station72 | OPEN • take a whole or a part of me

CHARACTERS: elena gilbert + everyone and anyone!!
WHERE: utilities hangar / kitchen / beyond
WHEN: vague handflapping all the time
SUMMARY: come witness elena as she performs such remarkable feats as terribly attempting her own first aid, accidentally freezing her lunch, and other such tragic adventures | symbiote abilities & permissions for reference, closed and open options
WARNINGS: ehhhh probably nothing / mentions of vamp biting if that's a thing that troubles people???

( i ) TAKE A BITE OF MY HEART TONIGHT ( closed | sam )

( the thing is, she's not going to complain to Damon.

partly this is because of stubbornness, of course. there had been an insinuation that she couldn't handle this and there's nothing that can get Elena's hackles raised quite like that. it's not just her pride though, thankfully. regardless of her complicated feelings surrounding the man (vampire, whatever) she does genuinely believe that he has no vested interest in hurting her. if she comes whining and huffing about the bite wounds that are par for the course of being bitten, it's only a matter of time before he comes to the conclusion that she's not cut out for this. potentially leading to problems with feeding, potentially leading to random innocents being attacked, et cetera et cetera et cetera. so she's not just being obnoxious when she refuses to see Damon about the problem - she's being obnoxious with the good of the hive at heart or something.

the problem in question is her wrist. the bleeding had stemmed quite easily when bitten earlier, but clearly her movements or a knock or something has opened it up again. the wound is nothing dramatic or life threatening, of course. given enough time it would probably close up again of its own accord, but honestly Elena doesn't much feel like drip dripping her way around the station until then, and her clothing choices are far too limited to dedicate a shirt to stemming the flow. besides, there has to be a first aid kit around here somewhere, right?

after some consideration the utilities department seems like the best bet, and Elena is so thankful that she'd spent the first few days in the station painstakingly sticking her nose into every nook and cranny. it's not exactly easy to find, she's still fresh off the bot and navigating this place is still painful at best, but she manages it eventually. she's none too subtle when she starts digging through any and every box, shelf, drawer or cabinet she can find, but she's coming up incredibly empty handed.

if the behaviour seems in any way shady before, it becomes so much worse once she's caught in the act. although she doesn't exactly know if what she's doing is against any kind of unspoken rule, she still quickly slaps a hand over the two puncture wounds on her wrist and fakes a bright, totally innocent smile. even without a mental link, it's not exactly hard to see that Elena is hiding something. she's normally better at subterfuge than this, honestly. )

Hey- oh- I'm- ( she hasn't actually thought of an excuse to be rooting through what appears to be quite specialised equipment and it shows, but she's not a total idiot so it only lasts a moment. ) I was just looking around, I still don't really know where anything is. I thought I was heading to the kitchen...

( playing the newbie card, nailed it. )

( ii ) I'VE NEVER BEEN ANYWHERE AS COLD AS YOU ( closed | lexa & shiro )

( when she's not sneaking around trying to treat entirely non-dramatic wounds in overly dramatic fashions, Elena can be found in a number of places regularly. one of them is actually the kitchen - there's nothing that can make a person feel at home quite like sipping some imitation of a coffee, after all. this is her current goal, and she's messing around with various settings on things to get it as piping hot as she'd like. so long as nothing explodes there's no harm done, right?

sort of.

Elena hasn't actually come across the whole symbiote ability issue yet. it's been a whirlwind since her arrival, and the mental link has taken more than enough of her energy and focus, anything else that might have changed in her mind has gone unnoticed up until now. problem is, it's kind of hard to ignore an ability when it just sort of...happens.

the can of coffee between her hands is hot, maybe not as hot as she'd like it but there's definitely steam involved, and it's not enough to scald her hands but it's definitely uncomfortable. but strangely, her hands start getting hotter. and hotter, and hotter, and she looks down at the drink in her hands to see the surface starting to crystallise. with ice.

the container gets dropped onto the nearest flat surface abruptly, and Elena stares at her hands like they've just grown heads. they're still hot to touch, uncomfortably so, and she can't help but express her complete and utter confusion to the room at large. )

What the hell was that?

( which to an innocent bystander might well just look like Elena is incredibly distressed by iced coffee, but y'know. she's not much thinking about clarity right now. )

( iii ) PUT YOUR PINKY RINGS UP TO THE MOON ( open )

( when she's not being horrified by powers or griping about war wounds, Elena quite likes to spend time in the rec room. it's the closest to feeling normal that she's managed to find here, and that's quite appealing on a space station, honestly. most of the time she can be found fussing with cards or flicking through the books left lying around in the library, but today she's come across a journal.

it feels like it's been years since she wrote in her own.

if she knew how to find her own she of course would have, but there doesn't seem to be a request system around here. and if she hadn't found some kind of pen lying around she definitely wouldn't have considered the thought. it worked out too well though, a half-empty journal and pen practically falling into her lap all in the same day?

in a display of her classic remarkable sneaking skills, Elena glances around a few times before she opens the book to a blank page and smooths it out. there's more glancing when she touches the pen to paper, but since she's apparently satisfied that no one is watching her semi-shady documentation project, she starts writing:

Dear diary,...

no one ever said that Elena was original. )

( iiii ) WE'LL ALL FLOAT ON ANYWAY( open )

( a generic misc. option for anyone who has a specific idea in mind! feel free to buzz me via PM/plurk @ sharknado if you want a special tailored starter, otherwise anyone is welcome to run into elena around and about the station because quite frankly she is a nosy busybody sometimes. party hard, brethren. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

... Iced coffee?

[So says the guy who probably shuffled in at some point, looking for something edible that didn't actually require any sort of cooking. Aside from maybe adding hot water, or pouring space milk into space cheerios. Far be it from him to bother anyone with something like this. He can feed himself thank you very much.]

[He probably hadn't given her more than a friendly nod, trying to respect everyone's space on the station. As much as you could while being hooked into everyone else's brain.]

[Once she drops it, his head snaps around -- metal fingers reaching out to try and grab the container before it hits the floor, just in case. He hadn't thought anything about it, this time. About the hand, or how people hadn't really seen much of it.]

[She sounded like she was in trouble. So here he was, attempting to help.]

( In a minute or two Elena will likely process the metal fingers for what they are, a decidedly non-flesh hand attached to a presumably flesh body, but the blessing of having just accidentally enacted this godforsaken ability again means that Shiro at least gets to avoid any looks of shock or surprise.

It's nothing personal, she just doesn't meet people with metal hands very often in Mystic Falls.

At any rate Elena's frustration is evident, and she balls her hands into fists as she steps back from the cup that Shiro has caught for her with a scowl on her face. This isn't the first time that this has happened, and while she was horrified the first time, now she's just annoyed. )

It's not supposed to be, ( She blurts out angrily, before realising just how petulant and childish that sounds. With an attempt to work the scowl on her face into something at least closer to neutral, Elena's arms fold over her chest and she keeps her still-warm hands tucked under her armpits where they can't do any damage. ) ...sorry. It's just- I didn't even know I could do this until yesterday, and now it's like my subconscious is trying to punish me for wanting caffeine.

( And what a crime that is. )

[Honestly, he's fine with her not noticing. Maybe if he slides it back into his sleeve, it won't be. Because while people like Sam have made him less uncertain about it, she's a new face. And he's still not used to new people reacting to it.]

[He shifts the cup to his other hand, nodding in sympathy.]

It's all right. Lots of people end up... doing things they never expected to do here. They don't exactly give us information files when we wake up.

[As if trying to make it up to her and her subconscious, he'll pop the cup into what passes for a microwave around here. Hitting a button and...]

[Stepping back.]

[Way back.]

[Just in case.]

You don't have to apologize.

Maybe we should put it in the suggestion box for future improvements.

( She’s trying to be funny, but even calling it a lacklustre effort is generous. Elena’s life has honestly always been very normal, very in control. She was part of a respected family in a relatively small Virginian town. She was a cheerleader, well liked in high school, and dating a football player. Admittedly that had all pretty much gone to shit by the time she’d ended up dragged to the station, but for the most part Elena Gilbert has led a very charmed, controlled life. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

And now she has powers. So you can imagine the transition is somewhat difficult.

Once he’s put the cup in the microwave Elena apparently trusts her hands enough to pull them out from under her armpits and rub them together instead. With them clasped in front of her she looks over at Shiro, and it’s not like everything is suddenly magically okay or anything, but when she smiles it is a genuine one. )

Thanks. Really, this is- ( She shrugs, as if that alone can sum up the complicated feelings surrounding the symbioses and the profound changes they’ve had on the people with them. Maybe it does, honestly. ) Well if I could’ve picked a superpower I think I would have gone for flight, honestly.

It'd definitely be an improvement.

[Considering how he'd found his own ability out by sheer accident. And it ended so badly. For everyone involved. Even if he's been training lately, trying to work it out, to be better at controlling it, there's still a lot to do to make it a viable, useful skill.]

[What is he supposed to do with a rage monster in his brain? How does the Hulk do it?]

[He leans a shoulder up against the wall, folding his arms as she goes on.]

It's weird. It's unsettling. [He adds it in when she stops. Hoping to help.] Yeah, I know. I want to say you get used to it, but that'd be a lie.

But if nothing else, most people here are willing to help you train with it. Get it all figured out.

( When she gets the coffee out this time it stays hot, and Elena casts a very wary glance at the container before she slowly raises it to her lips. no ice here this time, thank god. Whether it's just that her batteries need recharging, or there's some other trigger that she hasn't figured out yet, it at least seems she's getting a brief reprieve. Thank god for that.

The mention of training makes her frown though, and she looks at Shiro with a considered expression, weighing up how she should proceed. She can't make a decision without all the facts, right? )

Do you think it's a good idea? ( She asks, tapping her finger lightly against the coffee container. It hadn't even been a risk she'd considered until it was pointed out, that the more you develop the connection with this 'symbiote', the less desire you have to retain your sense of self. Now, it's just about all she can think about. ) The training, do the benefits outweigh the cost?

[Just smelling coffee is enough to make you want some of your own. Lucky for literally everyone on the station, there's probably some kind of space Kirueg thing here, so all you have to do is push a button. Which means no burned kitchen, with Shiro in it.]

[He's quiet as he considers her questions, getting his own coffee. Using it as a temporary distraction. Adding sugar. No milk.]

It depends. [And here, he lowers his mental walls a little -- the sense of stars and galaxies fading. Just so she knows he's being honest.] Some people's abilities aren't a big deal. They're... background things. You can work around them.

Other people aren't so lucky. And they don't have a choice but to get better, if they want to keep people connected to them safe.

[People like him.]

OPEN • take a whole or a part of me

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