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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[That's a fine and perfectly valid explanation. It's also not enough to stop her from looking all over the box from every angle, like she's determined to find the hidden candle flame or miniature fire if she only looks hard enough.]

And you say it does this to anything you put inside the box?

Yes. Although there's some things you shouldn't put in, like metal. That just makes it explode.

[He flinches a little as Sypha's inspection begins in earnest.]

Could you take the butter out first?

Mmhmm! Is it done — oh, it's done.

[Where once there was a nice firm pat of butter, there is now a lovely melty puddle of butter. She opens the door without hesitation, reaching for the dish, and proceeds to burn her fingers.]

Ouch!

[Well. She really should've seen that one coming, shouldn't she. Luckily, they're not really burned, per se, just a little red from the unexpected heat, so she sticks them into her mouth and sucks on them a bit while she looks around for a dishtowel to use to bring the dish out.]

That really is hot.

[But she still manages to get the dish out and brought over to him one-handed, with minimal difficulty.]

Hm, I probably put it in there for too long.

[Alucard takes the butter, and for now, it's been put aside. The next few minutes are dedicates to getting all the other ingredients, and throwing it all together into a decent pancake batter. Breakfast for dinner isn't really his favorite thing, but there is little else in the house, and it's probably better for Speakers to have more long term fuel in their bellies.

It also means Sypha has more time to inspect the microwave. And the rest of the kitchen for that matter, because it's plenty big enough and Alucard's involved with actual cooking now.]

[Risking a glance at Alucard to make sure that he's preoccupied before she starts being right on the verge of Impermissably Snoopy, she sneaks over and filches a dish of exactly the same type as the one he'd used from the same cupboard he'd taken it from — sleight of hand works wonders, and if one type of dish is okay, then others of the same type theoretically must be — then sidles to the freezer and does the same for a single ice cube.

Granted, she's never tried to outmaneuver vampire hearing, so she's not taking that into consideration in terms of being detected, but it's genuinely impressive how good she is at raiding his kitchen for little things in fast and unobtrusive ways.

This all comes to a head, naturally, when she returns to the microwave and puts her ice cube in, turning it on and watching intently as, just like the butter, the cube slowly goes melty and starts to liquefy.]

[Alucard is not going to stop a woman from exploring Science. If anything, he's going to stay quiet and concentrate on cooking, only looking up on occasion to make sure that nothing is going to explode.

It's...nice. This is nice. This is the first meal he's cooked for himself in some time, and it isn't one he has to have alone.

He's aware that this will be a fleeting thing. But he will put the offer on the table as he flips a pancake.]

You're welcome here tomorrow as well, if you'd like.

[And soon enough: water. Just like that, with no fuss at all in the slightest. She's so delighted she almost misses his remark, from how intently she's examining the heating box.]

...Really? I could stop by on my way home from work.

[...Speaking of which.]

You're too generous, you know. That robe I gave you was not nearly so fine as what you bought to replace it.

As long as you're in this city.

[So at least he'll know when she leaves.

The next pancake gets flipped. Curiously, Alucard pauses, then reaches for a little sprig of thyme from the window box to the let of the stove. He's curious, and adds a little bit of the herb to the batter.]

I couldn't find anything else that was the right color. I figured that was more important than the quality of the fabric.

...Yes, you were right about that. It's important that we all match, so that none of us individually stands out.

[There's something about that, though, that makes her sigh, and she looks away from him for a minute to glance out one of the other windows, toward the red-orange sky and the setting sun.]

Mm. What was I saying? Oh — yes. Usually we buy white fabric in bulk and dye it ourselves, so that it all comes out the same. Then we save the rest that isn't used originally, for replacements. So you can see, we try not to replace them very often.

[Alucard's nearly done with the last of the pancakes. They just need to be turned, then they can be devoured.]

Making a batch of dye requires work, and if you're going through the effort, then you ought to do it en masse. That makes sense.

[He looks over at Sypha, and while her sigh is worrying, the way the setting sun lights her face is something else. The red-orange makes her hair seem to glow in all the right ways and...

...and the pancakes are done. He moves the last batch onto the plate, then moves the plate to the table.]

Let me get forks and knives out. Dinner's ready.

Mmhmm! And blue is especially difficult. There are so many possible variations, and the human eye can distinguish between hundreds of them.

[She carefully tests her ice cube dish to see if it's cool enough to touch, and once she's ascertained that, she carefully carries it over to set it in the sink before retreating to the table.]

I'm surprised you found a perfect match, actually. You must have put a lot of effort into it.

Of course. Dye compounds are often composed of many components as well, and those are secrets. [He gets out the plates and silverware, butter and maple syrup, glad that none of it is terribly high up. When Alucard returns to the table, it's to set it properly.

Then sit himself down, still careful.]

It was an enjoyable morning of effort.

Please, help yourself.

Is there nothing I can help with? Please, if you need to get up for something again, let me do it instead.

[She fusses, hoping to offer an acceptable compromise between his hospitality and her need to extend the same courtesy in return.]

Oh — I can serve! I'll do that.

[She glances to him, looking for approval, with her knife and fork at the ready to lift some of the pancakes off of the serving plate and onto his own once she's given permission.]

By all means.

[He can't help it. There's a tiny smile at the need to return kindness. The fussing. It's as warm as the rest of her, and sure, all of it is politeness. Alucard doesn't care. It's politeness offered not because of who he is or what's happened, but because this is a normal situation and that's what you're supposed to do.

He puts his plate closer to her. Go for broke, Sypha.]

[And onto his plate go a nice helping of three or four stacked pancakes, arranged into a neat tower, before she moves the butter and syrup both over close to his hand so he doesn't have to reach very far to get at it. Then she finishes up with her own, about half the size of his, and immediately starts digging in once she's sat back down again.

Thus resulting in: yet another way of rendering a Speaker silent. Leave her quiet because she's busy eating, instead.]

[It's the little gestures that surprise and delight. Not being asked to pass anything, just edging everything over. Alucard's glad for it. He's also stuffing his face in the most dignified way that he can, because he really does need to eat. Food's not been a priority at all, and any of the sympathy casseroles are at the house.

He doesn't want to eat those right now anyway, they're a reminder of recent events.

Alucard keeps eating until there's nothing on his plate, and he takes two more without even asking.

There's a point where he at least looks up and over at Sypha, seeking her approval of the meal.]

[She's secretly glad when he takes seconds, in part because it's good to see him with an appetite after the terrible wounds he'd experienced, but also because — well, because it makes it feel a little more like home. Food in the middle, polite restraint on the first pass until everyone has had at least a little, a free-for-all for the remainder once the first plate is done. Communal eating is familiar, and it's less of a consideration when there's only two at the table, but still, it's reminiscent of being back at camp, and she likes it.

She eats slower than he does, making it last. She also never reaches for the butter or syrup, but takes her time and goes methodically until her plate is clean.]

...You're a very good cook. Better, I think, than some of the restaurants in town, even.

Mmm, on that I'd disagree. Food here is important, and if you're serving, then you're already miles away from a home cook.

But thank you.

[He does note that butter and syrup are not Sypha's prerogative, but he doesn't ask about it either. Alucard just keeps eating, and serving, until there's only two pancakes left on the serving plate.]

Those last two are yours. Please.

...Are you sure? If you want them instead —

[Hmm. On one hand, she'd be wrong to refuse. On the other hand...]

If you're sure.

[Quietly, she takes the last two and sets them on her plate, hesitates — and then reaches for the butter and syrup before she can think better of it, dousing the pancakes in both before absolutely inhaling them.]

I'm sure.

[Oh well.

She's doing what he might have if he didn't have company. Alucard can't judge, he can only watch with a tiny smile on his face, enjoying the fact that his cooking has been so well received.]

Would you have any requests for later in the week?

Um.

[That gets her to hesitate a minute, drawing in on herself a little as she looks at the absolutely decimated plates between then, and considers.]

Does it have to be something from around here?

No. If I don't know the recipe, I'll go to the library and look it up.

What about noodles?

[She chews the corner of her lip, stifling some of her eagerness.]

I saw a man once eating a plate of Italian noodles with sauce and meatballs and it was as big as his head. And they have to wind it around and around in on itself to make it all fit on the plate, so when you find a noodle and start to eat it, sometimes it goes on much longer than you think it will! I wanted to try that, but I didn't get the chance to.

...I can do that. Give me two days?

[Alucard will go and look it up in the library. But it's a challenge. One he can dig into, and be so terribly content with it, because it's moving ever forward.]

Same time, if you think you can get away.

I think so. Our elder will only worry if he doesn't at least see me in camp before the moon is up, but once I have been seen I think it will be all right.

[Almost absently, she arranges her silverware onto her used plate and gets up, beginning to stack them and motioning for his as if to ask whether he's finished or not.]

He knows I can take care of myself. I am always going off on my own for one reason or another, so he does not think much of it, so long as he knows I am safe.

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