Happy Birthday Victor & Marty!

[crossover_chick]

Michael J. Fox turns 51, and Johnny Depp turns 49. Neither of them look it at ALL, do they? O.o
-M: *really hopes he inherited that good aging*-
-TTV: *him too*-
Anyway, I've been going around and doing birthday-related things. There of course is a party in the Inkwell, and I gave Forgotten Vows a silly hat for the day. Though I also gave him a nice enchanted night light, since he's arguably the one most afraid of the dark. The best present he got was his Alice finally coming back for a little while. I will be taking full advantage of this. :D
Anyway, I believe I have two final prompt fics to finish off two tables, so let's have those:

75. Solstice
Doc died on the summer solstice – the longest day of the year. Marty would have preferred the winter solstice, himself. Actually, he would have really preferred Doc finding a way to live forever, but seeing his best friend die had just called out for gloomy days and long nights. Not sunshine that went on for hours and clear blue skies. It felt to him like the weather was mocking the fact that he’d just lost one of the most important people in his life. What right did it have to be sunny now that Doc was gone? What right did summer have in continuing on like nothing was wrong? Doc wouldn’t be around to see the rest of it, so what was the point?
Doc had left him the DeLorean in his will – “We shared so many memories with it, it seems wrong to not leave it to him. I trust him to make good use of it.” Marty had taken the car with mixed feelings. On the one hand, Doc was right about the memories they’d shared. On the other, those memories were about the most painful things he could think of at the moment. He wasn’t sure he could bring himself to drive it around even as a regular old car (he let Junior drive it home). What was he going to do with it?
It took a week for him to finally get in it after its arrival in his garage. He just sat there for a while, staring at all the bits and bobs Doc had added, remembering the good times and trying not to cry.
And then he opened the glove compartment and found a folded piece of paper with his name on it. Puzzled, he opened it to find a note: “This isn’t really goodbye, you know.”
After a moment, Marty smiled and looked back at the displays. No, it wasn’t, was it? With a time machine, no one’s summer really ended for good.
A few minutes later, there was a loud sonic boom from a secluded patch of road a few miles away, as Marty went back to pay a quick visit to an old friend.

-M: . . . Seriously? A fic about Doc DYING? I mean, I know it ends on an up note of sorts, but. . . .-
Sorry, I fell prey to the urge to bookend the table. After all, the very first prompt I wrote for it was Doc's birth. And it does end on a positive note.
Yeah, I finally came up with an idea for this prompt by having Doc die on the solstice. After that, it was pretty easy to write something about how Marty was feeling, and how having a time machine means you can at least see old departed friends for a little while longer.
-M2: You'd think that would be a use of the time machine Doc would be iffy on.-
-D: I don't know -- I know my death would be pretty hard on you, and I figure I could trust a version of you that old to know how to go back and see me without causing the end of the universe.-
Yeah. I don't know how old Marty is, exactly, in this fic, but he's definitely getting up there. It's about time he learned how to think fourth-dimensionally. Anyway, there's not much else to say about it. The original version was a lot longer, but I think this shorter version works a lot better. Economy of words and all.
-VM: *hugs VampDoc2* Don't go anywhere for a long time, okay?-
-VD2: *chuckles* I don't think I can.-
-VM: I know, but -- still.-
-VD2: *nods, hugs* I won't.-
-M: Yeah, that goes double for the rest of you.-
-D: *ruffles his hair* Nobody's going anywhere for a good long while.-
Damn straight.



16. Cookie Dough
“What are you doing?”
Alice glanced back at Victor, who was peering over her shoulder with interest. “Making chocolate chip cookies. Would you like to help?”
“If you’ll have me,” Victor replied with a smile.
“Always,” Alice smiled back. “Can you get me the flour, then?”
“Certainly.” Victor went over to the cupboard and grabbed the bag. Clutching it to his chest (obviously worried about dropping it), he delivered it to Alice. “Here you are.”
“Thank – oh.”
Victor frowned. “What?”
Alice pointed. Victor looked down to see a fine layer of white powder covering his chest. “Oh!” He pulled out his handkerchief and brushed at it. “I didn’t realize – the bag must be leaking.”
“Hmmm.” Alice looked at him, then down at her own clothes. “Here,” she said, undoing the knot on her apron and slipping it off. “It doesn’t matter if this dress gets dirtier, but we can’t have you covered in flour and eggs.”
“Thank you.” Victor finished wiping off his chest, then took the apron and slipped it on. “Now what?” he asked, reaching around to tie up the strings.
“Well, speaking of eggs, we need a couple of those too. . . .”
They continued gathering ingredients for a bit, then began combining them. As Alice watched Victor mix everything up into dough, she began to giggle. Victor frowned at her. “What’s so funny?”
“You just look so – domestic,” Alice told him, trying to hide her grin. “It’s cute.”
“Domestic?” Victor looked down at himself. For the first time, it seemed to really register in his mind that he was wearing an apron. He stared for a moment, then looked back up with an oddly stricken expression. “Oh, God, I’m a girl.”
Alice blinked a few times. What? “Are you? I hadn’t noticed,” she said, falling back on a joke as she tried to decipher the non sequitur.
“Look at me!” Victor said, putting down the bowl. “I’m wearing an apron and making cookies! How do you get less manly than that?!”
“You’re plenty manly,” Alice protested, her confusion growing. Where on earth was this coming from? He’d seemed happy enough not five minutes ago.
“No I’m not,” Victor sighed. “I like butterflies and flowers, I enjoy cooking – I don’t even look like a boy.”
“Yes you do,” Alice said, starting to get annoyed.
“No, I don’t.” Victor shook his head, lowering his eyes. “I’ve been talking with Tie-Twister. From what he’s seen on deviantART, all it takes is long hair to make me into the d-daughter Mother always wanted. And some s-so-called fans like to put me into a d-dress! They’d probably l-love me in this! It’s – I--” He stopped, shoulders slumping.
“You what?” Alice prompted, frowning. Goodness, but this was different. “What is it that bothers you so much about that? Some fans are just mad, you know that.”
“I know. But – I like being a boy,” Victor said, voice soft. “And I don’t like people insinuating that I’d make a better girl. It makes me feel – more inadequate than usual.”
A sudden flood of guilt washed over Alice. Oh damn, if only she’d known that before. She wouldn’t have said a word about how cute he looked. She stepped forward and put her arm around him. “Oh, Victor. . .I don’t think you’d make a better girl.”
“Really? I don’t really have any ‘manly’ interests--”
“Stop that. You don’t have to be interested in hunting or rugby or any of that nonsense to be considered a man.” Victor looked a bit dubious. “Oh, for – how about this. You’d agree Marty is manly, right? And Doc, and Simon? And they get along with you. Have any of them called you girly?”
“No. . .well, Marty did once.” Victor started to smile. “But then Doc reminded him of how often he plays tea party with Dee.”
Alice laughed. “You see? They don’t care. And as for your interests, cooking can be very manly – from what I’ve heard, it’s mostly men who get to be professional chefs. And for all that people call butterflies feminine, entomology seems a rather male-dominated field.”
“That’s true, isn’t it?” Victor blushed, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to start complaining like that. I didn’t want to take my frustrations out on you.”
“It’s fine. I’m sorry for teasing you.”
“No, don’t be. You didn’t mean anything by it. That was just me being silly.”
“I think it’s more you reacting to years of being told you should have been a girl. Really, it’s all right.” She looked at the mixing bowl, abandoned on the counter. “Come on, let’s finish these cookies. I think you need some.” As she released him, she added with a grin, “Besides, even if you are a bit girly – so what? I’m sure plenty of people would claim that I’m too masculine. So we balance each other out.”
Victor smirked. “Oh, good. You can teach me all about being a man, then.”
“Later, wise-arse. First, cookies.”

-TTV: . . .Is the theme today "post mildly depressing stories that have somewhat-happy endings?"-
Yes. Yes it is. This is a museverse story starring DGV and Alice at the Inkwell. It was basically inspired by some stuff I saw on devART. Yes, someone has put Victor in a dress on that site. But then again, it's DEVART. You're going to see a little of EVERYTHING at some point. Anyway, what really kicked it off was that picture of him with long hair he mentioned. He does look particularly feminine with long hair, I have to say. And, well -- as you can see, Victor sometimes feels rather awkward about that.
-TTV: That's your fault, you know. You're the one who decided Mother wanted a girl.-
Yes, yes, I know. Basically what it comes down to is this -- Victor more or less knows Nell would have preferred a girl, and thus sometimes feels inadequate based solely on his sex. However, he also fully identifies with being a boy. He may have what some may term "feminine" interests, but he's always felt he was male, no questions asked. Throw in growing up in the Victorian era, which could have pretty strict gender roles, and you get one potentially messed-up human being.
-M: Hey, if I've ever teased you about this, I'm sorry. I didn't know it could be a thing.-
-TTV: It's fine. I'm much more comfortable in my skin these days, and I'm sure DGV is too.-
Yeah, he is. This was written a while back, and the stuff that prompted it has largely faded from memory. DGV's doing just fine, and he too feels a lot more comfortable just being who he is these days. This is why it's the last one up -- I always felt a little weird about posting it. I hope you guys enjoy it regardless! Consider it a snapshot of an interesting moment in my muses' lives.


Okay, that's two prompt tables OFFICIALLY DONE! *throws confetti* Now, to answer tags of all kinds to keep the birthday mojo flowing. Later!

Comments

[martyfan.livejournal.com]

For some reason it is BLOWING MY MIND that Johnny Depp is younger than Michael J. Fox.

[docsgirl.livejournal.com]

*giggle* Yup, by exactly two years. What I find amusing about that is that Victor's two years older than Marty. :p

[martyfan.livejournal.com]

lol, way to be backwards. Did you know when you decided what ages to play them at or did it just happen?

[docsgirl.livejournal.com]

Just happened, because 19 is more or less Victor's canonical age. It says that in the tie-in book. I didn't realize they were exactly two years apart (well, when it came to just how old they were, not what year they were born in) until I realized they shared a birthday. :p

[martyfan.livejournal.com]

Gotta love coincidences like that!

[gigs-83.livejournal.com]

It's constantly stated on Food Network that it's hard to be a female in the kitchen, so yeah. Victor has nothing to worry about. :)

[docsgirl.livejournal.com]

Alice: Knew it! Though how odd that it would be so hard for a woman to be a professional chef, when for years they were supposed to stay in the kitchen.

Victor: *shrug* No one said misogyny had to make sense.

[bttfbabe.livejournal.com]

Goddess! It's totally inconceivable that Michael J. Fox is 51. It makes me feel old.

[docsgirl.livejournal.com]

He just does NOT look it, does he?

[bttfbabe.livejournal.com]

Not at all. It's beyond scary.