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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[Alucard kept his driving gloves on, for no particular reason at the time. Walking through the house alone made it feel like the right decision, as he wanted no actual contact with any part of the house. Having a barrier made it easier to walk past the holding cells. (There was so much silver.) He dreaded to think of how it was all put in place.

The upper floor had been next, and he wanted to be sick. Then he had descended below, and at that point he had simply walked out, no words left in him, and waited for Trevor at the front door.

His father's European reputation was always well earned. Alucard had seen it in fits and starts over his lifetime, but until his father attacked him, it was all hidden away. Part of his father's past, something he didn't want to show to his wife or his son. This was...

...No. This is a part of his legacy, and he hates every horrible inch of it.

Alucard's only a few feet from the door when Trevor enters.]

I'm here.

It's- more pink and baby blue than I expected. I was thinking it would be a little more- gray stone and big wood and iron doors. You know?

[ Even the entranceway (innocent-looking enough, if a little old fashioned and tacky in its decoration) feels wrong somehow. Like it's possible to know the contents of the rest of the building just from being here. ]

Horrible fucking place, huh?

Contrasts, I suppose. Home is already that.

[He's tried to burrow into his own coat. It isn't going great.]

I hate every inch of it.

If it helps, the-

[ Torture chambers. ]

-upper rooms were never used, to my knowledge. Your father had strong opinions on that shit not working, even in Europe, and there's nothing on it in his records here.

It being for show doesn't help at all.

[Alucard's happy to linger near the door.]

I don't know how so much silver got in this place. But I am of the opinion that Dorian belongs held here rather than in the castle.

Oh, there are whole books on how this place was constructed. It's interesting, the ways he ended up using to move the silver-

[ He's sounding a little bit too excited about that. He stops and. Probably not the time, place or topic get excited about vampire construction techniques. He continues with an apologetic sigh. ]

That's how it's traditionally done. Even before he met your mother, it looks like. We can move him here once he's captured.

[Belmont you don't get to call him and Sypha nerds ever, ever again.]

That's...for later. Knowing how to handle silver would be a useful skill to have.

[Alucard leans his head back against the wall. Next to a silver wall fixture, but not on it, thank God.]

That'll do. I'll find ways to monitor him between that point and concluding this matter. If you want to explore further, you need to be careful going into the basement. Not cleaning is a point of pride, it seems.

[ wow rude THIS STUFF IS INTERESTING THO ]

I'll copy down the parts that aren't horrible for you.

[ He nods, looking around the entranceway once more. ]

I probably should. Location of the most noteworthy vampire attack in the city, and all. Family business. [ And it's more personal than he wants to get right now, and so he doesn't ask the dreaded 'will you be okay' question. ] May I leave you here?

[ It's stupid and awkward to ask it that way, but at least it's not 'will you be okay on your own' ]

[AND THEIR STUFF ISN'T????]

Thank you. If nothing else, it might be vital to my safety in years to come.

[Alucard's eyes fix on Trevor, and he's not sure how happy he is about the words family business. He's taken a position that he doubts any other Belmont would. Not just in taking a vampire as a boyfriend, but in working along one to manage an entire city of them rather than destroying them all outright. Right hand of the king and all that nonsense.

He nods.]

Be careful. I'll make sure no one else disturbs us.

[ EXACTLY! ]

I'll try not to take too long.

[ He's looking at the enchantments rather than the place itself, for the most part. Just how many blood removal spells were used, and where. The torture rooms have an interesting quirk (interesting is relative, Alucard would probably fucking hate it if he knew) what make them seem more actively used when viewed by those who might have thoughts of opposing Dracula. Since he's a Belmont, and thus does very little BUT oppose Dracula, it's a good thing he has a strong stomach. There's an illusion spell of sorts that he suspects might allow for recreating the scene of the massacre here. He doesn't poke at it too much. He suspects Alucard wouldn't appreciate it if he accidentally set it off.

He tries to be quick about it, returning after about a quarter of an hour. ]

That was all- enlightening.

[TREVOR UR RUDE!]

Mmm.

[Alucard's eyes go to the front door. He's very happy to stand watch while Trevor does...whatever it is he's doing. A quiet fifteen minutes to let everything settle as much as it can at the moment. When they leave here, they will drive home and Alucard will throw out a few names for Trevor to approve or disapprove of if the matter ends up being private. Allies, opponents, people who need to witness all of this. Once home, it'll be night. He will begin the process of contacting each in turn. The sires. Everyone who must be involved.

He's planned up to the third day when Trevor returns.]

...So, horrifying.

Horrifying and a lot of posturing. Like this whole fucking job condensed into a single place. Most of the enchantments are still active, save for a few that seem to have relied on the presence of the man himself.

[ He has his own plan, but it's not really much of a plan so much as 'drag this fucking vampire back into the part of the castle that is their home sometime before 3am'. ]

And I'm just going to request now that we not eat meat for the next few days. That would be wonderful.

That's...apt. I think you're starting to gain Sypha's way with words. [Her influence is far more obvious on Trevor, in truth. Perhaps that's because she got him to behave first, wheras with Alucard it took much longer.] If we can use this horrible thing and place as a symbol of continuity, then we are so much the better.

[Then Trevor's speaking of food, and Alucard hisses at himself.]

I'll make something to hold us all over for the next few days. I'm going to be too busy, and we both know Sypha can't be trusted in the kitchen.

[It's a stupid little detail. But cooking means humanity in all the important ways, and it's the last kindness he will be able to do for the week. That is important.]

I can cook, if you need me to. Not brilliantly, but nobody will die.

[ He leads Alucard out. If they're both seen leaving then too fucking bad. Alucard has to leave last, because he can use the keys, and Trevor isn't leaving him here alone for another half hour. ]

Or we could just go within fifty feet of the babas and Bunicuta will get it into her head that Sypha's too skinny again. You won't need to cook for a week.

I'll take care of tonight and tomorrow. After that, they're in full control.

[They need to know what's going on too. With Trevor out the door, Alucard locks it, and the keys are put into the breast pocket of his coat. They sit too terribly close to him, but at least he knows that they are there.

There's no one on the street watching them. The sun hangs low in the sky, but it is not set. That is good. Alucard doesn't waste his time in walking down the pathway to get as much distance between himself and the house as possible.]

I'm switching to a full night schedule as of this evening too. There will be too much I need to attend to to keep my normal hours for the week.

[Waking up in the late afternoon rather than in the mid to late morning. No bed until just before dawn.]

Well shit, I'll barely see any of you at all.

[ He sleeps and wakes earliest of the three, sober and left to his own devices. He'll be waking up just as Alucard comes to bed. They'll have a few hours in the evening shared, if that. It wasn't really a problem before, he'd just put anything that needed Alucard's attention to one side to have him look over at 'breakfast'. It's not a problem now. Just kind of a sobering thought. ]

Should I try to match you, or will you set aside time for me in the evening? Office time, I mean.

[ Social time doesn't seem like it's going to be an option for a while. ]

I know.

[Vampire schedules suck. Alucard huffs about that fact as he locks the front gate behind them both, then lnclines his head northward. Car's that way, and that way is where they have to start walking to.]

You're the priority when I wake up.

[But that means work priority. Not everything else. That world doesn't get to exist for the week. Two, if Alucard's being honest with himself, he'll end up sleeping in his own office for a week after this.]

[ There's a phrase, isn't there, about being careful what you wish for. This whole time he's wanted Alucard to put everything into this and- now he kind of doesn't.

It'll be fine. Sypha's better at this than he is, and a lot worse at respecting where work ends and the rest begins. She'll hand over the results of her own work with a kiss and take his hands when they clench hard enough to send claws into his palms and talk about business and how much she loves him in the same breath. He can't do that, but she can. ]

Going to offend a lot of people, putting me before vampires.

[ Not really, honestly. It's winter, but late afternoon is still at least a little light. It's the best time for them to work on this, because nobody else will want that time. Except Sypha maybe.

He heads toward the car. It's been quite enough of the execution hall for now. ]

[In the end, it's a public affair. The murdered Dorian's sire wants it public, so that's what has to be done. It's the only demand she makes of the whole matter anyway, which leaves Alucard in no position to negotiate and every position to hate this even more. All the careful planning of who's to witness, pointless. He doesn't even need help apprehending the guilty Dorian and throwing him into that house of horrors. Dorian's own sire turns him in because how this all came to be in the first place is a total embarrassment.

The moment is awful. Alucard outlines the charges. Then there's nothing else but channeling every horrible emotion he has felt from the past week and turning it on the offending vampire. Red hot rage, terribly sharp claws, all in service of not true justice, but in making it known that Alucard is furious about what he has been forced to do. It is this vampire's fault, his and his alone that has placed Alucard in this situation.

It's a lie, of course, but it is a useful one. It allows Alucard to tear skin, to break ribs, to remove the organ in one horrible movement that the sound of the heart being torn so violently from the chest actually gets a few horrified faces.

Dorian was young. He does not turn to dust. He is instead a rotting pile of flesh. That's worse, and Alucard snaps for someone else to take care of the problem while the heart is given to other Dorian's sire. She already has a jar for it.

Alucard departs after that. Changes his clothes so that there is no blood upon them, stuffs the bloodied ones into a bag so they can be burned.

He returns home at dawn. Not the day of, but the day after. There's only ice coldness on his face, and he goes for the office. Flops onto the sofa he has in there, because he isn't taking any of this to their bed.]

[ They've been tracking him - he asked for permission to do that, at least, with a promise that neither of them would pry further. Watching their precious little pile of sand drive to the French Quarter, and watching it not return home.

Sypha kept vigil over the map throughout the night, so she's dead to the world right now. He's just waking when there's the sound of the door. And then of the office door. And then of a vampire plummeting into a sofa.

Shit, he has to put on a shirt to go into the office.

It's about five minutes later when he makes his way in there, looking about the minimum amount of presentable that he's willing to be while in here (which is to say that all of the general clothing groups are accounted for and that his teeth have been brushed, but that he's wearing yesterday's crumpled clothes and his hair is Actually Everywhere and he's clinging to his mug of coffee for dear life). ]

Fuck, what have I told you about sleeping in here? [ He's too sleepy for consistent english, slipping in and out of french every few words. ] You have so many spare rooms. Use one of those. Th'office is for working.

[ Which is to say welcome home. ]

Mmph.

[He's sleeping in here and you can't stop him, Belmont. Alucard's already halfway there, face half mushed into one of the pillows, the rest of it pressed against the sofa itself. Never mind the lack of anything else. (He's taken his shoes off, at least.)

There's another mutter, this one almost impossible to make sense of. Alucard's not about to try and explain himself either.]

I'm going to carry you out of here if I have to. But it's too fucking early to do that one-handed and I'm not putting down the coffee.

[ He knows what he's about. ]

So I'm just going to stare at you while I drink it. And it's going to be weird as fuck.

Don't touch me.

[Which is about as authoritative as Alucard's got it in him to be right now. Then it's right back to trying to sleep.]

Very well.

[ Well shit. That would be an instruction. True to his word, he just stares at Alucard as he drains the coffee cup. Then he puts it down.

And moves the table out of the way.

And crouches.

And lifts the sofa. ]

[Alucard's too tired to think about exact words.

Until he's bolted upright because TREVOR. IS MOVING. THE ENTIRE FUCKING SOFA.

There is a loud yelp, and Alucard bolts upright.]

Belmont, what are you doing!?!

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