Time: Any Notes: Pity this Alice, who does not work by video game logic and thus is bound to normal human jumping. Whether this makes the Secundus Alice more or less badass than the canon version is up to you. And yes, the Alice of "Alice: Madness Returns basically gets a full-on quadruple jump.
Some days, Alice really wished she could jump higher. She knew she was already a pretty damn good jumper (you had to be, to avoid things trying to take out your legs), but she thought that if she could get more height, she could conquer so many problems - from attacking enemies taller than her to getting things off high shelves. If only there was a way to jump while jumping - to leap again in midair to get even more altitude. . . A double jump, she supposed you’d call it. She’d take that in a heartbeat. A triple or quadruple jump, even faster.
Time: Pre-"Secundus" Notes: Jennifer makes an appearance! I'm hoping to use her and Clara a bit more in these drabbles. Her dress here is supposed to invoke her main outfit from the trilogy a bit. (Incidentally, she's a Claudia Wells Jennifer.)
“Hey, Jennifer - wow, that dress looks great! New?” “Yup,” Jennifer said with a smile. She did a little turn to show it off to best advantage. “Just got it the other day. I told Dad I desperately needed some new summer clothes. The old stuff was just way too hot.” “I like it,” Marty said, looking over the light blue dress with multicolored flowers scattered over the skirt. Then he smirked at her. “Makes you look too hot.” “Oh stop it,” Jennifer said, giving his arm a light, playful whack. “If my dad hears that, he’ll make me return it.”
56. Picnic basket in a field of yellow dandelions, dandelion chain, blue skysecundus_castJune 4 2012, 01:38:48 UTC
Time: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2" Notes: This is based off of the book Alice considering making a daisy chain at the beginning of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and the Disney Alice actually doing so. Why can't this Alice enjoy it as well?
“Where did you learn to weave chains of flowers like that?” Alice gave her husband only the briefest of glances as she knotted a little hole in the stem of another dandelion. “From my mother,” she said, slipping another flower’s stem through it, then repeating the process. “She and I spent lots of time together making little bracelets and necklaces from flowers.” She tied the ends of her chain together, forming a circlet. “Maybe one day - I can teach our daughter.” “Would you m-mind teaching your husband in the meantime?” Alice smiled at him. “Not at all. It’s pretty simple. . . .”
Time: Pre-Chapter 6 of "Secundus" Notes: I thought I'd do a couple of prompts about the Van Dorts and Everglots -- here's the short version of how the Van Dorts convinced the Everglots to accompany them to Secundus.
“You want us to accompany you to Secundus?” Finis and Maudeline Everglot stared at the Van Dorts as if they’d lost their minds. “It’s your son that’s been kidnapped,” Maudeline continued. “Why do you want us there?” “To show him what he’s giving up - an excellent marriage to an excellent family,” Mrs. Van Dort replied. “Not that I believe he actually means what he’s writing in those letters, but in case he’s been brainwashed. . . .” “I’m sure we won’t be there for long - a day or two at most,” Mr. Van Dort said. “I can certainly make it worth your while.” “. . .We’ll pack.”
82) Author's choice: instrumentsecundus_castJune 15 2012, 01:23:29 UTC
Time: Post-"Secundus 2," kids' early teenage years Notes: I dunno why, but Chester playing the guitar just seems right to me. It lets him be musical while also being different from his dad. Victor does get to teach one of his kids his favored instrument, though -- Vincent takes to it pretty quickly.
“You - want to learn the guitar?” Chester smiled at his father’s rather confused face. His dad always had the funniest expressions. (Of course, the humor was undercut slightly by the knowledge that he had the exact same ones.) “I do. I know you wanted to teach me piano, but - well, hearing Marty play. . . .” He searched for the exact words to describe the thrill he’d gotten, listening to the music. The excitement that had raced down his spine. His father seemed to understand already though. “I see. Well then - I think Marty wouldn’t mind giving you lessons.” Chester grinned. “Thanks Dad.”
83) Author's choice: overstimulationsecundus_castJune 15 2012, 01:31:56 UTC
Time: Pre-"Secundus," Alice's childhood Notes: Written for the 6/14/2012 charloft drabble prompt, this was inspired by one of Dr. Wilson's journal entries in the casebook that came with the original Alice game, and a memory from "Alice: Madness Returns." The entry in question is the one from "10 December 1864," which comments that burns that massive must cause great discomfort, yet you'd never know it from the way she lies there so still. The memory is one from the Deluded Depths, which makes a mention of her skin being "as brittle as carp scales." It got me thinking about how sensitive burned skin is, and we got this
( ... )
84) Author's choice: escapesecundus_castJune 17 2012, 20:26:22 UTC
Time: Pre-Secundus Notes: Just a little drabble on the crazy incident that sent Marty and Doc fleeing to Secundus in the first place. I originally had this for "staycation," but I thought up a better drabble for my interpretation of the prompt.
“What happened?” “I don’t know! It wasn’t - we didn’t mean for anything to catch on fire!” Marty ran his hands through his hair. “And we definitely didn’t mean to piss off the mayor!” “Yeah, he’s about ready to call for blood, little brother,” Dave commented. “If I were you, I’d get out of the country.” “Actually, that’s a good idea,” George said. “How about you and Doc leave for your trip to Secundus a little early, Marty?” “You actually want me to go to the Mad Science Capital of the World now?” “They’re better prepared for this sort of mayhem.”
51) staycationsecundus_castJune 17 2012, 20:30:00 UTC
Time: Post-"Secundus 2" Notes: The sequel to the above "84) Author's Choice: escape," I came up with this after realizing it fit my interpretation of the prompt -- "it was supposed to be a vacation, they ended up staying" -- better than the drabble that became "escape" did.
“Remember when we first thought about coming here, Doc?” Doc looked up from his newspaper. “Yes, I do,” he said with a smile. “It was supposed to be just a few months’ vacation.” “Yeah,” Marty nodded. “Kick around the city for a while, see the sights, learn some science, come back home. Never thought I’d end up moving here for good.” “Me either,” Doc agreed. He frowned a little. “Do you ever regret it? Leaving Hill Valley?” “Doc, you’re asking if I regret coming to stay with some of the best friends I’ve ever had.” Doc grinned again. “Good point.”
Time: Pre-"Secundus 2" Notes: Hey, a Clara-related drabble! I was looking for inspiration when I saw this prompt and remembered Clara's astronomy hobby. And since I've barely done anything with her in these short fics yet. . . Her comment about diphtheria is from BTTF Part III -- she tells Doc the story when he comments on her being quite knowledgeable about lunar geography.
Clara Clayton loved the night sky. She’d said more than once that the one upside to getting diphtheria was being introduced to the wonders of the stars and moon. Perhaps astronomy wasn’t a usual hobby for women, but it was her passion. She spent hours at night gazing through her telescope, admiring those bright points of light. The trouble was, she was always admiring them alone. Most people considered her strange for having any interest in science at all. She itched to share her thoughts with someone, but there was no one to listen. Until Emmett Brown entered her life.
Time: Post-"Secundus," on the honeymoon Notes: Okay, this is just me and Victor being silly. In "Alice: Madness Returns," Alice has a dress called the Siren for the underwater area that has a seaweed necklace. I came up with a similar outfit for Victor that has a seaweed tie. So yeah, this is me playing around with that idea.
“Victor, what are you doing with that seaweed?” “Adding a tie to my outfit.” “. . .You’re wearing a swimsuit.” “Yes, but I can’t be a proper gentleman without a tie, now can I?” “I would say you’ve been out in the sun too long except I know for a fact you have to hide under our umbrella. Although I will say it’s impressive you can actually knot that into a tie.” “Years of practice. If we are ever invited to a formal beach party, I will be prepared.” “I suppose I should be too. Think this would make a good necklace?”
64) A sweaty man looking at a broken/off fansecundus_castJune 25 2012, 01:41:49 UTC
Time: Post-"Secundus" Notes: This one's slightly risque, so be warned! It's also inspired by the trio of hot days we recently had where I live -- ugh, it was smothering.
“Oooh. . . .” Alice looked up as Victor collapsed next to her on the bed. “I thought you were going to do some work in your lab?” Victor shook his head slowly. “It’s too hot,” he mumbled. “And far, far too humid. The only way I could do any work in the conservatory would be if I tried experimenting naked.” Alice couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face as she pictured that. “Weeelll, we could always do our own little experiments. . . .” “Really? Do you really think either of us has the energy?” Alice considered the temperature and lowered her head. “No.”
74) A woman's lips holding a melting ice cubesecundus_castJune 25 2012, 01:45:37 UTC
Time: Post-"Secundus" Notes: I actually came up with this one as a way to set up the "popsicle" prompt, since I've been wondering how I'm going to do that. Sucking on an ice cube to cool off is something I've done before on hot days. I imagine Doc made their ice box so it can make its own ice cubes -- a smaller version of the contraption he has in Part III.
“What are you sucking on?” Alice poked the little chunk of ice into her cheek with her tongue. “Ice cube,” she said, voice slightly muffled. “Oh.” Victor tilted his head curiously. “Does it really cool you off?” “Try one and see. There’s more in the ice box.” Victor went to investigate. A few minutes later, he was back, sucking on his own piece of ice. “Oooh - this is very nice,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Isn’t it?” Alice started to lean back herself, then noticed Victor looking thoughtful. “What?” “I was just thinking. . .is it possible to - flavor these?”
60) Hands holding mixed berriessecundus_castJuly 2 2012, 01:32:00 UTC
Time: Pre-"Secundus" -- maybe the summer before? Notes: It shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to realize this one should be all about everyone's favorite made-up fruit, squimberries. I took the name from Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, but the taste is all me.
Lewis beamed as he looked at the bushes. The branches seemed almost overloaded with bright red berries, each one looking about ready to burst with goodness. He hurried over to the field of burrows. “March!” he called down the leftmost one. “The squimberries are ripe!” “Fantastic!” March appeared moments later, carrying a large basket. “Let us go get them!” “Let’s!” It wasn’t long before the pair were busily stripping the bushes of their fruit. Alice joined them after a while, and between them, March’s basket quickly filled to overflowing. Which naturally meant they had to eat the overflow, didn’t it?
62) Children playing in water from a fountainsecundus_castJuly 2 2012, 01:41:30 UTC
Time: Post-"Secundus 2" Notes: I wanted to start writing a bit about the kids from the other main couples in the Secundus-verse, so here's a short about Emily and Richard's adopted daughter, Charlotte. Or, well, who will become their adopted daughter at the time of this drabble.
“Come on, Charlotte! We’ve got to take you back now!” Charlotte turned reluctantly toward Mrs. Dodgson. “Aww, but we’re having so much fun!” “I know, but the orphanage wants you back by five o’clock,” Mrs. Dodgson said apologetically, holding out one skeletal hand. “The fountain will still be there tomorrow.” Charlotte sighed. “Okay. . . .” She took Mrs. Dodgson’s hand. “Did they say anything about the paperwork yet?” she added hopefully. “Not yet - but Violet seems to think we’ve got a very good chance,” Mrs. Dodgson said, smiling. Charlotte smiled back. “Good. I want to be able to start calling you Mum.”
87) Author's choice: glassessecundus_castJuly 2 2012, 01:45:25 UTC
Time: Post-"Secundus 2" Notes: For some reason, it amuses me to make an older Victor wear glasses. The joke of the piece was inspired by a Corpse Bride fic where Victoria, after asking one of her daughters where her corsets are (said daughter is playing flapper), says with horror that she's turning into her mother. Victor's response was to assure her he'd never let that happen. As for my Victor -- better William than Maudeline.
The opening of the front door alerted Alice to the fact her husband was home. She walked over to find Victor’s back to her, as he apparently stared at the front door. “Well?” she asked. “What did the optometrist say?” Victor’s response was to turn around - and reveal he was wearing a pair of glasses. Along with a rather adorable sulky expression. Alice chuckled. “Oh, I see. Are they really worth the pout?” “I feel like my father,” Victor mumbled, not looking at her. Alice gently lifted his chin to meet his eyes. “Trust me - you’re miles better than William.”
Time: Post-"Secundus," pre-"Secundus 2" Notes: Happy anniversary, BTTF! This is one of two drabbles I wrote for July 3rd, 2012, the 27th anniversary of BTTF's release in theaters. I chose the prompt because of its relevance to the dates in the movie (1955), and it surprisingly didn't take me long to think up something. Happy reunions are always nice to write about.
Jennifer Parker had not expected to see a flying train pass over her family ranch at any point during her lifetime. She gaped up at it for a moment - then her face lit up with a brilliant smile. She knew there was only two people in Hill Valley who would end up with a flying train. “Hey! Down here!” she cried, waving her arms like a windmill. The train obligingly paused, lowering itself to the ground. Then the door flew open, revealing one Marty McFly. “Jennifer!” They ran into each other’s arms, lips meeting in a warm kiss. “We’re home!”
Time: Post-"Secundus," pre-wedding (the wedding rehearsal) Notes: The prompt that became "Author's choice: anniversary" was going to be here, but I decided it didn't relate enough to the prompt word. So instead I stole one of Victor's problems from his wedding rehearsal with Victoria in the movie and ran with it here. I think everyone's reactions serve as a nice contrast to canon -- and highlight what Victor's gained by staying in Secundus.
“With this candle. . .this candle. . .this candle. . . .” Victor stared at the tapered candle in his hand. Why wouldn’t it light? He was starting to feel like an idiot, standing here touching it to the flame to no effect. What must his friends think? “Must be a bad candle,” Marty said. “I don’t know - any candle that keeps fire away from me seems like a good candle to me,” Alice joked. “Don’t worry about it, Victor,” Father Gale said. “We’ll change candles later.” Victor smiled. Good friends made all the difference. “With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. . . .”
Time: Pre-"Secundus" Notes: Dunno why, but it popped into my head that I wanted to do something with Emily's resurrection for this one. Poor girl -- she did not have a good time of it when she first woke up. (And I wouldn't be surprised if she reacted similarly in canon.)
“Did it work?” “Do you doubt my genius, Sally?” “No, just - she doesn’t seem to be moving.” “Hmm. Take off the blanket and let’s have a closer look.” Sally obligingly removed the sheet covering the body. She felt a pang as she looked at it - a young woman wearing a wedding dress. Obviously she had a sad story to tell. If she’d even been brought back that is. She and Finklestein leaned over her, wondering and worried. Abruptly, the woman’s eyes snapped open. Finklestein laughed maniacally. “You see! I told you--” His gloating was cut off by the girl’s scream.
Time: Post-"Secundus 2" (year 1907) Notes: I really wanted to do something about one of the characters reacting to the fact that most of their kids seem to be marrying each other. Marty was the obvious choice, given that both of his kids are marrying one of his best friends' kids. Yes, there is a rash of proposals in 1907 (when most of the kids are in their late teens/early twenties) -- the weddings themselves bleed into 1908
( ... )
Time: Post-"Secundus 2" Notes: This started out as just Chester and Victor talking about how Victor survived having a newborn in the house, but somehow warped into something with Alice when I went to actually write it. Still, the same spirit is there -- baby-related sleep deprivation sucks.
“Well, you look like hell.” The look her son gave her told Alice her bluntness had not been appreciated. Fortunately, Victor stepped in to play diplomat. “The baby keeping you up at night?” “What do you think?” Chester snapped, then sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be so crabby. Walter’s got an ear infection, which means he cries almost constantly, which means. . . .” His head thunked against the table. Alice patted his back. “We’ve been there. Eventually he’ll get better, and start sleeping through the night.” “I won’t make it that long.” She grinned at him. “You’re a Liddell. You will.”
Comments 100
Notes: Pity this Alice, who does not work by video game logic and thus is bound to normal human jumping. Whether this makes the Secundus Alice more or less badass than the canon version is up to you. And yes, the Alice of "Alice: Madness Returns basically gets a full-on quadruple jump.
Some days, Alice really wished she could jump higher. She knew she was already a pretty damn good jumper (you had to be, to avoid things trying to take out your legs), but she thought that if she could get more height, she could conquer so many problems - from attacking enemies taller than her to getting things off high shelves. If only there was a way to jump while jumping - to leap again in midair to get even more altitude. . . A double jump, she supposed you’d call it. She’d take that in a heartbeat.
A triple or quadruple jump, even faster.
Reply
Notes: Jennifer makes an appearance! I'm hoping to use her and Clara a bit more in these drabbles. Her dress here is supposed to invoke her main outfit from the trilogy a bit. (Incidentally, she's a Claudia Wells Jennifer.)
“Hey, Jennifer - wow, that dress looks great! New?”
“Yup,” Jennifer said with a smile. She did a little turn to show it off to best advantage. “Just got it the other day. I told Dad I desperately needed some new summer clothes. The old stuff was just way too hot.”
“I like it,” Marty said, looking over the light blue dress with multicolored flowers scattered over the skirt. Then he smirked at her. “Makes you look too hot.”
“Oh stop it,” Jennifer said, giving his arm a light, playful whack. “If my dad hears that, he’ll make me return it.”
Reply
Notes: This is based off of the book Alice considering making a daisy chain at the beginning of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and the Disney Alice actually doing so. Why can't this Alice enjoy it as well?
“Where did you learn to weave chains of flowers like that?”
Alice gave her husband only the briefest of glances as she knotted a little hole in the stem of another dandelion. “From my mother,” she said, slipping another flower’s stem through it, then repeating the process. “She and I spent lots of time together making little bracelets and necklaces from flowers.” She tied the ends of her chain together, forming a circlet. “Maybe one day - I can teach our daughter.”
“Would you m-mind teaching your husband in the meantime?”
Alice smiled at him. “Not at all. It’s pretty simple. . . .”
Reply
Notes: I thought I'd do a couple of prompts about the Van Dorts and Everglots -- here's the short version of how the Van Dorts convinced the Everglots to accompany them to Secundus.
“You want us to accompany you to Secundus?”
Finis and Maudeline Everglot stared at the Van Dorts as if they’d lost their minds. “It’s your son that’s been kidnapped,” Maudeline continued. “Why do you want us there?”
“To show him what he’s giving up - an excellent marriage to an excellent family,” Mrs. Van Dort replied. “Not that I believe he actually means what he’s writing in those letters, but in case he’s been brainwashed. . . .”
“I’m sure we won’t be there for long - a day or two at most,” Mr. Van Dort said. “I can certainly make it worth your while.”
“. . .We’ll pack.”
Reply
Notes: I dunno why, but Chester playing the guitar just seems right to me. It lets him be musical while also being different from his dad. Victor does get to teach one of his kids his favored instrument, though -- Vincent takes to it pretty quickly.
“You - want to learn the guitar?”
Chester smiled at his father’s rather confused face. His dad always had the funniest expressions. (Of course, the humor was undercut slightly by the knowledge that he had the exact same ones.) “I do. I know you wanted to teach me piano, but - well, hearing Marty play. . . .” He searched for the exact words to describe the thrill he’d gotten, listening to the music. The excitement that had raced down his spine.
His father seemed to understand already though. “I see. Well then - I think Marty wouldn’t mind giving you lessons.”
Chester grinned. “Thanks Dad.”
Reply
Notes: Written for the 6/14/2012 charloft drabble prompt, this was inspired by one of Dr. Wilson's journal entries in the casebook that came with the original Alice game, and a memory from "Alice: Madness Returns." The entry in question is the one from "10 December 1864," which comments that burns that massive must cause great discomfort, yet you'd never know it from the way she lies there so still. The memory is one from the Deluded Depths, which makes a mention of her skin being "as brittle as carp scales." It got me thinking about how sensitive burned skin is, and we got this ( ... )
Reply
Notes: Just a little drabble on the crazy incident that sent Marty and Doc fleeing to Secundus in the first place. I originally had this for "staycation," but I thought up a better drabble for my interpretation of the prompt.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know! It wasn’t - we didn’t mean for anything to catch on fire!” Marty ran his hands through his hair. “And we definitely didn’t mean to piss off the mayor!”
“Yeah, he’s about ready to call for blood, little brother,” Dave commented. “If I were you, I’d get out of the country.”
“Actually, that’s a good idea,” George said. “How about you and Doc leave for your trip to Secundus a little early, Marty?”
“You actually want me to go to the Mad Science Capital of the World now?”
“They’re better prepared for this sort of mayhem.”
Reply
Notes: The sequel to the above "84) Author's Choice: escape," I came up with this after realizing it fit my interpretation of the prompt -- "it was supposed to be a vacation, they ended up staying" -- better than the drabble that became "escape" did.
“Remember when we first thought about coming here, Doc?”
Doc looked up from his newspaper. “Yes, I do,” he said with a smile. “It was supposed to be just a few months’ vacation.”
“Yeah,” Marty nodded. “Kick around the city for a while, see the sights, learn some science, come back home. Never thought I’d end up moving here for good.”
“Me either,” Doc agreed. He frowned a little. “Do you ever regret it? Leaving Hill Valley?”
“Doc, you’re asking if I regret coming to stay with some of the best friends I’ve ever had.”
Doc grinned again. “Good point.”
Reply
Notes: Hey, a Clara-related drabble! I was looking for inspiration when I saw this prompt and remembered Clara's astronomy hobby. And since I've barely done anything with her in these short fics yet. . . Her comment about diphtheria is from BTTF Part III -- she tells Doc the story when he comments on her being quite knowledgeable about lunar geography.
Clara Clayton loved the night sky. She’d said more than once that the one upside to getting diphtheria was being introduced to the wonders of the stars and moon. Perhaps astronomy wasn’t a usual hobby for women, but it was her passion. She spent hours at night gazing through her telescope, admiring those bright points of light.
The trouble was, she was always admiring them alone. Most people considered her strange for having any interest in science at all. She itched to share her thoughts with someone, but there was no one to listen.
Until Emmett Brown entered her life.
Reply
Notes: Okay, this is just me and Victor being silly. In "Alice: Madness Returns," Alice has a dress called the Siren for the underwater area that has a seaweed necklace. I came up with a similar outfit for Victor that has a seaweed tie. So yeah, this is me playing around with that idea.
“Victor, what are you doing with that seaweed?”
“Adding a tie to my outfit.”
“. . .You’re wearing a swimsuit.”
“Yes, but I can’t be a proper gentleman without a tie, now can I?”
“I would say you’ve been out in the sun too long except I know for a fact you have to hide under our umbrella. Although I will say it’s impressive you can actually knot that into a tie.”
“Years of practice. If we are ever invited to a formal beach party, I will be prepared.”
“I suppose I should be too. Think this would make a good necklace?”
Reply
Notes: This one's slightly risque, so be warned! It's also inspired by the trio of hot days we recently had where I live -- ugh, it was smothering.
“Oooh. . . .”
Alice looked up as Victor collapsed next to her on the bed. “I thought you were going to do some work in your lab?”
Victor shook his head slowly. “It’s too hot,” he mumbled. “And far, far too humid. The only way I could do any work in the conservatory would be if I tried experimenting naked.”
Alice couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face as she pictured that. “Weeelll, we could always do our own little experiments. . . .”
“Really? Do you really think either of us has the energy?”
Alice considered the temperature and lowered her head. “No.”
Reply
Notes: I actually came up with this one as a way to set up the "popsicle" prompt, since I've been wondering how I'm going to do that. Sucking on an ice cube to cool off is something I've done before on hot days. I imagine Doc made their ice box so it can make its own ice cubes -- a smaller version of the contraption he has in Part III.
“What are you sucking on?”
Alice poked the little chunk of ice into her cheek with her tongue. “Ice cube,” she said, voice slightly muffled.
“Oh.” Victor tilted his head curiously. “Does it really cool you off?”
“Try one and see. There’s more in the ice box.”
Victor went to investigate. A few minutes later, he was back, sucking on his own piece of ice. “Oooh - this is very nice,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
“Isn’t it?” Alice started to lean back herself, then noticed Victor looking thoughtful. “What?”
“I was just thinking. . .is it possible to - flavor these?”
Reply
Notes: It shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to realize this one should be all about everyone's favorite made-up fruit, squimberries. I took the name from Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland, but the taste is all me.
Lewis beamed as he looked at the bushes. The branches seemed almost overloaded with bright red berries, each one looking about ready to burst with goodness. He hurried over to the field of burrows. “March!” he called down the leftmost one. “The squimberries are ripe!”
“Fantastic!” March appeared moments later, carrying a large basket. “Let us go get them!”
“Let’s!” It wasn’t long before the pair were busily stripping the bushes of their fruit. Alice joined them after a while, and between them, March’s basket quickly filled to overflowing.
Which naturally meant they had to eat the overflow, didn’t it?
Reply
Notes: I wanted to start writing a bit about the kids from the other main couples in the Secundus-verse, so here's a short about Emily and Richard's adopted daughter, Charlotte. Or, well, who will become their adopted daughter at the time of this drabble.
“Come on, Charlotte! We’ve got to take you back now!”
Charlotte turned reluctantly toward Mrs. Dodgson. “Aww, but we’re having so much fun!”
“I know, but the orphanage wants you back by five o’clock,” Mrs. Dodgson said apologetically, holding out one skeletal hand. “The fountain will still be there tomorrow.”
Charlotte sighed. “Okay. . . .” She took Mrs. Dodgson’s hand. “Did they say anything about the paperwork yet?” she added hopefully.
“Not yet - but Violet seems to think we’ve got a very good chance,” Mrs. Dodgson said, smiling.
Charlotte smiled back. “Good. I want to be able to start calling you Mum.”
Reply
Notes: For some reason, it amuses me to make an older Victor wear glasses. The joke of the piece was inspired by a Corpse Bride fic where Victoria, after asking one of her daughters where her corsets are (said daughter is playing flapper), says with horror that she's turning into her mother. Victor's response was to assure her he'd never let that happen. As for my Victor -- better William than Maudeline.
The opening of the front door alerted Alice to the fact her husband was home. She walked over to find Victor’s back to her, as he apparently stared at the front door. “Well?” she asked. “What did the optometrist say?”
Victor’s response was to turn around - and reveal he was wearing a pair of glasses. Along with a rather adorable sulky expression. Alice chuckled. “Oh, I see. Are they really worth the pout?”
“I feel like my father,” Victor mumbled, not looking at her.
Alice gently lifted his chin to meet his eyes. “Trust me - you’re miles better than William.”
Reply
Notes: Happy anniversary, BTTF! This is one of two drabbles I wrote for July 3rd, 2012, the 27th anniversary of BTTF's release in theaters. I chose the prompt because of its relevance to the dates in the movie (1955), and it surprisingly didn't take me long to think up something. Happy reunions are always nice to write about.
Jennifer Parker had not expected to see a flying train pass over her family ranch at any point during her lifetime. She gaped up at it for a moment - then her face lit up with a brilliant smile. She knew there was only two people in Hill Valley who would end up with a flying train. “Hey! Down here!” she cried, waving her arms like a windmill.
The train obligingly paused, lowering itself to the ground. Then the door flew open, revealing one Marty McFly. “Jennifer!” They ran into each other’s arms, lips meeting in a warm kiss. “We’re home!”
Reply
Notes: The prompt that became "Author's choice: anniversary" was going to be here, but I decided it didn't relate enough to the prompt word. So instead I stole one of Victor's problems from his wedding rehearsal with Victoria in the movie and ran with it here. I think everyone's reactions serve as a nice contrast to canon -- and highlight what Victor's gained by staying in Secundus.
“With this candle. . .this candle. . .this candle. . . .”
Victor stared at the tapered candle in his hand. Why wouldn’t it light? He was starting to feel like an idiot, standing here touching it to the flame to no effect. What must his friends think?
“Must be a bad candle,” Marty said.
“I don’t know - any candle that keeps fire away from me seems like a good candle to me,” Alice joked.
“Don’t worry about it, Victor,” Father Gale said. “We’ll change candles later.”
Victor smiled. Good friends made all the difference. “With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. . . .”
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Notes: Dunno why, but it popped into my head that I wanted to do something with Emily's resurrection for this one. Poor girl -- she did not have a good time of it when she first woke up. (And I wouldn't be surprised if she reacted similarly in canon.)
“Did it work?”
“Do you doubt my genius, Sally?”
“No, just - she doesn’t seem to be moving.”
“Hmm. Take off the blanket and let’s have a closer look.”
Sally obligingly removed the sheet covering the body. She felt a pang as she looked at it - a young woman wearing a wedding dress. Obviously she had a sad story to tell. If she’d even been brought back that is. She and Finklestein leaned over her, wondering and worried.
Abruptly, the woman’s eyes snapped open. Finklestein laughed maniacally. “You see! I told you--”
His gloating was cut off by the girl’s scream.
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Notes: I really wanted to do something about one of the characters reacting to the fact that most of their kids seem to be marrying each other. Marty was the obvious choice, given that both of his kids are marrying one of his best friends' kids. Yes, there is a rash of proposals in 1907 (when most of the kids are in their late teens/early twenties) -- the weddings themselves bleed into 1908 ( ... )
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Notes: This started out as just Chester and Victor talking about how Victor survived having a newborn in the house, but somehow warped into something with Alice when I went to actually write it. Still, the same spirit is there -- baby-related sleep deprivation sucks.
“Well, you look like hell.”
The look her son gave her told Alice her bluntness had not been appreciated. Fortunately, Victor stepped in to play diplomat. “The baby keeping you up at night?”
“What do you think?” Chester snapped, then sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be so crabby. Walter’s got an ear infection, which means he cries almost constantly, which means. . . .” His head thunked against the table.
Alice patted his back. “We’ve been there. Eventually he’ll get better, and start sleeping through the night.”
“I won’t make it that long.”
She grinned at him. “You’re a Liddell. You will.”
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