Rewatcing TVD season 5 and I'm on 5x04 where Stefan has his memory loss and I'm having a lot of Steroline thoughts so I'mma just dump 'em all here.

So first thing that happens is drunk Stefan calls Caroline hot when he first sees her, establishing that he does find her attractive on a baseline level. Meaning, he probably would've noticed her when he came to Mystic Falls if he wasn't so distracted by having found a doppelgänger of the girl that turned him into a vampire.

Then there's the difference between how Elena and Caroline handle amnesia!Stefan's bloodlust. Elena, in classic her-fashion, makes it all about herself. You were a great boyfriend to me. You never scared me. So, naturally, when he tries to kiss her and she tells him she's with his brother now, he feels betrayed and runs off. Elena tried to get him to remember by recreating how they met, she distracts him from his bloodlust by telling him all about their relationship. It works temporarily, but this makes it so that Stefan ties his control to being around Elena ("Whatever monster I was capable of being, I could see why I was different around you.") so when he finds out about her and Damon, his control goes down with their relationship.

But when Caroline sees him feeding on Jessie, she tells him, "This isn't you. Okay, you might not remember, but I do. You are better than this! You are not this person." Not only does she solely tie it to who Stefan is as a person, but as a byproduct, she informs Stefan that he has other people who care about him besides his ex and brother. It's no wonder she's the only one he trusts after that. And then she and Stefan agree on a plan for her to call him every hour to check in, because Caroline prioritises making sure Stefan's okay before making sure that he remembers. ("I don't want my brother's advice. I don't wanna hear how I supported you, Elena. [...] Don't worry, I'm not gonna go on a ripper binge. Besides, Caroline said she'd call me every hour to make sure I was okay, and, uh... I actually do trust her.")

And then there's the scene in the Salvatore Tomb before Bonnie's funeral where Stefan comforts Caroline. It's in my, like, top 10 scenes of theirs at least. ("Me. You have me. Look, you were there for me last night. Sounds like you're always there for me. So let me be there for you.") Elena told him that he always showed her and others compassion, but that doesn't do much when she disrespected him by lying by omission about their history and the fact that she left him for his brother. Caroline tells him that he's a compassionate person and then backs it up by showing him compassion. So when Stefan sees her hurting, he wants to return that. He puts his own worries aside for the time being, asks her what's wrong, says he wishes he could remember Bonnie, offers physical comfort and tells her he'll still be there for her despite him not remembering their friendship, because he sees how much she does for him and others and he knows she deserves it.

i've seen you answer a few questions about tvd so i thought i might ask, what are your thoughts on the main love triangle? and klaus/stefan?

As a caveat: I did not watch much further than the first few episodes of season 4, in fact I ragequit when one of the writers revealed we wouldn't be seeing Elijah on screen again until 4x20 at which point I thought, "Well I simply won't watch until 4x20 then".

And then 4x20 was a backdoor pilot to the spinoff The Originals and I simply watched that show instead.

All this to say, I was 100% a gung ho Vampire Diaries fan and you can tell by how closely I was following it, sadly the only TVD I know of would be the first three seasons. Same actually goes for The Originals, as I for reasons I don't remember wasn't able to access episodes post-season 3 so I wound up not knowing what happens after Hayley drives off with the entire family hibernating in her truck either.

Another disclaimer: it's been more than ten years since I watched this show and my memory may fail me at times.

With that:

The main love triangle

Having only seen the first three seasons, I think that Damon wishes quite badly he was a different man, and he is unable to take responsibility for his life and relationships being what they are. He would rather blame his failings on Stefan, and, whenever Stefan fails or falls short in some ways, it's immensely validating to Damon because who's the bad brother now?

His love for Katherine is not only about Katherine, but about being chosen by someone over Stefan. Because, as Damon will try to tell himself, just because she was sleeping with both of them and decided to turn them both, doesn't mean she didn't prefer Damon (after all, she had to compell Stefan, while Damon slept with her willingly. Victory for Damon!), and also- look, don't question Damon on this. It's fine and he's a well adjusted man, and once he has rescued his lady love from her tomb she'll tell him how much better he is than Stefan.

Enter Elena, who looks exactly like Katherine, is living in Mystic Falls just the same as Katherine, and who has drawn Stefan's interest.

Damon, eternally pulling Stefan's pigtails and being a goddamn creep, starts creeping on Elena, this does not work. Instead, however, he learns that Katherine faked her entombment, and has in fact been living her best life for the past 150 years. Worse, Damon and Stefan were never more than boytoys to her.

Cut to Elena, who is just as beautiful (in a very literal sense of the term), only she is kind, genuinely loves Stefan, the polar opposite of Katherine in every way.

Damon transfers his emotions from Doppelganger B to Doppelganger C.

Stefan, meanwhile, seems to... fall in with Elena, for lack of a better way to put it. They meet, he is confused about the resemblance to Katherine for long enough to get to know her, by which time he's into it, and Elena sees a very handsome and pleasant man who is easy to fall for.

The trouble with Stefan is I don't really have a grip on his character, he is... there, for three seasons, and he has his character moments and his speeches, I can tell you things about his personality except I can't.

He is one of those people you can know for years but never actually know who, having killed his father and become the Ripper for so many years, seems to be that he is running away from himself. That is the only way I can interpret his strange nothingness, as well as bizarre decisions like coming to live with his nephew Zach and attend high school.

I think Stefan wants to surround himself with people, form relationships with them, and through that find a sense of identity that he can enjoy. Which is where loving Elena comes in, as she is kind, generous, mature, vulnerable, and fun- the type of person you can lose yourself in, and have those simple moments of happiness Florence Welch sings about.

In other words, while my real ship here is Elejah, Stelena trumps Delena any day.

Klaus and Stefan

Klaus is a deeply sad person who is only interested in dating two people, and they are his sister Rebekah and his brother Elijah. At the time he met Stefan Elijah wasn't around, so Stefan became replacement Elijah.

(The proof of the Elijah projection lies in the fact that Klaus was fine with Stefan sleeping with Rebekah. He is historically not fine with outsiders doing this, you have to be family for Klaus to accept these things.)

"Look, Elijah," Klaus would imagine himself saying to Elijah, "I have a new brother now and he is hotter, cooler, and not a total bore like you! Stefan loves me more anyway," and then Elijah would sit and cry and give Klaus so much attention and it would be great.

As for Stefan, I think he just liked partying.

They probably did fuck, but Klaus is too embarrassing for Stefan to ever admit as much.

The Vampire Diaries Master Post

Shipping

But What About Damon/Bella?

What About the Main Love Triangle (and Klaus/Stefan)?

Elena Gilbert

What if Elena Gilbert and Bella Swan Switched Places?

Stefan Salvatore

What if Edward Cullen Found Stefan Salvatore’s Diary?

Comparing Edward Cullen and Stefan Salvator’s Relationships with Their Love Interests

Damon Salvatore

Evil’s a Strong Word but Damon Salvatore is Not a Nice Dude

Damon Salvatore and His Drunk, Violent, Rage

The Originals

The Last Name Mikkelson

General

The Vampire Diaries is a CW Show

What’s Up with the Inconsistency of The Vampire Diaries? (It’s Still a CW Show)

Thoughts on TVD Vampires

What if TVD Vampires Met Twilight Vampires?

Vampire vs. Twilight Vampire

after however many years I FINALLY CAUGHT UP on all episodes of The Vampire Diaries, and I saved my rambly opinions for the tags on this one line post, but then stupid tumblr stupidly cut me off so here I am, writing an actual post, mostly out of spite.

First and foremost, - I am still not over how much of a Delena person AND Damon Truther I have become over this rewatch and catch up, I was such a Stelena girl way back when. God knows what that says about the difference between teenage me and adult me...

- It’s stupid hard to finish off a TV Show well, especially when you have limited episodes left and the main character has left 2 seasons ago, but they actually did a surprisingly decent job. 8/10 I would say.

Here’s where my issues are though.

- John Gilbert cameo so unnecessary, I hated him, I still hate him, he doesn’t deserve redemption, don’t care.

Actually, I am mostly just mad at the John Gilbert thing, don’t really care about anything else dfghj.

No, okay, hang on, so.

- Grayson Gilbert, similar vibes, don’t care what kind of father he was, dude TORTURED people in his basement for years, do not care for him, even if it’s nice that Elena got reunited with her parents in death, full circle blah blah blah.

- We never got to see ANY glimpse of Damon being human, which would have been so good and such a beautiful moment, especially with them having kids or something, it would have been The Perfect Way to honour Stefan’s sacrifice for him, so a bit mad at that.

- They really did Nina dirty with some of those wigs not gonna lie.

- Speaking of Nina, I adore her for even coming back for the last episode, it’s so cool of her <3 Very appreciative of that, because it would have really sucked to not have her for the ending. On the other hand I wish this had been a longer season, so they could have introduced the idea of Katherine coming back sooner, like a looming threat, her sudden appearance without prior mention or clues felt rushed as fuck.

- Related to this, the last season was a tad bit too dark and suffer-y for my tastes (granted I binged it, which this show was NOT made for AT ALL - too busy, too many storylines, too heavy, marvellous cliff-hangers, needs to settle in for enjoyment) and I wish it had more filler type, funny episodes or even moments. They could have had so much more fun with Damon and Stefan teaming up, being bad guys, that was such a good set up, didn’t see nearly enough of it. Definitely not enough Damon and Bonnie bonding and best friending either, they established their relationship SO beautifully with prison world and then her not forgiving him, and then just spat all over that and swapped it for Enzo stuff. Which.

- Look, I love Enzo. A lot. But this whole romance thing with Bonnie came out of nowhere for me, and I never really warmed up to it. I don’t know if it’s because of the lack of Jeremy closure (MY HEART STILL ACHES) or what, but ugh. I wish, they’d done more Bonnie and Damon bonding, through which we could have had more Damon and Enzo bonding (a big thing for me, a very very big thing for me) and then through all that, I could have got more into the whole Benzo thing. But whatever, she’s travelling, he’s ghosting her, all good, happy for them.

- Speaking of friendship neglect - really could have used more Damon helping Alaric with the girls moments, being DEFENSIVE AS FUCK of the girls, because they are his best friend’s kids. Similarly, I would have loved more Damon and Caroline bonding over their love of Stefan and/or Bonnie moments. And I know there was a bit of that, but would have loved more.

- Tyler. Ugh. I was never fond of Tyler. I think I just never forgave him the outright fucking attempted rape of Vicki in the very first episode. Like I appreciated some of his character development and his storylines, and his whole thing with Liv killing for him, then him killing Liv, that was actually great writing. His death by Damon felt very cheap though, not enough consequences, not enough anything. It just kinda felt pointless. And then he finds peace, with Vicki, I guess? Or just watching Matt get his bench, while Vicki is standing in the vicinity? Dunno. Like I feel like it might have been an actor / show thing, and if it was I hope Michael Trevino was at least satisfied with that ending? I hope? I guess, despite my dislike for him, Tyler’s ending deserved better?

- Obviously all the cheesy parts were sufficiently cheesy, which we all hate, but TV writers get emotional too, I’m sure. And like, I did cry, so there is that. I teared up fairly early on I think, but the crying started with Damon compelling Stefan, that was wow. Just. Fuck. Telling him, he was the big brother ?? Holy shit.

- And I actually loved their endings. Stefan finally seeing something in his brother, doing the hero thing for him one more time, and getting his own happy ending: peace with his best friend. Lexi was so unexpected for me actually and made me very happy. Lexi always makes me very happy.

- Caroline telling Stefan she understood???? Wow. Another cry moment. In a way, they got their happy little wedding, but Stefan needed peace and closure after his long life of suffering and Caroline still had so much more to live for, so I am very at peace with their whole thing. I do love it that they got to get married though. Although, would have LOVED to see more of Stefan bonding with the babies stuff in the last couple episodes.

- Now plot nonsense-wise, Bonnie coming up with some random spell, all the Bennett witches appearing, very cathartic, but super convenient (plus really hated that Emily wasn’t there). But THEN she just casually figured out how to yadda yadda her way out of dying and being alive the same time as Elena again??? No thank you. That was such a meaningful storyline, they wrestled with it so much and I hated how it just WENT AWAY LIKE THAT. I wish they would have tied it to another sacrifice maybe, someone giving up something so that could be possible or whatever, maybe somehow Stefan gave his life for Elena’s or whatever.

- Now, Katherine being the final villain is a genius move, amazing stuff, even if it was a tad bit sudden. The way the necklace thing never went anywhere was a bit frustrating, and like she had zero past connection to Matt’s mum, they could have got a different character involved somehow, that made zero sense, but whatever, that should have been Vicki somehow, I think ???

- Actually, the whole Matt’s family reunion thing was very lost on me. Don’t care the slightest. The whole Maxwell Bell thing was very cool, giving Matt that purpose and background thing, but didn’t need the whole Dad Redemption all over it, reuniting Vicki with a father character we have never seen her with? Do not care at all.

- I wish wish wish, there would have been a moment of trickery where Stefan and Damon somehow played Katherine, tricking her into thinking that maybe they still cared about her. Maybe she could have somehow made Damon choose her or try to desperately seduce him one last time, ooh. Actually here it is: Katherine still arrogantly counts on Damon saving her, despite everything, calculating it into her plan, like she is SURE that Damon will always save her in the end, and that has to happen in order for her plane to work, and for a moment Damon makes her (and the audience) believe that he still has some flicker of love for her and there’s these flashbacks of how much he loved her, but then Damon betrays her, finally ridding himself of Katherine’s influence. Or something like that. That would have really hit the spot for me.

- The school thing’s great, clever set up for the spin-off thingy, very cheesy, but whatever. Jeremy being there, loved it, still mad at Steven R. McQueen for leaving the show (I mean not really, but you know) I hated how plothole-y Jeremy became and stuff, they should have killed him off instead or something.

- Klaroline has been a big thing for me, always, so that was fab as well.

- Stefan opening the door and Damon saying HELLO BROTHER, chef’s kiss. EXCEPT. It could have been Stefan’s room, the exact same position as the first time, and okay I know that’s Insanely Cheesy, but hear me out:

- Damon and Elena are happy, they have kids, Damon honours his brother’s sacrifice by living his human life to the fullest, he sometimes reads his brother’s journals, they have pictures of Stefan all over their place, Damon might glance at one, all nostalgic when he’s teaching the kids something or reading to them, in a ‘wish you could be here to see me do this, brother’ kind of way. Then. They are old and dying. No need for old people makeup, just show me old hands holding each other, hospital beds, whatever. It’s Damon who goes first, he’s now young again in the afterlife, he’s at his brother’s window. Stefan is writing in his journal, looks up, there is Damon. Hello, brother. Exact same as the very first time. Hug, tears, end scene. Elena meets Jenna and her parents (and John fucking Gilbert apparently) on the porch, it’s all very beautiful. There we go.

Okay, I think this is it from me, it’s 3am now and I basically started a rewrite, oops. I finished it, and I am SO glad I did, loved every minute of it, big emotions all over the place. Loved it as a teenager so much, very chuffed I got back into it <3 Loved them all lots. Except for John Gilbert, fuck him.

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

Esther "Mikaelson" and Misogyny

The misogyny in TVDU, in both the writing and the fandom, is exhausting. It comes out so much, especially when it comes to complex women versus complex men. Esther (yes, I know her last name is not Mikaelson), is not one of my favorite characters, she's not even a character I particularly like. But to act like she is an absolute villain with no redeeming qualities is a best misogynist, and at worst blaming a victim of abuse.

Most of the hate for Esther tends to come from certain character stans because they don't like how Esther treated their favorite character or want to shift the responsibility of their favs to Esther so that they don't have to deal with a complex, morally grey character.

Esther is a survivor many times over and we cannot talk about her without first acknowledging that. When she was just a teenager/young adult, her entire family was slaughtered and she and her sister were kidnapped. I know there is a lot of debate in the psychology community regarding Stockholm syndrome, but her falling for Mikael screams a manipulated, traumatized, naïve, young woman.

Esther and Mikael

Whether it was Mikael's intent initially or not, he took advantage of the mental place she was at when they met. People recently have wanted to argue whether or not Esther was abused, but this is not a debate. First, there are many different types of abuse, mental, physical, emotional, financial, etc.

During this time period, while Norse communities tended to give woman more power, Esther was from "outside" their community. Her rank in the community would come directly from her marriage. I personally don't know if she went into her relationship with Mikael in order to gain security or if she was just truly that naïve and wanted love and a family. There is nothing wrong with either. It reminds me of why Hayley decided to try and actually have a relationship with Jackson. Woman have historically had to make hard decisions in order to gain protection. And even if she just wanted to get married and have kids, that is fine. Esther reminds me of Meg March. Her dreams may have been different than Dahlia but that doesn't make them less important.

We see very little of their human lives and it is told from everyone else's perspective except for Esther. We also know that everyone's stories are not accurate. Klaus lied about Esther's death for a thousand years. He also has a tendency from not seeing things through other perspectives. Klaus, and even Elijah, when they talk about their human lives, focus on Mikael's abuse on Klaus because the show centers around Klaus and doing everything they can do to redeem him. There is no benefit to making Esther look complex or going into how living with Mikael impacted her. But it is naïve to say she didn't suffer abuse. She lived in a household with a violent, angry man. Even if he didn't physically hit her, which we honestly don't know but I would find that extremely hard to believe, it is clear he verbally, emotionally, and financially abused her.

People love to say she is a powerful witch and could have stopped him or left, but this is shifting the blame from the abuser to the victim. First, abuse isn't about who is stronger. This logic is completely dismissing so much abuse that happens, especially women abusing men. Yes, Esther is a powerful witch, but if she had no other options outside of Mikael, being powerful doesn't matter. We know she would put Mikael to sleep for long periods to protect her and her children. We don't know if she did anything else, but we have at least one example of her using her magic to intervene. We also know she stopped practicing for a long time because of her fear of dark magic and how the community treated Dahlia.

We also have to acknowledge that Esther had very few choices. Sure, she could kill Mikael but she would have gotten sentenced to death for that. Again, her position in the community came from her connection to Mikael, otherwise she was just another enslaved person from a village they raided. We know how Dahlia was treated. Maybe she could have run off with Ansel and they would have protected her from Mikael, or if he was dead, the villagers, but this is putting her, her children, and the pack in a dangerous situation. Potentially starting a war between the pack and the village for aiding and abetting a kin-slayer. She would also be acknowledging her affair and adultery by woman was met by serious punishments, usually death. After committing matricide, she also wouldn't have claims to Mikael's money or land as an outsider. Maybe in the "new world," but she would have to hide her involvement in his death. Esther would have no money or land of her own as her familial land and money would have been claimed when it was raided.

While women in Norse communities did experience more freedom than other areas of the world at that time, they were still far from free. This is especially true considering how Esther came to this community. While she wasn't enslaved in a way Dahlia was, it is wrong to say she wasn't still enslaved. Her entire village was killed and her and her sister were forced to come to their village and live amongst them as hostages. Esther was kept as a way to keep Dahlia in line. She was not welcomed into the community. This was a common practice during these raids.

The reason I get so angry when people attack Esther as if she wasn't a victim is because real-life victims hear this everyday. Esther's situation perfectly exemplifies the "non-perfect" victim and the fandom perfectly exemplifies how many of these victims are treated.

Esther and Dahlia

Dahlia gets way more slack than Esther because she is a "more perfect victim." But again, we are getting the story from everyone's perspective but Esther. Yes, what Dahlia went through was horrible, but what she put her sister through was also horrible. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

Dahlia had no right to expect Esther to give up her dreams for her, even though she did sacrifice a lot for Esther. She made that decision and took it on. Yes, it was noble, but again, she cannot expect anything for a choice she made. It is just like Klaus expecting his siblings to never leave him and punishing them when they do. Siblings do not owe each other their lives. I would also not blame Dahlia for leaving Esther behind to protect herself.

On top of that, when Esther went to Dahlia and asked for help, she took advantage of the situation and stole her child. I don't care what Esther promised or how much she understood of the situation, clearly at the moment Dahlia came for Freya, Esther did not want to give her up. If we look at it in a modern perspective, a mother who puts her child up for adoption has the right to change their mind because, morally, we understand it is impossible to understand how you will feel until that moment. If a person than steals the child after the mom changes their mind, that's kidnapping. If we look at it from a historical perspective, Norse communities were patriarchal and the children belonged to Mikael. Meaning Esther did not have the ability to "sell" her children.

Dahlia is given a lot of sympathy in the fandom because they relate her story to Klaus, who they spend a lot of time victimizing. So it makes an easy leap to paint Dahlia as the victim and Esther as the "evil" one. But again, we never see how Esther reacted to her sister casting her aside because she wanted love and a family. or how Mikael treated her throughout their relationship. Even if Dahlia ended up being right about Mikael, whether he was always evil or turned evil losing Freya, Dahlia doesn't get to make that decision for Esther. It is hard to watch someone you love get into an abusive relationship, but you can't tell someone what to do with their life. All you can do is try and be there for them when they need help.

Esther and Klaus

Another reason people hate on Esther is because of her relationship with Klaus. I personally think Esther loved Klaus the most because of who his father was. She babies him in a way she never did with the other's. We even see Finn resenting her treatment of Klaus because of it.

Yes, she does give him the necklace which ends up making Mikael target him to "make him strong." But, one, let's blame the abuser and not shift blame to a fellow victim. And two, what would you have her do? Sure the answer is probably, don't have an affair, but then your fav character wouldn't be there. Also, again, she was young and naïve. She also gets more blame for having an affair than Mikael does for beating a child. She made a mistake and did everything she could to protect Klaus from that mistake. Was it misguided, maybe, but her intention was good. She wanted to protect Klaus from Mikael finding out.

The fact that Esther can forgive Klaus for brutally murdering her shows how much she loved him. Her wanting to kill her kids later is honestly understandable. She never knew the side affects of the spell she performed. She watched her children become the worst versions of themselves for a thousand years and felt the guilt for every life they took. She also knew peace existed since she had been on the other side. When she first tried to take their lives, they would have all just gone to the other side. She didn't want them to suffer but wanted the pain they inflicted on the world to end.

The Misogyny of it all

The reason I say it is misogyny, is because every favorite character in this show has done absolutely terrible things. Klaus, and all of the Mikaelsons, are serial killers. It doesn't matter what reasons they had for doing it. Esther had her own reasons for her actions. The fact that people can't acknowledge Esther as a complex character but can do so for Klaus, Damon, Elijah, Stefan, etc. shows that it is based on misogyny. Even the fact that Dahlia, someone who kidnapped and abused a child, gets more love than Esther because Esther isn't a "perfect victim" shows it is rooted in misogyny. Men are allowed to be messy and complex but when it's a woman they are either a victim or pure evil.

I'm not saying there aren't things you can't hate her for. I hated her treatment of Elijah in Season 2 of TO and her plan to harm Hope. But to ignore the complexity of the character and pretend she wasn't a victim is just harmful rhetoric. Women are allowed to be complex and morally grey.

so do you think bonnie needs kids to be happy??

Bonnie doesn’t need kids to be happy. No one needs kids to be happy. Not everyone wants to have kids. But Bonnie does say she wanted the life they Caroline was having with Stefan. Which was having a home, a boyfriend, kids, and a family. She wanted to have something to come home too. She was tired of being alone in the world.

Unlike characters like Hayley, Caroline and Elena. This was the only time Bonnie ever admitted to wanting a future that had nothing to do with anyone else from Mystic Falls.

All Bonnie has ever wanted is family. She immediately wanted to go with Lucy after just meeting her. Despite loving her friends, that connection doesn't feel the same. It makes sense for Bonnie to want to settle down one day and have a family of her own. Children are part of that dream. She's more than just a good friend and a powerful witch. She'd want to create a happy home as a mother. Is having kids a necessity? No but it's what she wants and would make her happy.

Bonnie’s relationship with her mother is strained. Abby never wanted to stay with her or check in unless she’s forced. Rudy kept busy with work and her last memory of him was dying in front of her. Grams is gone. Bonnie’s alone and she didn’t want to stay that way. If the other women could want more for themselves. Why shouldn’t Bonnie? She already spent 8 seasons fixing and caring for her friends. What is the difference if they’re related to her?

TVD writers were able to write an entire five-season-spin-off around the Mikaelson’s, give two seasons around the Gemini coven, and give us six seasons of Liz Forbes. All of those characters are white. The storylines and push for the one black family weren’t there. They written Bonnie to be so disconnected from them and it’s bullshit.

So if Bonnie fans in any way are creating more family for Bonnie. Changing up their lore to sound like a family and not women playing servitude then YES I’m for it.

do you ever think about how josie was scared hope would pick lizzie but really hope had her first girl crush on josie the entire time, similar to how caroline was upset no one ever picked her but then klaus only had eyes for her as soon as he walked into mystic falls?

or are you normal

Petrova Doppelgängers and Femininity

I'm not sure if the show runners and the writers intended to do this, but the Petrova doppelgängers are deeply entrenched in femininity. The one thing that all doppelgängers have in common is that they are always the sufferers. That they are powerful but only because they can be used. And that is exactly how the world has used women for centuries.

Amara’s cast in stone for two thousand years, being the anchor to the other side, her power used to hold up the so called supernatural purgatory. Tatia’s love is twisted, her blood is used to turn the men she loved into monsters. She had a child, presumably from a man who either left her or died. And then she’s killed by the lover turned monster for her blood. Katherine’s child is ripped from her, and when she tries to start a new life, she’s shown a beautiful, romantic future with a lord before it’s ripped away from her too. Before she sees her whole family slain. Elena is entrenched in grief and trauma, her loss is like Katherine’s, but where Katherine’s happened in a single night, Elena’s happened over three years.

Over and over again, the doppelgängers are used for the two most personal things - their blood and their womb. Having children that they can’t raise.

Amara falls in love with a man far more powerful than her and is condemned to an eternity of suffering and punishment for her crime.

Tatia is blamed for coming between two brothers and killed for her crime.

Katherine has her child ripped from her arms, seeing her daughter only once before she’s gone forever. She goes to England and dreams of a perfect life, emboldened by Klaus and his ‘romantic’ pursuit of her. Probably sees dreams of being a lady and a wife and a mother, for she’s a mother without her child.

But when she realises that these are just her dreams and tries to take control of her situation, she’s punished and has to see her entire family dead. Punished because she did not accept death and suffering. It’s telling as well, the way she’s portrayed on the show, the femme fatale, the ‘sexy’ one, the whore to Elena’s Madonna.

The only one who gets sent to hell for her sins.

Elena sees her parents die, Elena’s stuck between two brothers who love her face and her body and her compliance more than they love her. Who loses her aunt despite giving into Klaus and then becomes his human blood bag. Who keeps trying to save Stefan until he breaks her spirit, who keeps trying to save Damon despite how he takes away her right to grieve.

Amara, Tatia, Katherine and Elena are all sufferers. They suffer for their blood and their bodies and their wombs. They scream and are turned into victims, monster teeth in their throats, and iv lines in their veins and their blood turned to stone.

They are a representation of the most fundamental ways in which women suffer. Through their blood and their wombs and their hearts.

They are not powerful beings, yet their blood and suffering is of use to others.

And yet, they persevere. Amara who chooses her own death, and Tatia who had willingly given her blood to save Elijah. Katherine who takes her death in her own hands and lives. Refuses to suffer. Elena who plays the game and uses everything at her disposal to save everyone she can around her.

Just as all women do.

They all play a game that’s been rigged against them since the beginning.

They are one whose blood enables the existence of vampires and hybrids. Without the doppelgängers, there would be no vampires, there would be no originals, and no hybrids. Their blood is what sustains two entire species.

And so, in one way or the other, they win.

@sevensistersofsussex @amandamonroe @feralcherry @qvnthesia @jennifersminds

The horror of vampirism: Elena Gilbert

Grief Lessons: Four plays by Euripides — Anne Carson

The Vampire Diaries: s3//ep22

A Barbie Dream House But All the Dolls Are Kitchen Knives — Cassandra de Alba

The Vampire Diaries: s4//ep14

The Vampire Diaries: s4//ep21

Unburnable the Cold is Flooding Our Lives — Kaveh Akbar

The Vampire Diaries: s4//ep22

The Vampire Diaries: s4//ep23

I was rewatching 4x13 and you can see the moment Klaus loses his mind and practically disassociates from everything after seeing Caroline and Tyler cover his brother's corpse. Even the music tells us this.

And then obviously when Caroline was dying he was pulled out of it and realized what the fuck he had done and you can also see that on his face and on how he strokes her hair. He is like "I almost just killed her, I ALMOST JUST KILLED HER"

Idk, I mean I always knew this but somehow rewatching all of it just... made it clearer in my mind, just how out of it he was.

You can see how the whole world just faded to the background and all he could see was RED because of his brother's death

I find the argument of Klaus hating Elijah after Hayley's death very interesting. Or when haylijah antis say how Elijah and Hayley never fell truly in love with each other, just their idealized versions.

Hayley and Elijah were both one of the most important persons in Klaus’s life: their opinions and feelings mattered to him, yet Hayley is the only one of the two who actually managed to inspire and make Klaus be good (as much as Klaus Mikaelson can be good), but having Elijah by his side during a thousand made Klaus what he was when we met him in The Vampire Diaries.

Elijah, as much as he loved his brother, couldn't have done what Hayley and Hope did for Klaus and he said it himself in 5x13 of The Originals ("Do you understand you've accomplished in 15 years what I couldn't in a thousand?"). Of course he kept Klaus on a check during all those centuries, and their relationship developed from a normal sibling bond between brothers to a toxic codependent mess, where Klaus was slightly more clingy. Whether Elijah stayed with him because of guilt to what he had done to Aurora, and as a consequence, to his brother, isn't really important considering Klaus killed their mother: he chose to remain at his side during a millennium because despite how toxic their bond was, they loved each other.

And then, Hayley came into the picture.

Both brothers were quickly attracted to her: Klaus and her were kindred souls, in a way. They were both wolves casted out, their parents didn't really care about them and they eventually slept together because of this, and their obvious attraction to each other, causing Hope to be born. However, when Hayley met Elijah, she was pregnant and alone, admitting herself she was scared of the father of her baby, scared of being a mother, and he made her "feel safe", and if I correct, her own subconscious told her she fell for the suit, not Elijah, which makes them look bad to people who don't ship them, and it made them look bad for me at first too, I won't lie. She met him in probably one of the worst times in her life, where she was alone and scared, but Hayley herself admitted to being a monster and that she probably loved Elijah despite what he is, or because of what he is.

When talking to Rebekah (4x12), Hayley admitted she was okay with it and how she was scared of how that would affect Hope, she never wanted her daughter to turn out like her or her father's family, so naturally she pushed Elijah away, like any decent mother would. And Elijah wanted the same too:

(Elijah: "If I thought I couldn't do this, I wouldn't have come. Niklaus, when this is done, I want you to take Hayley and Hope away from this. All of it."

Klaus: "You've pointedly left yourself out of that equation. Whatever Hayley saw in you, she will come to accept.")

Klaus is a selfish man, that isn't a surprise to anyone, and he wasn't gonna watch how Hayley and Elijah, both essential people in his life, broke up leaving him in the dust. I'm referring to what Rebekah said in 5x07: "Why do you think we never tore Elijah and Hayley apart? You knew that Hayley would stay close because of Hope, and as long as Elijah was in love with Hayley, he would never leave you, either". Hayley only stayed in the family because of her daughter and Elijah was around Klaus because he was in love with that same woman: Klaus didn't lose Hayley, the mother of his daughter, an essential part of his life, and he didn't lose Elijah either, his best friend and his lodestar, meaning his guide/inspiration. It's not a secret Elijah is the closest thing Klaus ever got to a good parent, and losing him (and Hayley) because of The Hollow clearly messed up with his mind.

Hayley clearly got over about the red door situation though, as she went to visit him in France, was clearly still in love with him and even asked him for a dance in the afterlife, the closest thing tvdu would give us as an endgame. Her reaction was perfectly understandable: she never broke up with Elijah because of herself, but rather Hope, and they would've clearly found their way back to each other if The Hollow hadn't been a thing.

Elijah probably broke Klaus’s heart in 5x03 when he refused to go back with him to help save Hayley. Her life was on the line, and Klaus couldn't lose her too after losing his brother, but Elijah simply didn't care and Klaus was losing his mind because of it. ("You once convinced me that Hayley's life was worth saving, that my daughter's life was worth saving. Please, Elijah. Hayley is missing. Hayley. Even in your addled state, that name must mean something to you!"). Elijah himself pointed it out later how him rejecting his offer hurt his brother and how he knew Klaus wouldn't return, despite Hayley being in danger, only because his words had practically shattered him: "Yes, I do. They say Elijah Mikaelson was his North Star, that he guided Klaus through the darkest parts of his pathetic life. So to renounce that family, to renounce him the way that I did, I saw it. I watched the light vanish from his eyes. This immovable man, this legendary Niklaus Mikaelson was... broken."

Of course Klaus was weeping after having Elijah, the only person in the world who always thought he was capable of good, of being saved, renounce him. He always thinks of himself first, and he didn't think of coming back to ask his brother for help with Hayley. Of course, then he went to New Orleans (5x04) to search for Hayley himself, endangering Hope and everyone in the city, claiming it was only for his daughter: (All of this... is for my daughter. They took Hayley by force. They tied her down like an animal, because she's different, because they were scared of her. See, that's their language. Fear. Now they'll listen.) (Well, I suggest you amp up your efforts to retrieve her, then. Because if my daughter is not reunited with her mother by sundown,...) but it wasn't only because of Hope. Elijah had practically broken his heart and he was acting like a dick half of the episode mainly because of that, while also making people find Hayley faster:

(Marcel: "This is my family. For the last seven years, I have been a phone call away whenever Hope needed me. I am trying to talk you out of making the biggest mistake of your life. To protect you from yourself. So you don't have to tell Hope that you're the reason that her mother is dead."

Klaus: "He knew! Okay? Elijah knew who he was, and he still told me to leave. I begged him. He didn't want anything to do with any of us. He's gone, Marcellus. He's gone."

Marcel: "I understand. I do. Look, I understand the pain. But you got to move through it, okay? You can't let it cloud your judgment. Not with Hayley's life on the line.")

Finding out Hayley had been mutilated just made everything worse ("Marcel, please, I'm going out of my mind here. Look at what they've done to Hayley. I don't do well without Elijah.") ("Every word of it. Even at our most estranged, there was always a trace of the brother I loved, but not anymore. Every part of him was unfamiliar. I promised Hope I'd bring her mother home safely"). He was losing both of them at the same time and he didn't know how to react, and that just exploded in his face once Elijah didn't save Hayley from dying.

Once Hayley died and Elijah just stood and watched, Klaus did lose all respect for him and probably didn't want to see his face for the next few decades while his memory remained lost, because he knew damn well his brother had practically killed himself by erasing his memories. He literally speaks of amnesic Elijah and his brother like they're different people ("But he did leave! Elijah was always there for me. Swooping in when my rage got the better of me, setting me on a path to redemption. For a thousand years, he made me need him. My brother was my greatest ally. He was the only one who could give me a chance of being worthy of Hope. And he was my best friend. You killed him. And I hate you for that"). ("I made a vow to my brother. That's just the man who got Hope's mother killed"). But once he remembered who he was and what he had done, or rather, what he hadn't done, Klaus was literally mad with him for like what, a week? Two? He loved Hayley a lot, but he loved his brother too.

Don't get me wrong, him not saving Hayley did shatter their bond and was a big reason as to why Klaus was so hostile with him, but Klaus is selfish and he always put his feelings above everything and this situation wasn't a exception. I mean, just look at when he was gonna die: he was sneaking around with Caroline, completely ignoring Hope, something she complained about and something Elijah pointed out. Even Hope forgave him for his part in Hayley's death because she knew he wasn't responsible for what had happened, and neither was she by the way.

The three of them loved Hayley, and Hope and Elijah both loved Klaus, and Klaus loved the three of them, and who he needed/loved more between them is complex, but in my opinion, is more "understandable" when people discuss if Klaus loved Elijah or Hope more, considering he was putting her life in danger for the last seven years because he couldn't stay away from his brother, but he couldn't fathom the idea of Hope dying or leaving him forever either.

Who’s more unhinged, Edward or the Salvatores?

This is an @therealvinelle question, who actually watched that awful CW show.

imagine being klaus mikaelson like. you’re the baby of the family, everyone adores you. your father adores you. all memories of that adoration will disappear and be replaced with confusion. at some point your father starts to hate you and no one can tell you why. you try to be good. you like to create things, paintings and carvings. you give these to your father and get nothing but a cold glare. he teaches you archery, hunting, fighting. you are good at none of these, but you can’t tell if it’s because you have no talent for them or if it’s due to the way your hands shake when he’s near. you’re the son of a warrior and you need to be strong. your father thinks broken bones heal back stronger. your father is never guilty, never sorry. your brother and mother try and stop him, but mostly they just focus on wrapping bandages and resetting bones. you’re not the youngest anymore, now there is someone more precious, more fragile. you envy them. but you love them more than anything under the sun, more than you thought possible. you feel wildly protective of them even though you are the only one threatened with violence. you feel like you give so much and feel so much and so little of it is genuinely returned. you feel you are on the outside of something, but can’t tell what. it never goes away. you’re proven right. your baby brother follows you out to the woods to watch men morph into animals, and like animals they tear him to shreds. the older brother is not supposed to bury the younger, something is backwards here. you are backwards. you’re gonna carry that inside of you the rest of your life. take it to your grave. and if death becomes impossible, it’s only a fitting punishment. it’s evidence of what you are and what you do. what follows is something unimaginable. you have watched your baby brother be ripped apart, and still, what comes after is inconceivable. creatures you spent your life praying for protection against, demons reflected back in the water. mother nature turning on you as skin burns off the bone. you become something they don’t have a word for and no one will look at you. you don’t want to look at yourself. once you were a child who couldn’t put down a wounded deer, now you are a monster who doesn’t know how to stop at the sound of screaming. you don’t know that in the years to come you’ll enjoy that sound, that you’ll be capable of things you thought were fundamentally against your character. and you’ll have to accept it, embrace that cruelty, because it’s the way you survive. because even though you’re disgusted with yourself at the start, once you tip over the edge, the drop is so so easy.

elijah’s

Can we please stop pretending Klaus is some Machiavellian genius?

I get the show is always trying to tell us he is a mastermind, but there are so many more clever characters who actually set up long term plans to achieve their goals (Lucien, Celeste, Katherine). What did Klaus ever do that was ever strategic or showed any superior intelligence? If anything his intelligence was severely stunted, he was a thousand years old and still acting like a teenager half the time. He made rash and impulsive decisions and they worked out sometimes. They had just as much of a chance of blowing up in his face. This doesn't make him smart. If he wasn't so indestructible, he wouldn't have been so lucky.

Throughout history, we constantly see Elijah having to remind Klaus not to draw attention to them. All he has to do is stop being a serial killer or risk bringing the one man he is terrified of to town. You would think it would be easy, yet he is unable to control himself. At no point do we see him ever preparing to confront Mikael. He only runs from him. He could have created an army to trap Mikael or befriended witches. But no, instead of coming up with a plan, they all just run. Not much of a master strategist. The fandom loves to say it was stupid that Rebekah called Mikael to New Orleans yet doesn't want to talk about how stupid it was for Kol and Klaus to go on a killing spree which they knew would attract Mikael. And he does this not once, not twice, but repeatedly in every flashback we see, all the way from the first flashback in 1001 to the last in the 1950s.

Speaking of the 1950s, what great strategic plan was it to tell Elijah he buried their siblings at sea? He isolated the one family member he had left while Mikael was hot on his trail. This turned Elijah against him and what did Klaus do? Did he come up with a masterplan? No. he ran and body jumped.

Klaus' strength isn't his intelligence but his durability and his psychical strength. Which is why he was so determined to break his curse. He needed to be stronger than everyone, including his siblings. But what did any of that get him? Tristan and Aya at least built a cult and created weapons that could even take down Originals. Yet Klaus wasn't able to come up with any plan to take down Mikael?

We see Elijah tell Klaus that Klaus 'built' New Orleans, yet we never see any indication that Klaus is politically minded. In fact, in season one, he is in charge and a war breaks out in large part due to his scheming. He is constantly killing political leaders (the mayor, the mayor's son, the witches' leaders, every faction head, etc.) and then is surprised when they can't find peace and everyone is against him.

The only time Klaus had a long term plan that actually seemed clever was the lie about the sun and the moon curse. Not only did it take them nearly a thousand years before it actually worked, but he wasn't even the reason it worked. He was tricked by Elijah and literal teenagers. Elijah tricked him to get him to MF, the MF gang tricked him into believing Bonnie was dead, and then he fell for that exact same trick and believed that Elena was dead.

Throughout the shows and even flashbacks, people act like Klaus is this great strategist. And maybe he is compared to the children he is targeting. But when you put him up against his equals (Lucien, Mikael, Dahlia, etc.), he doesn't compare.

Celeste and Genevie were manipulating Klaus left and right in season one. In the short '9' months he was in New Orleans, he destabilized it so much that Hope nearly died. She only survived because of Marcel. They only got her back because of Elijah and Hayley. In fact, Klaus' plan to bring Hope back before they were ready is what drew Dahlia back so quickly, leaving them unprepared to face her.

Klaus wasn't responsible for Mikael's first death. He got lucky that everyone else (the children he was targeting) came up with a plan to trick Mikael. Mikael's second death was simply overpowering him, no outsmarting there. In fact, Mikael would have killed Klaus if his family hadn't saved him earlier.

Yes, he 'tricked' Dahlia into believing he betrayed his family, but this wasn't a trick. He actually did betray them. He murdered Gia and turned Elijah against him once again. He is unable to scheme without actually hurting those close to him and alienating the people trying to help. He lies that he killed Aiden, again another time he just jumps on the first opportunity he sees, and by doing so, he alienates all of their allies and endangers his family. The only reason they end up beating Dahlia is because of Esther. They all would have died based on Klaus' plan. Sure his idea to curse Hayley did technically save her life but he didn't do it for that purpose, he admitted he did it to punish her. There was no long term scheme. He hadn't thought through how it would impact Hope or even what he would tell his daughter as she got older.

Then in Season 3, Lucien had Klaus on his knees before his big brother and big sister swept in to save the day. Even taking down Tristan was thanks to Cami and Freya's plan. He had to be saved from the Strix by Hayley, Marcel, and Stefan. They have their big Thanksgiving dinner where they confront the three, but all it does is show that Lucien, Tristan, and Aurora had out schemed the Mikaelsons. The only thing the Mikaelsons could do was overpower them and threaten them.

In Season 4, Klaus hardly does anything and Season 5 Klaus is an absolute mess. You're telling me this legendary strategist couldn't save his daughter and her mother from a hundred year old vampire? He couldn't figure out a way to find her? In the seven years they were forced apart, he wasn't even trying to find a way to reunite his family? He wasn't a strategist, rather he waited for events to happen and then reacted impulsively, hoping it would work out. His plans are all based on emotion and vendettas, not strategy or intelligence.

Yes, he is Machiavellian in a sense that he has nearly no empathy and will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, but he lacks the cunningness to be truly Machiavellian. Instead he is just a narcissistic psychopath.

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.