20s AU Post

[cryptsleeper]

"Land of the Dead" (Watch on YouTube)

Current Carmilla plot outline
--Post-fire, Carmilla and Mr. Peanut team up mostly to use each other. Carmilla's spent the past several months (since November, it is now February 1925) networking, and it's clear to her that Alucard's not suited for the position and that the other two are the obvious weakness. Mr Peanut needs something back, so this is perfect on her end. Mr Peanut can only imagine the joys of vampire blood in his work, and he'd like an army of vampires for his own ends.
--Shit stirring from Mr Peanut (all of March?)
--Mr Peanut also begins to sell mis Miracle Serum, which has vampire blood in it.
--Gang is very much trying to murder Mr Peanut during this.
--Start of April, vampire gets a call from one of the blood bank contacts that 3 patients have come in and are displaying some bizarre signs. Investigation yields the fact that they're in process of turning, and they've all taken the same serum.
--Additional investigation reveals O FUCK IT MR PEANUT
--Meanwhile Carmilla's been made aware of a familiar she didn't sire, so she knows something's up. Big fight with Mr. Peanut and thus Mr. Peanut is left depowered
--Gang commits a murder
--Carmilla's well sured up on her contacts now, and it's time for open rebellion (mid-April)
--In a more subtle attempt to let Alucard just step aside, she cuts the breaks on demon car and shows up to gloat/suggest he not pull a dad and go to deal with his grief quietly while she runs the city. The how he wants to do it is up to him (black widow joke goes here.) Treffy and Sypha walk in.
--1 week of straight up rebellion; feedings, no help from allies, need to do damage control instead of fight carmilla, every dracula rule is
--MEANWHILE IN GRAVITY FALLS, triangle shows Vlad what's up to try and psyche him out, somehow this finalyl snaps Vlad out of his depression and he heads home
--Just in time for Alucard and Carmilla to be tearing each other to bits in one of the bayous, it's not going well
--Vlad coming in means the king of vampires is accosted by a belmont with a pair of blessed knitting needles and a speaker with a fucking gun and he's just like what the shit happened to the world while i was gone
--Wards around the fight means that only demon car can break the wards, everyone has to pile in.
--Carmilla gets her ass kicked AND SENT TO THE JUSTICE DIMENSION

THEN THERE WERE FAERIES.
--Prior to all of this the vampire and Sypha have done a shit ton of research on how to get their Belmont back
--Sypha has also been practicing debating with dad, which leaves everyone Very Tired.
--When Trevor is actually snatched up (1 year after marriage, it takes fae effort. Taking Arn's shape fails, so it's a lot more kidnapping by force), Sypha and Alucard go into Faerie
--But they're playing this as politics, not as heroes rescuing their damsel, so that means the faeries are just "wait what now excuse u?"
--There are 3 gates and 3 trials (the particulars we're still bullshitting.) Each is asked to sacrifice 3 things. (Alucard: voice, his titles as bestowed upon by his father and his people, i forget the third; Sypha: her human form (she's a birb), fuck what were the other two)
--They enter the court at the end of the third trial. After LITERALLY ALL THE TITLES Sypha declares she Speaks for Trevor Belmont
--Claim debate over Trevor, turns out that the rules are in Sypha's favor.
--But that means debating to leave Fae without giving up what they've chosen.
--Sypha lawyers it all out, Alucard is a safety deposit and hangs out with Fae!Trevor
--In the end, safe passage out of Faerie consists of Sypha giving up her memory of the necromancer (billed as a great mage she studied under), the vampire gives up his immortality, and Trevor is replaced with Carmilla (dad was aware of this option and OK with it), but Trevor has his ability to swear taken. He now soundslike a rubber ducky when he tries
--Everyone gets home okay, except for the AU of this AU where the gang fails, but Trevor's on their doorstep like a bat out of Hell because time doesn't work right and he's been in Hell for a WHILE.

Comments

[willpowerful]

You're afraid.

[She says it so he doesn't have to. Because he can't, because it would be too much, because shaping it into words makes it real and strips away the ambiguity that bottling it up inside would still afford him. She kisses each of his fingertips, carefully, following the same rhythm that her little squeezes of his hand did before.

This is a dance, almost. Everything in its time, everything measured and following the unspoken cadence. There's predictability in a dance. Music doesn't need the eyes; most of the time, it's even better without them.]

Will you tell me what you fear most?

[willpowerful]

Mm, not that one. Similar roles, but a variant story.

[Her hand shifts, stroking through his hair, finding a steady rhythm to combing through it with her fingers spread.]

Once upon a time there lived a king, the most powerful man in all the world. He lived in a castle in the forest, as kings do, and everything he ever wanted, he got, because that is simply how it is, for kings.

[She hums softly, and the longer she goes on the sweeter her voice turns, blossoming into a proper lilt born of a lifetime of oral storytelling.]

And the king had a son, as kings do, a little prince that he loved more than anything in the world. And this little prince was young and merry, and loved to leave the castle and go out to play in the woods all day and all night, and once when he went out he went so very far into the woods, and it was there that he heard a nightingale singing.

[miraclewhip]

I'll try. No promises. But I'll try.

[ It's not the usual response, to Alucard being protective. Not the blissful, useless quiet. It's heavier, weak, struggling with it. But it's grateful. And struggling- struggling is still trying. ]

I'll work on wanting to be more than just a Belmont.

[cryptsleeper]

Thank goodness. I...can't say I enjoy his interpretation.

[He doesn't know he has ached so badly for those steady hands until they are there. Then Alucard wonders why they have simply not always been there, and resolves to ensure that the rest of today has them huddled up together.]

A very fascinating forest.

[There's that gentle look of contentment on the vampire's face, all attention on Sypha and calm eyes. It's always there when she tells stories.]

[miraclewhip]

I- yes. I'm-

[ He can't even say the word. He holds his hand still, letting her kiss. It's calming, helps him keep time. His hand doesn't fall, when he starts to speak again, but he ceases to hold it up himself until it's just a weight in her hands. ]

I'm- useless, like this. And the two of you won't throw me away. Even if I asked you to. Even if I begged. Even though it'd be the best thing to do.

[ His voice grows thick and rough with tears again, face scrunching up. ]

I'm going to be worse than useless. A burden.

[cryptsleeper]

Focus on her then. Wanting to be more than just that for her.

[He starts them moving again. The kitchen. Food. A place to start.]

[miraclewhip]

[ It's easier, now the stairs are done. He still needs Alucard as a guide, but he can stay on his feet without leaning against him. ]

That's- difficult, right now.

[ Wait oops he accidentally an upset again. They want him to be more than just a Belmont. They deserve him to be the best fucking Belmont that there is, and nothing else. ]

He's still out there. The best thing I could do for her is to make that not the case. And I can't fucking do that like this.

[cryptsleeper]

It's just a setback.

[That's all it can ever be. They'll find a way forward. Use limits to an advantage.]

And it could be the ultimate exercise in futility to worry.

[miraclewhip]

I know. I know.

[ They should be close to the table by now, and he holds a hand out in expectation. He's almost there. If he can just make it to the table, then there'll be a chance that he can- he doesn't know. Make it further himself, next time. Make it further than the table. Achieve anything. ]

I love you. I love you both. And this- [ He gestures to himself, with one hand to the other, protection, and there's a hopelessness to it. ] -this is all I have to give you.

[willpowerful]

Trevor.

[She guides his hand back to her cheek, holding it there with both of hers, leaning into it so that he can feel the weight of it against his palm.]

When you gave me your gun, when you begged me to take it, you said you knew what you were asking of me. What you were asking me to give away, by taking it up and learning to keep myself safe. But you begged me, because you knew it was what I needed, and I trusted you.

[She draws a breath, and it comes sharper than she meant it to, stuttered right at the tail end.]

So I understand. I understand what I'm asking of you, now. Because I spent my entire life being a Speaker, and you spent yours being...useful.

[She turns her face into his hand, kisses his palm.]

I'm asking you to trust me to know best. To try to believe me, that I need you and it has nothing to do with how useful you are. That Alucard needs you, and it has nothing to do with how useful you are. I know what I'm asking of you, Trevor, and I am begging you to believe me, anyway.

[cryptsleeper]

[They do reach the table, just as Trevor expects. It's a testament to memory, and Alucard is careful to make sure that Trevor is seated and comfortable before he remotely lets go.

Hell, he doesn't. He gets Trevor seated, then lingers, making sure that Trevor's hands are still in his.]

Relationships like this aren't transactional. I know you know that, but...

[It needs to be said. Now.]

[miraclewhip]

I-

[ There's nothing he can really say, in response to that. In asking him to accept what she says as truth, she's asking him to give up the world he knows. The understanding of it that he has, where everything can be easily defined by what it can and cannot do. The understanding that made Alucard a spoiled princeling for not taking his responsibilities in stride, because of course he was capable of them. The understanding that leaves him uneasy when he's still, because he could be doing so much more. The understanding that makes everything make sense, makes it all painful but makes it all make sense, that lets him answer any difficult question with 'because someone wasn't good enough' and be done with it. The understanding that he was raised with. The only thing he has left of his family other than a whip and the language they're speaking.

But he's asked her to give up everything, before, and all she asked in return was stories. And those, those she's already given willingly. ]

-I trust you. I'll try.

[miraclewhip]

[ It's a relief, to be sitting. It's not easy, and he can't lean back in the chair to be more stable - even cushioned as it is it would be too much pressure against the horrible rainbow of bruises there. But he can rest his arms against the table, use that to steady himself.

He made it. He made it as far as he meant to. And he needed help, but he did it on his own two feet. ]

I know, I just- [ All the love in the world won't do shit for either of them, if the necromancer comes back. If Carmilla begins whatever she's plotting in earnest. ] -I protect you both. That's how I love. That's what I am.

[cryptsleeper]

[It's the word how that makes everything click into place. Alucard knows Trevor can't see him nod or the look of absolute understanding, and maybe that's for the better.

He does squeeze Trevor's hand though, not to reassure but to express a much more precious thing. I understand. I understand so well. Because the vampire's an idiot who is possessive of them both and tries to be a fraction as protective as Trevor is. There's just been other expressions too that come just as easy. Cooking, for one.]

I cannot challenge a fundamental part of you. Then you would not be yourself.

[He won't press this or contradict or do anything more than kiss the top of Trevor's head.]

[miraclewhip]

I want to believe that this isn't going to last. But- it's hard.

[ Hard not to be afraid. ]

If I can't protect you both, I don't know what I'll be.

[cryptsleeper]

You'll just find another way to do it. You are a man of infinite resources.

[Alucard pauses, just long enough to drag another chair over. He uses his foot to do it, so he doesn't have to stray from Trevor's side for even a moment.]

Tell me what else you need.

[willpowerful]

Shhh.

[She's not actually shushing him or seeking to halt his commentary; it's more of a soothing, pacifying noise, offered in response to the contentment she can see in Alucard's expression. Acknowledgement. Approval.]

Day after day, the prince went far into the forest to hear the nightingale singing, but one day he took ill, and grew very sick. He was so sick that he could not even get out of bed, and his illness lasted for days and days.

[She runs the pad of her thumb over Alucard's lower lip.]

As the days went on, the little prince grew sadder and sadder, confined as he was to his bed. And one day, the king asked him if there were anything, anything in the world, that could make him happy. And the prince said, "I wish I could go into the forest again, and hear the nightingale singing."

[willpowerful]

I know it's my fault.

[She holds his hand a little tighter, squeezing it just slightly between both of hers.]

You and Alucard, you...you did this because of me. Because I was taken by that monster. I know you didn't want me to find out what the two of you had been doing.

[She lets out a slow breath.]

I'm sorry, Trevor.

[cryptsleeper]

[Being quiet without his head filling with every horrible thought is good. A novelty to indulge in, and Alucard is certain that that too must show on his face. He's all soft edges like this, wrapped up with his arms around her and being drawn so close.

It's an on the nose story, but that means the ending will have a promise of better times than these.

He refrains from a comment about depression naps when illness is mentioned (and what a shame they all can't do that for a month), but there's a near melting sensation when Sypha's thumb brushes against his lip. Alucard doesn't chase after it. It'll distract from the story.]

Mmm. [And more to himself than to Sypha, he murmurs happiness because that's what this is all about.] And kings don't go on quests like that in most tales.

[willpowerful]

They don't, no. But this king, he wanted very much to see his son smile again, and to please him and make him happy.

[She smiles, a little ruefully.]

So he sent his men into the forest, and they went deep, deep into the woods, and they found the nightingale and put it in a cage, and brought it back to have it sing for the king's son.

[cryptsleeper]

[HAHAHA WHAT'S A DAD THAT CARES ABOUT THAT KIND OF THING.]

That goes the opposite of how it is planned to be, then?

[willpowerful]

Quite the opposite. The bird, of course, does not sing; it only stands silent in its cage. And the king, of course, is very upset, because he brought the bird all that way to please his son, and now it turns out that the bird will not even sing.

[She bends forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead.]

Sometimes good intentions have poor outcomes, that way.

[cryptsleeper]

Mmm. Does the king learn a single thing from this?

[Alucard knows his father won't, unless there's a miracle. He nuzzles against Sypha's stomach, as it's the closest thing to him, and lets out a soft murmur to show he's still listening. That the kiss was wonderful and needed. That maybe after this and after lunch, they can simply be like this again.]

[willpowerful]

Of course. His son persuades him to set the nightingale free of its cage, and after he does, it comes back on its own and sits in the window to sing for the little prince, and does the same every day until he can go to play in the woods again.

[She presses one last kiss to the top of his head, squirming pleasantly at the nuzzling before draping her arms around him.]

The bird did not resent the prince for the time it spent in a cage. Not even a little bit.

[cryptsleeper]

Mmmmm.

[Alucard's own arms tighten around Sypha when her arms come to rest around him. Tonight may be an experiment into how close all three of them can be. If they can stand the heat of blankets because to be bundled up together sounds like the best thing in the world.]

That...is good to know. The last part. [It does not help his own guilt, but...]

Was there anything done for that nightingale to try and make those days stuck in a cage pass easier?