Thursday Charloft Prompts #61-70
2/9/2012: guilty pleasure
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus," Victor's teenage years
Notes: I believe I've mentioned Victor's love of penny dreadfuls before, right? Here's a moment from his teenage years concerning them. Yes, he really did hide them under his mattress – surprisingly, his mother never found them. And the dreadful mentioned is a real one I found on Wikipedia.
“Good night, son!”
“Good night, Father,” Victor said, entering his room. He closed the door behind him, then quickly exchanged his clothes for pajamas. The covers were turned down, the lights extinguished, and he hopped into bed.
Ten minutes later, when he was sure his parents wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon, he sat up and lit a candle. He slipped off his bed, lifted the mattress, and carefully extracted an old, battered magazine. He smiled at the title: The Mysteries of London. “Let’s see what Mr. Reynolds has to say in this installment,” he whispered, and began to read.
2/16/2012: lucky
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus" after Nell and William show up Notes: Took me a while to suss this one out. My original idea was to have Nell bring in a psychiatrist, only for the guy to reveal he's Alice's psychiatrist and cause Nell to leave in a huff. That didn't quite work, though, so I came up with this. Which then had to be cut down from 204 words. Tougher prompt than expected!
Oh God, here they came again. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? Did they really have to come here and lecture him constantly? If only he could escape somehow. . . .
The telephonic abruptly sprung to life. “Hello! Is this Brown’s?!”
Victor jumped, then turned to the radio. “Hello, yes, what’s the problem?”
“My transducing cosmic applicator ray has malfunctioned! I need a repair team immediately!”
Oh God. This was – this was –
This was perfect! “We’ll be there shortly!” he said, just as his parents walked through the door. “No time to talk!” Victor told them, deeply relieved. “Emergency job! Doc!”
3/1/2012: sweet
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus"
Notes: Had to go with a Wonka reference for this one. The candy bar is based on one of the ones from the 1971 movie (though I may be remembering wrong, it's been a bit since I've seen it). Really, it's a wonder Victor was able to resist the urge to more or less swallow it whole, given his sweet tooth.
Victor exited the candy shop, looking down at the long, thin bar of chocolate in his hand, mouth watering. Part of him wanted to eat the whole thing right then and there, but he knew this was a treat to be savored. So he walked along, finding a place to sit before even opening the wrapper. He took a deep sniff of the lovely candy smell. Then, he finally allowed himself to take a big bite. A noise of pleasure escaped him as the chocolate melted in his mouth.
Mr. Wonka was right – the only word for this was scrumdiddlyumptious.
3/8/2012: someone saying "no"
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus" after Nell and William show up
Notes: Victor with another nasty customer, though at least this one gets a jolt to the system and apologizes. And it says a lot about Victor's relationship with his parents when that's what he blurts out under stress.
“No, no, no! I asked for a five-eighths hinge clapper, not a three-quarters one!”
“I’m s-sorry, sir–”
“Really, can’t you get anything right?”
“I’ll f-fetch the right tool straightaway–”
“Why does Dr. Brown keep such an incompetent–”
“Mother, please!”
Both men fell abruptly silent. Victor could feel the embarrassment pressing down on him. “M-my apologies,” he said quietly. “I d-didn’t–”
“I’m sorry,” the man cut him off. “This is just a tough project – I shouldn’t take my stress out on you.” A pause, then he added, “And your mother should leave you alone too.”
Victor smiled, despite himself. “You have no idea. . . .”
3/22/2012: silly song
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: It's the kids again! Vincent has always been the one who takes the most after his father personality-wise, so it was only natural he'd pick up his father's instrument. (Chester has musical leanings too, but he decides he'd rather get guitar lessons from Marty.) So I decided to twist the prompt to feature some beginner's noodling.
The plinking of piano keys wasn’t an unusual noise in the Van Dort household. What was unusual was that the person who usually plinked them wasn’t sitting at the keyboard. Victor looked up, puzzled, as the – was it music? It felt like more than random notes strung together, but it lacked a clear shape. Curious, Victor followed the ‘music’ to the music room.
Vincent was sitting at the piano, carefully picking out his melody. “Daddy, look! I can play piano! Just like you!”
Victor smiled. “Yes, you can. Would you like Daddy to show you how to make more music?”
3/29/2012: morbid fantasies
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Just a little drabble on how even the nicest people can have dark sides. Victor really doesn't like that becoming a Touched amplified his temper like this. Fortunately, he never goes down the path of revenge.
Victor never had any idea what would trigger it. Most of the time he could think about his hometown without anger. But sometimes. . .sometimes he’d get to thinking about how no one in Burtonsville ever appreciated him. About the years of bullying, snubbing, pitying looks.
About the parents who never cared.
And then his thoughts would twist, and he’d imagine going back there with butterflies that sucked blood or had acid in their wings, and he’d show them, show them all –
And then he’d yank himself back, shivering and frightened.
He did not enjoy finding out he could keep a grudge.
4/5/2012: stubborn
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus" after Nell and William show up
Notes: Yup, it's gotta be about Nell. I always see her as this extremely stubborn, and rather spoiled character. She's not used to anyone saying no to her – especially not her son. That's why she keeps popping up and making a nuisance of herself – she's sure eventually Victor will give in. Unfortunately for her, Victor's found quite a lot to fight for this time.
Victor had protested against his mother’s plans before. Sometimes he hadn’t really felt like receiving company, or going out somewhere, or dressing a certain way. But his previous objections had never amounted to anything. Nell either ignored his opinion or made such a fuss it was easier to give in. It was just a fact of life – Nell did whatever she wanted, and nobody else could argue. Which explained why she was being a pain these days – she wasn’t used to being denied.
Victor thought she ought to get used to it. Secundus was too important to cave in on.
4/12/2012: weapons (Alice)
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: This prompt ended up a double feature – I initially came up with an Alice-centered drabble, but then I got the idea for a Victor-centered one, so you get two. Alice's here is about the creation of her Vorpal Blade – I have the mini version, and it really is that beautiful.
“It’s ready.”
Alice’s breath caught as she entered the shop to those words. “We finished early this morning,” Richard continued. “I – I really do hope it meets your expectations.” He presented her with a box.
Slowly, Alice lifted the lid. Lying on a bed of velvet was – a knife. But not just any knife. This one was bright and beautifully decorated – scrolls on the handle, vines and flowers on the blade. Her fingers touched it, lifted it, tested the edge. A smile curved her lips. “My Vorpal Blade indeed,” she whispered.
All it needed now – was a splash of blood.
4/12/2012: weapons (Victor)
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: Victor's half of this set, meanwhile, touches upon one of his nastier Inventions – acid-secreting butterflies. I came up with the explanation that 'it works kind of like a monarch butterfly, only they can ooze it out of their wings' a while back, so it's nice to be able to use it. Victor's generally a nice guy, but – you really don't want to piss him off.
Most people scoffed at the idea of butterflies being used as a weapon. “How on earth could butterflies cause any damage to anything?” one might ask. “They’re butterflies.”
Victor would then tell them about how certain butterflies, such as monarchs, tasted bad to predators because of poisonous substances they absorbed into their bodies as caterpillars. “What does that have to do with anything?” the questioner might inquire.
That’s when Victor would smile. “You’d be surprised at how easily that process can be perverted so a butterfly has acid in its body instead.”
The questioner usually shut up right about then.
4/26/2012: teamwork
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus"
Notes: Victor muses on why people seem determined to depict the mad scientist as sort of a lone wolf. He has a point, at least in Secundus's world. I don't think I have a Touched in that world who doesn't have at least one good friend. Hell, it sort of becomes a plot point near the end of the story. . . Oh, and for reference, they're at a Mad Hatter tea party.
“Why do they always depict mad scientists as loners?”
The others at the table looked curiously at Victor. “Well, we’re not really the most social of people,” Doc said. “I think I’ve mentioned that before.”
“Yes, but – all of you have friends,” Victor pointed out, gesturing around the table. “And almost every Touched who enters the shop has at least one assistant. I have to wonder why people think of mad scientists as always acting alone.”
“Probably because nobody wants to admit to themselves how fun it would be to work for one,” Marty smirked.
Victor laughed. “I’ll buy that.”
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus," Victor's teenage years
Notes: I believe I've mentioned Victor's love of penny dreadfuls before, right? Here's a moment from his teenage years concerning them. Yes, he really did hide them under his mattress – surprisingly, his mother never found them. And the dreadful mentioned is a real one I found on Wikipedia.
“Good night, son!”
“Good night, Father,” Victor said, entering his room. He closed the door behind him, then quickly exchanged his clothes for pajamas. The covers were turned down, the lights extinguished, and he hopped into bed.
Ten minutes later, when he was sure his parents wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon, he sat up and lit a candle. He slipped off his bed, lifted the mattress, and carefully extracted an old, battered magazine. He smiled at the title: The Mysteries of London. “Let’s see what Mr. Reynolds has to say in this installment,” he whispered, and began to read.
2/16/2012: lucky
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus" after Nell and William show up Notes: Took me a while to suss this one out. My original idea was to have Nell bring in a psychiatrist, only for the guy to reveal he's Alice's psychiatrist and cause Nell to leave in a huff. That didn't quite work, though, so I came up with this. Which then had to be cut down from 204 words. Tougher prompt than expected!
Oh God, here they came again. Why couldn’t they just leave him alone? Did they really have to come here and lecture him constantly? If only he could escape somehow. . . .
The telephonic abruptly sprung to life. “Hello! Is this Brown’s?!”
Victor jumped, then turned to the radio. “Hello, yes, what’s the problem?”
“My transducing cosmic applicator ray has malfunctioned! I need a repair team immediately!”
Oh God. This was – this was –
This was perfect! “We’ll be there shortly!” he said, just as his parents walked through the door. “No time to talk!” Victor told them, deeply relieved. “Emergency job! Doc!”
3/1/2012: sweet
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus"
Notes: Had to go with a Wonka reference for this one. The candy bar is based on one of the ones from the 1971 movie (though I may be remembering wrong, it's been a bit since I've seen it). Really, it's a wonder Victor was able to resist the urge to more or less swallow it whole, given his sweet tooth.
Victor exited the candy shop, looking down at the long, thin bar of chocolate in his hand, mouth watering. Part of him wanted to eat the whole thing right then and there, but he knew this was a treat to be savored. So he walked along, finding a place to sit before even opening the wrapper. He took a deep sniff of the lovely candy smell. Then, he finally allowed himself to take a big bite. A noise of pleasure escaped him as the chocolate melted in his mouth.
Mr. Wonka was right – the only word for this was scrumdiddlyumptious.
3/8/2012: someone saying "no"
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus" after Nell and William show up
Notes: Victor with another nasty customer, though at least this one gets a jolt to the system and apologizes. And it says a lot about Victor's relationship with his parents when that's what he blurts out under stress.
“No, no, no! I asked for a five-eighths hinge clapper, not a three-quarters one!”
“I’m s-sorry, sir–”
“Really, can’t you get anything right?”
“I’ll f-fetch the right tool straightaway–”
“Why does Dr. Brown keep such an incompetent–”
“Mother, please!”
Both men fell abruptly silent. Victor could feel the embarrassment pressing down on him. “M-my apologies,” he said quietly. “I d-didn’t–”
“I’m sorry,” the man cut him off. “This is just a tough project – I shouldn’t take my stress out on you.” A pause, then he added, “And your mother should leave you alone too.”
Victor smiled, despite himself. “You have no idea. . . .”
3/22/2012: silly song
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: It's the kids again! Vincent has always been the one who takes the most after his father personality-wise, so it was only natural he'd pick up his father's instrument. (Chester has musical leanings too, but he decides he'd rather get guitar lessons from Marty.) So I decided to twist the prompt to feature some beginner's noodling.
The plinking of piano keys wasn’t an unusual noise in the Van Dort household. What was unusual was that the person who usually plinked them wasn’t sitting at the keyboard. Victor looked up, puzzled, as the – was it music? It felt like more than random notes strung together, but it lacked a clear shape. Curious, Victor followed the ‘music’ to the music room.
Vincent was sitting at the piano, carefully picking out his melody. “Daddy, look! I can play piano! Just like you!”
Victor smiled. “Yes, you can. Would you like Daddy to show you how to make more music?”
3/29/2012: morbid fantasies
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Just a little drabble on how even the nicest people can have dark sides. Victor really doesn't like that becoming a Touched amplified his temper like this. Fortunately, he never goes down the path of revenge.
Victor never had any idea what would trigger it. Most of the time he could think about his hometown without anger. But sometimes. . .sometimes he’d get to thinking about how no one in Burtonsville ever appreciated him. About the years of bullying, snubbing, pitying looks.
About the parents who never cared.
And then his thoughts would twist, and he’d imagine going back there with butterflies that sucked blood or had acid in their wings, and he’d show them, show them all –
And then he’d yank himself back, shivering and frightened.
He did not enjoy finding out he could keep a grudge.
4/5/2012: stubborn
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus" after Nell and William show up
Notes: Yup, it's gotta be about Nell. I always see her as this extremely stubborn, and rather spoiled character. She's not used to anyone saying no to her – especially not her son. That's why she keeps popping up and making a nuisance of herself – she's sure eventually Victor will give in. Unfortunately for her, Victor's found quite a lot to fight for this time.
Victor had protested against his mother’s plans before. Sometimes he hadn’t really felt like receiving company, or going out somewhere, or dressing a certain way. But his previous objections had never amounted to anything. Nell either ignored his opinion or made such a fuss it was easier to give in. It was just a fact of life – Nell did whatever she wanted, and nobody else could argue. Which explained why she was being a pain these days – she wasn’t used to being denied.
Victor thought she ought to get used to it. Secundus was too important to cave in on.
4/12/2012: weapons (Alice)
Time Period: Pre-"Secundus"
Notes: This prompt ended up a double feature – I initially came up with an Alice-centered drabble, but then I got the idea for a Victor-centered one, so you get two. Alice's here is about the creation of her Vorpal Blade – I have the mini version, and it really is that beautiful.
“It’s ready.”
Alice’s breath caught as she entered the shop to those words. “We finished early this morning,” Richard continued. “I – I really do hope it meets your expectations.” He presented her with a box.
Slowly, Alice lifted the lid. Lying on a bed of velvet was – a knife. But not just any knife. This one was bright and beautifully decorated – scrolls on the handle, vines and flowers on the blade. Her fingers touched it, lifted it, tested the edge. A smile curved her lips. “My Vorpal Blade indeed,” she whispered.
All it needed now – was a splash of blood.
4/12/2012: weapons (Victor)
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: Victor's half of this set, meanwhile, touches upon one of his nastier Inventions – acid-secreting butterflies. I came up with the explanation that 'it works kind of like a monarch butterfly, only they can ooze it out of their wings' a while back, so it's nice to be able to use it. Victor's generally a nice guy, but – you really don't want to piss him off.
Most people scoffed at the idea of butterflies being used as a weapon. “How on earth could butterflies cause any damage to anything?” one might ask. “They’re butterflies.”
Victor would then tell them about how certain butterflies, such as monarchs, tasted bad to predators because of poisonous substances they absorbed into their bodies as caterpillars. “What does that have to do with anything?” the questioner might inquire.
That’s when Victor would smile. “You’d be surprised at how easily that process can be perverted so a butterfly has acid in its body instead.”
The questioner usually shut up right about then.
4/26/2012: teamwork
Time Period: Anytime in "Secundus"
Notes: Victor muses on why people seem determined to depict the mad scientist as sort of a lone wolf. He has a point, at least in Secundus's world. I don't think I have a Touched in that world who doesn't have at least one good friend. Hell, it sort of becomes a plot point near the end of the story. . . Oh, and for reference, they're at a Mad Hatter tea party.
“Why do they always depict mad scientists as loners?”
The others at the table looked curiously at Victor. “Well, we’re not really the most social of people,” Doc said. “I think I’ve mentioned that before.”
“Yes, but – all of you have friends,” Victor pointed out, gesturing around the table. “And almost every Touched who enters the shop has at least one assistant. I have to wonder why people think of mad scientists as always acting alone.”
“Probably because nobody wants to admit to themselves how fun it would be to work for one,” Marty smirked.
Victor laughed. “I’ll buy that.”