( OPEN POST )

[peaked]

OPEN POST!

pick a character or pick a character you know i play that i forgot i play — whatever works. leave me a prompt! if you write me a starter, i'm cool w prose/brackets, idc just no maths pls. lmk if you're cool with prose and/or brackets. shipping: m/f, f/f. au, what-if, fix-its, gen, game continuation, cross-canon!!!!, etc. memes i like: body heat, stuck in the rain, picture prompt (not the texting one), soulmate, otherwordly, word association (!!!). one of my cats will tag u. PROMPT IDEAS: MY WISHLIST | PIC PROMPT | RANDOM DIALOGUE | RANDOM SENTENCES | OTHERWORDLY

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[prescind]

You've probably never been on a bus so how would you know?

( maybe that's what she needs to do. get on a bus and give it a ride and see how things go. )

You can borrow my car but it's not yours to just take and drive around whenever you want.

[manipulative]

I was on a bus recently, actually. [ she says that rather haughtily.

it was a horrible experience and one she hopes to never repeat ever again. someone at one point had sat down next to her and she had no room at all to sit and relax. she wants to never have a repeat of that again, hence his car.

she pokes his chest again. ]

It's what happens when you lose the ability to compel people to drive you places.

[prescind]

Don't you have enough natural persuasion skills to get your way, Katherine?

( even without compulsion, she's very convincing. he knows that for a fact. )

Did you try that?

[manipulative]

Of course I did.

[ does he think she's completely hopeless and helpless now that she's hopeless and helpless? katherine had done what katerina had done in 1490 when she'd been thrown out of her own country and home and far from her comforts.

she looks at him like he's grown a second head before she eats more of her salad, acting like the topic at hand is the weather. ]

But you should know better than anyone that you have to be careful.

[prescind]

I know. I know you have to be careful and there's no one more careful than you.

( she was cautious and wary of anything and anyone. it's not a bad thing to be especially in this world. )

I'm sorry. I know it's been hard.

[manipulative]

[ katherine looks down, not liking his empathy. it's much easier to deal with his teasing or even him being rude about her predicament. but stefan isn't damon or elena. this is why she stole his car, isn't it? stefan doesn't ridicule her and she's tired of being ridiculed.

so, she sighs. ] Isn't that the point? I wasn't fed the cure so life would be easy.

[prescind]

You shouldn't have been given anything without your consent. You didn't want this.

( and while he can acknowledge that in the moment, elena might have gone for anything to save herself, she knows how hard this is for katherine. )

I'm sorry.

[manipulative]

It's called karma, Stefan.

[ his apology makes her uncomfortable. it's not like stefan decided that this would happen to her. if anything, he should be happy. how many times has she ruined his life, stealing his car included?

she shrugs and tries to appear nonchalant in how she eats her salad. ]

[prescind]

Katherine...

( stefan starts to say something and then he shakes his head because anything he says, she's going to try and argue with so he just stops. )

It shouldn't have happened like it did. That's the bottom line.

[manipulative]

[ she looks down, not wanting to see his face. she wants to run away from his words so that she can't hear them any longer. she doesn't deserve them. after everything she's done, she knows she doesn't deserve them at all.

shifting on the bed, she looks up at him with a pinched expression. ]

You're the only one who's been nice to me since it happened.

[prescind]

I'm sorry that's the case.

( because it shouldn't be. just because katherine's done some questionable things doesn't mean she should be left alone to deal with this. )

But I want to help. I mean that.

[manipulative]

[ a part of her just wants him to say she deserved this so that she didn't feel so uncomfortable with his empathy, but she knows that's not what's going to happen. if he thought that, his car would be gone with him in it. ]

What if I end up staying like this forever? I'll be an almost six-hundred-year-old human. [ she scoffs. ] I don't even know how to treat a cold.

[prescind]

You can learn, Katherine, and I can help you. We're going to do everything we can to make sure you don't stay like this but if you do, you can survive it.

( she's survived much, much worse. being a human shouldn't be hard at all. )

You're not going to be alone, though. Okay?

[manipulative]

[ she turns her face away as subtly as she can and lifts her hand to wipe at her eye. she hates the fact that she's crying. she doesn't want to cry. how many times has she cried since waking up as half herself?

she sniffles and clears her throat. ]

That's nice of you. [ it comes out quieter than she'd like. ]

[prescind]

( stefan can tell she's crying but he doesn't call attention to it. he waits until she speaks before he nods. )

You're welcome. I'm not doing it to be nice but you're welcome.

( he's doing it because he wants to help her and because she deserves the help. )

[manipulative]

[ she wants to know why he's helping her—the real reason behind it—but katherine is stupidly scared of that reason. she's spent far too long feeling scared that she wants to not feel it for just once.

so, she turns her face away from him, uncaring if it makes it obvious she's crying and avoiding him, and wipes hard at her face and controls her breathing. she may not be able to turn herself back into a vampire, but she can control her crying.

when she feels better, she turns to face him with her gaze down. ] Are you going to eat the rest of this food? I doubt you have blood stored away in one of your bags.

[prescind]

I can get blood, Katherine. You eat if you're hungry.

( he pushes the food towards her, not saying a thing about the fact that she's been crying and that he can tell she's been crying. )

I'll go out and get you dessert later, if you want. I'm sure I can find some place that sells cheesecake.

[manipulative]

Ew. [ she scrunches up her face in disgust. ] Who willingly puts that in their body?

[ she honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did.

the secret fact is: she doesn't want him to leave. she hadn't wanted him to leave to get this spread, but she had wanted him to give her space all the same. she had wanted to test the waters, see if he was true about wanting to stick around and help her despite the difficult road ahead.

she's surprised when she shouldn't be that he means it. ]

[prescind]

You don't like cheesecake?

( huh, he would have thought that was something she enjoyed but apparently, he was wrong. so, no cheesecake tonight. )

What kinds of sweets do you like then? What kind of dessert?

( he won't go out but he's curious now. )

[manipulative]

I like sweets from Bulgaria.

[ she feels tight-lipped when she says it. while stefan has so far proven himself to be trustworthy, he still has so many hoops to jump through before her shoulders ease up in carrying five hundred years' worth of tension.

she sighs, giving in. ] And pastries. I like a lot of pastries. Croissants with chocolate inside are really nice.

[prescind]

I don't I can just go to Bulgaria right now. That's a little out of reach.

( if it was closer, he'd definitely try but that's...a hike and he doesn't want to leave her alone that long. )

We could go out for those, if you want. Buy out a bakery or something.

( because why not? )

[manipulative]

I don't have money.

[ but he does because he has the ability to compel people to believe he has money. katherine's hit with a pang of jealousy all over again.

she inhales deeply and audibly to get herself back on some sort of course. ]

You'd really want to go to a bakery with me?

[prescind]

Yeah, I would.

( he shrugs and looks over at her. )

I think it could be fun. We could just clear them out entirely and have desserts for days.

[manipulative]

[ pursing her lips, she gives him a look. ]

I don't think I'd wear that amount of pastries well anymore.

[ katherine does realise she's being a debbie downer, yes. she doesn't want to be, but she can't help it. he's the first person who has known her as who she was before this happened that she's been able to talk to about it.

she looks down and brushes her fingers against her towel. ] But it sounds nice.

[prescind]

We don't have to get them all, Katherine. We could just...get some.

( stefan knows that pastries won't completely make this better but he thinks she could at least enjoy it for a few moments. )

When's the last time you had something sweet? If we're going to be traveling, it might be good to stock up a little, you know. Bring some for later.