#and then Alice ended up Alice Van Dort

[victorluvsalice]

Valicer OT3 Week, Day Three: Childhood Friends

Day Three of @ot3-week's OT3 Week, and we're up to a cute prompt -- "Childhood friends!" So naturally I couldn't resist writing the trio hanging out together as kids. :) This is supposed to be a Victorian!AU, though I suspect it might feel a little bit more modern than that...the important thing is, there's a grand old party happening in the halls of Christchurch at Oxford, and Smiler and Alice have already found each other and decided to sequester themselves away from all these boring adults in their own private table fort. But tummies have started growling, and so Smiler is venturing out to get snacks...

--

“I’m gonna get more snacks!”

“All right – make sure to grab some of Mama’s Welsh rarebit!” Alice said, arranging the cards into neat piles. “Then when you come back we can start building our castle.”

“Definitely,” Smiler said, shooting her a grin. They grabbed the edge of the tablecloth and lifted it – then, seeing no adults had eyes on them, scrambled out from under the banquet table that they and Alice had claimed as their personal hidey-hole. And I thought this party was going to be boring, they thought, scurrying toward the table where the Welsh rarebit sat, along with a few other cheese-based dishes the various attendees were nibbling on. Adults never want to have any fun when they get together – it’s just talk talk talk about boring stuff. Especially Father, going on about “social compliance” and all that...it’s a good thing that Alice is here! I can’t wait to hear another story about Wonderland – it sounds amazing! And I bet that, without the adults interrupting us, we can build a castle using all of the –

“Now, I don’t want you embarrassing me at this party, Victor, do you understand?”

Smiler stopped, turning toward the entrance. Standing there, having their coats taken by the coat-taking-man, was a hunched-over skinny man with a large mustache, leaning on a cane; a very plump woman in the fanciest dress Smiler had ever seen, fanning herself like it was the middle of summer; and a little boy, about Smiler’s age, wearing a suit with shorts and staring at his feet while the woman – presumably his mother – went on and on about how the Liddells were Very Important People and how they had to make a Good First Impression and how Victor was to Stay Quiet and Look Respectable, like the boys in magazines. The boy – Victor – was nodding along to his mother’s litany, trying to stand up straight and do as asked, but the look on his face...

“Now, Marmaduke, I understand that you’re a little – confused, at this age. But the simple fact of the matter is that you can’t just decide that you’re not a boy. It’s simply not done. Where would society be if people just started declaring themselves not one thing or the other? You have to learn how to be socially compliant. True happiness comes from obeying your elders – and you want to be happy, don’t you?”

Smiler frowned as the woman turned away from Victor, leaving him to tug at his tie as she swanned off to chat about boring things with the other adults. It seemed like, with a mother like that, Victor was about to have about as bad a time at this party as they’d feared they would have. And that was a really bad time indeed.

Well, good thing I’m here, then, Smiler thought to themselves, then marched up to Victor, putting on their best smile and sticking out their hand. “Hullo! I’m Smiler!”

Victor nearly started right out of his skin – maybe they should have been a little bit quieter. He stared at them a moment, glancing from their face to their hand and back, then hesitantly took it. “Uh – I’m – I’m – V-Victor,” he stammered, clearly out of his depth. Maybe people didn’t talk to him much? That would be sad if so. “Your name is – Smiler?”

“Well, it’s what I call myself,” Smiler told him, pumping his arm. “My real name’s awful. But Victor’s a nice name! Do you want to play with us?”

“Us?” Victor repeated, blinking.

“Me and Alice!” Smiler pointed at their table, where Alice was peeping out, clearly wondering why snacks were taking so long. They waved to her and pointed to Victor – she glanced over, then nodded and waved back. “She’s really nice, and she tells great stories,” Smiler informed Victor, grinning. “And she’s got cards – we’re gonna try and build a castle! Do you like castles?”

“Uh – yes?” Victor said, as if he wasn’t sure of his own opinions. “I’ve n-never made a card one b-before, though.” He dropped his gaze, playing with his tie again. “I’m k-kind of clumsy.”

“That’s all right – we can show you how to do it!” Smiler promised, taking his hand so he didn’t accidentally strangle himself. “Come on – we’ll get snacks, then we can go and play!”

“I – um...” Victor’s gaze went to his mother, chatting with some other adult Smiler didn’t know and didn’t care about. “I dunno...”

“Aw, come on,” Smiler wheedled, tugging his arm. “It’ll be fun! Don’t you wanna have fun? Be happy? Like, real happy, not grown-up happy?”

“Happy...” Victor looked at his mother a moment more, then over at Alice, patiently waiting for them to decide what they were doing. Then his mouth formed a determined line, and he nodded at Smiler. “Yes. Let’s go make castles.”

Smiler beamed. One happiness problem – solved! Take that, Father. “Great! But, first, we gotta get some of that rarebit – and I think there’s some cake too...”

[thevalicemultiverse]

I dont know what labor day is and at this point im too afraid to ask.

Americans are just saying things.

Do you give birth?

then you cant wear white the day after.

Alice: [laughs] I do have to wonder if there are mothers who have tried to have their babies on Labor Day...

Victor: [chuckles] That would be funny...but no, I looked it up, and it's all about celebrating the accomplishments of labor unions and workers in the US. Like International Worker's Day, but on the first Monday in September instead of May 1st. [scrolling his phone] I have yet to figure out why you can't wear white after it, though.

[ao3feed-scorbus]

My Only Love, Sprung From My (Family's) *Only HATE*...

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/A5vSXeg

by Barlsa_Ianna

It's *NEVER* easy living up to people's expectations of what they expect of you, because of whom your parents are ...the children of Geppetto Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Harry Evans-Potter, from the eldest Lizzie, Alice, and Victor to the youngest Lily Luna and Pinocchio, are *NO exception*! -And sometimes, for the *ACTUAL* 'greater good' of all, you HAVE to keep your birth family a *secret*- as Jack, Jiminy, and Delphini Black-Crouch-Riddle do alongside Victoria Pettigrew, lest you be likely thrown in Azkaban for life or just plain *KILLED*. The former three can't even be each other's blood-siblings in public, despite all being being adopted together; it's too risky.

What happens when a 'Romeo and Juliet' situation comes into play, and not just with one couple...?? (And sans the double-suicide.)

Words: 5073, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Pinocchio (1940), Pinocchio (Disney 2022), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling, Disney Theatrical Animated Universe, Corpse Bride (2005), American McGee's Alice, Lies of P (Video Game)

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: Underage

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Characters: Harry Potter Characters, Disney Animated Characters, Pinocchio (Pinocchio), Geppetto (Pinocchio), Grillo Parlante | Jiminy Cricket, Victor Van Dort, Victoria Everglot, Emily (Corpse Bride), Dodger (Disney), Oliver (Disney: Oliver & Company), Scraps (Corpse Bride), Dinah (Alice in Wonderland), Delphi (Harry Potter), Elizabeth "Lizzie" Liddell

Relationships: Grillo Parlante | Jiminy Cricket & Pinocchio, Grillo Parlante | Jiminy Cricket/Pinocchio, Harry Potter/Severus Snape, Geppetto & Pinocchio (Pinocchio), Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, James Sirius Potter/Rose Weasley, Lily Luna Potter/Dominique Weasley, Victor Van Dort/Jack Skellington, Emily/Victoria Everglot, A - Relationship, Dormouse/Alice Liddell (American McGee's Alice), Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, Teddy Lupin/Victoire Weasley, Dodger/Oliver (Disney: Oliver & Company), Bonejangles (Corpse Bride)/Elizabeth "Lizzie" Liddell

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Secret Relationship, Forbidden Love, Eventual Happy Ending, Family, Surprise Pairing, Background Poly, Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Hufflepuff Pride, Ravenclaw Pride, Aged-Up Character(s), Age Difference, Genderbending, Asexual Character, De-Aged Severus Snape

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/A5vSXeg

[liddellvxndort-a]

{; lil rant ahead:

kinda tired of seeing people hate on other’s ships (except problematic ones ofc). like you can have alice as an ace lesbian, and i won’t judge, but why judge if others ship her with a different character and it doesn’t match your headcanon? i just saw a post making fun of valice and idk man it just rubbed me the wrong way. i guess bc that fic/ship literally saved my life in so many ways (and i’ll never be able to thank vicky enough for that). like i support everyone’s view of alice bc yes she’s definitely canonically ace, but why does it bother people if she’s shipped with victor? if you actually take the time to read the fic it’s so well written and their relationship is extremely well developed. it’s not some “love at first sight” bs, vicky has put in so much work to make the ship realistic. idk i’m just sick of the valice hate, man, just respect other people’s work. unless it’s bumby/alice then fire away lmao

thanks for coming to my ted talk ;}

[recklessrosegone]

👯 also lilli + S13 bau

the theme is TIM BURTON and then end up as follows;

rossi as the inventor ( ed scissorhands )reid as jack skellington ( nightmare before christmas ) jj as emily ( corpse bride )garcia as the red queen ( alice in wonderland )tara as betelgeuse ( beetlejuice )matt as victor van dort ( corpse bride )luke as sweeney todd ( the demon barber of fleet street )emily as lydia deetz ( beetlejuice )lilli as sally ( nightmare before christmas )

other years have seen hits such as the scooby gang, btvs’ scooby gang, pillars of gothic literature, superheroes, and federal agents in media.

🌹┊❛ @armyhoned — halloween costumes.

[nebbychan]

For @victorluvsalice

Skyrim AU

Synopsis:

Skyrim’s literally gone to shit; with the return of Alduin the World-Eater and Harbringer of the End Times, a civil war between the Imperials and the Stormcloaks divides the land in two, once proud factions now in ruins, and sweetrolls stolen; there is only one who can restore the honor and peace to Skyrim. Legends foretold of a being with the soul of a dragon, the only being capable of ending the madness; they are known as Dovahkiin, the Dragonborn. For centuries, the people of Skyrim thought the Dragonborn could never resurface, until now.

Characters:

Victor Van Dort

Race: Nord Class: Mage (Expert Necromancer and Illusionist) Faction(s): None Weapons: Fork, Dagger, Ancient Nord Bow Daedric Artifacts: None Follower: Emily, Barbas Likes: Dwemer ruins, Conjuration, Alchemy, Enchanting, Dogs Dislikes: Thalmor, Fish, the Blades, Smithing, Stormcloaks Favorite Capital(s): Markarth, Whiterun, Winterhold Least Favorite Capital(s): Solitude, Windhelm Favorite Quest: A Daedra’s Best Friend (he left it incomplete on purpose because hey, free immortal talking dog!) Least Favorite Quest: Diplomatic Immunity (Ugh, fancy parties…) Bio:                Victor was born in Windhelm, his father was a wealthy merchant working with the Argonians and Dark Elves by the docks. They moved to Solitude when he was still a child, mainly due to the fact that his mother did not get along with them and loved to start up conflict. She worried that one of her enemies would send a Dark Brotherhood assassin after her, plus she wanted to be close to the other upper-crust families in said capital. Victor had a bit of trouble adjusting, especially when he one day started showing interest in magic, begging his parents to let him attend the Magic College in Winterhold. While disappointed that he shared no interest in the family business and was hesitant about sending him away, his father agreed and sent him off once he became of age. There, he learned conjuration, restoration, illusion, and destruction spells. His favorite spell in particular was the Candlelight spell, which provided some light whenever he was alone in dark places. Despite this, Victor hadn’t actually been in combat before. Once he graduated at the top of his class, he was brought back to Solitude for an arranged marriage- which he chickened out of and attempted to flee Skyrim by crossing the borders, unaware that the party he was travelling with was Stormcloak soldiers, led by none other than Ulfric Stormcloak himself. This misunderstanding led to his capture by the Imperials and nearly had him decapitated in Helgen. Only reason why he narrowly dodged execution was because of a dragon flying in and destroying the place, from there, Victor escaped with an Imperial soldier. With the return of the dragons, Victor also finds out he’s Dragonborn- great, MORE things he didn’t ask for. Being Dragonborn has it perks, but it’s also brought unwanted attention from everyone, especially the Blades, whom he deliberately ignores because he knows they want to use him. (Also they wanted him to kill Paarthurnax, didn’t help with the fact that he had come to like that old dragon.)

 Alice Liddell

Race: Imperial Class: Assassin Faction(s): The Dark Brotherhood Weapons: Knife, Glass dagger, iron Warhammer, crossbow (laced with frostbite venom) Daedric Artifacts: Mace of Molag Bal, Mehrune’s Razor, the Wabbajack Follower: Cicero Likes: Justice, quiet places, Sweetrolls Dislikes: Thalmor, Draugr, Vampires, Frostbite Spiders Favorite Capital(s): Whiterun, Falkreath, Morthal Least Favorite Capital(s): Markarth, Windhelm, Solitude Favorite Quest: Innocence Lost Least Favorite Quest: Any quest that makes her the errand girl Bio:                Alice was born in Winterhold; living in a cozy little home with her older sister, mother, and her father- who was the archmage at the College of Winterhold. She lived there happily for years, as a child she’d sneak into the College’s library to read and learn about magic. Life seemed promising for her when she conjured up her first Flame Atronach and used a series of Fear spells at her entry exam…at eight years old. No doubt Alice was a gifted mage, and her family couldn’t be any more proud of her. She even got to be roommates at the College with her older sister, Lizzie, who was already attending to learn about restoration. But one evening while the family slept, Alice woke up to the smell of smoke; the house was on fire! While she managed to escape, the same couldn’t be said for her parents. Lizzie was nowhere to be found, guards assume she had died in the fire too and that Alice’s Flame Atronach was to blame for the incident. Alice was sent to the Honorhall Orphanage in Riften shortly afterwards, there she endured years of mental and physical abuse from the Headmistress, Grelod the Kind. When she came of age, Alice was thrown out and left to wander Skyrim as a street urchin, she’d go to inns and taverns just to ask for work, but her mental state made it difficult for her to get by. A year of wandering Skyrim led to her hearing a rumor about a boy named Aventus Aretino, who ran away from Honorhall Orphanage and went back to his home in Windhelm to perform the Black Sacrament. Alice went forth to investigate, though when she arrived the boy mistook her for an assassin and gave her a contract too good to pass up; she had to kill Grelod the Kind. Without hesitating, Alice bought a ride straight to Riften with what little money she had left, and her trusty Flame Atronach and years of bottled up rage were finally unleashed as Alice watched Grelod burn to death, just hearing her screams brought immense satisfaction. Thankfully, Alice hadn’t suffered repercussions for her little stunt, but it did lead to her initiation into the Dark Brotherhood. Astrid liked Alice from the start, seeing great potential within her, and welcomed her into the family with open arms. With Alice working as an assassin, everyone now had a reason to fear the Dark Brotherhood. Some are too scared to confront her or her follower, Cicero.

 Victoria Everglot

Race: High Elf Class: Thief Faction(s): Thieves Guild Weapons: Iron mace, Nightingale Blade, Nightingale bow Daedric Artifacts: Dawnbreaker, Sanguine Rose, the Skeleton Key Likes: Fine clothes, Pickpocketing, Lock-picking, Honey-nut treats, Long Taffy Dislikes: Chaurus, Dwemer ruins, Falmer, Red Ninroots Favorite Capital(s): Dawnstar, Riften, Whiterun Least Favorite Capital(s): Windhelm Favorite Quest: Blindsighted Least Favorite Quest: A Return to Your Roots (She HATES Blackreach, seriously, fuck that place.) Bio:                A quiet child born into an aristocratic family in Solitude, Victoria mostly kept to herself, not that her parents really cared. Victoria had the heart of a thief, she’d steal things right under people’s noses and no one would suspect her of any wrongdoing. So when her family fell under hard times, Victoria would sneak out the house as her parents slept or went out on business to rob unsuspecting citizens of their gold, gems, jewelry, any valuable item she could get her hands on would do! Her parents eventually began to question where all this gold came from and why their neighbors were becoming poor, but never suspected Victoria. Once she became of age to wed, her parents set her up with Victor Van Dort, a college graduate from Winterhold. They got along nicely at first, having a bit of small talk and while they didn’t exactly fall for each other, it was apparent that they became instant friends. However it wasn’t until the wedding rehearsal did things go downhill; not only did he screw up the vows, but Victor somehow managed to trash the chapel and nearly set her mother on fire. Victor fled Solitude in embarrassment, but before Victoria could get a chance to pursue him she was then engaged to another man, an aristocratic high elf from the Thalmor Embassy named Barkis Bittern. Not wanting to deal with that noise, Victoria grabbed whatever money she could along with some essentials, got on her horse, and fled Solitude. She was about halfway towards Whiterun when she heard that Victor was captured, likely on accident during an ambush on the Stormcloaks led by the Imperials. This was now a race against time- as Victoria heard those that were taken hostage would be taken to Helgen for execution. Victor was innocent; she knew he didn’t deserve such a fate, and she wanted to prevent any injustice. Once arriving in Riverwood for a quick restock on her supplies, Victoria could almost feel the ground beneath her shake and the roar of a dragon from the skies. She thought it was only her imagination and her lack of sleep getting to her, at least until she arrived in Helgen- only to find it in ruins. She would’ve entered had it not been for an Imperial soldier stopping her, letting her know that a dragon attack took place and finding survivors would be near impossible. Still, Victoria refused to believe that Victor had died during the attack. Going back to Solitude wasn’t an option either, fearing her parents’ wrath and possible jail time for all the theft she’s committed. Instead, Victoria rode all the way towards Riften. While staying at the Bee and Barb, Victoria met Brynjolf; the two sat together at the bar and chatted over mead and apple pie, she reveals to him her thieving behavior- which in turn catches his attention. A successful initiation that following morning led to her joining the Thieves Guild, and while she’s more content with the life of a thief, Victoria hopes to find Victor safe and sound during her travels.

 Lizzie Liddell

Race: Imperial (also a Werewolf) Class: Warrior Faction(s): The Companions Weapons: Daedric greatsword, Daedric Battle axe, Forsworn bow (laced with poison) Daedric Artifacts: Ring of Hircine, the Black Star Follower: Bonejangles Likes: Sweetrolls, restoration spells, swords, sneaking Dislikes: Thalmor, Vampires, the Silver Hand, politics Favorite Capital(s): Whiterun, Falkreath, Winterhold Least Favorite Capital(s): Markarth, Solitude Favorite Quest: Purity of Revenge Least Favorite Quest: The Black Star Bio:                Born and raised in Winterhold, her father, the late archmage at the College gave her the best rooms, best tutors, and good classes. Lizzie specialized in restoration, mainly due to her little sister Alice and her misadventures always getting her scratched up. Still, it did hone her skills, and gave extra credit for her classes. That was until a new student named Angus Bumby came along; something about him seemed off, and Lizzie did her best to ignore him and continue her studies, but it didn’t take long for him to begin taking interest in her. She continuously told him to sod off but her commands fell on deaf ears, when one day he and a student from her class suddenly disappear.  Lizzie discovers her classmate’s body lying in a pool of blood that evening, two holes punctured into his neck and wrists. The discovery sent chills down her spine, realizing there was a vampire staying within these walls. It was no secret who the vampire was, and she promised herself she’d tell her father before Bumby could claim more victims. Sadly, she’d never get the chance, as Bumby had infiltrated the residence and after draining the blood of the Archmage and his wife, attempted to turn Lizzie into a vampire to claim her as his bride. Still, Lizzie wasn’t about to go down without a fight, and while she managed to scare him off, it set the house on fire in the process. Her escape was successful, but was convinced Alice had died in the fire. It was already enough for her to swear revenge on the vampire; however she could never take him on in this state, she was lucky to have made it out unscathed during their encounter. Lizzie moved out to Whiterun to seek training as a warrior, only to run into the Companions near Honningbrew Meadery and help them take down a giant. Her participation made it much easier for her to become a Companion, then later on a werewolf. For years she trained with them, growing stronger by the day, feeding off the anger and resentment towards vampires. Once she felt strong enough, Lizzie set out to search for the damned vampire and avenge her family. She at first began in Solitude; renting out a room and there at the Winking Skeever she meets a bard nicknamed Bonejangles, a redguard man along with his band of reanimated, sentient draugr whom are trying to push a new era of music onto Tamriel. It was loud, had a great beat, a catchy tune good enough to dance along, and spontaneous lyrics and vocals; and yet few seemed to care for his music, as they’re in favor of more traditional songs. Lizzie, on the other hand, supported his ideas; not a huge surprise that they wound up becoming close friends. Bonejangles catches her off-guard and offers to help her take down the vampire, Lizzie refuses at first, but reconsiders when he reveals to her that he’s in the Dawnguard- a vampire hunter, the bard thing was just to throw off any suspicion. The two find Bumby hiding out inside one of the many Dwemer Ruins in Markarth, which had been infested with chaurus and Falmer, which were taken down easily. In the heat of battle, however, Bumby manages to get a good swipe at Bonejangles, almost taking out one of his eyes and breaking his leg when tossed around. This angers Lizzie, and as a result, transforms into a werewolf in front of them. Her angered roar was enough to scare the vampire as he attempts to scurry off; not a good idea when a pissed off werewolf could easily catch up to you. Bumby begs for mercy, but his pleas fall upon deaf ears; Lizzie savors his screams as she tears him apart, and she would’ve completely lost it if it weren’t for the fact that Bonejangles was in need of medical attention. Satisfied, Lizzie reverts back and after dragging her friend out of the ruins, begins healing him. With her family now avenged, Lizzie wonders what to do with her life. Bonejangles offers to take her to Fort Dawnguard to consider becoming a professional vampire hunter, and she did seem to agree at first, at least until news of people getting assassinated in all parts of Skyrim catch her attention, no doubt this was the work of the Dark Brotherhood, but it was the way the victims died that interested her. All victims found were burned alive, likely by a Flame Atronach- controlled by one gifted mage. Thinking her sister could still be alive, Lizzie performs the Black Sacrament (the human flesh and heart used for the ritual was…“donated” by a lovely bandit outlaw that dared to cross her.) in the hopes that Alice would come to her for a contract…

 Emily

Race: Wood Elf (formerly), Khajit Class: Warrior Faction(s): None Weapons: Scimitar, Iron Shield, Falmer Bow Daedric Artifacts: Ebony blade, Ebony Mail Follower: Victor (technically she’s his follower) Likes: Weddings, Butterflies, Night time, Dancing Dislikes: Dark places, Bandits, Thalmor, Stuck-up people Favorite Capital(s): Riften, Markarth, Whiterun Least Favorite Capital(s): Morthal, Winterhold, Windhelm Favorite Quest: The Book of Love Least Favorite Quest: Blood on the Ice Bio:                A former priestess of Dibella, Emily was the most attractive wood elf to grace Skyrim. Her beauty would entice men, some even begging for her hand. She had refused them all; except one. He was a high elf, worked at the Thalmor Embassy in Solitude. Emily thought him the perfect man, how he won her heart with his charisma. However, her story isn’t exactly light-hearted. Instead of meeting her beloved to elope at the Temple of Mara in Riften, she met her end- sacrificed as an offering to the Daedric prince, Boethiah. Her body was carelessly thrown into the river, forever lost; but her soul, however, lived on in anger. She was finally released when some poor fool by the name of Victor Van Dort had come across the Shrine, but instead of sacrificing another soul, he released her. Emily was overjoyed, now finally able to leave that wretched shrine; all that was left now was to take revenge.

Her lover had taken refuge within a Bandit camp in Falkreath, adorned with the Ebony mail and blade Boethiah had bestowed upon him. His recent failure on trying to lure a high elf woman in Solitude left him vulnerable to attack. He had stepped out from his shelter for fresh air, instead being greeted with the scent of death and the tip of a Scimitar pointed to his gullet. The sword was held by a Khajit woman, her body foreign to him, but the fire in her eyes had him frozen in fear. “Emily?” His lips trembled, now stiff as a board; Emily had taken on a new body, found on the way to Knifepoint ridge. She glared, ordering him to walk, lest she behead him on the spot. With Victor in tow, just in case things got out of hand; Emily travelled to the Shrine of Boethiah, offering the man she once trusted to the Daedric Prince. Boethiah was pleased, and granted her lover’s armor and sword as a gift. She now travels alongside Victor as his most trusted companion, besides Barbas that is. Emily misses her old body, but has thankfully accepted the fact that she’d never recover it.

[juschtli]

Zurück in Thailand

Achtung! Dieser Kommentar widerspiegelt nicht zwingend die Haltung des Herausgebers.

Rasen betreten verboten (wia kunnt aigentli amel das Schild in d Mitti vum Rasa?)!

“Ich bin gegen Rasen auf der Autobahn! Wer soll denn dies auch immer mähen!?”

Nach dem ersten «Oh mein Gott, wieso habe ich 3 Tage in diesem Kaff in Laos verbrätelt» kam die Freude auf, wieder in einem anderen Land zu sein. Ich war wieder in Thailand, genauer gesagt in Nordthailand. Mein erster Stopp war in Chiang Rai (im Bus von der Grenze sassen gerade mal 5 Leute und es hätten etwa 35 Leute Platz gehabt). Dieser Ort ist insbesondere für den «Weissen Tempel» bekannt und das war auch mein Hauptgrund, da zu stoppen. Der Tempel war wirklich sehr weiss. Doch da ich schon ein bisschen tempelmüde war (und ich sowieso keine Socken anhatte), konnte es mich nicht aus den Socken hauen. Zudem war dieser Tempel übervölkert von chinesischen Touristen. Als Abendessen ass ich Reis mit Chicken und Cashew Nuts (dies hatte ich auch «damals» in der Cooking Class gelernt). Ich blieb nur eine Nacht da. Das besondere Highlight war das Hostel. Das war eine der bequemsten Matratzen, auf denen ich je gelegen bin. Und auch die Etagenbetten war super stabil, so dass ich nicht durchgeschüttelt wurde, wenn sich die Person im Bett über mir bewegte. Das sind zwar kleine Dinge, doch diese lernt man umso mehr zu schätzen, wenn man für eine längere Zeit unterwegs ist.

Danach ging es für mich weiter nach Chiang Mai, wo ich mit Terry abgemacht hatte (mit diesem Holländer bereiste ich schon Vietnam). Er befand sich schon etwa 10 Tage in Chiang Mai (da er auf einen Prototypen seiner neuen Hutkollektion wartete) und kannte daher die Stadt schon in- und auswendig. In unserem Hostel hatte es sogar eine Playstation mit FIFA (dass im ersten Match gegen Terry direkt 0:7 verloren hatte, möchte ich hier lieber nicht erwähnen…). Terry führte mich dann in der Stadt herum. Er zeigte mich auch ein kleines «Street Food»-Restaurant, wo es eine gelbe Currysuppe mit Poulet und knusprigen Fried Noodles. Dies war sehr gut. Leider hatten sie Koriander in die Suppe getan und ich hatte am Anfang anscheinend nicht alles rausgefischt. Auf alle Fälle erwischte ich mit den letzten Löffeln noch ein bisschen Korriander und es würgte mich und nur mit Müh’ und Not konnte ich ein Erbrechen am Tisch vermeiden (Notiz an mich: in Asien immer abklären, ob es Koriander drin haben könnte und dann allenfalls ohne dieses nach Seife schmeckende Teufelskraut bestellen). Am Abend das Hipsterviertel erkundet und anschliessend noch ein Bier in einer Jazzbar getrunken. Tags darauf fuhren wir mit einem Minivan nach Pai. Dies ist ein kleiner Hippie-Ort in den Thai-«Bergen» (man hat das Gefühl, dass der Ort nur aus Cafés, Restaurants und Tattoo-Studios besteht). Um dorthin zu gelangen, muss man anscheinend 600 Kurven und 2.5 Stunden überwinden und wir wurden davor gewarnt, dass einem übel wird im Van. Doch glücklicherweise musste niemand erbrechen. Man hätte die Fahrt auch mit dem Roller machen kommen, doch wir hörten von etwelchen Unfällen, die sich auf dieser Strecke ereigneten, deshalb verzichteten wir dankend auf eine Scooter-Fahrt. Und tatsächlich sahen wir schon nach 20 Minuten Fahrt einen Krankenwagen bei einem Rollerfahrer… Terry und ich «gönnten» uns einen Bungalow, der ein bisschen «ausserhalb vom Schuss» war. Da das Fitnesstraining für Backpacker aus vielem Laufen besteht, war das nicht so ein Problem. Bei der Unterkunft hatte es einen Snookertisch, bei dem wir unzählige Stunden spielten. Zuvor spielten wir oft Pool resp. Billiard miteinander und eine Lernkurve seit den Anfängen in Vietnam war klar ersichtlich – doch Snooker war «Next Level». Der Snookertisch war um einiges grösser, die Kugeln kleiner, die Reihenfolge spielte eine grössere Rolle und bei «unseren» Regeln gab es noch Strafpunkte. Am Abend erkundeten wir den Night Market, bei dem es vor allem viele Essensstände gab. Wir entschieden uns für einen Inder und zum ersten Mal ass ich indisch und Naan mit Poulet, Kartoffeln und Gemüse war sehr gut. Wir machten uns auf, das Nachtleben zu erkunden. Nach einer gemütlichen Bar ging es weiter in eine gut laufende Bar mit Livemusik. Die Lokale in Pai selber schliessen jedoch alle um 24 Uhr. Danach geht es ein bisschen ausserhalb von Pai. Eine Bar war glücklicherweise direkt auf unserem Nachhauseweg. Die «Don’t Cry»-Bar öffnet jeweils erst am späten Abend und nur der Tresen ist überdacht, ansonsten ist die Bar unter freiem Himmel und es gab sogar ein Lagerfeuer (natürlich stanken unsere Kleider am nächsten Tag nach Rauch wie nach einem Servelatplausch). Am nächsten Tag den Ort erkundet und bei einem Breakfast-Stand angehalten und Spiegeleier, Toast und Hash Browns gegessen. Da es ziemlich heiss war, watschelten wir wieder zum Hostel zurück und spielten 2, 3 Stunden Snooker. Danach wieder die 20 Minuten in den Ort gehopst, einen fantastischen Burger (Bööööööööörger) gegessen und die Bar’s ausprobiert und wieder in der Servelatplausch aka Open-Air-Bar mit dem Lagerfeuer gelandet. Am nächsten Tag wieder zum gleichen Frühstücksort wie am Vorort und ein tolles Baguette mit Chicken-Curry gegessen und dazu endlich mal wieder ein knackiger grüner Salat mit Balsamico-Dressing (habe ich eigentlich schon mal erwähnt, dass ich Chicken-Curry mag!?). Danach wieder ins Hostel und… Überraschung… Snooker gespielt. Für den Abend hatten wir Ticket für eine Electric-Valley-Party. Zuvor erkundeten wir nochmals den Night bzw. Food Market. Da ich auf den Geschmack von indisch gekommen war, assen wir noch ein Chicken Naan, zwei Chicken-Curry Samosas und als Dessert Popcorn. Danach ging es mit einem Shuttle innert 20 Minuten zu der Location der Electric-Valley-Party inmitten des Dschungels. Wir sassen hinten auf dem Pick-Up-Truck und als wir durch die staubigen und holprigen Strassen des Dschungels fuhren, «häts üs richtig dr Staub um d Ohra gstübt». Das Motto der Party war «Alice im Wunderland» - der DJ-Turm war die Katze, Pokerkarten wurden mit Seilen über der Open-Air-Tanzfläche gehängt und die Shots hatten Namen passend zu «Alice». Die Leute tanzten oder sassen auf «Strohballen» um verschiedene Lagerfeuer herum (dort verbesserte ich mein Holländisch und lernte einen Aargauer kennen, der in ein paar Wochen in die RS einrücken muss… hihi..). Gegen ein kleines Trinkgeld konnte man sich noch das Gesicht bemalen lassen – diese Gelegenheit liess ich mir natürlich nicht entgehen und war angenehm überrascht, als ich nach der Prozedur im Spiegel eine farbige Sonne auf meiner Stirn vorfand und nicht etwas «dümmeres»… Nach weiterem Tanzen ging es dann um 3 Uhr mit dem Shuttle zurück in Richtung Unterkunft. Tags darauf checkten wir aus. Wir hatten unser Busticket zurück nach Chiang Mai im Hostel gekauft, doch das Hostel war dann ganz überrascht, als wir ihnen sagten, dass sie uns jetzt doch eigentlich zum Busbahnhof bringen sollten. Der Gärtner nahm uns dann auf der Brücke des alten Pick-Up-Trucks mit. Für den Holländer war das eine tolle Erfahrung. Beim Busbahnhof zeigten wir dann unser Ticket vom Hostel, doch kein einziges Busunternehmen hatte eine Reservation für uns oder konnte den «Fresszettel» entziffern. So blieb uns nichts anderes übrig, als vor etwa ein weiteres Ticket zu kaufen (war zwar nur 4 Franken aber trotzdem ein bisschen mühsam). Auf dem Weg zurück traf es dann ein junges Fräulein im Bus, welche sich wegen den vielen Kurven übergeben musste und locker ein ganzes Säcklein füllte. Immerhin war der Busfahrer so freundlich und stoppte kurz, damit sie sich den Rest aus dem Bauch rauskotzen konnte. Zurück in Chiang Mai besuchten Terry und ich noch den Samstagsmarkt und gingen dann schlafen.

Am nächsten Tag trennten sich die Wege von Terry und mir ein zweites Mal. Auf mich alleine gestellt erkundete ich dann Chiang Mai und den Sonntagsmarkt. Tags darauf gemütlich erkundet und am Abend ein super gelbes Curry entdeckt. Danach in eine Jazz-Bar gesessen und einer traditionellen Band mit lustigen Hüten zugehört und zugeschaut. Als diese fertig waren, spielte eine koreanische Jazz/Pop-Band. Am nächsten Tag einen riesigen grünen Salat mit Poulet gegönnt und am Abend mit grosser Gruppe vom Hostel weggegangen und in Open-Air-Bar gelandet. Da war die Musik so laut, dass man die Musik immer noch in den Ohren hörte, als man schon lang wieder im Hostel im Bett lag. Am darauffolgenden Tag gönnte ich mir einen einstündigen Flug nach Bangkok. Dort kam ich an einem anderen Flughafen an als beim letzten Mal und so irrte ich zuerst eine knappe halbe Stunde am Flughafen umher um einen günstigen Bus ins Zentrum zu finden. In Bangkok checkte ich in einem sehr coolen und geselligen Hostel ein. Am Abend spielten wir Bierpong und tranken anschliessend Craftbeers auf der Rooftopterrasse eines Hotels. Nach einer tollen Nacht auf einer sehr bequemen Matratze googlete ich am nächsten Tag nach «Schweizer Restaurant in Bangkok» und nach erfolgreicher Lokalisierung gönnte ich mir in einem Schweizer Restaurant «Bratwurst mit Rösti» - und es war suuuper. Leider gab es dazu kein Rivella oder Shorley, doch das war nicht so schlimm. Danach ein gemütlicher Abend im Hostel. Am darauffolgenden Tag machte ich spontan die Walking Tour des Hostels mit. Zuerst liefen wir einige Minuten, dann mit einem sehr vollen Boot in Kanal, dann anderes Boot, danach zu Golden Mountain hochgelaufen (da gewann ich den Wettbewerb für das «hässlichste Selfie» mit meinen «umgelitzten Augenlidern»), danach TukTuk, dann Fähre, dann Spaziergang durch China Town, Besichtigung eines Buddhas und anschliessend mit Metro nach Hause. Wir nutzten also fast alle erdenklichen Transportmittel in Bangkok und trotzdem kamen wir am Ende ganz verschwitzt wieder im Hostel an. Am Abend ging es zu einer grossen Clubanlage mit den Namen «Route 66», wo viele Locals waren und man zu verschiedenen Musikrichtungen tanzen konnte. An meinem letzten ganzen Tag in Bangkok fuhr ich an einen riesigen Wochenendmarkt kaufte mir neue T-Shirts und viel zu kleine Boxershorts, wie sich im Nachhinein herausstellte. Zusätzlich bemerkte ich, dass ich meinen Ohrring nicht mehr hatte – aber auf diesem riesigen Markt gab es alles andere als Ohrringe für Männer. Der Markt war so gross, dass man auch nach mehreren Stunden herumlaufen noch nicht alle Stände gesehen hatte. In einem anderen Shoppingcenter in Bangkok kaufte ich mir dann noch vorübergehend billige Ohrstecker (Notiz an mich: Schwarze #-Ohrstecker stehen mir eigentlich auch nicht so schlecht). Nach einem Curry Massaman am Abend und der letzten Nacht in Südostasien klingelte der Wecker um 4.30 Uhr und es ging zum Flughafen für den Flug nach Tokio.

[victorluvsalice]

Valicer OT3 Week, Day Seven: Free Day!

It's the finale of OT3 Week! Thank you @ot3-week for bringing it to us! And, as is tradition, the final day is a "free day" for anything you may want to write --

And without a prompt to guide me, I naturally went back to my beloved Valicer In The Dark trio! :D Because my favorite AU of the moment definitely needs to be represented during this week as well. So have the trio hanging out in their lair after they've gotten established and fixed the place up some, with Victor bringing up an interesting topic of conversation...

--

“This is about as far from how I expected my life to go as possible.”

Smiler looked up from their spot on the floor, hand still wedged in the brushes of their Smile Sweeper automaton. “Hmmm?”

“It’s just – whenever I pictured my future, I pictured the plan my parents had made for me,” Victor continued, absently picking out a melody from the piano. “An arranged marriage to whoever was most likely to get them the status and the house in Brightstone my mother so craved. A job working in, then running Father’s cannery once he was ready to give up the reins. Children whenever Mother decided she wanted grandchildren. Things like that. I never – I hoped that I would come to love whoever my parents picked out for me, and that they wouldn’t mind me having a dog, but other than that...I didn’t really have any dreams for myself.” He looked around the living room. “Certainly not any that included me running away from home, becoming a Whisper, and setting up house in Six Towers with two people who actually and truly love me.”

“Don’t forget becoming a semi-famous criminal,” Alice put in, eyes still on her sketchbook.

Victor snorted. “That too. But yes – it’s really not where I thought I’d end up in life.”

“I don’t think any of us expected to end up here,” Smiler pointed out, finishing unwinding the thread that had tangled in the brushes. They flipped the Sweeper back over and switched on its electroplasmic battery, causing it to come back to life with a happy ping! “On my end, I thought I’d be living in Advocate headquarters for the rest of my life. Helping out fellow Advocates, advancing our causes, eventually trading Joy Serum sales on the street for taking over the shop in Nightmarket from Mum and Dad. Maybe get married and have children, maybe not – I wasn’t going to commit until I knew for sure it was going to make me happy. But in my future, I always put the Advocates first.” They grinned. “Then a man fell out of a wall in front of me and Alice, and everything took a big old left turn.”

“It was more to our side,” Alice said, smirking as she looked up. “But they have a point, Victor – do you think I expected any of this to happen? I couldn’t picture a future for myself at all for years – all throughout my time in Rutledge. It was too hard to think of a life without my family. And even when I realized I had to and defeated the Queen of Hearts to get myself out of there, I never thought much beyond the next week or so – simple survival always took precedence. Hell, even when you caught me on the way to Nan’s to talk to her about Bumby and what I should do, Smiler, I didn’t have any plans beyond taking care of him.” She bit her lip, lowering her sketchbook to her lap. “I think, subconsciously, I assumed I’d immediately get caught for his murder and Hollowed out.”

“Alice,” Victor started, getting up from the bench.

“I’m fine,” Alice assured him, holding up a hand. “And that’s the crux of the matter, isn’t it? I’m fine. Not perfect, but – bloody hell, in a better state than I ever thought I might achieve after Rutledge. I still talk to things that aren’t there, sure, but it’s not nearly as bad as it was. Wonderland’s even gone from hindrance to help, in fact – you two know my hallucinations are better at picking up things than I am sometimes. And as for the rest of it – I’ve got a roof over my head, I’ve got time for hobbies, I’m making a difference for those less fortunate than myself – in a very illegal manner, granted, but fuck the Bluecoats and all the corrupt shites they stand for–” She looked from Smiler to Victor, expression softening. “And I’ve got two people who love me, which is two more than I ever imagined.”

Victor smiled, going to join her on the couch. “Me too. I’m – I’m so happy I fell out of that wall in front of you two. Or, to the side, or – near you,” he finally said with a laugh. “Let’s just say near you.”

“I’m happy too,” Smiler said, releasing the Sweeper onto the floor and getting up to join them. “I don’t even want to imagine life without you two now. You’re my best friend, Alice – and you’re the best partner I could have ever dreamed of, Victor. I love you both so much.”

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Alice said, taking Victor’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “I know it was a bit of a long, bumpy road to get here, what with all the nonsense surrounding how we met and our chosen profession, but – I am so glad we put in the work.”

Victor squeezed her hand back, then took Smiler’s as they sat down next to him. “Me too. I am truly blessed to have you both in my life. I can’t wait to spend all our remaining years together.”

“Same,” Smiler said, leaning their head against his shoulder.

“Same,” Alice echoed, doing the same. “I just hope we have plenty of them – we have ticked off a lot of powerful and important people.”

“Well, they have to find our heavily-warded and ghost-protected house first,” Smiler said with a cheeky grin. “And good luck to them.”

“Mmm – though, that reminds me,” Victor said, looking between them. “I overheard in the greenhouse the other day a woman talking about how she was looking for someone to steal a brooch back from her estranged husband...”

[victorluvsalice]

I said I might do this in the tags on the first post of last week's Chill Valicer Save update -- here's the full-sized images from the in-game photoshoot I had my trio do right before said update so I'd have at least one shot of them in the correct order and wearing the correct clothes for my "OT3 Math" Valicertine's Day post. And then I ended up using all three anyway because I couldn't decide which one I liked best. XD Did I really need to do this for a single silly tumblr post about how much I love my Valicer OT3? No. Am I glad I did it anyway? Yes. XD

[victorluvsalice]

-->And so the group returned home, where the weather was actually halfway decent. I had Smiler and Victor resume their interrupted flirting, with Smiler getting frisky and going in for the kiss before getting a drink from Victor’s wrist (as they were QUITE thirsty at this point). Alice went and collected some of the wild chrysanthemums growing by the path to the barn while I pulled her photos and her and Victor’s paintings out of their inventories – the paintings went up into the attic rec room, to be framed and put on the wall next to the couch and the microphone, while I ended up selling most of the pictures, keeping just one small one to put in the digital picture frame. Seriously, that thing is useful when it comes to small picture storage... Anyway, I sent her upstairs to look at her own painting while Smiler finished their dinner and Victor went to have his (some more pumpkin spice waffles, as I’d shoved all the food back in the fridge once they got home) –

And then I looked at the back porch, and saw NPC Ericka Wada heading to the grill to do some herbalism. O.o Uh – when did you get here and why are you using the grill? I quickly had Victor send her home, then had him clean up the herbalism pot with his own dishes once he was done with his dinner. The fuck, game – at least require me to invite people in before they start using my grill and nearly burn my house down again!

-->Anyway – Smiler ended up heading to the attic to have a chat with Alice, and I figured while they were up there, that they could practice their comedy and tell a few jokes on the microphone. I had Victor transportalate up there to join them, and he and Alice watched and enjoyed Smiler’s performance (they both got the moodlet “Briefly Amused,” so it wasn’t a real WINNER, but they did laugh, so...). I ended the impromptu comedy hour around 10 PM, after which Smiler went back to their robotics station in the barn to make a computer chip; Alice went to the kitchen to have some more focaccia for dinner; amd Victor went to the second floor blue-and-white bathroom to mop a slime creature before using the toilet. I happened to notice at this point Victor was VERY close to getting a Talent Point from his magic usage, so I had him transportalate down to the greenhouse and cast Floralorial on that troublesome dahlia plant. Which – did actually seem to finally clear the glitch-weeds, when not even shift-clicking would. O.o Fingers crossed people! It also got him the Talent Point, which I promptly spent on “Hexproof” to protect him from all curses. :) I then pulled all of Alice’s super-vitality fertilizers out of her inventory (she didn't notice, she was busy playing laser pointer with Kelly in the back entrance mudroom) and put them into Victor’s so he could sprinkle them on all the oversized crops (though admittedly it looks like they’re all gonna be normal-sized crops this time), before noticing another specter outside the greenhouse and sending him over to give them a Potion of Good Fortune. They appreciated it and left Victor a forbidden candy jar, but as we already have three (one in the kitchen, one on the back porch, and Alice has the third in her inventory), I had Victor just straight-up sell that to an oddity collector. There's only so many oddities these three can collect after all!

-->And then – okay, I didn't get any pictures of this, but you'll see why I didn't in a second. After selling the candy jar, Shadow ran up to Victor whining about a ball – I figured “okay, let’s play fetch with the dog, I already have Alice playing laser pointer with the cats” (she'd moved onto entertaining I think Shock on the front porch by this point) and had Victor grab the ball in his inventory –

Only for Shadow to run away as another NPC showed upon the front porch for no good reason. *sigh* I had Alice send the person on the porch (Maya, I think her name was) away once she was done with the laser pointer, and waited for Shadow to finish her business so I could try to get the game of fetch back on. She headed upstairs and into Smiler’s room and approached their desk –

And then did that horrific glitch thing where pets try to stand up like Sims but their legs get all thin and distorted and their heads end up going backwards. O.o It only lasted for a moment, but as you might imagine, it triggered another MCCC error. (I think the dog was trying to play with one of the chatterbots on Smiler’s desk – maybe the NPC wanted to do that and the game got confused?) And kind of killed my desire for fetch. XD Fortunately, at that point I realized that it was actually after midnight in the game and decided it was a good time to wrap things up with the trio, saving and closing.

And that was the gang's Summer Tuesday! Nice, productive day for them – I’m glad to see that their snack business is doing pretty well. :D And I have to admit, it’s a little more fun to take the food stand around all the different worlds than just do the same thing over and over at the grocery store. But I still want to sell everything in their store before I do anything different with it. :p Next time we hit this save, though, the trio will be heading to Chestnut Ridge for SimCity Founding! We'll see you then!

[victorluvsalice]

-->And sent them off to San Myshuno and their grocery store! I had Alice open the place up in the hopes that it would allow her to greet customers (she is bizarrely buggy in that regard), then had everyone change into their hot weather wear since it was pretty warm in the city (well, technically Smiler was ALREADY in hot weather wear, but I decided I wanted them to wear a different set – went with the silly backwards cap and sunglasses XD). There was a brief moment of flirtation on the sidewalk outside their store (Victor and Smiler sharing a kiss, and Victor and Alice holding hands while Smiler looked on with a grin – think I've found another "compersion"-related Valicertine picture there) –

-->And then – RETAIL TIME! Starting with the first customer of the day, (pre-refresh) Bella Goth! I was pleased to see that Alice WAS able to greet customers this time around and had her go say hi to Bella – a process that took some doing as Bella kept wandering around the store before Alice could reach her, but she got there in the end. Meanwhile, a super-confident Smiler went straight up to visiting Sulanian Ukupanipo (I THINK he’s a mermaid, but wouldn’t swear to it), greeted him, and immediately closed the deal, getting the guy to buy a bag of deodorant gummies for $179. XD Smiler and Victor then proceeded to chat with other customers while Alice kept working on Bella – she eventually closed the deal on her too, though it didn’t result in quite as spectacular a sale – Bella, as it turned out, only wanted a mere jar of meat substitute for $24. Aurelio Robles buying a bottle of milk from the fridges unprompted netted them more profit, as that cost him $25. XD Still, a sale’s a sale! While all this was happening, though, I noticed some displays were looking a bit manky, and prepared to have Victor magically clean them –

-->And then went “WAIT. YOU HAVE BEEN MEANING TO DO THIS FOR AGES, INCLUDING RIGHT BEFORE THEY LEFT FOR THE STORE TODAY. BIND HIS DRAGON FAMILIAR TO HIM FIRST.”

So I did. XD And thus Victor ended up with a very cute dark purple dragon buddy named Darkwing (the pre-generated name, I quite liked it and thus stuck with it) flying behind him for the rest of the day as he did his thing. :) I will always be a bit salty that you can’t do more with familiars than just watch them hang around your Sim (and bring said Sim back to life if they overload and die), but they do LOOK absolutely adorable, and I’m glad Victor was able to get the dragon one I so wanted him to get. :) Now if only he could cuddle the little guy...ah well.

[victorluvsalice]

-->Anyway, with the rush over, I decided that I wanted Alice to make a pizza in her new pizza oven, so I had her check out her options, then prep some veggies and make some cheese in order to get a garden pizza going. Victor and Smiler kept working the sales floor, chatting to customers and leading to a few more sales – a guy named Umber snagged one of Victor’s Energizing scents for $744, while Brytani deigned to buy some watermelon conserve for $171 (I made sure Victor rung her up, since Smiler doesn’t like her for some reason). Cameron Fletcher also came by to grab a $2 spinach – I’m glad he’s not too annoyed that I banned him from the break room microwave. XD Alice wandered back upstairs while waiting on the stand mixer to clean one of the displays (which WERE getting a bit manky) – I promptly sent her back downstairs to collect her prepped vegetables and get the pizza in the oven while I had Victor finish the cleaning magically and conjure up some spaghetti for himself. Smiler meanwhile got another sale – someone named Anaya buying a box of veggie MREs for $241. For five seconds, everything seemed to be going well –

-->BOOM ANOTHER MASS BUYING EVENT! Complete with lag, because you gotta have lag. *heavy sigh* I had Alice stay downstairs long enough to get her pizza (as it was almost done by the time everyone decided they wanted to buy something), but after that, it was all hands on deck to take care of customers! Fortunately, they got them all – Paolo with a cube of beeswax for $18; Tetsuya with a box of canned fishcakes for $413; Dali with a box of chocolate syrup jars for $413; Jeb and Osuma both with friendly animal treats for $17 each. Oh, and a guy named Chad grabbed a strawberry out of the produce fridges for $19. Whew! I put Victor on "removing all of the out-of-stock signs" duty afterward while Smiler cleaned up some stray plates and glasses that had ended up on the produce stands (the custom “farmer’s market”-style ones I got from Brazen have slots on the little shelf underneath, it appears – perfect for Sims to hide shit from you) and Alice made a clay bunny. As you do. Alice then used the toilet and ate a container of prepped veggies over the bathroom sinks (I forgot you could just eat prepped ingredients straight-up) before running off to shower in the rain. *shakes fist* ERRATIC SIMS! While she was busy causing newcomers to the lot to gasp, Victor and Smiler handled what I decided would be the last sales of the day – Ivana with a box of canned tomato sauce for $413, and Francine with a pumpkin animal treat for $46. There was another lady wanting to buy something, but for some reason Smiler kept insisting they couldn’t get to her, so before things got any more chaotic, I decided to have them close the store. All in all, they sold 18 total items for a profit of $3,729! Not bad for a day’s work!

-->Except – when Smiler closed up shop, three people stayed behind, the previously-stuck lady and two others, all with shopping carts over their heads. Puzzled, I had Smiler and Alice (back in her clothes) ring up the two that could be reached (Victor heading back into the break room for another nap) while I let the “stuck” one time out – this did NOT result in any post-closing sales, though, just some customer goodwill. Well, for everyone except the customer who was mysteriously blocked. Sorry, lady, not sure what happened there! Try again next time!

-->Anyway – with that sorted, the trio decamped to the break room to watch a bit of TV and do a bit of flirting, as they do. :) Once the last customer had FINALLY left the store, they headed back to their place, arriving back home at about 9 PM in-game –

[victorluvsalice]

Actually-Incorrect Valicer Quotes: Romantic Ridiculousness Edition

Another set of quotes from the Perchance generator (some slightly edited), this time all with a "this is how they got together, incorrectly" theme --

--

Victor: So, what’s Alice's type? Smiler: Brown eyes, kind, oblivious, good sense of humor, dog lover. Victor: Sounds kind of like me. Too bad we’re just friends. Smiler: Did I mention oblivious? Victor: Yeah, why? Smiler: Okay, just making sure.

--

Smiler: Hey, Alice, are you free on Friday? Like around eight? Alice: Yeah. Smiler: And you, Victor? Victor: Umm... yes? Smiler: Great! Because I'm not. You two go out without me. Enjoy your date! Victor: Did they just-

--

Smiler: That shirt looks great, Alice. Alice: Thanks. Smiler: But I bet it would look even better on Victor's floor. Victor: Are you hitting on Alice... for me?

--

Victor: [head on the table] Did Alice just tell me she loved me for the first time? Smiler: Yeah, she did. Victor: And did I just do finger guns back? Smiler: Yeah, you did.

--

Alice: [texting] Due to personal reasons, I will be fucking sinking to the bottom of the ocean in a large metal box. Smiler: [texting] Did Victor say 'I love you' and you said 'Thanks'? Alice: [texting] THE REASONS ARE PERSONAL–

--

Victor: [pretending to joke] So when are you going to go out with me? Smiler: [smiling] I don't know. When are you going to ask me to? Alice: [later on] And you just ran away?! Victor: I didn't expect them to flirt back!

--

Smiler: [is wearing silk pants] How does this look? Victor: Like its slips on and off really easily. Smiler: Victor: No, I didn't mean it like that- Alice: We know what you meant.

--

Victor: Well, remember when Smiler made a romantic dinner for me? Alice: Victor, they microwaved you a pizza.

--

Victor: Hi, sorry I’m late. I was doing a couple of things and got distracted. Smiler: I’m “a couple of things.” Alice: I’m “got distracted.”

--

Victor: Having two partners is both amazing and complicated. But all our problems are solved with communication. Smiler: It’s my turn to cuddle Alice. Victor: FIVE MORE MINUTES DAMMIT!

--

Random Other Person: So, what is Smiler to you two? Victor and Alice: [look at each other] Alice: The reason we wake up every morning. Random Other Person: Aww, that’s adorable. Smiler earlier that morning, barging into their shared room, smacking pans together: WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP!!!

[victorluvsalice]

-->And then – fishing! With nothing better for my boy and my enby to do, I sent them over to the local fishing spot at the lovely Lake Lunvik via their various teleports and had them start fishing. Smiler got a nice salmon, while Victor caught a Discus AND the “Wise Wolfman” tablet! Not that he can read it properly, as the runes are secret werewolf language script, but still – cool to have! He also got up to Fishing level 7, which was nice, and developed a Like for the activity – hey, he may not enjoy EATING fish, but catching them is something else. :p

-->Meanwhile, Alice, feeling the rage after enhancing her smell and scavenging for goodies again (again with no luck – how was it Victor was luckier with his fishing than she was with her scavenging when it came to werewolf artifacts?), super-sped her way to the top of the Howling Point to have a private spot for a potential rampage! I had her do some howling, yet more scavenging (she picked up some Plathinum, at least), stomping around angrily, napping, and grooming herself, and eventually she went over the edge into a proper RAMPAGE! Which, as per usual, consisted of her doing some more scavenging just to see if she’d dig anything cool up, before regaining control and going back to normal. XD Look, if you’re not the kind of werewolf who enjoys spooking people, rampages are kind of a whole lot of nothing. :P

-->With Alice having gotten in a lot of werewolf practice (enough to get an ability point, in fact! I picked up “Natural Healing” just so I could unlock the “Immortal” ability for later – once I can get her and Victor to be immortal like Smiler is, I’ll go ahead and turn aging back on for the save), and the hour getting VERY late, I decided it was time the gang headed home. Alice and Victor had a nice "home again" makeout by the front door, then Alice sped off to bed while Victor and Smiler cuddled in the front entrance. :) I was feeling very content indeed with the day –

-->And then I looked over, saw the entire wind farm was broken, and grumbled to myself as I got Victor to Repairio the lot as Smiler paid the bills. XD Smiler then got put on mechanism-making duty while I had Victor make some eco upgrade parts – or, at least, try to make some eco upgrade parts. The first attempt ended with him in a fight with the fabricator, and the second attempt ended with him getting spooked by the house making weird noises. *shakehead* Not a good night for Victor there. I gave up and had him go to bed just as a refreshed Alice was getting up – SHE got sent to pick up volume three of the vampiric encyclopedia to read in the séance room, only to discover that it was a bit too advanced for her understanding yet. Ah well, she tried.

And that is that for this particular episode! Next time, we check out Spring Tuesday, which also involves the trio getting their occult on -- only this time we're focusing on VICTOR'S brand instead of Alice's...

[victorluvsalice]

Valice Calendar: If It Wasn't Official Before Then, It Sure Was Official Then

Wondering what I'm talking about? Well, we've reached one of the last couple of dates to celebrate on my Valice( r) Calendar -- specifically, this is the first mention I could find of one of my Alice muses for LJ RP calling one of my Victor muses her "boyfriend." The context for this one was that I was doing a personal "88 Advent" fic-a-thon for my LJ of stories of 88 words in the days leading up to Christmas, and the fic for that day was a meta one featuring one of my Marty muses encountering my new Alice muse (who was intended for "Beyond The Rift," the game I mentioned back on the "thinking of fanfic" day) having just made gingerbread. And being suspicious of said gingerbread as she'd made it under the tutelage of Ms. Plum from Corpse Bride. XD At any rate, this is what I wrote immediately under the fic:

Yes, this is FuturePossibleRift!Alice, who insists on hanging around my head. -Alice: Well, my boyfriend's here!- -Rift!Victor: pleased blush-

So yeah -- I was definitely shipping it beforehand, but this was probably the final nail in the coffin of me ever trying to get free of this ship again. Victor was Alice's boyfriend, and that was that. And it's been that ever since. :) Really glad I never convinced myself this was a horrible ship -- it's been a real source of joy in my life over the past fifteen years. And I'm glad so many of you seem to enjoy it as well. Here's hoping for many more. :)

[victorluvsalice]

-->And then, finally, it was off to the store to actually open at a reasonable hour! Fortunately, when the trio arrived, the weather was merely chilly and partly cloudy, meaning there was no need to mess with the weather and get anyone electrocuted or anything like that. Alice, who was feeling the Fury, got sent off to have Zoomies, while Smiler grabbed a nice plasma pack snack before Victor officially opened the doors. He and Smiler then went around clearing "out of stock" signs while waiting for their first customer --

-->Who turned out to be none other than Agnes Crumplebottom. Stomping around all annoyed as usual. XD I had Smiler go say hi and chat with her to spare Victor her bad mood, and by the end, while she wasn’t any happier, she was at least receptive to a sales pitch. Good work, Smiler. :) Even if she did end up giving you a spook!

-->And then – well, it was all about handling the crowd of customers, socializers, and loiterers that came to the new hot grocery shop on the block! Victor and Smiler roamed the sales floor, asking customers about their price ranges, offering information on the products, and generally being as enthusiastic as they could be about the place. Smiler even dropped a "Happy Bomb" at one point with their "Influence Emotion" power to make sure everyone was having an excellent shopping experience! And it all did very much pay off -- quite literally, because the customers were buying things. XD Smiler got their first sale from a guy named Yuuna for a jar of lettuce conserve -- this was followed quickly by a guy named Mitchell buying a box of canned tomato sauce and Darrel Charmer buying a crate of chocolate milk (and me getting another LE around the same time – it DEFINITELY seems like some of Simsonian Library’s bulk food products and Brazen Lotus’s retail fridge stuff aren’t playing quite nice. Have to check on that later!), then two quill fruit sales and someone buying a Focused Scent after the "Happy Bomb." Nice!

-->But what about Alice? Well, she came back from her Zoomies less Furious but much hungrier, so I sent her straight to the break room to grab a few chicken nuggets and chow down. Once she'd had her lunch, she got put on restocking duty -- specifically, making new baked goods to fill the bakery section! She started by baking some butterscotch cupcakes in the oven, because now we can do that, shock of shocks. Don't know if I approve of her scratching herself so close to them afterward, but she's not in her furry form, so it's probably fine. XD