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crossover_chickI was a little grouchy after fighting with a website for school, and then having to rearrange some of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
8butterflyboy8's memories because I mistagged something, but this afternoon -- well, I got my refund check from my school for the money I didn't use, and it turned out to be quite a bit more than I expected. And just a little while ago, I was informed by a Charloft mod that I'd won the 100 Drabbles of Summer writing contest.
So, yeah, today's pretty damn good. Who wants to celebrate with one of my long-neglected 25 Foods fics?
13. Honey
Victor had thought this would be a whole lot easier.
When he had talked to Alice’s uncle about marrying her, his financial situation had been thrown into stark relief. He’d never really had to worry about money before. His parents had been comfortably middle class by the time he was born, and William had rapidly brought them all the way up to honestly rich. They’d had a cavernous house, a legion of servants, and coffers full to bursting. He’d never wanted for any material things. And even after he’d been accidentally abducted away from all that by Doc, he still hadn’t thought much about money. His job with Doc and Marty had included a roof over his head, all his meals, and plenty of free time to do as he wished – everything he could really ask for.
But the instant he’d started thinking about marriage, everything had changed. Suddenly, he was very much aware of what he didn’t have. The salary he got from Doc wasn’t enough to support a family. And Alice could hardly move into the flat with them – there was barely enough room for three. His employment prospects in more normal, better-paying jobs weren’t good, considering his – condition. And as for the Van Dort fortune he had been going to inherit – well, Victor wasn’t sure where it was going, but it certainly wasn’t going to him anymore. Just like that, he was poor.
Such concerns hadn’t stopped him from actually marrying Alice. The Liddells had been very understanding, and willing to help the young couple. They’d helped them buy a house as a wedding present, and offered them a monthly allowance to help with expenses. Doc still paid him whenever he helped out at the shop (which was considerably less than before – not that Victor didn’t enjoy working there, he just had his own experiments to tend to now). And Alice still had her job at Richard’s hat shop, which kept them going from month to month. Victor was very grateful for all the help, to be sure, but it still bothered him a little. He had no objections to Alice working – he knew she liked being productive, and besides, without her working at the hat shop, they might have never met. But he had also been raised to believe a man provided for his household. He didn’t want his wife to have to provide all their income – and he certainly didn’t want to live on the generosity of her aunt and uncle for the rest of their lives. He wanted to be useful.
Then, one day, while observing a bees’ nest, he’d suddenly had what he thought was a brilliant idea. He saved up some money and bought a beehive. He tended it carefully, making sure the bees had everything they needed to thrive. And when they had produced enough jars of honey, he’d taken to the streets to sell it.
But his hopes of making a sort of business out of selling honey were rather quickly dashed. Even in a city like Secundus, Regular people were very wary of buying anything from a Touched. Especially anything edible. Victor had assured people he’d done nothing to alter the honey or the bees who made it (and that had been hard, the ideas had sparked in his head and he’d broken quite a few quills in trying to keep them on paper and not letting them escape no matter how his fingers itched), but it made no difference. He managed to sell a little to a sympathetic grocer, but he ended up slinking home with the vast majority of his jars and not a lot of pride.
Then Alice found him, moping in his greenhouse lab. She listened to his complaints and fears, about how he felt he wasn’t doing right by her. She comforted him afterwards, reassuring him that she didn’t think he was useless in the slightest, and that she was sure he would stumble upon something that everyone would have to have. Listening to her, and realizing just how much she loved him, Victor felt some of his hope return.
It definitely helped that they discovered a delicious new use for honey shortly afterward.
-TTV: *facepalm* Why does every story end like that these days. . . .-
Really, it's not EVERY one. I just seem to be posting those sorts more often. :p Anyway, Secundus!fic, if that wasn't obvious. It seemed appropriate, given the occasion. I'm not sure what inspired me to write this for "honey." I mean, I know the image of it being licked off someone was obviously an influence, but I'm not sure what exactly sparked the idea of Victor trying to sell homemade honey. Maybe I was contemplating the fact that Secundus!Victor is kind of a househusband, thanks to his Touched-ness. While Alice works at the hat shop, he stays home and does his experiments. And minds the kids, when they have them. It works out very well for them, but I figured Victorian-raised Victor would occasionally feel weird about not being the breadwinner.
-D: Given the gender roles back then, it's amazing he doesn't feel strange about that all the time.-
Well, Secundus is a pretty progressive past -- having Touched be either sex equally actually did a lot for women's rights, at least in high-Mad Science areas.
-J2: One of those situations where they stop ganging up on the girls because there's other people to gang up on?-
Yeah, you can put it like that. There's a reason I came up with the Reanimation Rights League. Anyway, after coming up with the idea, I ran with it, and this resulted. Yes, Charles and Susan helped the new couple buy a house -- part of Alice's inheritance was dedicated to her always having a place to live, so they just added some money into that. Victor lives there for a bit before the wedding, getting it ready for their lives together -- Alice is a frequent visitor, of course. :)
-M: Nice house?-
Very nice, with a conservatory in the back that Victor promptly turns into his lab. :D I thought it would be cool if he worked in a greenhouse-type area. And it's good for the bugs, and the plants the bugs need.
-VuM: Does Lorina take it over when she goes Creative? You mentioned she's into botany.-
She gets a chunk of it for her own, yeah. Though she does a lot of her experimenting in her room. Drives everyone to distraction when it's time to clean.
As for this story -- there's not a heck of a lot more to say. Victor never really does get a job outside the house, though he does more or less take over tending to Wonderland Park. He does get some of the recognition he wants, though -- he's interviewed for an entomology journal at least once. He glows the entire day it happens.
-TD: Figuratively? I have to ask.-
LOL -- don't tempt me to make it literally. Anyway, this is just an exploration of Victor's life in Secundus as a Touched, and how lucky he is to have Alice. It's always nice to have someone around who loves you and who'll help you when you're in a rough spot.
-VDM: Or a crazy one.-
That too.
Hope you enjoyed that! Now, I should see about working on another story -- like wrapping up this double chapter in "Secundus" so I can look it over and find the appropriate break.
8butterflyboy8's memories because I mistagged something, but this afternoon -- well, I got my refund check from my school for the money I didn't use, and it turned out to be quite a bit more than I expected. And just a little while ago, I was informed by a Charloft mod that I'd won the 100 Drabbles of Summer writing contest.So, yeah, today's pretty damn good. Who wants to celebrate with one of my long-neglected 25 Foods fics?
13. Honey
Victor had thought this would be a whole lot easier.
When he had talked to Alice’s uncle about marrying her, his financial situation had been thrown into stark relief. He’d never really had to worry about money before. His parents had been comfortably middle class by the time he was born, and William had rapidly brought them all the way up to honestly rich. They’d had a cavernous house, a legion of servants, and coffers full to bursting. He’d never wanted for any material things. And even after he’d been accidentally abducted away from all that by Doc, he still hadn’t thought much about money. His job with Doc and Marty had included a roof over his head, all his meals, and plenty of free time to do as he wished – everything he could really ask for.
But the instant he’d started thinking about marriage, everything had changed. Suddenly, he was very much aware of what he didn’t have. The salary he got from Doc wasn’t enough to support a family. And Alice could hardly move into the flat with them – there was barely enough room for three. His employment prospects in more normal, better-paying jobs weren’t good, considering his – condition. And as for the Van Dort fortune he had been going to inherit – well, Victor wasn’t sure where it was going, but it certainly wasn’t going to him anymore. Just like that, he was poor.
Such concerns hadn’t stopped him from actually marrying Alice. The Liddells had been very understanding, and willing to help the young couple. They’d helped them buy a house as a wedding present, and offered them a monthly allowance to help with expenses. Doc still paid him whenever he helped out at the shop (which was considerably less than before – not that Victor didn’t enjoy working there, he just had his own experiments to tend to now). And Alice still had her job at Richard’s hat shop, which kept them going from month to month. Victor was very grateful for all the help, to be sure, but it still bothered him a little. He had no objections to Alice working – he knew she liked being productive, and besides, without her working at the hat shop, they might have never met. But he had also been raised to believe a man provided for his household. He didn’t want his wife to have to provide all their income – and he certainly didn’t want to live on the generosity of her aunt and uncle for the rest of their lives. He wanted to be useful.
Then, one day, while observing a bees’ nest, he’d suddenly had what he thought was a brilliant idea. He saved up some money and bought a beehive. He tended it carefully, making sure the bees had everything they needed to thrive. And when they had produced enough jars of honey, he’d taken to the streets to sell it.
But his hopes of making a sort of business out of selling honey were rather quickly dashed. Even in a city like Secundus, Regular people were very wary of buying anything from a Touched. Especially anything edible. Victor had assured people he’d done nothing to alter the honey or the bees who made it (and that had been hard, the ideas had sparked in his head and he’d broken quite a few quills in trying to keep them on paper and not letting them escape no matter how his fingers itched), but it made no difference. He managed to sell a little to a sympathetic grocer, but he ended up slinking home with the vast majority of his jars and not a lot of pride.
Then Alice found him, moping in his greenhouse lab. She listened to his complaints and fears, about how he felt he wasn’t doing right by her. She comforted him afterwards, reassuring him that she didn’t think he was useless in the slightest, and that she was sure he would stumble upon something that everyone would have to have. Listening to her, and realizing just how much she loved him, Victor felt some of his hope return.
It definitely helped that they discovered a delicious new use for honey shortly afterward.
-TTV: *facepalm* Why does every story end like that these days. . . .-
Really, it's not EVERY one. I just seem to be posting those sorts more often. :p Anyway, Secundus!fic, if that wasn't obvious. It seemed appropriate, given the occasion. I'm not sure what inspired me to write this for "honey." I mean, I know the image of it being licked off someone was obviously an influence, but I'm not sure what exactly sparked the idea of Victor trying to sell homemade honey. Maybe I was contemplating the fact that Secundus!Victor is kind of a househusband, thanks to his Touched-ness. While Alice works at the hat shop, he stays home and does his experiments. And minds the kids, when they have them. It works out very well for them, but I figured Victorian-raised Victor would occasionally feel weird about not being the breadwinner.
-D: Given the gender roles back then, it's amazing he doesn't feel strange about that all the time.-
Well, Secundus is a pretty progressive past -- having Touched be either sex equally actually did a lot for women's rights, at least in high-Mad Science areas.
-J2: One of those situations where they stop ganging up on the girls because there's other people to gang up on?-
Yeah, you can put it like that. There's a reason I came up with the Reanimation Rights League. Anyway, after coming up with the idea, I ran with it, and this resulted. Yes, Charles and Susan helped the new couple buy a house -- part of Alice's inheritance was dedicated to her always having a place to live, so they just added some money into that. Victor lives there for a bit before the wedding, getting it ready for their lives together -- Alice is a frequent visitor, of course. :)
-M: Nice house?-
Very nice, with a conservatory in the back that Victor promptly turns into his lab. :D I thought it would be cool if he worked in a greenhouse-type area. And it's good for the bugs, and the plants the bugs need.
-VuM: Does Lorina take it over when she goes Creative? You mentioned she's into botany.-
She gets a chunk of it for her own, yeah. Though she does a lot of her experimenting in her room. Drives everyone to distraction when it's time to clean.
As for this story -- there's not a heck of a lot more to say. Victor never really does get a job outside the house, though he does more or less take over tending to Wonderland Park. He does get some of the recognition he wants, though -- he's interviewed for an entomology journal at least once. He glows the entire day it happens.
-TD: Figuratively? I have to ask.-
LOL -- don't tempt me to make it literally. Anyway, this is just an exploration of Victor's life in Secundus as a Touched, and how lucky he is to have Alice. It's always nice to have someone around who loves you and who'll help you when you're in a rough spot.
-VDM: Or a crazy one.-
That too.
Hope you enjoyed that! Now, I should see about working on another story -- like wrapping up this double chapter in "Secundus" so I can look it over and find the appropriate break.
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