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[ all over taxon ]

Somewhere in Wilde there is a flower shop. Every day at noon an Extra man enters this shop, picks up a bouquet of red roses and has the following conversation with the Extra clerk:

“I would like to buy these roses.”

“Are they for your girlfriend?”

“Yes, I hope she’ll like them.”

The transaction takes place, and the Extras go about their programmed business. On this particular day, however, there is a difference in the discussion as new programming is implemented:

“I would like to buy these krzfup.”

“Prl fkjn segknm gogfaf?”

“Aekmn goksn sdokng.”

This happens now throughout the city, language degenerating into nonsense babble even as Extras continue on as if they don’t even notice it. After five minutes of incomprehensibility it’s abruptly cut off and the city is consumed by silence. Not a word or a whisper or a peep is to be heard.

As if on cue, the tablets now only support text transmissions, with any attempts at visual, voice, or holo leading right back to the little tablet typing screen with cursor blinking in anticipation.

Enjoy the silence, Taxon. You’ll have a lot of it to go around.

[ ooc: And so begins the language glitch! Remember, five minutes of gibberish followed by everyone being completely unable to speak. We'll be making another post when the next part of the glitch begins, and if you have and questions or concerns don't hesitate to let us know! ]

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Hugs are universal and conquer any and all language barriers. Stefan gladly hugs the girl back; he barely knows her, but she's a friend and he feels so strongly for the things she's going through. Being here, having her unborn baby taken away from her, and now faced with the inability to speak and writing forever garbled into tongues not English. In lieu of being able to say anything remotely comforting and reassuring to her, a hug will do just fine.

Stefan draws back after a moment, offering her a small smile, then attempts to step into her apartment to take them out of the hall. Attempts being the keyword here, as he makes a grave error and forgets that while he can enter the choir room she brought with her without any trouble, he's yet to obtain an invite into her apartment. So, when Stefan tries to enter, he slams awkwardly into the invisible barrier.

He throws Quinn a look of panic and regret, having not wanted to drag her into this. Shit, he thinks. Shit, shit, shit.

Quinn's honestly never been much for physical contact. Not even with Finn, but the hug is what she needs more than ever right now. In the little over a month she's been here, she's starting to come to the conclusion she can't do things on her own anymore - the thing is, she doesn't know any other way to live.

When Stefan breaks the hug, she fully intends to invite him inside. Thats when Stefan seems to slam into an invisible barrier. Quinn's eyes widen, she takes a few steps back from the door, confusion creeping into her mind. Was this a new part of the Glitch, thats what this was called, right? It made no sense.

She tries to say Stefan's name, but no sound comes out. For a few more seconds, she stares, something is wrong. Very, very wrong. Quinn, bites her lip and takes Stefan's hand, trying to bring him out of the hall.

Lie, instinct screams at him. Lie to her. Let her believe it's part of the glitch. And he knows that it's the logical thing to do, the thing he should do, but Stefan is so tired of lying. In a moment of stress and frustration, Stefan rebels against reason and pulls his hand back, throwing open the door to the empty apartment across the hall and walking into it with ease. He looks back at her, pointedly, then does the same with the door next to it. Then, he tries to step into her apartment again, putting his hands against the barrier, giving it a push to show her it won't budge for him.

He gives her look that seems to ask, Do you understand?

Quinn bites her lip as she watches Stefan empty the two empty apartments. I hate this place she thinks, I hate it so much. After a moments hesitation Quinn raises her hand, feeling for the barrier but gets nothing. She glances at Stefan for a moment, and then steps out of her doorway.

She tries to voice her confusion, and dislike for whats going on but no sound comes out. First thing she does when she gets her voice back, is yell at the aliens, or hamsters, or really anyone within earshot.

She doesn't understand, he realizes. He's going to have to be blunt and direct if he's going to get his point across, even if baser instincts are screaming at him to take advantage of her confusion to take it back and blame it on the glitch. Stefan's set in his initial decision.

Quinn receives an apologetic look before allows his face to turn. He closes his eyes and when he opens them - now bloodshot, veins protruding on his cheeks just below - he opens his mouth slightly as well, enough that she can see his fangs. He points to them, putting his other hand against the barrier. Hopefully now, she'll understand why he can't get inside.

Quinn's eyes widen, and she takes a few steps back into her apartment. For a moment she thinks she is seeing things, because how can what she's seeing be real? Her mouth opens, either to scream or gasp, she isn't sure because no sound comes out.

Her hand flys to her mouth, as she stares. For a few minutes she doesn't move, as her brain tries to process everything. A vampire? He's a ...vampire?! The logical part of her brain tells Quinn this isn't possible. Then again nothing about the last few months have been logical.

So many questions are going through her head right now, but strangely enough she isn't scared. She lowers her hand, and swallows hard, still staring at him, but she nods and she manages a tiny smile.

Edited 2011-05-29 05:01 (UTC)

Stefan's features fade back to human once he sees that she's understood. The recoiling is something he expected, but as he waits for the door to be shut in his face and to run off to Elena or Katherine (that he's torn between who to explain what he's thinks may have been a mistake to shows just how deep into this tangled mess of lies and manipulation he's in), he gets a smile instead. He's baffled by it, unsure of what to make of such... calm acceptance. Even Elena had freaked out and ran when she figured it out, and from what Caroline had told him, Matt had done the same. There was only one other time Stefan had encountered such acceptance and that was-- A long time ago. He didn't need to depress himself by thinking of New Orleans right now.

His face fades back to human and that small smile is returned, gratefully. He then fishes his tablet out of his pocket and types something onto the screen. It takes him several tries and a few frustrated glances at the device he's so often tempted to toss out a window, but he manages to type in English for once. Turning it around so the screen faces her, he holds it up for her to see.

Quinn wonders if she is in denial of what she just saw. Because what she had seen shouldn't have been possible, but neither were alien!hamsters. She wishes more than anything she could talk right now. She wants to ask if it's a joke, or if she's going crazy. But then again in the sort time she had known Stefan, he had been a better friend to her than most people she had known her entire life. He had seen her when she was beyond broken and he cared - that counted for something right?

She watches him feeling slightly uncomfortable as he works at the tablet. She is still wondering if she is crazy, or making a mistake here. She'll worry about the doubt and questions later, she's willing to risk it.

She reads the tablet screen when he shows it to her, and then immediately darts back into her apartment to get her own. She returns a few seconds later, concentrating hard on trying to type in English. At first it only comes out in Spanish, then a combination of Spanish and French. She bites her lip in frustration, try as she might she can't get English to work, instead she turns her screen to Stefan, hoping her French makes enough sense.

Stefan, je te demande d'entrer.

( translation | stefan, i ask you to come in )

The invite is additionally surprising, to say the least. He's not even sure a text invite will work, but he tests the barrier and it gives way, allowing him entrance into Quinn's apartment. Stefan stands just inside the doorway, wanting to say so many things, but unable to not only articulate them, but express them to her in a language she'd understand. He's sorry he lied, he's sorry he's dragged her into this; there are things about some people she needs to know (some of which he'll leave out, others detail on the spot - Katherine, Damon; those two are unavoidable, the rest can be left out, for now), and warnings he needs to issue. None of that can be said at the moment, so Stefan just continues to look apologetic as ever.

Quinn watches Stefan cautiously, still gripping her tablet - gripping it so hard she doesn't realize her hands are shaking. What is she supposed to do now? She sits down on a nearby couch, and attempts to type on her tablet.

Pourquoi je non effrayé? Je devrais être.

She turns her tablet, with her hands still shaking so he can see it. She takes a deep and shaky breath, trying to stay calm as she feels tears begin to sting her eyes.

( translation | why me no scared? i should be. )

Stefan shrugs, not having an answer for her. He barely understands the lack of fear himself, especially given that he could kill her before she had time to comprehend what he was doing. If he wanted to, he could do it and it would be done and over with in a matter of seconds. That's now who he is anymore, though. He's done with that part of himself, that part of his life. It had been a dark time and he'd been in a bad place; killing had been an escape from the rest of the world, where it at least succeeded in pleasing his vampire nature where he'd been unable to satisfy any other part of himself.

He'd been a failure as a person, but he'd been magnificent as a vampire. A monster. Stefan didn't like thinking about those days. They were behind him and belonged there - in the past.

He tries his hand at Spanish again, showing her his tablet. Broken Spanish to match broken French.

No es malo. Historias mal.

( translation | not evil. stories wrong. )

Quinn remembers sleepovers at Santana's house when she was younger. Before twilight Santana went through a vampire phase long before the Twilight books came out, they'd watch Interview with a Vampire, The Lost Boys whatever they could get their hands on and watch them in secret. If Quinn's father knew he would have gone ballistic, luckily for Quinn at an early age she learned how to lie.

From what she had seen of Stefan he wasn't like the vampire's in the movies. He had been there for her on her first day in Taxon, and honestly she already considered him a friend. If he was evil wouldn't he have hurt her by now? Isn't that how these things worked? Quinn couldn't help but wonder if she was making a mistake, what if this was all a trick? What if he is just stringing her along, for some strange and twisted reason?

She starts typing on her tablet again in response, once again trying for French. After several attemps she finally shows it to him.

ok. vous mon ami.

If she was going to freak out, she'd save if for when she got her voice back. If she got her voice back.

{ translation | ok. you my friend )

Edited 2011-06-02 07:43 (UTC)

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[ all over taxon ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ]

[ location: quinn's apartment ] poooooor stefan! /hugs him.

[ location: quinn's apartment ] <3

[ location: quinn's apartment ] why are they so cute?