#and Alice being Victor's wife thus needed to take that last name too

[victorluvsalice]

Before the trio headed off to the slightly-improved Ohan'ali Beach! I say "slightly improved" because, before they came here today, I popped into the beach in Build Mode and made a few adjustments -- adding a barrel grill over by the picnic area, putting some fancy loungers out on the dock, adding a kiddie pool for any visiting toddlers afraid of the ocean, and applying the Sunny Aspect, Bracing Breezes, and Island Spirits lot traits. Oh, and putting a certain three-legged object in a certain spot...

But THAT was for later. When they first arrived, they had some other activities they wanted to complete --

-->Victor actually did specifically want in-game to cloudgaze with Alice, so I had them plop down on the sand and do that first thing. They seemed to have fun, even if I don't think there were many clouds in the sky! And it's always good to fulfill wants, to avoid that dang "unfulfilled dreams" fear...

-->Smiler, meanwhile, spotted their buddy Nalani and went over to chat for a little bit over the chess board, before joining her to make a nice sand sculpture of a turtle. :) Gotta keep up one of their most important friendships, after all!

-->While Smiler and Nalani built their turtle, Victor moved over to swinging on the swings, while Alice decided to try scavenging for stuff in the sand, instead of just combing it for shells. Unfortunately, all that did was annoy a fellow beach goer. I mean, dude, beyond there being some extra mud kicked up, how can you even tell the difference between werewolf scavenging and normal beach combing? I swear, Sims are so uptight about so many harmless werewolf activities...

-->Determined to have a good time and get away from judgy NPCs, Alice plopped herself in the kiddie pool for a little lounge while Victor went to relax on one of the free towels and Smiler, done with the turtle, took their turn on the swing. Everyone had a nice time chilling for a little bit, just enjoying the sun and sand and whatnot...

-->And then it was time for a swim! Because you can't visit the beach and not take at least a short swim. Alice changed into a more appropriate bathing suit on her own, though I had to direct Victor and Smiler to take off their shirts and shoes (and sunglasses). They hung out in the water for a little bit, splashing each other and chatting a little bit --

And then I got a pop-up in the corner. Saying that Alice had work in an hour.

Yeah, apparently while I wasn't looking, she ran out of vacation days at her job. Well, THAT wasn't going to fly! I sent everyone back to shore, where Alice shook herself off and FINALLY officially quit the Artist career (she really does NOT need that paycheck anymore). Victor, fairly tired, took over a lounger for a nap while Alice went back in the water to do some laps...

[thevalicemultiverse]

Things You Need To Know About: Somebody I Used To Know

Tag: ~V: Somebody I Used To Know

Premise: Victor Van Dort’s best childhood friend was Alice Liddell – until the fire that killed her family and sent her into bedlam. Victor was kept ignorant of her fate for years, being told only that she was “sick,” until driver Mayhew accidentally let the news spill. Furious, Victor demanded he be allowed to visit her in Rutledge Asylum, where he became one of the few able to get a reaction out of the catatonic Alice. And then, one day, after the exchange of a drawn ticket for the Looking-Glass Line and the return of Alice’s rabbit by a kindly nurse, Victor took his friend’s hand – and was pulled down into a world of wonder and danger, forced to fight by her side if he wanted any chance of getting home with his sanity and will intact…

This AU was based off an RP/OTP prompt I saw a LOOONG time ago and unfortunately forgot to like. The gist of it was: Person A is catatonic in an asylum, and Person B comes in to read to them on a regular basis. Just as Person B despairs of ever getting a response, Person A looks directly at them. End result is Person B finally breaking through Person A’s silence. Naturally my mind put Victor and Alice into the appropriate roles, and this universe was born.

The starting-off point is a really old story of mine where I had Victor and Alice meet as children: By The Riverside. In this universe, though, Victor delays leaving at the end, and Nell comes storming up demanding to know what's happened and who this little girl who's also sopping wet is. The moment Alice's boating companions mention she's the Dean's daughter, though, Nell's suddenly a picture of politeness, offering them all a lift back in their carriage. And once back at Alice's house -- well, they could stay for tea, couldn't they, their children get along so well after all. . .

The end result is Victor and Alice soon develop a close friendship through little visits and exchanged letters. Unfortunately, when the fire happens, Victor finds himself abruptly cut off from his pal -- his parents don't want to traumatize him with Alice's burned state, and when she gets committed, they certainly don't want to be seen in Rutledge. They fob him off with stories that she's become very sick, limiting his contact to letters that never get a response.

Roughly ten years later, Mayhew, seeing Victor writing his latest missive, lets slip that Alice is in bedlam. Victor, horrified and infuriated, insists on going to visit her. Dr. Wilson is surprised to see a friend of hers after so long, but nevertheless lets him in gladly, hoping he'll be able to provoke a response from the catatonic Alice. Which he does, eventually, via the situation described in the prompt. Shortly afterward, Alice does some of her famous asylum drawings, as described in the casebook. Victor, delighted, reminds her of all the stories she used to tell him about the place and how he'd always wished he could see it -- in return, she draws him a ticket for the Looking-Glass Line railway. A few days later, he arrives in time to see the nurse return her beloved bunny toy, and takes her hand as he sits by her side --

Which, unknowingly for both of them, is the catalyst for casting the spell Travel Into Fantasy, the first condition of which (written permission) was fulfilled earlier by the ticket sketch. So when Mr. Bunny suddenly comes to life and sends Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole -- Victor comes with.

From then on, Victor and Alice find themselves dealing with all the dangers and wonders of AMA-era Wonderland, while in the real world the doctors are absolutely baffled about why Victor's suddenly lapsed into a semi-lucid state where he's talking about bouncy mushrooms and snapping Snarks with Alice -- and won't let go of her hand no matter what they do. They make it all the way to Queensland together, but Alice has him wait in the Castle Keep while she takes on the Queen of Hearts alone, frightened he'll be killed otherwise like all her Wonderland friends. She defeats the Queen, restores Wonderland, and the two return to lucidity. Victor remains at the asylum long enough to see Alice off to Houndsditch (and reassure the doctors that yes, he's fine now, he doesn't need leeches), then heads home, thinking his adventures are over and preparing to settle back into a pen-pal relationship.

However, their separation doesn't last long -- in late December 1874, Victor's parents inform him he's getting married to the daughter of the lord and lady across the square. Astonished, Victor informs Alice -- and admits that he fell in love with her during their adventure and will run away with her in a heartbeat if she asks. Alice replies that while she cares deeply for Victor, she's not sure if she's ready for that sort of a relationship and doesn't want to leave him hanging. Victor, understanding if sad, agrees to go along with the marriage, and Alice promises she'll come to the wedding for moral support. She and Bumby show up for the rehearsal, where Victor discovers he does like Victoria -- but his nerves sabotage things, and the rehearsal is rendered a shambles, with him fleeing in shame. Alice sticks around the Everglots to reassure Victoria on Victor's good qualities and to get to know this new person in her and Victor's life --

And thus is present when Victor shows up on the balcony, followed by a dead woman claiming to be his wife. The shock of learning that the afterlife is real, coupled with some growing doubts about the story she's been having about Dinah's role in the fire, makes something click in Alice's head, and suddenly Wonderland opens up beneath her, ready for a second adventure. But as it turns out, her natural talent for Travel Into Fantasy -- awoken when she took Victor with her to Wonderland in the asylum -- is stronger than ever, and as Victor and Victoria both grab her to steady her and Emily grabs Victor to ask what's going on --

All FOUR of them end up in Wonderland.

So Alice's hunt for the truth behind the fire is undertaken with three extra helpers -- the now-an-old-hand-at-this Victor, the somewhat-stunned-but-gamely-pushing-forward Victoria, and the surprisingly-enthusiastic-because-she-temporarily-gets-her-living-form-back Emily. The four grow very close over their adventures, to the point where they all eventually admit their love for all the others. Alice of course discovers the truth about Bumby and Houndsditch, while a little additional prodding from Wonderland has Victor, Victoria, and Emily realize Emily's killer is the newcomer at the Van Dort/Everglot wedding rehearsal. So when they wake up after finally reaching the Infernal Train, they're all furious and ready to enact some justice. Bumby and Barkis try to talk their way out of it, but eventually decide murder might just be the best solution, and a battle occurs, which ends with the two men very soundly defeated. Emily, now having had her murder avenged, moves on to the next stage of the afterlife a bit reluctantly, while Victoria "hires" Alice as her lady's maid so she can stay with her and Victor without suspicion. And on their honeymoon, they discover two things:

A) They can all still enter Wonderland in their dreams (Alice jokes they must have a season ticket on the Looking-Glass Line)

B) Emily is now a permanent resident of Wonderland. No, she has no idea how it happened, and nobody's going to question it -- they're just going to settle into being as happy a quartet as they can be under the circumstances.

This verse has three distinct time periods/locations threads can be set in:

The Red Pool: August to November 1874, the rough time period of American McGee's Alice. Victor's visiting Rutledge and either dealing with the characters there (yes, thank you Monroe twins, he knows he's stick-thin and too pale), visiting Alice during one of her rare lucid moments, or recovering from Wonderland adventures during one of his lucid moments. Please tell him he didn't hurl that teapot across the room. . .

Van Dort Wedding Rehearsal: December 1874 onward, including Corpse Bride (January 1875) and the pushed-up four-player version of Alice: Madness Returns. Victor can be dealing with the terrors of his upcoming arranged marriage, or settling into a much happier life than he ever expected with his wife and their mutual mistress. (And if you threaten to tell his parents about the arrangement, he has months of simulated combat experience under his belt. Tread carefully.)

Destroy The Queen Of Hearts: Like Derail The Infernal Train in Valice Madness Returns, the name is non-indicative -- it's meant for just Wonderland in general. That means threads can be set during Victor and Alice's initial run to destroy the Queen; the four-player quest with Victoria and Emily to derail the Train; or even the quiet times afterward with Victor and Victoria happily married, Alice pretending to be Victoria's "lady's maid," and Emily making a home for herself in the Vale of Tears. Victor (or indeed any of them) wouldn't be too surprised to find a stranger in Wonderland -- after all, if Victor, Victoria, and Emily can be pulled in, why not someone else? -- but he will be on his guard. And again, that Vorpal Fork may look silly, but it is sharp.

Common NPCs:

Alice Liddell (throughout)

Victoria Everglot (Van Dort Wedding Rehearsal, Destroy The Queen Of Hearts)

Emily Cartwell (Van Dort Wedding Rehearsal, Destroy The Queen Of Hearts)

Wonderlanders (Destroy The Queen Of Hearts)

Dr. Wilson (The Red Pool)

Lightning the corgi (Van Dort Wedding Rehearsal)

Shipping: Welcome to our first poly AU! While Victoria and Emily are only present in threads set after AMA (aka Van Dort Wedding Rehearsal or post-AMA Destroy The Queen Of Hearts), by the end of the main plotline of the universe, the two have joined up with Victor and Alice in a happy little quartet. (Or, well, trio during waking hours, quartet during sleeping ones.) So Victor's open to romantic interactions with any of them.

NPC Ships: None

Important Facts:

Victor has all the same Wonderland weapons from Valice Madness Returns -- the Vorpal Fork, the Grim Scythe, the Quill Bow, the Wedding Wine, the Sketchbook, and the Altar Candle (yes, I'm aware the Fork makes less sense in this world but I still like it). He'll also use Alice's weapons from the first game, favoring the Cards and the Croquet Mallet.

NPC Victoria and Emily also have Wonderland weapons -- these are still being designed, but I know Victoria has a fireplace poker and a sewing-needle rapier, and Emily has a rose-thorn whip. More to be added later!

The four are very close, especially near the end-game of this world’s version of A:MR. Threatening one of them is basically inviting yourself to a world of pain from the other three.

Victor knows some magic (if being pulled into Alice's head in Rutledge wasn't enough to convince him it exists, raising a dead bride certainly was), although he's not nearly as far along on his journey as either Forgotten Vows or Valice Madness Returns Victor. He obviously knows Travel Into Fantasy, and he's picked up Glowing Orb, Mend the Shattered, and Imagination Into Reality. Others may be added later!

NPC Alice has Travel Into Fantasy as a natural affinity magic-wise, and it's strong enough to pull others into her mind if they're just touching her (instead of the usual rigamarole with exchanging written permission and then having to hold hands). With Victor and Victoria she might not even need that much (though they generally keep their Wonderland escapades to sleeping times and almost always share a bed, so the point is kind of moot). She also knows Victor's spells, plus Write Across The Miles and Reaper's Speech (because the moment she learned she COULD talk to Lizzie again, she was going to).

NPC Victoria knows Victor's spells, plus Scrub & Shine and Eden's Blessing (creates food from fruit seeds). NPC Emily had an affinity for Converse With Beasts (allows one to speak with a specific animal species; this is how she understood Scraps), but as most animals in Wonderland speak English. . .

All the AMA and A:MR Wonderland realms are open for threads (yes, the same domains from canon appear here in the four-player A:MR, just with different “triggers” -- the Van Dorts being fish merchants is what inspires the Deluded Depths this time around for example). Post the Barkis and Bumby mess, Victoria ends up taking over the Dollhouse as “her” domain, and Victor and Emily each create one of their own -- the Butterfly Jungle for Victor, and a moon-based one (like in the artbook) for Emily.

This verse is open to everyone!