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Now I know what you're wondering: A happy story in my gallery? What madness is this?
Well, a user on DA posted a lovely little picture of Violet Beauregard turning into essentially a twin of Agustus Gloop, chocolate obsession and all. And, after getting the artist's permission, I decided to do my own variant of this event. Not just with Violet getting the treatment however, as her mother gets in on the act as well. And why? Well, as the films are eager to point out, it's not just the kids who are to blame for their behavior but the parents as well. However happy Violet could be in her new form would mean little with her mother was still as nasty as ever.
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You know the story by now I suppose. Down below for non-downloads
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There was some part of Wonka that was telling him this would all be a waste of time. The tour had hardly begun, the group having just left the edible room, yet one child was already eliminated and most of the others had proven themselves absolute brats. Mike Teevee was a mumbling narcissist, Veruca Salt was a greedy little hog, and as for Violet; the sound of her gum chewing was really starting to get on Wonka’s nerves. He didn’t expect the parents to do anything about any of them. From what little thought he gave to his childhood, parents only made things worse. The only one with any ounce of humble humanity was little Charlie Bucket, somehow Wonka knew that was the one to win the prize. At least, that was how the boy appeared. Wonka knew however that just like his everlasting gobstoppers or edible room or fizz-slinger ringer pops, it’s the layers under the surface that really count. Wonka showed no signs of his favoritism and instead led the tour onwards, off the boat and onto the docking platform.
“Right this way everyone, right this way, so much chocolate and walking today.” So many different rooms to try, but nothing could keep Wonka’s mind still for long enough. Or perhaps that was just the thrill of being on the riverboat? Either way, the group walked on past doors of all sizes, large bulkhead, small dainty tea doors, sliding doors painted with Vernicious Kinids (that one was Oompa-only). For a moment, Wonka stopped at a pair of large double-doors with ‘Inventing Room' marked over them in bright neon. Perhaps he would have opened the door if it weren’t for the continued smacking and chewing of Violet’s gum. There was too much delicate scientific instruments and procedures in there and no way, no how was Wonka going to risk any of it because that girl and her mother found some use in chewing gum.
So the tour continued on, Wonka addressing doors as they passed, but still not finding one that would be best suited to his needs.
That is until he came upon a pair of oaken doors. They held no plate or sign to their meaning and we’re, if not for the giant W’s etched into their frames and knobs, the most normal doors the group had seen yet.
“Here we are everyone! The next stop on our tour, oh and I think you’re going to like it! But first…” Wonka knocked off his hat and, with the skill of a magician, reached in and pulled out a whole bowl of Wonka chocolate bars. “…I urge you to take one of these free samples. They’re perfectly normal bars, I assure you.”
Everyone had their own reactions to this display, and everyone took a bar in the end, but it was Violet’s reaction that cracked Wonka’s smile. “More chocolate? You gotta be kidding me.” At her mother’s prodding, she took a bar in hand like she was holding a dishrag.
Ignoring that little display, Wonka gave a series of knocks on the door, both with his cane and his gloves. Perhaps if one was in the Boy Scouts, or just that into old communication waves, they might theorize some message was being relayed to the other side, especially with the jabs and thuds that answered back.
“What’s that’s supposed to be? Your servant’s little clubhouse?” Evidently, Violet’s mom had been neither as a kid.
Having paid no mind to the insult, Wonka opened the door. “What you’re going to see in here is something I have yet to announce to the public. A new thing that’ll surely knock your socks.” He was about to step inside before he added, “Though if they are, please put them back on, this is a hygienic facility.”
As the door closed behind them, the group was awash in silence. They followed their guide as he marched past bookshelves large as an elephant yet barren as a desert.
“See, I realized something thanks to my world travels.” Wonka’s voice was the only sound not carrying an echo. “Back when I had average Joe’s and Janes working for me, there’s always be a language barrier keeping things from going smoothly. I had to worry about translator costs, dialect differences, lost hours due to language courses and cultural fizzbooms like no one ever saw in one’s life.” At that moment, Wonka and therefore the tour group, stopped in front of a large portrait of the candy maker in an explorer getup. “So I said to myself, ‘Willy, everything in life would go a lot smoother if people could just find a way to understand each other.’”
With a press of his cane, a recorded voice burst from the painting. “That’s a good idea me.”
A tip of the hat and the tour continued. “Though the Oompa-Loompahs help matters, that statement never left my mind. And so, I’ve had my genius put to work assembling this:” Reaching for one of the many empty shelves, Wonka pushed it in, causing the wall of cases to retract into the ground, revealing the hallway’s end. “…Wonka’s Chocolate Culture Crunch!”
It sounded like Mike said something to the name, but he was still too much of a mumbler for Wonka to care. The rest of the group stood with a greater since of astonishment.
They must have been standing where the chimneys were because the room sprang up for miles above them, a near endless amount of floors rising up and up into darkness. On the floor they were on, they were met with a series of alcoves, featuring picturesque scenery of various countries. Germany, America, Australia and so on. In front of each of these murals was a candy bar, sitting on a pedestal like the Crown Jewels of England (richly depicted on the other side of the room of course.)
“Real impressive, isn’t it?” Wonka returned to the front of the group and swirled his cane at the expanse above them. “I admit, it’s all in the testing stages right now and I don’t have every country in the globe represented yet, but I’m getting there.” One of the parents, it didn’t matter who to Wonka, asked just what this was all about. To this, Wonka brought out a series of flashcards. He flipped through them at rapid, letting them fall to the floor before just tossing them all into the air.
“The bottom line is, just one bite of one of these bars and it’ll be like you were born in an entirely different place, just without any of the messy red tape. Languages, knowledge of culture, all at your fingertips and swallowed whole.”
During his speech, Wonka had pushed yet another button and the vibrantly painted scenes vanished, revealing otherwise one-way mirrors to the Oompah-Loompahs working behind. Once finished, he flicked the murals back on.
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of textbooks I’ve had to go through to get all this equipment working. Like I said though, it is still in the baseline stages. Hence the regular free sample bars I had given before we came in. Feel free to enjoy the murals for a moment, the Oompah-Loompahs worked real hard getting my memories of foreign lands to work out.”
At this declaration, the group dispersed, parents keeping close to their kids so as to not have another Augustus situation and hence be kicked from the contest.
That is, except for one pair.
When Scarlett was sure everyone’s backs were turned, she gave her daughter a poke towards the German mural. “Violet, see if you can grab a piece or two.” Even her whisper was in a harsh tone.
For once in her life, Violet was not on board. “Mom, it’s chocolate.”
“It’s a brain in a candy bar.” Scarlett hissed as she gave her daughter another, more forceful push. “Just one of those square could get you a leg up on any quiz bowl. And who knows when that scatterbrain will put these on the market? You’ll have an advantage over anyone else.”
Advantages. That meant winning, and that meant more trophies. For all Violet couldn’t stand about chocolate, the prospect of more gold for the showroom was a healthy compromise. And even still, it wasn’t like she would have to eat the whole thing, Wonka had said just a square or two would do.
With feline movements, owing to her years of gymnastics, Violet slipped under the rope divider and pulled away the German bar, swapping it for her mother’s sample bar before slinking back as if nothing had happened.
Violet held the bar up to her mother, who gave her a lukewarm pat on the shoulder. “Good girl, but you shimmied too much under the bar. We’ll need to step up your training when we get home.” Blinded by her mother’s compliment, Violet smiled in satisfaction.
“Now…to make sure it works.” With a swipe of her nail, Scarlett opened the pack, which Violet turned her nose up. “Oh stop being such a baby. If you wanna be the best, you have to suffer for it.” Scarlett continued to hiss as she took a small square off the bar. “Now nibble and let’s see that brain grow.”
Both parties kept their eyes about at as Violet took the gum from her mouth and stuck it behind her ear. “I’m not about to let chocolate poison my gum.” She thought as she reached for the square.
From the second-floor balcony, Wonka watched the little comedy through his cane’s reflection. Parents, what good were they for? Or gum for that matter? Those two were a shoo-in out of the contest, and out of the three remaining Charlie still seemed the likely winner. But he kept his eye on the Beuaraguardes, ready to blow the whistle and call everyone over to the next example of child gone awry.
“Well?”
Violet shook her head. “I didn’t taste anything, and I felt like I was swallowing gravel.”
Scarlett snorted. “Well, last I checked, there’s no prize for any of that.” She grabbed her daughter’s mouth and held it open, trying to spy the square under her tongue or on the roof. Finding nothing, Scarlett turned back to the chocolate. “That weirdo did say this was prototype stuff.” This time, she disconnected a whole ‘L’s worth and handed it to Violet.
“See if that does anything.”
There was a slight bit less trepidation from Violet as she took the chocolate, broke it into it’s three squares and popped each one in. Offhand, it led to the same effect. Violet didn’t feel any smarter and the chocolate still didn’t have much flavor. Much to annoyance when her mother snorted at her.
“You must of grabbed a dud. Wait here, I’ll get one that works.” The matriarch stomped off, leaving her daughter to sigh. She had just eaten chocolate, and for what? She still ended up failing. Failing, that was a word no Beuraguarde was supposed to hear. Any less than gold, perfection, was just not good enough.
For some reason however, Violet didn’t feel too bad about it. Sure, she felt sick to some degree, but it was light, like jet lag or gas. More prominently however, there was a feeling of warmth in her mouth, a powerful sweetness that Violet had never tasted before. All the gum she had ever tried was sugar-free, and the lack of that twisted, horrid aftertaste set Violet’s mind ablaze. She smiled at it, savoring however much of it she could. Was this what chocolate tasted like? Violet eyed her mother as she slunk along the walls, then back to the chocolate crunch she has shoved into her daughter’s hands. If it didn’t work, then what was the harm in taking more? She pulled at the foil and bit down without taking it apart.
It wasn’t a fluke.
Now that she was taking time to enjoy it, Violet reveled in the taste. Fresh creams blended into the crunchy grain bits giving the bar it’s texture, silky smooth even before it started to melt. As Violet swallowed, she was unaware that her tracksuit began to quiver about. Her face brightened as she licked her lips, already positioning the bar for another chomp. As she did so, a white ring appeared around the bottom of her new shirt, as if it had always been there, with more cosmically sewn on as she slowly gnawed her way through her bite.
“You know…” She thought as she fiddled the bar with plumping fingers, “I think I had zis sweet all wrong. Dis chocolate is sier gut.”
Unaware of what was happening to her daughter, Scarlett made her way around the room, making light conversation to hide her acts, specifically as she reached over the Australia banner and plucked the bar away. She was standing right under Wonka, so there was no way he could have seen her.
Once she waved the peasant Bucket away, she opened the pack. She just had to hope she had better luck than her daughter.
No better way then to try the chocolate herself. Though Scarlett held her daughter, and in this case her diet, in strict regards, she herself was not beholden to such concepts. After all, she was only the mother of the gold bringer, not the one herself anymore. So a whole two layers of squares vanished before anyone could take notice.
At first, Scarlett despaired. It was just as her daughter described. Flavorless and without a hint that anything new came into her mind. But she couldn’t be a failure here, not like her daughter. She snapped another two lines down, her waterfowl-like swallowing not allowing an ounce of taste.
Still nothing.
The stupid, vainglorious Wonka! Where did he get off making such a show about his special bars when all they did was make fun of her?! Scarlett tore the rest of the bar down out of spite and snorted. If he was going to make a fool of her, she was certainly going to take advantage of it.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Scarlett jumped in surprise, rather high someone would say, at the voice behind her. When she turned around, she saw the smiling visage of Wonka, cane in hand and grin in a particularly Cheshire manner.
“Not really.” Scarlett tried to brush off the fear and annoyance. “I just prefer the truth over some advertised baloney.” She paused before adding. “Mate.” She had meant it as an insult to ‘failed’ Australian education the bar didn’t give her, but she couldn’t help think it was a little too accurate.
“I’d prefer caramel myself.” Wonka just kept on smiling.
“Yeah, well get this. The next time ya go squeaking about your next whackadoo project, ya better bring some good stuff to the table ya drongo.” Scarlett covered her mouth. Somewhere midway through that sentence, her voice had turned into a direct, almost movie Austrian accent.
“You okay?”
“Uhhh, yeah. It’s all good, no worries mate. Just…having a laugh is all.” Scarlett tried to walk away, but soon found her weight shifting about in all sorts of directions. Her legs felt uneven and she quickly toppled to the floor, unheard of in any gymnastics aficionado like herself. “What the…what’s going on?”
Scarlett tried to stare back up at Wonka, but her whole vision was suddenly taken up by a blank whiteboard. Suddenly, images flew by, all going so fast before being replaced one could hardly identify them. But Scarlett saw each as clear as day; Sydney’s famous Opera House, the Outback and all it’s cultural landmarks, the first boats taking it’s passengers to what was once a penal colony of unknown worth. Animal after animal stayed on the screen for no more than a second, yet Scarlett was able to identify each one and where best to find them.
If she could look behind, she would almost certainly be able to identify the tail poking through her pants.
Violet meanwhile was having an even more deplorable crisis. Not from her clothes slow shift to XL size or the roundness taking over her face, but by the fact she had eaten right through her special bar of chocolate.
‘Oh, das ist nichr sir gut.’ She thought to herself, though she kept on smiling as at least the delicious taste of the chocolate hadn’t left her yet. As she absently gazed about the room, images and ideas flittered through her mind; the high mountain range of Germany, it’s history dating all the way back to the Dark Ages and beyond, and of course the methods for making so many different candies and chocolates, or at least how to differentiate them. To Violet’s warping mind however, these thoughts were unobtrusive, as if they had always been there.
What she was focused on was getting herself some more chocolate. Her first thought was the bars sitting alone on columns, just begging for some hungry girl to come along and eat them.
She did try to grab a bar set against a New York Backdrop, but her now rotund frame kept her behind the rope. She would have poured, but then she remembered her own sample bar she had been given. Her mind was so far gone, she couldn’t even recall having figuratively spat on the gesture. She tore the bar from her pocket and hardly got the wrapper off before she dug in.
By this time, Violet’s hair had grown considerably and had begun wrapping around itself. The gum she had long forgotten behind her ear had melted, transmorphing into a stretchy hairband material. By the time Violet was halfway done with her bar, she now sported two Pollyanna Pigtails and a desire for even more chocolate.
Lucky enough for her, little Charlie Bucket was coming along, a little down at being brushed aside by Scarlett. His bar was still unopened, a feat which Violet found unthinkable, who could resist the siren call of such sweetness.
“Guten Tag, Herr Bucket.” The jolly nature now beheld to Violet’s voice was the first thing to shock Charlie that morning, however briefly. “Good tour so far, Ja?”
It took Charlie a minute to identify the pudgy girl speaking to him was indeed Violet Beuraguarde and not Augustus Gloop having somehow made his way back to the group. He didn’t make any notice of her change for fear of being rude. “It’s wonderful.” He agreed, “Better than Grandpa Joe described it.”
“Ja Ja. Say, I vas wondering if you would like to share some chocolate. Mien seems to have…vanished.” Her belly jiggled as she laughed at her joke.
Unaware of the humor and never passing a chance for kindness, Charlie nodded. “Of course, great things such as candy are meant to be shared.” To this effect, Charlie unwrapped his bar and handed Violet half. This she ate slowly than the others, wanting to let the taste sensations stick around for even longer.
“Danke shun, Charlie.” Violet spoke through a full mouth. “You are a very kind boy.”
Charlie smiled at the complement, but soon, both children became aware of the others grouping at the far end of the room. “Come on, let’s go see what’s going on.” He grabbed Violet’s free hand and pulled her along.
Poor Scarlett was itching herself all over, her suit starting to strain under the swaths of fur growing underneath. Her hands and fingers were swelling up under their own fur patches, turning into big blue paws and her shoes had already split from a similar growth, morphing into giant sandels. All the group could do was watch in awe save Wonka, whose face never changed the whole time.
“I don’t warn them, they won’t listen. I tell them, they never listen.”
Scarlett tried to offer some rebuttal, but every nerve in her face was set into overdrive as it pulled away from itself. The blue fur growth meanwhile had creeped over her neck and into her newly formed muzzle. With a final *pop*, two floppy ears replaced her old human ones.
“Struth…” the newly minted kangaroo mumbled as she pulled herself up, “Ah sure wasn’t expectin’ that.”
“Of course not.” Wonka’s voice carried only the smallest hint of sarcasm.
At the back of the audience, Mr. Salt whispered to his daughter. “I already know what you’re thinking Veruca, I’ll have one ordered once we leave.” The spoiled child smirked at the potential present, the never actually crossing her mind.
“Oh mother!” Scarlett’s ears and tail shot up as the plump girl broke through the small crowd, remembering her daughter had eaten her own bar. The child’s face was nowhere near as distraught as her mother though, instead bounding into her with arms outstretched. “Oh, you're so niedlich now. A whole Kanguru, oh das is sier niedlich.”
At first, Scarlett was ready to scream. Forced into this animal form, with no chance of ever being taken seriously in anything outside a zoo ever again. As for Violet; Scarlett didn’t know who to kick first with that situation. She turned her back on her daughter for one second and she turned into a mirror of that Gloop boy. Unfit for gymnastics or anything athletic for sure. The blue kangaroo woman tried to pry her kid off her to make her demands to the lunatic chocolatier.
Before she could do anything though, she paused. There was something…strange about the hug Violet was giving her, strange she was doing in in general actually.
Without even thinking, Scarlett leaned back on her tail, rocking back and forth with her daughter holding on tight. Her mind began to swarm with images again, but this time from her own life. When was the last time she and Violet had ever shared such familial warmth without the flash of cameras or the cold plastic of a painted trophy between them? When had Violet seemed so genuinely pleased to see her without a new gold medal around her neck? Her arms had ceased trying to push Violet away and were now wrapping around her ‘well-rounded’ form.
Then, a similar question came to Scarlett: when had her own parents shown such affection. With that one question, it was like a lock had been thrown from a great vault, the doors wide open for all to see. From her childhood until she struck out on her own, all the kangaroo could recall was a cold, sour disposition broken up by golden medals and blue ribbons. Scarlett teared up, as if for the first time realizing she had a daughter in her arms and not some otherwise meaningless robot. The very thought she pushed down when it came to her own parents.
“Violet…” Her voice came out mewling, “I...Ah’m so sorry…”
Whether Violet was aware of what the apology was for or not, she nodded. “It’s alright mother. I forgive you.” The girl reached into her pocket and pulled back the bar of chocolate Charlie had shard with her. “Don’t cry mama. Chocolate always makes me feel better.” She handed a square to the big kangaroo, who took it in a shaking paw and swallowed.
At the sight of this, the group was mostly apathetic, except for Charlie, who was more than happy to see the two in kinder terms, and Wonka who tried and failed to hide his own disgust.
“Well, I think we should all get going. Leave the…parent to…comfort their kid.” Wonka turned and motioned the group to follow.
“Mr. Wonka…wait…” Scarlett set her daughter aside with some reluctance, the girl rushing right back to Charlie for a little more jabbering. “Look, ah know Violet and I …” Even with a changing lease on life, the ‘L’ word was still a rough one for Scarlett, “…bunged up our chances of winning. Ah get that…but…do ya think maybe we could stay with the group? Ah think Violet’s starting make a friend.” Scarlett watched as Violet accepted more chocolate from the other kids, who didn’t much care for it anyways.
Wonka’s face remained cold and impassive, but it tempered with a sigh. “Sure. Just so long as you admit you lost and won’t receive any prize.”
It did sting Scarlett a little to know that. But somehow, she felt she could handle it, and felt her daughter could now too.
Well, a user on DA posted a lovely little picture of Violet Beauregard turning into essentially a twin of Agustus Gloop, chocolate obsession and all. And, after getting the artist's permission, I decided to do my own variant of this event. Not just with Violet getting the treatment however, as her mother gets in on the act as well. And why? Well, as the films are eager to point out, it's not just the kids who are to blame for their behavior but the parents as well. However happy Violet could be in her new form would mean little with her mother was still as nasty as ever.
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You know the story by now I suppose. Down below for non-downloads
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There was some part of Wonka that was telling him this would all be a waste of time. The tour had hardly begun, the group having just left the edible room, yet one child was already eliminated and most of the others had proven themselves absolute brats. Mike Teevee was a mumbling narcissist, Veruca Salt was a greedy little hog, and as for Violet; the sound of her gum chewing was really starting to get on Wonka’s nerves. He didn’t expect the parents to do anything about any of them. From what little thought he gave to his childhood, parents only made things worse. The only one with any ounce of humble humanity was little Charlie Bucket, somehow Wonka knew that was the one to win the prize. At least, that was how the boy appeared. Wonka knew however that just like his everlasting gobstoppers or edible room or fizz-slinger ringer pops, it’s the layers under the surface that really count. Wonka showed no signs of his favoritism and instead led the tour onwards, off the boat and onto the docking platform.
“Right this way everyone, right this way, so much chocolate and walking today.” So many different rooms to try, but nothing could keep Wonka’s mind still for long enough. Or perhaps that was just the thrill of being on the riverboat? Either way, the group walked on past doors of all sizes, large bulkhead, small dainty tea doors, sliding doors painted with Vernicious Kinids (that one was Oompa-only). For a moment, Wonka stopped at a pair of large double-doors with ‘Inventing Room' marked over them in bright neon. Perhaps he would have opened the door if it weren’t for the continued smacking and chewing of Violet’s gum. There was too much delicate scientific instruments and procedures in there and no way, no how was Wonka going to risk any of it because that girl and her mother found some use in chewing gum.
So the tour continued on, Wonka addressing doors as they passed, but still not finding one that would be best suited to his needs.
That is until he came upon a pair of oaken doors. They held no plate or sign to their meaning and we’re, if not for the giant W’s etched into their frames and knobs, the most normal doors the group had seen yet.
“Here we are everyone! The next stop on our tour, oh and I think you’re going to like it! But first…” Wonka knocked off his hat and, with the skill of a magician, reached in and pulled out a whole bowl of Wonka chocolate bars. “…I urge you to take one of these free samples. They’re perfectly normal bars, I assure you.”
Everyone had their own reactions to this display, and everyone took a bar in the end, but it was Violet’s reaction that cracked Wonka’s smile. “More chocolate? You gotta be kidding me.” At her mother’s prodding, she took a bar in hand like she was holding a dishrag.
Ignoring that little display, Wonka gave a series of knocks on the door, both with his cane and his gloves. Perhaps if one was in the Boy Scouts, or just that into old communication waves, they might theorize some message was being relayed to the other side, especially with the jabs and thuds that answered back.
“What’s that’s supposed to be? Your servant’s little clubhouse?” Evidently, Violet’s mom had been neither as a kid.
Having paid no mind to the insult, Wonka opened the door. “What you’re going to see in here is something I have yet to announce to the public. A new thing that’ll surely knock your socks.” He was about to step inside before he added, “Though if they are, please put them back on, this is a hygienic facility.”
As the door closed behind them, the group was awash in silence. They followed their guide as he marched past bookshelves large as an elephant yet barren as a desert.
“See, I realized something thanks to my world travels.” Wonka’s voice was the only sound not carrying an echo. “Back when I had average Joe’s and Janes working for me, there’s always be a language barrier keeping things from going smoothly. I had to worry about translator costs, dialect differences, lost hours due to language courses and cultural fizzbooms like no one ever saw in one’s life.” At that moment, Wonka and therefore the tour group, stopped in front of a large portrait of the candy maker in an explorer getup. “So I said to myself, ‘Willy, everything in life would go a lot smoother if people could just find a way to understand each other.’”
With a press of his cane, a recorded voice burst from the painting. “That’s a good idea me.”
A tip of the hat and the tour continued. “Though the Oompa-Loompahs help matters, that statement never left my mind. And so, I’ve had my genius put to work assembling this:” Reaching for one of the many empty shelves, Wonka pushed it in, causing the wall of cases to retract into the ground, revealing the hallway’s end. “…Wonka’s Chocolate Culture Crunch!”
It sounded like Mike said something to the name, but he was still too much of a mumbler for Wonka to care. The rest of the group stood with a greater since of astonishment.
They must have been standing where the chimneys were because the room sprang up for miles above them, a near endless amount of floors rising up and up into darkness. On the floor they were on, they were met with a series of alcoves, featuring picturesque scenery of various countries. Germany, America, Australia and so on. In front of each of these murals was a candy bar, sitting on a pedestal like the Crown Jewels of England (richly depicted on the other side of the room of course.)
“Real impressive, isn’t it?” Wonka returned to the front of the group and swirled his cane at the expanse above them. “I admit, it’s all in the testing stages right now and I don’t have every country in the globe represented yet, but I’m getting there.” One of the parents, it didn’t matter who to Wonka, asked just what this was all about. To this, Wonka brought out a series of flashcards. He flipped through them at rapid, letting them fall to the floor before just tossing them all into the air.
“The bottom line is, just one bite of one of these bars and it’ll be like you were born in an entirely different place, just without any of the messy red tape. Languages, knowledge of culture, all at your fingertips and swallowed whole.”
During his speech, Wonka had pushed yet another button and the vibrantly painted scenes vanished, revealing otherwise one-way mirrors to the Oompah-Loompahs working behind. Once finished, he flicked the murals back on.
“You wouldn’t believe the amount of textbooks I’ve had to go through to get all this equipment working. Like I said though, it is still in the baseline stages. Hence the regular free sample bars I had given before we came in. Feel free to enjoy the murals for a moment, the Oompah-Loompahs worked real hard getting my memories of foreign lands to work out.”
At this declaration, the group dispersed, parents keeping close to their kids so as to not have another Augustus situation and hence be kicked from the contest.
That is, except for one pair.
When Scarlett was sure everyone’s backs were turned, she gave her daughter a poke towards the German mural. “Violet, see if you can grab a piece or two.” Even her whisper was in a harsh tone.
For once in her life, Violet was not on board. “Mom, it’s chocolate.”
“It’s a brain in a candy bar.” Scarlett hissed as she gave her daughter another, more forceful push. “Just one of those square could get you a leg up on any quiz bowl. And who knows when that scatterbrain will put these on the market? You’ll have an advantage over anyone else.”
Advantages. That meant winning, and that meant more trophies. For all Violet couldn’t stand about chocolate, the prospect of more gold for the showroom was a healthy compromise. And even still, it wasn’t like she would have to eat the whole thing, Wonka had said just a square or two would do.
With feline movements, owing to her years of gymnastics, Violet slipped under the rope divider and pulled away the German bar, swapping it for her mother’s sample bar before slinking back as if nothing had happened.
Violet held the bar up to her mother, who gave her a lukewarm pat on the shoulder. “Good girl, but you shimmied too much under the bar. We’ll need to step up your training when we get home.” Blinded by her mother’s compliment, Violet smiled in satisfaction.
“Now…to make sure it works.” With a swipe of her nail, Scarlett opened the pack, which Violet turned her nose up. “Oh stop being such a baby. If you wanna be the best, you have to suffer for it.” Scarlett continued to hiss as she took a small square off the bar. “Now nibble and let’s see that brain grow.”
Both parties kept their eyes about at as Violet took the gum from her mouth and stuck it behind her ear. “I’m not about to let chocolate poison my gum.” She thought as she reached for the square.
From the second-floor balcony, Wonka watched the little comedy through his cane’s reflection. Parents, what good were they for? Or gum for that matter? Those two were a shoo-in out of the contest, and out of the three remaining Charlie still seemed the likely winner. But he kept his eye on the Beuaraguardes, ready to blow the whistle and call everyone over to the next example of child gone awry.
“Well?”
Violet shook her head. “I didn’t taste anything, and I felt like I was swallowing gravel.”
Scarlett snorted. “Well, last I checked, there’s no prize for any of that.” She grabbed her daughter’s mouth and held it open, trying to spy the square under her tongue or on the roof. Finding nothing, Scarlett turned back to the chocolate. “That weirdo did say this was prototype stuff.” This time, she disconnected a whole ‘L’s worth and handed it to Violet.
“See if that does anything.”
There was a slight bit less trepidation from Violet as she took the chocolate, broke it into it’s three squares and popped each one in. Offhand, it led to the same effect. Violet didn’t feel any smarter and the chocolate still didn’t have much flavor. Much to annoyance when her mother snorted at her.
“You must of grabbed a dud. Wait here, I’ll get one that works.” The matriarch stomped off, leaving her daughter to sigh. She had just eaten chocolate, and for what? She still ended up failing. Failing, that was a word no Beuraguarde was supposed to hear. Any less than gold, perfection, was just not good enough.
For some reason however, Violet didn’t feel too bad about it. Sure, she felt sick to some degree, but it was light, like jet lag or gas. More prominently however, there was a feeling of warmth in her mouth, a powerful sweetness that Violet had never tasted before. All the gum she had ever tried was sugar-free, and the lack of that twisted, horrid aftertaste set Violet’s mind ablaze. She smiled at it, savoring however much of it she could. Was this what chocolate tasted like? Violet eyed her mother as she slunk along the walls, then back to the chocolate crunch she has shoved into her daughter’s hands. If it didn’t work, then what was the harm in taking more? She pulled at the foil and bit down without taking it apart.
It wasn’t a fluke.
Now that she was taking time to enjoy it, Violet reveled in the taste. Fresh creams blended into the crunchy grain bits giving the bar it’s texture, silky smooth even before it started to melt. As Violet swallowed, she was unaware that her tracksuit began to quiver about. Her face brightened as she licked her lips, already positioning the bar for another chomp. As she did so, a white ring appeared around the bottom of her new shirt, as if it had always been there, with more cosmically sewn on as she slowly gnawed her way through her bite.
“You know…” She thought as she fiddled the bar with plumping fingers, “I think I had zis sweet all wrong. Dis chocolate is sier gut.”
Unaware of what was happening to her daughter, Scarlett made her way around the room, making light conversation to hide her acts, specifically as she reached over the Australia banner and plucked the bar away. She was standing right under Wonka, so there was no way he could have seen her.
Once she waved the peasant Bucket away, she opened the pack. She just had to hope she had better luck than her daughter.
No better way then to try the chocolate herself. Though Scarlett held her daughter, and in this case her diet, in strict regards, she herself was not beholden to such concepts. After all, she was only the mother of the gold bringer, not the one herself anymore. So a whole two layers of squares vanished before anyone could take notice.
At first, Scarlett despaired. It was just as her daughter described. Flavorless and without a hint that anything new came into her mind. But she couldn’t be a failure here, not like her daughter. She snapped another two lines down, her waterfowl-like swallowing not allowing an ounce of taste.
Still nothing.
The stupid, vainglorious Wonka! Where did he get off making such a show about his special bars when all they did was make fun of her?! Scarlett tore the rest of the bar down out of spite and snorted. If he was going to make a fool of her, she was certainly going to take advantage of it.
“Enjoying yourself?”
Scarlett jumped in surprise, rather high someone would say, at the voice behind her. When she turned around, she saw the smiling visage of Wonka, cane in hand and grin in a particularly Cheshire manner.
“Not really.” Scarlett tried to brush off the fear and annoyance. “I just prefer the truth over some advertised baloney.” She paused before adding. “Mate.” She had meant it as an insult to ‘failed’ Australian education the bar didn’t give her, but she couldn’t help think it was a little too accurate.
“I’d prefer caramel myself.” Wonka just kept on smiling.
“Yeah, well get this. The next time ya go squeaking about your next whackadoo project, ya better bring some good stuff to the table ya drongo.” Scarlett covered her mouth. Somewhere midway through that sentence, her voice had turned into a direct, almost movie Austrian accent.
“You okay?”
“Uhhh, yeah. It’s all good, no worries mate. Just…having a laugh is all.” Scarlett tried to walk away, but soon found her weight shifting about in all sorts of directions. Her legs felt uneven and she quickly toppled to the floor, unheard of in any gymnastics aficionado like herself. “What the…what’s going on?”
Scarlett tried to stare back up at Wonka, but her whole vision was suddenly taken up by a blank whiteboard. Suddenly, images flew by, all going so fast before being replaced one could hardly identify them. But Scarlett saw each as clear as day; Sydney’s famous Opera House, the Outback and all it’s cultural landmarks, the first boats taking it’s passengers to what was once a penal colony of unknown worth. Animal after animal stayed on the screen for no more than a second, yet Scarlett was able to identify each one and where best to find them.
If she could look behind, she would almost certainly be able to identify the tail poking through her pants.
Violet meanwhile was having an even more deplorable crisis. Not from her clothes slow shift to XL size or the roundness taking over her face, but by the fact she had eaten right through her special bar of chocolate.
‘Oh, das ist nichr sir gut.’ She thought to herself, though she kept on smiling as at least the delicious taste of the chocolate hadn’t left her yet. As she absently gazed about the room, images and ideas flittered through her mind; the high mountain range of Germany, it’s history dating all the way back to the Dark Ages and beyond, and of course the methods for making so many different candies and chocolates, or at least how to differentiate them. To Violet’s warping mind however, these thoughts were unobtrusive, as if they had always been there.
What she was focused on was getting herself some more chocolate. Her first thought was the bars sitting alone on columns, just begging for some hungry girl to come along and eat them.
She did try to grab a bar set against a New York Backdrop, but her now rotund frame kept her behind the rope. She would have poured, but then she remembered her own sample bar she had been given. Her mind was so far gone, she couldn’t even recall having figuratively spat on the gesture. She tore the bar from her pocket and hardly got the wrapper off before she dug in.
By this time, Violet’s hair had grown considerably and had begun wrapping around itself. The gum she had long forgotten behind her ear had melted, transmorphing into a stretchy hairband material. By the time Violet was halfway done with her bar, she now sported two Pollyanna Pigtails and a desire for even more chocolate.
Lucky enough for her, little Charlie Bucket was coming along, a little down at being brushed aside by Scarlett. His bar was still unopened, a feat which Violet found unthinkable, who could resist the siren call of such sweetness.
“Guten Tag, Herr Bucket.” The jolly nature now beheld to Violet’s voice was the first thing to shock Charlie that morning, however briefly. “Good tour so far, Ja?”
It took Charlie a minute to identify the pudgy girl speaking to him was indeed Violet Beuraguarde and not Augustus Gloop having somehow made his way back to the group. He didn’t make any notice of her change for fear of being rude. “It’s wonderful.” He agreed, “Better than Grandpa Joe described it.”
“Ja Ja. Say, I vas wondering if you would like to share some chocolate. Mien seems to have…vanished.” Her belly jiggled as she laughed at her joke.
Unaware of the humor and never passing a chance for kindness, Charlie nodded. “Of course, great things such as candy are meant to be shared.” To this effect, Charlie unwrapped his bar and handed Violet half. This she ate slowly than the others, wanting to let the taste sensations stick around for even longer.
“Danke shun, Charlie.” Violet spoke through a full mouth. “You are a very kind boy.”
Charlie smiled at the complement, but soon, both children became aware of the others grouping at the far end of the room. “Come on, let’s go see what’s going on.” He grabbed Violet’s free hand and pulled her along.
Poor Scarlett was itching herself all over, her suit starting to strain under the swaths of fur growing underneath. Her hands and fingers were swelling up under their own fur patches, turning into big blue paws and her shoes had already split from a similar growth, morphing into giant sandels. All the group could do was watch in awe save Wonka, whose face never changed the whole time.
“I don’t warn them, they won’t listen. I tell them, they never listen.”
Scarlett tried to offer some rebuttal, but every nerve in her face was set into overdrive as it pulled away from itself. The blue fur growth meanwhile had creeped over her neck and into her newly formed muzzle. With a final *pop*, two floppy ears replaced her old human ones.
“Struth…” the newly minted kangaroo mumbled as she pulled herself up, “Ah sure wasn’t expectin’ that.”
“Of course not.” Wonka’s voice carried only the smallest hint of sarcasm.
At the back of the audience, Mr. Salt whispered to his daughter. “I already know what you’re thinking Veruca, I’ll have one ordered once we leave.” The spoiled child smirked at the potential present, the never actually crossing her mind.
“Oh mother!” Scarlett’s ears and tail shot up as the plump girl broke through the small crowd, remembering her daughter had eaten her own bar. The child’s face was nowhere near as distraught as her mother though, instead bounding into her with arms outstretched. “Oh, you're so niedlich now. A whole Kanguru, oh das is sier niedlich.”
At first, Scarlett was ready to scream. Forced into this animal form, with no chance of ever being taken seriously in anything outside a zoo ever again. As for Violet; Scarlett didn’t know who to kick first with that situation. She turned her back on her daughter for one second and she turned into a mirror of that Gloop boy. Unfit for gymnastics or anything athletic for sure. The blue kangaroo woman tried to pry her kid off her to make her demands to the lunatic chocolatier.
Before she could do anything though, she paused. There was something…strange about the hug Violet was giving her, strange she was doing in in general actually.
Without even thinking, Scarlett leaned back on her tail, rocking back and forth with her daughter holding on tight. Her mind began to swarm with images again, but this time from her own life. When was the last time she and Violet had ever shared such familial warmth without the flash of cameras or the cold plastic of a painted trophy between them? When had Violet seemed so genuinely pleased to see her without a new gold medal around her neck? Her arms had ceased trying to push Violet away and were now wrapping around her ‘well-rounded’ form.
Then, a similar question came to Scarlett: when had her own parents shown such affection. With that one question, it was like a lock had been thrown from a great vault, the doors wide open for all to see. From her childhood until she struck out on her own, all the kangaroo could recall was a cold, sour disposition broken up by golden medals and blue ribbons. Scarlett teared up, as if for the first time realizing she had a daughter in her arms and not some otherwise meaningless robot. The very thought she pushed down when it came to her own parents.
“Violet…” Her voice came out mewling, “I...Ah’m so sorry…”
Whether Violet was aware of what the apology was for or not, she nodded. “It’s alright mother. I forgive you.” The girl reached into her pocket and pulled back the bar of chocolate Charlie had shard with her. “Don’t cry mama. Chocolate always makes me feel better.” She handed a square to the big kangaroo, who took it in a shaking paw and swallowed.
At the sight of this, the group was mostly apathetic, except for Charlie, who was more than happy to see the two in kinder terms, and Wonka who tried and failed to hide his own disgust.
“Well, I think we should all get going. Leave the…parent to…comfort their kid.” Wonka turned and motioned the group to follow.
“Mr. Wonka…wait…” Scarlett set her daughter aside with some reluctance, the girl rushing right back to Charlie for a little more jabbering. “Look, ah know Violet and I …” Even with a changing lease on life, the ‘L’ word was still a rough one for Scarlett, “…bunged up our chances of winning. Ah get that…but…do ya think maybe we could stay with the group? Ah think Violet’s starting make a friend.” Scarlett watched as Violet accepted more chocolate from the other kids, who didn’t much care for it anyways.
Wonka’s face remained cold and impassive, but it tempered with a sigh. “Sure. Just so long as you admit you lost and won’t receive any prize.”
It did sting Scarlett a little to know that. But somehow, she felt she could handle it, and felt her daughter could now too.
Category Story / All
Species Marsupial (Other)
Gender Any
Size 50 x 50px
Thank you. I am sorry, but personal experience has left me hesitant to do requests
You know all of the tickets finders were promised all the confections they could ever eat, even those booted from the tour or not winning the factory. They were all sent home in large trucks that would be brought back and filled should they ever run out so long as they hold onto the tickets.
WIll there be a sequel to this? I'd like more roo Scarlet.
WIll there be a sequel to this? I'd like more roo Scarlet.
I am afraid I did not make this with a sequel in mind. It was always meant as just a little inspired piece.
Continuing the tour even after acting up and breaking rules would be a nice visual. Especially since the first film had precisely that happen, though no one died or got maimed who did.
Seeing ones who did get dramatically altered, and actually grow for real be guided to the end of it, and being sent home is golden storytelling potential.
Seeing ones who did get dramatically altered, and actually grow for real be guided to the end of it, and being sent home is golden storytelling potential.
if I was doing this I would have had both Violet and her mother become like Augustus
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