[october catch all]

[cryptsleeper]

Who: Alucard + Open
Where: The Fringes mostly, a little bit of time in Panorama
When: Throughout October
What: Exploring

Warnings: None

Comments

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard has taken to having the radio on while cleaning the car. He does it once every other week, if only because the land outside Panorama seems to cling to the car itself. The metal body is already in a poor state, so cleaning feels like good basic upkeep that Alucard can do while learning the inside parts of his car.

The on-going stories of crime is a pleasant enough thing to have humming, at least when murder isn't involved. Thankfully, he's found a channel currently delving into an art heist, and all pretense of cleaning the car has stopped. Alucard is leaning against the side of the car, arms crossed, listening to the radio inside and--

--it crackles. Then goes silent.]

What? [Alucard glares, then shoves his head into his own car to try and make sure that what he thinks just happened didn't just happen.] Did you really just die as they were explaining the likely fate of the art?!

AUDREY'S

[cryptsleeper]

[The smell of flowers carries on the wind.

Alucard can't remember the last time he smelled flowers.

He follows the scent through the quadrant, although some part of the dhampir knows a smell should not carry as far as this does. It is an invitation, but one to be heeded with some wariness.

The dhampir drives on. Pauses when he parks the car, noticing that someone else's vehicle is already present. That's worrying, and so when he goes to the shop door, it is with a moment's hesitation. One never knows what they'll see inside.]

Hello?

[headhunt]

( one of the very best parts of being out of the hells is the greenery. the grass, the trees, and the flowers. each of them vibrant and often good-smelling. just the sight of them can be enough to bring karlach to tears, overwhelmed by how both precious and beautiful they were.

the enticing fragrance of flowers pulls her attention immediately, leading her to drive out her way to the little flower shop.

so when alucard approaches the open shop door, what he sees is the large tiefling sticking her entire face into a bright blooming flower. )

Ohh, this one is so sweet-smelling!

( she announces to absolutely no one, her tail almost wagging behind her. she doesn't even hear alucard announcing himself. )

[cryptsleeper]

--Ah. Karlach.

[Alucard projects his voice, if only because Karlach seems so very lost in her own enthusiasm.

His eyes wander, taking in what he's seeing. A few are familiar. Most are not.]

[headhunt]

( there's a noticeable shift in her body language when alucard speaks up again. her tail straightens up, going still, as she pulls herself up to her full height. removing herself from the flower she had been intimately admiring, she sets her sights on him with a bright smile. )

Oh, hey, Alucard! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes.

( it wasn't that many days ago since she last saw him. )

Didn't expect to find a flower shop out in the middle of nowhere. I can't remember when I last saw so many flowers!

[cryptsleeper]

[Karlach is, in a word, expressive. The tail helps, but the whole of her body language feels so very, very alive from where Alucard stands. It exudes a warm that feels incredibly natural for the little he knows about Karlach.]

They call these things diffusion zones. One will appear out in the wilderness, then disappear just as quickly.

[He takes a glance around the room, considering the flowers.]

Some are entirely harmless, the others, less so. [He takes a few steps forward, coming to stand beside her.] Are all of these blooms new to you, or are there some you recognize from home?

[headhunt]

( karlach nods to that. she's already had the pleasure or maybe more accurately the displeasure of experiencing just how fast a diffusion zone could pop up. sometimes right on top of you.

it's—

shit, it's something. and so is this flower shop. )

That's the crazy thing! Some of these little guys I recognise.

( walking down the aisle a few paces, she points out a stem full of bright purple flowers. it's a common flower used for medicinal purposes. there's a good chance that alucard might also recognise it. )

This one's balsam.

( then she gestures to another flower across the row. it's a rich blue flower, delicate, and there's only two people in diadem that would recognise it. )

And this. . . This one is a night orchid. I've got a friend who fancies them.

( finally she walks her way over to alucard to point at the skull sitting on the display table. a flower has settled its roots inside of it, blooming out of one of the skull's eye sockets. it's very poisonous. another plant that only one other person would recognise. )

Pretty sure this one is a corpse rose. Why the fuck is this here?

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard stands politely with his hands behind his back, letting Karlach simply go. It's an enjoyable thing to watch her enthusiasm bubble forth, and he nods in recognizing with balsam and the orchid.

It is when Karlach notices the corpse rose that Alucard finds himself frowning. Behind it is a tall stalk with bright purple flowers angled slightly downward.]

That's belladonna behind it.

[Alucard goes still, then looks to Karlach. Wordlessly, he angles his head towards the door.]

THE PUMPKIN PATCH

[cryptsleeper]

[Plastic grass feels entirely wrong and weird in Alucard's opinion. One could get grass. Or even get hay, assuming that the Acreage would allow it, and that little change would be so much better for the crafted pumpkins that he is now looking at. Well. He's calling them pumpkin sculptures as there's no gourd involved, but they're something.

One does catch the dhampir's eye though, as it is a fully realized trompe-l'œil. He passes it once and writes it off as a perfectly normal harvested pumpkin. Not a type he's familiar with, Alucard assumes that pumpkins have been bred like all crops over the centuries, but it is an orange pumpkin. Then once he's passed it a third time it's--]

Cardboard?

[He doesn't touch the thing, but Alucard does lean in, observing the edges carefully.]

Cardboard. Impressive.

[viceps]

[ Vi also had not realized the pumpkin was a drawing. She would not have, at all, if she didn't happen to observe someone leaning down to theoretically grab it, and pressing their fingers to a flat surface instead.

What the fuck.

Curiosity makes her step forward to get a better look. That's when she recognizes him. ]

Oh, shit.

You're the shampoo commercial guy from that bar.

[ She was pretty drunk. Vaguely remembers picking a fight with this guy. Or maybe he was breaking up a fight someone was picking with her...?

She does remember the hair. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard has heard many descriptors regarding himself in his life. More than a few have been focused on his hair, and he's long time to accept that. But there is something absolutely disconcerting to the dhampir and only the dhampir at being described as the shampoo commercial guy from that bar.

He manages not to have a face journey at the words, although the way his eyebrows lift suggest that he is trying very, very hard. The cough he lets out confirms it, because no conversation that starts with really, that's how you remember me? ends well.]

I'm impressed with the precision. I hope you're better than you were?

[viceps]

Uh-- [ That's embarrassing. ]

Yeah. Thanks.

[ She shifts her weight awkwardly. No, she doesn't remember punching him in the face or anything. Probably would remember if something like that happened, though the last few weeks have been pretty crazy, to say the least.

Does she owe this guy an apology? Her brow crinkles.

Nah. ]

That pumpkin painting's pretty neat.

[cryptsleeper]

I won't mention it again.

[It seems the kindest offer to make right now based on how Vi shifts her weight. If there's little-to-no memory of the situation, all the better.

Instead, Alucard reaches to take the pumpkin in hand. They're allowed to touch the art here, apparently, and that means they can both get a closer look at it. The dhampir rests it on both his forearms.]

The effect is even more surreal looking at it from this angle.

♡

[carmesi]

( wanda has figured that a break from the city and its concrete jungle amenities would do her good. one option is to head out towards the fringes, try out her luck, but... her work break is only so long, and she would rather maintain some kind of routine to feel herself in control of what she cannot.

which is how she ends up in the pumpkin patch. it's a nice break for her eyes, her thoughts, and then—

a familiar face.

she walks up to him, standing beside him, and glances at the the pumpkin he's been observing, now making a comment on it. hands behind her back, she is trying to pinpoint what's so 'impressive' about it; she certainly skipped the art contemplation part of her upbringing. )

Is it really that impressive?

( hello— )

[cryptsleeper]

How easy do you think it is to create this level of dimension on a flat surface?

[Alucard's tone is polite and curious, careful to make it so. He is aware that there's a risk of condescension in talking about art, and he has enough issues with his tone.]

I certainly couldn't do it.

[carmesi]

( it's a good thing, then, that wanda doesn't catch any hint of condescension in his words; just curious questioning about her opinion. )

Probably a long time.

( but, again, she's never had the opportunity to learn to contemplate art in any given space. this is as impressive as someone who spends hours slaving away at cooking up a large banquet meal, or someone who spends most of their lives training their voice to sing. )

Surely with enough time to practice you would be able to.

( right? )

[cryptsleeper]

Mm, but for some that talent is instant. For others, it might take decades to develop.

[Which it is for this pumpkin is impossible to say. The point is that regardless, it's pretty damn impressive coming in either direction.]

I know I couldn't. This level of realism is something I don't think I'd enjoy creating either.

[carmesi]

( he's sort of proving her point; if talent is instant, then it's not really that impressive. it's the hard work that is, and this is just a result of that. but this also just reflects that they have different takes on this matter in particular.

wanda shrugs. )

Do you paint, then?

( but is unwilling to try and make it this realistic? )

[cryptsleeper]

Rarely. I draw architecture far more often.

[There's no technical term for Alucard so far as he knows.]

I just understand some of the mechanics that I'm looking at.

[That is why he appreciates it, or at lest that's the clear surface explanation on the matter.]

About Panorama

[cryptsleeper]

[When not out of exploring, Alucard can be found in a few main areas of the city: in a very small bar with questionable wine, keeping to himself, occasionally out in the clubs people watching, and sitting next to or underneath his car as he continues to learn the damn thing. On rare occasion he may be sitting outside somewhere, working on a piece of handsewing or waiting to walk into a building in need of some repair work.

The dhampir is aloof but he's made a point to be approachable.]

just two guys hangin out at a bar 👍

[idolatrized]

[If Jinu had a joolie for every time he showed up around a vampire at a bar, he'd have two joolies. Which isn't a lot, but it could get him a candybar at the nearest gas station. Jinu happens to be at the bar for a very specific reason, though — to be somewhat of a pay-per-service singer in the lounge.

It's later in the month, in this case — and so he's got a repaired bipa in his lap as he plays on a small makeshift stage. Truth be told, he's a little anxious about performing for an unknown crowd; before, he'd had hundreds of often centuries-old demons who may or may not listen. Playing at the palace had been a complicated time, one fraught with nerves and other less savory feelings, and before the palace...

Anyway.

Screw it, right? He needs the money, and so he plays. He's sure most of it just goes through one ear and out the other for most people. It's got a particularly ancient way about it, and perhaps the owners find it classy and calming, not like the rowdy bars that more often involve hooting, hollering, and back alley fistfights (if the bar owners were lucky).

When he's done playing his set list, he offers a slight bow, places his bipa in a makeshift case that hangs off his back, and then approaches the bar. There's a few joolies from a gracious tip he holds to purchase a drink, but... ah.

He turns toward the fair-looking man nearby.]

Mm. Any recommendations?

[cryptsleeper]

[The music is sudden but not unwelcome to the ambiance of the bar. Alucard has taken to it not only out of an appreciation for having wine, but because it encourages a quieter atmosphere that many other places in the city do not. Music normally doesn't happen, but this?

This good.

He turns early on out of a desire to identify the instrument. It's new to him, but the construction is similar to what he's seen while traveling in Japan. The tone of the instrument as well, but neither observation are a mark against the musician, who clearly knows what he's about.

Once or twice, Aluacrd joins the polite round of applause. He then goes back to his own business, enjoying the atmosphere.

Eventually, his own bubble of silence is broken, but by a fair enough question.]

What do you usually prefer?

[idolatrized]

I was used to rice wines, mostly. Soju is a pretty big drink where I'm from.

[But it's not exactly the easiest thing to find in another universe full of thousands of alternate universes. But a guy can try, right? He scoffs as he considers fancier preferences — mostly born from working in the palace.]

... Though maybe I shouldn't be looking for such strong stuff on a work night.

Sweet is good, too.

[cryptsleeper]

You're going to be immensely disappointed on almost all of your criteria.

[Alucard's tone is dry, but there's a little wry look on his face that suggests something lighter. Ever the vampire stereotype when it's fun, he has a glass of red.]

Grapes only, and you may luck out if this batch of bar wine is sweet. My current glass tastes too much like metal, but at least it has been near the concept of a grape.

[idolatrized]

[He sighs, shaking his head.]

I figured as much. It was worth a shot anyway, I guess.

[He leans over slightly, frowning at Alucard's glass.]

Not grapes made out of meat, are they?