penance inbox

[incontrovertible]

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voice. text. video.
un: ms salvatore

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backdated text | un: aubergenie

[buried]

[ before they lose themselves in their respective roles, elena keeps doing her nancy drew thing. it's hard not to when things keep happening, and she isn't just talking about the rebellious attempts to free lucifer. by virtue of being her best friend, caroline is inevitably roped into this investigation.

it's not a murder mystery at whitmore, but it may just involve murder. ]

It turns out I wasn't seeing things. Not only did more herbs disappear from the kitchens, three hell pups went missing this morning, too.

un: ms salvatore 1/2

[incontrovertible]

( unfortunately, Caroline needs to play a little more of a part since she realized she's now on Barbas' radar, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't do her own investigating. it's Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy! Michelle Trachtenberg, of course. )

Don't think I don't see that username, Elena Gilbert.

[incontrovertible]

Demons are also dwindling. Not in large numbers or anything, but I had one outside my door for three days? And now he's not there.

[buried]

I was inspired!

[ and she would be lying if she said genie in a bottle wasn't still stuck in her head. very real threats aside, it was nice to let loose a bit with caroline and allow herself some silliness. who knows when they'll get the chance to do it again. see: all these ominous disappearances. ]

I'm worried it's the Veiled Order using all of this as a distraction to keep working toward their goals. [ but why the hell pups? and are they stealing the demons to keep building their numbers? ]

text: un: sicparvismagna

[duderaider]

[please ignore the username retcon -- the narration realized she'd missed a golden opportunity after the fact]

Still alive over there?

[and hopefully not drinking the Kool-Aid, anymore, now that the whole school experience seems to be over]

text: ms salvatore

[incontrovertible]

( caroline is just as baffled with the username from the first time he used it. but who is she to question a man's user name choices. she only hopes along with being alive as well, he hasn't heard of her more... vicious exploits. )

And kicking.

NOT high kicking.

[duderaider]

[sic parvis magna? it's latin? greatness from small beginnings? it's a francis drake quote. they can talk about it, sometime, if and when it comes up. sir francis drake is a favorite subject, after all, what with him being an ancestor of his and all]

[but anyway. no, he hasn't heard about her more vicious exploits. he just knows that everyone but him went a little nuts there, apparently]

... high kicking?

action

[chillestrogue]

Hi.

[Comes a voice from the couch by the door. Leonard Snart is there - boots propped up on the table, no less! - as he glances up from scrolling through the little Blackberry given to him]

You must be Caroline.

[incontrovertible]

( Caroline Salvatore isn't expecting anyone, but she's a vampire and she's from Mystic Falls. She's never surprised by unwelcome, unasked for visitors. She doesn't hear the front door, but she does here those boots prop themselves up.

Letting one curl loose, she sets her curling iron down and peeks her head out. Coming center, she crosses her arms, on her guard. If he were looking for the boys, he wouldn't have called her by name. Or, he knows the boys and she's the outlier. )

And you must not know how to knock.

[chillestrogue]

Must not. Terrible upbringing, I know.

[He gives a smile back, hard and intelligent and gleaming with curiosity. Who are you, Caroline?

As she approaches, he keeps his own posture purposely relaxed and non-threatening. The very idea of showing up uninvited is likely a threat all on its own, but he doesn't have to escalate things to put her even more on guard.]

Love the new place.

action | post-lucifer's last dinner

[polydeukes]

[She waits until after Raf is settled and things have started to calm down before she glances over to her mother. They've been keeping things under wraps, just so happy to have their mother here that they didn't want to dredge up the past.

But it's clear that some things were bound to break eventually, and they couldn't keep things a secret forever. Maybe everything really is inevitable.

Still, if they're going to have this conversation, she's still going to give her mother the chance to take the out.]

Do you want to talk about it?

[incontrovertible]

( It's easy to focus on keeping Josie close, returning to Raf, thanking Thor and then dismissing him. She stays close, but knows Josie's presence might be the most calming to him. Rafael doesn't know her. And neither does Landon because she left her daughters with Alaric.

If Caroline sticks to task, she'll be fine. Get out. Find Raf. Keep Raf calm. Dismiss Thor.

It's when those tasks dry up, when Rafael is able to be unshackled, when Thor isn't there filling the silence, when Caroline runs out of tasks. )

When you were grappling with Lizzie's journal and deciding whether or not to restore everyone's Hope memories, and you called me. Was that because I wasn't there in person? Not in New Orleans, but, in Mystic Falls. ( She lets herself ask. ) Did I leave you girls with Alaric? Did I leave you?

[polydeukes]

You didn't ... leave.

[Not leave leave. She didn't opt to quit being their mother, though from the outside it could seem like it.]

A lot of it was for work. Also because you're trying to find a way to save us from the merge. You're always there when we call, and we go out on trips to see you all the time, but ...

[Lizzie's anger didn't come from nowhere, after all.]

You also missed our sweet sixteen. There's a lot of stuff you're missing.

text;

[predispositions]

i'm sorry mom. i know...that's not how i would have wanted you to find out about things

[incontrovertible]

( as much as she could say she's there for lizzie until she's blue in the face, she knows she had to wait for lizzie to come to her. it still hurt. knowing what's become of her, what kind of mother she must be. she's not around. she cares about her kids' lives, but at the expense of seeing them grow up. it's a horrible exchange. she knows she didn't make this decision easily. )

Lizzie, you were under the influence of powerful, uncontrollable blood.

[predispositions]

i know, but still...i also know how hard it is to learn things you can't unlearn.

(it's something she and josie have been struggling with since they found out what happened after the sandclock broke. it's not something she wanted to do to her mother.)

action | march tdm

[polydeukes]

[On it's outset, the scene doesn't seem like it would be something particularly shameful, yet Josie can't bring herself to meet her mother's eyes. In all honestly, the guilt doesn't come from the content, but what comes after, the fact that she allowed herself to be conned and that con got her buried alive is.

But more to the point, Jo was there when Caroline wasn't. They just talked about this, but now Hell is shoving this in their faces.

She looks down as it plays out, before shaking her head.]

Sorry, Mom.

[incontrovertible]

( she doesn't - expect to see Jo's face. she was at Jo's wedding when Kai attacked. but, dead is never dead in Mystic Falls. Caroline doesn't want to be viewing this private memory, especially without her permission, but that's how this torture is designed. )

Josie, you don't have to apologize. Jo is your mom. You will also always be your mom. I would never take that away from you or believe otherwise. I will always tell stories about her, and you know your dad will. ( She does frown. ) I think you're the one that has to say more, though. If you don't want to, that's okay, Josie. You know I can take it.

( Either the torture or what she has to say. )

[polydeukes]

[She makes a face, before straightening a bit.]

I wanted it to be her, so much. And were told that morning that you weren't coming and ... she was there. And talking with her was so nice. Lizzie didn't want anything to do with her, because she wasn't you but ... I guess so many parts of me always felt like her.

[But it wasn't Jo. Her personality and memories, maybe, but everything else was being guided by the Necromancer's hand.]

It wasn't really her, though. She was being controlled by someone called the Necromancer, and I wasn't supposed to let her out of Dad's office but I did. And once we were alone, the Necromancer took control and buried me alive. On my birthday. If Penelope and Hope hadn't figured it out ...

[She might have died.]

text, un: musicals

[adultflash]

FYI, I'm setting up a special dinner for Gabe and Ignacio this evening in the suite. They need a proper date, I think. Best we leave them alone to enjoy it.

text | un: ms. salvatore

[incontrovertible]

Maybe it's everything that's been happening, but I didn't really see that dynamic between them. And I'm usually very dialed in. So, dish, and then I'll make it happen.

[adultflash]

Really? Usually I'm the oblivious one. But they've been a Thing since it was just the three of us, although I think they're both wary of actually acknowledging that it's a thing that means more to them than sleeping together. And I think they need some encouragement to talk about their feelings.

to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it;

[buried]

[ The past month has been difficult, but what month isn't difficult in Hell — or Caroline and Elena's lives in general, for that matter?

She takes the wounding hit the way she always does: she feels the pain of it until she thinks she won't be able to bear it, and it's never true. She holds what she loves close to her, taking care of what she can. Then she picks herself up, dusts herself off, and greets every morning like it's hers to seize.

Onward.

Caroline will receive a text from her best friend, asking her to meet in the gardens whenever it suits her best. They can even have a picnic! There's something Elena would like to show her, and it's why she waits at the entrance of the luscious green space. Patiently. Mostly. ]

to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it;

[incontrovertible]

( Some months are worse than others, it's true, but for Elena and Caroline, whose close, young family is here, she'd assume the two of them perpetually land in 'high strung' territory. But, after the separation, their own time on Mammon's island, the return/final battle and the tents and debris? Yeah. This is the reprieve she at least needs.

She tries to be about her girls more, overcompensating sometimes because of what she'd learned of her fate, and the kind of parent she's forced to become. But, any message from Elena is more than welcome. She has no problem taking a day off from low key hovering over her kids.

She says that a picnic sounds amazing, and she's bringing the champagne. She's even free this afternoon if Elena would like.

She brings not one, but two, bottles of champagne just in case and she brandishes them when she reaches her friend at the entrance. )

As a woman from Mystic Falls, it feels like I haven't seen you in forever.

( Life in Hell is different here then it is in their hometown. Even out of town, she tends to keep the group chat going with Bonnie and Elena, while, of course maintaining their separate conversations, too. Most things parental do stay between her and Elena if they're specific. But, here time doesn't pass at a break neck pace. )

So, what's there to show me?

to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it;

[buried]

[ elena is carrying a basket with the rest of their picnic, but fear not, caroline forbes salvatore. it's mostly a charcuterie board that required no actual cooking on her part. it likely shouldn't be a surprise the kitchens in mammon's island have anything one can dream of: he is the embodiment of greed. ]

You'll see.

[ she would much rather show caroline than tell her. it's important and something they've wished they had in hand, but also, the picnic is an opportunity to give caroline — and herself, in truth — a brief respite from very real worries. she knows caroline has been fielding a lot as of late.

once her friend falls into step beside her, elena weaves them a path through the gardens. the plants are vividly green. fruits look mouthwateringly fresh. not too far from the areas cleared away for picnics like this one, caroline will see it: the telltale herb they call vervain. ]