So I’ve always been a fan of Dark Bonkai, so if I were to write them I would forgo the redemption arc completely. I wasn’t a fan of it when it aired and even though now I’ve warmed up to it more now it’s still not how I would have wanted Bonkai to go because as I said in a different post the only way I see that romance working out is as generic fluff which is just not my jam.

This first thing I would have done is after she sends Damon back is have Bonnie and Kai stuck together longer, not only because there needed to be more pay off from that but also because sending Kai back as quickly as they do wasted a great opportunity with both characters because once he’s back in the real world his storylines don’t fall flat but they aren’t as great especially when he ends up missing for an unusual amount of episodes–he’s the main villain of the season, he really shouldn’t have been missing from any episodes. So I wouldn’t have him figure out where Jo stashed her magic, but I would still have him take her to Portland for Thanksgiving because A) great development and B) it sets up or the one other thing I would have kept which is Bonnie’s breakdown because it’s such a well done scene.

From there I would have them do more cat and mouse games which would start with her killing Kai (who would come back) and running as far as possible taking his pager with her just to piss him of because he told her not to touch it. Then I would have the Delena failed Bonnie rescue mission (with a few things tweaked since Kai would still be in the PW, I’d just have the spell run out of time because they were doddling which is essentially what happened in canon) which literally ends up breaking her spirit. As much as I hate Bonnie being in pain, I love that scene because it is so well done and not just because of Kat’s acting, which is on point, but because for the first time ever the narrative actually cares about the pain Bonnie’s in, focuses on the pain she’s in, and doesn’t force her to be “strong”. 

Just look at Damon’s reaction when he realizes what’s going to happen to Bonnie. There reason I always preferred Damon with Bonnie and that’s because his reactions seem a lot more genuine which is mostly Ian because his reactions to Kat are a lot more genuine and that scene you could feel that Damon felt sadness for Bonnie, and what makes that scene so much better is that instead of only focusing on his sadness for her it cuts to her, and her pain, and in that moment she’s not infallible, she’s not the strong witch who can endure anything and everything, she’s broken and it’s devastating and it’s something we really didn’t get to see with her even when she literally died and had to see her own dead body. 

It’s always an easy scene to point out but it’s because it’s so atrocious is when Abby gets turned, you don’t even see Bonnie except for a glimpse after (I’m pretty sure they didn’t even have her on set for that shooting day), instead you have Caroline speak for her and then the show focuses on Elena’s pain from the incident which isn’t even empathy for Bonnie but rather her own pain because Bonnie won’t talk to her, which as I keep saying in my Tyler meta’s, neither of those are comparable experiences and prioritizing her pain over Bonnie’s was the breaking point for most Bonnie fans. So after years of getting things like that I was actually quite proud of that scene.

But back to Bonkai, I wouldn’t just keep that there because I like the scene but also because it signifies a breaking point which would be great in the development of Bonkai especially in a moment she feels most alone because she wouldn’t be completely alone, she would have Kai. If Bamon and Benzo taught me anything it’s that if she’s isolated alone with you long enough you will get her undying loyalty no matter what you’ve done and that’s something that’s actually in character because she has abandonment issues, or at least she should with her mother leaving her, her dad barely home, and then the only consistent family member she had, Grams, died. It explains why she clings on to her friends so much, unfortunately the show has never had enough nuance to even try to use that as a reason for why she keeps sacrificing herself, they just make it he obligation. 

From there she’d be willing to do anything to get out but without magic they don’t know how to leave so they spend more time together. Bonnie would be depressed, for obvious reasons, and I would have Kai trying to cheer her up because he likes her plucky and it’s not much fun seeing her like that. Then I would basically have most if not all the events from Metamorphosis happen right down to her killing herself and realizing no one can die in the PW not even her. They would have kinda a mentorship which involves them killing each other over and over (again events in Metamorphosis) which would cheer her up in a dark twisted way which would lead to a lot of dark twisted sex (not in the fic),

Eventually Bonnie would remember Qetsiyah’s rock because the fact that the rescue mission was literally remind Bonnie of what she already knew was ridiculous and something she could have figured out on her own. And then they get out disregarding Jo’s knife because another ridiculous thing, not that she hid it there, but because it continued to be hidden there after 18 years like “find a better hiding spot.” 

Kai would continue his quest to be Gemini leader, and Bonnie, now that she’s out and knows him a lot better would be conflicted with letting him kill his entire coven or leaving it alone–her conflicted feelings would effect him because he’s got the girl and doesn’t want to lose her but instead of trying to be better like we’ve seen oh so many times (Damon, Klaus, to a degree Katherine with Elijah) he tries to get he on his side using truths about her “friends” which is honesty something  think should have happened in season 4 with Shane because of how quickly he gets her trust, but let’s not lament on that. Eventually her new found attitude of looking out for herself actually takes and she lets him because unless she or the world is in danger of imploding she’s staying out of it.

After that I would actually have him merge with Liv. I’m sorry for people who liked Liv, but she was kinda of annoying and the writers clearly were trying to replace Bonnie with her, however that’s not the reason I would have her die in the merge. The reason I would have her die is because she was kind always meant to. She knew she was less likely to survive the merge with Luke and she was the most afraid to die and in the series finale she does accept her fate, but I would have much rather it been here during the merge. It would have been brave and lot more powerful because Luke wasn’t as afraid he just went with the flow. Also it would stop TVD’s tendency to kill all of their gay characters, in terms of which twin had more potential to add to the show it was easily Luke, again sorry for people who liked Liv, she was kinda like Caroline in that she was on of many witches (which was a new(ish) concept since it fell on Bonnie to be the sole witch without any family, but as I said they were clearly priming her to replace Bonnie).

Then I don’t know how I would develop it but basically it would end with Bonkai being king and queen of the Gemini combining their power to be the most powerful couple ever, but after Bonnie does a lot of traveling because that was something she needed, she needed to get out and make her own path. And after Kai learned to deal with feelings a bit more, I guess I would have him redeemed(ish) (but leaving Damon and Elena out of it because again why would he give a single fuck about them?) because that’s honestly the only natural ending, but I would want that redemption to be an individual process (which it kind was in canon but it still had people telling him to do x and people will forgive him and him doing x but unlike Damon x doesn’t work), so that would all be happening while she’s off traveling which she does almost immediately after she gets back and doesn’t bother telling any of the MFG she’s back, they only find out through Kai. 

If given a chance this is how I would have written Bonkai, basically having their development in the season coincide together. Also this is mostly a rewrite of season 6 but to write Bonkai (Bonnie) that’s necessary.