the vampire diaries fanfic writing tips

✧ the mikaelsons being "evil"

i had no idea what to name this.

so writing the mikaelsons is a little tricky, especially if you're writing them prior to the vampire diaries.

i'm sure you've run into this problem if you already started writing.

how "evil" they are fluctuates and that makes it difficult to write them.

for example, in the originals it's mentioned that klaus killed someone because they were coughing or something along those lines.

have we ever seen klaus do that? no. not really. we've only seen him resort to violence when he thought it was necessary.

same with elijah and kol.

now necessary does depend on them.

for example was it necessary for klaus to compel one student to kill the other in season three? no, but he was trying to show off his power and to him it was necessary.

but again, that's a scene where he wants something. we don't see him sitting at the grill and randomly killing people.

also where do you even begin with that? kind of hard writing a love story when the love interest is like that. it's going to require a lot of development.

the mikaelsons were heavily watered down in my opinion. i notice people say this happened in the originals but i think it happened from the moment they entered the show.

for example, klaus could've easily just killed all of elena's friends and done the spell. but he didn't. he gave them an out.

the way they described him before he entered didn't fit that in my opinion.

there's no reason elena damon stefan etc wouldn't have been killed quickly after the mikaelsons arrived and especially after they killed finn, kol, and put down klaus. if the mikaelsons were portrayed as they had been talked about, none of the other characters would be alive.

it's a problem i have with the vampire diaries a lot. they hype up a lot of their villains but it never works out. because if you truly have a character who is so evil that they'll harm anyone who gets in their way then when they don't do that it comes off as bad writing because obviously you can't kill off your main cast.

it also never helped that they introduced the people who were supposed to be the strongest in season 2 of the show. every villain who came after that just didn't seem as scary or intimidating.

finding that balance between who they are and who they were said to be is very hard and in my opinion, it's best to ignore who they were said to be. it's incredibly difficult to work in something that was said but never shown.

it also makes them incredibly different to write. the thing about the mikaelsons in the show is that the way they were made it easy to understand why people stuck around.

if we really saw klaus killing people for coughing would cami stick around? probably not because she couldn't justify what he was doing. the same goes for davina and kol.

with that being said i wouldn't ignore who they are.

part of it does depend on what the purpose of your fanfic is.

sometimes the purpose of fanfics is simply to remove all plot armour of the main characters.

for example, i've seen fanfics where the purpose is something like "how the mikaelsons should've reacted to kol and finn being killed" and basically the fanfics are about the mikaelsons getting revenge. in which case, i guess they can be as bad as they were said to be.

but if you want to stick to the show, then you do have to keep the plot armour on these characters and still write the mikaelsons as they were portrayed in the show.

so here are some tips to help you navigate this

1. let your oc also be a little morally flawed.

they don't have to have a problem with the villain or want to change them. i think out of all the fanfics i've ever read, i've only read one fanfic where the oc didn't want to change them.

this will make the couple a lot easier to write (probably a little more realistic too).

and it's so much easier to admit it because then you are acknowledging that that's the way your character is.

if your oc is able to look past certain things, that makes it a lot easier. and that doesn't mean they necessarily engage in that behaviour.

and it's better to acknowledge it because it's how literally every single character on the show acts. and how most oc's are written, but authors will spend hours trying to figure out how to keep their oc's morals intact instead of just admitting that they're a little flawed.

and they can still be a nice person. they don't have to engage in that behaviour themselves. maybe they're in denial and ignore it.

my oc is in love with kol for example, and her reasoning for loving him and the mikaelsons is that she was treated so badly by people who were supposed to be the good guys for so long while the ones who were supposed to be the villains were kind to her so she's not going to feel bad about loving them too.

a little selfish? morally flawed? maybe. but people aren't perfect. neither is your oc. let them be flawed. it's okay. it's fiction.

2. give a reason as to why the mikaelson or any villain can't hurt your oc.

maybe they're also an original vampire. a powerful witch. maybe they have something the mikaelsons want. or dig into their personalities a little more.

for example, what do we know about klaus? he likes to be in control. maybe your oc is someone he can't control no matter how much he tries and that bothers him.

or maybe they're someone that doesn't fear klaus and he can't figure out why.

something about your oc should intrigue them.

we see it with camille and klaus. she intrigued him and he began to care for her.

or again, maybe your oc can't be killed. maybe your oc has something they want.

3. your oc is just as bad or worse.

hard to imagine how they'd be worse but anything's possible.

4. your oc doesn't know anything about vampires and by the time they know, well, they're already in love.

probably not the most interesting if you want your oc involved in the plot, but it could help.