Do you think the Mikaelsons would have had different dynamics if they weren't born in that order? Like if Klaus was older than Elijah, or Rebekah older than them?

I think it could make some slight differences but I also think a lot of their behavior is just their personality/trauma responses.

For example, Elijah's behavior has more to do with what was happening in their family while he was born/young rather than his birth order. How Elijah behaves, he seems like he would be an eldest child, but he is actually a middle child. However, because his family had lost Freya and was going through a turbulent time, a lot of pressure and responsibility was put on him. He steps up and acts like the oldest sibling.

Same thing with Rebekah. Yes, she is the baby and often acts like it and is treated like it from her siblings. However, it is also because they had lost Freya and she was the only girl. Even if she had been born the oldest, they still would have treated her like the baby if they had lost Freya. She also lived through a lot of time periods where women were treated as second class citizens and that affects how she interacts with the world and even how her siblings view her.

Kol would be Kol no matter where he was born. He has a very independent nature and likely wouldn't have stepped up if he was the oldest. Not because he can't handle responsibility, but because he wouldn't allow his siblings to be pawned off on him like Elijah did. He probably would have taken off earlier if he had been the oldest.

Finn never acted like the oldest sibling. A big part of this is because he was traumatized as a youngest sibling. He loved Freya and clearly holds onto those memories, when he was the youngest with a big sister looking after him. After he lost Freya and became a big brother, he never took on the role of the big brother. Rather he behaved as if he was an only child. If he had been born last, maybe he would have felt closer to his family because he wouldn't be so traumatized by losing Freya and wouldn't have developed an unhealthy attachment to his mother. But it was that trauma that influenced him more than his birth order.

Freya is an interesting one because, while she is the oldest, she is also the youngest. Yes, she was born first, but she also has the least amount of life experience. Even Finn was awake more than her over the thousand years. I wish the show would have played more into this. She wanted to be the oldest and take on the responsibilities of the family but she didn't know how. The family was so used to letting Elijah fill that spot that they had trouble letting Freya take over. Freya does have a take charge personality so even if she had been born last or in the middle, she likely would still partner up with Elijah to take care of the rest of them.

Klaus is the only one who really felt like his birth order. He is very much the stereotypical middle child. He loves to boss his baby siblings around but also loves to sit back and let his older siblings clean up his mess. Although, I don't think him being born in a different order would affect his behavior. A lot of the time he is pretending to be the "leader" of the family while Elijah is handling things behind the scene. He is also very much treated like the baby of the family by Elijah and Rebekah and even Freya at times. A lot of his behavior is from how Esther and Mikael treated him as a child. Esther seemed to baby him and, of course, Mikael abused him. This dynamic stunted his emotional growth. And again, this wasn't because of his birth order but because of his parents.

Thanks for the ask!

elena gilbert + 8

...a headcanon I have about this character.

I think my biggest headcanon for Elena is actually that she has depression and PTSD. This isn’t really a headcanon, it’s actually canon, but since it was never addressed, I’m going to call it one.

Since the beginning, we see Elena as a very melancholy girl, who visits graveyards and writers in her diary. We are also told that she used to be fun, but isn’t any longer. All this is quite typical of grief, especially when it’s just been a few months, but then she has what is possibly the worst year of her life and by the time season 3 comes around, she’s completely drained, struggles to keep going and is depressed. I think this is part of the reason I keep gravitating towards her in season 3.

I could write her at any other point in her life, but by season three, she is drained and depressed, and suffering from PTSD, especially because of the sacrifice, prank night and the infamous scene on the bridge where Stefan threatens to kill her. All of this is unaddressed, because of course the female lead is piled upon with trauma without anyone addressing it, as opposed to the male leads, but this isn’t about them, so I won’t say anything.

Another headcanon I have is that I truly believe she’s attracted to the darkness, and that’s because she has it in her. We see hints of it time and again, when she first sees a vampire die, she easily compartmentalises it as a vampire’s death being different than a humans, we see it again when she plays Elijah and again when she makes a deal with Klaus. Unfortunately, we rarely see this side of her, instead we have Stefan and Damon fighting her battles for her. But, my opinion remains that Elena is quite ruthless when she wants to be. (And anyway, exploring these HCs is what fics are for).

I have a couple more, but they’re relatively minor compared to this. Thank you so much for the ask, and I’m sorry about how long it took me to get to it.

Oh god what happened

Ok, so, I'm on one of my dating apps, and I matched with a dude.

His profile is good, he's got decent pictures, he's a little bit older than me, and I'm thinking, 'Ok, let's give this one a shot".

Well, we matched, and I was still swiping, so I didn't say anything right away. Then I closed the app, and went to go do something else that I needed to do.

A few minutes later, I get a message. So, I open the app, check it, and immediately block him. You'd never guess what this dude's first words to me were.

You know that one movie quote that's like "You should write a book. How to offend women in five syllables or less". Yeah, what he said could go in there.

His first words to me?

"Bark for me"

Like, what the hell?!?!? I don't know you, and now I'm extremely uncomfortable. Like I said, it was a whole fucking experience.

I feel grossed and creeped out now. Not as badly as when people twice my age try to hit on me, but still.

Fandom acotar

❤️, 😍, 🐰

❤ favorite character

Gwyneth Berdara. It's impossible to not like her, and if someone DOES have a problem with her, they're wrong.

😍 character you have a crush on

Cassian. Hands down.

🐰 favorite non- human character

The Suriel. Spill that tea!

I feel like a lot of fandom’s questions can be answered by either:

1. He’s gay.

2. They’re in a closet.

And also very often by:

3. They’re CRAZY!!!

fic writer asks - 5, 11, 20

okay, let's see...

5. what fic of your own won’t you read?

probably fear is a crime (we'll be hanging side by side), because in my head i had it planned out to be this big, arching thing. multiple chapters and different povs and that didn't happen. but i still wanted the idea out there, so i wrote it, but i'm a bit disappointed at how it turned out to be less than what was in my head.

11. Has a fic you’ve written ever caused issues/controversy?

i sure hope not! no one's ever said anything to me, so i'm assuming not.

20. What’s the greatest gift you’ve gotten from your writing?

this is going to sound so freaking corny, but probably when people comment and talk to me about my ideas? i wrote professionally for a couple years and that was so draining. even though i made money from it, it kind of ruined my love of the craft. but now that i'm writing fic, that love of it is back! and a huge part of that is the genuine happiness that comes with talking to people about a shared interest.

reading fic has resulted in me making some fantastic friends - it's how i met you, after all!

Shipping isn't trying to explain why a relationship is actually canon. It's not even trying to explain why it should or could be canon. Shipping is saying "wouldn't it be funny if these two fucked" and everyone needs to remember that.

saw a post this morning that got me thinking about bookbinding and the inherently transformative and collaborative nature of fandom, so:

edit: i guess i should have clarified: hand-bound books for PERSONAL use, not for profit or resale! i think that's something obvious to me as a bookbinder but not to writers/artists so i thought i'd clarify

Maizula nation please where r u

oh look, we got real BTS footage of david tennant getting out of that box they keep him in between the shootings

(gif)

Do youn think Esther loved all of her children equally and how her relation with Elijah was?

I think Esther is a lot more of a complex character than people want her to be. It's easier if she can just be painted as an awful mother. But it is clear Esther did love her kids, all of them. Just differently. I don't think you can truly measure love in quantity, but she definitely had favorites and least favorites.

Esther loved Freya so much that losing Freya fundamentally changed who she was. She wanted to be a mother so badly that she was willing to do anything to make it happen. People often blame her more for trading Freya for the ability to have children, but don't blame Dahlia for making her own sister trade away her first child. Esther was young when she made that deal and didn't fully know what it meant. She also probably naively believed her sister wouldn't steal her child. But she loved Freya dearly.

Esther also loved Finn a great deal however their relationship grew twisted and toxic because of the loss they both shared. She essentially trauma bonded with her four year old child. Finn's trauma is rarely discussed but it is clear that his mother became his safety after losing Freya. He would do anything for her and Esther exploited this at times and even used him for emotional support. She did love Finn, but the trauma colored that love.

Elijah is her least favorite child. She basically admits it when she tells Klaus that he brought joy to their lives and made them a family again after losing Freya. She was heavily pregnant with Elijah when she lost Freya meaning Elijah's birth and multiple years of life did not bring their family joy or make them feel like a family. Although it's important to remember that while pregnant, she lost her child and moved across the ocean to a new land where she was alone with a volatile husband as this was also the period where Mikael starts becoming a bad/potentially abusive husband. I can't imagine she didn't experience some level of post-partum depression after having him. To top it off, Elijah favors Dahlia more than either of his parents. He likely reminded her of her sister and everything she had lost.

She views Elijah as more of a second parent. She expects him to always behave and keep his siblings in line. When the others step out of line, she has more sympathy for them. She offers Finn, Kol, Klaus, and Rebekah second chances in witch bodies but tortures Elijah, mocking him for what he is and that he is no longer her "noble son." We never see any exchanges between Elijah and Esther that have any type of warmth. This doesn't mean she didn't love him, but hey have a very strained/neglectful relationship.

Klaus is her favorite child. He was the only child she had with the man she truly loved. Even though Klaus seemed to get the brunt of Mikael's anger, he also gets the most protection from Esther. To the point that Finn is jealous of this attention. Klaus arguably did the absolute most vile deeds that should disgust Esther but she still showed love and compassion to him. He was the problematic child that could do no wrong.

Kol is pretty low on the ranks but still above Elijah simply because he had magic. Esther would have wanted to pass on her magic somewhere even is she wasn't truly practicing. She would have loved it but also feared it. Kol would have also driven her crazy because he was always so independent and often getting in trouble.

Rebekah has a special place in her mother's heart as the only daughter she had after losing Freya. It would have been painful at first as she looked so much like the child Esther lost, but she would have viewed it as a second chance. Rebekah always had a soft spot for Esther and losing her mother devastated her.

Henrik is pretty high at the top simply because he is the youngest. Henrik seemed to have a happy spirit from the few brief moments we see him. The baby of the family is always special. His death sent Esther into such a spiral that she created vampirism.

None of this means I think Esther is an awful mother. There are definitely terrible things she does, but at the end of it, she truly loved her children. Was she the best mother in the word, no. But we have to remember she was a young woman who was also a victim.

Thanks for the ask!

For the ship ask—Kol and Elena!

What made you ship it?

Honestly, the fact that Kol and Elena don’t have any history. (I started shipping them before s4 aired, so Elena killing Kol hadn’t happened by that point.)

But the fact that Kol was one of the only vampires on the show at that point who didn’t have any history with Tatia or Katherine intrigued me, because it meant he saw Elena as her own person, without any comparisons. There’s also the fact that Kol is the wildest Mikaelson, and barring some improvisations, Elena is a planner which makes me think they’d contrast each other well. Oh, and School Boy! Such a cute Kolena fanfic, and one of my all time favs.

What are your favourite things about this ship?

My favourite thing is how quickly it descends into madness and the potential for angst. Kol and Elena being together in s3, but Elena still forming a sire bond with Damon. Kol not knowing about it because Elena sends him away. Kol not having it in him to kill Elena’s brother so he compels Damon to do it. Elena, prioritising her sire, plans to kill Kol. Draws him to her house under the guise of getting back together while actually believing she loves Damon more and Kol dying. Him finding out about the sire bond while he’s on the Other Side and watching her devolve in grief, and then using his one day back on earth to try and help her break the bond, so her mind can be her own. My absolute favourite thing though, is that Kol is a very dark character but I can easily explore that aspect of him without him wanting to hurt Elena. Because Kol would never actually hurt someone he loves.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

That they’d be an extremely chaotic power couple, because they’d balance each other very well. Kol’s cunning with Elena’s willingness to do whatever it takes could be dangerous for anyone who tries to go against them.

I see u in my notes :3 hello

Hello friend! Yes, I am working on my W.I.P. I'm just doing it on paper. Partially because my computer is being an ass.

💐 and 🤝

Okay. So this has aged a little bit. But I didn't know what my answers might be.

Comfort character:

I'm gonna have to say Cassian? Like, he's the perfect blend of humor, fierce protectiveness and loyalty, and strength. It just gives me all the feelings.

Character I most identify with:

This was hard. Like, really hard. We read a lot of books with strong, badass female main characters, and I don't identify with that a lot of the time. But for this I'm going to say Feyre and Gwyn. I haven't experienced trauma in the same ways as these characters have, but I feel like they both still somehow have this inner strength and light and hope for the future even though they may not always see that for themselves or what they thought their lives could have been at certain points. That, in particular, is something that I can really grab onto.

do you think freesia and jd would ever get back together? or will they stay sort-of friends?

I'm not going to lie, I kinda like the idea of them starting to date again and seeing where it takes them. 🙈 freesia sneaked into my heart for some reason (she kind of started this new trend of mine where i make ocs that were created to be dicks and then me just getting protective of them and trying to reason out their awful behavior kasjsdj)

also their ship already has a #1 hater and #1 supporter, both of which are doing it for the wrong reasons...

Funfact, that little squeak Alastor does when he's first introducing Rosie and she dusted off his sleeve is an actual noise a baby fawn. Z

YEEEESSSSS I've seen people talking about it on twitter this is the cutest little detail about him I'm gonna cry like actually

Find yourself a bestie you're so comfortable with you start making little fawn noises. They are so perfect AAAAHHHH

Also, kind of unrelated but since we're talking about Alastor noises, in the french dub he makes a little "AH" sound when Vaggie interrupts his breakfast it's very subtle but it's so cute as well so I wanted to share it