Who: Alucard and open When: First half of June Where: Free Cities, Norwich, Al’s domain What: Getting up and functioning again, updating one’s domain, taking stock of his new physical change thanks to event 18 Warnings:Added as needed
[Is that so important a kitchen appliance? All of his past vessels had been perfectly happy to eat whatever could be fried in a pan, but even Michael would admit their taste in food hadn't been very refined. He learns something new with every discussion of food preparation.
The cough-laugh earns Alucard a sharp look, though Michael doesn't say anything about it.]
I don't disagree with your point. Mine was that the very nature of artists might make them an unappealing population to recruit from, so they may not face the same pressures as the average civilian.
Is your overall opinion of the Free Cities that they're much like any other, then?
I've not had them before now and between them and the stand mixers, there's a number of culinary possibilities that have been opened to me.
[The stand mixer is an upgrade more in the fact that it means he doesn't need to use stupid dhampir speed tricks for things like whipping eggwhites.]
I'd say these days they face different ones. But I take your point about recruitment and remain relieved that there's been nothing enforced over the past few years I've been here. Then again, that may lead to riots.
[Not ideal.]
Having not lived many other places, I can't say one way or another. But it's a pleasant enough space and it's easy enough to blend in with the crowd. That's enough for me.
I can't say I'm familiar with any of it. I didn't spend much time on Earth prior to this, and I don't eat.
[It's all funny little gadgets the humans have cobbled together to make life easier, to him. Their impulse to create is second only to his Father's.]
Like the risk of being firebombed. I doubt that inspired much goodwill or faith in the military's capabilities, did it?
I'd say the same of Solvunn. Pleasant enough outside of the religious aspects they won't let you avoid, though with enough dedication you can get away from even that. I hear life in the woods is quiet.
[Don't eat? Alucard raises an eyebrow slowly.] Is that so?
[He'll wait for an explanation.]
Really it came back to the government itself, so far as I can recall. But I may have been too focused on the immediate reconstruction efforts, such as it was and as it continues with some performance venues.
[Construction isn't an instant thing, after all.]
I go into the desert if I need complete quiet. It's nice out there, and I can see how the woods would let you get away from the gods. We've had far too much of that lately, and I've enough of it from home.
[There's not much to explain. Not eating is as normal to Michael as eating is to those that do.]
I don't need food to survive. It's simply my nature. If you're asking what I am: an archangel.
[Michael cocks his head to the side, implying curiosity though not much on his expression speaks to it. He'd care to have that question answered in kind. Creatures from outside of his world never quite fit between the lines he's used to.]
That's one way of forcing the modernization of a structure. Do you find it balances its surroundings now, or was it better before?
[They don't have anything comparable in Solvunn, and his last few vessels weren't really men of the arts.
He gives an affirmative hum. He understands entirely. Being surrounded by religious zealots wears on his nerves, and he's had enough personal experience with at least one god to last him all of his abnormally-long lifespan.]
I'd be happy to never hear speak of gods again, but I doubt I'll be so fortunate.
[Alucard's demeanor changes instantly with the word archangel. His entire posture stiffens. His face hardens into something that's bitter. The dhampir has not had the best of experiences with faith back home, and it is only the comment never hear speak of gods again that pulls him back from asking Michael to leave immediately.
Still, there's no warmth as Alucard turns, crossing his arms over his chest. His tone is ice cold, like a January wind.]
Is that so? Does it only apply to gods in the plural?
[If Michael's had beef with the Christian god, then Alucard is far more likely to be less on his own guard.]
[The change in attitude as Alucard ices over is impossible to miss. It's a wonder Michael hasn't been faced with this kind of reaction more often, really. That religion is a touchy subject for some is no secret to him, but it seems he's always running into devout Catholics instead, the kind who see him as a figure to revere.
He doesn't consider himself the hero of their stories any more than he's the villain in whatever Alucard's been through. Religion's only half-right at the best of times. He's not responsible for what men to do one another.
There's little change in Michael's expression. He wears the same impassive look he did when he arrived.]
Did I sound like I was making exceptions? All gods, plural or singular within their pantheon.
[There's a lot more he could say—about why he never cares to see his God again, about what kind of person his Father is, about what He's done to Michael personally—but he's not getting into it with a stranger. He does dislike having some unknown slight held against him, though.]
If you have something to say, say it. Don't be coy.
It did not, but I felt it wise to check all the same. [Alucard doesn't relax exactly, but he'll take the invitation to be upfront.]
I'm from the 1470s. My mother was burned alive under the auspices of the church as so-called witch when all she was was a woman with advanced scientific knowledge. [The rest of the drama doesn't matter. The point is simple enough.] No small amount of bitterness towards the faith remains.
[It isn't quite a I know you're not personally responsible acknowledgement, but it hedges close.]
[Michael gives a brief nod. Fair enough. He's never liked ambiguity, so he can appreciate the direct approach.]
Condolences. It wasn't the most enlightened era. [It sounds to him like ignorance is the problem over faith, but he knows the two go hand in hand often enough that he's not going to open that argument.] Though I may be a figure in multiple religions, I don't consider myself religious. I'm not here to build churches or bring the word of God to the faithless. I believe humanity's best left to govern itself.
[That might still be an ugly end for them based on what they were doing to the planet back home, but if extinction is their ultimate fate, still better that it be one they choose for themselves than one they're driven towards by up above.]
I take it your mother was human. [Witch-burnings killed more fellow humans than anything else, to his recollection.] What are you?
From what I've gathered in world history, that's something of an understatement. [The tone is dry, but knowing where the other stands is helpful in lowering some of the dhampir's immediate hackles.]
Dhampir. My father was a vampire. [So far as he is concerned though, turnabout is absolutely fair play. So he lifts an eyebrow, gesturing to Michael himself.]
They're a little better off by the year two-thousand.
[Less burning at the stake of witches, at least in the places his vessel lines are from. Earth as a whole is still far from peaceful but that's the consequence of giving every member of a species a mind of their own and free will. Growing pains.
Alucard is entitled to his wariness. Michael himself doesn't believe in fully trusting anything that's half-monster at first meeting, either.]
For a given meaning of incarnation. The reason I first took this vessel is no longer relevant, but his name was Adam. He no longer inhabits this body.
[Michael is alone in here. He's come to realize that's a necessary footnote. People are rightfully wary of that which can take over a body and suppress the will of it soul.]
Half-vampire is as good as full vampire in my world. Do you prefer bread to blood?
That's the sense I've gotten, although it seems there's much to get through first. I'm...certain that I will experience it, if I am forced to go back.
[If and force are words Alucard doesn't mind using bluntly. He doesn't want to return home, thank you, and has been comfortable saying as much for some time now.
He pauses, frowning.]
Was Adam on purpose or just one of those funny accidents?
[His eyebrow lifts, suggesting this is a genuine question.]
I don't require blood to survive at all, such as it is. I like cooking, although I have a fondness for blood sausage that I do suspect is a trait from my father.
[He can't blame him for his reluctance to go back. Waiting through some five hundred years to get to the good part is a long time. Less so by archangel standards, but still an unpleasant amount of time to be stuck on Earth. Michael doesn't see Abraxas as all that much of an improvement however.
Alucard gets a pause in return. He's sure the man must be asking about how he came to be in Adam, rather than if Adam himself was an accident, but he did have a hand in setting up his vessels' bloodlines.
(Adam's father would undoubtedly say yes; his mother more likely to say he was a happy accident.)]
Taking him as a vessel was intentional. I needed a body at the time. Evicting him wasn't by my choice.
[Playing the season for comedy lets Alucard sidestep more important truths, like patricide and crippling depression, as well as poor life choices about romantic partners and impaled corpses.
He had meant to only joke about the name. Michael's response instead raises more eyebrows and absolutely makes the dhampir shift uncomfortably in his skin.]
Solvunn occasionally sacrifices people to their gods.
[It might as well be the 1470s over in his corner of the continent. It's not really intended as an argument, though, simply a counterpoint. He hears Alucard's own point that when and where one comes decides one's opinion on Abraxas more than anything else.
Michael's no stranger to making people uncomfortable. He observes Alucard with an almost avian sort of interest. He's not as blind to social cues as his younger siblings, but he's still an archangel. Jokes are never the first thought on his mind.]
As in his soul was removed from this body. I did say he was no longer in here.
[He tries not to think about it. Especially not what they all witnessed with the ending of that cult, as cathartic as knowing it was over and done with happened to be.
Noted. Angels are bad at jokes.
Unfortunately, the information that follows makes the dhampir even more uncomfortable. The idea of such a thing in and of itself is concerning, better known as the understatement of the century.]
So you're wearing a suit and...does the owner get the luxury of return once it is discarded, or are they fully removed forever?
[Michael is great at jokes, thanks. He just has to be the one issuing them.
He's about to say yes, of course, but then Michael thinks of the state his brother Raphael left his vessel in. Donnie got his body back, but by then it was more of a prison. Then there's Castiel, still running around wearing Jimmy Novak's face long after the soul has passed on. He's not so invested in presenting angels as a monolith these days.]
Depends on the angel. Returning it had been my intention, but here, there's no one to return it to.
[Adam is back home, restored to life and once again sole master of his body. It doesn't look like any of this information is reassuring to Alucard, though, so Michael takes pity on him.]
We do need the owner's permission in the first place. In your place, I'd worry about the creatures that don't.
[Saying "the opposite of possession" might have been better, but he wouldn't have learned as much. Michael is right in clocking that none of the information is reassuring to the dhampir, mostly because it isn't.
Not because you know, there's angels running around and some of them definitely take issue with the whole religion part. It is absolutely the soul suppression thing and he'd like to digest that without additional eyes on him, please and thank you.
He's not exactly sure how to turn the conversation at this point. Silence hangs heavy for a few moments, and--]
[Alucard's got the gist of it, so Michael nods an affirmative. As for how he spends his time in the Horizon—]
The ones that are open to visitors, yes. I find it informative.
[That whole permission thing, and their earlier point that those who don't care to receive guests build their walls high and keep their doors locked. Most don't, so there's much to be learned from walking the Horizon.
It's not lost on him that Alucard is making conversation like men do when trying to get away from it. The man did say he likes to be alone, sometimes.]
I'll take that as my cue to leave. Enjoy your solitude and your bread-baking.
[This one can. If Alucard expects it to be a universal skill, he'll be in for a surprise when he tries to get Castiel to read between the lines.]
A little early to be issuing invitations when you're still thinking it over, isn't it?
[It's not a dig, and he's not insulted. His tone is light and if anything, a touch amused. There are far more upsetting realities in Abraxas and he expects he'll get over it. If not, well—there's still plenty of forest to wander in Solvunn.
Michael heads back the way he came, walking rather than disappearing with a flap of his wings. It really is a nice walk.]
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abraxaslogs2024-06-01 02:10 pm
no subject
[Is that so important a kitchen appliance? All of his past vessels had been perfectly happy to eat whatever could be fried in a pan, but even Michael would admit their taste in food hadn't been very refined. He learns something new with every discussion of food preparation.
The cough-laugh earns Alucard a sharp look, though Michael doesn't say anything about it.]
I don't disagree with your point. Mine was that the very nature of artists might make them an unappealing population to recruit from, so they may not face the same pressures as the average civilian.
Is your overall opinion of the Free Cities that they're much like any other, then?
no subject
[The stand mixer is an upgrade more in the fact that it means he doesn't need to use stupid dhampir speed tricks for things like whipping eggwhites.]
I'd say these days they face different ones. But I take your point about recruitment and remain relieved that there's been nothing enforced over the past few years I've been here. Then again, that may lead to riots.
[Not ideal.]
Having not lived many other places, I can't say one way or another. But it's a pleasant enough space and it's easy enough to blend in with the crowd. That's enough for me.
no subject
[It's all funny little gadgets the humans have cobbled together to make life easier, to him. Their impulse to create is second only to his Father's.]
Like the risk of being firebombed. I doubt that inspired much goodwill or faith in the military's capabilities, did it?
I'd say the same of Solvunn. Pleasant enough outside of the religious aspects they won't let you avoid, though with enough dedication you can get away from even that. I hear life in the woods is quiet.
no subject
[He'll wait for an explanation.]
Really it came back to the government itself, so far as I can recall. But I may have been too focused on the immediate reconstruction efforts, such as it was and as it continues with some performance venues.
[Construction isn't an instant thing, after all.]
I go into the desert if I need complete quiet. It's nice out there, and I can see how the woods would let you get away from the gods. We've had far too much of that lately, and I've enough of it from home.
no subject
I don't need food to survive. It's simply my nature. If you're asking what I am: an archangel.
[Michael cocks his head to the side, implying curiosity though not much on his expression speaks to it. He'd care to have that question answered in kind. Creatures from outside of his world never quite fit between the lines he's used to.]
That's one way of forcing the modernization of a structure. Do you find it balances its surroundings now, or was it better before?
[They don't have anything comparable in Solvunn, and his last few vessels weren't really men of the arts.
He gives an affirmative hum. He understands entirely. Being surrounded by religious zealots wears on his nerves, and he's had enough personal experience with at least one god to last him all of his abnormally-long lifespan.]
I'd be happy to never hear speak of gods again, but I doubt I'll be so fortunate.
no subject
Still, there's no warmth as Alucard turns, crossing his arms over his chest. His tone is ice cold, like a January wind.]
Is that so? Does it only apply to gods in the plural?
[If Michael's had beef with the Christian god, then Alucard is far more likely to be less on his own guard.]
no subject
He doesn't consider himself the hero of their stories any more than he's the villain in whatever Alucard's been through. Religion's only half-right at the best of times. He's not responsible for what men to do one another.
There's little change in Michael's expression. He wears the same impassive look he did when he arrived.]
Did I sound like I was making exceptions? All gods, plural or singular within their pantheon.
[There's a lot more he could say—about why he never cares to see his God again, about what kind of person his Father is, about what He's done to Michael personally—but he's not getting into it with a stranger. He does dislike having some unknown slight held against him, though.]
If you have something to say, say it. Don't be coy.
no subject
I'm from the 1470s. My mother was burned alive under the auspices of the church as so-called witch when all she was was a woman with advanced scientific knowledge. [The rest of the drama doesn't matter. The point is simple enough.] No small amount of bitterness towards the faith remains.
[It isn't quite a I know you're not personally responsible acknowledgement, but it hedges close.]
no subject
Condolences. It wasn't the most enlightened era. [It sounds to him like ignorance is the problem over faith, but he knows the two go hand in hand often enough that he's not going to open that argument.] Though I may be a figure in multiple religions, I don't consider myself religious. I'm not here to build churches or bring the word of God to the faithless. I believe humanity's best left to govern itself.
[That might still be an ugly end for them based on what they were doing to the planet back home, but if extinction is their ultimate fate, still better that it be one they choose for themselves than one they're driven towards by up above.]
I take it your mother was human. [Witch-burnings killed more fellow humans than anything else, to his recollection.] What are you?
no subject
Dhampir. My father was a vampire. [So far as he is concerned though, turnabout is absolutely fair play. So he lifts an eyebrow, gesturing to Michael himself.]
Is this an incarnation situation, or...?
no subject
[Less burning at the stake of witches, at least in the places his vessel lines are from. Earth as a whole is still far from peaceful but that's the consequence of giving every member of a species a mind of their own and free will. Growing pains.
Alucard is entitled to his wariness. Michael himself doesn't believe in fully trusting anything that's half-monster at first meeting, either.]
For a given meaning of incarnation. The reason I first took this vessel is no longer relevant, but his name was Adam. He no longer inhabits this body.
[Michael is alone in here. He's come to realize that's a necessary footnote. People are rightfully wary of that which can take over a body and suppress the will of it soul.]
Half-vampire is as good as full vampire in my world. Do you prefer bread to blood?
[Does he still eat people?]
no subject
[If and force are words Alucard doesn't mind using bluntly. He doesn't want to return home, thank you, and has been comfortable saying as much for some time now.
He pauses, frowning.]
Was Adam on purpose or just one of those funny accidents?
[His eyebrow lifts, suggesting this is a genuine question.]
I don't require blood to survive at all, such as it is. I like cooking, although I have a fondness for blood sausage that I do suspect is a trait from my father.
no subject
[He can't blame him for his reluctance to go back. Waiting through some five hundred years to get to the good part is a long time. Less so by archangel standards, but still an unpleasant amount of time to be stuck on Earth. Michael doesn't see Abraxas as all that much of an improvement however.
Alucard gets a pause in return. He's sure the man must be asking about how he came to be in Adam, rather than if Adam himself was an accident, but he did have a hand in setting up his vessels' bloodlines.
(Adam's father would undoubtedly say yes; his mother more likely to say he was a happy accident.)]
Taking him as a vessel was intentional. I needed a body at the time. Evicting him wasn't by my choice.
no subject
[Playing the season for comedy lets Alucard sidestep more important truths, like patricide and crippling depression, as well as poor life choices about romantic partners and impaled corpses.
He had meant to only joke about the name. Michael's response instead raises more eyebrows and absolutely makes the dhampir shift uncomfortably in his skin.]
Evicting?
no subject
[It might as well be the 1470s over in his corner of the continent. It's not really intended as an argument, though, simply a counterpoint. He hears Alucard's own point that when and where one comes decides one's opinion on Abraxas more than anything else.
Michael's no stranger to making people uncomfortable. He observes Alucard with an almost avian sort of interest. He's not as blind to social cues as his younger siblings, but he's still an archangel. Jokes are never the first thought on his mind.]
As in his soul was removed from this body. I did say he was no longer in here.
no subject
[He tries not to think about it. Especially not what they all witnessed with the ending of that cult, as cathartic as knowing it was over and done with happened to be.
Noted. Angels are bad at jokes.
Unfortunately, the information that follows makes the dhampir even more uncomfortable. The idea of such a thing in and of itself is concerning, better known as the understatement of the century.]
So you're wearing a suit and...does the owner get the luxury of return once it is discarded, or are they fully removed forever?
no subject
He's about to say yes, of course, but then Michael thinks of the state his brother Raphael left his vessel in. Donnie got his body back, but by then it was more of a prison. Then there's Castiel, still running around wearing Jimmy Novak's face long after the soul has passed on. He's not so invested in presenting angels as a monolith these days.]
Depends on the angel. Returning it had been my intention, but here, there's no one to return it to.
[Adam is back home, restored to life and once again sole master of his body. It doesn't look like any of this information is reassuring to Alucard, though, so Michael takes pity on him.]
We do need the owner's permission in the first place. In your place, I'd worry about the creatures that don't.
no subject
[Saying "the opposite of possession" might have been better, but he wouldn't have learned as much. Michael is right in clocking that none of the information is reassuring to the dhampir, mostly because it isn't.
Not because you know, there's angels running around and some of them definitely take issue with the whole religion part. It is absolutely the soul suppression thing and he'd like to digest that without additional eyes on him, please and thank you.
He's not exactly sure how to turn the conversation at this point. Silence hangs heavy for a few moments, and--]
Do you just walk other's domains?
no subject
The ones that are open to visitors, yes. I find it informative.
[That whole permission thing, and their earlier point that those who don't care to receive guests build their walls high and keep their doors locked. Most don't, so there's much to be learned from walking the Horizon.
It's not lost on him that Alucard is making conversation like men do when trying to get away from it. The man did say he likes to be alone, sometimes.]
I'll take that as my cue to leave. Enjoy your solitude and your bread-baking.
no subject
Alucard has the good grace to look at least a little embarrassed. This is personal, but on his head rather than Michael's.]
You're welcome back, so long as the walls are low. This is...simply a lot to digest, such as it is.
no subject
A little early to be issuing invitations when you're still thinking it over, isn't it?
[It's not a dig, and he's not insulted. His tone is light and if anything, a touch amused. There are far more upsetting realities in Abraxas and he expects he'll get over it. If not, well—there's still plenty of forest to wander in Solvunn.
Michael heads back the way he came, walking rather than disappearing with a flap of his wings. It really is a nice walk.]