Application to adstringendum
Name: Lexiel
Livejournal: lenavoit
Contact: e-mail: kaminari31@yahoo.com / AIM: lenavoit31
Other Characters Played: None at Adstringendum
Are you 18 or over? Yep!
Canon: The Vampire Diaries
Character: Katherine Pierce
Timeline: Season 2, around “Know Thy Enemy”
Personality:
When it comes to Katherine Pierce, the idiom “looks can be deceiving” has never been more perfect. On the outside, she appears to be an endearing, fun and playful teenager, an approachable, easy charm and not exactly a threat. Really though, she is much more sinister than that. She is unarguably self-serving, manipulative and acts with cold, calculated precision, as much of a paradox as that might be. She is always looking out for herself; it’s her life first, over anyone who she comes in contact with. She’s been watching after her own skin for over 500 years. She’s betrayed and backstabbed a very good amount of people, and her “list of victims is a long one.” Simply put, she doesn’t feel any remorse for her wrongdoings, and to some degree, she enjoys playing mind games, careful to make sure that she is one step ahead of everyone else, that her motives are well masked. She’s very clever, and she thinks on her feet fast.
She’s aware of the affect her physical looks tend to have on people, even without her compulsion, and she isn’t above using that to her advantage; she’s very well aware of her flirtatious, seductive manner, and has no qualms in using that if it helps her reach her end game. Katherine, over the years, has perfected the art of deception; she’s an actress. Making people fall for her act is something that through the decades has become second nature for her; she almost makes it seem effortless. Katherine is all about hedonism, self-satisfaction.
However, if she’s confronted by someone who is aware of her true nature, she won’t waste her breath on trying to put up a face of an innocent human. Granted, she still retains her flirtatious character, accompanied by quips, sarcastic remarks, accompanied by a condescending air, even if the nature of the conversation doesn’t call for such behavior.
She’s all about getting what she wants. If she can’t get it through her usual manipulation and charm or a mix of both, the next step is threatening, blackmailing, and bribing. The thing about her threats though…there’s substance to them If she says that she will kill the people you care about if you don’t get her something, she will. As mentioned before, she has little regards for human life, or at least, the life of others, so what’s one or two more deaths added to her already long list?
She’s clever and a quick thinker, two necessities in keeping herself ahead of the game. Actually, of the many games in which she wraps herself in, some out of boredom, some for the need to survive, to be one step ahead of everyone out to get her, able to see the big picture very early in the game. She’s cautious, and hardly ever thinks a certain plan is a hundred percent foolproof, and always seems to have a plan B, C ( and to quote her “well, you know how the alphabet goes.”) Some may see it as paranoia, but it’s better to be safe, and well prepared when you’ve been on the run from a very powerful individual who wants nothing better than to see you dead. Being excessively cautious is what has kept Katherine alive for the past five hundred years of her life.
At the same time, she isn’t afraid to take risks, within reason, if the endgame means she will have the upper hand.
All that being said, Katherine isn’t just the “manipulative, psychotic bitch” Stefan described her to be. Yes, her actions, on an overall scale, do suggest that, but there’s more to her than that. There’s more behind why she acts the way she does. A lot of her survival instinct, and actually, that drive for survival is fueled by her past.
When she met Klaus, she was at first deceived by him, before finding out his true intentions for her. Then, “she ran like hell”, with the Original hot on her heels. Even before she was made a vampire, it was implied that Katherine was a manipulative girl, using another vampire’s love for her to help her escape. After she turned, she continued her running, going from England, to Bulgaria, to her family, only to discover that, out of vengeance and anger, Klaus had slaughtered her entire family. In a flashback we saw in season 2, we saw the vampire Katherine distraught over her families, especially her mothers death. I personally think that was the point of no return for Katherine; she knew she would have to be on the run for …a very long time from then on, as Klaus was relentless in finding, and killing her, out of revenge if nothing else. Katherine assumed it would simply be easier to mute out all of that magnified human emotions, and just turn it off completely. At the same time, even though she has, since then, betrayed and used countless of people, it is still debated whether or not she actually loved either or both of the Salvatores. Recently, through the canon, and in a flashback, we saw that she probably did love both of them, although probably actually loved Stefan more, as it was seen on a few occasions that when it comes to him, there’s more to Katherine than just her flirtatious, sarcastic quips. She was taken by him, as she saw something different in him than in Damon, who most likely resembled many of the other men she’d gotten around her finger. But that said, it’s still doubtful she was actually in love with Stefan. And even though, as she returned some 145 odd years later, and saw him, she hasn’t realized that he might’ve changed, matured; upon her return, she’s made it clear she’s interested in him.
Also, regarding her descendent, Isobel, it’s not clear how exactly Katherine felt, although from what was seen, they were on good terms. That being said, it’s most likely that Katherine didn’t trust her, seeing that,well…Katherine doesn’t really trust anyone (again going back to being overly guarded and on the run.) She has no qualms about giving up a ‘friend’ in order to advance her own agenda. It’s her first, then everything else.
Most of her ‘friends’ in the series have were either indebted to her, meant to pay the debt back when SHE needed it. And while she is capable of so called ‘acts of kindness’, there’s a fat chance that they’re actually done out of the goodness of her heart; if she helps someone out, it’s because she either sees them as useful assets, or expects to collect a favor from them sometime down the road.
Katherine is proud, just as much as she is vain. One thing that especially unnerves her is when someone else gets the upper hand on her, even for a moment. The thing about her is, she can be sweet and nice one second, and then next turn cruel and bitter the next second, accompanied by vindictive comments, sarcasm and threats. At times like these, or namely, when she is set off, or gotten angry, she can be very impulsive, and with that anger, get even with those who one-upped her, or stood in her way. Emotions, as a vampire are amplified, and even though she turned the switch, her stronger emotions, like anger, do shine through, complete with that cool, calculated impulse.
However Katherine, in many ways, is still the self-indulgent teen she used to be, except at an even bigger scale-she might even seem bratty at times, throwing very big scale, cruel tantrums if she doesn’t get what she wants.
Lastly to note: Katherine isn’t nice by any standards. But there’s more to her than the more obvious self-serving, egocentric attitude. She was still human, once, and beneath all those walls of coldness, apathy and cruelty, there remains something human, and thus, something vulnerable; and by Katherine herself, seen as a liability, a weakness. She’ll feel loneliness, sadness, but she’ll keep it buried down, in a very private place. She keeps it hidden, preferring to replace it with an emotion like anger, or vengeance, and through the many years she’s lived, she’s gotten much better at keeping the ‘weaker’ ones there, away.
Background:
Bulgaria: Katherine Pierce was born Katerine Petrova, 1475, in Bulgaria. There isn’t a whole lot known about her earlier years, except that she had a child out of wedlock-a baby girl- at sixteen, who was then taken away from her. Her family disowned her, as at the time, such an act was ostracized. The child was kept a secret, the girl given away, while Katerina was banished out of Bulgaria, to London, England. She was forced to adjust and adapt to being completely alone, and to a new lifestyle and society quickly.
London: While in London, in 1492 she caught the attention of Klaus. At that time, she did not yet know that he was an Original (one of the first vampires existing, and as it turns out, the only hybrid.). At first, she was taken by him, and enjoyed the attention he had given for, before discovering what he was, and what he intended to do with her. Namely, she was the first Petrova doppelganger, and was meant to be a sacrifice in a ritual meant to undo the Sun and Moon curse (the curse that bound vampires to walk only at night, and made werewolves be able to turn only on a full moon). Although not actually stated, but it’s assumed that her ancestor, to whom she was a doppelganger to, was the sacrifice made to create the sun and moon curse. And the doppelganger was created as means of undoing the curse.
Once Katherine found out what his true intent was, she did the one thing she could: she ran like hell. With her, she stole the Moonstone, another vital piece to breaking the curse.
During her escape, another vampire, Trevor, who was in love with her, helped Katerina, by giving her directions to a cottage nearby, where he and his closest friend, Rose (another vampire) lived. Even though Rose let the girl in, after she heard Katerina’s story out and saw the stolen moonstone, she locked Katerina in a room, claiming that at nightfall, she and Trevor will take Katerina back to Klaus and beg him for forgiveness. While in the room, Katerina tried killing herself by stabbing herself in the stomach. Once Rose returned, with a rope, intent on dragging her back to Klaus, Katerina claimed she was injured during her escape. Rose, knowing better, bit her own wrist, force-feeding Katerina her blood, to quickly heal. Once the vampire blood was in Katerina’s system, Trevor arrived home, and Rose turned her back on Katerina, yelling at Trevor for directing the girl to their home. Once Rose’s back was turned, Katerina grabbed the rope, and after Rose and Trevor entered the room again, Katerina had hung herself, and awakened as a vampire. Rose said that now she had condemned them all to death. Katerina acted quickly, using her newly gained vampire abilities to act quickly, feeding on their house-lady, claiming that it was better “them die than her”; and with that, she disappeared. She, even then, had used Trevor’s love for her to her advantage. Technically, as a sacrifice, Katerina was useless; Klaus needed a human doppelganger to complete the ritual. And yet it was since then, 1493, that her run from Klaus started-he was after her for vengeance.
Bulgaria: Katerina returned to Bulgaria after her transformation, only to find them all slaughtered, by Klaus. He wanted to get back at her for running; he didn’t just want to hurt her, but he went after everyone she ever loved: her family.
Distraught, yet hardened by the ordeal, she left her home, starting her life of always being on the move, always being one step ahead of Klaus and the other Originals; she couldn’t let them find her.
Mystic Falls, VA, 1864: It’s unclear as to what happened to Katerina during the years between 1493 and 1864, as the series has not elaborated on that yet. But by this time, by her arrival to America, she’s changed her name to Katherine Pierce.
Sometime before her arrival to Mystic Falls, she has met Pearl, her best friend, and Emily Bennett, a powerful witch and her handmaid.
She post as a war orphan from Atlanta, gaining the sympathy of Giuseppe Salvatore. Her beauty and charm has also caught the eyes of both the Salvatore brothers, Damon and Stefan. She enjoyed flirting with the both of them, and slowly, subtly and successfully pitting them against each other in some sort of competition for her attention. Hidden from each of them, she had affairs with both, but chose Stefan to accompany her to the Founder’s Party (a very important ball at Mystic Falls) after which the younger Salvatore confessed his love to her. She was taken aback, but soon enough warmed up to his love, and revealed to him her true nature, that of being a vampire. But Stefan’s horror of her forced Katherine to compel him to not be afraid, and to keep her secret, so that their relationship would be unchanged. To Damon (with whom she continued her affair), she revealed her nature too. His reaction was starkly opposite from his brother. She planned on turning them both, and whilst she had to compel Stefan to get him to drink her blood, Damon was eager to do so, being so deeply in love with Katherine and wanting to spend eternity with her. Simply put though, she got greedy.
Her best friend and vampire Pearl, recommended her to stop her playing with these two brothers and that they should relocate soon, but Katherine didn’t want to leave all this fun behind.
But as she prolonged her stay in mystic Falls, the Founder’s Council, a secret council within the town, consisting of the founding families of Mystic Falls, were not only aware of the existence of vampires, but that they were in their town. And they were making plans on ridding it of them.
Giuseppe became suspicious that Stefan was involved with a vampire when the boy came to him saying that not all vampires are bad. He spiked his drink with vervain, and unknowingly, Katherine drank Stefan’s blood, and her secret was out. Katherine, amongst the 26 other vampires in Mystic Falls were captured, including her friend Pearl.
However, in her true style, Katherine is one, even two steps ahead, knowing exactly when this roundup would happen due to the deal she made with George Lockwood, one of the founding family members (and who is also a werewolf, which she has discovered quite early in the game). She promised him the Moonstone, a stone bearing powerful magical properties that would be part of the ritual that would break the Sun and Moon curse. She also said that if he helped, she’d keep his secret hidden.
But the Salvatores nearly ruined everything, with their brazen attempt to set her free. However, they were shot by their own father in the process, with him not being able to forgive the fact that they were mixing with vampires.
George Lockwood keeps his promise, helping her escape, but then she lingers by the brothers’ dead bodies, giving Stefan a kiss, saying that she loved him to, promising to be reunited with him someday. She then disappeared from Mystic falls, not being seen for at least around 140 years later. The brothers were turned to vampires, Stefan probably first, having more of Katherine’s blood in his system, then turning Damon, although this wasn’t shown.
Present Day: What is known is that Damon ran to Emily Bennett, the handmaid and powerful witch, asking her to protect Katherine. Emily cast a spell, protecting the vampires (and the absent Katherine) in a tomb beneath a church. The tomb could then only be opened by the power of another comet to work, and one wouldn’t pass over Mystic Falls until roughly 140 years later. This later became Damon’s true purpose for returning to Mystic Falls in 2009-to free Katherine from the tomb. The tomb was then, opened by Emily’s descendants, Bonnie and Sheila. But Katherine wasn’t amongst the vampires within the tomb-but Pearl was, and she told the truth of Katherine’s escape. And in 1983, according to Pearl’s daughter Anna, Katherine was seen in Chicago.
With the tomb vampires being out, Katherine gained a few problems. When people thought she was inside the tomb, trapped, she really didn’t need to be concerned with the Originals, especially Klaus finding her. But now, the cat was out of the bag; she had, once again, manipulated and tricked a lot of people to her advantage, and to keep herself alive. Now, not only would the news eventually reach unwanted ears, but the tomb vampires now most likely wanted to get their revenge on her betraying them.
Her solid solution? Kill them. Permanently. Some time ago, she met this freshly turned vampire, Isobel Flemming-Saltzman (Who was actually Elena’s mother); she was Katherine’s descendant, and freshly turned by Damon, of all vampires. Katherine, in her manipulative nature, used Isobel as her messenger of a sort. She sent Isobel to retrieve the Gilbert Device, an invention by Jonathan Gilbert (ancestor of Elena), which was, after a series of hand-me-downs, ended up with Damon. What SHE wanted was for the device to end up in the hand of John Gilbert (Elena’s ‘uncle’, but later shown to be her biological father), so he could use it to expose the tomb vampires, so that they, in turn, can be killed by the council members. Isobel, after forcing Elena to get the device from Damon, did succeed, and the Device did end up in John’s hands.
In the end, her plan succeeded, as John set the device off at the Founder’s Day celebration, successfully incapacitating the vampires, and then, killing them.That same night that the Gilbert device was set off, she gained access to Elena’s home from an invitation from Aunt Jenna, after tricking Damon into thinking she WAS Elena, and the two sharing a kiss. Once inside, and John was in the kitchen, Katherine stabbed him and silently, skillfully slunk away as Elena came home. But it didn’t take long for Damon to piece the puzzle together, and figure out that Katherine was in town.
But Katherine did continue her small charade of pretending to be her doppelganger Elena. Stefan catches on to her quicker than Damon. Her excuse for coming back is because she missed him, and still loved him. Then, when he responded with loathing, she went to Damon. But as a result, both brothers turned away from her, and Katherine made her way into the hospital, where Elena’s friend Caroline was staying and in the end had turned her into a vampire, telling her to get the Salvatores a message, before slinking back into the background and keeping low, appearing now and then to torment her fresh vampire, and use her as a spy on Elena, threatening her. Katherine wanted Stefan to leave Elena, and he won’t she;d start killing everything Elena ever loved, before killing her.
When Setfan and Elena faked the breakup, Katheirne was very quick to catch on, and as to strengthen her threat, compelled Jenna to stab herself in the abdomen. Jenna survived that only by sheer luck. The event, thus makes Stefan and Elena break up. This shows just how much substance Katherine’s threats hold.
When both Salvatores described Katherine as always having an ulterior motive for things, they weren’t lying. Her true motive for coming back into Mystic Falls was to take the Moonstone she once gave to George Lockwood.
Turns out she was seducing, playing her charms on descendant Mason Lockwood, (another werewolf), specially activating his werewolf curse as part of her master plan. Mason was genuinely in love with Katherine, and although he might not have completely trusted her, his love was his most fatal, and final mistake. In the end, he was killed by Damon, which only put a damper on Katherine’s plans.
The brothers ended up with the moonstone, and Katherine, using Caroline again, had passed the message that if they didn’t bring the moonstone to the Masquerade at the Lockwoods, something very bad will happen. She proved this to Stefan by easily snapping the neck of a random girl at the party, and compelling two other people to attack Tyler Lockwood until he killed them, so to activate his own werewolf curse.
At the Masquerade, she brought along a ‘friend’, Lucy, a witch who was indebted to her as backup.
In the end though, the brothers blindside her trapping her in one room with them, until she quickly gains the upper hand again, when they discover that Lucy had tied the two doppelgangers together; everything Katherine felt, Elena felt. Which included the scratches and the stab wound inflicted on Katherine from the Salvatores, before they stop. She does have fun with it a bit, scratching at her palm, and nearly stabbing her own abdomen, before the brothers agree to give her the moonstone.
In the end, Lucy is the one that brings Katherine the moonstone, from Bonnie. But as soon as the moonstone is in Katherine’s hands, she suddenly can’t breathe and promptly loses consciousness, only to awaken in the tomb she was meant to be in 145 years ago. Trapped and can’t leave, Damon closing the door on her.
Her role then, is mostly seen staying in the tomb. Elena visits her once or twice, bringing blood and wanting to talk. And talk they do, Katherine brutally laying out everything that Klaus did to her when she ran. By this time, Elena knew the Klaus was after her because she too was a doppelganger.
One time, Jeremy and Bonnie visit, in an attempt to get her out, and try and make her help them. Stefan stops them, and in the end, Katherine ends up dragging her into the tomb. He can’t get out now either.
The time she does get out is actually after one of the Originals finds the tomb. First he lets Stefan out, and being an Original and being able to compel any other vampire, Elijah compels Katherine to stay in the tomb, even though the spell itself is lifted. Damon plans on killing Elijah, wanting to protect Elena, but Katherine begged him not to kill Elijah or else she would stay in the tomb for ever (which turned out to actually be the opposite; Katherine knew this and this was her being her manipulative self) and then, after a series of events pertaining to the brothers and Elena, the latter actually stabs the Original ‘killing’ him. Thus, after his death, Katherine is no longer part of his compulsion, and she promptly leaves the tomb, heading out to meet Isobel to discuss their ‘plans’.
Turns out, Katherine has returned to Mystic Falls in order to get all the right pieces for Klaus’s Sun and Moon ritual, in hopes of seeking redemption and perhaps not running anymore.
The ingredients for breaking the curse is a vampire, a werewolf, a doppelganger, the moonstone and a witch.
But as it turns out, Klaus had his own plans and after possessing Alaric’s body, he captured Katherine by using first Isobel to get her location, then sending one of his witches to collect her. They successfully render her unconscious.
And that’s when she ends up in Adstringendum.
Abilities/Additional Notes:
She’s a vampire, and a pretty old one at that, so most of the listed abilities are more potent with time:
-Healing abilities- Vampires take injuries much, much better than any human would. Snapped bones, even gunshots, stab wounds, everything heals much faster, with full recoveries taking moments, depending on how serious they are.
- Super Strength- Vampires are much stronger than humans. Their strength increases as they age. They can easily toss grown humans across a room, knock down heavy doors, etc. They are stronger than werewolves that are not in their wolf form.
-Mind Compulsion- Vampires have the ability to control human minds (like commanding them to do something, or not do something), enter and alter dreams, and erase memories.
-Super Speed- Another vampiric attribute, vampires can be fast enough that a human eye will not be able to see.
-Emotional Control When vampires are turned, their emotions first become hightened. But then, they are able to manipulate their own emotions; they can turn them “off”, thus being more cold and distant, and unfeeling.
-Hightened senses- When turned, the senses are heightened, improved: acute hearing, sharp eyesight, even in the dark, and acute sense of smell.
-Immortality- Vampires, essentially, when turned, stop aging, and thus, live forever, as long as they get their blood, and aren’t pierced in the heart with a wooden stake. Another lethal infection is a werewolf bite, at least from the Vampire Diaries universe.
-Lapis Lazuli- First in a necklace form, and later made into a bracelet, the lapis Lazuli stone allows vampires who wear it to walk in broad daylight without setting ablaze.
- Dreams - Like most vampires, Katherine also has the ability to manipulate and influence dreams. The stronger a vampire is, the easier this becomes.
A note specifically about her. She is extremely well at adapting. She’s intelligent, clever. She has a god memory, and figures someone’s moves out sometimes even before they act on them.
Weaknesses: Wooden stakes generally hurt like hell, and a stake to the heart can kill. Vampires are generally hurt from vervain (a herd): it burns when it touches their skin, and weakens them considerably upon intake. But Katherine has build up a higher tolerance to this over the last 100 years. However, physical contact will skill be severely unpleasant. Intaking a great deal of vervain still weakens her. Sunlight burns them, but thanks to her necklace (later turned to a bracelet by her timeline), it’s not a problem for her. Vampires are also not immune to certain magic, Katherine being no exception. Also to note, vampires typically need to be invited into a house. If they are in a house without an invitation, it’s hard for them to breathe, and they become quite disoriented.
Sample Journal:
…And what’s this?
[The feed buzzed to life, to show an image of a girl, looking no older than eighteen, giving the device in her hand a look of only mild interest. She looks nothing short of irritated though, as she looks around.] Where am I?
[Lifting herself off, device still at hand, she cast another gaze at her surroundings. Propping a slender hand on her waist, she finally looks into the blinking light of her communicator directly, head tilting slightly, curls falling around her face.] Can anyone see this?
I’d be more than grateful for a bit of an explanation? Klaus? Are you behind this? [ A smug, coy smirk, concealing the evident unease that sets in.] It’s kind of…rude to dumb a lady hell knows where and leave her hanging, don’t you think? [And with that, she cuts the feed.]
Sample RP:
Katherine was pacing. It wasn’t completely out of irritation, but more so from impatience. Mason, damn it. He was supposed to be here, in her small, little B&B room with the moonstone. But he wasn’t.
She looked to her phone. Her expression was nothing short of subtle anger, her eyes narrowing. When the phone went off, she picked up almost immediately, when she saw the caller id proclaiming Mason’s name.
“Where are you?” No hellos. Her curiosity and anticipation had no time for that. “You should’ve been here two hours ago.”
“Aw, sorry, wrong boy-toy,” when she heard the response on the other end, Damon’s dry, sarcastic remark delivered in his smug voice, Katherine had to will herself not to clench the hand that held her phone, instead placing her other hand to the bedpost, the wood splintering under her grip.
“Where’s Mason?” Her voice had that light hint of a pout, but stern and cold; nothing reminiscent of the flirty tone she usually undertook with Damon.
“Oh, sorry. He can’t come to the phone right now,” she heard a chuckle. “He’s a little…dead.” When she stayed silent, he added: “Oh! And we got your moonstone. You wanna know where Mason hid it? In a well filled with vervain. Guess he didn’t trust you that much
“Aww sorry, did we put a damper on that great, mysterious plan of yours?”
It was her turn to pull a snide, borderline smug smirk. Even a light, lofty laugh. “And do you honestly believe that I don’t have a plan B? And if that fails a plan C, then a plan D…” she paused, smirk growing wider. “And…well, you know how the alphabet works, don’t you?” Mason’s death was a great inconvenience to her. But he was expendable. Yet another fool madly in love with her. And she wasn’t lying: she did have a plan B. Even a C. “Send my love to Stefan,” and with that self-assured, smug goodbye, she ended the call, savoring the irritated, maybe even dumbfounded expression of surprise plastered on Damon’s face. She was, as usual, quite ahead of the game.
Livejournal: lenavoit
Contact: e-mail: kaminari31@yahoo.com / AIM: lenavoit31
Other Characters Played: None at Adstringendum
Are you 18 or over? Yep!
Canon: The Vampire Diaries
Character: Katherine Pierce
Timeline: Season 2, around “Know Thy Enemy”
Personality:
When it comes to Katherine Pierce, the idiom “looks can be deceiving” has never been more perfect. On the outside, she appears to be an endearing, fun and playful teenager, an approachable, easy charm and not exactly a threat. Really though, she is much more sinister than that. She is unarguably self-serving, manipulative and acts with cold, calculated precision, as much of a paradox as that might be. She is always looking out for herself; it’s her life first, over anyone who she comes in contact with. She’s been watching after her own skin for over 500 years. She’s betrayed and backstabbed a very good amount of people, and her “list of victims is a long one.” Simply put, she doesn’t feel any remorse for her wrongdoings, and to some degree, she enjoys playing mind games, careful to make sure that she is one step ahead of everyone else, that her motives are well masked. She’s very clever, and she thinks on her feet fast.
She’s aware of the affect her physical looks tend to have on people, even without her compulsion, and she isn’t above using that to her advantage; she’s very well aware of her flirtatious, seductive manner, and has no qualms in using that if it helps her reach her end game. Katherine, over the years, has perfected the art of deception; she’s an actress. Making people fall for her act is something that through the decades has become second nature for her; she almost makes it seem effortless. Katherine is all about hedonism, self-satisfaction.
However, if she’s confronted by someone who is aware of her true nature, she won’t waste her breath on trying to put up a face of an innocent human. Granted, she still retains her flirtatious character, accompanied by quips, sarcastic remarks, accompanied by a condescending air, even if the nature of the conversation doesn’t call for such behavior.
She’s all about getting what she wants. If she can’t get it through her usual manipulation and charm or a mix of both, the next step is threatening, blackmailing, and bribing. The thing about her threats though…there’s substance to them If she says that she will kill the people you care about if you don’t get her something, she will. As mentioned before, she has little regards for human life, or at least, the life of others, so what’s one or two more deaths added to her already long list?
She’s clever and a quick thinker, two necessities in keeping herself ahead of the game. Actually, of the many games in which she wraps herself in, some out of boredom, some for the need to survive, to be one step ahead of everyone out to get her, able to see the big picture very early in the game. She’s cautious, and hardly ever thinks a certain plan is a hundred percent foolproof, and always seems to have a plan B, C ( and to quote her “well, you know how the alphabet goes.”) Some may see it as paranoia, but it’s better to be safe, and well prepared when you’ve been on the run from a very powerful individual who wants nothing better than to see you dead. Being excessively cautious is what has kept Katherine alive for the past five hundred years of her life.
At the same time, she isn’t afraid to take risks, within reason, if the endgame means she will have the upper hand.
All that being said, Katherine isn’t just the “manipulative, psychotic bitch” Stefan described her to be. Yes, her actions, on an overall scale, do suggest that, but there’s more to her than that. There’s more behind why she acts the way she does. A lot of her survival instinct, and actually, that drive for survival is fueled by her past.
When she met Klaus, she was at first deceived by him, before finding out his true intentions for her. Then, “she ran like hell”, with the Original hot on her heels. Even before she was made a vampire, it was implied that Katherine was a manipulative girl, using another vampire’s love for her to help her escape. After she turned, she continued her running, going from England, to Bulgaria, to her family, only to discover that, out of vengeance and anger, Klaus had slaughtered her entire family. In a flashback we saw in season 2, we saw the vampire Katherine distraught over her families, especially her mothers death. I personally think that was the point of no return for Katherine; she knew she would have to be on the run for …a very long time from then on, as Klaus was relentless in finding, and killing her, out of revenge if nothing else. Katherine assumed it would simply be easier to mute out all of that magnified human emotions, and just turn it off completely. At the same time, even though she has, since then, betrayed and used countless of people, it is still debated whether or not she actually loved either or both of the Salvatores. Recently, through the canon, and in a flashback, we saw that she probably did love both of them, although probably actually loved Stefan more, as it was seen on a few occasions that when it comes to him, there’s more to Katherine than just her flirtatious, sarcastic quips. She was taken by him, as she saw something different in him than in Damon, who most likely resembled many of the other men she’d gotten around her finger. But that said, it’s still doubtful she was actually in love with Stefan. And even though, as she returned some 145 odd years later, and saw him, she hasn’t realized that he might’ve changed, matured; upon her return, she’s made it clear she’s interested in him.
Also, regarding her descendent, Isobel, it’s not clear how exactly Katherine felt, although from what was seen, they were on good terms. That being said, it’s most likely that Katherine didn’t trust her, seeing that,well…Katherine doesn’t really trust anyone (again going back to being overly guarded and on the run.) She has no qualms about giving up a ‘friend’ in order to advance her own agenda. It’s her first, then everything else.
Most of her ‘friends’ in the series have were either indebted to her, meant to pay the debt back when SHE needed it. And while she is capable of so called ‘acts of kindness’, there’s a fat chance that they’re actually done out of the goodness of her heart; if she helps someone out, it’s because she either sees them as useful assets, or expects to collect a favor from them sometime down the road.
Katherine is proud, just as much as she is vain. One thing that especially unnerves her is when someone else gets the upper hand on her, even for a moment. The thing about her is, she can be sweet and nice one second, and then next turn cruel and bitter the next second, accompanied by vindictive comments, sarcasm and threats. At times like these, or namely, when she is set off, or gotten angry, she can be very impulsive, and with that anger, get even with those who one-upped her, or stood in her way. Emotions, as a vampire are amplified, and even though she turned the switch, her stronger emotions, like anger, do shine through, complete with that cool, calculated impulse.
However Katherine, in many ways, is still the self-indulgent teen she used to be, except at an even bigger scale-she might even seem bratty at times, throwing very big scale, cruel tantrums if she doesn’t get what she wants.
Lastly to note: Katherine isn’t nice by any standards. But there’s more to her than the more obvious self-serving, egocentric attitude. She was still human, once, and beneath all those walls of coldness, apathy and cruelty, there remains something human, and thus, something vulnerable; and by Katherine herself, seen as a liability, a weakness. She’ll feel loneliness, sadness, but she’ll keep it buried down, in a very private place. She keeps it hidden, preferring to replace it with an emotion like anger, or vengeance, and through the many years she’s lived, she’s gotten much better at keeping the ‘weaker’ ones there, away.
Background:
Bulgaria: Katherine Pierce was born Katerine Petrova, 1475, in Bulgaria. There isn’t a whole lot known about her earlier years, except that she had a child out of wedlock-a baby girl- at sixteen, who was then taken away from her. Her family disowned her, as at the time, such an act was ostracized. The child was kept a secret, the girl given away, while Katerina was banished out of Bulgaria, to London, England. She was forced to adjust and adapt to being completely alone, and to a new lifestyle and society quickly.
London: While in London, in 1492 she caught the attention of Klaus. At that time, she did not yet know that he was an Original (one of the first vampires existing, and as it turns out, the only hybrid.). At first, she was taken by him, and enjoyed the attention he had given for, before discovering what he was, and what he intended to do with her. Namely, she was the first Petrova doppelganger, and was meant to be a sacrifice in a ritual meant to undo the Sun and Moon curse (the curse that bound vampires to walk only at night, and made werewolves be able to turn only on a full moon). Although not actually stated, but it’s assumed that her ancestor, to whom she was a doppelganger to, was the sacrifice made to create the sun and moon curse. And the doppelganger was created as means of undoing the curse.
Once Katherine found out what his true intent was, she did the one thing she could: she ran like hell. With her, she stole the Moonstone, another vital piece to breaking the curse.
During her escape, another vampire, Trevor, who was in love with her, helped Katerina, by giving her directions to a cottage nearby, where he and his closest friend, Rose (another vampire) lived. Even though Rose let the girl in, after she heard Katerina’s story out and saw the stolen moonstone, she locked Katerina in a room, claiming that at nightfall, she and Trevor will take Katerina back to Klaus and beg him for forgiveness. While in the room, Katerina tried killing herself by stabbing herself in the stomach. Once Rose returned, with a rope, intent on dragging her back to Klaus, Katerina claimed she was injured during her escape. Rose, knowing better, bit her own wrist, force-feeding Katerina her blood, to quickly heal. Once the vampire blood was in Katerina’s system, Trevor arrived home, and Rose turned her back on Katerina, yelling at Trevor for directing the girl to their home. Once Rose’s back was turned, Katerina grabbed the rope, and after Rose and Trevor entered the room again, Katerina had hung herself, and awakened as a vampire. Rose said that now she had condemned them all to death. Katerina acted quickly, using her newly gained vampire abilities to act quickly, feeding on their house-lady, claiming that it was better “them die than her”; and with that, she disappeared. She, even then, had used Trevor’s love for her to her advantage. Technically, as a sacrifice, Katerina was useless; Klaus needed a human doppelganger to complete the ritual. And yet it was since then, 1493, that her run from Klaus started-he was after her for vengeance.
Bulgaria: Katerina returned to Bulgaria after her transformation, only to find them all slaughtered, by Klaus. He wanted to get back at her for running; he didn’t just want to hurt her, but he went after everyone she ever loved: her family.
Distraught, yet hardened by the ordeal, she left her home, starting her life of always being on the move, always being one step ahead of Klaus and the other Originals; she couldn’t let them find her.
Mystic Falls, VA, 1864: It’s unclear as to what happened to Katerina during the years between 1493 and 1864, as the series has not elaborated on that yet. But by this time, by her arrival to America, she’s changed her name to Katherine Pierce.
Sometime before her arrival to Mystic Falls, she has met Pearl, her best friend, and Emily Bennett, a powerful witch and her handmaid.
She post as a war orphan from Atlanta, gaining the sympathy of Giuseppe Salvatore. Her beauty and charm has also caught the eyes of both the Salvatore brothers, Damon and Stefan. She enjoyed flirting with the both of them, and slowly, subtly and successfully pitting them against each other in some sort of competition for her attention. Hidden from each of them, she had affairs with both, but chose Stefan to accompany her to the Founder’s Party (a very important ball at Mystic Falls) after which the younger Salvatore confessed his love to her. She was taken aback, but soon enough warmed up to his love, and revealed to him her true nature, that of being a vampire. But Stefan’s horror of her forced Katherine to compel him to not be afraid, and to keep her secret, so that their relationship would be unchanged. To Damon (with whom she continued her affair), she revealed her nature too. His reaction was starkly opposite from his brother. She planned on turning them both, and whilst she had to compel Stefan to get him to drink her blood, Damon was eager to do so, being so deeply in love with Katherine and wanting to spend eternity with her. Simply put though, she got greedy.
Her best friend and vampire Pearl, recommended her to stop her playing with these two brothers and that they should relocate soon, but Katherine didn’t want to leave all this fun behind.
But as she prolonged her stay in mystic Falls, the Founder’s Council, a secret council within the town, consisting of the founding families of Mystic Falls, were not only aware of the existence of vampires, but that they were in their town. And they were making plans on ridding it of them.
Giuseppe became suspicious that Stefan was involved with a vampire when the boy came to him saying that not all vampires are bad. He spiked his drink with vervain, and unknowingly, Katherine drank Stefan’s blood, and her secret was out. Katherine, amongst the 26 other vampires in Mystic Falls were captured, including her friend Pearl.
However, in her true style, Katherine is one, even two steps ahead, knowing exactly when this roundup would happen due to the deal she made with George Lockwood, one of the founding family members (and who is also a werewolf, which she has discovered quite early in the game). She promised him the Moonstone, a stone bearing powerful magical properties that would be part of the ritual that would break the Sun and Moon curse. She also said that if he helped, she’d keep his secret hidden.
But the Salvatores nearly ruined everything, with their brazen attempt to set her free. However, they were shot by their own father in the process, with him not being able to forgive the fact that they were mixing with vampires.
George Lockwood keeps his promise, helping her escape, but then she lingers by the brothers’ dead bodies, giving Stefan a kiss, saying that she loved him to, promising to be reunited with him someday. She then disappeared from Mystic falls, not being seen for at least around 140 years later. The brothers were turned to vampires, Stefan probably first, having more of Katherine’s blood in his system, then turning Damon, although this wasn’t shown.
Present Day: What is known is that Damon ran to Emily Bennett, the handmaid and powerful witch, asking her to protect Katherine. Emily cast a spell, protecting the vampires (and the absent Katherine) in a tomb beneath a church. The tomb could then only be opened by the power of another comet to work, and one wouldn’t pass over Mystic Falls until roughly 140 years later. This later became Damon’s true purpose for returning to Mystic Falls in 2009-to free Katherine from the tomb. The tomb was then, opened by Emily’s descendants, Bonnie and Sheila. But Katherine wasn’t amongst the vampires within the tomb-but Pearl was, and she told the truth of Katherine’s escape. And in 1983, according to Pearl’s daughter Anna, Katherine was seen in Chicago.
With the tomb vampires being out, Katherine gained a few problems. When people thought she was inside the tomb, trapped, she really didn’t need to be concerned with the Originals, especially Klaus finding her. But now, the cat was out of the bag; she had, once again, manipulated and tricked a lot of people to her advantage, and to keep herself alive. Now, not only would the news eventually reach unwanted ears, but the tomb vampires now most likely wanted to get their revenge on her betraying them.
Her solid solution? Kill them. Permanently. Some time ago, she met this freshly turned vampire, Isobel Flemming-Saltzman (Who was actually Elena’s mother); she was Katherine’s descendant, and freshly turned by Damon, of all vampires. Katherine, in her manipulative nature, used Isobel as her messenger of a sort. She sent Isobel to retrieve the Gilbert Device, an invention by Jonathan Gilbert (ancestor of Elena), which was, after a series of hand-me-downs, ended up with Damon. What SHE wanted was for the device to end up in the hand of John Gilbert (Elena’s ‘uncle’, but later shown to be her biological father), so he could use it to expose the tomb vampires, so that they, in turn, can be killed by the council members. Isobel, after forcing Elena to get the device from Damon, did succeed, and the Device did end up in John’s hands.
In the end, her plan succeeded, as John set the device off at the Founder’s Day celebration, successfully incapacitating the vampires, and then, killing them.That same night that the Gilbert device was set off, she gained access to Elena’s home from an invitation from Aunt Jenna, after tricking Damon into thinking she WAS Elena, and the two sharing a kiss. Once inside, and John was in the kitchen, Katherine stabbed him and silently, skillfully slunk away as Elena came home. But it didn’t take long for Damon to piece the puzzle together, and figure out that Katherine was in town.
But Katherine did continue her small charade of pretending to be her doppelganger Elena. Stefan catches on to her quicker than Damon. Her excuse for coming back is because she missed him, and still loved him. Then, when he responded with loathing, she went to Damon. But as a result, both brothers turned away from her, and Katherine made her way into the hospital, where Elena’s friend Caroline was staying and in the end had turned her into a vampire, telling her to get the Salvatores a message, before slinking back into the background and keeping low, appearing now and then to torment her fresh vampire, and use her as a spy on Elena, threatening her. Katherine wanted Stefan to leave Elena, and he won’t she;d start killing everything Elena ever loved, before killing her.
When Setfan and Elena faked the breakup, Katheirne was very quick to catch on, and as to strengthen her threat, compelled Jenna to stab herself in the abdomen. Jenna survived that only by sheer luck. The event, thus makes Stefan and Elena break up. This shows just how much substance Katherine’s threats hold.
When both Salvatores described Katherine as always having an ulterior motive for things, they weren’t lying. Her true motive for coming back into Mystic Falls was to take the Moonstone she once gave to George Lockwood.
Turns out she was seducing, playing her charms on descendant Mason Lockwood, (another werewolf), specially activating his werewolf curse as part of her master plan. Mason was genuinely in love with Katherine, and although he might not have completely trusted her, his love was his most fatal, and final mistake. In the end, he was killed by Damon, which only put a damper on Katherine’s plans.
The brothers ended up with the moonstone, and Katherine, using Caroline again, had passed the message that if they didn’t bring the moonstone to the Masquerade at the Lockwoods, something very bad will happen. She proved this to Stefan by easily snapping the neck of a random girl at the party, and compelling two other people to attack Tyler Lockwood until he killed them, so to activate his own werewolf curse.
At the Masquerade, she brought along a ‘friend’, Lucy, a witch who was indebted to her as backup.
In the end though, the brothers blindside her trapping her in one room with them, until she quickly gains the upper hand again, when they discover that Lucy had tied the two doppelgangers together; everything Katherine felt, Elena felt. Which included the scratches and the stab wound inflicted on Katherine from the Salvatores, before they stop. She does have fun with it a bit, scratching at her palm, and nearly stabbing her own abdomen, before the brothers agree to give her the moonstone.
In the end, Lucy is the one that brings Katherine the moonstone, from Bonnie. But as soon as the moonstone is in Katherine’s hands, she suddenly can’t breathe and promptly loses consciousness, only to awaken in the tomb she was meant to be in 145 years ago. Trapped and can’t leave, Damon closing the door on her.
Her role then, is mostly seen staying in the tomb. Elena visits her once or twice, bringing blood and wanting to talk. And talk they do, Katherine brutally laying out everything that Klaus did to her when she ran. By this time, Elena knew the Klaus was after her because she too was a doppelganger.
One time, Jeremy and Bonnie visit, in an attempt to get her out, and try and make her help them. Stefan stops them, and in the end, Katherine ends up dragging her into the tomb. He can’t get out now either.
The time she does get out is actually after one of the Originals finds the tomb. First he lets Stefan out, and being an Original and being able to compel any other vampire, Elijah compels Katherine to stay in the tomb, even though the spell itself is lifted. Damon plans on killing Elijah, wanting to protect Elena, but Katherine begged him not to kill Elijah or else she would stay in the tomb for ever (which turned out to actually be the opposite; Katherine knew this and this was her being her manipulative self) and then, after a series of events pertaining to the brothers and Elena, the latter actually stabs the Original ‘killing’ him. Thus, after his death, Katherine is no longer part of his compulsion, and she promptly leaves the tomb, heading out to meet Isobel to discuss their ‘plans’.
Turns out, Katherine has returned to Mystic Falls in order to get all the right pieces for Klaus’s Sun and Moon ritual, in hopes of seeking redemption and perhaps not running anymore.
The ingredients for breaking the curse is a vampire, a werewolf, a doppelganger, the moonstone and a witch.
But as it turns out, Klaus had his own plans and after possessing Alaric’s body, he captured Katherine by using first Isobel to get her location, then sending one of his witches to collect her. They successfully render her unconscious.
And that’s when she ends up in Adstringendum.
Abilities/Additional Notes:
She’s a vampire, and a pretty old one at that, so most of the listed abilities are more potent with time:
-Healing abilities- Vampires take injuries much, much better than any human would. Snapped bones, even gunshots, stab wounds, everything heals much faster, with full recoveries taking moments, depending on how serious they are.
- Super Strength- Vampires are much stronger than humans. Their strength increases as they age. They can easily toss grown humans across a room, knock down heavy doors, etc. They are stronger than werewolves that are not in their wolf form.
-Mind Compulsion- Vampires have the ability to control human minds (like commanding them to do something, or not do something), enter and alter dreams, and erase memories.
-Super Speed- Another vampiric attribute, vampires can be fast enough that a human eye will not be able to see.
-Emotional Control When vampires are turned, their emotions first become hightened. But then, they are able to manipulate their own emotions; they can turn them “off”, thus being more cold and distant, and unfeeling.
-Hightened senses- When turned, the senses are heightened, improved: acute hearing, sharp eyesight, even in the dark, and acute sense of smell.
-Immortality- Vampires, essentially, when turned, stop aging, and thus, live forever, as long as they get their blood, and aren’t pierced in the heart with a wooden stake. Another lethal infection is a werewolf bite, at least from the Vampire Diaries universe.
-Lapis Lazuli- First in a necklace form, and later made into a bracelet, the lapis Lazuli stone allows vampires who wear it to walk in broad daylight without setting ablaze.
- Dreams - Like most vampires, Katherine also has the ability to manipulate and influence dreams. The stronger a vampire is, the easier this becomes.
A note specifically about her. She is extremely well at adapting. She’s intelligent, clever. She has a god memory, and figures someone’s moves out sometimes even before they act on them.
Weaknesses: Wooden stakes generally hurt like hell, and a stake to the heart can kill. Vampires are generally hurt from vervain (a herd): it burns when it touches their skin, and weakens them considerably upon intake. But Katherine has build up a higher tolerance to this over the last 100 years. However, physical contact will skill be severely unpleasant. Intaking a great deal of vervain still weakens her. Sunlight burns them, but thanks to her necklace (later turned to a bracelet by her timeline), it’s not a problem for her. Vampires are also not immune to certain magic, Katherine being no exception. Also to note, vampires typically need to be invited into a house. If they are in a house without an invitation, it’s hard for them to breathe, and they become quite disoriented.
Sample Journal:
…And what’s this?
[The feed buzzed to life, to show an image of a girl, looking no older than eighteen, giving the device in her hand a look of only mild interest. She looks nothing short of irritated though, as she looks around.] Where am I?
[Lifting herself off, device still at hand, she cast another gaze at her surroundings. Propping a slender hand on her waist, she finally looks into the blinking light of her communicator directly, head tilting slightly, curls falling around her face.] Can anyone see this?
I’d be more than grateful for a bit of an explanation? Klaus? Are you behind this? [ A smug, coy smirk, concealing the evident unease that sets in.] It’s kind of…rude to dumb a lady hell knows where and leave her hanging, don’t you think? [And with that, she cuts the feed.]
Sample RP:
Katherine was pacing. It wasn’t completely out of irritation, but more so from impatience. Mason, damn it. He was supposed to be here, in her small, little B&B room with the moonstone. But he wasn’t.
She looked to her phone. Her expression was nothing short of subtle anger, her eyes narrowing. When the phone went off, she picked up almost immediately, when she saw the caller id proclaiming Mason’s name.
“Where are you?” No hellos. Her curiosity and anticipation had no time for that. “You should’ve been here two hours ago.”
“Aw, sorry, wrong boy-toy,” when she heard the response on the other end, Damon’s dry, sarcastic remark delivered in his smug voice, Katherine had to will herself not to clench the hand that held her phone, instead placing her other hand to the bedpost, the wood splintering under her grip.
“Where’s Mason?” Her voice had that light hint of a pout, but stern and cold; nothing reminiscent of the flirty tone she usually undertook with Damon.
“Oh, sorry. He can’t come to the phone right now,” she heard a chuckle. “He’s a little…dead.” When she stayed silent, he added: “Oh! And we got your moonstone. You wanna know where Mason hid it? In a well filled with vervain. Guess he didn’t trust you that much
“Aww sorry, did we put a damper on that great, mysterious plan of yours?”
It was her turn to pull a snide, borderline smug smirk. Even a light, lofty laugh. “And do you honestly believe that I don’t have a plan B? And if that fails a plan C, then a plan D…” she paused, smirk growing wider. “And…well, you know how the alphabet works, don’t you?” Mason’s death was a great inconvenience to her. But he was expendable. Yet another fool madly in love with her. And she wasn’t lying: she did have a plan B. Even a C. “Send my love to Stefan,” and with that self-assured, smug goodbye, she ended the call, savoring the irritated, maybe even dumbfounded expression of surprise plastered on Damon’s face. She was, as usual, quite ahead of the game.