Victor Luvs Alice N Smiler

The Wedding Date: The trio get married on the 7th of Ulisvet, as that is roughly the equivalent of the 7th of July in the Duskwallian calendar. It's not an exact one-to-one -- Duskwall doesn't have a "summer" season as per the original Blades In The Dark sourcebook, so the group would be getting married at the start of the city's rather stormy fall in this universe -- but it was close enough for my purposes! And I can always give them nice weather for the day. :)

The Wedding Outfits: Since the trio naturally want to look their best on the big day, they go to the esteemed Dundridge & Sons in Nightmarket to purchase their wedding clothes -- they're the best tailors in the city, after all! As for what they actually wear -- initially, Victor and Alice are like "I guess we should wear yellow, given we're getting married by the Advocates and all," but Smiler quickly assures them that it's not a requirement: "You're not actually members of the cult, and besides, not even all of us wear yellow -- my parents wear mostly purple, remember?" They then follow up by proposing what they think is a fun idea -- each of them gets a suit or dress primarily in their favorite color, then incorporates the other two's colors somewhere in the outfit. Victor and Alice are for that, though Victor points out that he and Alice both like blue -- Alice quickly reminds him that she's also fond of red, however, so there's no issue there. The final outfits end up being:

Smiler -- A black-and-yellow-striped suit with a red waistcoat and a blue tie (and possibly a purple shirt underneath)

Victor -- A blue suit with a yellow waistcoat and a red tie

Alice -- A red calf-length dress decorated with blue and yellow roses (embroidered and fabric ones)

(Yes, Victor and Smiler's outfits are inspired mostly by their Wonderland/Otherland outfits, as detailed in "AU Thursday: Smiler's Otherland -- Outfits!" while Alice's took some inspiration from last year's "alternate wedding costumes" photoshoot in Sims 4.)

The Wedding Cake: Victor proposes that they get a three-tier cake with one layer in each of their favorite flavors -- strawberry, chocolate, and banana -- with white icing, while Smiler is all for having three cakes, one in each flavor, with matching icings. Alice promptly goes all "porque no dos?" meme and points out that they could have one big three-tier cake in all the flavors and three smaller single-flavor cakes, which is promptly agreed to because all three of them love cake. XD They also end up switching up the icings on the three small cakes, so the strawberry one has chocolate icing, the banana one has strawberry icing, and the chocolate one has banana icing. Because that's more fun and better represents their relationship. :) And yes, I am thinking that, by this point, Alice and June should be good enough friends that June offers to make the cakes as a wedding present. :) So they'll be getting the good cake.

The Wedding Vows: As Duskwall has a bunch of different wedding traditions thanks to all the cults, it also has a number of different wedding vows flying around. The trio discuss the topic as the big day comes up and discover they're each familiar with a different set --

Victor, naturally, knows the Corpse Bride vows, as they were the ones that were going to be used during his wedding to Victoria at the Church Of The Ecstasy Of The Flesh: "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way in darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine." He definitely knows them by heart after the whole incident with Emily, but he isn't sure if he wants to use them given their history.

Alice knows the vows her parents used -- according to her, they chose to be married in a simple style by a magistrate, and used accordingly simple vows: "I vow to love and honor you for all my days. All I have is yours, and I will keep all that is yours safe with me." Her opinion is that she'd like to use them, in honor of her lost family, but wants to hear what the Advocate vows are first, since they are getting married in the MOJ.

And Smiler, of course, knows the standard vows used by the Advocates whenever any of them wed: "I promise to love you and make you happy every day for as long as we both shall live. My smile is your smile, your joy is my joy. May our time together be the happiest we have ever known." However, they make it clear that all Advocates are encouraged to customize their vows to whatever makes them happiest -- meaning, if they wanted to combine all these various vows...

So yeah -- when it comes time for them to actually get married, the final vows are some mixture of the three above! Haven't fully figured out what they'll be yet, but I have time. :p

The Wedding Guests: As the wedding is held at the MOJ, pretty much every Advocate in the building shows up at some point during the proceedings -- after all, all of them love a party! Victor and Alice accept this as a natural consequence of getting married by the cult and just make sure there's enough food for everyone. :p As for officially invited guests --

Smiler invites their parents Matt and Carol Alton, their uncle Felix E. Lated, Dr. Gladwell and Joytide (as they're decently close with the Leech and his assistant after working together on inventions like the Smile Sweeper (AKA steampunk Roomba)), and their friends Oblivion (part of a cult that worships the void), Thirteen (leader of a cult that tends to the lethal trees in Jayan Park), Rita (leader of a crew of Smugglers known for their ridiculously fast motorized carriage), and Galactica (part of a cult that worships the moon)

Alice invites Nanny (natch) and June (be rude to have her make the cakes and then not be invited to the festivities!), along with the children of Houndsditch (they are given cake and then put in a room with crayon and paints and told they can go to town, which they enjoy immensely)

Victor invites Bonejangles (because I imagine them becoming pals after the events of "I...Might Be Afraid Of Some Ghost," where Bonejangles instructs Victor in the art of ghost-catching) and -- if the timing is right for the gang to have stolen the egg that hatches into Benny the lap dragon before this event goes down -- Victoria and Christopher White (as that score ends up with the trio becoming friendly with the pair) --

And then runs into a problem because he also very much wants to invite his mentor Elder Gutknecht...who, as you may recall, is a ghost (if a rare Reconciled friendly one) in this world and thus might cause a panic if he shows up. This sparks a long discussion between him, Smiler, Alice, and Gutknecht himself as to how they might manage the situation -- Smiler says that they could probably find an Advocate willing to let Gutknecht possess them for an hour or so, but Gutknecht shoots that down, saying that he has never possessed a person and doesn't want to start now in case he finds himself enjoying it and begins slipping down the slope toward becoming a Specter; Alice points out that, as a ghost, Gutknecht can be invisible if he wants (as many ghosts are), which Victor allows -- he's just worried that some of the other people in attendance might have his "ghost mind" and be able to sense him anyway. Or possibly walk through him and figure out here's there that way. In the end, they decide the best way to handle things is to bring Gutknecht in a spirit bottle, release him before the ceremony so he can watch that while invisible, then have him go back inside the bottle for the reception before taking him home. Victor feels a little bad about forcing Gutknecht to miss out on most of the festivities, but Gutknecht reminds him he can't enjoy the food and doesn't want to cause a panic either, and he's just touched Victor wants him at his wedding in the first place. :)

The Rings: The trio already have a set of wedding rings -- three plain gold rings they acquired during their drunken adventures and used in the original ceremony. When it comes time for the real one, they just reuse those -- no sense in getting new ones! As for engagement rings, though...well. Cute as it would be for Victor to formally propose to Alice and Smiler, and for at least one of them to propose to him in turn, I don't think they'd want fancy engagement rings in this universe. Reason being, they're thieves and scoundrels who run around in the same circles as a lot of other thieves and scoundrels -- it would be too easy for one of them to lose a ring on a job, or have it stolen by someone else. (Hell, depending on the scoundrel, they'd be risking losing the finger with it!) They'd probably want to celebrate their engagement somehow, though, so I'm picturing them getting each other little wearable tokens of some kind. Maybe simple pins or brooches they can fasten to their clothes? I did note that one of the reasons I liked Victor's semi-formal outfit in his old VITD Lookbook post was because it had a little silver moth pin on it... Maybe they do a little round robin where Alice gets Victor the moth pin; Victor gets Smiler a raven or frog pin; and Smiler gets Alice a cat pin? Sounds cute. :)

The Last Name: If you're wondering what the heck I'm on about here, congratulations, you know exactly how Victor and Smiler feel when, a few days before the wedding, Alice asks, "So, which last name are we using?" Alice quickly explains that, in most of the marriages she's familiar with, it's generally expected that the woman will take the man's last name -- but there's three of them in this case, one of whom is neither man nor woman, so...which are they choosing? Victor promptly replies that he is only too happy to give up his last name and become either "Mr. Liddell" or "Mr. Alton" -- Smiler adds that they're fine taking the "Liddell" last name because they're sure Alice is pretty attached to it, given her history. "Besides, there's some precedent for a man -- or an other -- taking a woman's last name, even in high society -- just look at the Landgraab family." Alice concedes the point, but replies that she's pretty sure Smiler is reasonably attached to their "Alton" last name, given their history -- then wonders if, under the circumstances, they couldn't do two last names. She tries out both "Alton Liddell" and "Liddell Alton" --

And then Smiler thoughtfully suggests "...Liddelton?" Alice likes the way it flows off the tongue and says it's a good compromise -- Smiler agrees, then points out that they could even put a "Van" in front of it so Victor's last name is represented too. Victor says he's fine with his last name being left out...but then admits he kind of likes "Van Liddelton." Alice does too, so after the ceremony, while filling out the paperwork, they officially declare themselves Victor, Alice, and Smiler Van Liddelton. :) (And yes, this is because that's the last name I gave the three in my old Chill Valicer Save, and I wanted to use it again. XD)

The Honeymoon: Most people don't do honeymoon trips in Duskwall due to the dangers of traveling, and the trio are no different, instead just heading home after the festivities are done to enjoy a few quiet days in their lair (loaded down with leftovers from the party so they don't even have to cook). Though I will say that Smiler and Alice present Victor with a very special present once they get down to consummating the marriage --

A blue leather collar. Because, just like the Modern AU trio, they are kinky, and they knew Victor would enjoy that. Victor spend a lot of time on his knees wearing it during the honeymoon. :p

“March – anyway, I bet if you ever ended up in Mechanicsburg, you’d be the one person who could produce a better cup of coffee than Agatha Heterodyne’s famous machine,” Emily added.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare presume–”

“Don’t you pretend to be modest now,” Alice interrupted them, smirking. “It doesn’t suit you.”

Smiler laughed. “To be fair, none of you have started going on about how perfect your teacups are yet, so...”

“Who cares about the cup when you’ve put such a miraculous liquid into it?” Richard demanded, taking another sip before flopping back in his chair with a deep, contented sigh. “Oh yes...whenever you decide you’re done imposing on the Van Dorts, just come over to my place – Emily and I will find a bed for you.”

“Victoria and I have a spare room available too,” Christopher added, causing Victoria to shake her head with a fond eyeroll.

“I’ll consider it,” Smiler told them both, giggling. “Though I have to say, I’m quite happy at the Van Dort house.”

“We’re happy to have you,” Victor assured them, smiling warmly. “It’s nice to have a fellow Touched around to help with my experiments – even if your focus is chemistry, not biology.”

“And someone who can watch Chester in a pinch,” Alice added. “He really does like you.”

“I like him! He’s very cute. And hey, it’s all chemistry in the end,” Smiler added to Victor with a wink. “You’ve got a pretty good working knowledge yourself, honestly.”

Victor shrugged. “I had to learn to get the results I wanted.”

“Most Touched end up pretty well versed in a lot of different branches of science,” Doc agreed, taking a sip of tea and smiling brightly. “Mmmm...you never know what you’ll need to get a project off the ground.” He leaned over to grab a biscuit. “When did you develop your interest in chemistry, Smiler?”

“Oh, back when I was a child,” Smiler explained, also grabbing a biscuit. “Stole my father’s books on the subject all the time. Growing up in X Sector was pretty lonely, and–”

“X Sector?” Marty interrupted, eyes wide. “The place with Dr. Kelman?”

Smiler froze, biscuit halfway to their tea cup. “Uh...”

“Dr. who?” Victor asked, blinking.

“Kelman – a truly rotten example of a psychology-focused Touched,” Doc elucidated, scowling. “Advertised himself as a leading expert in the field of ‘social compliance.’”

“Which was a fancy way of saying he basically tortured people into doing what he wanted,” Marty said bluntly. “Weird chemicals, isolation, hypnosis, brain surgery – lots of brain surgery, from what we heard.”

“Mmmm – his ultimate goal was to make people happy to be compliant with the whims of whoever the local authority was,” Doc picked up, shaking his head. “His actual results included roughly equal amounts of traumatized patients and braindead ones.”

“Bloody hell,” Alice said, eyes wide. “He sounds like a total monster.”

“Please tell us he’s not still hurting people!” Emily added, stunned.

“Don’t worry – he’s very dead,” Marty assured her. “Got the old pitchfork-and-torches treatment a few years back – pretty sure right before we accidentally dragged Victor back here.”

“I believe you’re right – the local townsfolk had enough of his nonsense, stormed his ‘Sanctuary,’ and killed pretty much everyone inside,” Doc ndoded. “Which did unfortunately include the patients – and Dr. Kelman’s son, Marmaduke.”

“What – Marmaduke?” Victor blurted, then blushed. “I – oh, I-I know that’s the least of Dr. Kelman’s crimes, but – who names their child Marmaduke?!”

“The nobility, usually – my parents are Finis and Maudeline, remember?” Victoria said, though even she looked a little dubious.

“Well, he wasn’t Lord Kelman, so I don’t know what his excuse was,” Alice said, shaking her head. “That poor boy, though...having horrible parents is no guarantee you’ll turn out the same way.”

“Exactly,” Victor nodded with feeling. “I don’t blame the townsfolk for wanting to stop Dr. Kelman once and for all, but did they really need...to...”

He paused as he noticed Smiler staring into their teacup, biscuit laying forgotten on the plate beside it. “Oh – I’m sorry,” he said softly, absently tugging at his tie. “I didn’t think...did you know Marmaduke?”

Smiler lifted their head, sporting the world’s most awkward smile. “Um – yeah, you could – you could say that,” they replied, rubbing the back of their head.

Victor stared for a moment, confused – then the penny dropped, along with his jaw. “Wait – you’re–”

“Not anymore,” Smiler said, holding up a hand. “I wanted to leave that name behind me long before the townsfolk stormed the Sanctuary – trust me, no one knew better than me how horrible Kelman was. Though if you really want to know who names their child ‘Marmaduke’ – someone whose own first name is Kellard. And who turned his own wife into a vegetable before she could object.” They shrugged. “I assume, anyway – never met my mother until I found what was left of her in the basement.”

“Great Scott,” Doc whispered as the others looked on in shock. “I’m so sorry...but – how did you survive? Every report I saw was quite adamant that everyone in the Sanctuary had been killed.”

Smiler’s smile somehow turned more awkward. “Uh – interdimensional being of pure joy saved my life in exchange for me going around making people happier?”

There was a long silence. “...what?” Victor eventually said, for lack of anything better.

Smiler pointed to their glowing yellow eyes. “Surely you guys didn’t assume I was born with these?”

“No, but Touched modify themselves in bizarre ways all the time,” Alice responded, leaning forward with an expression that was equal parts bafflement and concern. “And given I’ve left you alone with my child, I’d like to know all about this ‘interdimensional being’ and your deal with it post-haste.”

“Yes, I think we’d all appreciate you explaining what the hell you’re on about,” Christopher added, glancing nervously at his cup.

“Well, I knew it was going to come out sooner or later...” Smiler had a fortifying sip of tea, then clapped their hands. “Okay, so, there’s a few different planes of existence beyond this one...”

--

Yeah, so, I've had the idea for "Smiler ends up at the Dodgson tea table and absolutely stuns everyone with their tea" ever since I finished the Christmas fic -- it just felt like a natural place for this little miniseries to go after that one ended on Smiler offering to make tea for the Van Dorts! And I always enjoy writing someone being wowed by Smiler's skill at making drinks. XD I then turned it into the "this is how Victor and company learn Smiler's pre-'Smiler Alton' identity" story while coming up with my previous post detailing how Victor, Alice, and any other relevant people learn Smiler's birth name is Marmaduke, as it seemed as good a time as any for that to come up (especially since I figured SOMEBODY at the table had to have heard of Dr. Kelman) --