cryptsleeper | 20s AU Post

20s AU Post

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.

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You did miss it. That was deliberate.

[ He looks back at the vampire map while Alucard talks, keeping track of the impact of the storm upon those. A few smaller piles of sand have fallen still, where the others shrink and grow slightly, almost like they're breathing. ]

Three younger vampires dead. One in the flooded area, likely running water. The other two are both in this area. Could mean sun exposure, though I'd expect the cloud cover to buy them enough time to find other shelter. Could be any number of other fucking things, in this-

[ And something strikes the castle. There's no damage, of course there's no damage, but there is a loud fucking noise and another shudder. Trevor flinches (he didn't even do that when having bones reset, not that violently), hissing out breath through his teeth and grabbing at the charcoal again. He doesn't scrawl anything on the ground this time but fuck, he hates this. ]

I'll ask Sypha later.

[Alucard would rather cling to something more pleasant, but...no. In this room that's harder to do, this room is for work. So he switches the viewing mirror to right outside of the castle itself, tsking softly. There are now trees laid across the road that leads to the castle's gates, which means dealing with that before anything else can be addressed.]

They're young, so they're not used to the particular skill set needed for weathering a storm. I know one of them grew up in this state, so the concept of a hurricane isn't new but...

[Then there's the hurricane again, and Alucard catches Trevor's reaction. It's hard not to.]

We're in the worst part of it. It'll pass soon.

Fuck, fuck.

[ He's been through worse, he's been through so much worse, but he knew to expect it back then. This was just supposed to be weather. Just a storm, like the ones back in Romania. Just a burst river, maybe a few damaged or fallen homes, maybe four or five deaths in total.

He's just about managing to not scrawl on the floor. Or worse, not to just put his back against the wall and wait to be buried. All of this is familiar in a horrible way. But he breathes, and he manages to calm down at least enough to think again and grew up in this state and.

He went and did it again, didn't he? Fucked up the 'be nice' order. Forgot that vampires are people. People who apparently know each other and give a shit about each other, in this part of the world. ]

-did you know them? I'm- sorry. [ The panic hasn't entirely left his tone, but there's an attempt at sympathy there now. A little shame. ]

[There's a moment that Alucard debates responding to Trevor's question. He didn't really know them, they didn't travel in the same circles, the kind of coldness that means Alucard's doing his damn job. Trevor is, however, making an effort here. Being nice, he's trying to care.

He's also reacting to the weather too strongly, and that means Alucard dismisses the viewing mirror for now. Slips into his wolf form. Walks over to where Trevor is and immediately tries to get under one of Trevor's hands, because Trevor's usually better off when Alucard's not person shaped.

This seems like a good time to be not person shaped.]

This is weird now I know that it's you.

[ But he doesn't let that stop him from petting Alucard, because weird is- probably fine. This is probably a gesture of pity, which means that he's probably doing a shitty job of hiding just how much the storm is getting to him.

And fuck it, it's easier to talk to the dog than it is to talk to person-shaped Alucard. ]

Don't have storms like this back home, is all. Keep thinking- keep thinking we're being fucking shelled.

[You turnip it's because he cares.

There's a soft huff to the first statement, but as Trevor explains, the wolf just blinks to show that Alucard understands. It makes sense that the storm is all too new, but the comparison to the battlefront is a surprise.

(It's a point of contention between Trevor and the entire country, isn't it? That those battlefronts were hardly as seen by the men and women of the US versus Europe, dealing with it for four years.)

He presses in a little closer. Because pets. Keep him doing that, keep him talking and reasoning things out.]

[ There's another crash and a snap - probably a large branch striking against the castle walls. His fingers tighten in Alucard's fur, but he manages not to yell this time. It's easier to tell what the noises are with Alucard here to calm him. ]

Well, turns out I fucking hate big storms. Good to know.

[ And he resumes petting, still tense but- it helps. ]

I'll go out to the mortuary once things have calmed down and any bodies that are going to be claimed by families already have been. Pick myself out a corpse, if you still want rid of me. Shouldn't be difficult - white man, brown hair, have Sypha burn one side of the face to explain the missing scar.

[There's a sympathy whine at hating big storms. They're not fun for anyone, and the castle's height makes them so much worse than they ought to be. But

...damnit. Wolf form can't respond to that second part, not in a meaningful way. Alucard just shakes his head no, because right now being comforting is much more important than correcting Trevor.

So that's a change.]

[ He raises an eyebrow at that, but just continues. ]

We can discuss the specifics once we know the situation. I'm not going fucking anywhere if you don't have this all under control. But if you do- I'd stay, if you'd allow it. Someone needs to feed Bunicuta's cats while she's off on business. And they hate you.

[ And also he doesn't have anywhere else to be, or any people he'd rather be with. The latter may not be obvious, since he still spends a good half of his time being a shit. ]

[There is a softer huff. One that suggests agreement with all of this, but damn if he doesn't want to come out and say we want you to stay, if you'll allow it. Because he and Sypha have talked about this already, and beyond that conclusion, there's been a feeling of beyond just fondness for the Belmont. Even if he's terrible and rude.

Agatha's cats are the devil though.

There's a gentle paw at Trevor's chest. Kind of a wolf hug. An attempt to be reassuring and communicate he's wanted.]

[ They're good cats! You just have to. Have a strong tolerance for being skinned alive in order to love them. ]

Come on, you know Sypha told me to be nice. I can't make an unpleasant joke about you grabbing my chest.

[ It's a complaint. And also an attempt to get around an order by talking about that thing he's not allowed to do. But it's warm. He gets the message. ]

I'll stick around. I'd never find my way out of your big fucking country anyway.

[They are NOT GOOD CATS Trevor they hiss and try to bite him!!!

The chest comment gets a side eye. Because it deserves it (and also, shit. He knows.) As for the rest, well, it seems something has finally penetrated that thick skull.]

Awoo.

[It's soft, but also very pleased.]

[ He should probably be a little more cautious about shit like that. Not that for all its many, many other flaws, vampire society has ever been in the business of questioning things said between two men the way humans might (god knows that the only reason that Florence's thing with the first Vampire she ever swore to kill is an open secret instead of just plan public knowledge is that both of them enjoy the performance aspect of it). But Alucard and Sypha are practically married.

He doesn't really like to think of himself as in the habit of inviting that kind of unpleasantness upon himself. And he can't exactly go about making this all weird if he's going to be staying. ]

I'll take that as permission to stay.

[ He scratches Alucard's ears, because that is absolutely not making this weird, and looks over the maps again. The sand that's representing the floodwater is starting to slow down its swirling. ]

Water's going to stop rising soon, with any luck.

[There's a nod of Alucard's head. Yes, it's permission. He'd rather ask, he'll do it later. Explain it away as he thought it was more important to just be fluffy for a while longer, which it absolutely is. The other two care, and sometimes the easiest way to meet Trevor's needs is to just be like this and say nothing at all.

Alucard huffs softly at all those ear scratches. They do feel nice, and they also seem to have done what they've needed to do. He's...calmer, at least a little bit. Enough to be talking about fucking work because Trevor's ability to turn off sometimes does't exist.

He sighs. Avoids the map for now. The storm's not passed over them just yet, and there's another horrid crash against one of the spires.]

[ Work is easy, okay? Work is good. Work is something other than what seems like the entire contents of a forest headbutting the castle.

He yelps at that one, followed by a quiet string of curses. ]

Fuck. [ He curls his fingers in Alucard's fur, trying to calm down. ]

How are you holding up? I know the storm's probably nothing for you, but-

[ This is where the work begins. The storm is terrible, but the worst of it is going to be in the aftermath, putting the pieces back together and stopping anyone else from putting them back together in the wrong way. ]

[Alucard just nuzzles Trevor's wrist. It's the easiest part of Trevor to reach right now, and he leans his weight into Trevor just a bit. A warm and comfy fluffy weight, because that's what is needed right now.

There's also a look of I can't reply to something like that in this form, coupled with a wearier snuff. He'll take the storm to what comes next any day of the week.]

Mm hmm.

[ The eternal curse - it's easier to talk to Alucard when he's a dog, but it's impossible for Alucard to answer. And the only ways that Trevor knows to be nice usually involve checking in on people.

He shakes his head - forget it, it doesn't really matter if Alucard's worried about what comes next. It wouldn't change what comes next at all. Instead he just starts talking. About the storm, at first, and then about the plans his grandmothers had for weathering it (or not weathering it, in Florence's case, but patrolling her neighborhood with her magic galoshes and the little capelet she had him knit for her, with runes to anchor and shield her. And then about the congregation of the church as a whole. About Dana' new baby, and how the whole knitting group worked together to figure out how to fit a ward against illness into a cute design for a blanket. About their drive to collect preserved food to send to those who needed it after the storm. About how two people had fainted when Florence showed up to Sunday Service five minutes late and splattered with blood, and how Agatha had smiled and made a performance of teasing her for the bad job she'd done at 'making strawberry jam'. ]

-they'd come for the communion wine, of course, trying to take it from the church's storerooms. But Bunicuta goes to midnight mass every other night, so they run into her instead. And then they get it into their heads to threaten her-

[Alucard fights the urge to close his eyes and just listen. It's important that his eyes stay up on Trevor. He's listening. He cares. All of this is important because it's important to Trevor. And it's...nice, listening to the more ordinary parts of life. It is one of the things he hasn't had since his mother died, that connection with the more human world. It had been finding Sypha and begging for her help, it had been mourning, and then it had been taking on the work of the city. Precious time for the little things.

Vampires have a version of this, but it isn't the same. Human family connections don't exist. There's sires and there's their offspring and the little stuff, but parents and grandmothers and all of that...he misses it. His mother was a bridge to that world, and now it's just Trevor telling stories about the church that fill the gap.

Besides. The babas wouldn't tell him the communion wine story, and it's funny. Thankfully, laughing translates in wolf vocal chords.]

-and so she leaves them tied up outside the church with a note criticizing their behavior and a pamphlet on the dangers of excess drinking.

[ He smiles, running his hands through Alucard's fur. ]

It came up in the sermon, though not in exact words. A lot of talk about doing what's right, and about god putting us where we're needed. And then what was very obviously the priest trying to be subtle about telling everyone to just ask him for the wine.

[Alucard covers his nose with one of his paws. The universal face in hands gesture, translated into wolf. What a ridiculous farce, and what a ridiculous group of humans that attend it. A community that's bound by...this much gentle ripping on each other as it is faith.

The winds have died down outside. Oh, it still howls, but it isn't as bad as it was. Not by a longshot. Alucard's ears flick back and forth, careful to understand it all. The storm still has so much rain to give them.]

Nothing for a while.

[ He withdraws his hand. ]

If you're doing this for my sake, I think there's no need anymore. I'm sure you're sick of me talking to myself.

[Alucard gives Trevor a very soft final nudge, then withdraws. He makes a point to transform behind Trevor's back, and it takes a moment for him to reply. Alucard first needs to shake out his hair and rub his hands. Back to human form.]

I like listening. [He says it softly, and there's not a single lie in the words.] Truly.

I can't imagine why. Shit's boring.

[ Which- well. That is why, isn't it? That's why Trevor cares about it so much. Because it's one tiny thread connecting him to a normal that he's never had. ]

But- thanks. Didn't realize I'd hate this shit so much. Maybe I'll see if I can convince Sypha to teach me her tricks, let me sleep through the next one.

[ The maps have long been just meaningless piles of sand. He lost focus maybe half an hour ago. He could reset them, but knowing more right now probably won't do much good. ]

So. I'm staying.

It's the nice kind of boring.

[Funny, the reason they're both clinging to it is terribly the same. Alucard stays where he is, arms at his side, just...watching. Contemplating many conversations had lately.]

And in truth, it seemed the only useful thing I could do at the moment. Sitting and watching maps move around helps only to a point. The rest invites anxiety. We're...not at a point where any of us can do anything.

[More importantly. More important than maps, than this work, than anything else.]

If you want. Sypha and I both hope that you will, but...if the terms of our agreement are filled and you don't want to, then we'll understand. The choice is yours.

It's doing something. [ The maps, that is. And everything else in his life. Coming here to kill Dracula was doing something. Staying was doing something. Going to feed Agatha's lovely cats is doing something. Knitting potatobrands is doing something. Everything comes down to taking action, trying to take control of something. ]

Both of you? [ He looks away at that, staring at his piles of sand in thought. They're both so kind to him. Better than he deserves, in truth. Alucard's a shitty vampire, a shitty leader, but he's a good person. And Sypha doesn't seem to care either way about him being better than he is at anything that matters, as long as he remains kind. Neither of them were built for this the way he was. Neither of them deserve any of this shit. ] I'll stay. As long as I can.

20s AU Post

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