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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

...Mm. Then, to be fair, I will not go another step either without yours.

[And she doesn't. She pauses, right then and there, and turns to face him directly.]

My name is Sypha. Sypha Belnades.

[...Hmmm.]

I am a girl, if that was not clear from the name.

Adrian Tepes.

[She probably knew that already. But it's nice to be asked it all the same, even if saying his surname right now feels...family has too much emotion right now.]

Safer to travel with ambiguity. [He gets it. And there's something much more important while they both stand here, unmoving.]

It is not an exaggeration to say that I owe you my life, Miss Belnades. I do not know how to repay that debt.

Do you prefer to be called Adrian? I think many people call you something different.

[And some of them don't even bother to use his name at all. There's no need to, when his patriarch and his bloodline are more than enough to speak for themselves.]

...I did not do what I did because I was expecting to be repaid, Adrian.

Please. That other name is...complicated. But you'd know that already.

[Even in that camp, he was Son of Dracula.]

All the same, my gratitude is overwhelming.

Complicated and very long. It was deemed important to your story that we remember and preserve your many titles.

[...]

Even the ones that I am pretty sure someone just made up to sound good.

[But regardless, moving on.]

If your honor demands that you do something in recompense, then you could help my people. It is hard for us to get the things we need in cities like yours, where few people tolerate us, and fewer still will sell us the things we need, even when we have coin to pay for them.

So, all of them.

[He's just saying.

He's slow as he walks. Careful for twinges of pain, not just to be aware of sore spots, but to be sure Sypha doesn't catch on.]

I can tell you where to go when you'll be treated as tourists and thus no one will think twice of service. Offering supplies personally may be an option in the next day or so. This is less about honor and more...fairness.

Heir of the moon and the stars.

[She singsongs, under her breath.]

It would be helpful. We are...not well liked. And I knew that when we came here, but —

[She pauses, then sighs.]

Usually we leave before such things can become...hurtful. It's tolerable enough when they are only just frustrating. Then we move on, and leave it behind, and it does not matter so much anymore.

Because one can inherit heavenly bodies.

[Hearing, Sypha.]

Mm. How much longer do you and your people intend to stay then?

[It's worth knowing to repay kindness. It's worth knowing in case the stitches pop.]

I would not go quite that far, describing yours. But I have certainly seen worse.

[That genuinely wasn't a setup, it was more automatic than anything else.]

I do not know. I think —

[Hesitates.]

...I'm not sure if I can tell you the particulars of our motivations. Or what would prompt us to go or to stay. I think it will be a while, from what I have seen and gathered.

...Excuse me?

[Sorry, that was a surprise. Alucard's done flirting before! But never during these kinds of discussions!!!]

A while then. I think that shall do. [So long as he isn't dead upon returning home.]

I'd ask if you want the list of places that will serve you written down, but that's rather stupid, isn't it?

...Oh. You meant the stars and the moon.

[MOVING RIGHT ALONG THEN if only she had her robes to burrow into, but alas she does not, and thus her vague faint flush is regrettably visible.]

I'm more concerned with how to pass this information along to my people without having to answer questions about where it came from.

[...]

It was not that they did not want to help you. Please, do not think that about them. Especially not about our elder. He is a kind man, who believes in good works. It...he was asked to make a hard choice. I do not know if it was the right one. But I think he made it because he believes we must not attract the attention of...the people with investment in you.

Yes?

[....Oh.]

You can account for your missing time as exploring another part of the city that might be more friendly to you and yours.

[But now they're...at this. Alucard would rather not dwell on last night, so Sypha's explanation feels unneeded.]

I understand the decision and don't fault it. You didn't even have to account for the choice made. I knew I was gambling before I even approached for the exact reason you said.

That will do. Someone might wonder why I chose to do that instead of simply going about my business telling fortunes, but I am one of the more headstrong of our number, so no one will think much of it, past that initial wondering.

[She stares down at her feet, though, as they continue, and doesn't say anything for a few steps until eventually she gathers her thoughts together.]

If I had not helped you...what would you have done?

It's also a city with smaller histories that don't circulate beyond their wards. Either way, you have more than enough cover.

[Alucard doesn't mind the silence. It's...after last night, silence is nice. Not a comfort, but it means he isn't screaming with his father in the middle of the night right in front of his mother's grave. It means he isn't throwing himself on the will of others.

When Sypha breaks the silence, he only shakes his head.]

Ended up in the same place, I suppose, trying to do this myself. A hospital would not be safe due to the nature of my blood.

...I see.

[She slows to a stop, still looking at the tips of her toes, and listens to see if he'll stop as well.]

There is...one thing, that I did not do when I was assisting you last night. I would like to this morning, before we have to part ways at town. But I will have to touch you to do it. Will you allow that?

[Alucard's moving a few more steps ahead before he realizes Sypha isn't in step with him anymore. He turns around, head tilted just a little.]

What is it?

[He's not refusing, but he'd like to know.]

[Whether he meant it or not, that's permission enough for her — or at least, that's what she hears it as. So, quietly, she closes the few steps of distance left between them and carefully wraps her arms around his middle, angling her embrace so that it's mostly pressed against his side instead of his chest, to avoid putting any undue pressure on his wound and his stitches.

It doesn't last long — just a few seconds, without even a hint of squeezing. But for a few seconds, she has her arms around him, and he is dirty and rumpled and still an absolute mess, and the fact that those things don't matter to her is just as important as the hug itself.]

[There's a lot to unpack here.

Alucard's deadly still as Sypha's arms go around his middle. The first is for a practical reason - he doesn't want to aggravate the wound slashed across his chest. The second is every last hug he has received lately has been because of what's happened. This feels slightly different, but not different enough.

Third, and worst of it, the last one to touch him period was his father. The results of that are clear.

So he's afraid at first, which is the stupidest reaction he could ever have to something like this. He doesn't relax much more after those fears pass, he seems more at peace. Then Sypha isn't there at all, and it feels strange. She burns much warmer than most humans.]

...I have never seen anyone look so sad as you did when you came to our camp yesterday. Not even my grandfather, when he lost his only daughter.

[She backs up a little when she's done, giving him his space. But curiously, she's done with averting her eyes, now. She's looking at him directly, chin raised just a touch, gaze steady. Whatever hesitation had been in her before, it's not present for this.]

So I meant it, when I wished you to be safe and be well. And what I did not say was that it was going to be all right, because it was not something I could promise. But I am glad you were not left to do this alone. I hope that it brought you some comfort, this past night, that you weren't.

[Sad? Well, that's...accurate. To say the least. Alucard cannot say how he must have looked to others, but he can believe Sypha's observation. Everything around him is in shambles. Pieces of glass too finely broken to be glued back together. So..yes. Sad is right.

But it goes beyond that. The little bit of loss she shares, it's sobering. The way she's able to speak of it too that...it's not hope. It isn't reassuring. But it is a sign that it is possible to weather this horrible hurricane.]

You are...prudent in your word choices. [She's a Speaker. Of course she is.] Your hope held through.

[As almost an afterthought, he murmurs:] Your will burns very brightly.

Oh.

[Prudent in her word choices, he says, and then goes and says something like that. He's the prince of vampires, he surely must know enough of magic to know the implications of what he's just told her. To say such a thing, to a Speaker and a magician —

Because she's never going to forget that, is she. The way he looked, the way his voice sounded, the way his mouth shaped the words. Your will burns very brightly, and that's a part of her now, a story for two, safeguarded by one.]

...Thank you.

[Perhaps he'll remember it, too, for his own reasons: a Speaker, speechless, from his own prudent word choices.]

[Alucard's simply a skilled observer, it has nothing to do with being prince of anything. This feels like the right point to keep walking, one foot steadily after the other. Sypha's made no comment of the fact he has been using her bloodied cloak as a cape around his own body, trying to hide the bandages from the eyes of the world. He's glad for it.]

How long have you been practicing that art?

[Anything to make this less awkward. Talking about magic? That's pretty normal in his books. Rendering a speaker incapable of words is...he's not of the right mind to realize that for the accomplishment it is.]

I practice several arts.

[Yes, good, there we go. The topic has shifted back to something safe and familiar, something she could talk about at length in her sleep. (Little does she know she actually does talk in her sleep. It's not as though she's ever been awake to hear it.)

But off they go again, trotting along at Alucard's pace, drawing ever closer to their destination as they make their way down the secluded path toward town.]

Speakers dress their girls to look like boys, to protect them as they travel. I learned from this practice and do something similar with my magic. People see what they wish to see, and what they expect to. So I practice magic, and I also practice tricks. When people see you as a stage magician first, they assume that the real magic they witness is...just a trick too clever to be explained. I've been doing both since I was young.

[She pauses.]

Since...I was old enough to understand the importance of pulling my own weight. There are always people who will pay money to be told stories they wish to be told. I am very good at giving them what they want. And so, I help.

So your magic is practiced in layers, with nods to the concepts used by those who rely on more traditional ways of fooling the senses.

[He's impressed. It shows in his tone, in the way he considers everything Sypha has explained before drawing his conclusions. Her acts are no small feats, they're carefully woven...narratives. Because to think of Speakers is to think of stories, and it is the easiest way to interpret everything that Sypha has said so far.]

It's finely honed. I'm certain that honing will become refinement approaching perfection before too terribly long.

[They're approaching where they have to part ways. So Alucard returns to business, lists every part of the city that will see Speakers as no more than other visitors to the city and give no side-eye to their needs. (Don't practice your arts where you intend to purchase he advises.) And so at the outskirts, Alucard inclines his head west.]

This is where our paths must fork again, Miss Belnades. I'll find you when I can.

Mm. Then I wish you again, Adrian: be well, and be safe.

[And off she goes, in the opposite direction as his own path, to find a well-trafficked street corner with just a little bit of shade and something pleasant-smelling nearby — usually either a flower-seller or a restaurant, so long as the aroma is palatable to the senses. People relax more easily in such an environment; they give more away, and they feel more comfortable with their generosity — especially if they happen to be leaving said restaurant with change still in their hand, and can be caught by the whimsy of spending it on a quick fortune.

She has a fair run of luck with it, too. The usual types pass through — girls looking for the faces of their future husbands, gamblers looking for a turn of their luck, wealthy men preoccupied with this business deal or that proposition. It's never difficult to convince them to try her, and one by one she plies them with a smile and a story, giving them what they want to hear and sending them away satisfied.

When she's earned enough for the morning, she takes a short break and darts into the restaurant to buy herself a small portion of jambalaya, and once she has it she packs up her things and walks the streets eating while she ferrets out her afternoon's location — this one designed to catch workers on their way home from a day's trade, where in the morning she was seeking to hook shoppers and idle vagabonds.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject