Winter Bingo: Card Four, Column Five
From An Interview With Mr. Victor Van Dort
Prompt: glowing
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Heh – so, apparently, I got this same prompt last year on Card Three, and completely forgot. And so wrote a rather similar story. Whoops? ^^; It's not the same as the previous prompt, though – instead, I gave it a bit of a twist. This is the answer Victor gave when he was interviewed for an entomological journal once he'd become an established, respected Touched scientist (he was over the moon for weeks about it, as you might imagine). So if you don't mind reading about the glowing butterflies again, here's another take on the subject.
“Mr. Van Dort, anyone who’s seen your creations knows you’ve got a fascination with bioluminescence. In fact, some of your most famous Fabricated creatures are the glowing butterflies people now see in Wonderland Park. Why is that, exactly?”
“Well, most simply put, it’s because those glowing butterflies were my first indication I was a Touched. Not that I knew it at the time. . .”
“Oh?”
“Yes, it’s like this – once I came to Secundus, I started dreaming regularly about seeing glowing butterflies. The most beautiful butterflies in the world. And always, I would try to catch them – and I’d wake up before I could. Rather frustrating, as you might imagine. It wasn’t until the night before my Going Creative that I caught one, and then. . .it was simply incredible. It was like, for one golden moment, I knew everything in the world. Looking back, I think I can see how, the closer I came to my final breakthrough, the more often the dreams came and the longer they lasted. Maybe – maybe it was my mind getting itself ready for what was to come.”
“And that’s why you like making things that glow.”
“Oh, yes. I can’t help myself. Being able to see them light up the sky in reality. . .it’s amazing. And now, I get to catch them whenever I want.”
They Lie To You
Prompt: toast
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2"
Notes: This was inspired by Eddie Izzard's bit on toasters and how they lie to you. I imagine that, even in a world full of mechanical marvels, getting a decent-working toaster can sometimes be a pain.
“I don’t understand this! I thought electric toasters were supposed to make life easier!”
“I think you’ve been spoiled by Doc’s homemade version,” Alice said, watching as her husband glared at the appliance in question. “These mass-produced ones aren’t made with the same care.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Victor said, examining his underdone toast. “Either it comes out like this, or it comes out charred to a cinder. Doc’s sometimes had burnt bits, yes, but you could always depend it coming out more or less the way you wanted.” He sighed. “Sometimes I think they deliberately design them this way, so people will think they’re broken and buy new ones.”
“But they’re not going to buy new toasters from the same manufacturer – not if they think the first one sells lousy appliances,” Alice pointed out. “Do you think all toaster companies are in league with one another?”
“. . .Yes. Yes I do. Perhaps I’ll go and fill all their offices with bread-and butterflies. Or peanut-butterflies, those will stick to things and be even more of a nuisance.”
“I think it’s a better idea for you to just have some cereal for breakfast.”
Hooked On Infomercials
Prompt: commercial
Time Period: Meta-verse
Notes: I had to go meta-verse (that is, Victor knows he's a muse and he's talking to me) for this one. For some reason, he really does love silly commercials and infomercials. But to be fair – he probably gets that from me. I actually used to watch the damn things (especially the ones about vacuum-sealing your food) for entertainment purposes when I was younger. ^^; Ah, the embarrassing secrets our muses get us to reveal. . . . Also, Whelpton Pills? Real. Along with a bunch of other ridiculous Victorian ads.
“I still don’t get why you like these so much.”
Butterfly Boy grinned at his mun. “Because they’re so ridiculously over the top. People in these ‘infomercials’ apparently can’t do the smallest thing by themselves. It really is like that site you like so much says – they’re too incompetent to operate a blanket!” He chuckled. “And some of the products they advertise! That pen necklace, for example – you think people had forgotten pockets exist.”
“Yeah, I know they’re silly. But really, if you want over the top advertisements, your own era has plenty of that. And I’m not even talking about the silliness that comes out of Secundus. I’ve seen actual Victorian ads. Whelpton Pills are pretty ridiculous.”
“That may be so – but the ones from your era have moving pictures and sound.”
“. . .This is true. Want to watch the one about sealing up your food vacuum-style next?”
Defrosting
Prompt: ice princess
Time Period: Early "Secundus" (before Victor blurts out his feelings)
Notes: Here's the second (but technically first) of a pair of related prompts about how Alice can look cold on the outside, but Victor's got a knack for finding her warm center. The instant I saw that prompt, I knew I had to do something about Alice. The basic idea (and the inspiration behind the title) comes from the trope "Defrosting Ice Princess," about a girl who initially seems cold and unapproachable, but who gradually warms up as you get to know her. It struck me that fit how Alice looks to those who only know her by reputation – cold and only good for killing monsters. Her friends (and beloved) know better, of course. Alice's perspective on things, melt, is back in Column Four.
Most people who looked at Alice Liddell saw someone who was cold. Someone who seemingly couldn’t be bothered with love or even companionship. A girl whose life revolved around death, madness, weaponry, and killing. A girl who’d lost everything and thus had decided to seal off her heart in ice.
Victor Van Dort saw something different. He saw a girl who was uneasy around people, worried about getting too close for fear of losing them again. Someone who was hurt and wary and perhaps even a little shy. Someone who wasn’t all that different from him.
And when you got to know her, he discovered, you’d find that under that cold exterior – she was actually quite warm.
Perhaps It’s A TempraPedic?
Prompt: cozy
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," baby Chester era
Notes: I dunno what prompted this – I guess I just wanted to do something with Alice not wanting to get out of bed. It's just a bit of mildly-fluffy silliness. The bit about the bedpan is a reference to a memory you can recover in "Madness Returns."
“Come, Alice, it’s time to get up.”
Alice wriggled deeper into the covers. “Oooh. . .this new mattress is entirely too comfortable. I’m never getting up again.”
“Never?” Victor repeated, looking down at his cocooned wife.
“Never ever,” Alice replied. “I like it here.”
“What about eating?”
“You can bring in food for me. Or maybe make a rabble of butterflies to do so. I’m sure you could manage.”
“I probably could, but. . .what about – bodily functions?”
“That’s what bedpans are for. As one of my nurses once told me.”
“. . .I really didn’t need to know that,” Victor grimaced. “But you really can’t stay in bed forever.”
“Oh? What’s stopping me?”
A wail went up from the nursery. Victor looked over at the door, then smirked playfully at Alice. “You try explaining to him why Mother wants to stay in bed all day.”
Prompt: glowing
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2"
Notes: Heh – so, apparently, I got this same prompt last year on Card Three, and completely forgot. And so wrote a rather similar story. Whoops? ^^; It's not the same as the previous prompt, though – instead, I gave it a bit of a twist. This is the answer Victor gave when he was interviewed for an entomological journal once he'd become an established, respected Touched scientist (he was over the moon for weeks about it, as you might imagine). So if you don't mind reading about the glowing butterflies again, here's another take on the subject.
“Mr. Van Dort, anyone who’s seen your creations knows you’ve got a fascination with bioluminescence. In fact, some of your most famous Fabricated creatures are the glowing butterflies people now see in Wonderland Park. Why is that, exactly?”
“Well, most simply put, it’s because those glowing butterflies were my first indication I was a Touched. Not that I knew it at the time. . .”
“Oh?”
“Yes, it’s like this – once I came to Secundus, I started dreaming regularly about seeing glowing butterflies. The most beautiful butterflies in the world. And always, I would try to catch them – and I’d wake up before I could. Rather frustrating, as you might imagine. It wasn’t until the night before my Going Creative that I caught one, and then. . .it was simply incredible. It was like, for one golden moment, I knew everything in the world. Looking back, I think I can see how, the closer I came to my final breakthrough, the more often the dreams came and the longer they lasted. Maybe – maybe it was my mind getting itself ready for what was to come.”
“And that’s why you like making things that glow.”
“Oh, yes. I can’t help myself. Being able to see them light up the sky in reality. . .it’s amazing. And now, I get to catch them whenever I want.”
They Lie To You
Prompt: toast
Time Period: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2"
Notes: This was inspired by Eddie Izzard's bit on toasters and how they lie to you. I imagine that, even in a world full of mechanical marvels, getting a decent-working toaster can sometimes be a pain.
“I don’t understand this! I thought electric toasters were supposed to make life easier!”
“I think you’ve been spoiled by Doc’s homemade version,” Alice said, watching as her husband glared at the appliance in question. “These mass-produced ones aren’t made with the same care.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Victor said, examining his underdone toast. “Either it comes out like this, or it comes out charred to a cinder. Doc’s sometimes had burnt bits, yes, but you could always depend it coming out more or less the way you wanted.” He sighed. “Sometimes I think they deliberately design them this way, so people will think they’re broken and buy new ones.”
“But they’re not going to buy new toasters from the same manufacturer – not if they think the first one sells lousy appliances,” Alice pointed out. “Do you think all toaster companies are in league with one another?”
“. . .Yes. Yes I do. Perhaps I’ll go and fill all their offices with bread-and butterflies. Or peanut-butterflies, those will stick to things and be even more of a nuisance.”
“I think it’s a better idea for you to just have some cereal for breakfast.”
Hooked On Infomercials
Prompt: commercial
Time Period: Meta-verse
Notes: I had to go meta-verse (that is, Victor knows he's a muse and he's talking to me) for this one. For some reason, he really does love silly commercials and infomercials. But to be fair – he probably gets that from me. I actually used to watch the damn things (especially the ones about vacuum-sealing your food) for entertainment purposes when I was younger. ^^; Ah, the embarrassing secrets our muses get us to reveal. . . . Also, Whelpton Pills? Real. Along with a bunch of other ridiculous Victorian ads.
“I still don’t get why you like these so much.”
Butterfly Boy grinned at his mun. “Because they’re so ridiculously over the top. People in these ‘infomercials’ apparently can’t do the smallest thing by themselves. It really is like that site you like so much says – they’re too incompetent to operate a blanket!” He chuckled. “And some of the products they advertise! That pen necklace, for example – you think people had forgotten pockets exist.”
“Yeah, I know they’re silly. But really, if you want over the top advertisements, your own era has plenty of that. And I’m not even talking about the silliness that comes out of Secundus. I’ve seen actual Victorian ads. Whelpton Pills are pretty ridiculous.”
“That may be so – but the ones from your era have moving pictures and sound.”
“. . .This is true. Want to watch the one about sealing up your food vacuum-style next?”
Defrosting
Prompt: ice princess
Time Period: Early "Secundus" (before Victor blurts out his feelings)
Notes: Here's the second (but technically first) of a pair of related prompts about how Alice can look cold on the outside, but Victor's got a knack for finding her warm center. The instant I saw that prompt, I knew I had to do something about Alice. The basic idea (and the inspiration behind the title) comes from the trope "Defrosting Ice Princess," about a girl who initially seems cold and unapproachable, but who gradually warms up as you get to know her. It struck me that fit how Alice looks to those who only know her by reputation – cold and only good for killing monsters. Her friends (and beloved) know better, of course. Alice's perspective on things, melt, is back in Column Four.
Most people who looked at Alice Liddell saw someone who was cold. Someone who seemingly couldn’t be bothered with love or even companionship. A girl whose life revolved around death, madness, weaponry, and killing. A girl who’d lost everything and thus had decided to seal off her heart in ice.
Victor Van Dort saw something different. He saw a girl who was uneasy around people, worried about getting too close for fear of losing them again. Someone who was hurt and wary and perhaps even a little shy. Someone who wasn’t all that different from him.
And when you got to know her, he discovered, you’d find that under that cold exterior – she was actually quite warm.
Perhaps It’s A TempraPedic?
Prompt: cozy
Time Period: Post-"Secundus 2," baby Chester era
Notes: I dunno what prompted this – I guess I just wanted to do something with Alice not wanting to get out of bed. It's just a bit of mildly-fluffy silliness. The bit about the bedpan is a reference to a memory you can recover in "Madness Returns."
“Come, Alice, it’s time to get up.”
Alice wriggled deeper into the covers. “Oooh. . .this new mattress is entirely too comfortable. I’m never getting up again.”
“Never?” Victor repeated, looking down at his cocooned wife.
“Never ever,” Alice replied. “I like it here.”
“What about eating?”
“You can bring in food for me. Or maybe make a rabble of butterflies to do so. I’m sure you could manage.”
“I probably could, but. . .what about – bodily functions?”
“That’s what bedpans are for. As one of my nurses once told me.”
“. . .I really didn’t need to know that,” Victor grimaced. “But you really can’t stay in bed forever.”
“Oh? What’s stopping me?”
A wail went up from the nursery. Victor looked over at the door, then smirked playfully at Alice. “You try explaining to him why Mother wants to stay in bed all day.”