nik's wife

Hi, anon! This was a lot of words. I hope you don't mind, I couldn't help myself.

That promise is not romantic in the slightest, and honestly, it comes off as creepy and obsessive to me. People see it in mostly a romantic way because the line is delivered by Klaus, who is very charming when he wishes to be, and tied to the fantasy of a epic, immortal love between two very popular and loved characters. The line is romantized because of the way it's presented rather than what it's actually being said. It's nothing new shippers see that line as Klaus saying he's gonna love Caroline for whatever it's left of his immortality, rather than seeing it as what he's actually saying, which it's "you will end up with me no matter the time, no matter who you love in between". The quote wasn't a declaration about Caroline's choice, but a declaration of his intention.

The issue in however long it takes is it centers his desire, his intent to be her last love, which is certainly selfish. It removes her agency, and it assumes a future for her he envisioned already without caring what she wants for herself, or the option she may not want him to be her last love. I agree Klaus projecting his desires into other people is one of his most repetitive character traits, but it doesn't take away from the red flag in what he told her. He quite literally treated her romantic life as something he gets to define. If he intends to be her last love, it already implies all her other possible partners are temporary, just her placeholders, which practically reads as her entire romantic life being just a path headed towards him.

People point to his grand speeches as proof that he understood her, and knew her in a way no one else could ever achieve, but when they meet again years later and Caroline reflects in their relationship, she basically says the opposite. She literally tells him she never felt herself, relaxed or safe around him, which it's a huge statement. It raises the question of how, if someone doesn't feel themselves around you, can you claim to actually know them? Her next words are even more interesting, because she brings up the reason she believed he ever looked at her was because of what she represented to him. She's basically questioning whether Klaus loved her or what she symbolized to him.

And everyone who follows me or has read my posts regarding klaroline, knows what I already believe. A lot of Klaus’s feelings regarding Caroline seem tied to what she represented in his life: light, the chance of being saved, innocence, and maybe even hope. Despite his many speeches about his feelings towards her, her feelings towards him, and what they bring out in each other, the narrative establishes he doesn't really understand her as a person.

Which is why I find his reply to her in this scene of The Originals so telling. (CF: No. But... I do think that I represented something for you back then. Like, something... innocent, that reminded you of a part of yourself that you lost and wished that you could get back. If we'd never met until now, I wonder if you'd even notice me. KM: It would be impossible not to notice you, Caroline. Your essence would hover around me... harangue me until I did). He doesn't actually answer her, instead of addressing her doubts he chooses to give her another charming speech about her essence being impossible to ignore (which we can debunk, by the way). It sounds pretty, but he completely ignores the point she was trying to make.

So, anon, whenever I hear however long it takes, all I see is Klaus once again projecting his own narrative in a girl who never stated if she wanted it. It's less about who Caroline is, and more about the role Klaus wants to play in her life.

Maybe it wasn't your intention, anon, but the message feels a little bit filled with attitude. But I never confirmed anything, I don't know why you feel the need to lie for me.