𐂃𐂂𐂊

Sansa Stark:

Perpetually a victim of the plot, denied agency, hated for being whiny, PLUS the whole deal where they changed the plot of the book so they could show her being raped in the show…

Sansa is an incredible character for the exact reasons I hated her ass when I was 14. She's often passive, conforms to expectations, and lashes out at her younger sister for being the opposite. Her arc finds her struggling to navigate a dangerous, violent world that hates women using only the tools she was taught as a girl would keep her safe and make her successful (her passivity, her virginity, her femininity, etc.).

Bashed as the worst and most useless character of the whole series for not immediately killing all the Lannisters ig despite literally watching her father’s head get cut off at thirteen years old. Also catches flak for thinking mean things about the fandom’s chosen son Jon Snow and her sister Arya Stark, but like. This is a middle schooler.

The WHOLE POINT of her character is to illustrate how the game of thrones corrupts innocence, ERGO the character HAS to start from an innocent place. Obviously she’s naive at the start of the series, why would any child raised in a loving household far away from court politics develop any political acumen? But despite this, she does learn quickly, and her character development is among the most exciting in the show (and I’m sure it will eventually be in the series as well)

I could write a dissertation on this one but if you say Sansa is worse that Joffrey you’re a misogynist. In my opinion people hate her because her abuse arc is painfully grounded in reality.

The very first man to use her as a pawn was her father and yet the fandom blames her for this. Sansa’s arc was supposed to be a mirror of her sister’s to show that if they comply (Sansa) if they rebel (Arya) no girls win in a patriarchal society but so many people would rather hate a fictional little girl because she didn’t girl boss her way out of oppression.

According to Sophie Turner (the actress who played Sansa), people hated Sansa so much that they would actually go up to Turner in real life and go "i don't like you" (and Turner would have been in like... her teens/early twenties at this point)

I really need fans to not need her to marry a creepy old pervert to prove that she isn’t vain and put her in her place. She’s twelve. Also these creepy men like her because she’s pretty. It’s also not her job to fix their defective personalities.

George R.R. Martin wrote a really complex world with layers of story and metaphors. He has something to say about climate change and nuclear weapons, these metaphors are obvious. Then he challenges us to look at government, power structures, patriarchal systems, concepts of honor vs what’s actually right, gender roles, and how to meaningfully change all of these things. Then to have people take away nothing other than the book is about a feud between to little girls, Sansa is the villain, and the story will be about defeating her. Sansa and Arya love each other. One conforms, one rebels, neither can win in a patriarchal society. Their arc is why this society is bad for all girls but so many fans willfully miss it because of their own misogyny.

Everyone loved the idea of a free and independent North under Robb or even Jon but they seem really agitated that Sansa was the one who saw it through. They are angry at her when she’s meek and even angrier when she exercises her agency to give her homeland something they seem pretty unified in wanting.

Ned was the very first man to use Sansa. He used her as a cover while investigating the Lannister’s without any sort of regard for how dangerous that is. Yet fans blame Sansa, an eleven year old girl for killing Ned. Girl argued like a lawyer on his behalf, the milk of the poppy defense was great and Ned was ready to through it away because honor. What’s sad is I don’t think that Sansa herself is able to process how much her male family members fail her because it’s too much to handle. People also expect Sansa a kid to stand up to Joffrey at the Trident when Ned a grown adult won’t stand up to Robert. The saddest thing is that I believe if Joffrey wasn’t a bastard Ned would have married Sansa to him. He would have felt bad about it but he would have upheld the system. Fans would naturally see this as Sansa’s character flaw and proof that Ned is good because he feels bad.

I'm going to preface it by saying I genuinely have no ill will towards, nor trying to argue nor shame nor start drama with the person who submitted it. I just have to say, gently and respectfully, that the part in the Sansa propaganda that talks about her being passive feels wrong (and maybe even be a result of unintentionally swallowing some of the character slander we are otherwise successfully fighting against!) for reasons the original submitter might consider below. Sansa Stark is not actually passive. I know it can seem that way because she dissociates a lot (for very understandable trauma related reasons) and cannot directly bring out a massive narrative change on her own because she is both effectively a prisoner as well as completely isolated, but she is actually a fairly active character, it's just that she is active in a more femininely acceptable way in the society of her world. She takes initiative in front of an entire court she doesn't understand the customs of to speak up in defense of her father, thinking on her feet and coming up with an extremely reasonable defense for him that some real world lawyers in modern day use in court (and that would have worked if the authority figure was ANY character in the entire narrative other than who it was at the time). She keeps choosing kindness. She tries to persuade her abusive captor to be kinder and gentler to his younger brother who wanted to honour him on his birthday and was unsuccessful at doing so, she shows courtesy and understanding to a cousin who is from the same family of her abusers (Lancel after the blackwater), she modifies her behavior to appear as acceptable to the people who hurt her and use any insubordination as an excuse to hurt her further, so she uses the facade of a completely nonthreatening helpless unremarkable individual to the point of falsely appearing stupid to actively conspire about her own escape in the godswood (a site of religious significance to her that almost nobody around her cares enough about to frequent and check up on). She operates within the socially acceptable role of a lady which she has been taught her entire short sheltered life, in order to make herself seem less threatening to avoid being targetted by the horrible people around her. She analyzes her situation and acts accordingly by choice. Sure, it can seem passive because that is how women need to appear in a world where the majority of power is held by Men, too many of whom desperately want to keep women powerless and subservient, but she actively tries to make the choice to be good and kind to the young, the innocent, and those who deserve compassion and mercy. She wakes up every day in a world that shows her endless cruelty, she analyzes the risks her behavior might incur, and she keeps choosing kindness despite it all and in the face of it all. And it's not an easy decision. Many people, even in our world, get slighted once and choose to burn every bridge they can find for the rest of eternity to get even. Sansa Stark is not actually passive. She just disguises herself as passive to survive. And people who think that is what she is are proof that her effort is paying off.

Submitting propaganda for my girl Sansa Stark in the form of an anecdote, I once watched the first couple episodes of GoT with a man and he immediately hated Sansa and started saying bad things about her and thats when I knew i didnt want to hang out with him anymore.

Mel Medarda:

Reduced to an obstacle to Jayvik. Her character background and nuances are ignored in favor of making her an evil Jezebel who seduced Jayce to turn him against Viktor/the undercity; she’s always getting put in the cuck chair, and even positive depictions of her in fic have her playing Jayvik therapist or yaoi fangirl instead of developing her as a character in her own right. Often excluded from group official art & fan art.

As a character, she has so much interesting canon material to work with that people just ignore. She was raised to inherit a war-loving empire but believed she was discarded as a child for being too soft. She overcame a cold and traumatic childhood to be a champion for peace. There are still traces of this upbringing in her - she’s a strategist who wants the best for the whole, which sometimes means making decisions that come across as ruthless for the individual, but she’s always been just as willing to sacrifice herself for the cause. She’s flawed and has her own blind spots but always tries to operate in good faith. Criminally underutilized in canon and in fan works lol

Because of her interactions with Jay, much of the fandom only saw her as a malignant and hostile obstacle to the Jay/Viktor pairing, using words like 'temptress' and implying a romantic relationship between Jay and Mel is automatically inferior to one between Jay and Viktor. Definitely misogynoir, because the fandom would not have been this hostile to her if she wasn't black.

Mel is a complicated, morally gray character. Initially characterized as a ruthless and cunning politician, but who is torn between being merciful and stopping at nothing to prevent more suffering. Her emotional arc involved getting out of her parent's constricting grasp and living according to her own desires.

Where do I start. Constantly villainized for actions that fully make sense for her character. Ignored in her main relationship in order to ship her boyfriend with a skinny white guy. Sooooo much unchecked fandom misogynoir. The WRITERS don't even know what to do with her, they like never fully nailed down her motivations and just let her Happen. Like. It's YOUR show!! WRITE your characters!!

Smartest woman in the room. Powerful mage. INCREDIBLY tragic figure forced to continue the cycle of conquering and bloodshed. Knows what she wants and how she's going to get it, and sees that plan through. Figures out how to deal with an entire mage cult on her own, outsmarting the leader. I love her. She didn't do half the shit the fandom is mad at her for doing but she would have been fully within her right to do so.

Mel is hated by racist fujoshis for daring to "get in the way" of a non canon gay ship. One of the animators mentioned something about how he pictured the sex scene between Mel and her boyfriend being unimportant compared to Mel's boyfriend's concern for his white bestie. Fujoshis rejoiced, only going to show that they view her as a disposable Black girlfriend character/thats what they want for her. They write fanfiction where she's been killed, too.

Mel is the most interesting character in the show by far. She has a nuanced and complicated relationship with her mother, and its already rare to see this with a mother/daughter relationship let alone between 2 Black women, and its the most heartfelt relationship in the whole show. Mel was abandoned by her mother for being "too soft" and made her own way in the world of politics. She is manipulative, to a degree, but she always means well and its easy to see that she has so much heartfelt emotion in her that she holds back. She stands up for her lame ass boyfriend despite him not deserving her, and she gets cool magic powers in the second season that she uses to save everyone. She is also always dressed impeccably and is inarguably the most beautiful character in the whole show.

Oh, boy. Hoo. There's a lot of fandom misogyny but it is mostly from JayVik fans. I am a fan of the ship myself, but to insinuate that Mel is in the way, and is no good, and that she should leave Jayce alone, or that she manipulated him? Sigh… I am Viktor himself (an IRL/DA. That's not important, I just have to mention incase I get some weird looks). She wasn't in the way at all. You can ship what you wish without constantly finding ways to hate on Mel and insist that she was being a user and a manipulator.

She is a goddess of the Arcane. She's made of pure magic and she looks it. She's golden, glowing and gorgeous. She is politically strong, and got away from her mother's bad influence to make a name and a life for herself. She commands the attention of a room and makes sure not only to be powerful but to be nurturing. She's kind, and whilst she might have been raised as a wolf, she knows when a good leader must be soft, too.

Many people have this idea in their head that she was manipulating Jayce & Viktor and just using them for her own selfish gain. She wasn't. I don't think so in the slightest. She was genuinely intrigued by the research Jayce had done and was nurturing that. Sure, a few of her words may have come across as manipulative, but perhaps it's because she is a flawed character. She isn't perfect, and that's okay!

Bonnie stood in front of the mirror, struggling to fasten the tiny clasp of her necklace. It was a real diamond necklace, a special gift by her boyfriend. She decided that it would go well with her turquoise dress that made her look a little like a mermaid. She remembered the first time that Klaus had insisted on buying her a dress that was way too expensive just because it caught her eye for just a second too long. Most of her clothes were bought by Klaus. One time she told him that he doesn't have to buy her everything she loves and he had just stared at her as if she was crazy. 

Bonnie had to smile at the memory, that had been around seven years ago when they had first started dating. When she had made the best decision for herself and left Mystic Falls, including the entire vampire drama behind. Now she was only dealing with Hybrid and Originals drama.Sometimes she still felt bad thinking about Elena and Caroline and wondered how they were doing now. They had both been angry at her, although they still sometimes sent brief texts. But that was just a friendship that she had to give up for herself. She understood that Elena was angry at her for getting with Klaus who had hurt her, but on the other hand was Elena with Damon who had not only turned her mother into a vampire but was, in her mind, also the reason she lost grams. 

At least almost everything was perfect in her relationship. Well as perfect as it can be when you are dating an original Hybrid. But sadly the past months had been hard for both of them. Klaus always had enemies who were just one step behind him, waiting for him to slip. Bonnie wouldn't mind the enemies but Klaus was so paranoid that they barely went outside anymore. And honestly? They haven't had sex in almost six months now, which was starting to nag on both of them. 

But tonight would be different. Klaus had promised to take her out to dinner at her favourite restaurant. A Chinese place where they had spent a lot of time in their lives together already. Today they would be reborn. No Elijah nagging that Klaus should do this or that. No Rebekah annoying her. No Kol disturbing any attempt of intimacy (Klaus daggered him). No enemies and no business. 

Bonnie heard his footsteps outside the bedroom and she beamed before he opened the door. She smiled at him, recognising his dark suit that he only wore for special occasions. "You look beautiful," he said with a smile, taking her hand and spinning her around.

She felt a little like a queen when he twirled her like that. Klaus often called her that. 'My love' 'My Queen' she always pretended to be embarrassed by him, but secretly she loved it. Bonnie stumbled a little and laughed, landing in his arms. "You are late," she chastised with a grin that made clear that she was not being serious, "Come on before we lose our reservation." 

Klaus smiled softly and took her wrist holding her back, "Bonnie…there is a slight change of plans," he sighed and Bonnie turned around. She could already feel the disappointment spreading in her but she didn't want to explode just yet. Maybe he just chose another restaurant. 

"I would rather you and I remain here," he said with an apologetic smile. Bonnie looked around trying to free her hand.

"You cannot be serious," she said, already a little worked up, fighting the angry tears that were coming up in her eyes, "I got ready and I dressed up…are you aware that I have been excited for us to finally have time together again?," she asked him angrily.

Klaus lowered his head, "It simply isn't safe, I am sorry."

Bonnie laughed humorlessly, "That is not true. You are just paranoid. You can compel anyone in this entire city but once you have to do it for me, you refuse to." They were ugly words that Bonnie knew to be untrue but she couldn't stop herself. This just felt ridiculous.

"I compelled the chef to arrange dinner downstairs, we can still have our dinner," Klaus said, trying to pull Bonnie closer to him. 

"You know what? Fuck it," Bonnie said angrily, "I let you lock me into this mansion for almost three months now," she said, "I am not having dinner inside just because you are paranoid. I wanted us to go out for god's sake. Have dinner, go into a bar dancing afterwards maybe." 

"Why won't you understand that that is impossible?," Klaus asked his voice raising a little.

"Oh please I have spent an hour getting just for you to take me out to our dining room! I don't care where we go, we can grab pizza in the next shop and sit in the next parking lot, but I want to do it with you! I am going crazy inside here!," Bonnie screamed at him and Klaus turned away, 

"It's one evening," he cursed. 

"No, it's not!" It's every evening! Every evening that you don't come home. That you are not lying in our bed! It's every day that you won't allow me to go to town because of what? Because of your own paranoia!"

Klaus took a step back, "I am sorry that you are feeling this way. I'll tell the chef that he can leave." 

"And tell him to never come back!," Bonnie screamed and slammed the door into his face. She regretted it instantly but instead of going down to apologise she threw herself on the bed and started to cry. She felt ridiculous in that dress, with that necklace. She quickly took it all off changing back into normal clothes that she would have worn in Mystic Falls as well. 

She was unsure what Klaus' problem was. Of course he had made many enemies over the years, but that had never been as much of a problem as the last year. The six years before had been perfect. And now every time she asked him to join her for anything he just says that he has something to do. Something to neutralize. And of course Bonnie noticed the witches that he brings home to do spells. Her brain is telling her that he does not want to endanger her, which is why he uses them. She knows that most of them get killed by his enemies, but some part nagging in her brain is mocking her for thinking that this is the only thing Klaus uses them for. 

Klaus doesn't come to their bed at night. Once again. Bonnie finally swallowed her pride and walked downstairs into his office. To her relief he was completely alone. 

"Klaus?," she whispered. Klaus' head snaps up immediately and he stands up. 

"Please come back to bed, I miss you," she whispered, stepping closer. Klaus immediately wraps his arms around her.

"I wish that it would be that easy," he gave back, "Some matters require my attention."

"I require your attention," Bonnie whimpered. 

"Please, love, go upstairs," Klaus said a little softer now. Bonnie shook her head and pushed him away.

"Fine if you don't want to be close, don't be. I don't care," she lied and pushed his hand away that tried to hold her back.

"Are you not seeing that I am doing this for us?," Klaus asked now angry not only with her but also with himself.

Bonnie didn't respond. But a plan had long formed in her mind. A plan to get her boyfriend back. The next day when Klaus left the house she broke into his study. It was surprisingly easy she had stolen the keys from his pocket earlier. She opened the door and stepped inside. She hated this place. This was the place where Klaus was when he was not with her, this was the place where she became unimportant. Not that she could ever truly feel hatred for him. She walked towards his desk checking a few locked places before opening one with her magic.

When Klaus came home he knew that something was wrong. The first thing he always listened to while he took of his coat was Bonnie's heartbeat, upstairs somewhere. Most of the time it was steady, sometimes it was fast when she was angry and sometimes it was very silent when she was asleep. But today he heard none. 

"Bonnie?!," he shouted and used his vampire speed to climb the stairs to their shared bedroom. He opened the door but nothing. No Bonnie inside. He gripped the blankets, throwing them onto the floor, hoping that Bonnie was hiding somewhere.

"Bonnie!," his screamed tore through the entire mansion as he ran downstairs and into his study. It was unlocked but he could not fixate on that right now. He cried out as he did not find her there either. He continued to call her name, loud enough for everyone to hear. Suddenly there was a voice behind him. 

"Are you okay?," Klaus turned around and there stood Bonnie. Completely fine. He grabbed her, pulling her body close and hugging her tightly, "God never do this again. Where were you? I couldn't hear your heartbeat."

"Because I was out," Bonnie said calmly. Klaus pulled back and stared at her with dark eyes. 

"You were…out?!," he hissed, "Bonnie I told you not t-"

"And I told you that you can only keep me in a cage for so long. But you have to be honest. This is destroying our relationship. The screaming, the anger, your paranoia. But I found a solution." She sounded so calculated he hated it. Did she really not understand that she could not fix that?

"If the solution is that you are allowed to just wander the city then you are completely wrong," Klaus said and only held her harder. 

Bonnie glared at him, "Come on. I have a surprise for you." 

Klaus took her hand in his and she led him downstairs. Klaus could not believe his eyes at what he was seeing. Downstairs, Amalia the witch who had been behind all of the latest attacks against Klaus and especially Bonnie was standing there. Shackled with Bonnie's magic. Klaus stared at Bonnie. Bonnie stared back.

"You didn't want to tell me what was going on. So I had to find out by myself. And look at that. She is all yours. She will never be able to destroy us again," Bonnie said in a clinical way that Klaus had never heard her talk before. His first reflex was to scream at her, if she was crazy, to tell her that what she has been doing was dangerous and she is getting all of them in danger, but then he saw the look in her eyes.

The hope that was reflecting very clearly there. She looked at him hoping that he wouldn't freak. Klaus took a deep breath and pulled her against his chest, "God you are awesome," he whispered. And for the first time in a very long time Klaus let his lips meet hers. Only when they parted did he realized how much he had missed this. He nodded slowly towards Amalia, before turning back to Bonnie.

"Alright. You need to put on a dress. I am taking you out for dinner. And then dancing. And then…," his hands stroked her sides while he pulled her closer and she could feel his breath against her neck, his fangs gracing her neck, "...Then I am going to show you how grateful I truly am to have you." 

Bonnie turned to Amalia, "Don't you have to handle her first?," she asked quietly. Klaus looked at Amalia who had not been saying a word and Klaus realized that Bonnie had silenced her with a spell so that she was not able to cast a spell. 

"No I do not. I'll tell Elijah to bring her into the dungeon. Right now and forever I want to focus on you. Only you," Klaus let go of Bonnie ushering her upstairs. 

"Are you not joining me?," she asked. 

"I'll dress in another room. I don't think that I am able to watch you dress right now, if we want to make it for dinner," he chuckled. 

Bonnie smirked and ran upstairs. 

"Oh and Bonnie?," Klaus stopped her again. Bonnie twirled back around towards him.