Thursday Charloft Prompts #71-80
5/3/2012: pre-generated mood – intrigued and petrified
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," cleaning up Wonderland Park
Notes: Ah, everyone's favorite annoying-as-all-get-out enemies from "Alice: Madness Returns!" In this universe, they're an invention of the Queen, though I don't think they showed up much in the actual battle. I figure Victor would be intrigued by how they functioned, given how unusual they are. And he also wouldn't want to be mauled, which takes care of the second half. Honestly, I could have written this about a lot of Inventions Victor encounters at any time in his life, but the bolterflies popped into my mind first.
Victor stared at the bolterfly hive before him, indecisive. On the one hand, he was intrigued. He wanted to know what made bolterflies tick – how they flew, how they ate, everything. He wanted to crack open that hive and make it reveal all its secrets.
On the other hand, he was petrified. Bolterflies harassed anyone who came near them unmercifully, biting and hissing until you smashed them. He wanted to run as far away from that hive as possible. Which side would win? Science or caution?
And then Alice smashed the hive with her hobby horse, making the question moot.
5/10/2012: confidence
Time Period: Post-"Secundus" Notes: This was an interesting prompt – Victor's never had much confidence in himself or his abilities before. He knew he was good at piano, and that he had more-than-decent drawing skills, but those were pretty private activities for him. He never thought he'd really feel confident about anything else in his life. And then, he becomes a Touched. . .
“Are you sure this will work?”
“Of course! I have complete confidence it will!”
Victor abruptly paused, the mad smile on his face replaced with surprise. Alice blinked. “What?”
“. . .I do. I have complete confidence this will work.”
“So? That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but – it’s a bit of a new feeling for me. Normally the only thing I’m confident about are my piano or drawing skills. To be confident about science, it’s – it’s. . . .”
“Yes?” Alice prompted.
Victor smiled again. “It feels good.”
“Finally found some self-esteem, then?”
“I had to eventually. Now, could you hand me that tube there?”
5/17/2012: mysterious
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: Written while I was writing and posting the climax of Secundus. Here Victor's pondering something he does to Emily in said climax (Chapter 18, actually) that sort of bugs him sometimes – he feels bad for experimenting on a friend. Of course, he technically didn't have any choice in the matter – I really wanted Emily to be able to do her butterfly "trick" from the end of the movie, so. . .
Every time he looked at Emily now, Victor had the same question: what had he done to her? How had he come up with a way to let her morph from a human shape to a rabble of butterflies and back again? Safely, no less? It seemed more like magic than science.
His fellow Touched told him that it was natural – that most new Touched had a fabulous breakthrough during their going Creative that they couldn’t recall the details of later. But it still bothered him.
Mainly because he was scared that, one day, she might not be able to change back.
5/31/2012: freedom
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: Just Victor explaining here why he decided to make a riding butterfly (to Marty, if you're curious). Alice threatening to cry may be a little OOC, but she's a) mostly teasing and b) knows Victor hates making people upset, and that goes quadruple for her. Also she really doesn't want him hurting himself.
“So, Victor – riding butterfly?”
“All my life, I’ve wanted to be like a butterfly. Be able to flit from place to place as I please, without a care or worry.”
“Yeah, but – if you want to fly, there’s always the train.”
“I know, and I thank you, but – it’s not quite the same, you know? With a riding butterfly, I’ll really be able to live out my dream. To feel truly free.”
“Okay, but why not just give yourself butterfly wings?”
“Alice has forbidden me from experimenting on myself.”
“Threaten you with her Vorpal Blade?”
“Worse – she threatened to cry.”
6/7/2012: bet
Time Period: In "Secundus 2"
Notes: Basically a bit of silliness surrounding Doc and Clara's whirlwind romance. I mean, falling that much in love with someone over a weekend – only in the movies. :)
Victor wasn’t much of a betting person. But when Alice had leaned over to him and whispered, “Bet you Doc proposes to Clara the same week Marty gets married,” he’d had to take her up on it. He had no doubt his older friend was smitten with the new schoolteacher, but – well, who could get married that fast? He was madly in love with Alice, and it had still taken him a few months to propose. Surely Doc, even lovestruck, would want to wait a bit.
Six days later, he paid up shortly before Clara came walking down the aisle.
6/21/2012: instructing someone else
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," not long after Lorina goes Creative
Notes: Victor instructing his newly-Touched daughter Lorina on lab safety. It was the first thing that came to mind, and I thought it was a cute father/daughter moment.
“Now you always want to wear goggles for safety. . .and good thick gloves if you’re working with electricity or chemicals. . .a sturdy lab coat too. And thick shoes. And you never want to turn your back on any experiment–”
“Dad!” Lorina interrupted. “I’ve been watching you work all my life. I think I know how to do mad science safely.”
“I know, but – I worry. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Victor put his hand on her arm. “You’re my little girl.”
Lorina smiled at him. “I’ll be fine, Dad. You’ll see.” She poked him playfully. “I’ll show you.”
7/12/2012: exertion
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: The first thing that came to mind was Victor playing with his children. I'm pretty sure this was inspired by something I read on Cracked, about things children do adults can't get away with – one of them was running everywhere. Poor Victor – 22 years does make a lot of difference, doesn't it? (Also, they've been playing for a while, so. . .)
“Come on, Daddy!”
Victor tried to catch up to Chester, panting. It amazed him just how much energy the little boy had. Had he ever run around like that? It seemed impossible. I’m only 27 – how can he be exhausting me like this? he thought, pressing a hand to his chest. The next time someone complains about how tired they are after anything, I’m going to tell them “try keeping up with a boy of five.”
But as he looked over at his smiling son, he knew he wouldn’t trade this for anything. Being a father was worth the exhaustion.
7/19/2012: adversity
Time Period: Anytime during "Secundus" (probably on one of Victor and Alice's dates, in fact)
Notes: It took me FOREVER to decide if I was going to do this from Victor's perspective as a normal prompt response, or from Alice's as part of my 100 Drabbles. As you can see, I eventually decided on dialogue-only as a normal prompt. Victor does get in these moods where he feels weird about being the only "privileged" one – fortunately his friends are well able to counter them. (Also, weirdly prescient of Forgotten Vows's Victor asking the same question of his Alice.)
“Alice?”
“Yes, Victor?”
“Do I ever come off as spoiled?”
“What?”
“W-well – I grew up in a very rich family, with the b-best of everything. I’ve never wanted for a-anything my life. I’ve never gone through the hardships you or any of my other friends have faced. I worry I c-come off as – selfish. A brat.”
“Victor, you are one of the least selfish people I’ve ever met. You’re kind, considerate, and always willing to help. ‘Spoiled’ doesn’t even come to mind when I’m around you. Besides, my childhood was pretty privileged too. We’re not that different. So don’t worry.”
7/26/2012: working with someone you dislike
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage children era
Notes: This one ended up being a weird one, because I couldn't think of a situation where this would apply to Victor – he's either doing experiments on his own, or working with Doc and Marty, people he most certainly does like. So instead I went for future fic and had one of Victor's kids suffer. Poor Vincent, coming across an idiot like this. . .
Victor jumped as he heard the front door slam. Going to investigate, he found an unlikely culprit. “Vincent? Goodness, what’s wrong?”
“I’m quitting the bakery,” Vincent told him, face dark with anger. “I can’t stand working for that man a moment longer.”
Victor frowned. “But I thought you liked the bakery.”
“I did – before I had to work with Mr. Hartman himself. But now that I’ve been around him for the past week. . . .”
“Is it really that bad?”
Vincent nodded. “You won’t believe this. . . .”
A few moments later, Alice jumped as she heard Victor yell, “HE SAID WHAT ABOUT YOUR SISTER?!”
8/2/2012: approaching a discussion from both sides
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage kids era
Notes: And the first thing that came to mind was Vincent and Lorina arguing over something. Poor Victor – he doesn't do well in these situations.
“You went in my room without permission!”
“You took my metronome! I need that for my music!”
“Well, I need it for science! Which is much more important than music!”
“It is not! You’re a pianist, Father – you know how vital it is that you keep proper time while playing! Tell her!”
“He’s also a scientist, and he knows how crucial it is to have everything you need before performing any experiment! Tell him, Dad!”
Victor pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened to his twins argue. This is why I prefer to let Alice deal with this. . . .
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," cleaning up Wonderland Park
Notes: Ah, everyone's favorite annoying-as-all-get-out enemies from "Alice: Madness Returns!" In this universe, they're an invention of the Queen, though I don't think they showed up much in the actual battle. I figure Victor would be intrigued by how they functioned, given how unusual they are. And he also wouldn't want to be mauled, which takes care of the second half. Honestly, I could have written this about a lot of Inventions Victor encounters at any time in his life, but the bolterflies popped into my mind first.
Victor stared at the bolterfly hive before him, indecisive. On the one hand, he was intrigued. He wanted to know what made bolterflies tick – how they flew, how they ate, everything. He wanted to crack open that hive and make it reveal all its secrets.
On the other hand, he was petrified. Bolterflies harassed anyone who came near them unmercifully, biting and hissing until you smashed them. He wanted to run as far away from that hive as possible. Which side would win? Science or caution?
And then Alice smashed the hive with her hobby horse, making the question moot.
5/10/2012: confidence
Time Period: Post-"Secundus" Notes: This was an interesting prompt – Victor's never had much confidence in himself or his abilities before. He knew he was good at piano, and that he had more-than-decent drawing skills, but those were pretty private activities for him. He never thought he'd really feel confident about anything else in his life. And then, he becomes a Touched. . .
“Are you sure this will work?”
“Of course! I have complete confidence it will!”
Victor abruptly paused, the mad smile on his face replaced with surprise. Alice blinked. “What?”
“. . .I do. I have complete confidence this will work.”
“So? That’s good, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but – it’s a bit of a new feeling for me. Normally the only thing I’m confident about are my piano or drawing skills. To be confident about science, it’s – it’s. . . .”
“Yes?” Alice prompted.
Victor smiled again. “It feels good.”
“Finally found some self-esteem, then?”
“I had to eventually. Now, could you hand me that tube there?”
5/17/2012: mysterious
Time Period: Post-"Secundus"
Notes: Written while I was writing and posting the climax of Secundus. Here Victor's pondering something he does to Emily in said climax (Chapter 18, actually) that sort of bugs him sometimes – he feels bad for experimenting on a friend. Of course, he technically didn't have any choice in the matter – I really wanted Emily to be able to do her butterfly "trick" from the end of the movie, so. . .
Every time he looked at Emily now, Victor had the same question: what had he done to her? How had he come up with a way to let her morph from a human shape to a rabble of butterflies and back again? Safely, no less? It seemed more like magic than science.
His fellow Touched told him that it was natural – that most new Touched had a fabulous breakthrough during their going Creative that they couldn’t recall the details of later. But it still bothered him.
Mainly because he was scared that, one day, she might not be able to change back.
5/31/2012: freedom
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-wedding
Notes: Just Victor explaining here why he decided to make a riding butterfly (to Marty, if you're curious). Alice threatening to cry may be a little OOC, but she's a) mostly teasing and b) knows Victor hates making people upset, and that goes quadruple for her. Also she really doesn't want him hurting himself.
“So, Victor – riding butterfly?”
“All my life, I’ve wanted to be like a butterfly. Be able to flit from place to place as I please, without a care or worry.”
“Yeah, but – if you want to fly, there’s always the train.”
“I know, and I thank you, but – it’s not quite the same, you know? With a riding butterfly, I’ll really be able to live out my dream. To feel truly free.”
“Okay, but why not just give yourself butterfly wings?”
“Alice has forbidden me from experimenting on myself.”
“Threaten you with her Vorpal Blade?”
“Worse – she threatened to cry.”
6/7/2012: bet
Time Period: In "Secundus 2"
Notes: Basically a bit of silliness surrounding Doc and Clara's whirlwind romance. I mean, falling that much in love with someone over a weekend – only in the movies. :)
Victor wasn’t much of a betting person. But when Alice had leaned over to him and whispered, “Bet you Doc proposes to Clara the same week Marty gets married,” he’d had to take her up on it. He had no doubt his older friend was smitten with the new schoolteacher, but – well, who could get married that fast? He was madly in love with Alice, and it had still taken him a few months to propose. Surely Doc, even lovestruck, would want to wait a bit.
Six days later, he paid up shortly before Clara came walking down the aisle.
6/21/2012: instructing someone else
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," not long after Lorina goes Creative
Notes: Victor instructing his newly-Touched daughter Lorina on lab safety. It was the first thing that came to mind, and I thought it was a cute father/daughter moment.
“Now you always want to wear goggles for safety. . .and good thick gloves if you’re working with electricity or chemicals. . .a sturdy lab coat too. And thick shoes. And you never want to turn your back on any experiment–”
“Dad!” Lorina interrupted. “I’ve been watching you work all my life. I think I know how to do mad science safely.”
“I know, but – I worry. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Victor put his hand on her arm. “You’re my little girl.”
Lorina smiled at him. “I’ll be fine, Dad. You’ll see.” She poked him playfully. “I’ll show you.”
7/12/2012: exertion
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," young children era
Notes: The first thing that came to mind was Victor playing with his children. I'm pretty sure this was inspired by something I read on Cracked, about things children do adults can't get away with – one of them was running everywhere. Poor Victor – 22 years does make a lot of difference, doesn't it? (Also, they've been playing for a while, so. . .)
“Come on, Daddy!”
Victor tried to catch up to Chester, panting. It amazed him just how much energy the little boy had. Had he ever run around like that? It seemed impossible. I’m only 27 – how can he be exhausting me like this? he thought, pressing a hand to his chest. The next time someone complains about how tired they are after anything, I’m going to tell them “try keeping up with a boy of five.”
But as he looked over at his smiling son, he knew he wouldn’t trade this for anything. Being a father was worth the exhaustion.
7/19/2012: adversity
Time Period: Anytime during "Secundus" (probably on one of Victor and Alice's dates, in fact)
Notes: It took me FOREVER to decide if I was going to do this from Victor's perspective as a normal prompt response, or from Alice's as part of my 100 Drabbles. As you can see, I eventually decided on dialogue-only as a normal prompt. Victor does get in these moods where he feels weird about being the only "privileged" one – fortunately his friends are well able to counter them. (Also, weirdly prescient of Forgotten Vows's Victor asking the same question of his Alice.)
“Alice?”
“Yes, Victor?”
“Do I ever come off as spoiled?”
“What?”
“W-well – I grew up in a very rich family, with the b-best of everything. I’ve never wanted for a-anything my life. I’ve never gone through the hardships you or any of my other friends have faced. I worry I c-come off as – selfish. A brat.”
“Victor, you are one of the least selfish people I’ve ever met. You’re kind, considerate, and always willing to help. ‘Spoiled’ doesn’t even come to mind when I’m around you. Besides, my childhood was pretty privileged too. We’re not that different. So don’t worry.”
7/26/2012: working with someone you dislike
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage children era
Notes: This one ended up being a weird one, because I couldn't think of a situation where this would apply to Victor – he's either doing experiments on his own, or working with Doc and Marty, people he most certainly does like. So instead I went for future fic and had one of Victor's kids suffer. Poor Vincent, coming across an idiot like this. . .
Victor jumped as he heard the front door slam. Going to investigate, he found an unlikely culprit. “Vincent? Goodness, what’s wrong?”
“I’m quitting the bakery,” Vincent told him, face dark with anger. “I can’t stand working for that man a moment longer.”
Victor frowned. “But I thought you liked the bakery.”
“I did – before I had to work with Mr. Hartman himself. But now that I’ve been around him for the past week. . . .”
“Is it really that bad?”
Vincent nodded. “You won’t believe this. . . .”
A few moments later, Alice jumped as she heard Victor yell, “HE SAID WHAT ABOUT YOUR SISTER?!”
8/2/2012: approaching a discussion from both sides
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," teenage kids era
Notes: And the first thing that came to mind was Vincent and Lorina arguing over something. Poor Victor – he doesn't do well in these situations.
“You went in my room without permission!”
“You took my metronome! I need that for my music!”
“Well, I need it for science! Which is much more important than music!”
“It is not! You’re a pianist, Father – you know how vital it is that you keep proper time while playing! Tell her!”
“He’s also a scientist, and he knows how crucial it is to have everything you need before performing any experiment! Tell him, Dad!”
Victor pinched the bridge of his nose as he listened to his twins argue. This is why I prefer to let Alice deal with this. . . .