fic prompt: trevorcard but when trevor is an old man and alucard loves him regardless
Alucard notices everything; every change, every shift, every motion that alters its course. His perception has only grown more attuned over the decades. The dhampir sees how age can truly affect a human being as he points out the crow’s feet around Trevor’s blue eyes, still bright after all these years. He watches as the hunter’s walks become slower, weaker, and offers his hand every time.
The dhampir tries distracting himself with optimistic thoughts. Anything that will put his mind off the worst. He’s just tired, he’s always been tired. The same words come out of Trevor’s own mouth, along with the assurance that all he needs is some rest. Alucard agrees and puts him to bed. He joins Trevor, pressing his chest against his back as they spoon together. Just so he can feel him still breathing.
“You’re worrying too much,” says Trevor. “Stop being so dramatic.” A tall order to ask of someone like Alucard. He can’t help it; he knows how much Trevor and Sypha have changed. Then on occasion, he catches his reflection in a mirror and stops. There’s the same long golden hair, the same soft unblemished skin - nothing has changed. Only the look in his eyes.
Immortality has always weighed itself on Alucard’s conscious, though admittedly less so in the past. He recalls the many awkward yet necessary sit-downs a certain young dhampir had with his mother and father. Discussions that revolved around everything from drinking human blood to controlling one’s own transfiguration. Among these questions, immortality has brought up infrequently. A problem to be dealt with in the future - the far, far off future. A bridge to cross when Alucard eventually reaches it. Now that bridge is closer than ever before, a noose tightening itself around his neck. How naive of him to believe that immortality wouldn’t cause any pain, not to himself nor to his loved ones.
Alucard peeks into the study room where Trevor spends most of his days. He sits in a large cushioned chair beside a window overlooking the woods that surround their home. The last few rays of sunlight shine onto his body and across the floorboards. His eyes are closed but not for long as Alucard’s steps sound off a chorus of creaks. Trevor blinks slowly before turning to the dhampir, giving him a weary smile.
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Don’t worry, I wasn’t asleep. Just shutting my eyes for a bit.”
“Anything of interest out there?”
“Not really. Same view as always even if it is a nice sunset… it’d be more interesting with company, though.”
“Good thing I’m here then.” He carefully lowers himself into the same chair but soon notices how much of a tight squeeze it is. “Is this too crowded for you?”
Trevor hushes him by wrapping an arm around his waist, holding him close. “It’s fine. You’re fine.”
Alucard finally relaxes as his arm drapes around Trevor’s shoulders. Resting his head near his neck, the two of them stare out at hues of gold and orange filling the sky. A minute passes and Alucard almost gets lost in this quiet, intimate moment. There was a time when he forgot how it felt to be held in such a tender manner. Now he’s smothered by such affection, yet there are no complaints from him.
It’s not long before Alucard realizes he’s the only one watching the sunset. Trevor in the meantime has shifted his attention to someone else. “It’s rude to stare without saying anything.”
“Sorry, I just… still can’t believe it.”
“What?”
“How you’re still such a pretty bastard.”
Alucard laughs. “As are you, especially with the beard.” He reaches over and runs a hand across Trevor’s chin, his fingernails scratching at the mass of short hairs. It may have been a bittersweet thing to witness over the years, but silver only made him and Sypha look better than they already did.
“You don’t have to lie.”
“I’m not.”
“Sure you aren’t. You know, there’s not a lot you can hide from an old man.”
Alucard nuzzles his cheek against Trevor’s shoulder. “Technically speaking, we’re both old men.”
“You’re right about that.”
They both snicker as though the passage of time means nothing and they’re back where they started; joking and pushing each other’s buttons just for a laugh. Yet Alucard’s jovial attitude doesn’t last. He realizes that what he said isn’t right - he’s not an old man. Perhaps only in the mind. He grew up far too quickly, against his own wishes with nothing he could do to stop it, and now age has left him completely. Another reminder of the harsh yet undeniable truth. He is not human and never has been.
“I’ve been thinking…”
“That’s always a bad sign.”
Wishing he would take this seriously, Alucard’s grip on Trevor’s tunic tightens. “As I was saying, I’ve been thinking about you, Sypha, and myself. How-”
“How much we’ve aged compared to you.”
“… it isn’t fair.” The words taste bitter and miserable. They make Alucard feel like a child again.
“Every human being has to grow old eventually.”
“Then why can’t I? Why do I feel more vampire than human?”
Trevor kisses the top of his head. “I wish I could tell you, but I’m not an expert on dhampirs. I wouldn’t worry, though. It’ll still be a while before I shuffle off this mortal coil.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“And what if I’m right? What if the world goes up in fire and brimstone tomorrow?” Looking into the dhampir’s sad eyes, Trevor holds his chin between his thumb and index finger. “Just promise me you’ll be strong when the time does come. And at least try to be happy.”
A difficult promise to make and even more difficult to keep, but Alucard will try. He then decides to change the topic before the air between them becomes unbearably melancholic. For Trevor’s sake and for his own.
“What was that nickname you had for me?” He asks, settling back into the hunter’s arms.
“Sorry?”
“Just now you called me a pretty bastard. It reminded me of something else you used to call me, something similar. What was it?”
“Oh, um…” Trevor searches his memories, hoping time and oldness haven’t taken too much of a toll on them. “I think it might have been shayna punim.”
“Right. Which means… pretty face.”
“Yes, exactly that.”
“I was so confused the first time you said it. Then you started calling me shayna punim all the time.”
“I’m surprised you remember that far back.”
“There are a lot of things I remember.”
“It’s also surprising how you still like me after all those years.”
Alucard brushes some strands of hair out of Trevor’s tired eyes, hair he can never seem to tame or keep in place, and kisses him. Long, deep, and gentle. He pulls back before leaving a smaller one on his lips. “I’ll always love you, you stupid bastard.”
Trevor smiles, cocky and assured, which is just like him. “I thought I was the only one allowed to call you that.”
–
Alucard keeps his promise to remain strong and happy when the time eventually comes. But it doesn’t last. He lets the grief wash over him, hating his stagnant existence while being unable to face Sypha, knowing he’ll lose her as well. She manages to carefully break down his walls bit by bit. Alucard lets her, yet as a wolf he buries his head into her lap, whimpering. Only because he doesn’t want her to see him cry.
Stroking his fur with wrinkled yet soft hands, Sypha offers some words of respite. Whether it’s in vain or not, she will have to wait and see. She’s already shed her own tears and knows how deep Alucard’s sadness runs. “There’s an old Speaker tradition…” She begins, feeling his body tremble with every whine. “When one of us dies, we never hold funeral pyres or processions. We allow ourselves to grieve, then we host a celebration of that person’s time in this world as well as their journey into the next. We pray for happiness and peace in their new life while we live out what’s left of our own, knowing that they haven’t left us.’
‘It’s not easy, but there is some comfort in that knowledge.”
Alucard stares up at her, having calmed down but doesn’t want to leave her side. Sypha rubs the top of his head and pats his neck. “You won’t be alone, my friend. You’ll never be alone.”
3. Which canon muse(s) do you currently ship with? From time to time, Shanoa. With either of two different muns.(To be completely honest it’s a bit hard playing a straight male muse in this fandom - female CV leads are either someone’s spouse/love interest, too young, or too much of a powerful character that I feel they really should continue to rock ‘single strong female’ vibes.)
15. Is there a ship or type of ship that you will never write, no matter what the circumstances are?Honestly I think it’s just any kind of ship with a severely underaged muse involved.
ok this is gonna be long because i keep adding/changing things about her and her story is about as complicated/bonkers as the actual castlevania timeline BUT HERE WE GO
background
juliana is the daughter of richter belmont and was born in 1800
richter still couldn’t use the vampire killer because of his possession in sotn and still blamed himself for supposedly “dooming” his bloodline but due to some miracle, juliana was able to hold the whip without feeling any pain or side effects when she was a child
for the next 24 years juliana trained to continue the family business and while she got better and better with the vampire killer, she still couldn’t use it to its full potential or power
this however didn’t seem to be a problem since she had other means of fighting at her disposal (swords, guns, even spells)
in 1824 while juliana and richter are out liberating villages from vampires after news spread about their steady return to wallachia, they and their entire convoy are attacked by strigoi (dead vampires who have been resurrected) with their master being a necromancer who was once a follower of dracula but grew more ambitious
everyone is killed (including richter. supposedly) and despite being on the verge of death herself, juliana manages to escape and reaches a sanctuary of speaker descendants who are long time allies to the belmonts
they predict that in the next few years dracula will return in some way, hence the rise of vampire activity in the country. they take juliana in and place her in a coma, preserving her body and giving her blood transfusions so that she can be strong enough to fight when dracula is resurrected for like the tenth time
after richter is buried, juliana’s mother - a jewish vampire hunter herself - joins the order of ecclesia out of a need for vengeance (she also briefly mentors shanoa)
during shanoa’s journey, the sanctuary is attacked but anyone who touches juliana’s coffin gets burned. with her caregivers dead and unable to wake her, shanoa fights dracula alone and juliana sleeps for another 34 years
1870 rolls around and juliana is awoken by an unknown force. as expected, she’s confused, disorientated, and scared shitless
she leaves the abandoned sanctuary and makes her way to the nearest town and by extension the nearest pub (after seeing the date on a newspaper and silently freaking out)
at the pub she runs into a trans woman named dahlia who was an apprentice to maria renard (who juliana remembers from her childhood)
their first task: retrieve the vampire killer that’s been in a game of hot potato during juliana’s coma. right now it’s back at the belmont manor but both the whip and manor were stolen by a guild of thieves
with the help of dahlia and her natural born magical gifts, juliana retrieves the whip (which she now has to push herself harder than ever before in order to use it) and takes back the manor
she can barely hold the vampire killer with her bare hand, she always needs to be wearing a glove while using it
word spreads that the last surviving belmont has returned and the reactions are…….. mixed. some are relieved, some are angry and want to know where she’s been all this time, and there are those who don’t see the point in having a belmont defend wallachia since others have stepped up since their disappearance and have done a good enough job
personality
juliana’s definitely noble - she wants to uphold her family honour and tradition BUT she fights vampires and monsters because it’s the right thing to do
her top priority is to protect the everyday people, despite the claim that when there’s no Dracula to fight, the belmonts are just “taking up space”
juliana values every human life and will remain patient, calm, and empathetic when she’s speaking to people who have had run ins with vampires, demons, etc.
however, she hates it when people risk their lives in her name. if someone dies or is seriously wounded because of her, she has a VERY hard time forgiving herself
because of this fear, she works alone but will allow someone to join her fight IF AND ONLY IF she’s confident that they can handle themselves when things get dicey (hence why she lets dahlia and eventually alucard tag along)
SPEAKING OF ALUCARD he and richter were close after the events of sotn and even took care of baby juliana a couple times
there’s a lot more i came up with for alucard in relation to richter and juliana but it gets really sad so i’ll keep my thoughts to myself
juliana is also very, very awkward in any social situation. since she was in a magically induced coma from 1824 to 1870, she doesn’t have time to learn up on all the norms and customs of Victorian Wallachia
she stumbles through every social interaction, even with people she likes. and forget about vampires – parties and big social gatherings are her worst nightmare
juliana gets flustered, frustrated, and overwhelmed very easily, especially when she gets out of her coma
she also loses her temper when people seriously doubt her place within the belmont lineage
but even though juliana keeps saying that she’s as good of a belmont as her father and ancestors were, sometimes she feels doubtful herself and hopes that one day the feud between her bloodline and dracula will finally end because at this point, it feels more like a curse than a duty
in terms of her fighting style, juliana is a combination of netflix trevor’s and the combo moves in assassin’s creed 3 – fast paced and a little bit acrobatic with a lot of brute strength (plus some gunslinging)
she’s small but muscular so just imagine this tiny little thing who’s packing every kind of revolver and sword rolling up to dracula’s castle like hi binch
she gets a gatling gun
takes care of the belmont manor, the grounds, and the neighbouring town and is constantly in a state of “NOBODY FUCKING HELPS ME IN THIS HOUSE”
she enjoys a nice bath, tea, and sometimes a brandy
refuses to sit normally in a chair
JESUS CHRIST THAT GOT LONG but some things to keep in mind - i have not listened to nocturne of recollection yet nor have i paid that much attention to the N64 games, circle of the moon, and others so i’m sure a lot of what i’ve written just now contradicts the canon in those
