Other Weekly Drabbles #16-20
6/28/2011: Twosday AM and PM – AM
Prompt: Tell us a story about something that happened at 2 AM...
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus," young Victor era
Notes: Another "matched" set of stories, thanks to Twosday. I decided to go with a "repeating cycle" theme, starting with a look at ickle!Victor and his thoughts about monsters in the dark. Poor little thing, he is of such a nervous disposition.
2 A.M.
Two in the morning was when the monsters came out to play.
Victor believed that with all his heart. He’d seen the evidence with his own eyes – the way the curtains twitched, the way the shadows danced, the way the doors creaked. The monsters in the dark liked two in the morning a lot. They cavorted and gamboled and leered at him with sharp sharp teeth. They threatened to eat him up and not even leave any bones for his parents to find.
Victor already knew it was useless to call for Mother and Father. The monsters vanished quickly into the shadows when they came, and then Mother scolded him for calling them out over “nothing.” His only protections were the candle – the monsters shied away from light – and his bedsheets. He wasn’t sure why the monsters wouldn’t just rip them away with their terrible claws and fangs when he hid under them, but they didn’t. Maybe they were allergic to whatever they were made out of. Whatever the reason, Victor would hide under them and wait in a shaking ball for two in the morning to go away.
It always took far too long.
6/28/2011: Twosday AM and PM – PM
Prompt: ...Then one that happened at 2 PM
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: And now how Victor handles that sort of fear in his own children! Hint: it's a lot better than how his parents did.
2 P.M.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Vincent?”
“I don’t want to sleep in the nursery anymore.”
Victor looked up from his notebook. “What’s wrong with the nursery?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“There’s monsters in there.”
“Monsters?”
Vincent nodded, looking quite terrified. Although Vincent didn’t look as much like him as Chester, Victor was still reminded of himself at that age. “They hide under the bed and behind the curtains. I’ve seen them. They come out when the lights are out and snarl at me and I’m scared they’ll eat me. Or Lorina – she’s always asleep when they come out, and I don’t want to wake her up in case they haven’t seen her yet.”
Victor set aside his notebook and lifted his son into his lap. “Well, I have some good news for you, Vincent. Monsters aren’t as tough as you may think.”
Vincent looked surprised. “They’re not?”
“Nope. For all their fondness of prowling around children’s bedrooms, they’re not very good at actually eating children. I discovered this when I was about your age. They can snarl at you all they want, but they’re scared of candles and they can’t touch bedsheets. So they can’t even get near your bed. Or Lorina’s. Or Chester’s, for that matter.”
Vincent smiled, just a bit. “So they can’t eat me up?”
“Nope. And just to be extra sure of the matter, I’ll tell Mum about this.” Victor grinned. “You know very well no monster is going to want to be in the same house as Alice Pleasance Liddell Van Dort.”
That got a giggle. “Yeah.” Vincent frowned thoughtfully. “Will Mummy let me borrow her Vorpal Blade?”
“. . .I really don’t think so.”
“Darn.”
7/19/2011: Twosday Odd Places For Goggles
Prompt: Pick a pair, any pair , any pair at all. Then write about discovering it in an unusual place.
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: Naturally, I had to pick a pair of goggles, given this is a steampunky universe and I've already established them as a common fashion accessory. Putting them under the bed naturally invited naughty thoughts, and led to the headcanon of this Victor and Alice at least being just a bit into roleplay. . .
"Goodness, where on earth could they have gone? Alice, have you had any luck?"
"None so – wait a moment. . ." Alice got down on her belly and stretched a hand under the bed. "Here they are!"
"Oh, good!" Victor gratefully accepted his goggles back from his wife. "I'd hate to have to replace them. They're a good pair."
"I know." Alice climbed back into the bed. "I wonder how they ended up under there?"
"I don't know." Victor blushed. "You, ah, did pull them off r-rather enthusiastically. . . ."
Alice gave him a very sly smile. "Yes, but the good heroine had just defeated the evil scientist. . . ."
Victor smirked. "I think more evil scientists would give themselves up peacefully if they knew what losing had in store for them," he said.
"Oh, I don't know. Would the evil scientist have done anything any different if he'd won?"
Victor hung his goggles carefully on the bedpost, then grinned. "Care to find out?"
8/16/2011: Twosday Change and Relationships
Prompt:For today, we challenge you to pick two of the "Two" Tarot cards and allow their imagery or descriptions to fuel a prompt response. My picks:
Two of Cups: Associated with love, partnerships romantic and otherwise, friendships
Two of Pentacles: Associated with change, the need for harmony and balance when adapting to change
Time Period: About midway through "Secundus," likely before Victor's parents show up
Notes: My original notes sum things up pretty well, obviously:
The choice of these two was obvious for me. Victor's gone through a huge change in his life, and a major part of that change has been gaining new friendships. So those two cards jumped right out at me.
Sometimes, it was rather hard, adapting to life in Secundus. So many things were different here. The city was far dirtier and noisier than Burtonsville. And so many of the rules of etiquette he’d grown up with seemed not to apply. People seemed looser here, rougher around the edges in a way. Not to mention the fact the place was full of Touched, Reanimated, Fabricated, and Automatons. Every day there was something stomping and hissing down the street, or exploding in a nearby building, or coming in asking if anyone had seen his arm. It was enough to make your head spin.
But then he’d think about Doc and Marty, welcoming him into their flat with open arms after knowing him for so little time. About Richard and his puppy-like mechanical teapots, offering him a cup of his favorite brew. About the March Hare, stuffing him full of pastries while he babbled on about nonsense. About Lewis and that park he’d created, the park Victor felt was a little slice of heaven. And about Alice, with her snarky wit and brilliant green eyes, who always seemed to have a moment to sit and talk with him.
Life in Secundus had its disadvantages, yes – but the advantages were worth sticking around for.
8/24/2011: Wednesday Photo To Remember
Prompt: Today's challenge: get out your photo album. Choose a photo, and then write about what didn't get caught on film. My chosen photo: a picture of Alice from the second "A:MR" teaser trailer, when she's looking into that little puppet show of the Hatter and company
Time Period: Winter post-"Secundus"
Notes: Just a cute little piece inspired by my favorite of those three teaser trailers, and Victor and Alice being sweet together post-marriage.
Alice would have said she wasn't really in a fit state to be photographed. Her hair was messy, her eyes were tired, and she was wearing her rattiest old coat. Who would want to preserve a moment of her looking like that?
Victor knew better. As she stopped to admire the mechanical puppet show someone had set up in the square, he stopped to admire her. The gentle curves of her face, the light shining on her skin and reflecting in her eyes, the soft flakes of snow drifting around them. . . .it was all far too pretty to consign to mere memory. Before she knew what he was doing, he'd located the camera and taken a picture.
Later, after they'd developed it, she allowed that it was a nice photograph. "But it'll be nicer once we get a matching one of you. Remind me to mess up your hair next time we go out."
Prompt: Tell us a story about something that happened at 2 AM...
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus," young Victor era
Notes: Another "matched" set of stories, thanks to Twosday. I decided to go with a "repeating cycle" theme, starting with a look at ickle!Victor and his thoughts about monsters in the dark. Poor little thing, he is of such a nervous disposition.
2 A.M.
Two in the morning was when the monsters came out to play.
Victor believed that with all his heart. He’d seen the evidence with his own eyes – the way the curtains twitched, the way the shadows danced, the way the doors creaked. The monsters in the dark liked two in the morning a lot. They cavorted and gamboled and leered at him with sharp sharp teeth. They threatened to eat him up and not even leave any bones for his parents to find.
Victor already knew it was useless to call for Mother and Father. The monsters vanished quickly into the shadows when they came, and then Mother scolded him for calling them out over “nothing.” His only protections were the candle – the monsters shied away from light – and his bedsheets. He wasn’t sure why the monsters wouldn’t just rip them away with their terrible claws and fangs when he hid under them, but they didn’t. Maybe they were allergic to whatever they were made out of. Whatever the reason, Victor would hide under them and wait in a shaking ball for two in the morning to go away.
It always took far too long.
6/28/2011: Twosday AM and PM – PM
Prompt: ...Then one that happened at 2 PM
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: And now how Victor handles that sort of fear in his own children! Hint: it's a lot better than how his parents did.
2 P.M.
“Daddy?”
“Yes, Vincent?”
“I don’t want to sleep in the nursery anymore.”
Victor looked up from his notebook. “What’s wrong with the nursery?” he asked, genuinely confused.
“There’s monsters in there.”
“Monsters?”
Vincent nodded, looking quite terrified. Although Vincent didn’t look as much like him as Chester, Victor was still reminded of himself at that age. “They hide under the bed and behind the curtains. I’ve seen them. They come out when the lights are out and snarl at me and I’m scared they’ll eat me. Or Lorina – she’s always asleep when they come out, and I don’t want to wake her up in case they haven’t seen her yet.”
Victor set aside his notebook and lifted his son into his lap. “Well, I have some good news for you, Vincent. Monsters aren’t as tough as you may think.”
Vincent looked surprised. “They’re not?”
“Nope. For all their fondness of prowling around children’s bedrooms, they’re not very good at actually eating children. I discovered this when I was about your age. They can snarl at you all they want, but they’re scared of candles and they can’t touch bedsheets. So they can’t even get near your bed. Or Lorina’s. Or Chester’s, for that matter.”
Vincent smiled, just a bit. “So they can’t eat me up?”
“Nope. And just to be extra sure of the matter, I’ll tell Mum about this.” Victor grinned. “You know very well no monster is going to want to be in the same house as Alice Pleasance Liddell Van Dort.”
That got a giggle. “Yeah.” Vincent frowned thoughtfully. “Will Mummy let me borrow her Vorpal Blade?”
“. . .I really don’t think so.”
“Darn.”
7/19/2011: Twosday Odd Places For Goggles
Prompt: Pick a pair, any pair , any pair at all. Then write about discovering it in an unusual place.
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: Naturally, I had to pick a pair of goggles, given this is a steampunky universe and I've already established them as a common fashion accessory. Putting them under the bed naturally invited naughty thoughts, and led to the headcanon of this Victor and Alice at least being just a bit into roleplay. . .
"Goodness, where on earth could they have gone? Alice, have you had any luck?"
"None so – wait a moment. . ." Alice got down on her belly and stretched a hand under the bed. "Here they are!"
"Oh, good!" Victor gratefully accepted his goggles back from his wife. "I'd hate to have to replace them. They're a good pair."
"I know." Alice climbed back into the bed. "I wonder how they ended up under there?"
"I don't know." Victor blushed. "You, ah, did pull them off r-rather enthusiastically. . . ."
Alice gave him a very sly smile. "Yes, but the good heroine had just defeated the evil scientist. . . ."
Victor smirked. "I think more evil scientists would give themselves up peacefully if they knew what losing had in store for them," he said.
"Oh, I don't know. Would the evil scientist have done anything any different if he'd won?"
Victor hung his goggles carefully on the bedpost, then grinned. "Care to find out?"
8/16/2011: Twosday Change and Relationships
Prompt:For today, we challenge you to pick two of the "Two" Tarot cards and allow their imagery or descriptions to fuel a prompt response. My picks:
Two of Cups: Associated with love, partnerships romantic and otherwise, friendships
Two of Pentacles: Associated with change, the need for harmony and balance when adapting to change
Time Period: About midway through "Secundus," likely before Victor's parents show up
Notes: My original notes sum things up pretty well, obviously:
The choice of these two was obvious for me. Victor's gone through a huge change in his life, and a major part of that change has been gaining new friendships. So those two cards jumped right out at me.
Sometimes, it was rather hard, adapting to life in Secundus. So many things were different here. The city was far dirtier and noisier than Burtonsville. And so many of the rules of etiquette he’d grown up with seemed not to apply. People seemed looser here, rougher around the edges in a way. Not to mention the fact the place was full of Touched, Reanimated, Fabricated, and Automatons. Every day there was something stomping and hissing down the street, or exploding in a nearby building, or coming in asking if anyone had seen his arm. It was enough to make your head spin.
But then he’d think about Doc and Marty, welcoming him into their flat with open arms after knowing him for so little time. About Richard and his puppy-like mechanical teapots, offering him a cup of his favorite brew. About the March Hare, stuffing him full of pastries while he babbled on about nonsense. About Lewis and that park he’d created, the park Victor felt was a little slice of heaven. And about Alice, with her snarky wit and brilliant green eyes, who always seemed to have a moment to sit and talk with him.
Life in Secundus had its disadvantages, yes – but the advantages were worth sticking around for.
8/24/2011: Wednesday Photo To Remember
Prompt: Today's challenge: get out your photo album. Choose a photo, and then write about what didn't get caught on film. My chosen photo: a picture of Alice from the second "A:MR" teaser trailer, when she's looking into that little puppet show of the Hatter and company
Time Period: Winter post-"Secundus"
Notes: Just a cute little piece inspired by my favorite of those three teaser trailers, and Victor and Alice being sweet together post-marriage.
Alice would have said she wasn't really in a fit state to be photographed. Her hair was messy, her eyes were tired, and she was wearing her rattiest old coat. Who would want to preserve a moment of her looking like that?
Victor knew better. As she stopped to admire the mechanical puppet show someone had set up in the square, he stopped to admire her. The gentle curves of her face, the light shining on her skin and reflecting in her eyes, the soft flakes of snow drifting around them. . . .it was all far too pretty to consign to mere memory. Before she knew what he was doing, he'd located the camera and taken a picture.
Later, after they'd developed it, she allowed that it was a nice photograph. "But it'll be nicer once we get a matching one of you. Remind me to mess up your hair next time we go out."