Sometimes I wonder if the reason Bonnie claimed to feel death after touching Stefan that first time wasnāt actually because Stefan was undead or responsible for the deaths of so many people, but it was actually a glimpse at her own future, a warning that if she allowed Stefan to enter her life, she was welcoming death into her life. And I say that because of her words, āItās how I imagine death to feel like.ā And I think we can agree that Bonnie felt death maybe the most after the Salvatores entered her life. And of course I do know that Bonnie senses vampires when touching them, but that isnāt always the case, and we could chalk that up as a writing error, but where is the fun in that? And I wonder if when witches touch supernatural entities, they sense magic maybe, or maybe the sense how this person will affect their own selves.
Because if it were an all the time sense, which it kinda appears to be a passive skill, as when she accidentally makes contact and she isnāt expecting to feel whatever she feels each time, and she has a look of shock when she feels the magic of a witch or a vampire. The only time she really sought it out was I think Caroline? But I think because itās a passive skill, itās also not an every time skill, a premonition of what this entity means for her specifically, and itās a warning on the first time. Because if it isnāt, imagine feeling death every time she hugs Caroline? Elena later on? And even including her friendship with Damon, how does she handle that? Especially Damon. And there are the moments she is fooled by Katherine (I think. I do think Caroline and Bonnie win still at least fooled, but even then, itās hard to tell. I do excuse them for the Katherine taking over Elenaās body for a few reasons, but I can get into that later).
But I also think the reason why this skill appears less and less is because her life gets so encroached by death, on and on and on. She is so steeped into it, the warning becomes moot. And itās why other witches can sense her being so surrounded by death later on.
And the words āItās how I imagine death to feel likeā and not āit felt like he was deadā makes me think of her becoming the anchor later, and how instinctually tied to death she becomes (I do think we as a fandom should probably discuss how Bonnie was briefly a minor deity in a way. But also the whole Silas and Amara plot line was so iffy that I can excuse that we donāt discuss that. But I do think it was really cool how Bonnie technically was that for a moment).
This whole thought is kinda of messy, so I understand not really want to adopt it lol, but just a thought I had.
Especially since I think Stefan is the reaper in her life more than anyone else. The other reason I say itās more likely a warning, is because of Elena and Tyler themself. I wonder if she as a young kid felt the magic of them, but young as she was didnāt really think about it. Maybe itās why she never really connected with Tyler. Maybe the fact that a doppelgƤnger and a Bennet witch are intertwined is why she connected to Elena despite it, or maybe she was too young to think of it.
Because yes, Bonnieās life was thrown of kilter the moment the Salvatoreās came to town. But itās also not completely the Salvatoreās fault either. She was the Bennet Witch and her best friend is the DoppelgƤnger, it was always a matter of time (which I really do love about the show, it first leads you to believe that the Salvatores are the reason these teens lives seem to erupt in flames, but no, the Salvatores are strangely just a victims to the doppelgƤnger shit as the rest of them. Even if you erase the whole Silas and Amara and Qetsiyah thing. Even then.) But I think Stefanās presence was the most palpable because it was the moment when her life truly was at the precipice of change. And we never really see her react with the same intensity again, and yeah, that could be because it was the first time something inherently witchy happened to her, but also, I think it was because he really was the precursor for change.
