now!” he shouts, nearly startling the life out of me. “Mrs. Van Dort, your son has a very pronounced case of Atypical Scientific Neural Disorder!” What? What on earth does that mean? “In plain English, your son’s Touched!”
I feel all the blood just drain right out of my face. Victor? Victor’s – he’s – he’s one of them? Oh God.
He may as well have died.
Prompt: For today, we challenge you to write something inspired by this picture of a dandelion puff being blown apart on a stormy day.
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: I guess something about the picture inspired me about how many dandelion seeds don't actually land anywhere good for sprouting, and just how lucky the ones that do are. Victor must have been ruminating on the same thing.
The air was thick with the smell and feel of oncoming rain. Victor sat on the grass, watching as the sky above him filled with dark, heavy clouds. Here and there, bright sunlight sliced through, but the gaps were getting smaller and smaller as the afternoon wore on. It looked like a big storm was coming in.
A breeze drew his attention to a nearby dandelion. White puffy seeds flew off into the wild blue (or, well, very dark grey at this moment) yonder. Victor watched them go. He wondered just how many would get a chance to fly before the rain started and soaked their little fuzzy heads. How many would get the chance he had gotten, to spread out, see the world, and put down roots someplace fantastic and new.
And how many would be deprived of that chance.
He smiled, leaned down, and blew on the remaining seeds, sending them scattering. Then he gathered his things and turned to head home, where Alice and the children were waiting. He’d gotten the samples he needed, and it wouldn’t do to be out here when the rain started.
He vaguely hoped he’d find dandelions sprouting in the front garden later.
5/17/2011: Twosday yadsowT (Through the Looking Glass)
Prompt: For this challenge, visit this palindrome site (or one like it) and let a word or phrase inspire a story.
Time Period: Anytime just post-"Secundus"
Notes: When I visited that site, one word in particular stuck out at me: "rotavator" It immediately reminded me of a certain elevator seen in the Skool levels of "American McGee's Alice" – you can see it in this section of FFWF's playthrough. From that, this fic resulted. My first draft had Victor and Alice exploring the place and Victor worrying about safety issues as they went up, but I decided I wanted to go for comedy instead (to his detriment, I'm afraid XD). Don't know why it ended up dialogue-only, but it goes Doc, Mayor Elder of the mining gnomes, Marty cutting in later, and then Victor.
“And your bill for the work, Mayor Elder.”
“Hmm. Higher than I thought it would be, Dr. Brown. I didn’t think repairing the skool’s rotavator would be such a problem.”
“Well, it was a bit of a harder job than anticipated, but that’s not the reason for the extra charge.”
“Oh? What is, then?”
“See that item marked ‘abuse of Igor?’”
“. . .How is it my fault that Master Van Dort has a tender stomach?”
“Who’s the one who had him step onto that damn rotating platform to ‘properly demonstrate what’s wrong with it?!’”
“Yeah, poor Victor probably still can’t see straight.”
“Ooooh. . .I-I am s-sorry, Doc, I just. . .”
“It’s all right, Victor – I know you didn’t meant to throw up on me. How are you?”
“Room’s still s-spinning a bit. . . .”
“Lean on me, bud. We’ll get you home soon.”
“T-thank you, Marty.”
“I still don’t see why I have to pay for his upset stomach.”
“Well, I could always talk to Alice, see what she has to say about all this. . . .”
“Here you are! Don’t worry about the change!”
5/24/2011: Twosday Alternate Me
Prompt: For tonight's prompt, imagine you are a twin! If you had another you – would you be the good twin, or the evil one? Or perhaps it's not your twin... but another you from a parallel dimension. Let your imagination go and give us a drabble about the two of you.
Time Period: This would be post-"Secundus" if it actually happened
Notes: Here are my original notes on the subject:
*snort* Well, considering how much I love AU, this was really easy. The Other Victor here is from my newly-created Traveler-verse. It's a Victor/Alice crossover verse where all of each main's canon happened. It came about when I realized that, while I almost always had "American McGee's Alice" happen for Alice in the V/A stories, Victor never went through all of Corpse Bride. So I decided to make a "full-canon" verse to see what I could do with it. It's still under construction, of course (since Alice's next game hasn't been released yet), but I thought he and Butterfly Boy meeting would be interesting.
Yeah, you can see how dated this is now, can't you? XD I suppose this proves that I'll always be a sucker for crossovers. These days, of course, if Victor was to meet an alternate, it would be the him from the Forgotten Vows verse. . .in fact, I do have a vague plot set up. . .
“So,” Victor said, “in your world, you met Emily by awakening her from the grave?”
“Yes.”
“And you saw part of the afterlife – the Land of the Dead?”
“Oh yes,” Other Victor nodded.
“And Wonderland is its own separate realm, accessed through dreams?”
“That’s how Alice found it.”
Victor considered this a moment. “I must say, your world is rather strange.”
Other Victor looked at him a moment. “You have people made from parts of other people, mechanical beings capable of full human thought, and everyone wears goggles ‘just in case.’” He smirked. “Yours isn’t?”
Well, he had him there.
6/14/2011: Twosday Two Perspectives, One Event – Doc's Take
Prompt: Today, we challenge you give us a scene/event from your character's story from the perspective of one person involved...and then the same scene from the perspective of another.
Time Period: Chapter 19 of "Secundus" – specifically, when everyone's leaving the house of horrors
Notes: Didn't we technically just do this? Ah well. . . my original notes:
The scene in question is from just after the climax of "Secundus" – I just really wanted to write something from that time. Victor's been sedated at this point in the story, because – well, after his big moment, he freaks out a little. I don't know if things will play out exactly like this in the story itself, but it should be pretty close.
And if you've read the chapter, you'll see that it was! We're starting with Doc's perspective of that rough moment climbing over the rubble. . .
Great Scott, does it feel good to be out of that house. I never thought Lewis’s home could ever. . .well. I feel like I’ve just been through a war. Which I suppose I have.
Marty’s still hanging onto my elbow. The poor kid looks exhausted, and pale as a ghost. Not that I can blame him. After all the things we saw in there. . .not to mention what happened to Victor. . . I glance down at him, still lying limp in my arms. He’s never looked so – fragile. You wouldn’t believe that not five minutes ago he was ranting and raving with the best of them. Damn it, I don’t know how long Richard’s sedative is going to last, I have to get him someplace safe –
“You there! Where are you going with my son?”
Oh, God, it’s Mrs. Van Dort. The absolute last person I want to see at a time like this. Part of me wants to ignore her, but another part insists that she is Victor’s mother, and that she deserves to be informed of the situation. “Mrs. Van Dort–”
“What happened to him? You did something else to him while he was in there, didn’t you? Put him down right now! William, get the carriage ready, we’re taking him home! No more of this ‘Secundus is good for me’ nonsense!”
Damn, damn damn! I can’t let her take him! Not while he’s still – adjusting. Waking up in the carriage on the way back to Burtonsville might be the worst thing for him. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Van Dort, but it’s imperative that your son stays with us,” I say, backing up a step. Oh, God, how do I break this news gently. . .
“Why? So you can continue to experiment on him?”
. . .Forget gently. “Because it’s inadvisable to start dragging him all over the countryside right now! Mrs. Van Dort, your son has a very pronounced case of Atypical Scientific Neural Disorder!” Seeing her baffled face, I add, “In plain English, your son’s Touched!”
And judging by the look on her face, he may not have his parents anymore, either. Well, they can go to hell – he’s got me.
6/14/2011: Twosday Two Perspectives, One Event – Nell's Take
Prompt: Today, we challenge you give us a scene/event from your character's story from the perspective of one person involved...and then the same scene from the perspective of another.
Time Period: Chapter 19 of "Secundus" – specifically, when everyone's leaving the house of horrors
Notes: And here's Nell's view of the whole business! (I seem to have enjoyed contrasting Nell with people in these prompts. Probably because she's so easily contrast-able. Though she's surprisingly sympathetic in this one – I guess I wanted to prove I didn't see her as pure evil.)
I don’t like the look on that Alice girl’s face. It’s a little too stunned for my tastes. And the way she’s looking back at the house. . .damn it all, Victor hasn’t died in there, has he? I am not burying another child. Doing Anna was enough. Victor Van Dort, if you’ve gotten yourself killed –
No, wait, here comes someone – oh, it’s that dratted Dr. Brown and his Igor. And – wait, he’s carrying Victor! Who looks to be asleep – at least, I hope he’s just asleep. Dr. Brown’s looking all around – where does he think he’s going? “You there! Where are you going with my son?”
Oh, I recognize that look on his face. He’s not happy he’s been caught dragging Victor back to his lab. But I’m his mother, and I know best. “Mrs. Van Dort–” he starts.
“What happened to him?” I demand, pulling William forward as I rush to meet him. Then I decide I don’t really care – the important thing is to fix this bloody mess. “You did something else to him while he was in there, didn’t you? Put him down right now! William, get the carriage ready, we’re taking him home! No more of this ‘Secundus is good for me’ nonsense!” I shouldn’t have let him carry on in this way for so long. I should have put my foot down back when he ruined things for us with the Everglots. I should have known it was a waste of time to try and talk sense into him. What he needed was to be brought home and deprogrammed by one of our local doctors. Maybe then he’d be the obedient little boy he was before! I do hope we can salvage whatever may be left of his mind (which is more than I can say for his marriage).
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Van Dort, but it’s imperative that your son stays with us,” Dr. Brown says, backing away from me.
Oh no he doesn’t. This has gone on long enough. “Why? So you can continue to experiment on him?” Perhaps it’s not the smartest thing to say, but my temper’s up and I just want this mess to end. Besides, I’m surrounded by people, he wouldn’t dare–
“Because it’s inadvisable to start dragging him all over the countryside right now!” he shouts, nearly startling the life out of me. “Mrs. Van Dort, your son has a very pronounced case of Atypical Scientific Neural Disorder!” What? What on earth does that mean? “In plain English, your son’s Touched!”
I feel all the blood just drain right out of my face. Victor? Victor’s – he’s – he’s one of them? Oh God.
He may as well have died.