A tumblr dedicated to my crossover OT3: Victor Van Dort (Corpse Bride), Alice Liddell (the American McGee's Alice games), and Smiler Alton (my The Smiler rollercoaster-based OC). (Also sometimes Victor and Alice on their own.) Features fanfic, Sims, and more AUs that is probably healthy. I'm Crossover_Chick over on AO3, and have a separate RP blog, The Valice Multiverse!
Okay, now that I’ve outed myself as a Smiler fan and have a vampire Sim version of the coaster running around one of my saves, might as well share this cool fan song I found on YouTube, featuring remixes of the main Smiler themes! Be warned, there’s some minor flashing lights, and first-person footage of being on a VERY twisty roller coaster – plus the spiral overlay, which might make some people motion sick? I dunno, warning anyway.
And, since it is a Song Saturday, why not bring back this nice music video I found last year and quite enjoyed. Again, heed the warnings above of flashing lights and possible motion sickness from the on-ride shots and the spiral overlay!
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Surprise "Hypothetical Smiler In BABS" Fanfic: Smiler's Reaction To Bumby
So -- this spontaneous piece of fanfic popped into existence because I happened to have a thought a few weeks ago regarding how my various Smilers might react to meeting Bumby in a situation where they hadn't previously met Alice, or at least hadn't been previously warned by her about what he's like and his secret crimes against humanity. My conclusions were thus:
A) A Smiler who had not been raised by Dr. Kelman, like the Modern AU Smiler, would probably not like the man, but consider him more annoying and full of himself than anything (much like Alice herself did whenever she and Victor discussed him in "Finding You" in the Forgotten Vows Verse) -- at least until his evils came to light
B) A Smiler who had been raised by Dr. Kelman, like the Valicer In The Dark Smiler, would hear Bumby's talk about "managing memories" and "fitting children to their purpose" and immediately be like "oh, you're evil, aren't you." Simply because he would remind them waaaay too much of their terrible birth father. Granted, learning his actual crimes would result in a case of "...oh, wow, you were even more evil than I guessed," but they would still twig very quickly that he is bad news.
However -- because in pretty much all of my AUs, Smiler meets Alice and learns about Bumby way before ever meeting the man himself (or after Bumby's already dead), my brain decided that the best way to illustrate the whole "a Kelman-raised Smiler hates Bumby almost from the minute he starts talking" thing was to dive into that Hypothetical BITD-Style Smiler Ends Up In "Beneath A Broken Sky" AU that I've talked about before and come up with a scene where that Smiler meets that Bumby. Because, as of this writing, Alice hasn't told anyone the depths of Bumby's evil in BABS yet because she doesn't know if she'll believed and because shit is already so fucking weird. And, well, I liked the scene it came up with, so -- here we are. Credit to @thesatiricaldemon for coming up with "Beneath A Broken Sky" in the first place (go read it, it's fun) -- here's my take on what happens if one of my Smilers runs into that Bumby (for the purposes of the fic, we're assuming Dr. Daniel's worked out both a way for Smiler to speak and understand English, and for them to wander around the Veteran's Home without attracting the potential ire of the local eldritch entities):
--
"Oh, hello there -- I haven't seen you around before! Smiler Alton, pleasure to meet you!"
"Er -- Dr. Angus Bumby. Nice to meet you as well."
...oh, damn it.
Alice paused at the corner, peeking around to see Smiler shaking hands with Bumby, who looked ever-so-slightly bewildered in the face of Smiler's beaming grin. Well, I suppose they were going to run into each other eventually, she thought with a sigh. I wonder what sort of impression Bumby will leave on them. So far he hasn't been very good at making a name for himself as the paragon of virtue he pretends to be at home...which is good, because that means I can at least be as rude to him as I want.
"I still say we should strike when everyone is sleeping and take off his head," the Queen of Hearts hissed in her ear.
And I still say I'm still getting used to this place and they probably still frown on murder here, Alice shot back. Maybe once I'm sure I'll be believed, I can tell Nick about his -- "activities" -- and see if he's willing to put that gun of his to good use.
"Doctor -- very nice!" Smiler said, drawing her attention back to the scene before her. "Doctor of what, exactly?"
"Psychiatry," Bumby replied, a little more sure of himself now that he was being asked to brag about his own credentials. "I was the proprietor and head alienist at The Houndsditch Home For Wayward Youth."
Smiler blinked, their smile suddenly becoming a bit -- brittle around the edges. "Oh -- well, that's interesting," they said, their tone slightly off in a way Alice couldn't quite place. "I've only ever met one psychiatrist before myself...what makes a youth wayward?"
"Quite simple -- not knowing their purpose," Bumby declared, warming to his topic. "The Houndsditch Home was a sanctuary for the cast-off, the unruly, the ones who just did not fit in -- often those plagued by unsuitable and painful memories. I have always believed that human purpose is fickle because it is a slave to memory, and thus that memories must be strictly managed."
"And how do you do that?" Smiler asked, expression slowly growing more strained.
Bumby smiled. "Why, via hypnosis," he said cheerfully. "I've studied all the techniques, and honed my art to perfection. Once the unconscious mind is brought to the forefront, why, all sorts of painful and debilitating thoughts and memories can be stripped away. I worked closely with each patient who came my way to remove those memories that were troubling them, and to fit them to an appropriate purpose. Because every child does have a purpose -- you just have to find it."
"Right," Smiler nodded slowly. "So the whole point is to make them more -- socially compliant?"
"That is actually an excellent way of putting it!" Bumby agreed, apparently completely oblivious to the edge Smiler had put on those last two words. "Once they have had their minds properly managed, and their purpose laid out for them, they do become a compliant part of society! Which makes everyone happier."
"Of course," Smiler replied, and if their smile had been brittle before, it was downright ready to shatter now. They gestured down the hall. "Well, this has been quite the illuminating chat, but I have other people I need to talk to, so if you don't mind...?"
"Not at all," Bumby said with a charming smile of his own. "Good luck with the people around here -- they don't seem to have any respect for authority, I'm afraid. I'm just glad to have met someone who understands."
"Oh, I do very much understand," Smiler said with a quick nod. "I will see you around, Dr. Bumby."
With that, they turned and headed down the hall at a brisk pace -- Alice quickly ducked back around the corner, just in time for Smiler to meet her there. "Oh -- hi Alice!" they greeted her. "I didn't know you were here!" They pointed with their thumb over their shoulder. "Uh, did you..."
"Yes, I did," Alice confessed, figuring there was no point lying. "I didn't come here intending to eavesdrop, but when I saw you two together...well, Dr. Bumby used to treat me, and thus I tend to take an interest in what other people think of him."
"I see..." Smiler glanced around the corner, then turned back to her with one of their trademark brilliant grins. "So -- I don't know if you can overdose on Joy Serum, but if you want to hold him down, I'd be happy to use him as a test subject."
Alice blinked. Blinked again. What -- ah -- huh?! I -- I could tell that they didn't like him, but -- how in the name of every god plaguing this place did they jump to "he should be murdered" that fast?! "Pardon?" she said, for lack of anything better.
Smiler laughed, a little awkwardly. "Sorry -- he just, um, hit a nerve with all that talk of 'purpose' and 'compliance,'" they explained with a breezy wave of their hand. Their expression became more serious. "I do hope he didn't hurt you with his quackery."
Alice glanced at the assembled Wonderlanders, all of whom who looked as surprised as she did (except the Queen of Hearts, who looked very eager to explore this "make Bumby overdose on Joy Serum" plan), then back at Smiler. "I'm -- doing all right now," she hedged, as spilling all her secrets in the middle of the hallway didn't seem like the best idea. Especially if Bumby is still nearby... "As all right as I ever get, anyway."
The megawatt smile returned. "Glad to hear it. So, where's Victor?"
I commend Smiler for managing to keep it together in the face of Bumby unintentionally hitting all of their trigger buttons. That takes some incredible restraint.
I mean, it helps that Smiler is the kind of person who can keep a smile going even if they're feeling QUITE pissed off...and this is one of those Smilers who, after escaping Kelman, spent seven years in a happiness cult. Where they were very much encouraged to avoid showing too many negative emotions, and to express them privately whenever possible. Add in that keeping things in and keeping their head down probably helped a lot when they were living with Kelman, and -- yeah. Smiler's good at bottling things up.
Surprise "Hypothetical Smiler In BABS" Fanfic: Smiler's Reaction To Bumby
So -- this spontaneous piece of fanfic popped into existence because I happened to have a thought a few weeks ago regarding how my various Smilers might react to meeting Bumby in a situation where they hadn't previously met Alice, or at least hadn't been previously warned by her about what he's like and his secret crimes against humanity. My conclusions were thus:
A) A Smiler who had not been raised by Dr. Kelman, like the Modern AU Smiler, would probably not like the man, but consider him more annoying and full of himself than anything (much like Alice herself did whenever she and Victor discussed him in "Finding You" in the Forgotten Vows Verse) -- at least until his evils came to light
B) A Smiler who had been raised by Dr. Kelman, like the Valicer In The Dark Smiler, would hear Bumby's talk about "managing memories" and "fitting children to their purpose" and immediately be like "oh, you're evil, aren't you." Simply because he would remind them waaaay too much of their terrible birth father. Granted, learning his actual crimes would result in a case of "...oh, wow, you were even more evil than I guessed," but they would still twig very quickly that he is bad news.
However -- because in pretty much all of my AUs, Smiler meets Alice and learns about Bumby way before ever meeting the man himself (or after Bumby's already dead), my brain decided that the best way to illustrate the whole "a Kelman-raised Smiler hates Bumby almost from the minute he starts talking" thing was to dive into that Hypothetical BITD-Style Smiler Ends Up In "Beneath A Broken Sky" AU that I've talked about before and come up with a scene where that Smiler meets that Bumby. Because, as of this writing, Alice hasn't told anyone the depths of Bumby's evil in BABS yet because she doesn't know if she'll believed and because shit is already so fucking weird. And, well, I liked the scene it came up with, so -- here we are. Credit to @thesatiricaldemon for coming up with "Beneath A Broken Sky" in the first place (go read it, it's fun) -- here's my take on what happens if one of my Smilers runs into that Bumby (for the purposes of the fic, we're assuming Dr. Daniel's worked out both a way for Smiler to speak and understand English, and for them to wander around the Veteran's Home without attracting the potential ire of the local eldritch entities):
--
"Oh, hello there -- I haven't seen you around before! Smiler Alton, pleasure to meet you!"
"Er -- Dr. Angus Bumby. Nice to meet you as well."
...oh, damn it.
Alice paused at the corner, peeking around to see Smiler shaking hands with Bumby, who looked ever-so-slightly bewildered in the face of Smiler's beaming grin. Well, I suppose they were going to run into each other eventually, she thought with a sigh. I wonder what sort of impression Bumby will leave on them. So far he hasn't been very good at making a name for himself as the paragon of virtue he pretends to be at home...which is good, because that means I can at least be as rude to him as I want.
"I still say we should strike when everyone is sleeping and take off his head," the Queen of Hearts hissed in her ear.
And I still say I'm still getting used to this place and they probably still frown on murder here, Alice shot back. Maybe once I'm sure I'll be believed, I can tell Nick about his -- "activities" -- and see if he's willing to put that gun of his to good use.
"Doctor -- very nice!" Smiler said, drawing her attention back to the scene before her. "Doctor of what, exactly?"
"Psychiatry," Bumby replied, a little more sure of himself now that he was being asked to brag about his own credentials. "I was the proprietor and head alienist at The Houndsditch Home For Wayward Youth."
Smiler blinked, their smile suddenly becoming a bit -- brittle around the edges. "Oh -- well, that's interesting," they said, their tone slightly off in a way Alice couldn't quite place. "I've only ever met one psychiatrist before myself...what makes a youth wayward?"
"Quite simple -- not knowing their purpose," Bumby declared, warming to his topic. "The Houndsditch Home was a sanctuary for the cast-off, the unruly, the ones who just did not fit in -- often those plagued by unsuitable and painful memories. I have always believed that human purpose is fickle because it is a slave to memory, and thus that memories must be strictly managed."
"And how do you do that?" Smiler asked, expression slowly growing more strained.
Bumby smiled. "Why, via hypnosis," he said cheerfully. "I've studied all the techniques, and honed my art to perfection. Once the unconscious mind is brought to the forefront, why, all sorts of painful and debilitating thoughts and memories can be stripped away. I worked closely with each patient who came my way to remove those memories that were troubling them, and to fit them to an appropriate purpose. Because every child does have a purpose -- you just have to find it."
"Right," Smiler nodded slowly. "So the whole point is to make them more -- socially compliant?"
"That is actually an excellent way of putting it!" Bumby agreed, apparently completely oblivious to the edge Smiler had put on those last two words. "Once they have had their minds properly managed, and their purpose laid out for them, they do become a compliant part of society! Which makes everyone happier."
"Of course," Smiler replied, and if their smile had been brittle before, it was downright ready to shatter now. They gestured down the hall. "Well, this has been quite the illuminating chat, but I have other people I need to talk to, so if you don't mind...?"
"Not at all," Bumby said with a charming smile of his own. "Good luck with the people around here -- they don't seem to have any respect for authority, I'm afraid. I'm just glad to have met someone who understands."
"Oh, I do very much understand," Smiler said with a quick nod. "I will see you around, Dr. Bumby."
With that, they turned and headed down the hall at a brisk pace -- Alice quickly ducked back around the corner, just in time for Smiler to meet her there. "Oh -- hi Alice!" they greeted her. "I didn't know you were here!" They pointed with their thumb over their shoulder. "Uh, did you..."
"Yes, I did," Alice confessed, figuring there was no point lying. "I didn't come here intending to eavesdrop, but when I saw you two together...well, Dr. Bumby used to treat me, and thus I tend to take an interest in what other people think of him."
"I see..." Smiler glanced around the corner, then turned back to her with one of their trademark brilliant grins. "So -- I don't know if you can overdose on Joy Serum, but if you want to hold him down, I'd be happy to use him as a test subject."
Alice blinked. Blinked again. What -- ah -- huh?! I -- I could tell that they didn't like him, but -- how in the name of every god plaguing this place did they jump to "he should be murdered" that fast?! "Pardon?" she said, for lack of anything better.
Smiler laughed, a little awkwardly. "Sorry -- he just, um, hit a nerve with all that talk of 'purpose' and 'compliance,'" they explained with a breezy wave of their hand. Their expression became more serious. "I do hope he didn't hurt you with his quackery."
Alice glanced at the assembled Wonderlanders, all of whom who looked as surprised as she did (except the Queen of Hearts, who looked very eager to explore this "make Bumby overdose on Joy Serum" plan), then back at Smiler. "I'm -- doing all right now," she hedged, as spilling all her secrets in the middle of the hallway didn't seem like the best idea. Especially if Bumby is still nearby... "As all right as I ever get, anyway."
The megawatt smile returned. "Glad to hear it. So, where's Victor?"
Making Valice AUs Valicer: The Colorful Soulmates AU
Okay, so this one is actually "Making Vemilicia AUs Four Victorians Riding A Roller Coaster," but the "Making Valice AUs Valicer" title is a little shorter and punchier. :p Anyway, yes, this the other post I wanted to make concerning the idea of sticking Smiler into some of my older pre-Smiler AUs, and -- as per the title -- it concerns the Colorful Soulmates AU! Which is another AU that I haven't talked about in quite some time (barring a mention in a "self rec" post seven months ago), so let me quickly get everyone back up to speed on this one as well:
->The inspiration behind the AU is this tumblr post by elimymoons:
"multiple soulmate AU where the world is grey (and that’s okay!!), but each time you meet one of your romantic/platonic soulmates, a new color is added into your life"
Neat, huh? When I saw the original post twelve(!) years ago, I was immediately like "oh, this is GREAT -- it fits Victor's relationships with Victoria and Emily in Corpse Bride so well, and goes pretty much perfectly with my own Valice and Vemilicia leanings! Maybe Victor gets red from Victoria from her red dress, and blue from Emily because of her blue skin, and green from Alice because of her green eyes? Yes, perfect, I love." XD However, at that time, I was only thinking of the idea in terms of "this would make neat fanart," and thus didn't really do anything with it beyond that...
->And then I did a little series about how I might do various "stock" AU concepts with Valice (like "wingfic" and the like), with the very first one being about how I might do a "soulmates" AU. The writing of which made me recall the original prompt and my vague ideas on the colors Victor would get from each of his lady loves -- and made me wonder if I should perhaps do a series of shorts on the topic...
->Which eventually morphed into the 28-chapter story "The Technicolor Phase." XD Because even back in 2018/2019, I was struggling with keeping things brief.
->As for the AU itself, while I loved the original prompt, I immediately ran into a problem with it -- namely, why would Emily run away with Barkis if, in this world, she had proof that he wasn't her soulmate (AKA she didn't get a color from him)? My solution was to adjust things so that, in the world of the AU, anyone who is going to be important to you gives you a color (apart from your parents, who give you the shades of grey everyone starts out with). And, as poor Emily found out (as did poor Lizzie), "important" does not necessarily have to mean in a good way. I also decided that the "anyone" did not have to be human (to facilitate Victor getting a color from his beloved dog Scraps, and Alice one from her beloved cat Dinah), and -- naturally -- that people could still give each other colors in the afterlife (both to facilitate Emily giving colors to the very-much-living Victor and Victoria, and to facilitate some Land Of The Dead LizJangles action). Basically, it's just kind of a weird universe. :p
->And if you're wondering what the story's about -- basically it's a series of moments in the lives (and deaths, as applicable) of Victor, Victoria, Emily, Alice, Bonejangles, and Lizzie -- showing off which colors they get from which people; how Corpse Bride goes in this universe (rather off the rails, as you might expect -- the Alice games, by contrast, are largely unaffected and thus kept off-screen for the most part); and how they all get to know each other -- and in the case of the first four and the last two, how they fall in love. :)
...well, it was shorter than the sum-up for Catch Us If You Can, you have to admit! XD Anyway, originally this AU was going to be a one-off one-shot, as I was pretty much out of ideas (and out of colors I could give the main characters) once I was done with "The Technicolor Phase." I thus let it be and continued working on my other AUs, like The Forgotten Vows Verse and Secundus and Londerland Bloodlines --
And then Smiler showed up. And started sparking all the Valicer AUs, including variations on some of my previous AUs. Which did lead me to have some thoughts about how I might fit them into the Colorful Soulmates AU --
Only for all of those thoughts hit the exact same roadblock: the fact that I'd already given Victor yellow from Barkis in "The Technicolor Phase." And it didn't really feel right to have Smiler, of all people, give Victor any other color. Thus I put the idea on a shelf, only taking it down very rarely to poke at it and sigh --
And then, somewhat recently, I found myself considering the idea again -- and abruptly had this thought: "...what if Victor was the one to give Smiler yellow instead?"
And that, ladies and gentlemen and honorable guests, finally made things click. Allow me to present to you my new idea for a potential sequel story to "The Technicolor Phase," entitled (what else?) "The Rainbow Connection" --
->The story would kick off a couple of years after the end of "The Technicolor Phase" and the birth of Chester Van Dort (who I have just decided has the full name "Chester Samuel Van Dort" so he can also be named after Bonejangles's "real" name -- well, Bonejangles's PREFERRED "real" name :P), and would feature Smiler arriving in Burtonsville to peddle their various alchemical goods (including, of course, Joy Serum). Victor eventually wanders over to see what's going on in the town square, and Smiler cheerfully gives him their pitch and waves at the various bottles on display --
Only to pause because, huh, some of them look kind of funny now. An amused Victor, having already realized what happened, informs them that those bottles happen to be yellow --
->Causing Smiler to get extremely excited because, as they reveal shortly thereafter, this is the very first color they've ever gotten. Victor is mildly horrified by this, because Smiler is the same age as him -- mid-20s by this point -- and even he and Victoria, isolated as they were, got one color each as children! Smiler explains they never had a pet and didn't really meet a lot of people growing up (or, at least, not ones capable of giving people colors anymore), and their work as a traveling salesperson means most of their interactions with others are pretty brief. They're over the moon about finally being able to see even one color, and wonder if there might be anyone else important to them in Burtonsville --
->Cue Victor taking them home, because, well, if they got a color from him, there's a good chance they'll get colors from his wives too. Sure enough, Smiler gets purple from Alice and blue from (the pregnant with her second child) Victoria when they meet them. Naturally, this prompts them to invite Smiler to stick around and bunk down at the Van Dort place so they can meet Emily, Lizzie, and Bonejangles during their monthly "real world" visit and see what happens there! Smiler is only too happy to do so...
->...and much like what happened with Alice in "The Technicolor Phase," what was supposed to be a temporary situation quickly turns into a permanent one. XD Smiler is firmly folded into the lives of the core group after trading colors with all of them, and soon becomes just part of the family. Smiler, personally, is just thrilled to have such awesome people in their lives, and to have so many beautiful colors after so long spent seeing everything in shades of grey. :)
->And then, one fateful day, while doing their sales in the town square, they happen to lock eyes with both Nell Van Dort and Maudeline Everglot, granting them red and brown respectively. Smiler is delighted to get more colors, but both Nell and Maudeline are absolutely furious that they got colors from a "common street merchant" (and rather horrified that they agree with each other on something) --
And then it comes out that Smiler is living at the younger Van Dorts' house with Alice, and knows about the whole situation with Emily. Causing both of them to storm off in a snit, leaving a very confused Smiler in their wake. Smiler later relates the incident to their housemates, and Victor and Victoria explain that the women in question were their mothers. And, frankly, given what Nell and Maudeline are like, they're a little concerned about how those two are going to be important to Smiler. Smiler is like "oh, maybe I win them over and help repair your relationships" --
->...and then one Dr. Kelman shows up in Burtonsville. Having been summoned by Nell and Maudeline to teach their "wayward children" about being "socially compliant" (AKA, to stop them "taking in more strays and bringing shame to their families"). Naturally, he recognizes Smiler as his runaway "son," Marmaduke, and is very eager to bring them back home to The Sanctuary to be "corrected." Smiler, however, is not eager to go back to that hellhole and end up a vegetable like their poor mother Margaret in the basement, and makes it very clear that they are not going --
Backed up by an absolutely furious Victor, Victoria, and Alice (possibly Emily, Lizzie, and Bonejangles too if I decide this happens on one of their "visit" days). Kelman is kicked out of the younger Van Dorts' house and sent packing, and Victor and Victoria make it very clear to their parents that they don't want to have anything to do with them anymore. (Which does mean that they will need a new source of income other than the Van Dort fortune, but I can picture Smiler encouraging Victor to sell his drawings and Victoria her quilts and such, so they'll probably be okay.)
->(...and if Alice disappears for a few days after the incident, and after she comes back everyone learns that Dr. Kelman has mysteriously died on his way back to The Sanctuary...well, nobody says anything.)
->However, this whole kerfluffle leads to Smiler realizing that their feelings for the group are not exactly platonic, and that they've fallen in love with Victor in particular. Which strikes them as a pretty shitty way to thank the ladies who call him "husband" for helping them (it also doesn't help that the current polycule set-up does strongly suggest that Victor is only into girls). They thus decide that they should probably get back on the road and take their leave, promising to come back to visit sometime in the future (once their feelings have cooled). Victor and the others are saddened but understanding, and Victor insists on them taking a token that will allow them to join the others in Alice's Wonderland via the modified "Travel Into Fantasy" spell Elder Gutknecht's cooked up. Smiler promises to pop in once they are settled...
->Except before they can, Lizzie pops into their head using her token to be like "wtf why are you running away??" A startled Smiler ends up confessing to her about their feelings and how they aren't sure they'd be wanted, only for Lizzie to point out that the two of them exchanging colors is probably a good sign they're meant to be some form of in-laws (relating the story of how she got blue from Emily). Smiler thus allows themselves to be persuaded into following her to Alice's Wonderland to talk to everyone else, where they nervously confess their attraction to Victor --
->Which leads to him kissing them and begging them to "please come home," because of course Victor reciprocates their feelings! He was in fact trying to work up the courage to suggest Smiler join the polycule when they suddenly left and made him think they weren't interested! (Alice tells Smiler "I would have gotten Cheshire to pester you into confessing if I'd been able!" XD) Smiler naturally returns to Burtonsville post-haste, and while they do go out and travel around the immediate area to sell their potions from time to time, it's with the expectation that they will always be coming back to the younger Van Dorts' home. :)
->And the whole thing would finish up a few months later, with Smiler rushing back from one of those trips just in time for the birth of Victoria and Victor's second child, a daughter...and Victoria informing Smiler that they would like to name her Margaret after their mother. :) (And yes, she would have "Elizabeth" for her middle name.)
Touching, right? :) I think so, anyway. So yeah, that's how a Smiler-focused sequel to "The Technicolor Phase" would go! I don't know if I'll ever have the time to write it, granted, but -- the idea is there if I can find a few spare hours somewhere!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Oh good, this link post worked -- have the obligatory "I recently finished a story, so here is a link to read it again from the beginning" post for "The Van Dort Vacancy!" Third in the Valicer In The Dark series, and the one that finishes up the "prologue" stuff and has Victor, Alice, and Smiler officially become The Three Pillars at the end! I very much enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you all enjoy reading it. Coming up soonish -- "They Would Have Done It For An Ottoman," the group's first score as a proper crew! Looking very much forward to planning that one out. :D
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And, of course, link posts aren't working again, so I must provide you with the link to The Epilogue in this regular text post instead. *shakehead* Anyway -- please enjoy my beloved crime trio enjoying their post-score downtime with:
->Alice running into one June Thatcher while shopping for food in Nightmarket
->Victor coming across Alice and Smiler playing "hunt and prowl" to train the relevant skills...and giving them both the best presents they've ever gotten
->And Victor taking his first proper steps toward Whisper-dom by completing construction on his spirit mask :)
Good stuff, if I do say so myself. :D Already looking forward to starting the next one!
after i made my wooden doll, i was musing about what other unusual materials i might use for a bjd. my partner suggested paper, and also gave me access to their craft paper collection -> i made this.
she is almost entirely made of paper & cardboard. the joints are wooden beads & worbla, because i did figure out a way to make ball joints out of paper, but it really was not worth the effort. all her limbs have tubes of rolled-up cardboard in them to keep the structure sturdy, and the origami flowers are glued around those.
this is extremely different from any doll i've made before, and i had so much fun working with pretty papers & figuring out how to turn them into a poseable 3d object.
Daryl Hall & John Oates - You Make My Dreams by hallandoatesVEVO
One more from the Brotzly playlist to start off the new year! I was perusing said playlist when I came across the song name and the lyrics cosmicocean had chosen to represent it:
“on a night when bad dreams become a screamer/when they’re messin’ with a dreamer/i can laugh it in the face/twist and shout my way out/and wrap yourself around me/cause i ain’t the way you found me/and i’ll never be the same”
This struck me as pretty Valicey (particularly with the Forgotten Vows couple helping each other with bad dreams in “Remembering You”), so I decided to track down the song.
Imagine my surprise when, instead of the more romantic, balladish song I was expecting, it’s a peppy 80s pop hit that I’ve heard before! I’ve just never paid that much attention to the lyrics in the past, beyond the “You make my dreams come true” of the chorus. So, yeah, unexpected Valice there. But it’s a good, bouncy song, I like the lyrics now that I know what they are, and – well, it just starts the whole year off on a good note, doesn’t it? *nods*
Was browsing my "#song saturday" tag again and stumbled across this -- and discovered that I'd never once reblogged it! So I figured it was time to bring this blast from the past back around. :) This is still a fun, bouncy song, after all -- and it being fun and bouncy means it automatically fits Valicer as well as Valice. Because Smiler always brings the fun and bouncy vibes to the polycule. :) And they too are only too willing to help when Victor and Alice have bad dreams, as per the original post. (And Victor and Alice are willing to help with theirs, though fortunately Smiler is much less prone to nightmares.) If any person in the polycule is gonna wrap themselves around another, it's gonna be loves-hugs Smiler. XD
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Panic! At The Disco: Victorious [OFFICIAL VIDEO] by Fueled By Ramen
Another “Throwback Song Saturday but oops the original post’s video got deleted!” So to hopefully avoid that problem this time around, here’s the official video!
Which I should have linked the first time because OMG IT’S FREAKING HILARIOUS. XD Brendon Urie is clearly having waaaaaaay too much fun in it, let me tell you. [giggles like a madwoman]
At any rate, my thoughts from the original post still apply, only more so – this has definitely become a “Catch Us If You Can” AU song, with murderous vigilantes!Victor and Alice going after the scum of the East End and openly enjoying killing all these bastards. It just feels right for them. The funny video is just the icing on the cake. Go forth and enjoy, my peeps!
Bringing this back after a looong absence because I also brought the Catch Us If You Can AU back after a looong absence earlier this week, and I thought it would be fun to feature one of the songs I associate with it on Saturday. And I went with this one both because I just like it -- it's a fun, bouncy song that makes me smile --
And because I think it goes well with the "Valicer" versions of Catch Us that I featured back on Thursday! Specifically Variant B with Smiler being a traveling Joy Serum salesperson who gets caught up in Victor and Alice's activities after one of their targets tries to get Smiler to use their Serum on his child captives (Smiler is like "no" and helps Victor and Alice take the guy and his cronies down), since that's the version most likely to keep helping Victor and Alice with their murders. You know the lyric "throw the bait, catch the shark, bleed the water red?" That now makes me think of the trio's dynamic once Smiler's on the team -- as they're better at talking to people than fighting them, they lure in targets with fancy patter and help keep them distracted while Victor and Alice get in to do the actual killing. Something about "I'm like a scarf trick, it's all up the sleeve," also makes me think of Smiler -- not sure what. Maybe it's because I picture them talking and gesturing like a stage or street magician while doing their sales? *shrug* I dunno, it just feels them.
Anyway -- yeah, Valicer Catch Us If You Can song now! And just a good song in general. :) Enjoy!
Reverse love triangle where character A is trying to play wingman and set character C up with character B, and character B is trying to play wingman and set character C up with character A, and neither A nor B realises what the other is doing.
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AKA "I would like to make it clear that I'm shoving Smiler into my own Valice AUs, not just into poor @thesatiricaldemon's 'Beneath A Broken Sky' via memes and ask games and whatnot." XD Yes, inspired by my semi-recent meme shenanigans, I have decided to make a couple of posts talking about how I would add Smiler into some of my older Valice (and Vemilicia) AUs! Obviously, "Smiler in the Forgotten Vows Verse" has been covered in the Hypothetical Valicer Forgotten Vows Verse posts, and "Smiler in the Secundus Verse" by the Smiler In Secundus stories -- and while I didn't initially go into it intending to make it an update to an older Vemilicia AU, Multiplayer Wonderland did pretty rapidly evolve into "Smiler in the Somebody I Used To Know Verse." So today we're going to be covering another one of my older Valice AUs that I have some ideas on how to make Valicer --
Catch Us If You Can! Which is admittedly an AU I have not talked about in quite some time, so let me give you a quick rundown of what the deal is with this one:
->It's a "Bad/Dark End" AU of The Forgotten Vows Verse, with the divergence point being when Alice shoves Bumby in front of that train. In the main FVV timeline, she does so without anyone seeing, and thus is able to get Victor out of his Bumby-induced panic attack about being trapped in the dark, take him back to Houndsditch, find proof of what Bumby was doing, etc. In this timeline, however, someone runs into the station the moment Alice shoves Bumby onto the tracks, screams, and immediately runs off to find the nearest policeman. Alice, panicked, is thus unable to wake Victor -- especially since Wonderland is screaming at her to run before she's caught and hanged the whole time -- and is eventually forced to leave him in the station, shooting one final command his way in an attempt to keep him safe -- "Just go with the police and do what they tell you!" Because she figures he'll be safe with them -- he's a rich white boy, after all, and he's at least vaguely friendly with Harry Hightopp!
->...And then it's revealed that she figured wrong, because, when they also have no luck snapping Victor out of his Thirteen state, the police are like "well, we can't have him just sitting around" and send him to Rutledge. As you might imagine, David and Lum Monroe are very eager to get their hands on him as their newest patient. :(
->Victor proceeds to spend roughly two months in Rutledge suffering through the various "treatments" and abuses by the staff, especially the Monroe twins. However, in a sick twist, said treatments actually do help restore at least some of Victor's memory and personality -- mostly by reminding him of some of the bullshit he went through even before his parents sent him to Bumby (some of those other psychiatrists suggested treatments of their own, remember!). Once he's a little more himself, his parents come to visit him, and Victor asks if he can come home --
Only for Nell to ask in turn if he's given up this ridiculous "corpse bride" business. And when Victor replies that no, he still remembers Emily, and he isn't ever going to forget her again, she informs him coolly, "Well -- you can stay here until you change your mind, then."
...cue an enraged Victor lunging for her and William and having to be dragged back by the astonished orderlies. He screams invective at them and tells them to get out, as he never wants to see them again --
->And from that moment on, Victor turns into one of the most unruly patients and biggest escape risks Rutledge has ever seen, fighting back against every treatment and taking every opportunity he can to make a run for it. Unfortunately, none of his attempts are successful, and while he does get some minor revenge on some of the people mistreating him -- including straight-up biting the Monroes multiple times -- all it really leads to is him being restrained and tortured all that more often. :( After about another month of this, Victor starts to succumb to despair, believing he's going to die in the asylum --
->And then, one rainy night, the door to his cell opens -- revealing an absolutely guilt-riddled Alice. Having been on the run for the past three months, she hasn't had the opportunity to learn what became of Victor until recently, and the minute she discovered he was in Rutledge -- well, she had to come and break him out, no matter the risk to herself. She gets him free of his straitjacket, apologizing profusely all the while (Victor assuring her that he's just happy to see her again), then uses a master key she stole to open a bunch of the other cells and release a bunch of the other patients to cause a commotion and help cover their escape --
->But as the pair run for the back yard and freedom over the fence, they end up running straight into David and Lum, who were carting around some equipment for one of the doctors. Naturally, the twins are not eager to let Alice and Victor just go by them, and a fight breaks out --
But unfortunately for David, Alice came armed with a knife, and she is only too happy to stab and slash him to death for his previous abuses against her...and unfortunately for Lum, Victor spots something sharp on the cart he was wheeling around (like a scalpel or drill), and is only too happy to jab it into him until he stops moving too. The pair then flee out the back and over the fence into the rain, successfully escaping all other pursuit...
->And ending up at, hilariously, Radcliffe's old abandoned townhouse, as it was the first place Alice could think of to go. Alice again apologizes for not getting Victor out of there sooner, while Victor again assures her that he doesn't blame her (and starts talking about how maybe she should have shoved him on the tracks for coming close to killing her as Thirteen, which she promptly shuts down). Talk then turns to how, despite saving Victor from Rutledge and the children from Bumby, Alice doesn't feel much like a hero, as she doesn't know who is in charge of Houndsditch anymore, and she does know that there are plenty of people like Bumby in London who would find the children easy pickings...prompting Victor to note that they did just prove that they are very good at killing people...
->And cue the pair becoming a duo of serial killers on the streets of Whitechapel and other assorted environs -- Alice armed with her trusty blade, Victor with a straight razor he picks up -- targeting anyone who bought from/worked with Bumby and others of their ilk. The public are like "good on you for killing that scum" for the most part, while the police are a little more mixed in their opinions since the pair are making them look bad. (Though I imagine Harry Hightopp and Fred Tarrant in particular are not trying very hard to catch them.)
->(And if you're wondering -- June still makes it to Houndsditch like in "Remembering You," only to find no one there but the children; after Bumby's death and Alice's role in it are discovered, she vows to stay and give the children a proper guardian. Dr. Wilson joins her after a little while after he reads the story in the papers, and together they keep Houndsditch running reasonably well -- I haven't decided yet if they eventually find Bumby's journal and realize "Oh, Alice had every reason to kill that asshole." As for Victoria and Christopher, I'm not sure what's going on with them in this AU -- I think Victoria at least probably wanted to visit Victor in the asylum, but the elder Van Dorts paid good money to keep her out, as according to them she's part of the problem. They're likely stunned when Victor and Alice end up as known killers -- though given who the pair kill, maybe not as horrified as they could be.)
...all right, that wasn't really quick, but it's not as long as it could have been, damn it. :p Anyway, when it comes to adding Smiler to this verse, I have two potential ideas:
A) A variant on the aforementioned Hypothetical Valicer Forgotten Vows Verse, where -- along with everything that goes wrong above -- Smiler's escape from rural Lithuania takes a little more time, and thus they don't arrive back in London again until after Victor and Alice have established themselves as serial killers. And while trying to put their life back together and figure out where Victor's gone, they hear tell about a pair of murderers targeting the worst scum you can find in the East End --
And go "You know, I wonder if I could hire them to kill Dr. Kelman." Both because Kelman is a monster and because Smiler is angry and bitter about being separated from Victor, damn it. They thus track down the duo, coming across Alice after a kill. They explain what they want, and Alice says she's willing to hear them out, but she'll need to get her partner first --
And then she calls over Victor, and he and Smiler have a mutual "!!!" moment upon seeing each other. Things are naturally awkward for a bit, but Victor is completely on board with killing Dr. Kelman and freeing the people of the Sanctuary, so he and Alice agree to take the job. They all end up traveling to the Sanctuary together as a result, during which Smiler does their best to help fill in the gaps in Victor's memories, and they both struggle a bit with the fact that their old feelings for each other are rearing their heads anew. Fortunately for everyone, Alice soon takes a liking to Smiler herself, and quickly realizes she has no problem sharing Victor with them, so the usual polycule is formed after all. :) Not long afterward, they get to the Sanctuary and take down Kelman (or at least enable Miles Cedars or the other patients to take him down) --
And I haven't fully decided where it goes from there. Possibilities include the three staying in England, with Victor and Alice continuing their murderous ways and Smiler providing a safe haven for them to hide in; the three staying in England, but Victor and Alice giving up their killing to settle down somewhere quiet with Smiler; or maybe Smiler talking them into leaving the country entirely (possibly going back to Lithuania, ironically) to have a true fresh start. *shrug* Any and all feel reasonable!
B) Or a sort of sequel to the original idea where, some time after Victor and Alice establish themselves as killers, they're strolling through Billingsgate, trying to figure out where their latest target is holed up, when they come across a new street seller pitching their latest product to the masses. Naturally, this seller is Smiler, peddling Joy Serum. Victor and Alice decline to partake when they offer them some --
But, by sheer chance, the man they were trying to find appears on the scene shortly thereafter, and -- upon hearing what Joy Serum does -- asks Smiler to meet him and some associates at a certain dock later that night for a potential big sale. Smiler does so, with Victor and Alice tailing them and lurking in the shadows --
And finds themselves presented with a literal cage of crying, frightened children. Turns out the guy wants Smiler to dose them all up so they'll be happy with what's about to happen to them. Smiler's response is "No, because I've never tested this on children and I don't want to give them too much and hurt them and also this is evil," causing the guy and his associates to be like "Well, I guess we'll just have to take the drug from you and kill you then" --
And cue Victor and Alice bursting from their hiding places and going on the assault! They do pretty well at taking down the group of bastards, though one of them does manage to corner Victor when he drops his straight razor -- however, Smiler smacks the guy over the head with their case, gives Victor his razor back, and cheerfully goes "You keep slicing them up, and I'll get the kids out?" Victor is like "...sure," and Smiler thus gets the cage open and directs the kids to run. The brawl eventually gets the attention of the police, and the trio end up fleeing together to avoid capture --
And when they finally stop to take a breather, Smiler is like "Well that was exciting! Don't think I got your names -- Smiler Alton!" Victor and Alice, a little bewildered, introduce themselves and thank Smiler for their help -- Smiler thanks them for rescuing them in turn --
Then is like "So where are we going now?" Victor and Alice are initially like "what's this 'we' business?" -- only to learn that Smiler actually doesn't have a place to stay at the moment, having arrived in town only recently and not found a place they can afford. Feeling a bit guilty, and acknowledging Smiler did help them, they go ahead and let them stay with them in their base at Radcliffe's townhouse. Which in turn, leads to the following --
I. Smiler discovering that Victor and Alice spend pretty much all of their time finding new targets and then killing them and being like "You know you're allowed to have a life outside of being serial killers, right?" before gradually coaxing them into allowing themselves time off to enjoy hobbies and things like that again
II. Smiler eventually revealing their own backstory to the pair -- they're the child of one Dr. Kellard Kelman, owner of the Sanctuary; they and their father had a very antagonistic relationship, as Kelman's whole things was "social compliance" and Smiler was never very big on that (right down to not having an established gender); they fled the Sanctuary a little while ago after finding their mother in the basement as a non-responsive vegetable and realizing that Kelman probably intended to eventually do the same to them; they harnessed their talents at chemistry to become a peddler of tonics and serums and whatnot --
Oh, and during a low point early on, they were contacted by this eldritch god named Mar-Mal and given a blessing to help them spread its joy on Earth, hence why they have glowing yellow eyes. Victor and Alice are both like "what," as you might imagine. Things only become weirder and more awkward when they ask what the blessing is --
And Smiler has to admit it conferred upon them some mild mind control powers. They swear they can only use them to make people happy, however (hence why they didn't use them on the men trying to kill them in the fight where they all met), and also swear never to use them on Victor or Alice unless they specifically ask. Smiler's proven themselves an asset by this point, so Victor and Alice decide to trust them, figuring there is never going to be a situation where one of them will ask to be mind controlled, right?
III. Smiler going with the pair to help out with another job -- only for things to go a bit lopsided, leading to the trio having to hide in someone's house. Leading to Victor and Smiler hiding together in a small dark closet...and Victor starting to have a panic attack both from the darkness and the confined space reminding him of Bumby and Rutledge respectively. Smiler tries to calm Victor down normally, but doesn't have much success --
So, desperate, they ask Victor to trust them and let them use their powers on him. Victor's naturally reluctant and scared, but agrees because he too doesn't want to give away their position. Smiler thus hits him with a hypnotic gaze, dropping him into a trance until Alice finds them and tells them it's safe to come out. Leading to --
VI. Victor realizing he enjoyed being hypnotized by Smiler and having a lot of "what the everloving fuck" feelings about that. Especially since he can't find any evidence that Smiler made him enjoy it, or made him forget anything while he was under. He eventually talks to Alice and Smiler about it, and Smiler says that probably his brain just liked the lack of anxiety, even given his past history with hypnosis. They then tentatively offer to hypnotize him again, saying they think they might be able to use their powers to help regain his remaining memories -- Victor, after a lot of thought, agrees, with Alice insisting on sticking around to observe and make sure there's no funny business. Smiler thus puts Victor back under, helping him find and recover some more memories --
Leading Alice to realize she enjoyed watching that and have to deal with her own "what the everloving fuck" feelings. XD Fortunately, they all end up talking soon afterward, feelings are put forth, and the trio end up becoming a polycule in the aftermath.
V. Smiler eventually being kidnapped off the street after a sales day by Kelman's minions and brought back to the Sanctuary to be "corrected"...only for Victor and Alice to discover what happened, follow them, and storm the place to get Smiler back. Dr. Kelman and a lot of his staff end up dead as a result, and the poor drugged Smiler is rescued just before being brought into surgery (having had their head shaved beforehand -- Victor reassures them "hair grows" when they realize)
VI. And things ending with the trio continuing their reign of terror over the scum of the East End, with eventual plans to retire and escape to some other country once they're a little older
...you can probably tell which of these I've put more thought into. XD But yes, those are the two ways I'd do Smiler becoming part of the Catch Us If You Can Verse. Next time, we add a couple of people to the polycule as I talk about how I'd do them becoming a part of a certain colorful soulmates AU...
please read this even if you're not indian. especially if you're not indian.
you've seen the jokes. india is "dirty", indians are "everywhere", why don't they fix their own country. ok. let me tell you why, and what's happening right now while nobody's watching.
first, the history you skipped: britain ruled india for two centuries and drained it. economist utsa patnaik's research estimates around $45 trillion in today's money was taken. the india that got independence in 1947 was one of the poorest countries on earth. every "why is india like this" question starts there. you don't get to profit off a robbery and then mock the crime scene.
now, what's happening RIGHT NOW:
in may the question paper for NEET leaked. that's the national medical entrance exam. over 2.2 million students took it. cancelled. years of studying, families' savings poured into coaching, gone overnight because someone sold the paper. students died by suicide after. these were kids who wanted to be doctors.
and out of that came a protest movement. a gen z group called the cockroach janta party, started by a 30 year old named abhijeet dipke, got 22 million instagram followers within DAYS. they've been doing a sit-in at jantar mantar in delhi demanding education minister dharmendra pradhan resign.
and then there's sonam wangchuk. if you've watched 3 idiots, he's the real engineer the character was based on. built solar schools in ladakh. invented ice stupas so himalayan villages have water. spent his whole life on education. he's 59 and he's been on hunger strike for 17+ days now. reporters went to see him this week and he was too weak to talk. and the troll armies are calling him "anti national" and "foreign funded". a man starving himself for other people's children. that's the thing here, anyone who asks a question is suddenly a traitor.
it's not one incident, it's everywhere you look:
• infrastructure worth thousands of crores failing within months of the ribbon cutting. tunnels collapsing in regions where heavy rain is a guarantee, not a surprise.
• youth unemployment near 10% for ages 15 to 29, 13.6% in cities. in a country of 1.42 billion where more than half the population is young.
• only about the top 3% of indians earn above 10 lakh a year. meanwhile billionaire wealth keeps ballooning and the headlines celebrate it.
• manipur burned for over two years. an ethnic conflict, tens of thousands displaced, and the prime minister barely said the word manipur while it happened.
• journalists raided. critics' houses bulldozed. activists sitting in jail for years without trial under laws like UAPA. our press freedom ranking has cratered.
• even the petrol is a fight now, ethanol blending pushed through while drivers complain about their engines and get no straight answers.
and through all of it, the PM, who came to power on religious polarisation (americans, sound familiar?), travels abroad for photo ops and has not held one single open press conference in over a decade. not one.
what i'm asking:
if you're not indian: share this. our media mostly won't cover any of it because the big outlets are owned by the same billionaires the government serves. the only reason wangchuk's fast is getting any coverage is people refusing to look away.
if you ARE indian: speak up even if you're comfortable. especially if you're comfortable. join the protests. add to this, correct me, translate it. staying quiet is a choice when nothing in this post touches your life.
india is not "dirty". india was robbed, and it's being robbed again, from the inside this time. but it's also the country where a 59 year old will starve for strangers' kids and 22 million young people will rally behind a party literally named after cockroaches, because cockroaches survive everything.
