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[fruitless-nonsense]

Well my blog is popping off this month. Legit don’t know where everyone came from, but thank you for coming.

I’ve honestly wanted to do something on this topic for months at this point and I’ve finally gathered the motivation!

So Stelena.

The first ever ship of what would end up being a multi series franchise. To ignore its importance and integral nature would be foolish.

I’ve made my feelings on the other half of the infamous love triangle known as well as my feelings on early Stefan to be quite positive. That being said, do I enjoy the ship?

That answer is plainly……no.

Let me explain, because this is complicated.

Elena and Stefan were a relationship seeping with early 2010s syndrome. They were the cool kids who hated cliches who were somehow also super popular. Season one is very detached from the rest of the show which is why it’s so much fun revisiting. That’s not the reason.

I actually quite liked these two in the beginning. Yes they were a bit cringe at times but I’m someone who can take cheese. The respect Stefan had for Elena and her ability to make decisions was so healthy and balanced I wondered how it could be from this show. I also was very baffled the first time I watched it and the main couple got together in the second episode. Which led to them actually being a couple. I found it strange, but also loved that.

Alas, the problems came early. That being near the end of season one Elena and Stefan’s relationship turned from teen cheese to constant obstacles to the point you wonder why they’re even together. Which is something they addressed in season two and why they broke up.

Now I like angst in my romance stories, keeps things interesting. However, there is a difference in conflicts regarding ships. There’s internal conflict and external conflict. Both must be well balanced and not tie a line into toxicity. A difficult task that the tvdu always seems to fail.

Delena was a ship always having internal conflict, mostly revolving on Damon being a monster refusing to change and Elena refusing to hold him accountable and miss that awesome sex she so desperately craves. Conflicts between the members of the relationship itself cannot be so extreme lest you wonder why they’re even together.

On the other hand, Stelena had a never ending string of external forces keeping them apart. John, Katherine, the sire bond. It seemed all forces of the universe were doing everything they could to keep those two apart (which especially makes no sense when you factor in season five doppelgänger destiny crap). The main issue is after a while this gets boring.

In season two Elena and Stefan had so many conversations about the current threat being a danger to their relationship I was already exhausted with them. They were supposedly this great love but they never got a break to be a couple before the next big bad of the season specifically posed a threat to that. So what’s the point?

Before we go forward, now that I’ve used the words I want to clarify. Many people in the fandom think Stelena is dull because they get together early and are a normal couple who never fight and are “too domestic.” This is simply not true. The closest I think they were going comes down the internal vs external. It’s true that internally the two were close knit, a team so to speak. The only instance of internal fighting was in season one when Stefan relapsed. Other than that they weren’t a couple having problems involving each other unlike Delena. That’s not the problem with them, that’s actually the element I really like about them. This might sound crazy, but people don’t like couples who constantly have issues with each other personally. Some people like couples who never fight with each other and the conflict in the story comes from dealing with an outside threat, or maybe there’s no threat at all. I can think of who wouldn’t like that, people who are so angry with the world and so reject the idea of true love and happiness and believe screaming matches with your partner are signs of a healthy relationship. For those people, I am so sorry for the life you choose to live, but nothing I can do about it. The point is, if Stelena really was the domestic bliss antis say it is, more people myself included would like this ship a lot more. As it stands, Stelena is toxic for a different reason.

So season one, two, and the beginning of four never gave this ship a chance as enemy after enemy, circumstance after circumstance tore at them until they eventually broken up for the final time. But let’s talk about season three.

In season three Stefan’s body and mind are being held prisoner by Klaus. Elena is resolved to rescue her boyfriend and bring him back to the man he once was. Stefan has to do everything Klaus says but he also still loves Elena which creates a nice conflict that while once again targets Stelena I appreciated how much was being put into these two having a strong bond that even fought compulsion. If it weren’t for the writers also pushing Delena at the same time, giving me whiplash throughout the season. Season three started strong but fell way off when it came to the protagonists. A story for another day.

This was not a domestic ship. This was a couple that always had issues outside their control, and as a result kept breaking up and getting back together until Delena finally swooped in to show us that it could always be worse. Back when legacies was starting I remember people making parallels of Handon to Stelena, and as the show went on that parallel became even better. As season two and three had Hope and Landon constantly fighting (this time with a mixture of internal and external forces), break up, get back together, and repeat.

I cannot express how much I despise on again off again. It is the most lazy and infuriating plot devices I have ever witnessed. Yes! Even worse than will they won’t they. At least they can’t turn the ship toxic with a never ending destruction of what made the couple great. I prefer relationships that get ti be relationships, I find that more enjoyable overall cause the amount of story that can come from couples is so vast and mostly unexplored. A good example comes from Chandler and Monica from friends, who coming from someone who doesn’t like a majority of the show are the best parts and relationship hands down. Because they had story progression, which if you have been paying attention is the first priority for me.

And before everyone gets up in arms and tries to use my love for Klamille as a gotcha. Klamille is not a will they won’t they, they’re a slow burn. There is a difference. WTWT is a trope when two people who are so obviously in love with each other pine after the person they love for several seasons instead of telling the person how they feel. Along the way you get crazy wacky episodes which come so close for the individuals to figure it out or are about the spit it out before the world gets in the way and the audience screams in annoyance. If I could showcase my love of cartoons, Starco from svtfoe was a couple almost everybody adored in the first two seasons myself included which by the finale everybody absolutely hated.

By comparison, a slow burn is a relationship that is constantly developing and growing to the point the couple realize they have feeling for each other. Klaus and Cami were not in love in season one, there was too much that needed to be done with that relationship and themselves before anything close to romance could happen. Season two was then both having those feelings, but being able to recognize, process, and accept those feeling as real. Which by the finale, both had done (Cami in the bar with Vincent and Klaus as he was leaving Rousseau’s). Now season three had pining, but I don’t see it as much of a problem because that pining only lasted nine episodes. I think pining can be cute in small doses, but it can get annoying real quick so they kissed.

What we need to take from Stelena and Handon is that maybe we should let couples be couples, that how do we know domesticity is boring if we’ve never tried it? To extend more cartoon knowledge, Lumity is a ship that got together early and were just a cute couple and are absolutely adored. Why can’t we have that for teen dramas? Why is a couple that fights all the time better than a cute duo couple fighting evil? Not every couple has to be that way, but why not the main ship?

To conclude, if Stelena was what the fandom claimed it was I would be singing their praises. However, while this ship had a potential built on respect, understanding, and optimism, the writers couldn’t let them be. Such a shame.

[fruitless-nonsense]

Please Reblog is Your Blog is Safe for Non-Binary People.

If my mutuals can’t rb this then we can’t be mutuals

[fruitless-nonsense]

Hello again!

Full disclosure, this is gonna be one of those posts to scratch an itch cause I just started thinking about it and now I’m heated. Not really, but really.

So an aspect of the originals I absolutely love is the finales. Every season finale is exceptional for a different reason, and the best finale conflicts in this show were the ones that made you pick a side.

The best example of this was the season two finale, which pitted Klaus against his entire family, or more specifically Hayley when it came to arguments.

This split was actually rather even on people who said Klaus was in the wrong or that Hayley was in the wrong, and for the longest time I stood in the middle believing that both did some bad things because I hated confrontation and picking a side (I’m bisexual, what do you expect?). That was before, now I have finally decided who was right.

And Hayley did nothing wrong.

I know that’s a very bold statement, I’m putting a pin in this. Please let me explain.

At the start of this conflict it’s hard not to side with Hayley. All she’s trying to do is keep her wolf family together while making up for lost time with her daughter. Then you have Dahlia trying to take Hope away from her, which if you’ve known any mother will bring out anyone’s scary side. On the other side of this conflict is Klaus boldly claiming she has no say in how her daughter will be protected. That scene at the end of 2x16 made me say “okay, I’m team Hayley” with no regrets, but something changed.

The reason for why people are team Klaus is simple, Hayley tried to run away with her daughter without his knowledge or consent, which is wrong. I’m not denying that. But something that is rarely talked about is the truth that hiding in the Bayou, staying away from the Mikaelson’s, and later running away forever weren’t Hayley’s idea. Not a single time does Hayley ever suggest keeping out of Elijah’s sight. The only idea she comes up with during this time is finding a way to mask Hope’s magic, a plan that will ultimately keep her out of Dahlia’s sight.

So if Hayley wasn’t the one who wanted to run, who’s was it? I think we all know. A man child incel named Jackson Kenner.

Yup! This is a part two to my Jackson hate post. In 2x18, it’s Jackson who insists to Hayley that running is the best idea even when she continuously tries to reject it. Hayley is the one giving every reason why she wouldn’t want to do it, but she does decide to run with him because she wants to make him happy. Red flag number one! Next in 2x20 while Jackson is doing everything in his power to prevent Elijah from speaking to Hayley, there’s no issues when she finally comes out of hiding to talk. And later in the episode, Jackson gives her an ultimatum to never see the Mikaelson’s again or he will take the family she’s always wanted and leave her forever. Red flag number two!

This is all clear cookie cutter signs of manipulation. Forcing your partner to do what you want against their wishes, keeping them away from people you don’t like, and giving them ultimatums are textbook abusive behaviors. This is not happening because Dahlia is in town and that means a danger to Hope. This happens cause Jackson wants to leave with Hayley, and his reasoning makes him look worse.

Throughout season two an interesting plot point has to be the dick measuring contest between Klaus and Jackson, which is incredibly one sided despite what Jackson would like to believe. The only thing he has over Klaus is Hayley, which is a reason he tries so hard to keep her away from Elijah because she loves him too and Klaus knows that. Klaus could kill Jackson whenever he’d like, Klaus can and has kicked his ass before and could continue doing so even with the power of a hybrid Jackson gains. This is the root of Jackson’s issues. He’s an alpha male who can’t handle being second place. Sure, he married Hayley, but who fathered her child? Who’s she really in love with? Jackson is behind both Klaus and Elijah and that fact drove him crazy. That is the catalyst of why he wanted to leave. He’s somehow more egotistical than Klaus, but is nowhere near his strength. The dunning Kruger effect in action, and what I see as a perfect example of an incel.

So the writers created a conflict in one character who shows that you don’t need to be a blood sucker to be the worst kind of man, just like they did with Matt Donovan. You might be thinking making Hayley be devoid of agency in this situation is a bit sexist, and yeah. My problems with Hayley are how she was stripped of her own story in favor of attaching her to Elijah and Jackson, but you can understand where she’s coming from. She’s a terrified mother who’s being taken advantage of by someone she already feels guilt towards because of Elijah (another red flag) and trusts has her best interest.

Hayley did nothing wrong.

And none of this is ever explored. The writers seem to think they’re writing Jackson as this good and noble person so come season three Klaus takes all the blame for what happened. Now, Klaus did a lot wrong he should be sorry for, but pretending like it was all him took the nuance of the season two finale and made it boring. The writers had something so good and threw it away just before the finish line. All because we can’t put Jackson in the wrong!

So this was another long post to say again how much I hate Jackson Kenner.

[fruitless-nonsense]

Hello…it’s me.

I know it’s been a VERY long time, and I don’t even know if I’m gonna get back into a regular schedule.

I remember using this as a vector to talk about the originals since I’ve never really done it before.

The Originals is not only my favorite tv show. It’s a comfort show for me. The acting and the story itself are so mesmerizing it makes me forget how sad my life is.

But then my life wasn’t sad anymore and I kinda forgot about it. The blog, not the show. I still binge it cause it’s a good show.

I think I’ll return from time to time, but don’t expect anything.

With that out of the way, I wanna talk about the reason I love this show so much. And that reason is incredibly simple: the characters.

Characters are pinochle to my interest in a show. I don’t care how interesting the world is or how complex the story is, if the main protagonists are boring or downright unlikeable I cannot watch it.

I watch a story to be invested and immersed, and the way that happens for me is caring about how the story affects the people inside, and this was a problem for the vampire diaries.

The protagonists sucked. Just straight up sucked. Don’t believe me? Tell me one time you’ve had a conversation about the show and casually brought one of them (besides Damon and Stefan) up without straight up asking about them. The only time Bonnie is naturally brought up in conversation is when there’s discussion on the show’s racism problem. But when you talk about the story (if anyone talks about the story) I never seen any of the other protagonists other than the problematic vampire leads being naturally brought up with it. But that isn’t a big issue because very little people talk about the story or main protagonists. They’re background noise. So what is talked about the most when discussing the vampire diaries? Two things: the ships and the villains.

The discussion of tvd villains is easy for me. A lot of them are pretty good and even the boring ones at least have some element that’s interesting, but I feel at some point probably after Klaus and the Mikaelson’s a season was graded on how good the villain was. Prove me wrong, how many people say season five is the worst and who were the villains then (seriously off the top of your head give me the name of at least one of the travelers)? Meanwhile tell me what you thought of season six without mentioning Kai. And let me set the record straight, I actually liked a fair bit of the villains, but I will never rewatch tvd for fun because I can’t root for them. Furthermore, we get to a point where the villains are less antagonists and more fun evil guys to watch.

What I mean by that is they lack the purpose of an actual antagonist. I remember learning the rules of storytelling in high school theatre class. An antagonist is meant to be a foil or source of conflict for the protagonist. That is not the case for most of them post-Klaus. Silas has a goal to end the world, which can be a conflict for the main cast, but it’s an incredibly weak one when considering personal stakes. Kai was a conflict for Bonnie and Damon when they were stuck with him, but when that was over and Kai was still a villain, what connected him to the protagonists? A moral value to stop a madman? Kai had a connection to his family, a new cast of characters that barely fell into the supporting role. I didn’t care about them, the most I felt was for Jo, but she wasn’t enough to get me invested in the question, “what do we do if Kai succeeds in his plan?” The heretics and Mary (was her name Mary? I don’t care enough to check) Salvatore had a connection to Damon and Stefan through past trauma, but there was nothing in the present that justified them needing to stop her. Finally we have Sybil, the first villain since Klaus to provide actual stakes. This is one of the reason I hold season eight up higher than the trash that came before it. I know everyone was tired at this point and wrote her off, but Sybil played the role of antagonist perfectly because she finally gave us a real answer to the question “why should we care about stopping them?” Because she has control over Damon and Enzo and we need to save them.

You need stakes to get invested in a villain, but that didn’t matter to people. All that mattered was that they were fun and charismatic and full of life, something the other characters weren’t giving us. We used the villains as placeholders for the protagonists, so we didn’t care that they never really filled the role of antagonist.

So where am I going with this? Well The Originals had real villains who rarely get talked about. People talk about them, but not as much as the main and supporting characters or the story for better or worse. Because the characters in this show can stand on their own. They’re really good characters (and when I say good, I don’t just mean morally). Each of them are so three dimensional and complex and discussing just one can take hours of deep diving. We love watching them, we get invested in their stories, and as a result the show is much more fun and less of a chore.

That being said, the villains are also super compelling (pun intended) to watch and discuss with how they affect the story. Remember when I said characters could not be brought into a discussion of the story naturally? You can’t do that in the originals because the characters are so interwoven with the story it would be impossible, and the villains are the same way not only with the story but with the protagonists.

The stakes in this show are much more personal, which makes sense. The Original family are the most powerful creatures in the world, so conflicts and antagonists have to be a lot more creative. The crutch allowed for the writers to actually think through motivation when making a villain. Made very easy with the fact that everyone hates them. Villain motivation? It’s Klaus! What didn’t he do to screw over others. Season one’s villain roster consists of people just trying to get back at him, which could get boring but doesn’t cause they each have a different reason. So for fun, I’m gonna shine a spotlight on all of the originals villains, the good and the meh, the personal connection to the protagonists, and what I rate them. Let’s go! (FYI no, Marcel is not on this list bc he’s not a villain. Shut up!)

Agnes/early season one witches: you notice how Agnes didn’t become an active antagonist until she started threatening Hayley? That is what we call personal stakes. Her motivation wasn’t as deep as others, a fanatic who believed in the natural order of things and so had issue with the miracle baby. 5/10 not bad, just average

Papa Tunde: CRIMINALLY UNDERRATED! His story and motivation with Klaus could have stretched longer. For what we got he was so much fun and his connection to Klaus and Marcel pushed investment into their relationship. 8/10.

Celeste: finally! An antagonist for Elijah! Backstory was used only to explain motivation in the present. She was able to destroy the Mikaelson family for a time. Kind of had a point, but went about it in the wrong way. 7/10.

Monique and the harvest girls: not much connection to protagonists, but made up with being a threat to Hope in the end. Also became hated after bullying Davina (almost like we were emotionally invested in the main and supporting characters?). Motivation similar to Agnes, but with the add on of being tied to more characters. 6/10

Genevieve: personal connection to Rebekah which tied in her motivation? Check! Going toe to toe with Klaus causing conflict for the family? Check. Killer scene deconstructing Klaus up to that point? Check check check! 9/10. The scene in 1x21 bumped her way up.

If season one had personal villains, season two broke down the door and never left! The family drama in this season was so compelling it made me forgive the weaker elements. The story tied into them beautifully and I could go on paragraphs for each of them.

Francesca and her brothers: putting her here cause she was more a plot twist than actual antagonist for season one. Was more a boss fight than antagonist, but she made for one hell of a boss fight. 2x01 is so good! 7/10

Finn: did he mention he was daggered for 900 years? Jokes aside, Finn started out a lackey for his mother and was pretty boring. Then 2x10 happened and I’m scared of Finn Miaelson everybody. 2x11 was good development for both Klaus and Elijah, but let’s not forget the catalyst. Though his ending was pretty underwhelming, I will bask in the three episodes that elicited genuine fear. I mostly have Yusuf Gatewood to thank for his incredible performance. Also what he did to Kol/Kaleb gave him some impact to his antagonist role. 8/10.

Esther: underrated and should be talked about more. There is so much to say on her ideology and beliefs mixed in on the warped sense of love she feels for her children that makes a truly psychotic and dangerous foe for our mains. Her connection is easy to see and the way she tries to manipulate her children into falling in line makes for gripping storytelling. And her end is truly poetic and satisfying at the same time. 10/10.

Mikael: while Esther got a whole revamping and exploration of her character, Mikael ultimately remained the same for the majority of the time he was on screen, and then in pops Freya. To discuss the warped sense of familial love this man had to his children is sick but makes for good tv, and his ending scene always brings me to tears at the mourning of Klaus’ childhood. 8/10.

Dahlia: I normally have a hard time getting invested in brute force villains cause tvd had a track record of how to do it right (Klaus) and how to screw it up (Silas), but Dahlia is not just an unbeatable foe. Her connection to Freya, Esther, and surprisingly Klaus give us a tragedy of a character on the list of people Esther ruined. This show made me feel pity for a character advertised as pure evil. Phenomenal. 9/10.

Shorter list of villains, but that just shows how powerful they were in carrying the season antagonist role for several episodes, and they’re not even the best of the show. Season three is tied with season two for my favorite season (season two had a better overall story and more episode that were amazing rank, but the best episodes of season three are the best things I’ve seen out of the whole cw. It’s a toss up) and the villains have a range to them.

The Nguyen family: never reached their potential cause Davina got snubbed. Interesting direction that tied to Davina’s fall from grace that were used as a plot device in the end. Such a shame. 4/10.

Tristan: aka Triscuit cracker cause this dude was DRY. One third of the trinity and as a character meant to mirror Elijah, he succeed in emulating the worst character aspect of him. Unfortunately that aspect was his selfishness and occasional apathy. These do not make an interesting character when it’s all they are! There is no time given to explore him more. He gets some points for having personal stakes with Jackson and Hayley and his end was both cruel and cathartic coming from someone who hated Jackson. Weakest of the trinity. 5/10.

Aya: my beloved. When you think switching to the strix is gonna be a snore, in pops this sexy badass to mesmerize. Once Triscuit’s gone she takes over his position and plays such a good foil to Marcel and Elijah. Knowing how to play both men until they swallow their pride and band together. While I wanted to see more cause of how much fun she was, she served her purpose perfectly and completed what she needed. 9/10.

Aurora: started off annoying, but can’t deny her influence over the already tense relationship between Klaus and Elijah. Her dynamic with Klaus was kinda interesting, but it’s when the mask comes off that she truly becomes a good antagonist. Kidnapping Cami and stealing the white oak? Good. While I had my issue with Cami becoming a vampire from a story writing perspective, Aurora changed a piece of the narrative forever, and her final scene with Klaus in 3x14 was gripping to the last minute. And then the writers brought her back and left her story ambiguous until legacies decided to do something about that. 3x18 aside, she was an active threat that started rocky, but ‘ended’ strong. 7/10.

The ancestors: for an antagonist that is separate and indirect yet plays a big part in influencing the story, it was alright. It only played a threat to Kol and Vincent to the point no other character saw it necessary to defeat them and were left unchecked until the penultimate episode. I suppose what they did to Davina was story changing enough to justify their existence, but not by much considering her ultimate end. 3/10.

Lucien: saved the best for last! Legitimately the best villain of the tvdu. Yes, even better than Klaus! I could honestly go on about how amazing he is. From his setup, to his backstory and the connections to the ultimate theme of the show (highlighted by Marcel in 3x21) to his connection with the entire Mikaelson family and ideology (basically syndrome if the incredibles acknowledged the messed up truth) his motivation is gold, his misdirect while predictable is still brilliant and shocked me due to how likable he was. 3x04 is my favorite episode of 3A and he’s a reason why. While Triscuit and Aurora took the worst elements of Elijah and Rebekah, Lucien took the best element of Klaus: his charisma. That’s why he works, even after he shifts from a manipulative and scheming antagonist to a brute force one, cause we watched him earn it in real time. Honestly, I’m scratching the surface cause I could make a whole post about him. And it’s what he deserves. 100000000000/10

After that we get the hollow in season four, who’s stakes are tied with Hope’s life and later freedom, which resulted in such a massive change in the status quo for the characters. Not to mention the connection with Hayley’s past. That being said, wasn’t as fun as they could’ve been. 6/10.

Lastly season five gave us Greta. I stand by that season five had enough story passed over from season four to not need a villain, but here we are. Her connection to Klaus was solid and her motivation was she was a nazi. Can’t get more evil than nazis. And her beliefs were a threat to Hayley, Hope, and by extension Klaus. Three of the biggest main protagonists. Her shortcomings come in that she really wasn’t necessary and again wasn’t very fun of an antagonist, but for what she was she served a purpose. 4/10.

And that’s a wrap! While not all of them were as amusing as Kai or the heretics, they still played the role of antagonist better than tvd villains could ever hope to be. I stand by my theory that this was intentional due to how disinteresting the main and supporting characters were for tvd.

In the end, it’s the protagonists that make a story memorable, and in that regard the originals succeeded in spades. The villains were garnish for the main meal, added more flavor but weren’t the reason why the meal was great. And that’s one of the reasons why the originals is a better show. And not the only reason either.

[fruitless-nonsense]

this is my first ask ever! also, not really an ask. but, i saw your posts and good lord, they are amazing and make so much of sense! especially the one where you analyze camille. i love cami too and klamille is undoubtedly one of my fav otps! pls keep up the great work!! <3

Omg thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I know I haven’t posted in awhile, school has been killing me (thank goodness for winter break), and I’ve been trying to think of what to talk about next, but I truly appreciate the support. This is my first active account on here, and it’s definitely went better than I could’ve ever imagined!

Happy holidays! ❄️ ❄️❄️

[fruitless-nonsense]

Well… turns out I have a lot of opinions on characters I don’t even think strongly of. Who knew?

No joke, this is probably not as thorough as I like, but this idea came to me and I have so much to say that I don’t know how to structure it. Okay? Let’s talk about Damon Salvatore!

If you read any of my previous posts, you’ve probably gotten a decent idea of how I feel about him from my quick snippy remarks. I genuinely believe he is the worst character in the show. Yes, other characters can be more boring than him. Yes, there are people that can be more infuriating than him. It’s not simply who his character was, it’s how the writers wouldn’t stop messing with him that convinced me he was utter trash. Sit back, cause this could take awhile.

Let’s start with season one and the two brothers. Theory time! I’m strongly of the opinion the writers wanted a love triangle between Elena, Stefan, and Damon from the very beginning. Not that crazy to believe considering this show was born off the heels of Twilight’s grossing fame, not to take credit away from all the other shows at the time which featured a love triangle or two. From fanfics to original stories written by tweens I read when I was thirteen, love triangles were huge back then (in a way they still are fairly popular, but not like back in the day. Now I feel old). So they wanted a love triangle? Sounds cliche enough to be in the vampire diaries, what’s wrong? Well, there’s a bit of an issue with the candidates, or more specifically candidate. You see, Edward was a creep and Jacob was an incel, but you can say they weren’t monsters (well by my standards they were, but by YA standards they were pretty normal). I mean, the movie made a point to say the Cullens didn’t feed from humans, and they’re only seen killing in self defense, meanwhile Jacob is treated like a good person throughout despite everything. My point is, at least at the beginning, the story didn’t want to paint either candidate as irredeemable. Back to tvd season one, Damon tortures Caroline, kills Zack, two random humans, and that one football coach/history teacher, mentally and physically tortured Vicky Donavon before turning her against her will and made it impossible for Stefan to remedy the situation until he ultimately had to kill her to save Elena, and this is all from the first seven episodes.

Now, I used to think at least Damon was a fun villain, but was he really? I mean, yeah he could be funny, got a few chuckles outta me, but besides humor and violence what was his character? For example, in season one we are introduced to Stefan, a supposed “good vampire” who has taken a liking to Elena due to similarities between her and his ex before admiring how much better of a person she is and wanting a true connection with her. We later learn that his experience with his ex Katherine was extremely one-sided as he was compelled to love her to satiate her needs. Even later (still season one), we learn that his only drinking animal blood is because he is a ripper or “blood addict” as I call it cause even one taste of human blood and he’ll go on a rampage. So by seasons end we have a character who was a victim of serious abuse (which is never truly addressed in the show btw) and carries a rare vampire trait that makes not being a murderous psychopath incredibly difficult, yet he still tries to beat the odds and not hurt people. This is a lot to learn about a character in its first season, and it helps us gravitate towards wanting him to succeed. Stefan is what you would call a good character (at least for now). So that was all we got on the first candidate, what about option number two? Well, he’s funny and he likes to kill people, that’s about it. That ripper gene that Stefan’s fighting, Damon’s not someone who gave in to the gene to explain why he’s so murder happy, he doesn’t even have it! There’s nothing making him be a bad person, he just is one! Why? Your guess is as good as mine. The most we get is learning he had real feelings for Katherine and was never compelled to love her as an explanation for why he hates Stefan so much. Wow, two brothers at war over a girl one of them doesn’t even like. You can’t even say it was because Stefan turned him, because Damon says it blank that it’s cause of Katherine in 1x20, so don’t. So Damon kills for no reason, hates Stefan for a stupid reason, and has no personality traits outside of humor, murder, Katherine, and hates Stefan. With all of this on the table, my question is this, how do the writers expect me to pick Damon over Stefan in this love triangle with everything we got in season one? And the writers realized this.

Season two starts this long “arc” asking if Damon can be redeemed, or that’s what the writers wanted. Second theory: the writers realized they couldn’t justify Elena picking Damon over Stefan without ruining her character (lol), so they decided the best way to keep this love triangle idea afloat was to redeem Damon. The theory comes in when they realized they couldn’t completely redeem him because they had written themselves into a corner and being a murdering psycho with quirky one liners was his entire character, therefore redeeming him would take away what made Damon himself and so likable among fans (not me). I’m gonna pull the rug from under ya, remember when I said klaroline was not actually a love story, but was positioned and is still believed to have been one despite this fact? Same applies here. Did Damon ever go through a redemption arc, or did the writers want you to think that he did so they could have their cake and eat it too? Is there any actual story progression that show growth in Damon as a character? Nope. He’s sadder, wouldn’t say that’s him being a better person. In the early seasons, his characterization feels more like a seesaw than an arc. Sometimes he’s chill and helping with a plan, and the next episode he’s biting a chunk out of more innocent bystanders while abusing more women (*cough* *cough* justice for Andie). The longest I can say he was a genuinely decent person was in season six when he was trapped in the prison world with Bonnie (cause she’s the only character that would put up with his bs). Everywhere else, an inconsistent character, and I feel like that was intentional. They wanted to keep Damon how fans liked him while making him seem like a better person. An example is the introduction of Enzo, which I think was a ploy by the writers to make it seem like season five Damon was interacting with a season one Damon to show how far he’s come, but that doesn’t stick at all (mostly because Enzo’s crimes in the show compared to season one Damon’s feel less psychotic and malicious). All in all, to me Damon on his own was a truly boring character and even more boring villain. No motivation and no personality outside his infatuations. Which leads me into the worst plot line of my entire cw experience: Delena.

If you haven’t noticed, I hate this ship with a fiery passion. The only reason I think it’s slightly better than klaroline was at least the writers tried to write a story with them (keyword tried). I said they would have to ruin Elena’s character to have her choose him over Stefan, and I was right! Not only does she cheat with him (2x22 and other scenes from season three), it’s never explained why she likes him in the first place (actually in season six they say it’s cause he gave her Stefan’s gift necklace despite being in love with her, which is so stupid it made me laugh). Furthermore, why does Damon develop feeling for Elena? Supposedly it happens while he’s still obsessing over Katherine, so is that it? The turning point which pushes them together is revealed to all be fabricated by a sirebond. For real, the only reason Elena fell out of love with Stefan is because a bond out of her control made it impossible for Stefan to help her through vampirism and thus she had to lean on Damon for support. I know the show states the bond didn’t create her feelings merely heighten them, but it did isolate her from everyone else she loved and made it so she had no choice but to rely on Damon, and that’s not exactly better than the former. Let me say it louder for the kids that were corrupted. Codependency. Is. Not. Healthy. It’s toxic, and the trope in romance needs to die a horrible death. And the show knows it’s toxic, they bring it up all the time in season five and six thinking that will excuse them to keep going with it. Sorry hun, self awareness does not give you a pass. The worst part is the pacing. I mentioned the sirebond storyline in season four which takes up a huge amount of the season with them debating if her feelings were real before abruptly deciding Elena doesn’t care. Great conclusion, but it gets worse. Season five is pretty thin as far as a story, so what fills the run time is a storyline straight out of fifty shades. Fighting, sex, fighting, sex, breaking up because they aren’t healthy, sex, fighting followed by getting back together followed by more fighting and more sex. I can’t tell you what was gained after everything that transpired in the season. Lastly is season six which took time away from the first interesting villain since season three to give us an amnesia storyline! I’d tell you more, but if you’ve ever seen a movie you could probably explain it exactly. All that time that could’ve been spent in better ways, was given to something I stopped caring about by season fours end.

Honestly, the fact that the show treats this like the greatest love story of all time makes me less angry and more concerned, because the audience who watched this show weren’t adults who understand what love really is, the people who watched this was made up of mostly tweens and teens. I can’t get too mad, this trope is everywhere, girl helps abusive guy be better person while sapping away all her energy in the process was done before and is still being done today. All I ask is that the young adults who remember this show fondly understand how wrong this is. How people like Damon should not be pitied and relationships like Delena should not be celebrated. Ship whatever you want, but please tell me you’re okay. Are you okay? In conclusion, Damon is trash and Delena wasted my time along with being extremely toxic and abusive. Goodnight everybody!

[fruitless-nonsense]

So long time no see huh?

I just wanna say that I never thought that anybody would acknowledge my input in a million years. No one in my friend group really watched either tvd or to, so this blog is the first time I’ve ever let this out, and the fact that there were people that actually liked what I said meant so much to me I can’t even describe.

Onto why I haven’t posted in a while, that’s just my slow brain. With work and family, my brain likes to fixate on something related to writing and I become obsessed for a while. What started to grind on me was the amount I was putting out versus everything else I had to do in my life, so I decided to take a little break in which time I relearned my love of drawing, but I digress.

I still wanna post on here and plan to do so (maybe some actual tvd analysis idk), but it’s not gonna be as frequently as it was last month. That being said, I still adore each and every one of y’all especially those interacting with me and would still be honored to answer any asks I get the privilege of receiving.

With that introduction out of the way, I’ve decided to talk about some characters rather than another ship (mostly because I’ve already tackled the big ones as far as to is concerned), and these characters are none other than Matt Donovan and Jackson Kenner!

Finally talking directly about the vampire diaries (yay)! Confession: I don’t like Matt. Here’s the thing, the show tries to position him as the “nice guy” of mystic falls. This worked because they place him next to the other male characters (all problematic) during season one. I mean, there’s Damon (narcissistic psychopath), Stefan (recovering addict and vampire), Tyler (abusive bully), and Jeremy (temperamental and moody addict). When we look at Matt next to these guys of course we’d be forgiven for thinking he’s a good person, but what happens when he’s placed next to humans that are considered good individuals?

First example, Caroline! Disclaimer: if you are the kind of person who thinks Caroline was a horrible character until she became a vampire and basically like to tone police her for being an alpha female with completely human flaws that made her such a relatable character (not for me specifically, but even I could notice how real she felt), you’re wrong. I’m not gonna get mad at you, I’m just asking you to take a good look at what you consider a “good female character” and ask yourself what that says about you. That being said, as much as I love Caroline’s characterization in season one, I don’t like how the writers just made her story being a victim the entire time. The most obvious case of this was with Damon, which I know might take y’all a second because Damon fans love to sweep his season one actions under the rug just like the writers. What Damon did to Caroline was disturbing and made me uncomfortable (and they say Klaus compelling Cami was the first time compulsion was broken down with how messed up it could be). The worst part is seeing other characters be aware of this and doing nothing to help her, but this isn’t about Damon. That was the first half of the season, the second half shows a potential ship of Matt and Caroline which was…yikes.

I don’t wanna assume the worst, but I do find it rather clever in a sick way how the writers placed Caroline in a physically abusive relationship with Damon only to place her into an emotionally abusive relationship, so we’re too busy comparing Matt to Damon that we miss how Matt would stand on his own (but that’s just a theory). I know this was season one, but after rewatching a fiftieth time, I can’t help but notice how much Matt belittles her (ex. calls her crazy in a diagnosis kind of way instead of joking), this doesn’t even get into the Elena situation. I do respect him flat out telling Caroline that he’s not over Elena, but there’s that and reminiscing about his relationship with her in front of Caroline and Stefan! And they show Caroline so upset by it and Matt doesn’t even care, but he can’t do anything wrong! Seriously, looking back every argument always ends with Caroline being completely in the wrong and needing to apologize while Matt doesn’t have to do anything. Matt treated her like she was second best, something we knew from the pilot was a big insecurity for her. Why is this ignored?

Second reason: he’s so controlling. Like, it’s not just the writers and the characters singing his praises, he does it to himself. He can hate vampires, but it’s the fact he goes around saying “man, it’s hard being the only nice guy in this town, I have to be the moral center while all of my friends make horrible decisions which I will repeatedly tell them because I’m so smart and know what’s best for them. Man, it’s so hard being me.” This Matt challenges Damon for most insufferable character on screen. Best example is in season three when he drugs Elena and drives her out of town because it’s what’s “best for her” (okay dude). Again, I get he hates vampires, but so does Bonnie, yet despite this she still respects her friends choices because she understands it’s their lives (also I hate that every time Bonnie does get judge mental of her friends the show treats it like she’s being unreasonable and a bad friend, but Matt’s like that the whole time and it’s waved off as “he’s just being a concerned friend”).

Lastly is something everyone already talks about, when he’s not being incredibly toxic he’s so boring. Like, I understand that’s the point in a way, he’s the human, but after seeing how well they integrated Cami into the story in the originals despite her being human that excuse lost all weight for me. He does nothing but complain! If you’re not gonna do anything interesting with him, get him off screen (the later seasons are boring enough! I mean what?)! What really concerns me about Matt as a character is if he is what the writers genuinely believed was the perfect example of a “good guy.” The worst part is it worked! Technically, Matt is the best guy in the tvd cast by default and calling him out for being a toxic human is only a recent trend. Conclusion, Matt Donovan is trash and we deserved better male characters in tvd.

Now, if you think I’m stopping there you’d be wrong. Matt really is a bad person and character, and what kills me is how the community likes to compare the tvd mains to characters in to. Ex. Hayley is Elena (kind of accurate, but at least Hayley had her own story separate from the men in her life in season one) and Bonnie is Davina (I mean, they both do get screwed over by the writers, but I’d argue Bonnie is closer to Vincent since the pain they endure throughout the seasons is much more personal and vindictive). Lastly, and most frustratingly, Cami is said to be the originals equivalent to Matt because they’re both human. At least, I think that’s the reason because I have no idea why else people would say that (is it because in their deluded minds Cami is boring despite being so much fun for reasons I’ve already explained in another post?). So you’re probably thinking who do I think resembles Matt more if anyone? Who could it be? Or maybe I already spoiled it.

So…Jackson Kenner. It’s not a perfect comparison (Jackson has an active story in the show that plays a significant part in seasons one and two). However, in terms of personality they have the most in common. If it’s not clear from what I said about Matt, I don’t like Jackson either. I find him to be an insufferable hypocrite who always talks about keeping the peace yet is quick to start beef with the vampires (who are always portrayed as being the perpetrators and werewolves the victims and showing the conflict as black and white instead of gray on both sides, but I might be the only one who has a problem with how the werewolves treat the vampires in both shows). That’s in season one! Then there’s his controlling behavior towards Hayley and trying to get her to leave the Mikaelsons just cause he can’t be big alpha male next to Klaus (disclaimer: as much as I think Hayley is wrong for trying to abandon the Mikaelsons for good, I did stand with her on getting away from and daggering Klaus for a temporary amount of time. Complex discussion for another day). Then there’s season three where he gets so angry cause Hayley chooses to help find Rebekah (y’know the woman who protected Hope for months!) that he storms off to the Bayou and ignores his wife and insists she must choose between the wolves and the Mikaelsons (keep in mind Elijah never insists she has to choose a side and always refers to both as her family). This is a grown man by the way. I mean, at least the show doesn’t make Hayley bend to his will like season two (progress I guess?). So controlling, egotistical, hypocritical, and the show treats him like he’s the messiah of men because everyone around him are the worst (except Marcel). Sounds like a Matt clone to me.

Why are these two considered the prime example of how men should be by the writers? If it isn’t clear, just because they aren’t killing people every five minutes does not make them good! That could’ve been a decent message if it was noticed by people, but instead we hear how great Matt and Jackson are when they are the most relatable (in a bad way) kind of men in the show. That’s another problem, why are all the men in this show such toxic individuals to be around. The closest exceptions are Stefan and Marcel who personality wise are good, but are killers. Matt could have been what the writers wanted, but what we got was disappointing and annoying. So the women are butchered shells and the men are toxic, so I’m not allowed to like anyone!

[fruitless-nonsense]

rebekah analysis? because she and marcel felt like a goddamn see-saw in s5

Rebekah herself there’s not much to say. I mean, we got a lot of her being her fabulous self in season one (casket girls is my favorite episode in season one and she is a major reason why), but then she left after a rather emotional arc and we didn’t see her until one scene in the finale. I mean, it’s pretty apparent that Claire Holt wasn’t available or something like that which is the reason her appearances felt more like guest stars as season went on. That was until season five when we got her with Marcel. Firstly, marbekah. It infuriates me that these two were so good to each other and that I love both characters individually because putting in the context of Rebekah being his adoptive aunt puts me off of the pair immediately. Why did they have to do this? What was going through their heads? Putting in further context of Rebekah watching Marcel grow from a small boy into a young adult makes me even more creeped out. My only explanation that the writers clearly didn’t recognize Marcel as a part of the family despite being raised by them which is all kinds of racist (of course). Now onto season five, I can definitely see what you’re saying those two were annoying. The only reason it didn’t aggravate me like haylijah is how little it made up compared to the other messes around them. That being said, more on-again, off-again. At least the tension around it has an actual reason unlike haylijah, but it only begs the question of why they keep going back to each other when they want different things.

That’s it really, not much to say on them. Rebekah was great whenever we got to see her, and her relationship with Marcel was problematic in concept which makes the execution being so healthy anger me more. Lastly season five marbekah was both boring and annoying (how they manage that?), but was the least of season five’s offenses for me.

[fruitless-nonsense]

how do you feel about the legacies and it's general focus on klaus and hope?

Honestly I found season one of legacies a lot of fun. I know it was a major change with the monster of the week format, but I watch a show to be entertained and I thoroughly was. I also enjoyed the characters, Josie and Lizzie were adorable, and Kaleb and MG were fun. My only gripe was of course the erasure of Hayley from Hope’s life. The focus on Klaus and Hope’s relationship would’ve been fine if that fact wasn’t constantly in the back of my head. Like, I get that Klaus is the writers’ favorite and they cannot let it go, but furthermore I understand that we barely got anything between them on the originals so this is supposed to make amends. I will never forgive them barring Klaus from another seven years of Hope’s life and then having them share very few scenes in season five until the finale. That’s my only guess as to why the writers are focusing so hard on them in legacies, but my thoughts on the matter are too little too late since y’know he’s dead.

[fruitless-nonsense]

interesting analysis! i really liked haylijah as a couple and i was furious during s4 and s5. a few years after TO ended it such an awful way, I mostly just focus on s1 and those few happy moments in s4. s2 and s3 were really bumpy. And yeah you're right that Hayley lost a lot of her agency over the seasons which I really wasn't a fan of. I feel like the writers had issues with writing characters who weren't Klaus, Elijah, and Marcel. S5 is a trashfire I prefer to ignore. Also re: the other ask about Legacies, i also dropped off after two seasons and no they aint subtle about the erasure of Hayley. It's just Klaus this and Klaus that. Damnit, they even wasted Freya in s2! She got one scene with Hope, it wasn't worth it.

Couldn’t put it better myself!

Honestly, work was tough, but this made my day. After staying out of the community for so long, it’s nice to hear from someone who interacts and agrees with me.

[fruitless-nonsense]

would you analyze haylijah?

You read my mind (literally I was just thinking about this last night)!

Firstly, I’m sorry how long I took to answer, work was killing me. I also wanna say how appreciative I am that people like you are interacting with me, so thank you!

Okay, so Haylijah! What I take from them is a simple issue that the writers continue to make in to and tvd: beating a dead horse. Confession time! I genuinely liked these two in season one. They were cute, had good chemistry, a connection that wasn’t inherently toxic, and just cause they were paired didn’t mean they were tied to each other (I.e - had different storylines and stuff to do). I also liked how they took their time with it (like I said, they had stuff to do). I mean, I guess Hayley falling for the brother of her baby daddy is a bit weird of a dynamic, but it’s not like Klaus owns her just cause they slept together once. It also helped that I enjoyed both characters at the time. That’s really it, just a surprisingly unproblematic pairing. So what happened? A lot, a lot happened.

In season one, we are introduced to Jackson (who’s his own can of worms, believe me) and is immediately presented as a love interest for Hayley (love triangle oh boy!). It’s not really until season two that Hayley shows signs that she might feel things for the man, and then they have to get married. Couple that with Elijah inexplicably being distant towards Hayley for reasons I can only guess are to raise conflict and nothing else (cause seriously it made no sense). So they sleep together (I don’t know either, guess they patched things up and love each other again. You’ll notice that’s a theme) after Hayley explains that she’s marrying Jackson and they can’t be together. We skip to the wedding and they both have a heart to heart and end their relationship for good. I have to be honest, as a finale to this ship, it was perfect! It wasn’t just Hayley repeating “I’m marrying Jackson for the pack, we can’t do this anymore,” Hayley brought up her issues with Elijah. He’s the kind of guy who isn’t good at showing his feelings (to each their own), and Hayley wants more. She gave her entire heart to Elijah and got barely anything in return. Maybe she doesn’t love Jackson now, but he’s what she wants and perhaps she can learn to. Good scene, good episode, good season. This talk was expanded a bit in the finale when Gia had gone to Elijah, and just when it looks like he’s pushing another person he cares for away he goes back and kisses her (this might be me stretching but I have an overactive imagination). So what happened? It wasn’t over.

Season three had these two interacting a lot more (I mean Hayley didn’t have her own storyline at this point, so it’s unsurprising), and the writers decided to give them this lingering tension as to hang onto the pairing. Now I don’t know about y’all, but at this point in the show I had moved on. Why can’t these two just be friends, why is this still a thing? This is the nature of every scene they share (which is a lot of scenes, Hayley do you have nothing better to do? Wait, I just remembered thanks to the writers you don’t!) until Jackson dies, and suddenly things go from lingering tension to will-they-won’t-they. Now, I don’t have a problem with this trope when done well, but the problem is this is less of potential and more dunking it in the water and taking it back out over and over. These two were together, but now it’s over, wait never mind it’s not over but we can’t be together, now the obstacle keeping us apart is gone we can do this, but I have to respect his memory, wait never mind let’s do this. It’s not even exhausting, it’s just boring. This is all during season three! They finally hook up again after Elijah tells her he murdered Marcel and Hayley just doesn’t react. Who cares that the man who saved her as a baby and has done everything in his power to protect her and her daughter was killed by this man? Hayley needs to assuage Elijah’s man-pain. Then she has the audacity to demand Klaus forgive him, and when he addresses the irony she just ignores him. This is the moment it got through my head that Hayley was no longer a character, and was just a puppet for the writers, but tbh it happened way earlier than that. The season ends with the fate of the Mikaelson’s falling on Hayley. Does this mean Hayley gets her own storyline again in season four? You see where I’m getting with this.

We get the first episode’s A plot starring Hayley exclusively as she fights to save them, and it was actually pretty fun, especially when she went into wolf form to tear apart some vampires. Unfortunately it doesn’t last long as she reunites with Elijah immediately. Okay, so at this point Elijah is dead to me and Hayley has ceased to be a real character. Outcome, they’re together now and I couldn’t care less. I could say it’s infuriating that Hayley doesn’t care that Elijah contemplated killing a bunch of children no older than Hope or actually killed four innocent teenagers for the harvest ritual (she does bring them up with him, but it’s always in a scolding manner that doesn’t affect how she feels about him), but what he does to her in the necklace is what makes her believe he’s not safe to be around Hope. Okay. Not much outside of this, they end things again shortly after he returns from the dead (another cliche that y’all keep doing!) The finale has them separated by the hollow and Elijah’s amnesia. So how are they gonna bring this back for season five? It’s much worse than that.

So season five skips to seven years later, and they both appear to have moved on with respective partners. Declan is boring (more of a Matt clone than people keep insisting Cami was) and Antoinette is interesting but also problematic, not that either of these people matter. They’re only plot devices (another female character who doesn’t get to be a character? Nice one guys!) to put a wrench in Haylijah despite Elijah’s amnesia already doing the job just fine. Surprisingly their relationship isn’t relevant at all for a good few episodes (mostly due to Hayley being missing. And then, he kills her. You know what I’m talking about. X character being responsible for loved ones death while they don’t remember said loved one cliche. Remember when this ship wasn’t inherently toxic? Tbh it hasn’t been harmless in a while. So we get stoic Elijah, and the others trying so desperately to make him and to the extension me believe that him and Hayley were this unbreakable love story for the ages, when in reality their relationship was a hot-and-cold nightmare. Take notes, if you’re gonna do a slow burn, don’t get them together and break them up over and over again unless you’re planning to spice up the relationship in some way every time. Because I lost interest so early, and I don’t think I’m the only one. So once Elijah gets his memory back his story arc is over for the season and he spends the remainder moping around (we could have gotten an entire story between him and Hope instead of one episode and a scene in another). He almost doesn’t go to his own sister’s wedding cause he’s man-paining too hard. Finally, he decides last minute to undercut Klaus’ self sacrificing so they could die together (cause who needs actual growth between these two?). It is speculated that Elijah reunites with Hayley in the afterlife and they live happily ever after (I say speculated because we didn’t get to see their afterlife even though we saw Hayley and Josh’s?).

So what is there to learn from this? Elijah was an interesting character who’s arc inverted Klaus in a clever kind of way, but would not stop hanging on Hayley. And Hayley herself is yet another female in this show who’s agency and character is stripped away to service the man. The main problem with this couple is how repetitive and predictable their story became. Unlike kolvina their beginning had promise, but they never grew from there, they only shrank.

[fruitless-nonsense]

says something that by s5 of TO only Freya and Hayley were really left of the female leads and well, we all know what happened to Hayley. Unsure if you watched Legacies but that show has basically erased her, it's all about Klaus and Hope with no mention of the woman who raised Hope for most of her life and died twice for her.

It’s kind of weird how I didn’t notice any of this (except the legacies stuff cause writers ain’t subtle cropping her out of the pictures) until now. It says something that TO introduced so many badass women just to either kill them off or they leave (or both). Thinking back on season one I remember Sophie, Sabine/Celeste, Eve, Genevieve, Bastiana (I think her name was), Monique, and that blonde girl who’s name is probably only mentioned once. There might be more tbh. My all time favorite who was taken far too soon is from season two: fiercest Gia, who died for no reason whatsoever.

I never understood why they killed off Hayley (besides sexism ofc), but after seeing how much they’re erasing her impact on Hope I’m only more upset. I get that Klaus is their favorite, but maybe they should pay attention to the woman who was actually in her life.

P.S. yes, I did watch Legacies but have since stopped somewhere in the beginning of season three. Just lost interest. Maybe I’ll check it out again sometime in the future, but I currently have too many shows that I enjoy to pretend to care anymore.

[fruitless-nonsense]

Hello again! A bit of a delay I know, had some personal life stuff, but I’m back babey!

Firstly, I want to say Happy Pride Month! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 I myself have only recently come out, but to all my peeps in the lgbtq+ community I wish you a month of celebration.

For the topic, I chose one that has been circling in my brain since some asks last week gave me a revelation: I will be discussing kolvina, and more specifically the direction the writers chose for a one Davina Claire.

This ship has always been an anomaly to me, like when it was happening on my screen I was in denial that it was happening at all, and the perceptions on this site have only fueled that feeling. I’ve been watching these communities for a few years now, and the general consensus is people both love and hate this ship, and both sides seem to be equal in numbers. So what is my opinion on kolvina? Well after much deliberation I have decided that.... I don’t like it, and here’s why!

First thing’s first, I want to say I understand this ship better than any other ship in both shows, honestly if the characters acted differently it would’ve been a lot better. The dynamic is there (and I know how important that is to people), not just a trope, but between both characters it works! Let me explain, starting with Kol. Season two goes into depth on his insecurities with his family and how lonely it made him feel over the years. I mean, the show always potrayed the big three: Klaus, Elijah, and Rebekah with the strongest bonds and while Finn chooses to exclude himself (for valid reasons tbh) Kol even in the vampire diaries wanted to be a part of that. The problem is (for some reason that is never explained) his siblings don’t care about him. The easiest example is how they reacted to his death, Rebekah was upset for a minute and Elijah didn’t even seem affected at all, the closest I can say is Klaus was angered and didn’t forget for a while, but as soon as the originals started nothing. Then we have his second death where Klaus takes the only opportunity to bring him back off the table and the only one who seeks to try is Rebekah, meanwhile Elijah is nowhere to be found in this department. This finally brings us to Davina. As much of an issue as this is (and we’ll talk about it later), Davina seems to be the first person to ever put Kol first. When he dies a second time, Davina’s number one priority is his resurrection and goes to incredible lengths to do so. I know people say it’s unrealistic for Kol to take interest in a mortal, but it makes sense to me, she’s a witch. From what we learn, Kol has a soft spot for witches cause he yearns for the power that was taken from him by his mother, which doesn’t even go into Davina herself being a rebel like him who paved her own way. Onto Davina’s feelings towards him, Kol’s the only person in her life that is there unconditionally. I know Marcel loves her, but his loyalty to his family clearly comes into conflict with his loyalty to his other family, including her. Klaus either ruins her life or demands things from her. Cami was there for her, but they scrapped that relationship after season one. When Kol is by her side, it’s not cause he needs things from her, nor is he there as some kind of protection. In season two, Davina had a plan and Kol’s response was “okay, I can assist you with that.” Side note, I really liked their friendship in season two before they of course made it something more. Regardless of the past, all of this material would’ve made for a pretty great relationship, but it fell flat, why did that happen?

I have two reasons for why I could never get on board with them. The first is the most obvious: it’s the age difference for me. I know we had Damon and Elena and Klaus and Caroline, but for kolvina the vibe was weirder. Perhaps because Davina acts more childish than them in season one, or because our image of her was young and sweet. It might also have to do with Kol referring to being Kaleb as the body of a teenager making him seem way older than he probably is. I know by season three Davina is 18, but that feeling never goes away for me. This was my hesitance in season two, but as a friendship those two were pretty fun together (might be an unpopular opinion). The problems start in season three.

The second reason is something that the community has kind of dipped into, but not enough. I don’t know if I’m not looking hard enough, but every complaint for kolvina in season three talk only about how insufferable Kol was, which yeah definitely, but honeys he’s only half the problem. Not even halfway through season two Davina stopped being a character. Remember her in season one? A bright spitfire who wasn’t afraid to speak up at the injustice of the Mikaelson’s even if it put her at risk? The girl who showed up Klaus on multiple occasions? Who stood for Josh, Marcel, Cami, and anyone else being pushed around by Klaus? The girl who was powerful, yet kind? A powerhouse set up on a warpath against the Mikaelson’s for season two? I remember her! She was one of my favorite characters because of how badass she was while still keeping her agency. I don’t blame you if you forgot she’s never talked about, and that’s because of what follows. Season two starts off well, with Davina standing her ground against the wolves and keeping Mikael under control showed she wasn’t completely in over her head. Her plan is to find a way to de-sire Klaus’ sireline so she doesn’t kill Marcel and Josh which shows she’s smart and thinking ahead. Then she meets Kaleb, and it goes downhill from there. I get that Davina is supposed to be a naive teenage girl, but that doesn’t excuse after she finds out Kaleb is really Kol. After her Mikael plan fell through her backup plan is to just sit around until Kol shows her the room and tells her about the dagger. With what she’s trying to accomplish it’s a smart plan, but that doesn’t mean her sudden trust in Kol is any less stupid. Her first thought when he’s gone with the stake is to assume he took it and left, so if she thought he was capable of that, why did she drop her guard in the first place? Gets me frustrated. When Kol dies Davina also completes the dagger and for the rest of the season does nothing with it, she does nothing period but whine about Kol with everyone she interacts with which is annoying considering how much she was a part of in season one. That was bad, but the worst is yet to come. Season three gives her a storyline as a ruler of the witches before immediately ending it, and when you look at what they threw away it’s even worse. So Davina gets Hayley to kill one of her detesters and it ends in a bloodbath and the son vows justice for his mom (which is completely valid), and Marcel hints at her turning into Klaus. This is promising, in this scenario Davina is Klaus holding power over the powerless, and Van Nguyen is Davina taking a stand. Very interesting, until she gets shunned in the seventh episode. What was the point? The next time we see her she is distraught at her current predicament, but not because she’s cut off from her people and her ancestors because now she doesn’t have the power to bring Kol back (of course it’s for no other reason). I just don’t understand why Davina was relegated to a side character in the later seasons after all she did in season one. They couldn’t have cut anything else from 3a (Tristan and Aurora perhaps, they were so boring)? Finally, we have her characterization after she resurrected Kol, nothing. She does nothing but wait in the wings for Kol to finish helping his family, a family she hated and had every right to. She either does nothing, or is only around to help with Kol’s sudden curse, and yet Kol is supposed to be worse. I know, I know, the big bad Kol Mikaelson became a lost puppy chasing after Davina, but so was she. They were just as bad as each other, two puppies chasing the tail of the other. Then she died, to push forward the plot around her. If you think that’s treating her like a plot device, let’s fast forward to season four. Davina Claire, harvest girl, rebellious teen, former queen regent of New Orlean witches, is a piece of leverage to control Kol. I’m done. There’s not much to say about season five, she only shows up to spout information and that’s about it.

It’s a sad end that Davina doesn’t even get an epilogue in the finale (I mean I have many problems with the finale regardless but I digress). Our only conclusion is that she lives happily ever after with her immortal boyfriend. Oh yeah! They never explain that caveat. She’s a mortal witch who will eventually die of old age, and he’s an original. I’m either supposed to assume Davina becomes a vampire (which would be the most out of character thing for her to do considering she hates vampires and loves her magic), which would mean women making personal sacrifices while the man doesn’t have to give up a thing (such a wonderful lesson we keep telling young women), or Kol became mortal by maybe also taking the cure with Rebekah (which makes a bit more sense since we know Kol misses doing magic). The point is, we don’t know, cause they don’t explain anything.

Look Davina wasn’t the perfect character, but she deserved so much better than what she became, and the worst part is this is barely talked about. Like I said, when people hate on kolvina, they approach it from “they ruined Kol!” And not really mentioning Davina. You’ll notice I mention Kol’s characterization, but I’m not going in depth. That’s cause you can easily find a more articulated response on how they did Kol dirty without having to look too hard, but Davina? She needs all the shoutouts she can get. Cami is overhated, and Davina is ignored. That’s two female regulars in the cast being treated terribly by the community and I will not stand for it! I wanna see Davina Claire deserves better cause she did.

To wrap up a very long post, we need to talk about Davina more, when I said season three was better than tvd I wasn’t referring to 3a, justice for the women of the originals, happy pride month, I’ll try to post more frequently.

[fruitless-nonsense]

it feels weird that the show didn't have strong female relationships that weren't romantic.

Yeah, I honestly didn’t notice until now, but it feels like something that should be addressed. I don’t know why this was the case, but thanks for the epiphany!

[fruitless-nonsense]

i know like s1 was setting up hayley and rebekah, hayley and davina, and cami & davina but the show never really did anything with it. Like they called back to it but never devoted much time to it. it was a shame.

Exactly! The writers kept adding more and more, and many interesting plots were left in the dust (it’s also quite interesting which storylines with which characters they decided to abandon). It’s sad to think about all the potential that was wasted.

[fruitless-nonsense]

i wish we'd seen more of cami and hayley before s3.

Definitely! They worked so well together and we only got two episodes out of it (one of which was a single scene). They both are sarcastic and strong-willed, yet caring individuals. It was also fun to see Hayley doing something that didn’t involve the wolves, Jackson, or Elijah, and it was nice to see Cami have some screen time in 3b (did I say that out loud?).

Come to think of it, there is a real shortage of female friendships in the originals. I mean, we had Cami and Davina being sweet and Hayley and Rebekah being an iconic duo in season one, but besides that all the women on this show seem to be in different corners for the most part. It’s a shame really, especially with how badass most of them are.

But anyways, Cami and Hayley were fun for how little we saw! Thanks for the ask!

[fruitless-nonsense]

Okay, so I didn’t actually think anyone would care what I had to say. I just saw a post that riled me up and I wrote that to let off some steam. That being said, to everyone who liked my post or just read it thank you from the bottom of my heart. Seriously it means so much to me that there are people who notice what I have to say. That being said, I want to do more of these cause I have a lot of opinions that aren’t widespread, and I’d like to start with a post gushing about a certain character that receives too much hate. However, seeing as this isn’t a rant out of agitation this might take a bit longer to get out. With that long introduction out of the way... Cami O’Connell!

As I said, Cami is my favorite female character in the whole of the tvdverse (Bonnie is a close second). The reason why I want to start with her instead of Bonnie or my favorite character (Marcel) is because while both were royally screwed with by the writers, there are plenty of fans online who sing their praises (as they deserve). However, when it comes to Cami the consensus online is either hatred or indifference by a vast majority of the fans (that being said there are still a good amount of people who do love her I’m not saying there aren’t, but they are in the minority). This is something I never quite understood, but I’m gonna try my best educated guess on it.

I suppose before I go any further, I have a confession to make. The way I watched both tvd and to was not a straight line. Several years ago, I decided to finally watch tvd and started with the first two season (which I really liked), then a youtuber dropped a video analyzing the pilot for to and the premise hooked me immediately so I started the first season and kept watching until finishing the third, then I decided to go back and watch tvd seasons three and four, then got bored so I switched back to finish to, and finally after a few months declared I wanted to finish what I started and slogged through the second half of tvd. Why is this relevant? Well I just wanted to inform y’all as this might’ve led to my different perspectives on many things in both shows, and it hopefully can somewhat explain my reasoning

Going back to Cami, why is she my favorite female? A multitude of reasons. Firstly, I love how different she is from other female characters we’ve seen. Characters like Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline are fun in their own right, with bubbly personalities and childish innocence. This makes sense because they’re teenagers! Even Elena’s angst comes off more like young naivety than a wayward soul. I’m not knocking this characterization, it makes sense that a show aimed at teenagers would have teenage girls as it’s main cast. Where am I going with this? Cami might be the most mature character we’ve seen in this universe that actually has a pretty big part in the cast. What I mean is that shows like this paint maturity on women as being motherly or a stick in the mud, but Cami is neither. She’s still fun and loose, but with an aura of restraint and intelligence that needs to be accumulated over time. She’s not even that old! My guesstimation puts her at 23 cause we know she’s graduated college with a degree in psychology and was already working at Rousseau’s in the pilot (you mean to tell me you don’t just get your dream job right out of college, you have to work some dead end jobs first? YA lied to me!). I don’t know how quite to describe it beyond that, Cami just feels like a real person to me, and that makes me invested in her life even more.

Secondly, is her personality beyond her intelligence. I love how empathetic and kind she is! In the span of three seasons, she had helped almost everyone in the show while never sticking her feet into the main drama. That’s another thing, she knows when something’s over her head and will step out when she can, when something is pushing her, she fights back. I love that despite how kind hearted she is, she’s not a pushover. If there’s something she doesn’t like, she will attest. She may be nice, but get on her bad side and her sass will cut you like a knife. Considering she’s only a human against these witches, vampires, and originals you would call this unrealistic, but it works because unlike most people on the show, she’s smart. I know I just said beyond her intelligence, but I just want to gush about how fun it is watching Cami get out of trouble on her own by using nothing but her brain (I just think it’s neat). Characters this complex are not usually reserved for women on the cw, which leads into my final reason.

I love how much agency Cami has throughout her run on the show! Like, her story isn’t stapled to Klaus, she does so much without him even being there. In tvd, I can’t think of a single storyline Elena had that wasn’t tied to one or both of the Salvatore brothers, Bonnie is constantly being abused by the writers, Caroline is forcibly impregnated, Hayley starts off with her own goals before being tied to Jackson and later Elijah, Davina also starts off with her own ambitions before also being shackled to her love interest to resurrecting Kol being her only storyline in season three. I’m sure there are more, but these are just ones off the top of my head. While this makes me wish she had her own storyline, I acknowledge she is a supporting character (which begs the question of why none of the women in the main cast get this luxury but I digress).

This has been very long, and we’re just getting to complaints. Unlike complaints about the ship, I have yet to find an argument about why Cami sucks that isn’t factually incorrect, so if you have one please share. The first complaint I hear is that Cami is a copy of Caroline (I’ll give y’all that have seen the show a second to stop laughing at the statement). I’ve already explained why Caroline and Cami are two very different characters (hint: one is bubble and energetic and one is calm and mature), I know they’re both blonde, nice, empathetic, and have names that start with c, but try paying attention to what you’re watching then maybe you’ll have a better grasp on it. Secondly is that Cami’s only purpose is being Klaus’ love interest. Like I stated, there’s a lot Cami does where Klaus isn’t even present, unless you’re saying everyone Cami has had a story with was a love interest (So Davina, Josh, Hayley, Elijah, Marcel cerca season two onward, Vincent, Lucien, that detective guy, and her uncle Kieran), in that case I think y’all are onto something with Cami being a Mary Sue cause she getting all the action (note the sarcasm)! That’s another thing, people say Cami’s a Mary Sue cause almost everyone loves her and she has basically no flaws. First of all, I don’t believe Mary Sue to be a character problem but a story problem, and above all an excuse to neuter powerful women lest they make fragile men uncomfortable. Second of all, we see Cami form these relationships in real time through her actions not by her existence. Third of all (not that she needs them to be a good character since other favs don’t), Cami has her stubbornness that eventually got her killed and the fact that strength wise she is the weakest character in the show by her being human.

Are you catching on to some of what I’m saying? Most of these complaints aren’t even true, yet it’s all we hear. My first inclination was to blame this hatred on klaroline shippers who were bitter that their ship could no longer sail, but then I saw posts of people who claimed not to ship them and still hated Cami because she was “just a love interest.” Which leads into the other problem with haters: the hypocrisy. Reasons people hate Cami are elements in other characters that these same people love. Never mind the fact that some of these complaints don’t even apply to her like the love interest thing. To use something that isn’t a lie, people will hate on Cami for sleeping with Marcel in season one when Marcel is Klaus’ son, meanwhile y’all seem to forget Elena not only dated but cheated on Stefan with Damon in the finale of tvd season two (spoiler: she kissed him on his deathbed while her boyfriend and his brother was searching for a way to save him, which doesn’t even go into all their kisses in season three) and furthermore shipping Marcel with Rebekah who would be his aunt (I know some people who ship them acknowledge this but damn). I also know these people jumped at the chance to attack Cami for stealing the white oak stake in season three and ignoring what she was going through meanwhile will wave past everything Elena, Damon, and Caroline did when they had their humanity turned off as “they were going through a lot” (disclaimer: no hate to either of those girls, they were understandably in much pain, just wanna expose the hypocrisy). This all made me reevaluate the reasoning as more than just shippers being bitter, this seemed much more malicious to just be that.

After a lot of thought, my only conclusion I can come to is sexism. Cami is a very different female character than what we’re used to, she’s strong willed, opinionated, smarter than the men, and more mature. I guess fans weren’t ready for a character like that so assumed it was bad or just wrote her off as too different, but that’s giving the benefit of the doubt. To be honest, I still don’t know why she was so hated and continues to be ignored by fans, but maybe it’s time we start asking that question. It’s time we appreciate characters like this so maybe we can have more of them on the cw. It’s time to give Camille O’Connell and Leah Pipes the respect they deserve!

(P.S - Can someone far more talented than me please put out some Cami x reader content? I’m starved of my girl and Leah is too pretty for my gay brain to function!)