#bonnie bennett deserves better

[klonnieshippersclub]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lastly, The Bonnie of it all:

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

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

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

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

[queenofstelena]

My problem with tvd is that Bonnie should have had more scenes/screentime.

[maidmerrymint]

Something that bugs me about TVDU is some of the storyline. I didn't like that they killed off Kol in season 4. He didn't even have to stay dead. A witch working for the mikaelsons could have channeled the expression triangle at the end of season 4 and brought him back to life. And I feel like Bonnie's character never got to do anything. She didn't even get to go to the Mikaelson ball. That's ridiculous. The whole town was there. She was just there to solve everyone's problems with magic.

[mutatura]

you can find my art instagram here.

The Vampire Diaries (TVD) au:

Bonnie Bennett was never interested in the title of Miss Mystic Falls 一 that was Caroline’s dream. But here she was, getting ready for the annual beauty pageant. It wasn’t too hard for Bonnie to be a last-minute addition to the Founders’ Court. Her dad, although out of town most of the time, was well-respected in Mystic Falls. When he told Carol Lockwood, the mayor’s wife, the tragic news within the Bennett family, they both agreed that this would be the best for Bonnie. Carol Lockwood wasn’t allowing this exception purely out of sympathy, though. With the recent rise of “animal attacks” in Mystic Falls, she needed a way to save face until the Council found a solution.

[lovelyandproblematic]

Kat Graham brought to tears reflecting on the wigs they made her wear on The Vampire Diaries res (and other racist things said in front of her face about her character Bonnie Bennett)

[cancerian-woman]

Unpopular opinion: Tyler should’ve killed Hayley and he wasn’t wrong for trying to.

Another unpopular opinion: I think Michael Trevino (along with Kat Graham) was done wrong by Plec due to him being a non white hispanic man. Tyler Lockwood could’ve been SO MUCH BETTER and could’ve had such an interesting storyline and character development along with Bonnie if Plec wasn’t a racist bum.

Facts. Not trying to make this super long. Hayley would’ve deserved whatever Tyler decided to do. She betrayed him first.

People seem to only see “innocent Hayley who’s pregnant by Klaus” but forgets that Tyler’s intentions were rooted in protecting the werewolves as a species. The irritating part in this is that it was all done on TO. Which means they weren’t going to actually let Tyler do anything to Hayley. Depending on how a fan watches the franchise Tyler looks like the villain here. Hayley even calls him a “backstabbing half breed”. I do find it funny she became a “half breed” and never shut up about being one after that lol.

I talked about how Hayley’s death is a karma moment here.

You aren’t wrong. Tyler is white, but it’s clear he doesn’t look white. He looks NOTHING like his family members. Klaus/Caroline exist as a ship to constantly sideline him. When Tyler was the introduction to the werewolves.

Michael Trevino and Kat Graham deserved better more than words can say. Their characters were used as plot devices and never given the same push as their white counterparts.

Isn’t ironic that two characters Tyler and Bonnie were introduced with these unique bloodlines yet we’re done the worst. I’m so pissed that we learn in TO, Tyler’s would’ve been protecting the hallow bones. It would’ve been pleasing as fuck to see Hayley BEG Tyler for help after she betrayed him.

Julie and the other writers were so racist they couldn’t even at least let Tonnie happen as a ship. Instead, Tyler ends up dating one of the many white Bonnie’s of TVDU lol. (i meant Liv Parker).

[hyperactivewhore]

Another crazy thing is Julie Plec saying Bonnie is too good for Kol and that he's too evil for her, then pairing him with a white witch.... (no hate to Davina, but if he's irredeemable for Bonnie, then he’d irredeemable for Davina, too)

It's crazy because she also paired Bonnie with Enzo, a vampire who if I'm not wrong did abuse/kinda terrorize her friends, maybe not to the extent Klaus or Damon did but regardless (only if my memory serves me right; I don't remember much from Enzo, hence why I'm currently rewatching season five.)

Kol literally killed Davina and we're supposed to buy he's the better choice for her? Whether you're mind controlled or not, having your blood sucked out of your body by your boyfriend would leave a scarr for sure and the fact that Davina never got any trauma from it is insane. Bonnie went through worse stuff every season, of course, but she was never allowed to show any emotion onscreen, especially if it was against her white friends.

Saying Bonnie is "too pure" or has "too strong morals" to be with any Mikaelson or Salvatore is just stupid and clearly wrong. Elena and Caroline hated Damon and Klaus, until they didn't, it's easy to see women are being constantly retconned to fit into this shows storylines yet no one ever bats an eye until it comes to the main black woman from The Vampire Diaries.

And this isn't just with romances either. Fans believe Bonnie would hate Rebekah, when there isn't literally any proof to corroborate this and they haven't even interacted, they think she would hate Hope for being a Mikaelson when Bonnie has never been that kind of person. They're desperate to prove she's an anti vampires or generally a prude simply because she's traumatized and rightfully so. She decides to not be nice to the Salvatore brothers in season one after they got her grandmother killed and she's turned into some sort of supervillain because of it.

If Bonnie's actress had been white, I'm pretty sure her character and bloodline would have been in Mikaelson level by the show and fandom.

[bonnie-sheila-bennett]

Another Bonkai Fanart, my fiancee draw. It's a AU Story from one of our RPs. Just in case if you wonder why there is a Spotify running in the background.

[lizzie-queenofmeigas]

The fact that some Caroline stans seem to truly believe she is more mistreated than Bonnie gets me every time. The amount of Caroline centric fics where there is also Bonnie bashing is too much.

[klonnieshippersclub]

I’m sorry I don’t know who to ask this—I’ve tried several Bonnie blogs and get different answers.

Am I allowed to write for Bonnie if I am white? I’ve been told it’s racist to not write for her for that reason, but other people have said that I’m taking attention away from black women if I do.

What does everyone think?

You’re allowed to write for Bonnie if you’re white. Bonnie Bennett was created by a group of white writers. Not writing or ignoring Bonnie in your plot and concepts pushes the writers negligence towards her. Yes it is invalidating and racist if you plan on ignoring Bonnie for most of your plot and inserting her in to save whomever as the series did.

It is not the job of Bonnie fans to teach you how to write for Bonnie Bennett. They should not be tasked with holding your hand in writing for Bonnie Bennett. You do have to listen to Bonnie fans when they explain the topics of race and how that impacted Bonnie and family line. You can learn from Bonnie fans but that responsibility on how to write Bonnie doesn’t rely solely on those fans. Treat Bonnie the way you would treat her white counterparts. If you can imagine a plot for Bonnie’s peers than Bonnie shouldn’t be that hard.

I highly recommend you refer to these blogs here and here to help you write a character or color. You can take up the initiative to read articles about Bonnie’s and Kat’s mistreatment or watch YouTube videos. There’s plenty of resources there you just have to be willing to research that topic. This was not meant to be taken harshly just being honest.

Hope this helps!

- Rikki

[allthebestnamesweretaken]

As a kid I didn’t know how deep the hatred for/racism against Bonnie Bennett/Kat Graham went. But I knew they hated Bonnie when her boyfriend cheated on her WITH A GHOST!!!

I love her and Enzo together so much. Not only were they literally the cutest thing ever, but they loved each other in a way that neither had experienced before. And both of them, Bonnie especially, deserved to be loved like that. She set a cabin on fire with them inside it, and refused to leave him even though his humanity was off and she had no guarantee he would save her. She created an entirely new dimension solely from the pain she experienced when he was killed. They’re soulmates your honor

[maidmerrymint]

I was on a thread on reddit about whether people preferred kennett or kolvina and I came to realize in season 3 of tvd they celebrated both Caroline and Elena's birthday. But of course they didn't celebrate Bonnie's. Bonnie really go treated like crap.

[writinginthesecrettrees]

Poor Bonnie. She deserves SO MUCH better than a boyfriend who will cheat on her with a ghost.

[imhereforthetryus]

Its funny how the second bonnie was being recongized for her power, we get a bunch of “powerful” white witches IN FUCKING NEW ORLEANS OF ALL PLACES??? (really julie if you wanted to pick a location with magical background use salem mass, oh wait then you might have to include mentions of the bennetts if you actually recall s1 dialogue actually how is there no mention of bennetts in one of the biggest witch communities esp since the supernatural talk)

(Vincent really the only powerful magic user consistently shown Ntm how rushed inandu/werewolf lore was oh well!)

Mind you even though plec wanted them to be powerful if you really look at it their not. Which is the opposite of bonnie predicment because she’s constantly shown to be powerful but the narrative tries to tell you she not(with the nosebleeds🙄)

No one ever compares hope to her family witches, i never seen anyone try to compare davina and freya magic even though the originals at one point makes a dig about davina not understand freya magic yet everyone compares every other witch to Bonnie because deep down they know she’s as powerful as its gets

-

Davina- had four harvest girls magic in her and her magic is ancestral magic and nola witches cant pratice magic outside of nola

Dahlia and Freya- dahlia immortality spell is legit the worse spell in the game. Wydm you’re only live life awake for 10years and you physically age. The fact that the magic was building up between them and her/freya most powerful moments were them linked… i dont find her all that impressive first how much knowledge can you retain of magic something that everychanging in one year, realistically even if you were powerful you would have no expertise. Might i mention that dahlia and her whole coven couldn’t protect themselves from humans, and esther couldn’t or wouldnt stop/neutralize mikael from being an abuser. I doubt their descendants have much magic

[cancerian-woman]

how do you think forwood wouldve gone if the writers were brain dead pussies with no backbones

i know candice was julies little bitch dog which is why she never left the show for longer than 2 episodes but i always liked the idea of caroline going with tyler whenever he left town the way she was supposed to at the end of s3

this way klaus' attention couldve gone to someone more interesting (COUGH) Bonnie

then when tyler and caroline come back it turns out they got married Naley style

that’s a fun question.

A big Forwood problem outside of Klaus is that we aren’t seeing enough of Tyler’s side. I think seeing on screen and having Caroline go with Tyler would’ve been great. Tyler hated who he was in s1 and coming into his werewolf side and working with wolves/hybrids is how he began to change along with Caroline's support. The thing is if they can give a full werewolf related arc to Hayley in TO they could've did more with Tyler's. He wasn't a main character but a peak at what's doing while he isn't in MF wouldn't have hurt. The Lockwoods was the introduction to werewolves and without Tyler, you don't Hayley's arc or Klaus. The Lockwoods were apart of the world building and just tossed aside. It’s infuriating.

That being said, I think Forwood would’ve been fine longterm with Caroline seeing and being able to understand what was going on with Tyler. She was supportive of him vice-versa all the time. It’s somewhere on my blog but yeah Forwood is very Naley-coded pre-Klaus that is they definitely would’ve been the type to sneak off and get married.

You just reminded me of a one shot I didn’t finish about Forwood being detectives on if Klonnie is a thing. But, in Julie’s world Bonnie can date her pseudo step-brother before she ever dated a villain/character people care about.

[anewkindofme]

Someone pointed out that they avoided the word slavery more or less on TVD, along with everything the Civil War truly was about, forced Bonnie to watch "Gone With The Wind" *and* all her friends cosplay her family's generational trauma. They won't even admit the fact that Emily was a slave...

Yet on TO, they actually use the word slavery, show vampires doing something about it (to an extent), and Marcel's trauma from that time.

If they were capable of one, they should've been capable of the other. Why did Bonnie have to suffer for Marcel to get the proper storyline? Why couldn't they have both received it?

Also, wtf did they set all the drama in the 1800s and the south? In the books, Damon and Stefan were born in the 1400s, in Europe. Even if they realistically couldn't make them from Italy, there are 50 freaking states. Choose one and have them move to Mystic Falls later.