#tvdu meta

[massivedonutface]

The originals really should've been obsessed with Bonnie. The way Bennett witches were wrapped up in everything, they most likely knew several of her ancestors over the centuries. Damon too should've come to mystic falls seeking Bonnie out, especially with the somergraham chemistry it could've been really interesting

[loveakii]

the mikaelson siblings dynamic is so fucked bc they all think they’re the black sheep. like first klaus is the black sheep bc he’s a bastard and hybrid. then finn’s a black sheep cause he’s the creepy quiet boring brother (with a large age gap to the younger ones). then freya’s the black sheep cause she’s the long lost sister they never met raised by their weirdo auntie. then kol’s the black sheep cause he’s the only witch and a ripper. you could even say rebekah’s the black sheep not on surface level being that she’s the favourite and adored by all, but how she’s infantilized and can never be in the boys club. elijah is the only one who i’d say fits closely to what the parents and siblings want/expect from a family member: to be reliable and level headed and logical but still loyal to a fault. and even he breaks that illusion with the red door and his off the rails arc in s4-5. henrik died before we ever got to know him but he seems to be loved perfectly by all of them, so i won’t include him.

the ironic thing about klaus as a protagonist and his major fear that he is categorized as other is that all the people he’s afraid see him that way also feel that way about themselves. but they all think that they’re the worst version, that their exclusion and/or neglect is the most real.

and in truth it’s actually finn.

edit: niklaus is vocalized by his siblings as the outsider a number of times, called “bastard” and “half brother” a few times, but i believe this is only them trying to hit him where it hurts in response to his horrible treatment of them—not because they see him as less because of his birth father. in TO kol is also referred to as the black sheep and “the wildest”, a description you’d think would be put on klaus instead. goes to show that the insecurities and loneliness does in fact spread across the whole family but from klaus’ pov he thinks his siblings are “normal” while he’s the odd one out.

+ aside from their general feelings of being black sheep there’s also an additional layer of feelings of exclusion based around the always and forever vow, which obviously impacted finn and kol throughout their centuries. idk if freya knew or heard anything about it before s2, but i do think in s3 she felt less than for her lack of history with klaus and the difference in his treatment of her and rebekah (which i attribute to older sister vs little sister dynamics and the fact that he’s still getting to know her)

[andreal831]

ELIJAH MIKAELSON: The Patriarch of the Mikaelson family

K: Please don’t lecture me, Elijah. You have no idea the agony of being a father; loving someone so much you cannot bear to see them in pain. E: I think I might have some idea.

[misspermitted]

Random Vampire Diaries discourse but I’ve been thinking about Bonnie and Kai and why they interest me so much. Because usually TVD’s sexually charged “he’s a terrible person but he’s infatuated with you” thing doesn’t interest me. Like I enjoy watching Klaroline and Delena as a guilty pleasure, but it doesn’t interest me. He’s just obsessed with her, and she eventually brings out the good in him, yada yada the messed up toxic guy brings out her dark side yada yada, she realises her power and so on. And I just don’t really care. I just watch it, and then I move on. I don’t linger on it for days and think about the characters.

But this random Bonnie and Kai thing that went on for 10 episodes, for some reason every so often I just think about them for days on end. And I reckon it’s because what the actors were setting up with them was really unique and not that trope. But then, since TVD is really badly written, after the prison arc they tried to turn it into the “guy is infatuated and redeems for her” and Chris Wood (who plays Kai) legitimately refuses to act that (which, like, good on him). So then they dropped the Bonnie/Kai storyline and just made him a villain.

But what were they then? At least originally? Because every time I get obsessed with these characters I go into fanon and it ruins my obsession, because it’s just that whole “evil guy is infatuated” thing all over again and it just doesn’t feel like them.

So let’s go through my reading of the Bonnie/Kai prison arc:

For me, what originally caught my attention about these two was that I thought Bonnie was the actually obsessed one. At least at first.

How Bonnie acts during their first scenes together

Bonnie spends seasons without her magic and this random guy shows up and gets under her skin so much she actually unlocks it? What? And the reason given is that she needed to save Damon but the spirits had straight up taken her magic. Her friends have been in life and death situations for ages and she couldn’t do anything about it to the point where she takes on dark magic. Clearly it is not just a desire to save her friends that unlocks it. And her becoming anchor does not change the fact that it had been confiscated. Forever. Who is this random guy that got her to unlock it by just taunting her?

And then she spends the whole first few conversations legitimately flirting back with this guy. Who just tried to kill her friend. When Bonnie doesn’t flirt with people. Like we have never seen Bonnie (until now, no bonenzo erasure) actually be interested in any villain ever. She typically just glares at them.

And that’s something that gets me about their dynamic. Bonnie acts so different around Kai than she does with anyone else. When Bonnie has dealt with evil sociopaths before. This guy is not new.

Bonnie tries to kill Kai (the first time)

What does Bonnie do when dealing with evil vampires or evil warlocks? Usually shes the one who is the voice of reason. With the plan. Who comes in at the end and saves everyone. Not Kai. She straight up throws an axe at him. On a hunch. When he actually hasn’t done anything that bad.

Bonnie doesn’t kill people a lot before this point. Unless she thinks it’s necessary. And they have to have done something really bad and she actually seems upset afterwards. But not Kai. Literally all he does is threaten them a little, offer to be friends, and kill his family 20 years before. Which is incredibly low stakes given the other stuff people do in TVD. Why does he get under her skin so much?

It’s so weird to me that she’s so against letting him out. I mean Bonnie is stubborn and has a strong sense of justice, but she also does bad stuff for the greater good. It’s far more like her to let him out for the greater good of getting them both out, and then stop him. But she’s not actually being reasonable.

Even Damon calls her on it. How she’s acting more impulsive and negative than he is. Just because Kai exists. It’s a level of caring and irritation that we don’t actually see from Bonnie a lot, who is usually cool and collected and strong.

How Kai acts in most of the prison world arc together

Kai meanwhile acts towards her how he later acts towards Elena. Flirty and off putting. Though he does later seem to realise that Bonnie is legitimately impressive and useful in a way that he decides Elena isn’t (which is just factually true). But Kai (in the first half) is a sociopath who uses people for his own benefit, and that is exactly how he treats Bonnie.

Especially later, after Damon is gone, he tries to play the sympathy card so many times and the “you’re different” tactic, but it’s all a lie and Bonnie is aware of it. And this it the other thing that I love about their dynamic, Bonnie is clearly very diverted and unsettled by this guy, but she is not an idiot. She has watched Caroline and Elena both fall for bad boys saying that they'll "change" for them. And she has spent the whole time saying they're being incredibly stupid. And she doesn’t turn from that awareness.

In my opinion, that’s the first thing that makes Kai act differently around her, the realisation that she is not gonna fall for any of that. He waits four months to manipulate them, and then suddenly is really impatient about when to do the spell? Why? And I think it’s because he realises that he’s not gonna get her to agree for long. She’s too observant. She figured out who he was so goddamn quickly. And she’s only gonna be scared for so long.

Kai takes her to his house

It’s so weird for Kai to take her to his house. He knew how to get out. He could’ve just left her. And it would’ve been less risky, since it’s clear at this point that he treats her as a danger.

Like he could just kill her. It would be safer to kill her. Bur he doesn’t. He brings her to his house. To gloat? He never seems interested in doing that before now. He’s cool for them to view him as irritating or a child or something to be scared of, depends on what’s useful. You don’t even see him gloat to Jo.

And this actually makes sense. Kai doesn’t care. Why would he need to gloat. He has a goal and he just needs to achieve it. Once he achieves it his revenge will be done and he will have won. He doesn’t have to villain monologue. He won. That’s satisfying enough.

In my opinion this is where Kai stops acting normal towards Bonnie. Like she’s just something to use for his goal. Or, rather, his goal changes.

Kai says he brings Bonnie to his house because he’s never had someone to share it with before. I feel like he might actually be telling the truth here, because it’s the only thing that makes sense.

Kai tries to manipulate Bonnie the day before wearing all his possible masks. An abomination making her scared and powerless. A misunderstood monster playing on sympathy, flattering her and saying he wants to be like her. And he believes it works. But it doesn’t. Bonnie not only outsmarts him, she outsmarts him and mocks the masks he wore. She take his manipulative bear that is supposed to be his attempts at fake kindness, and literally sends it away. He spends the whole first half of the day repeatedly trying to scare her and make her feel powerless, and her counter plan is all about how she is not powerless at all. He’s not in control. He needs her magic. And that’s hers. She controls it. And now it’s not here anymore. You’re welcome 😇

And while this is incredibly iconic of Bonnie, and irritating for him, it also means Bonnie sees past all those masks. For a guy who’s clearly used to pretending. For a guy who was always seen as an abomination even when he wasn’t. It clearly interests him that she actually just doesn’t see him as a monster, at least in any superficial way that he can use. Bonnie Bennet knew him well enough to know that he was lying.

So Kai brings Bonnie to the place where all of his memories are. Where he grew up. Where he killed his family and the blood is still there. And it’s clearly not to gain her trust through being misunderstood (the blood is still there, and he shows absolutely no attempt at remorse). And he is legitimately cordial and doesn’t restrain her, so he’s not purposefully trying to make her powerless or scared. So what’s his angle?

This is the thing, where Kai acts different as well. He shows resentment about his upbringing when he mentions it, not sadness or any pity based emotions. He babbles and cooks because he (as we learn) likes cooking. Bonnie later interprets it as him trying to gain her trust just to betray her out of sadism, but 1. Kai isn’t actually a sadist. Kai likes control, and can get angry and violent. He doesn’t care if he’s stabbing someone or not. We see it as he gets out, violence and manipulation is a means to an end. Always. And there is no end aside from revenge for him to try to betray Bonnie. Especially because Bonnie has been very clear that she will not trust him.

Then there’s the fact that he is not, as we’ve addressed, actually doing anything that would lead to trust. None of the previous masks. He’s actually being very open and generally having dinner with a psycho in the house covered in blood stains from when he killed children is not a trust building exercise. (Honestly, kind of weird that she thinks it was supposed to be. What, were you actually warming up to him during that dinner? A little suspicious Bonnie.)

But if, instead, Kai is doing all this to share himself with Bonnie. To be seen. He’s so irritated when she doesn’t understand: “Can’t you see I’m trying to apologise?” And then she very clearly states that she is not interested in spending any time with him, seeing anything, sharing anything, aside from the last dinner.

And we wonder why he puts it off, if his entire plan is just to stab her, leave, and gloat with a pager. Why does he drag the dinner longer than necessary? He’s about to leave, he’s been impatient to leave this entire time, but he actually puts it off. There is no reason to. He’s about to be around so many people to communicate with, but he wants to spend as much time with Bonnie as possible. Why??

And if the ascendant can only be used in the Mystic Falls tunnels, and he flies all the way to Portland, and it’s getting dark when he grabs the knife in the tree stump, then he puts off his return for an entire day. Just to eat spaghetti. Really slowly.

It only makes sense if he’s there specifically because his goal is to hang out with her. He wants to share. She pretty much acknowledges this and says she will never, ever care or like him. Stop trying to share with her. Leave her alone. Which, if he’s this excited about being seen, would be infuriating for him.

How Bonnie acts after he leaves

What really got me about the whole arc, though, is how Bonnie talks about what happens. Because that really shows how weird these two are.

Bonnie is furious with Kai and when she’s explaining what she went through to Damon, and doesn’t emphasise the stabbing or the manipulation as the worst part, but that Kai left her. All alone. He abandoned her.

Which is crazy, because that is so intimate for a complaint. But that is what she holds on to. Damon didn’t abandon her, even though he did. Her friends didn’t abandon her, even though they did. This random sociopathic guy abandoned her. Bonnie has the opposite of an abandonment complex, she is constantly overlooked and left and never gets mad about it, except this one time. With Kai. Who there shouldn’t have even been expectations about.

But it’s clear they were both aware there was. Despite Kai promising to leave her alone after a last dinner, his message isn’t “have fun” or something like that, it’s “I lied.” But he didn’t lie? He left her alone?

It’s like they were both aware that he was sharing and there was an expectation there. Where she would say she wanted to be left alone but he wouldn’t do it anyway, and she would keep paying attention anyway. That they were gonna play the “follow you around” intimacy game. Except Kai is like, woops jokes on you I can get out and I’m not taking you with me. Even though it was a given that I was gonna try to win you over, for fun. I know the hell I just condemned you to, enjoy.

Post Kai getting emotions (sort of)

And this reading gives an entirely new light to their first interactions post Kai getting emotions and how furious she is that he is trying to get her attention. Because fuck off, I gave you my attention and you left me. We’re not doing that again. You get nothing from me.

And also why he can’t stop thinking about her. Let’s be honest, the “I want to be forgiven” is bullshit. It’s far more, “I’m a new me and I want to be seen.” And Bonnie just refuses to. Not this time. I will not understand Kai as more than a monster. He doesn’t deserve that from me.

Kai asks her to spend the afternoon with her and she says no. Fuck you. You don’t get me to willingly walk into your house again. Fuck off.

It’s just so weird and personal especially to Bonnie. Like this is where I think they were getting Bonkai wrong. Kai is always shown as so unbelievably obsessed with her, but he doesn’t really think about her until she gets back. And it’s with the same weird determination that Kai gets about all goals.

It’s Bonnie who is so out of character. Despite all the stuff she’s been through and abuse she’s suffered, it’s Kai somehow that changes her. And makes her more emotional. Bonnie is the one that is weirdly touchy about it all and structures her life around (not) seeing him. Bonnie is the one that’s unreasonable about her reactions to him.

And it was so fun seeing a female character, especially the “saviour” female character, be so concerningly “enemies to lovers” obsessive over a guy, and the guy being so oblivious to it. Like it’s funny seeing all of Bonnie’s friends go “maybe you should chill out about Kai” and her just go “NO.” Meanwhile Kai’s just over here like “so Bonnie can see through everyone including me, so if I can convince her there’s a new me, that’s confirmation that I’ve changed 😊 Ah she’s so pretty I wish she’d stop trying to kill me. But Bonnie’s just like that I guess.” But she’s not. She’s not like that at all!!

I wish they’d explored it more but at the same time, if Julie Plec was gonna fuck it up then I’m okay with them going the villain route.

[familiarboat1]

Awesome! They kinda did die out of a sudden and left nothing … “good” to remember them by.

The hollow … they did that for themselves- I’m glad they didn’t spend legacies talking about how the Mikaelson’s “saved” the supernaturals.

But they added the whole “bloodline” thing to it and it just lost its value for redemption. Now they were saving themselves.

I mean Vincent called them out when Elijah lied about “for the children.” - It would’ve been so easy to burn the loose ends if it actually ended up being “for the children.” Keeping Elijah to his word ; Truly forcing him to at least. And then Klaus of course does the redemption thing. Maybe parallel to the abuser (Hollow) and the child. But saving the children of New Orleans. To that of Mikael and him. Once in for-all. Which maybe a bit cringe … don’t know, just a detail the could’ve acted on with Vincent.

Hey there! Do you believe the Mikaelson's deserved their "happy ending." This ask is a bit sporadic btw.

I mean, what does that mean for their victims? What does justice look like in the vampire diaries universe. Literally all the suoernaturals were serial killers or knew serial killers.

Camille and Elijah had this anger searing within them. You could see it in Elijah's annoying sassy speaches. Camille understood Klaus, a serial killer. That's awful. And we see how she became after a vampire. I'm not saying this show is awfully written, i'm just saying their characters are interesting because their awful.

Unpopular oppinion but Elijah's type was ass. He found the worst of the worst with an attitude beyond his and called it a day.

I also heavily hated how they treated Marcel, Elijah and Hayley get to go to peace for that too. You said something that stuck to me and still does- you said the problem with the Mikaelson's is that "they don't try not to hurt eachother" which I could literally see in real life too. They were awful to each other yet got together in the after life. I mean jackson and Hayley too were toxic. Is the after life some parallel to the real world. I mean if their isn't any hell, how the heck does malivore work.

I could argue all supernaturals are bad and they kinda all went to "hell" together- Were-wolfs kill, just not at the caliber of Vampires. But their still a pack of serial killers camping with each other. Marcel did a good job of keeping control of the mass murder, he ruled the city with a keen eye to allow feeding and less death. Witches use blood to fule their magic too and are also awful.

I mean, do you think that the supernaturals killing each other would be better for the community of new orleans?

Just a bunch of questions, sorry !

About time I finally got to this after almost a month. My apologies!

So, I don't really know how controversial this take is, but I don't feel they did enough to deserve a fully happy ending, but I do believe they deserve some credit for trying to change for the better at certain points. However, I feel there was so little redemption done that all I can think is where they were GOING to go. We don't really know. I feel a lot of the redemption happened in the last season of TO, and then they all died, so how much of a happy ending do they really deserve? Or do they deserve it based on who they were going to become? Or WERE they gonna become even better people? I DON'T KNOW!! That's the problem, nobody knows where their direction was going. That's why I personally think if they knew the actors for these characters didn't want to stick around long, they shouldn't have even started huge character arcs for characters that didn't want to continue on into Legacies.

You make a great point with the whole "hell" questioning, I mean where did they really go? That's some lazy writing if I've ever seen it. That's a pretty huge story detail to just go "oops sorry didn't write that in hehe".

If they are in the afterlife together, I hope they're all arguing just like they did in life. I think that's the biggest punishment and hell they can ever have;being stuck together forever.

As for your last question, I do think it's possible that it could be beneficial depending on who died and such. I mean, there probably are some supernaturals who don't want to fight or anything, but the bad ones, I mean sure? Honestly that's a tough question.

Thanks for the questions, this was really interesting and thought provoking!

[hyperactivewhore]

How do people say Caroline would get hate from her friends if she started a romance with Klaus when literally none of them cared to know they fucked.

Damon made fun of it with literally anyone but never gave her a hard time about it, Stefan literally took her side and Elena only worried about Tyler, her only concern was to know if he was aware that his ex girlfriend and the man who murdered his mother had slept together.

They didn't care at all.

[wholoveseggs]

How I look camping ⛺️ your page everyday waiting for you to post… like your writing is so good and I’m so obsessed with it. 💜 But about Kol and I guess the other Mikaelson boys (minus Finn),, they’re all scary in their own ways.

With Klaus he’s scary because of his rage and his plans,, you can immediately tell when he’s angry because he makes it known through his throwing things and shouting.

For Elijah, he’s calm and collected and that’s what makes him scary, you don’t know how he’s truly feeling or going to react because he hides it so well. I don’t remember the exact scene but it was in the originals I believe where you could like see the rage on his rage and that too is scary because he’s so angry in that moment that he isn’t even attempting to hide that rage.

For Kol (my love), he’s a wild card, a loose cannon. He can be violent but he can also be gentle as seen with his relationship with Davina. I just think his personality is so fun and intriguing. There is absolutely no reason for a vampire, an original at that to be using a baseball to beat people but he does just because he can?? does this make me crazy?? maybe a bit?

a common misconception i see a lot is when Kol is undaggered and Klaus backs away from him. this is for two reasons… yes, i believe Klaus was nervous of Kol being awake again because he knows his brother is a loose cannon but also because it meant that the others were likely awake as well and perhaps he could fight one of them but he definitely couldn’t find all of them at once.

no matter though because both Kol and Klaus can admit that Elijah is the “scariest” so your love wins that contest~ 💜

Hello again darling camping anon! I have so much to say on this subject.... like SO MUCH. So buckle up.

I think the fundamental difference between the three of them is how they react to and experience control. It's simultaneously an emotion, a situation and a choice. And something that all three of them couldn't really have growing up.

They are all victims of domestic violence, and each one is dealing with it differently. (And not in a healthy way at allllllllll. They absolutely continue the cycle of abuse...)

First we have Klaus, (The iconic little shit that he is)

He clings to control like a lifeline. Being the most helpless as a boy, he has always felt that if he was stronger, had more power, he could keep those around him safe. He believes that the only way he can feel safe is if he's in control. So, in his mind, any time someone takes that from him, they are actively trying to harm him. He will fight for control over everything and anything. His family, his city, his art and (most importantly) his life. His need to control the narrative around him and keep his secrets, is born out of the trauma and fear that his father instilled in him. His rage is born out of his own sense of helplessness.

Joseph Morgan does an excellent job of conveying that pain. Klaus is always a bundle of anxiety and panic and fear, no matter how he's acting. He's hyper vigilant and constantly looking over his shoulder, waiting for someone or something to try and control him again. It's why he clings so desperately to control, because he never wants to be made a victim again.

Second we have Elijah, born after the loss of Freya. I've always viewed him as a tragic character, who seems to be nobody's favorite in the family, but also the glue that holds them together. He's burdened with being the adult in the room. I can imagine that Esther's grief and guilt around losing Freya sort of imprinted on to him. She probably saw him as a replacement for the daughter she lost, putting all this pressure on him to be perfect, while simultaneously giving him no agency to be his own person. His entire childhood was spent either protecting his siblings or taking care of his mother's emotional needs. (This also applies to Finn, who i'll talk about later)

His relationship with control is nearly equal to Klaus'. He's always been a peacemaker, the level headed, calm brother. Always trying to bring harmony between his siblings. And while he has a much different way of expressing his feelings, he is a victim of the same violence that the rest are.

But, what makes him the scariest is the fact that his anger is silent. Elijah doesn't show his emotions, he represses them. And then when his control snaps, it's like a damn bursting. You don't see it coming, because he's so good at hiding his anger (& all of his other feelings). But when it's there, you feel it. And it's terrifying. Because his anger is fueled by pain and a lifetime of having to be strong. It's a glimpse at a deep well of pain that you realize he has been hiding all along.

Daniel Gillies absolutely nails this simmering rage with his eyes. Somehow that man can convey every single emotion without saying a word. When he looks at his family, or a person he cares for, there is this warmth and kindness. But when he looks at a person he is angry at, a person who has hurt someone he cares about, you can see the light almost dim, and his eyes will become cold and dark. You can feel the danger and rage in them. It's a delight to watch.

Third we have Kol, who is a complicated and messy character. Kol was born into a family that already had a system and a hierarchy, and he was pushed aside and ignored. Nobody's favorite, nobody's first choice. He grew up angry and frustrated, feeling unloved and unheard. He looks to his older brothers and their relationship with control, and takes the proverbial baseball bat to it. If they couldn't love him the way he needed them to, then he would make sure that they would at least remember him. So he becomes the black sheep, the outcast. He's wild and chaotic, doing whatever he can to get attention. He doesn't really care about control, because he never had any growing up. I have always viewed his bloodlust as an allegory for addiction. His response to the violence of his youth is to numb the pain with the rush of adrenaline and power. To take from others what was taken away from him.

His rage is the loudest and the quickest to come to the surface. He's not one to stew, he's quick to fight and fast to burn. Which is why his relationship with Davina is so good for him. She loves him the way he needs, and rightfully calls out his bad behavior. As gross as it sounds, she's kind of the mother figure that his actual mother never was. (IM SORRY I KNOW ITS VERY FREUD OF ME .... BUT AM I WRONG????)

I'm not going to bash any acting... But I think Daniel Sharman captures Kol much better. His complicated relationship with death, control and magic is portrayed beautifully. Especially the scene where he is dancing with Davina before he dies. It shows real growth on his part, no longer the baby brother, no longer the victim and the victimizer. In that moment he's the protector, trying to shield his girl from grief. And it always makes me tear up ...

(This scene always makes me laugh, I truly believe Elijah is the funniest character)

And last, we have Finn. Who I love to make the butt of the joke here on this blog. But I do have a few things to say about his character.... Which is.... He isn't really a character. But an object.

They drag the poor man out to show the audience what bad thing can happen to an original. First with his death in TVD, teaching everyone about the white oak stake and sirelines. Second in TOG with Lucians deadly bite. He's just... Not written to be liked.. and it's never really explained why they kept him daggered for 900 years.

And with Finn... there is no control or lack thereof, because he has no agency. And his rage comes from the fact that he is a man out of time, with no one who cares about him.. And it makes his character all the more sad and pathetic.

They make him this bitter, angry villain. Trying to kill his niece, and they never justify exactly why. I think fear of Dahlia is a piss poor excuse. I would rather he lean into revenge for being daggered than trying to hold onto his righteous nonsense.

(But lets be so real here... its because the writers didn't want to give him any depth. They didn't want us to get overly attached, so they could use him as a low-stakes original vampire that demonstrates the actual deadliness of a weapon or person)

But!!!! Yusuf Gatewood is the absolute GOAT and his portrayal of Finn and his rage is just delicious. He almost reminds me of like a rabid preacher, the way he spits out his hatred and bitterness. But it's so fun and I enjoy it every time.

Anyways.... Sorry to hijack your message lol.. I just love to psychoanalyze crazy fictional men!

[klonnieshippersclub]

Bonnie, The Bennett’s, Black Witches and The Magical Negro Trope & Mammy Trope - TVD META

Bonnie and the Bennett’s have very rich lore. It’s not glorified by the fandom unless it’s by Bonnie fans themselves. That’s the way it’s always been, no one paying any mind or deeper thought to Bonnie/and the Bennett’s outside of her fans. This isn't a new thing but I want to highlight this once again because I don’t think fans understand there is more than one negative trope rooted in Bonnie, the Bennett’s and black witches only.

Before we get into anything heavy let’s have some key-terms here: Let’s define a magical negro trope: where a black character appears in a plot solely to help a white character and then vanishes. Now what a mammy is: a black woman engaged to take care of white children or as a servant to a white family.

Everything in the series can be tied back to a Bennett witch. Let’s list a few things the immortality spell, immortals, the other side, the cure, supernatural hunters, creating rings to preserve life, the Gilbert device but only a Bennett witch can enchant it, prison worlds, the traveler's curse, vampires, hybrids etc…You name it without the Bennett’s creation there would be nothing. You would think because of this the Bennett’s would be respected in the narrative and by fans. Wrong. Some of these women aren’t even given actual names. Everyone can have a Bennett witch at their disposal but they won’t be respected either. Bennett blood is essential to certain spells. A loophole.

Let’s talk about Ayana. The Mikaelson’s were only able to become vampires because Esther stole Ayana’s spell. It is forgotten that Esther/Mikael begged Ayana to perform the spell first. The Mikaelson’s as humans trusted Ayana. Rebekah was in shock that a necklace from Ayana burned her. While Ayana remained unnamed this time while the story was told. Rebekah was talking about Ayana. Ayana was known as a healer and given Esther’s praises they were close. The series doesn’t show us why Ayana should value the Mikaelson’s but we do understand why Esther, her husband and children valued her. That infamous necklace that Rebekah loved belonged to Ayana. We don’t know about Ayana’s life outside of being a healer. We don’t know her marital status, how many children she could’ve possibly had and anything tied to her after the plot has used her up. One would think with how close Ayana was to the Mikaelson’s, they’d have some respect or acknowledge Bonnie but that never happens.

We see this in how Emily was enslaved to Katherine. Julie may have labeled Emily a handmaiden but we knew what that meant. Emily only had one request from Damon that he watch and protect the Bennett line which he never did. The black witches never ask much of anyone in the plot or ever given the chance too. Yet when a request is made no one ever meets said request for them. This form of slavery repeats again through Lucy. She claimed Katherine saved her life therefore she is indebted to her for however long she needs. Sheila has her hand in aiding the Gemini Coven, Beatrice helped with the Sirens.

There are other witches that are black who serve a purpose to aid in many and leave such as: Gloria, The Martin’s, Bree, Aja and her coven just to name a few. Friends of the main characters or enemies but quickly there and dropped. Originally due to all witches appearing Black fans believed they were all Bennett’s. Julie has no answer for why all witches that is until they weren’t. Remember witches were servants of nature. The Mikaelson’s popularity, Gemini Coven and other witches. Fills the space that Black witches were once in. Notice a pattern here?

Qetsiyah’s plot line should’ve centered on how she created immortality, the cure, and the other side. But Qetsiyah’s existence revolves around demanding and enforcing continuous revenge on Silas and Amara. Tying her into another repeated love triangle in the franchise. May I add that she and Bonnie are the only women to have been betrayed by a partner and criticized for their reactions. There’s nothing wrong when a man wants and craves power but Qetsiyah is considered the worst of them all. Here’s an amazing video that details Qetsiyah’s writing too. Please review.

Lastly, The Bonnie of it all:

Bonnie’s a loyal, powerful and brave woman. She doesn’t let anything happen to her friends if she can stop it. She cares for them. That kind of loyalty can be beautiful but equally harmful when Bonnie has no regard to her own feelings. She continues to give for everyone and her friends rarely return the favor. Bonnie’s never thanked or rewarded for being there. The friendships stop being equal very early. Her traumas aren’t valuable in the plot. We don’t know what Bonnie’s home looked like. If Bonnie does grieve it isn’t shown on screen. Her family life is limited, while Liz and Alaric aren’t main characters. They have their own plotlines. It is revealed that Abby’s reasonings for abandoning her is for Elena’s benefit. Abby is killed in a coin toss and transitioned. Caroline gets to have a good friend moment while Bonnie isn’t have any feelings towards her mother for abandoning her after. Rudy isn’t seen in the plot longterm and when he appears in season 5 he’s killed in front of Bonnie. She grieves this in silence while grieving her own death that she didn’t make aware to her friends to avoid inconveniencing them. The plot makes it clear if the white counterparts aren’t happy then Bonnie will never either. Elena, Caroline got happier endings while Bonnie’s job was completed. Bonnie never once got to call out how her friends can disregard her, she feeds into them and they grow while sucking the life out of her. In the end, Bonnie went back to Africa. Never any reference to her life from there.

Another thing Bonnie isn’t shown to be feminine. Her best friends go on dates, go to dances, dress up and receive compliments. Caroline or Elena has ever given Bonnie a compliment that aided in her beauty. We don’t know Bonnie’s ambitions or fears. But you are aware when Bonnie wants to save her best friend. Thoughts on Bonnie’s relationships and ships is for the next meta though.

White witches did follow the servitude of others. They were still given the privilege of agency that black witches were never going to have. Witches like Dahlia existed, and although she had one goal she had more personality than others.

When you have people like the TVD writers that continue to push harmful stereotypes there’s always going to fans who listen and continue to perpetuate those stereotypes. The writers had no value for Black women nor do the fans. They don’t care about how black women or people of color are treated in fiction or the media simply because their favorites get to reap all the benefits. That tweet is just one tip of the iceberg, there’s plenty more from Bonnie’s relationships, and storylines.

[matt-murdick]

Others have explained their reasoning before, but I'm wondering, why do you think each original sibling never undaggered Finn? With the obv exception of Freya. But would she have undaggered him immediately? 🤔

Great question, thank you for asking. This is just my opinion so if anyone has other ideas feel free to add to this and make it a discussion. (I do not proof read, I can only hope this is legible)

The reasons offered by canon definately contribute to Finn’s siblings keeping him daggered. The two main ones to me (from canon) are that Finn’s morality made him a difficult person to be around and that he hated being a vampire, they were worried about him.

I mean, Klaus was willing to let Elijah believe that he had tossed all his siblings into the ocean where they could never be reached, just because he found Elijah’s moral crusade annoying. Finn hated everything about vampirism and he let them know. He complained about their bloodlust, how easily they gave into their bloodlust, how unnatural they species was — if you were already struggling with what you’d become and you were trying to make the most out of it, this shit is the last thing you need to hear. I always assume this stifling morality of his is what they’re talking about when they call him dull.

Elijah brings up the concern that Finn would be a danger to himself. Honestly, if they were running from Mikael and his siblings could see him consider just giving in and dying every time, that’s scary. And I know what people say, “he had Sage, he was the happiest he had ever been.” Sure. But you can’t expect a depressed person to stop being depressed just because they’re in love, so why would they think that loving Sage would make Finn content being a vampire. (H/C Finn was depressed as a human, vampirism amplified that, being a vampire added to it. Finn struggled to connect to his siblings after Freya. They had probably never seen him struggling like that until they were forced together with volatile emotions. It’s hard to watch people you care about, who you’d always seen as strong, break down).

Once Finn has been daggered for a while, it’s easy to leave him that way. He was hard to be around. I don’t think they ever actually forgot him or that they were purposefully abandoning him, like Finn thought, but I do think he slipped their mind. It was easier without him, they had their own issues to worry about, and vampires don’t feel the passage of time. Also, they didn’t know it was hurting him. This is a big thing to remember. As far as the rest of the Mikaelsons are concerned, a dagger to the heart is a magic pause button. It’s annoying but it was never meant to hurt Finn. Would they still have done it if they knew? That’s a different question that I won’t go into, but it’s worth a thought. These reasons apply to all his siblings, I’ll try not to repeat them.

First thing I consider is that Klaus had just killed the Brotherhood of Five before undaggering his siblings, and so is suffering from the Hunter’s Curse for the first 53 years of Finn being daggered. (I like to think it kicking in is one of the reasons he didn’t undagger Finn)

Klaus is literally obsessed with his family, he probably didn’t like that Finn was off with Sage all the time. Remember this guy kills all his siblings’ lovers, and maybe he hasn’t started that yet or Sage is the exception bc she came before that urge or he can recognise that these two are actually devoted to each other unlike the other lovers he’s killed. I mean, even 900 years later Klaus still hadn’t killed her. I’m sure she’s a survivor (and don’t get me started on the possible relationship dynamics between Sage and the rest of the Mikaelsons), but if Klaus wanted her dead then she probably would be. He’s an original. They’re only beatable in the shows bc you can’t overpower regularly appearing characters or there would be no conflict.

So initially, I think Klaus’ reason is his paranoia and fear of his siblings leaving him, enhanced by the Hunters Curse. I actually like to think that by having one of his siblings daggered and therefore unable to harm or leave him, was probably a great comfort for him during this time. Although that would have lessened when the curse ends, the sentiment continues. Klaus needs to know where his family are, and he needs to keep them safe from Mikael. He’s a little control freak and this is a great way for him to exercise that and keep his wandering brother close by.

My understanding of Elijah is that he takes responsibility for pretty much everything that happens in his family and whilst he may have preferred to undagger Finn, he always prioritises Klaus over the rest of his family (from the guilt over Mikael and Aurora, until the anger at Klaus effectively killing their family for good outweighs that, then it comes back). If Elijah considered daggered!Finn to be a benefit to Klaus whilst under the Hunter’s Curse, he’s absolutely gonna allow it. It’s benefitting Klaus, and it’s ‘not hurting’ Finn. So why wouldn’t he? He’s probably defending the idea, and laying it out as though it’s the most reasonable option.

I think Rebekah was definitely pro-undaggering Finn. But I think she’d find Elijah’s justifications convincing. She’d probably feel the most guilty about it, so she’d try not to think about it. Still, she’s much closer to Klaus and Elijah than her other brothers.

I don’t think Kol minded much. Finn was a good ten years older than him and if they were ever close it would probably be more parental than fraternal, to cope with Mikael and Esther’s poor parenting and the trauma of Finn losing Freya and then struggling to connect to his siblings. They seem to have had a somewhat hostile relationship from at least the Martell period (pretty typical of siblings ngl) but Kol seemed most antagonised by Finn’s betrayal in TVD (indicative of a closer relationship than with Esther). I personally think his loss of magic and lack of control over his thirst probably made him the most affected by Finn’s anti-vampire campaign. Kol seems to like trying to ignore the pain a situation causes him by drowning it out (loss of magic leads to extra bloodlust). I think he was glad not to have to deal with it and if he ever felt bad? Well, it was Klaus that kept him in the box. Not Kol.

+

I think the important thing to consider with Freya is that she’s just as desperate for her family as Klaus is. If she got to them earlier then she would absolutely undagger Finn. He’s her baby brother, he’s the only one who would be able to remember her, and there is no way she’ll be able to convince The Original Vampires that she is their witch-sister-who-‘died’-and-even-if-she-hadn’t-she-would-defo-be-dead-over-one-hundred-years-later without Finn or Esther (or even the threat of Dahlia) there to back up her claims. Freya would undagger him immediately out of both sentiment and practicality. The only reason she wouldn’t undagger him is if she was convinced it would harm him, and his “suicidal tendencies” would not cut it for her. Tbh I think Freya would think that it’s an exaggeration and that she could help fix it. So yeah, if Freya is out then so is Finn.

(A Doylist answer would be that he was invented right before his first appearance and they kept him daggered so he would be pissed at them and put his Cain instincts into play. Also laziness. But that’s boring so Watsonian answers only.)

[josiesaltzmanstyle]

Malivore

This marks the first (and quite possibly the only) time Josie spends the whole episode in the same outfit, which makes sense, as the events of the plot seem to take place over one day.

She's kept her hair pretty similarly styled to the episode before, and I still think it's a great style on her!

And we have another Modcloth sweater, this time in navy! This is par for the course for season one Josie, but cute all the same. The bell sleeves we'll see below are a continuation from the last episode (a detail of that red cropped sweater I totally forgot to mention), but the zigzagged stripes (again—somewhat hard to see due to lighting) are new.

And, of course, she accessorizes by attaching an isolated white ruffle collar and a yellow shoe-string tie we'll shortly see matches her skirt. As of now, she can be very predictable when it comes to her accessory choices. Though I don't think it's the same one she wore in the last episode. The idea that she owns multiple is both telling and adorable.

It also looks like she's wearing these pearl-hook Angara earrings she wore in the first episode! I've been very pleasantly surprised by how the costuming department has been incorporating pieces multiple times, and I'm excited to see if it continues on. Also notable because Lizzie's rocking pearl earrings of her own, though there are two and they seem slightly bigger. #twingoals

Later on, we see she's paired the sweater with this yellow fringe skirt with a row of buttons at three sides! I was surprised to learn this skirt is part of a set that goes with a matching crop top. It's interesting that she chooses not to wear it directly after the first episode we saw her wear one in. I wonder if she wore it under her sweater? I would guess not, but I can't tell for sure one way or another.

She's also got another pair of gold earrings set above them. I can't quite make out the shape (they're somewhat jagged, like an arrow, but I'm not sure).

She also wears bright red tights under the skirt. Primary colors galore! The color palette reminds me a bit of the palette from 1.04, as both coordinate blue, yellow, and red, but it's a little more of a traditionally studious look.

I couldn't get a good shot of her shoes, but they're strappy black platform heels. While I'm not sure, I believe they could be these Aldo heels wornontv lists her wearing in 3.03. It's possible they had them that early, and that was just the first time they were able to be identified. But who knows!

This is definitely another solid look for Josie, so I'm definitely happy to choose it as my favorite look of the episode (even if there ARE no other looks, lmao). Here she is:

[papatundespainknife]

was reminded again about how much i HATE the shows names for the mikaelsons bc they DON’T MAKE FUCKING SENSE FOR 10TH CENTURY NORSEMEN. So i’m gonna throw out here the names i used for them on my very short lived klaus and elijah blogs (burn out is real lol). the idea here was that these were their names they were given/born with which they later change around to the ones we know them by to you know, keep up with the times a lil better.

first off the last names are now MíMISSON and MÍMISDÓTTIR because tHaT’s HoW nOrSe LaSt NaMeS wOrK.

Mímir = Mikael Mímir is a famous character in Scandinavian myth. He was a wise man and advisor to Odin who was decapitated in the Æsir–Vanir War. Odin did some witchcraft to preserve his head and now keeps it in the well at the bottom of Yggdrasil and asks him shit. It just feels like the kinda thing parents would name their kid with optimism he’d grow up Wise and favored by Odin but then he turns out Like That. Picks Mikael later on because he would be the time to associate himself with a divine messenger warrior angel who 1v1′d Satan. The prick.

Eistla = Esther Frankly the one I’m least likely to actually USE the canon name for outside of meta and general fandom talking and only for clarity reasons. Since she died in the 10th century and isn’t around again until the 21st century for a hot minute there’s really no need to figure out a new name for her. Derived from “Eist/Oast” which means like “Pyre/Embers/Fire/Etc” also the name of Jotunn.

Freya = Freya No notes for obvious reasons. Fun fact tho, Freya is just the feminine form of Freyr which means “Lord/Master” or “Fertile” which tracks with how both Freya and Freyr are associated with fertility. Freya is the Vanir goddess oflove, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future) so I mean, she’s very accurately named lol.

Finnbjǫrn = Finn Honestly again another dude who didn’t really change his name because he was in a box for 900 years but also lucked out that Finn’s both a nickname for his own name and like, A Normal Ass Name to this day. Finn usually refers to Finland/Lapland and björn/bjǫrn means “bear/warrior”. Which like honestly, yes so real, such vibes for my specialest boy.

Eylaugr = Elijah Eylaugr is the male form of Eylaug and is built from “Ey” which means “island” or “floodplain” and Laug which in old germanic means “to celebrate marriage/to swear a holy oath/to be dedicated” and is likely related to the old Norse “Laug/Log” which means “bath (in connection with religious worship)”. Likely picked Elijah due to the auditory similarity to help with like, fucking remembering it and responding to it (honestly a major factor for all of them lbr) but also keeps the holy vibes aesthetic since Elijah is a prophet and miracle worker and I think he’d appreciate that through line of like, aesthetic continuity.

Næskunungr = Nikalus Combination of “Nes” (ness/spit of land) and “Konung” (king). Old Norse neskonungr = 'ness-king', 'small-king'; one who has no more than a ness over which to rule. Which like, god SUCH A BURN EVEN FROM YOUTH. I’d just been looking for something that sounded reasonably close to “Niklaus” on an auditory level but then I saw the breakdown of the parts and was like “oh yeah, that’s Klaus”. Like you could see it as parents being like “aw little king baby :)” or “look at this napeleon complex motherfucker even before napeleon complexes are a THING” and I think that’s beautiful. Goes with Niklaus later because again, reasonably close to Næskunungr in sound and also means “Victor of the people” and I mean...... Yeah.... He’d do that.....

Ragrifridr/Ragnfríðr = Rebekah Built from “regin” (advise/decision/might/power (of the gods) ) and “fríðr” (beautiful/beloved/good/alive/peaceful/safe). She absolutely picked it for the sound and vibes and nothing else but it does mean “Moderator, To Tie, Noose, To Bind, Captivating, Strong Combatant, Hearty”. Which does feel very good for her so like, 10/10 on that front

Kolr = Kol Again another one who gets no notes. Stunning, perfect, flawless. Kol/Kolr in old Norse just means “coal” so like, lol okay I see we gave up around here I guess.

Heðinn = Henrik Heðinn means “jacket of fur or skin” in Old Norse. I’ve already given some leeway in places like Finn’s name which is more finnish than it is norwegian but I gotta draw the line somewhere and I’m doing it at Henrik’s german ass name. Again another one who would’ve never used their canon name because he’s Fuckin’ Dead. Tried to pick something was from the right rough area and sounded similar enough and then I saw the meaning of this name and was like “oh that’s some nice foreshadowing if I’ve ever seen it”.

BONUS ROUND--

Since I’m the boss now and say that Sage is from the same time period here’s a more timeline appropriate name for her too

Sannhild = Sage Built of the Old Norse: sannr (true/truthful) and “hildr” (battle/fight). Mainly picked for the auditory closeness to Sage and vibes.

[loveakii]

my stance on klayley is that there’s lingering romantic feelings somewhere in there that comes from their connection as survivors & ruthless protectors, them having a child together and the understanding/companionship that comes with that and just general physical attraction to each other given the hook up. but there’s also friendship and family love, and then there’s anger and resentment and betrayal and it all gets snowballed into one big feeling that can’t be compartmentalized. and the bond and love is strong enough that it can survive in any form, be it friends, family or romantic partners. maybe it could be all three, but for the show, it just wasn’t gonna lead with the romance part for them and i’m satisfied with that, and i would’ve still been satisfied if they did have them officially get together and be endgame. when i think about them and what could’ve been vs what we did get it feels less like i’m missing out and more like: they love each other in every universe and in every universe that love looks a little bit different.

anyway if you have klayley fics sharing is caring

[andreal831]

It didn't matter who would win in a fist fight, Kol and Klaus knew what Elijah was capable of when pushed too far.

[nklsdttr]

* hope often wears either high heels or heeled boots to avoid getting cricks in her neck from having to look up at people all the time because she's so damn short

[hyperactivewhore]

In your opinion who is the best mother in the TVD universe? I think it has to be Hayley. She had made a lot of mistakes, but at the end of the day, Hope has never once doubted that her mother truly and unconditionally loved and supported her. Hayley practically raised Hope by herself. All Hayley wanted is for Hope to have a normal, happy childhood. And unlike many people I don’t think she ever abandoned Hope. Yes, she sent her away to the Salvatore school - but I think that’s because she knew that Hope couldn’t live a normal life in New Orleans and she thought that the best chance of Hope having a semi normal childhood is if no one knew who she was. And in legacies, it’s said that she still visited Hope at school frequently.

Hayley Marshall without a doubt was the best mother in tvdu, especially considering the events regarding her pregnancy, daughter and her daughter's family.

Hayley loved Hope from the very beginning, don't bring up how she tried to abort Hope because that's just rubbish: she wanted to do it because it would be better for both of them, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it. Claiming Elijah was the first person to care about Hope is so wrong, he didn't give a damn about the fetus but what it could mean to Klaus and his fucked up family at the beginning, he only saw his niece as her own person when she was fifteen years old.

Motherhood was forced upon Hayley and she had no other choice but to accept it, Klaus and Elijah made that very clear and it sickens me how people brush over Hayley herself saying how terrified and scared she was during this period of her life. She was barely an adult, thrown into the most dangerous family to ever live just because she happened to carry a baby and was killed twice because of that same family.

Saying Hayley was a bad mother is crazy, she loved Hope and put her above everyone almost always (I won't praise her for this, though, loving your child is the bare minium a decent parent should do) even if it was above people she cared about. People always bring up how she "stole" Hope in season two to try to put her in a bad light and it's embarrassing every time.

Was it a dangerous and risky choice? Obviously, yes, but Klaus, the father of her daughter, was jeopardizing Hope at the time with his paranoia and refusal to trust his family, and at the time everyone believed he had killed Aiden, a member of Hayley's pack, of course she would panick and run away with their kid. It was wrong nonetheless because she was putting in danger her whole pack, her husband, her daughter and herself, but I'll never blame her for it considering how much shit she went through only because of the Mikaelson.

Like Klaus, Hayley was scared too and this is often "forgotten" by the fandom: like him, she never had any good parent, but this didn't make her stop talking to Hope suddenly. The fandom often justifies Klaus abandoning Hope because he had daddy issues and because of The Hollow, but was it that hard to write letters, answer her phone calls? He ghosted his own daughter when she was nine because she saw him murdering someone, but somehow Klaus is the better parent in tvdu and the one Hope loved the most. Make it make sense.

Caroline was away too from her daughters, but she didn't ghost them the way Klaus did. Hayley was co-leading New Orleans, a whole city full of supernatural creatures, but she didn't abandon Hope either: as you said, Josie herself said she used to come to Mystic Falls frequently just for her daughter. Sending Hope away to school after nearly dying and losing her father was too soon, and while Legacies made everything they could to make these women look like bad mothers (Hope being basically depressed as a child, wanting to belong into the Saltzman family, her line in season three "my mom and dad will come back for me" - though I'm not sure if it should consider it proof, considering it was a weird Star Wars episode -, Lizzie feeling neglected by her mother, etc) they simply weren't.

Caroline and Hayley were both forced to be mothers and both proved to be better than everyone in the series. People should start criticizing the actual bad parents in this show instead of them.

[veilguardian]

tag drop; will vandom