#and that's the most i will ever defend plec on

[scorpio-karma]

Ain't I a Woman

So I made a post recently about Vicki Donovan and added a bit about the misogyny within in TVD and the fandom. I touched briefly on the Bonnie of it all, but as I said that's a different discussion, so here it is.

I'd add Bonnie, but this fandom is more racist than it is misogynistic so they don't even think to put her against Elena or the other girls due to her being black, no Bonnie gets her own special category as the strong black woman which they use to exclude her from being considered a woman at all, but we don't have time to get into all that.

Now that made me think of Sojourner Truth's infamous "Ain't I A Woman" speech basically about the same concept of not being seen as a woman or feminine because she was black and being excluded from the rights gained in the woman's suffrage movement.

Now TVD, many a moment goes old school racism to the point I gotta wonder who approved any of it, so it doesn't surprise me that this particular facet applies to Bonnie.

She gets love interests that are considered less desirable in the series let alone in comparison to her white counterparts (granted I don't find either Stefan or Damon a catch but you can't deny their allure especially over Jeremy and Enzo). When she does have any kind of love interest they are either using her, they die (repeatedly), and just don't go that hard for her (Enzo and his severely disinterested face in every intimate scene). Or in Jeremy's case when they do go hard he didn't have any power to help her, and he cheated on her multiple times.

You compare that to both Caroline and Elena's love interests you can see where Bonnie stands. She's an after thought while both Caroline and Elena are their LI reasons for living. While I do find these traits often annoying and bad story telling, it still offers insight into how the narrative sees Bonnie. It sees her as not even worth the effort. She's not in "the same league" as the white girls because she's not really even considered a woman.

You especially see that in the way they express her sexuality. It's been often observed by Bonnie fans that the show makes her essentially asexual. She literally has only two sex scenes one she stays mostly clothed for and it's after the fact and the other happens right after she as the anchor has someone painfully pass through her. And worse, to me at least, that was apparently when she lost her virginity. Now it would be one thing if Bonnie was portrayed as modest and if this fact had came to light before that episode, but it doesn't.

The show itself in terms of sex, while not sex positive (note how promiscuity in female characters is punished), treats it as nothing. Most teenage shows make a big deal out of virginity except for TVD which essentially skips over it completely in the first episodes where Caroline takes Damon home like she's in her 20s and has her own apartment and not 17 living with her mom. So the fact that Bonnie's sexuality is barely mentioned, and when it does it's a decided choice that she's less sexual that every other character tells me the viewer that it's another place where she's excluded, but worse she's once again an after thought in how she expresses her sexuality.

This injustice often fuels fanfic writers to write a Bonnie harem, but I think what should be noted is that the problem isn't that she never has sex, it's that it's never shown or talked about in either direction whether she's more modest or "slutty". It's a big part of the show and especially when it comes to the female characters and how they're treated, but this is one of those places Bonnie isn't judged. Usually I would jump for joy that finally she's not being judged for every little thing she does, but instead it notes what's off.

She's not being thought of as a woman which is why she's not being judged on her sex life or lack of (that catch 22 of being a woman). In fact, in my time on reddit she was more often commended for not having many love interests. Kat even stated it in an interview. To them it was subversive instead of peculiar that only the black character was portrayed this way.

Then there's the "let's make up an excuse to wear formal wear" episodes most of which she wasn't even present for and when she was she was in something way less formal than the others.

Miss Mystic Falls, an event both Caroline and Elena competed in and I believe both won at some point, but Bonnie isn't even considered in being a contestant. Is this due to her own preferences? We don't know because it's once again area she's not even thought of.

Founders Day parade where everyone is in participation but Bonnie on the sidelines taking pictures. There are tons of racist reason why she shouldn't be in that parade nor want to be, but again they're not brought up, so she's just off on the sidelines excluded completely.

Mikaelson Ball, an event that honestly was just a Klaroline set up, but even if so, Matt got an invite, along with every other member of the MFG except Bonnie (and Tyler), the most relevant character to that plotline. And once again, no explanation given for why she's missing.

Hell, even the cheer squad, in the pilot it's established all three girls are on the team, Elena quits, Caroline stays on, and they don't even bother explaining what Bonnie does. Its assumed she quit since she's never seen again but in season 7 during her dream sequence she's in her season 4 hair and the uniform from that year.

She's constantly excluded from events that would put her in direct competition with both Elena and Caroline and there's always no explanation given. The audience is supposed to accept it as natural and if by the amount of arguments I've been in where the arguing tagline is "she's just a supporting character" tells me it worked. No one thinks to question why other supporting characters are there but she isn't because the narrative has created a pattern where it's "just natural" for her not to he there, I can't completely blame the racism on the fandom. Sure, they heads in the sand, but they can react to the source material.

Now I know what some of you are thinking. "She went to the dances, got to dress up with everyone, and even won prom queen." School sanctioned events, the only ones she was allowed to participate in. She won prom queen, but honestly this fact plays even more into my point because neither Caroline or Elena were in the running, just Rebekah. It was an easy bone for the show runner to throw because it played right into her ranking system of the girls and white supremacy continued to reign supreme right down to shafting Tyler with Klaus.

The big point I'm making with this giant post is not that she's excluded from things, but how she's excluded. It's a narrator choice rather than character choice meaning the framing is very deliberate by the people in control of the story. And what that narrative tells me is they don't view Bonnie as a woman, they barely view her as a human being.

In fact, if the amount of pain they put her through is anything to go by with the attitude from all other characters that she can handle it, they don't see her as human. They see her as property, and had they hired a red headed white girl I guarantee you Bonnie would not have been viewed that way by the writers. Effort would have been put in her characterization, instead of make her a prop for white characters.

[anime-lover-forever-1127]

Watching The Show Where A Klaroliner Creates The TVD Plot (Klaroline) - Chapter 3: Caroline Has a GPA of 4.0 & Klaus is Proud His Wifey (how can he not be?)

3. Caroline Has a GPA of 4.0 & Klaus is Proud His Wifey (how can he not be?)

----------

Disclaimer - (Cause fanfiction is tricky ground and I hope not to offend the creator of the original story and get sued)

I do not own "The Vampire Diaries", it belongs to its original creator Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, and L. J. Smith. This is only a fanfiction, it is a piece of nonprofit work - that I was inspired to write by the original work. Please support the official release of "The Vampire Diaries". All of the characters come from the original work, a lot of the lines/text/scenes come from it as well. Most of the media - such as the art and illustrations, gifs, video's, etc. used in this fanfiction - are from the web. To fit the story, images can/are also edited (usually by me) using various apps and websites. So these images aren't mine; just edited a lot of the time.

Also if you own a picture or Video that I found online, and you either want your name added, or me to take it down. Please contact me and we can talk it out. P.s. I also ask that you do not copy my work and/or publish it onto any other website.

Warnings: Spoilers for TVD season 2 episode 21, Elena Bashing, Damon Bashing, (Temporary) Death of Damon & Elena

----------

Today

"You have to be smart to play a dumb blonde over and over again and keep the audience's attention without extraordinary physical equipment."

~Judy Holliday

----------

In the Lockwood Cellar, Tyler, in wolf form, growled and snarled at Caroline and Matt, snapping his venomous fangs at them. Luckily for them, the iron gate separated them, as Caroline held the gates shut, as she was unable to reach the chains.

"Caroline, let me help!" Matt tried to reason with her.

"Get back," The eternal teenager ordered, "I got it!"

Just as she said that, Tyler lunged at the gate, fitting his snout through the doors, as he kept snapping and snarling.

Caroline flinched as the deadly drool landed on her skin, but kept holding the gate steady.

Matt aimed his rifle at Tyler, the wolf recognising the danger, backed up, before trying to lunge again.

"Caroline, the door's not going to hold." Matt warned her.

For once, Klaus found himself agreeing with the human. The cage was meant to keep the wolf in, not out, especially when it was unchained.

The hybrid had to glance at Caroline to remind himself, and push the worry down, that his baby vampire was ok. The useless pup didn't manage to get to her.

Matt took a few steps back in fear, but continued to hold his gun towards Tyler. "Come on!" He pleaded.

"Tyler, please!" Caroline begged, trying to get through to the man in the wolf, but the beast didn't let up on his relentless attacks.

Matt's survival instincts kicked in as he finally pulled the trigger, shooting Tyler in the shoulder. The wolf let out a yelp, but didn't go down, so Matt pulled the trigger again.

Caroline flinched away from the scene at the wolf's second yelp. "Matt! No, hey, no! It's Tyler!"

"It's trying to kill us!" Matt defended himself.

Matt raised his rifle again, but Caroline stopped him, "Wait!" she said, as she looked at the wolf who was laying down on the ground, panting in pain as his body struggled to heal itself after the two consecutive shots. "He's wounded." The vampire said, realizing the wolf wouldn't be able to move for a while.

"Caroline, stay back." Matt said, as he realized what she was about to do.

But it was too late as Caroline began to open the door. "We can go around him."

Katherine let out a whistle, impressed. "You can be quite the little daredevil when you want to be, huh sunshine."

"It was actually quite smart." Sage noted. "That would be the best time to move. He's wounded, so you'll have a higher chance of escaping without giving him an opening to attack. He'd be too slow. Pretty smart." She complimented the blond. "But 'we'? I would leave the human behind."

"I wouldn't, "Caroline glared at the red head. "Ever!"

Sage raised an eyebrow, the girl definitely had fire, she thought, her lips curving upward into a small smirk.

Finn glanced at the women he loved, it was rare for Sage to take a liking to someone, but when she did, she always protected them. So far he'd only seen the blond as someone his younger brother was interested in, an interesting feat, but nothing he'd give attention to. But it seems he'd need to re-evaluate the young vampire.

Sage wasn't the only one smiling, Bonnie was as well, though the witches were a lot softer. Of course, how could she be so stupid. She was still the same Caroline. Being a vampire didn't change who you are, it only amplified them. And if there was one thing Caroline was, it was loyal. Even as a child, Caroline fiercely protected those she considered hers. Yet she turned her back on her, when her best friend needed her the most... the witch's smile fell, as guilt ate up at her.

Shelia smiled, pleased that this was going the way she intended. She wasn't doing this to make her granddaughter feel bad. Bonnie was meant to take a second look at her actions, and realize her faults, so she could become aware of them, and fix them. She had been making rash decisions without knowing the full story, well it was time for them all to learn the whole story.

"Are you nuts?" Matt asked, aiming his weapon again.

"You're not going to shoot him again, okay?" Caroline said, offering her hand. "Okay. Matt, take my hand." She said, when Matt hesitated.

Matt glanced at it, but didn't accept, so Caroline opened the door and walked out, Matt followed behind her, with the gun still aimed at Tyler.

Klaus' shoulders tensed as Caroline walked out, and he glanced at her.

This time, Caroline caught him from the corner of her eye. She moved her head slightly to face him, and mouthed, 'I'm alright.'

He felt himself relax, and the tension leave his body with her two simple words. That was Caroline, brave, even in the face of danger.

"I got it." Matt said.

Caroline glanced behind at him, "Matt, take my hand." She told him, firmer this time.

The human finally complied and placed the rifle over his shoulder as he took Caroline's hand and she flashed the two of them out of the cellar.

----------

Back at Alaric's residence, Damon and Katherine were at Alaric's wet bar, observing the werewolf bite on his arm.

"So that's what a werewolf bite looks like." Katherine said, fascinated as she stood over him.

"Yep." Damon said.

"It's not that bad." Katherine noted.

"It gets worse." Caroline winced, remembering her own experience.

Kol smirked, "Yeah, not exactly your best wooing tactic, was it big brother".

Klaus opened his mouth, but Caroline beat him to it, "Saying that, 'saving me was always part of the plan', doesn't fix it."

"But my blood did." Klaus replied, flashing her a boyish smile, his dimples fully visible. Caroline let out a huff, and turned back to the screen.

Elijah watched the exchange in shock, when was the last time his brother let someone cut him off, let alone speak to him like that. His brother was almost... playful. But that wasn't possible, was it?

"Will be." Damon said, as he remembered Rose. He stood up and rolled down his sleeves. The fabric irritated the wound, but at least he wouldn't have to look at it this way.

"So that's it? You're just...going to die?" Katherine asked.

"Well, that depends. You know anything about a cure?" Damon asked, not having any expectations.

Katherine shakes her head.

Damon sighed, if even Katherine, a woman who had connections everywhere didn't know about a cure, then there just wasn't going to be one.

"Well, if you blood idiots put your connected single brain cell to the use, instead of just focusing on the bloody doppelganger, you could do the math and realize that a cure would exist before the night is up." Kol snarked.

"How much do you want to bet their precious doppelganger wouldn't suddenly mind dying like the martyr she is." Rebekah added.

"I-I", Elena spoke up, but she didn't have anything to say.

Rebekah smirked, leave it to Eleana Gilbert to give her the perfect opportunity, "What, you can't tell Stefan that you would die for Damon, but wouldn't live for him?" She taunted.

Elena stayed quiet, and Stefan knew that what Rebekah said was completely true.

Elena would die for Damon,

But she wouldn't live for him.

Damon grabbed his jacket off the couch, and slid it on. "Me, either."

"145 years and no last good-bye?" Katherine pouted playfully.

Damon glared at her, "You don't get a good-bye." She clearly didn't know a cure, and she was his best bet, so the last thing he wanted was to spend any more time than necessary with her.

Damon turns away from her. But Katherine wasn't done yet, so she flashed in front of him, and placed her hand on his chest to stop him. "No. Don't leave mad." Katherine pouts.

"You just can't leave him alone can you!" Elena said sharply.

Katherine shrugged, "I couldn't leave until Klaus got back or it would have been worse. I was bored and he was my only entertainment."

Damon looked down, of course that's what it was. Katherine only ever saw him as a toy to keep her boredom away.

Elena saw Damon's reaction, and jealousy smacked her across the face, silencing her.

Damon couldn't still have feelings for Katherine could he?!

He loved her... or did he love Katherine's face on her?

"Y-you-" Elena tried to get her words out.

Katherine smirked, and turned to Elijah, completely ignoring Elena, "Did you really have to spend the next days chasing Klaus and cleaning up his messes, when you could have been chasing me?" She pouted. The best reaction you can give someone who wants one, is no reaction at all. Elena wasn't even worth her time.

Elijah gave her a soft smile, as he saw Katherine's playfulness shine through.

"Us ending up on good terms isn't exactly on my bucket list, Katherine." Damon rolled his eyes.

Damon tried to walk out, but Katherine stopped him again.

"Klaus made me call Jenna to lure her out. There was nothing that I could do. I didn't have a choice." She defended herself.

"That's why I gave you the vervain. So you had a choice." Damon reminded her.

"It was her or me. I chose her." Katherine answers.

"I helped you. You owed me." Damon said, starting to get angry. "Now when Klaus dies, you're going to walk out of here without a scratch and Elena's aunt dies. Somehow you're the only one that wins. How'd that happen?"

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Again, the worst you could do is desicate me. If there was another way to kill us than a White Oak Stake, don't you think our countless enemies, who are much older than you children, would have found it by now?" Klaus reminded them.

"Katherine didn't say anything!" Elena shouted.

Katherine raised an eyebrow, "Was I supposed to? What happened to you wasn't my concern. Fight or Flight. I choose flight, I live. You chose to fight, you died. See who really won her? Spoiler alert, it's me."

Elena growled, and launched at Katherine, but the vampire effortlessly snapped the human's neck.

"Elena!" Caroline shouted, rushing to her friend's side, Bonnie following behind her.

"She's not breathing..." Bonnie said, her voice quite.

Katherine rolled her eyes, "Of course she isn't, I snapped her neck."

"You bitch!" Damon growled, rushing at Katherine, but he was stopped by Elijah's hand at his throat.

"Let's all act like civilized people, shall we." Elijah said to the group, his hand tightening around Damon's throat.

"Come on, it was just getting good." Kol complained.

Damon still wasn't done, "W-ell... y-you te-ll you're bi-", before Damon could finish, Elijah ripped out his heart, faster than even the vampire eyes could comprehend.

Elijah dropped Damon's body onto the floor next to Elena's. "Anyone else?" He asked, before sitting down.

"I didn't let love get in the way." Katherine said.

"Enjoy an eternity alone, Katherine." Damon growled, walking past Katherine.

"What are you going to do?" Katherine asked from behind him.

Damon turned around to look at Katherine, "I'm going to offer myself as a replacement to Klaus." He said, determined to get his way.

"He won't take you." She informed him, "He saw your bite, he said that your blood is impure. I'm sorry, Damon. But Jenna's dead, there's nothing you can do about it."

Rebekah let out a laugh. "Of Course he wouldn't. What would be the fun in that? The werewolf bite is a much cruler, slower way to die, then just getting your heart ripped out."

Klaus looked sick, "She's right, I waited a thousand years to break that curse, I wasn't going to risk it with a tainted vampire."

"Did you just say I was right?" Katherine asked, her smile sharp like a cat who got the canary.

Klaus glared at her, "Don't let it get to your head."

"Oh I wouldn't dare." Katherine said in a saccharine tone, as she placed a hand on her heart.

----------

Elena woke up with a gasp, just as Damon shot up.

Stefan squeezed his brother's shoulders, but Damon shrugged it off as he went to Elena's side.

"Are you alright?", "Do you feel ok?", Carolien and Bonnie asked at the same time, still by Elena's side..

Elena glared at Katherine, "I died."

The vampire smirked, "You woke up just in time for the sacrifice."

Elena and Jenna were sitting on the ground. Jenna was clutching her head, as all her new senses overwhelmed her.

Jenna ran her fingers through her hair and pressed them on her skull, trying to put pressure on the pain that was running through her head, "Oh, my head. What's wrong with me?"

"Do you remember what happened?" Elena asked, moving closer to Jenna.

"You called me. You were so scared." Jenna told her story, regret and panic filling her voice. "Oh, ah, I should have realized that it wasn't you. The second I walked out of the house, someone grabbed me. A vampire."

"Klaus." Elena concluded without a thought, "It was Klaus."

"You killed my aunt twice?" Elena said, glaring at the hybrid.

Klaus rolled his eyes, "Actually, I wasn't the one who snapped her neck. I had much more pressing matters to see to on the most important night of my life, than just purley making your life miserable."

At Elena's open mouth, Kol let out a chuckle, "Obviously my brothers primping 'on the most important night of his life', was much more important than turning your aunt."

Klaus growled, "Actually, I was ensuring everything was in place."

"So just barking orders at our minions like a bridezilla?" Rebekah asked in a saccharine tone, her lips curled upwards in a 'sweet', smile.

Klaus turned his glare form his brother, to his sister, but couldn't say anything, as she wasn't exactly wrong.

"He made me drink his blood. And I don't..." She tried to recall what happened next, but nothing came up. "I don't remember anything after that." She looked around at her surroundings, anxiously. She could pick up on every single sound around them. The flames cackling, the crickets chirping in the woods, the wind whistling through the trees. It was overwhelming her. "Where are we? What happened?"

Elena grabbed one of Jenna's hands in her own, "We're at the quarry. He brought us here."

"Why don't I remember anything?" Jenna asked, confused.

"Jenna, do you remember...When I told you how someone becomes a vampire?" Elena asks.

"Yeah," Jenna answers, remembering what Alaric had told her, "if you die with vampire blood in your system, it's..." The woman's eyes widen as she realizes what happened to her, "Oh, god. He killed me."

"Jenna, listen to me. Listen to me; everything's going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here." Elena says, trying to calm her aunt down.

"I'm a vampire?" Jenna shouts, her emotions heightened like they never were before.

"And I bet you're hungry." Greta says, as she approaches them. Elena and Jenna look up at her. Elena see's a sharp rock on the ground and lunges for it, only for the witch to fling her away with a wave of her hand. With another motion, she creates a circle of fire around Elena.

Elena stands up and tries to move, only for the flames to rise higher, trapping her in the circle.

"Don't bother trying to get through. I spelled the circle. You're trapped. No matter what you do." Greta said with a smirk.

"Greta...Please, just- just let her go." Elena begged.

Greta ignored her as she picked up the sharp piece of rock, and slicked her wrist with it. Jenna stared at the blood that dripped from the witch's wound hungrily.

"Klaus chose her." The witch finally spoke, as she lowered her wrist to Jenna's mouth.

"No." Elena shouted at her.

"Drink it." Greta ordered.

"Jenna, don't!" Elena continued to shout.

"Please, you can't stop a newly turned vampire." Rebekah rolled her eyes.

"What do you know?" Elena demanded. "You drank from your own mother."

Rebekah's spine stiffend, she looked as if she was about to lunge for the doppelganger's neck. But she was stopped by Caroline.

"It's not like that at all. You can't stop, even if you want to. You can smell the blood, hear as the heart pumps blood throughout you with every beat." The baby vampire said, recalling her first feed clearly. "Your bodies just finished healing, and the cost of bringing you back from the dead isn't cheap. It's exhausting. Every single cell in your body's completely starving. It's almost like the universe wants a life for a life. A life to bring you back, and then more and more for the time you spend on this earth. So it's actually surprising that five newly turned vampires, who were all feeding on the same woman, didn't kill her. I mean I was the only one who fed on that nurse and I nearly killed her."

Everyone stared at the baby vampire in surprise, but Elijah caught onto the last part quickly. "Nearly?"

"I nearly killed her, but I was able to compel her to bandage up her wound and forget it ever happened. Not that it really mattered, I ended up killing a man at the carnival the same night." Caroline said, looking down as she remembered.

Katherine looked at her, surprised. "I left you in a hospital-"

"YOU DID WHAT!" Klaus roared, within an instant he was out of his chair and slamming Katherine into the opposite wall by her throat.

"Brother-" Elijah tried to reason with him, but Klaus wasn't having it.

"She was newly turned, and in transition, and Katherine just left her in a hospital, full of blood. With surgerious, accidents, and open wounds. There would have been a massacre if it was anyone other than Caroline."

"What?" Bonnie asked, surprised.

"Well simply put, not all baby vampire's are control freaks." Kol swung an arm around Bonnie's shoulder. "They aren't exactly born like Rippers, as Stefan was. But well... let's just say baby vampire's aren't known for their control."

Bonnie pushed Kol away, as guilt ate away at her.

"Older vampire's are expected to mentor their sirelings, a general rule for the vampire's to follow as a result of the deal the Originals have with the governments." Sage added.

"Wait, what deal?" Damon asked, but everybody ignored him, which made him seeth in anger.

"Do you have any idea what you would have done to her if it had succeeded?" Klaus growled at Katherine.

Klaus was about to rip out Katherine's heart, but he was pushed away by Caroline, who flashed between Klaus and Katherine. "Enough! She did what she did. I did what I did. We can't change that. But what happend, happened for the best."

"You become a vampire!" Elena protested.

"Yeah, well I'm better off for it." Caroline said without doubt. "She helped me."

Damon, not liking what would come up if Caroline kept going, but a hand on Elena's, "Elena, let it go." He said, giving her hand a squeeze. Elena got the message, and pressed her lips together, though she continued to glare at Caroline as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Klaus sighed, and sat back down. Now, as long as it was about her transition, Caroline would continue to protect Katherine, and that clearly wasn't going to change.

Katherine smirked at Caroline, but the blond shook her head, "This was a one time deal."

"Keep telling yourself that sunshine."

"I can't." Jenna shook her head.

Elena turned to Greta, "Let her go. Hey!"

Jenna, no longer able to stare at the bloody wrist in her face without eating, could no longer resist and let her virgin fangs sink into the witch's wrist.

"No!" Elena screamed as Jenna began drinking, "No."

But Jenna closed her eyes, unable to take anything else in, as the warm blood flowed down her throat and satisfied the monster clawing at her chest.

As soon as Jenna had drunk enough to finish her transition, Greta pulled her wrist out of Jenna's grip, when Jenna tried to stay latched on, Greta pushed her away with a wave of magic.

"That's enough." The witch said, standing up.

"Jenna. It's going to be okay." Elena tried to reassure her aunt, but Greta created another circle of flames around Jenna with a flick, causing the newly turned vampire to flinch away from the flames, looking terrified.

"Look at me. Hey, look at me." Elena called until Jenna turned her head towards Elena, the doppelganger paused for a moment, seeing the blood drip down her aunt's chin. "It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay." She said to herself more than her aunt this time."

Jenna shook her head, her lips unable to form words, as the hunger creeped through her, and dark veins created a web around her eyes.

----------

In the Old Witch House, Jeremy and Bonnie were still trying to find a solution in the old grimoires.

"This is useless." Jeremy goraned. "All these grimoires. There has to be something in here to keep Elena from becoming a vampire."

"Well there were certainly spells in there, you just didn't know how to look." Kol said, confirming Jeremy's theory.

"What do you mean? We read through dozens of them, yet we barely managed to find anything other than potions, or talisman spells." Bonnie said, staring at the ex-witch, confused.

"Well you gotta know how to look for them. There's no way witches are just going to leave their heavy hitters out in the open." Kol explained. "Older generation of witches are supposed to teach the younger generation how to decode their grimoires. Their like key's only the witches of the line know, and thus, only those witches can read those spells and use them."

Shelia stared at her granddaughter, with regret in her eyes. She was a proud woman, and she didn't regret many things. But waiting so long until she began teaching Bonnie, was definitely a mistake. She was so afraid her granddaughter would follow in her mother's footsteps, that she failed to realize she was already pushing Bonnie into her mother's footsteps, by keeping a part of her hidden from her.

Bonnie's eyes widened, as she finally realized what that meant. The anger she had buried down for the Salvatours, and Elena's actions, began to rise, as she realized they hadn't just taken her grandmother away from her, but a part of her as well.

"And we'll keep looking." Bonnie insisted. "Until the last minute."

----------

Elijah, Alaric, and Stefan had just parked on the driveway, and were walking across the yard.

"The sacrifice is completed in stages as the full moon sets." The original informed the group. "First the werewolf is killed, then the vampire. Finally the doppelgänger. Once Elena dies, the curse will be broken. Klaus will become a hybrid."

"So when do we attack?" Alaric asks.

"Elena's death will activate his dormant werewolf side. He'll be vulnerable during the transformation. That's when Bonnie comes in." Elijah answered.

"Told you." Kol said in a sing-song voice. "Dear old Elijah needs the sacrifice to happen, how else is he supposed to turn the magic surrounding Klaus, on him, to dessicate him - well more like have Bonnie turn the magic on Klaus to make it easier to dessicate. Plus, let's not insult the intelligence of everybody in this room, except the human doppelganger and salvatores, we all know the only way to kill an original is white oak stake."

"It would have worked if Elijah hadn't turned on us!" Elena whined.

Kol sighed, "Please, Elijah was never on your side, even when he's angry, he is always on team always and forever." He then turned to his brother, "Nik, what did it feel like when Elijah stuck his hand in your chest."

Klaus raised an eyebrow, "Oh, you mean aside from the piercing pain in my chest, and the sting of betrayal?"

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "Please, we've been at the party for a thousand years, you're the one late to it."

The hybrid rolled his eyes, "I was growing weaker, and as if the blood to my body had been cut off."

"That proves my point." Kol smirked, when he saw the Mystic Fall's confused faces, he groaned. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? Fine. What was happening to Nik's body when Elijah was pulling out his heart was that he was basically cutting off circulation, making it harder for Nik's body to pump blood."

"So his body would need more energy and blood to function!" Caroline said, catching on.

"Five points to Hufflepuff." Kol nodded, "and with Bonnie cutting off Klaus connection, I'd even say she'd use the sacrifice magic to strain his body even more, the dessication would become even easier."

Everybody turned to Elijah, amazed. The man in the shit raised an elegant eyebrow, "This should come to no surprise. Niklaus wasn't the only one to study the sacrifice ritual for centuries."

"And you're sure Bonnie will survive this?" Stefan asked.

"If she can deliver him to the brink of death, I'll finish the job myself." Elijah answered.

"Liar!" Klaus, Rebekah, and Kol said in unison.

"You lied straight to their face." Rebekah said, impressed. Elijah left things out when working with others tons of times, but seeing him blatantly lie was quite rare.

"Not so noble are we now." Klaus smirked at his brother.

"Well I may not have planned to kill you, but I never planned for anyone in Mystic Falls to ever see you again." Elijah said, without a hint of remorse.

"Why does that sound so ominous?" Klaus asked his brother.

"Sounds to me like he planned to hide your body in a dark, musky dungeon." Kol answered.

"I would do no such thing." Elijah said, offended. "It would be next to the wine cellar."

"I at least had the decency to keep you guys above ground." Klaus glared at his brother.

"Above ground? You kept them in storage containers." Stefan reminded him.

Klaus glared at Stefan, but before he could say anything, Rebekah screeched, "WAIT! That was permanent! I thought it was temporary, no wonder my poor skin got so pale."

"Rebekah darling, in case you haven't figured it out in the last thousand years, you're a vampire!" Kol reminded his sister, only to get a vase thrown at his head.

Elijah sighed as he stared at the shattered antique, "We should have moved them before this began."

"I have a feeling this won't be the last." Klaus sighed.

Stefan's phone rang before the two men could ask Elijah any more questions.

"Damon." Stefan said, answering the call.

"You're not going to like what I'm about to say." Damon groaned

"Cut to the chase. Is the sacrifice happening or not?" Stefan asked.

"It's happening. I tried to stop it," Damon said, regretful, "but it got...complicated."

"We're sticking with the original plan." Stefan said, having no time to duel on what his brother meant. "We're meeting Bonnie right now."

"He's got Jenna, Stefan." The older vampire revealed.

"What?" Stefan asked, hoping he hadn't heard his brother right.

"He got Kath to lure her out of the house." Damon explained.

Stefan looked back at Alaric, getting worried.

"What is it?" The hunter asked, not liking the look on Stefan's face. "What's wrong?"

"He's going to use her as the vampire in the ritual."

"Oh, my god." Stefan said, eyes wide.

----------

Elena couldn't stop pacing back and forth in the circle of fire, well Jenna kneeled in hers, still weak from the transition.

"How are you feeling?" Elena asked.

"Her neck was snapped, she woke up in a sacrificial ritual in the middle of the woods, oh and she just transitioned into a vampire. What do you think?" Sage asked.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "She clearly wasn't thinking. What she expected was for her aunt to move on, and reassure her that she's fine, even though it's her fault that Jenna was even dragged into this mess."

"It wasn't my fault!" Elena protested. "I didn't ask for this!"

"Didn't you?" Katherine asked. "Let's say this one wasn't your fault. The sacrifice may not have been your fault, but people do keep dying because of you. You got involved with the Salvatores, and then dragged your friends into it. Caroline, Bonnie, and even Matt wouldn't be in this world if it wasn't for you. And then, you keep picking fights with the Mikaelson's, where everyone but you, turns into a casualty."

"No I- they didn't!" Elena shook her head.

"My mother." Bonnie suddenly found herself blurting out. "My mother wouldn't have had to turn, if you didn't make that deal with Esther. We wouldn't have been involved, if you didn't go to that ball. Hell, my mother only got dragged back into this life, because of the coffins Stefan stole... for you."

"He didn't steal them for me!" Elena shouted, standing up.

This gained multiple reactions of disbelief from the group, even Stefan himself. Everybody knew, even with his humanity off, the reason Stefan hopped through all those hoops wasn't just revenge on Klaus, but to help Elena.

"I feel like myself..." Jenna said, trying to reassure her niece. :Only not. Everything is brighter. The fire's hotter. Part of me is terrified, but there's another part of me that doesn't want to feel anything."

"Vampires can turn off the part that's human." Elena informed her aunt. "That's the part that hurts."

"I'm gonna die, aren't I?" Jenna asked, her voice cracking as her eyes began to gloss over from unshed tears.

"No! Jenna, I'm not going to let that happen." Elena said, refusing to believe this was happening. "I don't care what I have to do."

In the distance, the sounds of twigs snapping and Jules groaning are heard by the two Gilberts. Jenna's head snaps towards the sound, as her new senses pick it up much more clearly.

"Who's that?" The vampire asks.

"That must be the werewolf." Elena concludes, seeing that was the only element missing from the ritual site.

Just as the doppelganger predicted, Greta came with Jules and pushed the werewolf down onto the ground, ignoring the way the woman clutched her stomach in pain.

"What's happening to me?" Jules asked, panicking.

"I cast a spell to slow down your transformation." The witch answered, uncornered. "Your insides are trying to tear themselves free."

"I had no idea spells like that existed, they clearly go against the natural order." Bonnie said, amazed.

"Well you can't call anything unnatural, because at this point, we have no idea what's truly natural. Witches themselves have been messing with the natural order since the dawn of time." Kol said.

"That makes no sense." Elena protested.

"Doesn't it?" Kol challenged. "Take vampires, we were unnatural when we began, but after a thousand years, we have made our place in this world. Our mother may have created monsters, but vampire's are the one's keeping overpopulation in check, and if our mothers spell had succeeded, then the world would have fallen into chaos. Overpopulation would have just been the beginning. Anyone wants to try and guess what else would have happened."

Katherine hummed, "Well for starters, the monsters the originals kept in check, would take over. And don't even get me started on the witches."

"Exactly. With the will of time, nature accepts everything, integrating yourself is easy, it just takes time. It's when you remove a piece of the puzzle, that the rest of the tower tumbles to the ground." Kol explained.

Caroline's eyes widened as she caught on, "It's the ecosystem we've been learning since we were five."

"Well vampire's a part of it as well, love. Just because you don't learn about us, does not change the fact that we're on the top of the food chain. Take us away, and the rest of the pyramid falls into chaos."

Greta moves away, flicking her wrist, a third ring of fire encircles Jules, trapping her just like the other two sacrifices.

“Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature. It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed.

"Oh yeah, because locking a part of a supernatural being, one that they were born with, is completely natural. It's not like you're trying to change a part of them that they were naturally born with." Klaus said sarcastically.

"My duty is to Klaus!" Greata said confidently. "The new order."

Just then Klaus arrived, pleased to see everything in place. "Glad to know I still have a dance partner." He turned to stare of the vampire, werewolf, and doppelganger, "Hello, my lovelies. Are we ready?"

----------

Matt and Caroline rushed into the Lockwood Mansion, the baby vampire slamming the door behind them and locking them.

"Come on. Get in here!" Caroline calls Matt over, as she leans against the door, finally feeling a sense of relief. Matt opened the curtains to get a look outside, "Do you see anything?" The girl asked.

"We're not safe here." Matt said, glancing out the window, before closing the curtains. "If that thing wants in, it's getting in." He says, opening the chamber of his rifle and reloading it.

"Well he's not wrong." Katherine snarked. "It's not like werewolves need permission before entering. Pretty sure that's us."

"You sure never had a problem entering. Guess that must be thanks to your bitch side." Elena glared at the immortal doppelganger.

Katherine pouted at Elena, "Aww, what's wrong? Jealous nobody ever invites you in?" She asked in a baby voice, "Shame it doesn't seem to stop you from barging in."

"How did you even know what I was?" Caroline asked, still confused on that part. "I compelled you to forget!"

"I was on vervain." Matt revealed. "I faked forgetting so I could spy on you. It was your mom's idea."

Matt walked out of the room, and Caroline, still in shock, followed after him.

"Wait, my mom knows?! Oh my God! You told her. Well, what'd she say?" Caroline asked, scared of what the answer may be.

Matt turned back around to look at Caroline, "Your mom hates vampires. She grew up hating vampires. She'll probably always hate vampires." He said, breaking the news to her.

"Isn't that a familiar feeling." Kol jokes, only to earn a glare from his brother.

The last thing Klaus needed, or wanted was Kol making the situation worse for Caroline. From what he'd seen, Caroline and her mother had gotten over their differences, the women being willing to invite him in to save her daughter's life. But that would do little to ease the hurt Caroline felt then.

But the baby vampire seemed to caught up in the memory of the conversation her and Matt had and all the emotions that rushed back with it, to really pay Kol any attention

"Well, what about you?" Caroline asked.

"What about me?" Matt repeated, trying to avoid the question.

But Caroline wasn't letting him off the hook. "Where does this leave us?"

"Stuck in this house. Trying not to get mauled to death by our friend." Matt said, not answering what she was really asking. He left the room, leaving a visibly distressed Caroline behind.

----------

There was a persistent knocking on the front door of the Salvator House, causing Damon to walk down the stairs, stumbling a bit as he tried to reach the front hall.

"Heard ya." The Salvatour groaned, as the knocking continued. Damon stabilized a bit as he approached the door, but quickly regained his balance. The vampire rolled up his sleeve to see that the werewolf bite had gotten worse.

Klaus smirks, "See, why would I give him the mercy of a quick and painless death, when he can suffer in agony for hours instead."

"That, and you're too stuck up to ever want to use a tainted vampire in your ritual." Kol reminded his brother.

The hybrid looked offended, "I waited-"

"A thousand years. Yes we know Nik. We've heard that over a thousand times-" The youngest original cut her brother off, only to be cut off by Kol.

"-each year-"

"-so yes. We know how you'd never take a risk. Can we go on now?" Rebekah asked.

Damon opened the front door to see John Gilbert standing in front of him. "Great." he groaned, not at all happy to see the other man, "I was just thinking about getting a bite to eat."

"Elena hasn't returned any of my calls for days." John says, getting straight to the point as he walks into the house, "I need to see her."

Damon shuts the front door and turns to look at him. "Well, you're a day late and a daughter short, John."

"What are you talking about?" John asks, not liking what the vampire was trying to say.

"Klaus has her. Sacrifice goes down tonight." Damon answered bluntly.

"How could you let that happen?" The Gilbert demanded. "You were supposed to keep her safe. Wasn't that the sum total of your plan? To keep her safe?"

"She is safe." Damon rolled his eyes, "I fed her my blood."

"You what?!" John asked, worried.

"When Klaus kills Elena in the sacrifice, she will come back to life." Damon said, already explaining what the other man knew was unavoidable. "Granted, as the thing you hate most in the world, but no one really cares what you think."

"Yeah, except for the little fact you're the only one who wanted her to come back as a vampire. Stefan, the Bennett Witch, Gilbert #2, even your precious doppelganger herself doesn't want to be like you." Rebekah said, more than happy to remind Damon of how he'd screwed up in the eyes of multiple people.

Damon then starts to walk into the parlor. John attempts to grab him, trying to stop him; but Damon is faster and spins John around, slamming him against a wall.

"You do not want to mess with me right now." The vampire warned him.

John straightened up, trying to look more intimidating, "You ruined her life. You know that, right?"

"I know, John." Damon idmited. "I took her choice, destroyed her future. Trust me, I get it. It actually gets worse."

"How could it possibly get any worse?" John wonderned, as he watched Damon walk away.

----------

Jules, Elena, and Jenna were still contained in their rings of fire. The werewolf continues to moan in pain. Up on a nearby hill, Klaus retrieves the moonstone from his pocket.

"I've got the moonstone." He told the witch, "I spent 500 years looking for this. I hate to part with it." He said, reminding her not to screw up.

Greta took a look at the sky, "The moon has passed its apex. Remember everything you need to do?"

"I remember." Klaus answered.

Greta dropped the moonstone into a stone bowl filled with flames. Sparks began to fly as the moonstone was destroyed in exchange for the magic. The witch begins chanting a spell in Latin.

Klaus took that as his que to approach the rings of fire. Jules is still on the ground, moaning in pain, but looks up at Elena.

"Everything I did..." The woman groaned out, "I was just trying to help Tyler."

"Are you Jules?" Elena asked.

"I didn't want him to be alone!" Jules shouted as Klaus approached her.

"Shall we?" Klaus asked, looking down at the werewolf.

The ring of fire around Jules disperses. Her eyes turned yellow and she tried to use her werewolf speed to rush at Klaus.

Alas, Klaus was stronger and easily got the upper hand and pinned Jules to the ground, plunging his hand into her chest and ripping out her heart.

Jules took a final breath, her tears streaming down her face as she died.

Klaus breathed heavily as he held the bloody heart in his hand.

The remaining two women took in the sight, horrified.

Klaus couldn't help but think about what Jules had done to Caroline, and knew he should have prolonged the women's death.

Kol smirked, knowing exactly what his brother was thinking, "What? Wishing you'd dragged out her death?"

The hybrid rolled his eyes, "We all know that getting your heart ripped out is one of the quickest deaths. The only one that can beat it is a quick neck snap."

----------

Back in the Old Witch House, Jeremy is looking through a grimoire as Bonnie looks over his shoulder.

"Which one are you reading?" The witch asks.

"Emily Bennett's, there's a section on spells she did for my ancestor, Johnathan Gilbert." Jeremy answers.

"Yeah, I think she had a thing for him." Bonnie remembers.

Jeremy looked up at her, and she smiled at him. "There's something on a resuscitative spell she was working on."

"I saw that, too. She just didn't explain what it did, exactly." She says, already knowing it's a dead end.

"Well, maybe Johnathan wrote about it in his journals. You know, I can have Stefan bring them." Jeremy suggests, just as the basement door creaks open.

Bonnie hears the noise, "Someone's here."

Alaric walks down the stairs and into the basement.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Jeremy asks.

"Elijah and Stefan are upstairs." Alaric says to Bonnie, "You mind if I have a second with Jeremy?"

"They do know their wasting time right. With all this trying to have seperate talks. Why spend 30 minutes repeating something, than another 30 trying to console someone who's gonna go into shock." Sage sighed.

Katherine shrugged, "Not like it's going to do them any good against Klaus."

"I'm alive here aren't I." Elena said, smirking.

"Yeah... and John and to die for that. I wonder... if they found the spell, but discovered that they'd need to kill someone else to save you, and Jeremy's the only human around for miles. What to you think Damon would do?" Katherine challenged.

Elena's smirk fell of her face, and she gulped, trying to find an answer. "H-he wouldn't do that."

"Whatever lets you sleep at night." Katherine smirked, taunting Elena.

"Sure, yeah. Of course." Bonnie says and gets up and leaves the basement.

"What's the matter?" Jeremy asks, getting worried at the look on Alaric's face.

"Jeremy..." Alaric began, not sure what to say, "Something's happened to Jenna."

----------

"Why did he take Jenna?" Bonnie asks, being caught up by the two vampires.

"A punishment for meddling." Elijah answers, knowing his brother.

"Klaus was going to use Tyler and Caroline. But Damon rescued them." Stefan adds.

"Yeah, because I decided to just leave the sacrifices in an easily accessible cellar with a single witch standing guard. Vampire's are easy, but I'm not dumb enough to leave my werewolf laying around." Klaus reminds the group.

"If you already had a vampire, why the hell did you turn Jenna?!" Elena demanded.

"You can thank love sick vampire number 2 for that." Klaus smirks at her.

"Then we need to go. Now. Before Jenna's been sacrificed. I can kill Klaus myself." Bonnie said.

"Bonnie...If you use that much power, you'll be dead." Stefan reminded her. "We've already been through this. It's not an option."

"Neither is letting Jenna die." Bonnie argued.

"Well, Stefan would agree with you." Elijah sighed.

Bonnie looks at them, confused. Stefan walks closer towards Bonnie, "We're going to offer another vampire. One that he'll want more. Me."

----------

Greta continues chanting the spell while Klaus holds Jules's heart over the ceremonial bowl, squeezing the blood into the flames.

"Does that mean it's working?" Klaus asks, watching the flames rise higher.

"It's working." The witch confirmed.

Over in the rings of fire, Elena watches Klaus and Greta in the distance. Jenna looks up at her, eyes glistening with tears.

"The day that the lawyers called to tell me that I was going to become your guardian, you know what my first thought was?" Jenna asks. The doppelganger looks down at her and shakes her head. "Isn't there someone else who can do this?" The strawberry blond reveals.

"Aww, was the poor little doppelganger not wanted for once." Rebekah says in a singsong voice.

"She didn't have to! Yet she did." Elena shouted at Rebekah.

"Yeah, because of guilt, sympathy, and maybe even pity." The original sister said, as if she was talking to a baby.

"Your just upset that somebody actually choose me." The doppelganger growled.

"Yeah, well now she's dead." Katherine reminds her copy.

Elena looked a her, dumbfounded, "How can you say that!"

"Because I can, and it's the truth." Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Jenna, there was no one else who could have gotten me and Jeremy through all of that." Elena says, trying to comfort her aunt.

Jenna shakes her head, "It's just the thought that I almost passed up taking care of you."

"But you didn't." Elena says, kneeling down. "You put your entire life on hold to help us."

"Look around, Elena. I failed you." Jenna says, blaming herself for this mess. If only she's kept a closer eye on her niece, none of this would have happened."

"No. You didn't. I failed you. I'm so sorry." Elena says, trying to reassure her aunt. "Listen. Being a vampire, it intensifies your guilt. But it also makes you stronger and faster. You can fight back. I'm gonna get through this. I'll be okay. I need you to believe that. Promise me, when you get the chance..." Elena places a finger to her lips and whispers the next word, "Run."

Jenna nodded, whispering, "Okay."

"He's a thousand year old vampire, what good did you think whispering would do?" Sage groaned. Not understanding how people can be do dumb. Jenna may have just found out, but Elena should have clearly known better.

----------

Matt peers out another window. "You don't think I killed him, do you?" He asked.

"No. No. It takes a lot more than wooden bullets to kill a werewolf. He's still out there somewhere." Caroline answered, from where she was sitting on the couch in the parlor. "Do you think my mom wants to kill me?"

Klaus glared at the boy on the screen, there was only one correct answer to the question, and if he answered wrong, he'd hunt him down and turn him, just so he could spend centuries torturing him.

"I don't think your mom knows what to do with you." Matt answered.

'Wrong answer.' Thought Klaus. 'He's dead.'

"Yeah, well, I don't really know what to do with me, either." Caroline says, trying to laugh it off, but her voice wavers as the water works threaten to overcome her.

Matt looks at her. Suddenly, Caroline becomes more alert as she hears a noise on the front porch.

"What is it?" He asks, as he begins to slowly creep closer towards the front door.

"Wait." Caroline says, as she hears the wine of the werewolf trying to be let in.

Matt raises his gun, but Caroline stops him, "Don't. Don't shoot."

Caroline rushes up the stairs. She rapidly searches through the bathroom cabinet, until she finds what she was looking for.

She then flashes to the kitchen, and comes back with a packet of raw bacon.

Matt watches, confused as she takes some strips, and hands the nearly empty pack back to him.

He watches, surprised as she opens the bottle of sleeping medication, and dumps several pills into her hand.

Matt stops her, "Woah, do you know what you're doing."

"No." Caroline answers honestly. "But it's better than shooting him."

Matt couldn't argue with that, so he stayed silent as she finished wrapping the pills in the bacon. She then quietly moved towards the window, not wanting to catch the wolf's attention quicker than needed.

She threw the bacon out the window, and quickly slammed it shut as the wolf lunged. His nose hit the clash, putting a crack in it. But luckily, the bacon distracted him from making another attempt.

Caroline bit her lip, watching nervously as the large creature devolvered the meat in a single bite. The pills stayed tightly encased in the meat, and went into him, along with it.

Now, all she could do was wait, and hope the bullets had tired his werewolf healing out enough, that the pills could work their magic.

Everyone in the room stared at the screen amazed.

Klaus was the first to shake off the shock, "You truly are something else, love." He said, completely in awe.

"That was quite the show sunshine." Katherine complimented.

"How'd you even know it would work?" Rebekah asked.

"I didn't." Caroline admitted, not used to the praise. "It was the only other option we had though."

"It's certainly smarter than trying to shoot at a werewolf with wooden bullets that would do nothing to him." Sage nodded, impressed. The baby vampire had definitely proved that she could think on her feet.

----------

Stefan was standing outside the Old Witch house, when Elijah approached him.

"Bonnie did the locator spell." The original informed him, "They're at Steven's Quarry."

"I'll head over there first and you'll follow with Bonnie when it's time." Stefan said, knowing what he'd have to do.

"Just as the moon hits its final phase." Elijah reminded him. "She's to stay hidden until then. He cannot know that she's alive."

Stefan nods and begins to walk away.

"You're very honorable." Elijah said from behind him.

Stefan turns back around, looks at Elijah, and walks back towards him. "Are you?" He asks, "Because this whole plan is, um, it's contingent upon your honor, Elijah."

Elijah paused, wondering if Stefan had realized his true intentions. But a glance into the younger vampire's eyes revealed that it was just paranoia. "I won't fail you."

"Klaus is your brother. I know I've wanted to kill my brother a thousand times. I've never been able to." Stefan said, speaking from personal experience.

Elijah paused, thinking of the best response to deal with Stefan's worries. "Well, Klaus was not my only brother. I had siblings; parents. I had a family. Over the centuries, Klaus hunted them down one by one and he took them from me. He scattered them across the seas where their bodies could not be found."

Kol rolled his eyes, "Really Elijah. You should know by now, with the right spell, you could have easily brought us back."

"Yes well spells like that, especially for three whole people, would take time. Time that Niklaus would spend getting to know the feeling of being put to rest, without his consent." Elijah replied.

Klaus glared at his brother, "I think it's time to sharpen those daggers."

Kol rolled his eyes, "You need a new threat Nik."

"Plus, with us in here, time won't move out their like Shelia so kindly explained. So go ahead, dagger me. I won't be missing out on anymore fashion weeks." Rebekah smiled. The cost of those daggers, was the time, and as long as they were in the witches spell buble, that cost would become null and void.

"You want revenge." Stefan realized.

"Sometimes there's honor in revenge, Stefan." Elijah admitted. He wouldn't kill his brother, but certainly was revenge. "I won't fail you."

"Please end this." Stefan pleaded one last time before leaving.

----------

In the house, John walks down into the basement, holding a cardboard box. Jeremy and Bonnie approach him as he puts the box down on a table.

"I brought the Gilbert journals. I think I know the spell you're talking about." He told the two.

"Where's Damon?" The witch asked.

"Upstairs. Alaric wanted to talk to him." The older man answered as they took the journals out of the box and began to flip through them.

----------

Upstairs Alaric has just explained to Damon that Stefan is willing to sacrifice himself.

"He did what?!" The older Salvatore shouted.

"He wasn't going to let Jenna die." Alaric reasoned. He didn't want Stefan to die, but he wanted Jenna alive more.

Damon grew frustrated at Alaric's response, "We have a witch. She kills Klaus. No one has to die!"

"But then Bonnie would die." Caroline said, frowning.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "What do you expect? Salvatore elder, clearly doesn't care about anyone but his previous doppelganger."

"Except for Bonnie." Alaric reminded Damon.

"God, Stefan, damn it!" Damon cursed, punching a wall. Which resulted in his whole arm going into the wall.

Alaric watched his friend pull his arm out, "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The vampire answered, beginning to calm down. "Well, that's my brother for you. Always cleaning up my messes." Damon exited the house as he said the last sentence. Alaric watched him leave, worried about what he'd do next.

----------

"Hello, Jenna." Klaus said, approaching the ring of fire containing the women.

Jenna and Elena stood up to look at Klaus.

"Let her go." Elena begged, "I understand that I have to die, but she doesn't!" Elena walked closer to the flames, causing them to flare up and forcing her retreat.

"Careful." Klaus wanted. The last thing he needed was the most important element for the sacrifice burning to death before he could kill her.

"Elena, don't." Jenna protested, trying to reason with the girl.

"No, Jenna! We can't leave Jeremy without a family." Elena reminded her aunt, before turning to Klaus, "I followed your rules; I did everything that you asked. I didn't run. Please."

"No. You just involved my brother, had a witch as backup, oh, and refused to real in your boyfriends." Klaus reminded the group.

"I couldn't control their actions!" Elena protested.

"Really?" Kol asked, raising an eyebrow. Everybody knew that Elena could make the brothers listen to her, but she just refused.

Caroline couldn't help but think, underneath the matyar and golden girl persona Elena always wore, she loved the idea of everybody wanting her. Fighting for her. Willing to do anything for her. So she never tried to stop it, because she didn't want it to stop.

Klaus was about to answer, before something on the top of the quarry caught his attention. "Well, well. I don't recall you being on the guest list." He spoke to the new vampire.

Jenna and Elena look up as well, the doppelganger letting out a gasp when she sees who it was. Stefan was standing atop of the cliff, ready to make the trade. His life, for Jenna's.

"I'm here to talk." Stefan said, as if he had any power on the night's events.

Klaus glanced at Jenna, having an idea of what Stefan came for. "Very well, then." He agreed, flashing to the top of the cliff. Once he was on the edge, he walked calmy towards Stefan with his lips curved into a small smirk. "What can I do for you, Mr. Salvatore?"

----------

"We found something in the Gilbert journals." Bonnie revealed to Damon.

"Johnathan journaled the story of a mother who called on Emily's services." John began explaining. "The woman's baby was sick; dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind the woman's life force with her child."

"Skip to the save Elena part." Damon, having no patience for what the man was saying.

"Honestly, you really need to get a hobby. One that isn't obsessing over YOUR brother's girlfriend." Rebekah glared at the older Salvatore.

"Funny how he can't seem to stop history from repeating itself, when all it would take is to find a girl that doesn't look like me." Katherine added. "I know I'm unforgettable, but we all know Elena could never compare. So instead of drinking cheap, knock-off wine, just switch brands."

"Well, the child died, but the mother's life force flowed through her, restoring her to life." John explained.

"We already know Elena's going to come back to life." Jeremy brought up, not seeing the solution here. "But she'll be a vampire."

"Not if her soul remains intact." John answered.

"Please, don't you start Finn." Kol said, before his older brother could open his mouth. "Vampire's have souls, it's a proven fact. How else do you think the other side works. Plus, if you argued you didn't have a soul, wouldn't you basically be saying your precious Sage doesn't have one either."

Finn opened his mouth, but shut it when he got a look from Sage, unable to argue with that.

Damon was still skeptical, "Her soul, really? You're going to put your faith in some act of god mumbo jumbo?"

John walks forward, closing the gap between Damon and himself. "I refuse to let Elena become the thing I've spent my life protecting her against. And you can call that God or mystical energy, whatever you want, but yes...I'm putting my faith in it." He said, before turning around and walking back towards Bonnie.

Stefan and Klaus were conversing on the cliff top, well Elena and Jenna looked up at them, trying to figure out what's happening.

"What's going on?" Jenna asked, confused.

"I-I don't know." Elena confesses, turning around to look at Jenna, "You can hear them." When Jenna looks at her, she adds, "You can hear anything. Jus-Just focus on them."

The new born vampire turned her attention to the two men on the cliff.

"You don't need to kill Jenna. I'll take her place." Stefan offered Klaus.

"Oh, I don't know. I rather appreciate the symmetry of three women," Klaus says as he starts to walk around Stefan, "Three goddesses, Sacrificed at nature's altar."

"What are they saying?" Elena whispers to Jenna.

"I can't-I can't make it out." Jenna admits, trying to focus.

"Her senses must still have been weak." Elena said knowingly, "It wasn't her fault."

Caroline shook her head, "The exact opposite actually." At Elena's confused look, the blond explained, "When you transition, the first thing that hits you are all the senses. You can hear everything, see every detail to the point it hurts your eyes. What Jenna is experiencing is overwhelming her, and her brain, that literally just came back from death, is struggling to keep up.

"You can do this. Just relax. Focus." Elena burgers, needing to know what was going on.

Stefan turned around to face Klaus, "Don't play games with me. You'll get what you want either way."

"I can hear him. I hear Stefan." Jenna says, getting excited.

"What are they saying?" Elena asks.

"You're quite the hero, aren't you? I've heard that about you." Klaus says, looking at the man who was a complete 180 from the man he met in the 20s.

"Just make the trade." Stefan urges him, "Me for Jenna."

"Oh, my god." Jenna gasps.

Elena looks worried, "What is it?"

"He wants to take my place."

Elena stares at her aunt, horrified, before looking up at Stefan.

----------

Matt is sitting in the parlor, staring blankly at the fire. Caroline stares out the window.

"How's Tyler doing?" Matt asked.

"Sleeping." Caroline answers, "He should be back to normal by morning."

"Good." Matt nods, before pausing briefly, overwhelmed by the night's events. "So this is your life now, huh?"

Caroline smiles at him, "Never a dull moment." She jokes.

Matt stands up and walks towards Caroline. "You know, these last few days with you have been so great, and fun."

Klaus glared at the screen, 'Don't you dare...' He thought.

Caroline smiles and walks over towards him, placing her hands on his chest.

'... don't you dare hurt her.' The hybrid continued to glare.

"And so Caroline. I-I thought that I might be able to get past this whole vampire thing." The human told her.

"And he's dead. Call the time." Kol said, as a doctor would.

"What?" Elena asked, confused.

"Klaus is definitely going to kill him after this." Katherine yawned, bored.

"He can't." Elena protested.

"He can." Rebekah rolled her eyes, "Honestly, what is it with you and your ex's."

"No!" Elena shouted.

"Oh, I will." Klaus growled, already planning on ways to end the boy's human life, followed by the vampire one the human will come to see as a curse.

"Klaus no." Caroline said firmly. Not two words many could claim to have said and survived. "You can't go around killing every guy I've broken up with."

"Can't I?" Klaus said, more than ready to accept that challenge.

The baby vampire's eyes narrowed at him, "You can't."

"But you can. Matt..." Caroline pleaded.

"I don't-" The human stuttered, "I don't know if I can, Caroline." Matt walks past Caroline, unable to say anything else.

Caroline turns around with a look of desperation plastered on her face, "Matt!"

The boy turns around and looks at her, "I get it. This is your life now. You know what my life is, Care? My life is an absentee mom. And a bunch of bills to pay, and school, and a job, and it - and it sucks sometimes. But it's my life. And...I think that I just want to live it without all of this."

Caroline looks at him, sadly, but nods her head, understanding what he wants.

----------

Down in the basement of the Old Witch House, Bonnie has her hands placed on either side of John's head and is chanting a spell.

Jeremy and Damon stand by, watching.

Damon, becoming impatient, snaps his fingers. "Come on, Bonnie, we got a hybrid to kill."

Bonnie, fed up after watching how Damon had spoke to her, in front of, and behind her back, said to him what she couldn't that say because she was casting a spell, and because she never had the courage to, "If your in such a rush, why didn't you go kill the hybrid. Oh right, you couldn't."

Damon stared at the witch, open mouth, trying to find something to say back, but couldn't.

Sheila and Caroline smiled, proud that the witch was talking back. Better late than never.

Elena opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Kol sneaky snapped her neck, minimizing the sound with his other hand.

Jeremy looks back at Damon, signaling with his hand for Damon to be tolerant of the situation.

Not long after that, Bonnie opens her eyes. "It's done."

"That's it? Let's go." Damon says as he walks out of the room.

John opens his eyes as Bonnie walks past him. Bonnie turns to Jeremy and gently touches his arm.

"I'll be back soon." The witch says.

Jeremy reaches out to her, "Wait, what do you mean? No, I'm coming. I need to be there. I need to make sure you guys are okay."

"And who's going to make sure you're okay?" Bonnie asks.

"I've got my own ring." Jeremy says, flashing her his ring, "Look, I'm not taking no for an answer."

Bonnie kisses Jeremy goodbye. She pulls away and Jeremy smiles at her. Suddenly, Jeremy looks at her, confused, and starts to fall to the floor. John grabs him and leads him back to a chair.

"Easy, easy." He says, before turning to Bonnie. "Just go. I'll stay with him."

Bonnie looks at Jeremy one last time before exiting the basement with Damon.

----------

Elena gasped awake, causing everybody to turn to her surprised. Caroline and Bonnie blinked in shock, they had no idea somebody had killed her.

Katherine, Rebekah, and Kol laughed openly, well Sage and Klaus had a smirk on their face.

Stefan and Damon rushed to her side, but she pushed them away, angry that nobody even noticed what had happened to her! That's not fair.

"Who the hell killed me?" The human doppelganger demanded.

"I did." Kol said, raising his hand proudly. When Elena glared at him, he laughed, "What are you going to do, sick your dogs on me. Ohh no, I'm so scared. Nik, Elijah, help me."

Stefan, who was ready to defend Elena, deflated at the reminder that even if they did somehow manage to snap Kol's neck as revenge, Elijah and Klaus would be right there to rip out their hearts.

Upstairs, Alaric and Elijah wait until they hear Damon and Bonnie walk up the stairs.

"It's time." Elijah nods.

Damon and Bonnie exit the house without glancing at Alaric or Elijah. Elijah and Alaric follow them.

"All right. I got the weapons in the car." The hunter said.

"Bonnie's the only weapon we need." Elijah informed him.

Elijah walks out the doorway. Alaric follows behind him but when he tries to exit the house, he finds that an invisible barrier is blocking him in.

"Bonnie! What is this?" Alaric demands.

Bonnie stops and looks back at him. "I can't put anyone else at risk."

"I can't stay here with Jenna out there!" Alaric shouted at her.

"I'm sorry." Bonnie apologized.

But that wasn't the response he was looking for, so Alaric turned to Damon, "You can't do this! Damon?"

"Sorry, buddy. She's right." Damon said as he, Bonnie and Elijah started to walk away.

"No! You can't do this. Bonnie! Bonnie!" The human says, angrily hitting the doorframe.

----------

"Elena..." Jenna said.

Elena shook her head, "I have to do something. This can't happen. None of it."

"He is trying to give you a way to save your aunt. Your family. And you are choosing to risk it." Finn asked, confused. He may have tried to kill his siblings, but at the end of the day, he believed he was trying to save their souls. But here she was, willing to sacrifice her aunt so her suitor could live. "If a woman did this in our time, she'd be publicly humiliated and beaten. Then tied to a tree and left to starve to restore the family's honor."

Kol looked thoughtful, "He isn't wrong. Didn't that happen to Gertrud."

Rebekah wrinkled her nose, "Harsh, but it was effective. Nobody ever heard a peep about leaving from Gertrud's little sister Gro."

Klaus and Stefan came down from the cliff top and approached Elena and Jenna.

"Quite the predicament." Klaus chukled, "You know, it's funny, all this talk about preserving family, and here's Stefan, granting your wish."

Elena stared sadly at her boyfriend, "Stefan..."

"It's okay." Stefan tried to reassure her.

"Well." Klaus says, as he points a stake between Jenna and Stefan, "Who's it going to be, Elena?"

"No." Elena answers.

"Oh, don't worry." Klaus says, as if he's reassuring her in the same way Stefan did, "There's actually no choice." Klaus flashes around Stefan and stakes him in the back. Stefan screams in pain and crumbles to the ground.

"No! Stefan! No!" The human doppelganger cries.

Klaus rips the stake out of Stefan's back, leaving a sizable chunk of wood in his back. "I have other plans for your boyfriend. I want him alive. But for now..." Klaus snaps Stefan's neck causing Stefan to fall, disgracefully, to the ground. Leaving Elena gasping in shock.

Klaus turns to the witch, "Whenever you're ready, Greta."

Greta begins chanting the next part of the spell which dispels the ring of fire surrounding Jenna. Jenna looks on, frightened. Elena, teary-eyed, watches on.

"No." Elena says weakly.

"Your turn." Klaus says, approaching Jenna.

"No, Jenna, no!" Elena begins to cry harder and reach her aunt as the reality of what is happening begins to set in.

Jenna looks over at her. "It's alright, Elena. I know what I have to do."

After a moment of shared silence between Jenna and Elena, Jenna vamp speeds to Greta and ferociously bites her neck. Greta lets out a scream, but Klaus flashes over to Jenna and stakes her in the back, pulling her off of Greta, who has fallen to the floor. Jenna gasps and Klaus releases her. Jenna falls to the ground.

Elena starts to cry even harder. "Jenna, no!" Jenna looks up at Elena, tears in her eyes. "Just turn it off. Jenna. Turn it off. You won't be scared anymore." She begs her aunt.

Klaus flips Jenna over onto her back and hunches over her. Jenna seems less frightened when Klaus stakes her in the heart.

"No! Jenna! No! Jenna." Elena begins brawling now. Jenna's body starts to become grey and decayed.

Klaus releases the stake from his grap and stands up. Leaving Jenna's body lying lifeless on the stone with the stake through her heart.

"Jenna was a good woman. She didn't deserve to be punished for Damon's actions." Caroline said, tears dripping down her cheeks.

Klaus felt a pit in his stomach. He hated seeing Caroline upset. "There is a way to bring her back, you just need to know the right covens." He offered, trying to cheer her up.

"Is it possible?" Bonnie asked, surprised. She's brought Jeremy back, but he'd only been gone for seconds, not months.

"If you know the right witches." Klaus answered.

"Really?" Caroline asks, almost believing it to be too good to be true.

"Man, you are whipped." Kol laughed.

"Shut it, kol." Rebekah growled. "Way to ruin a good moment."

"Since when do you root for them? I know I have, but I thought you hated her." Kol chukled.

Rebekah gasped, "I still don't like her, but she makes him bearable. Plus, the more time he spends chasing her, the less he'll spend hounding me."

"You guys know I'm right here." Caroline asked, wiping her tears.

"Yes, I know. Now let the grownups talk." Rebekah said.

"What-"

Klaus smiled at their exchange before he noticed how the doppelganger had stayed surprisingly silent.

There was an odd look in her eyes. Klaus couldn't pinpoint it, all he knew was that he didn't like it. Not one bit.

Bonnie, who had glanced at Elena, instantly recognized it.

Those glossy doe-eyed orbs, that masked a much sharper look.

It was the look Elena got when she wanted something, and she didn't care who paid the price, as long as she got it.

She had that look in third grade, when she wanted an extra snack even if it meant somebody else would stay hungry till lunch.

She had that look when she wanted to go to the moviewa, but didn't have the money to pay and the money would come from someone else's pocket.

She had that very same look when she begged Bonnie to save Stefan, even if she knew that Bonnie was exhausted and wouldn't be able to, and Grams ended up paying the price.

Now, she was looking at Caroline with the very same look.

----------

Well showing the past, I likely won't be able to sneak in as many Klaroline scenes into the 'watching' part (I say that as I have two huge special Klaroline scenes coming up in the next two chapters planned out), so I guess I'll just focus on the bashing. Good thing though, I can fill the breaks with as much Klaroline as I want. So you guys will just have to get your fill of the Klaroline, from the inbetween scenes of them reacting - until I start writing the future that is, then it's Klaroline all the way.

Also, one part of the episode really didn't make sense to me, so I decided to change it. Did anyone catch it? Here's a hint: Shouldn't werewolves be turned the whole night?

Also, Ms_Fiction_Reader from Ao3 commented that Finn would be the most still believing in the old ways, he was from a time of vikings, and was asleep for 900 years, so he wouldn't be... as toned down by civilization as the rest of his siblings, and they were right. So I am taking their advice.

Who, Watching Has Died The Most: Damon's still in the lead with 3 deaths, but Elena's on his heels with 2. So my money is still on Damon winning this game.

Anyways,

KLAROLINE FOR LIFE BECAUSE I WILL GO DOWN WITH THIS SHIP!

[jbuffyangel]

Hi Jen! I know you're a diehard Stelena shipper so here's my question for you with a bit of backstory. I was a hardcore Stelena fan until when Stephan made Elena think he'd drive them off the bridge (3x10?) so she'd let him go. I understand why he did it, but that went too far for me and i couldn't ever ship them again after that. I couldn't get over him forcing her to relive her most traumatic moment, regardless of his reasoning. What are your thoughts on that moment in their relationship?

Yeah, that was a real low point in Stelena’s story. For me, not as low as Stefan drowning in a safe all summer while Elena banged his brother, but still low.

Before we get into this I’m going to just say - every viewer has to draw their own line in the sand. If that moment was your line that’s completely fine. I may have different lines for different shows and characters, but I don’t believe anyone’s lines are more valid than others.

So here’s the way I look at The Vampire Diaries Nonnie - they are all terrible people. Arguing morality with these characters is a black hole. They are all murderers. In fact, if a character runs the straight and narrow for too long Julie Plec & Co. actually went out of their way to make that character do something horrible. 

Case in point - Caroline. Pure sunshine.

She murdered only one person and it was when she was a newbie vamp. By the numbers count Caroline was doing pretty good for TVD. Then she was up on the moral high ground and threw a lot of judgement Damon’s way (well deserved in my opinion). She was extremely anti Delena in Season 4 and was not pleased with Elena’s choices as a vampire. So what did the writers do? They had her kill 12 witches in 4x17. Say goodbye to the moral high ground, Caroline.

That’s the show and you are going to do terrible things if you’re a vampire. Humans like Matt, Jeremy and Bonnie fared better, but each makes morally questionable, if not down right wrong, decisions. Their opinions about vampires and all the murderer was typically correct, but frequently viewed as judgmental by fans.

So what’s my point? Any fan of the love triangle got on board with these relationships with full knowledge the brothers were killers. Just because Stefan was a solid dude when Elena met him didn’t erase the fact he spent the better part of the 1920s ripping people’s heads off. Hell, Damon murdered people while he was dating Elena. Murder is not a deal breaker- either to Elena or Stelena/Delena fans. If Elena was supposed to end up with the most moral person on TVD she should’ve married this blue eyed cupcake.

Stefan (or Damon for that matter) being cruel to Elena didn’t really make me want to peace out on the show or stop shipping their relationship. Just because Elena is the focus of the terrible thing doesn’t suddenly make it more terrible than all the other things Stefan and/or Damon have done.

I’m not going to defend what Stefan did. You are kinder to him than I am because I think it had zip to do with forcing Elena to let him go. Stefan was still on human blood which made him a rage machine. He was pissed at Klaus for destroying his life (rightfully so) and hell bent on revenge. 

Do I believe Stefan, with his humanity switch on, would actually kill Elena? No, which is why I kind of yawned my way through the whole driving her off the bridge plan. Klaus was an idiot for buying it, but the only reason he did was because Elena was terrified. Stefan said her fear sold it. The point was to traumatize her, which makes Stefan an enormous dick. 

And yet, three episodes later he’s off human blood and Elena is begging him to feel something for her. 

This show was ridiculous. Both sides of the love triangle are abusive, co dependent, toxic train wrecks at certain points in the story. Some points last longer than other points, but I’ll side eye any Stelena or Delena fan who argues  differently.

Stefan was faaaaar too “heroic” by The Vampire Diaries standards the first two seasons. In order to make this love triangle a real love triangle Stefan had to be a dick with his humanity switch ON. The whole Ripper/no humanity thing gives him an easy pass. And The Vampire Diaries, for better or worse, was based on the love triangle.

No, in order for Elena to really struggle choosing between the two brothers, and not looking like a loony tune for giving Damon a second look while Stefan was literally the vampire equivalent of Clark Kent, they needed Stefan to go to the dark side. This made Damon step up to the plate and he became the hero in Elena’s life. And we’re off to the races with the love triangle, which was the whole point of Season 3 - ELENA’S CHOICE. If I took a shot every time Elena said, “I don’t know how I feel,” I would’ve permanently damaged my liver.

So why did I keep shipping Stelena after that moment? 

Because I knew what the show was trying to do. Stefan had to do something as terrible as Damon killing Jeremy to even the playing field. 

Do I feel those moments equate? No, but I’m a Stelena fan so that’s not a shock. I own my bias. Bloodaholic Stefan was never going to hurt Elena (no not even turn her into a vampire) whereas Damon literally killed Jeremy. 

I also kept shipping them because I knew this was the low point. I knew good Stefan would start to come back after this. And Stefan, when he’s not ripping heads off, has his humanity switch on, and his blood addiction under control, is one of the best people on that show. Selfless, heroic, warm, compassionate, protective and giving. He’s devoted to Elena and loves her deeply, but he also loves her friends and family. Does Stefan put those people first all the time like Elena wanted him to? No, but he prioritized them a hell of a lot more than Damon. 

I was willing to forgive Stefan for Wickery Bridge because I knew Stefan would feel immense guilt once the haze of revenge lifted and he allowed the full weight of all the things he did hit him. Stefan would punish himself more than I ever could and do everything in his power to make amends because that’s who he is. 

This is the same reason Elena chose Stefan at the end of Season 3. Did he “earn” his redemption by 3x22? No, the dude had been acting good for a total of nine episodes. Well, techinically five if we’re being strict about what constitutes “Good Stefan.” Elena didn’t choose Stefan because of the person he was during Season 3. She chose Stefan because of the man he had been in Season 1 and Season 2. That’s the man she loved and she knew that man had come back. 

But if we’re really being fair - Damon probably deserved to be chosen more than Stefan just based on their behavior in Season 3. Same rules apply for Season 4. Stefan deserved to be chosen more than Damon then.

***Side note. One thing TVD did extremely well was parallels. I loved that she told Stefan on the phone that she loved him in 3x01 and to hold on to that. Then told Damon on the phone that she is choosing Stefan in 3x22. 

(This is also why Elena told Damon she loved him for the first time over the phone. It was to make up for the time she dumped him over the phone and left him for dead. See? They all did crappy stuff to each other CONSTANTLY).

The difference between the brothers is not good and bad. Stefan isn’t entirely good just like Damon isn’t entirely bad. The difference between the two brothers is one fights the good in him while the other fights the bad. Neither are successful in their battles all the time. Stefan did terrible things, with his humanity on, and Damon could be wonderfully heroic and sweet. 

But Damon pushed against that goodness A LOT. Whereas Stefan pushed against his badness A LOT.  I’m not into the bad boys or the anti heroes. I like darkness in my fictional men, but I enjoy watching them fight it and not relish it. 

But I don’t glean any morality from The Vampire Diaries. It was a fantasy show. It’s crap I watched for fun and had pointless, but entertaining, ship debates with strangers on the Internet. Nor do I apply my real world principles to my shipping preferences. I am married to the kindest, gentlest, most moral man I know. I like the goody guys with NO darkness in real life. I would never allow my kid to date a Stefan or Angel or hell not even Oliver Queen in real life. Are you nuts???? THEY MURDERED PEOPLE.

But in my fantasy world, yes I am extremely forgiving. Not unlike Elena Gilbert, Buffy Summers and Felicity Smoak. Oliver Queen is as squeaky clean as I get. It’s a little easier I think with Angel (versus Stefan) because he only did horrible things after he lost his soul, which was not his fault. 

It’s really two personas. I love Angel, but I hated Angelus. I never wanted Buffy to hook up with Angelus. 

Does that erase his responsibility over Jenny Calendar? 

Nope. But simply because I knew Jenny Calendar as a viewer, and Angel was hurting people Buffy loved, doesn’t suddenly make that murder worse than all the others Angelus killed. Just because Buffy didn’t know those people, and they died hundreds of years ago, doesn’t make their lives any less valuable. But I got on board with Buffy dating Angel knowing all that before he lost his soul, so the morality factor didn’t really change after he got his soul back. Make sense?

It’s similar with Stefan. Stefan and The Ripper are two personas, but TVD liked to muddy the water a little more than Whedon with the humanity switch - a grey area. But in general I divide his character into two selves. 

Now, in real life if I was on a jury these guys would be serving 25 to life. But this is fantasy. Vampires don’t really exist. Teenage girls don’t date men over 110 years old. It’s illegal.

Characters like Stefan and Angel are an allegory. They represent the struggle between good and evil that live within all of us. The writers use vampirism to represent our sinful nature. The human struggle to be good and battle against our (hopefully) lower scale darkness/sins is the only real moral lesson I apply. That and always put Paul Wesley in a white tank top.

So, that’s how I look at that scene Nonnie. As I said before it is completely fine for that to be the moment you stopped shipping Stelena. I never stopped shipping Stelena and I never will, which is why they are one of my OTPs. They are a tragic story, but I will always love them. Despite all of Stefan’s terrible mistakes, I will always believe he was the best choice Elena ever made.

[willowrosenboob]

(Prepare for a rant) I mean full offense to Jenny Nicholson but TVD is SUUUUUCH a blatant ripoff of Buffy that the first time I even got into the fandom I was so confused over how I kept hearing THE SAME ARGUMENTS that people used so much over the brothers and which ship of them and Elena was better. I know that TVD is based off of a book series but having read the books and the plans of the original author when it came to that story, TVD the series is insanely different and there's too many parallels to Buffy that go beyond the love triangle and "best friend who's a witch". Even the Stefan/Ripper stuff are so similar to Angel/Angelus that the fandom often uses the same argument about it and how "it doesn't really count because they're intentionally bad vs when Angel has a soul/Stefan has a conscience". Also Spike/Klaus????? Where????? I'd even argue that Klaus is so much more evil than Spike and I'm not even interested in defending Spike in any way, it's just that Klaus was literally planning on making an army of werewolves when practically any idea that Spike has ever had fails because he's a fucking moron, and I say this as a complete fact. There's also the fact that Julie Plec's plagiarization is all over her other series as well, especially Legacies. And for all of the reasons that Josh Whedon can go to hell, at least Buffy had more coherent season-long plots and even with it's flaws stands out as a series overall. TVD IS A MESS, both plot and character-wise, I practically gave up around season 4 because I couldn't even take any of the bs from it anymore. End of rant (sorry for the long message).

i totally get you. i think a big problem with her take was that she mentioned how the similarities to twilight had to do more with common tropes in the genre, but she didn’t touch AT ALL upon how twilight affected pretty much all teen media of the time. maybe the reason that the series is so different from the books is because a lot of vampire media became so centralized  and uncreative in the twilight era and constantly borrowed from things that already existed. and i’m saying this as someone who’s completely fascinated with the twilight phenomenom, like it really gots its hands into every single corner of the world in just a few years. nothing was truly sacred. that could’ve been a really interesting angle to explore, though i guess the video was already so long, it makes sense t

another thing i noticed is how she said she likes julie plec, but you can clearly tell that’s because she’s never even touched all the drama that’s gone down with her over the years. i’ve only started looking into the tvd fandom in the last few months but even i know that everyone hates her for so many valid reasons. giving yourself some space from fandom is valid, but it made her video feel like it wasn’t properly researched.

i may be completely wrong, but my theory is that jenny has only watched up to season 2 ish of buffy, which is where her buffy=bad and spike=klaus takes come from. i get the damon/spike parallels, but with klaus the only similarity i see is that they’re both british and villains. yeah spike gets redeemed from the love of a woman, but before that he goes through a phase where he gets constantly dunked on and nobody can take him seriously as a threat, which is part of what makes him so interesting and entertaining to me. it’s like that post i reblogged a few weeks ago about how spike is the most pathetic of the worms, wearing the funniest of hats kjkjksdhg. tvd never had the balls to subvert tropes the way btvs did. also, spike had always centered his identity around the women in his life, even as a human, so his transformation didn’t come out of nowhere. klaus has pretty much been an uncaring dickbag for his entire existence, and i’m saying that as someone who actually likes him. but in comparison he is NOWHERE CLOSE to spike.

it’s kinda annoying that she said “if you like buffy you’ll probably like tvd cause it’s better” like she makes it so clear she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. i’ve seen so many btvs fans who hate tvd, and also lots of people who like both but prefer btvs. there’s a reason there’s are literal college classes on buffy and not tvd, and it’s not cause one is more popular than the other. one planned their storylines multiple seasons ahead of time, was thematically consistent, dealt with morality, and had powerful feminist themes, and that sure as hell wasn’t tvd.

ALSO in regards to your complaints, the ripper storyline pisses me off so damn much. there’s no real proof that the “humanity switch” actually makes you incapable of being a good person, it’s clearly only there for drama, unlike with btvs where the soul makes a huge difference in how vampires behave. the soul takes away a vampire’s choice to do good, but the lines between humanity/no humanity are so blurred that it feels like there’s no real thematic purpose to it. it’s straight up insulting to btvs

i enjoyed and agreed with most of the video, but that part just pissed me off

[samcarter34]

Victims of Narrative: Mikael

There’s nothing to drum up motivation quite like avoiding schoolwork, so I’m doing another one. This time on the Original daddy: Mikael

Mikael; a villain, but not an antagonist.

 To start with, let’s talk about his backstory. The Mikael who kicks children and whips people half to death? A complete fabrication by TO that in no way reflects TVD.

 “But Nik was not born a killer – none of us were! You did this to us when you turned us into vampires! You destroyed our family. Not him.” – Rebekah TVD 3x09 Homecoming

 “My family was quite close, but Klaus and my father did not get along too well.” – Elijah TVD 2x18 Klaus

 The emphasis here being that it’s all wrapped up in them becoming vampires. Klaus’ fall, Mikael ruining their family all of it. Before, they were all content, a whole loving family. Yes, Klaus and Mikael had troubles, there will be people whose personalities don’t mesh.

 Now, is this to say that Mikael was actually an all loving father and Klaus is just a lying liar who lies? No (well, at least not in this specific instance), as I said, Mikael is a villain; a harsh man from a harsh time. His children loved him, but they also feared him, and that’s generally not something indicative of a father of the year award nominee. But the man who Elijah confessed he should have killed a thousand years ago, the man Rebekah tried to kill in his sleep, the man who hated Klaus just because (WE WILL GET TO THAT) didn’t come about until TO.

 So then, who is Mikael? We first see him as a mysterious figure whose presence scares Klaus into running, both in the flashback to the 1920s, and in modern day. The first real glimpse of him we get is in Ordinary People, when he grows angry at Klaus and Elijah’s play-fighting. This angers him, as he believes that combat should be taken seriously. When confronted, Elijah backs down; Klaus tries to defend it, and gets a swordfight in response. It goes on until Esther, who at first permits it, tells Mikael that he’s ‘made his point’ and to stop. Which he does.

 Mikael is a Viking, and though Plec and co. erroneously assume that Viking refers to the entirety of Norse culture, the fact that he is one means he’s a warrior. He was the guy that went out and fought and pillaged. Which informs a great deal about his worldview. How to treat combat, and how to respond to threats.

 Which in turn leads to his pride, dubbed by Rebekah to be his greatest weakness. Mikael ran once, when his eldest died, because a disease has no form you can fight, there’s no enemy to be beaten, but still it pained him to do it. And so, when Henrik dies, he decides he won’t run again. The werewolves are a physical opponent, they can be beaten, but suppose another child gets sick? Or another enemy comes, one who is beyond Mikael’s ability to fight. He’s been unable to protect two of children, has had to outlive two of his children, and he will not permit another. And so he and Esther come up with a plan. One to make it so that their family can’t lose anyone else; make them immortal. No more running, now they fight.

 Until everything went to hell, culminating in the revelation of Klaus’ true parentage, the casting of the hybrid curse, and Klaus murdering Esther in a fit of rage.

 And so Mikael lost basically everything, his son murdered his wife, and his other children believed that Mikael was responsible. And so he spent the next thousand years hunting. Seeking to avenge his wife, and to kill his son.

 And really, that was what he dedicated himself towards.  TO pretty much erases all of it in order to say that it was the fact that Klaus was a hybrid and not biologically his son that spurred him to hunt down his children -and it was all his children on TO- but that ignores a whole lot, as shown here:

 This scene is incredible, for starters, because it alone manages to give more depth to Mikael than an entire season of TO did. Mikael loves Rebekah, he loves all his children, and Klaus was his only target. In TO, Mikael seems incapable of anything but hatred. The show forgets that pride -not rage- was his defining trait, the pride that prevented him from apologizing to Rebekah, of acknowledging that no matter how justified he felt, he still caused harm to her. In TO, Mikael hates Klaus, hates hybrids, werewolves, vampires, his children, his wife. The only person he doesn’t hate is Freya, who’s a frigging retcon character.

 Speaking of retcons, on TO it’s repeatedly stated that Mikael burned down cities in his hunt for his children, hell we see him burn down an entire opera theatre. Remember this quote from Homecoming: “I had a hand in creating vampires, but bloodlust was never my intention. Over the centuries I learned to feed from the predator, not the innocent?” The bloodlust, described by Rebekah as being the darkest consequence of what they were because it drove them to kill, and Mikael trains himself to overcome it because he doesn’t want to kill innocent people. At least not needlessly, he is a vampire, an Original, he definitely has the will to kill, but a guy who spent god knows how long training himself to feed on vampires, a guy who refused human blood after being dessicated for a decade, destroys cities willy-nilly for the hell of it? That’s not even getting into the fact that TO shows him multiple times willingly feeding on living people. Again, this is the guy who refused human blood after going without any blood for a decade.

 Oh, and going back to Klaus:

Notice Klaus calls Mikael father in this scene. On TO, when Klaus did that in a flashback during 1x15 Le Grand Guignol, Mikael mocked him for it, derided him for “still clinging to that word.” On TVD? Nothing. Because Klaus is Mikael’s son. The narrative irony, that the child Mikael got along with the least would come to be the one most like him. After all, Klaus wants to be the biggest, baddest, strongest guy out there, and growing up, who was that if not Mikael?

 Mikael was a villain, but not an antagonist, his role in the story was an ‘enemy of my enemy’ type with the MFG. They both wanted Klaus dead. This narrative role allowed for a bit of nuance. Mikael and Klaus were mirrors of each other, and both had their own twisted senses of honour and love. And yes, I do fully believe that Mikael loved Klaus. In their meeting, he doesn’t deride Klaus’ biological parentage, he doesn’t insult him for calling Mikael his father, he chastises him for his “impulse” and calls out the fact that between compulsion, sirebonds and daggers, there isn’t a single person who’s loyal to Klaus who is so willingly.

 The entire meeting is of two family members calling each other out on their failings: Klaus calling out that Mikael always underestimated him, never gave Klaus’ own strength the respect it deserves, embodied through attempting to call Mikael’s bluff. But Mikael wasn’t bluffing, and as far as Mikael and Klaus were aware in that moment, Mikael killed Elena and Klaus’ access to more hybrids. And then Mikael dies, killed by his son, whose strength he never acknowledged. Is it really any wonder that the only response to this is cry, however briefly?

 Mikael’s relationship with Klaus was a focal point for his character, and TO’s complete derailment of it, therefore, had a huge impact on the character. On TVD, Klaus was a villain and an antagonist, but on TO he’s the protagonist (ostensibly anyway, in reality, the deuteragonist to Hayley’s protagonist), and Mikael the antagonist. Now there are two different ways that this could have gone.

 1)   Recognize the incredibly complex relationship between these two and build on it in order to help cement the relative moral nature of a show focused on the oldest serial murderers in the world

2)   Say ‘fuck relative morality and nuance’ and make the antagonist as evil as possible so that by comparison the guy you had choke a pregnant woman for trying have an abortion seem like a good guy

 Three guesses which option the show went with. First two don’t count. Yes, they eschewed any complexity by making Mikael out to be a sadistic psychopath who tried multiple times to murder Klaus BEFORE he ripped out Esther’s heart and blamed it on Mikael. Oh wait sorry, ~choked her to death~ and blamed it on Mikael. As opposed to the intense regret he felt upon seeing Rebekah on TVD, on TO Mikael shows nothing but anger when meeting Elijah, even when he’s ostensibly saying he’s proud of him. On TO, he can’t mention Klaus without saying the word bastard, on TVD it’s never uttered.  On TVD he explicitly states that Klaus is the only one he ever wanted dead, on TO he plans to help Finncent kill them all. On TVD, avenging Esther was what spurred him forward, on TO, upon meeting he screams at her and tries to hit her. Hell, their entire relationship is reduced to a Stockholm syndrome-fuelled abusive horror show.

 And it all culminates in that scene. Klaus has the white oak pointed at Mikael’s heart and asks ‘why?’ Why was he a kid kicking, Klaus whipping, no-good-awful-abusive-piece-of-shit? Why, for Klaus’ entire life did Mikael hate him?

   “I don’t know, I just did.”

 A character’s motivation: why they do what they do. Why they feel what they feel. It’s fundamental to them. Without that, a character could be replaced with an object. They stop being a character and become a macguffin. And TO cares so little for Mikael, the man who created vampires on their vampire show, that they didn’t even bother to give a motivation as to why he was an abusive ass. They retconned him into a complete psychopathic monster because they didn’t have the necessary skill to make us care about Klaus despite the fact that he’s a monster, so why not make Mikael irredeemably horrible because abuse survivor=relatable right? This despite the fact that Klaus was still an abuse survivor on TVD, and they still managed to make him likable without relying on the image of him being kicked as a child.

 On TO, Mikael could have been replaced with literal cancer and the result would have been the same. A source of pain and agony in Klaus’ past that made him feel weak, and he never wishes to re-experience. They didn’t just take away nuance and complexity from him, they took away the most basic aspects. The closest thing to characterization Mikael has on TO is his relationship with Freya, who is a retconned in character from the same season Mikael came back in. The ‘I love you/I hate you/I want you to die/please acknowledge me’ relationship with Klaus built up from TVD goes nowhere. There’s never any further expression of regret from when he met Rebekah again. Hell, the shadow he ostensibly cast over the Originals’ existence is kind of called into question when they can stay in one place for nearly three hundred years, openly referring to themselves as the Mikaelsons the entire time. Everything Mikael was on TVD was stripped away in favour of ‘stock antagonist’ such that his only real points of note are his fighting capability, which is nice to watch but doesn’t make a character, and his relationship with Freya, which isn’t part of the character that got people invested.

[rossiestclaire-blog]

The Originals: A Fangirl's Tribute

If you've been in this fandom since The Vampire Diaries, then you know that we love and hate Julie Plec. Love her for giving us these masterpieces that brings out every single emotion we have, and hate her for the same reason we love her. I think we can ALL agree that The Originals shouldn't have ended so soon after 5 bomb seasons. TO has soooo much more to offer. I love TVD but TO has my heart. In my opinion, TO's plot and characters were more dynamic and heart-touching than TVD's. Let's take Klaus for example. Nik has got to be THE MOST FLAWED character I have ever encoutered but it's because this very reason that he is so lovable and relatable. Each one of the Mikaelsons are fucked up in their own way but you just can't help but feel for all of them. I can't even put into words how I actually feel for this family. I don't know how many times I have actually argued with my sister, a fellow fangirl, regarding the Mikaelsons. There was one time we were arguing about what Marcel and Rebeccah did to Nik: calling their dad to New Orleans. She said that what Rebekah and Marcel did was unforgivable. I said that yes it was wrong but she can't really blame them for doing that. You have to understand that my sister absolutely LOVES Nik and is probably going to be okay with the rest of the cast dying but not Nik (she's got a thing for the damaged ones lol jk). So argued about that for a good 20 minutes. That was when I realized that I was so attached to these characters that I was defending them because I understood them in a way that one understands a person she is personally close to. I understand that they've all messed up once, twice or maybe a couple of hundred times but they all had their reasons. They all had that one pushing factor that drove them to do bad things. They've never been famous for having good decisions, but despite everything I still understand them and I feel for each one of them. Like most people, I find a home in reading books and watching all these series. So when they end it always feels like something has been ripped out of you. I honestly cannot name a TV series that I have watched and fell in love with that ended and I didn't sob (yes, sob not cry). I'm a very emotional person as you can tell. Now that TO has come to an end, I honestly feel depressed lol. Yeah I know there's going to be Legacies soon but it still won't be the same. I can honestly say that TO has changed my life, turned it upside down. I am going to miss waiting for the new episode to be available on O2Tvseries.com so I can download and watch it. I'm gonna miss screaming at my laptop screen everytime someone does anything stupid. I'm gonna miss shouting at whoever wants to hurt any of my babies to go to hell and never come back. I'm gonna miss swooning over everything that is Elijah Mikaelson. I'm going to miss my queens Bekah, Hayley, Freya, Davina and Cami who have been badass ladies from the very start. I'm gonna miss cursing at the stupid fucking ancestors, those damn dead witches bring out the psycho in me. I'm gonna miss New Orleans and the never ending issues it always seem to suffer under. I'm going to miss everything about this show but I'm afraid I'm too lazy to type everything down hahahah. On a lighter note, I can't wait to witness Hope grow up. I'm super stoked about Legacies and I feel that I'm gonna see a lot of my TO babies in there. It's been a glorious ride. Always and Forever.