Episoder

  • The mastermind returns! Sandile and Fadzai enter an era of wheeling, dealing, and cunning actions with Elena Gilbert.

    The main character of The Vampire Diaries, Elena enters her junior year a few months after losing her parents, trying to reclaim her life. She meets and falls in love with Stefan Salvatore, the charming and mysterious new student, who turns out to be a vampire returned to Mystic Falls. When Stefan's brother, Damon, appears, and people start dying in strange ways in her town, Elena finds herself falling into a dangerous web of the supernatural.

    Over the course of the series, she grapples with each new discovery - vampires, witches, werewolves - and how constant threat from ancient creatures changes her as she tries to keep herself and her loved ones safe. She also finds herself torn between her undying love for Stefan, and her undeniable attraction to Damon, all turned on its head when she unexpectedly dies and becomes a vampire herself. But she gets by with her friends, her wits, and her capacity for empathy and cunning in equal measure.

    (This episode focuses on Elena in seasons 2B and 3A.)

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of depression, mental coercion and manipulation, sexual assault, sexual harrassment, suicidal ideation, and suicide.

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  • In the thirteenth episode of the podcast, Sandile and Fadzai brave a new, supernatural world with Elena Gilbert.

    The main character of The Vampire Diaries, Elena enters her junior year a few months after losing her parents, trying to reclaim her life. She meets and falls in love with Stefan Salvatore, the charming and mysterious new student, who turns out to be a vampire returned to Mystic Falls. When Stefan's brother, Damon, appears, and people start dying in strange ways in her town, Elena finds herself falling into a dangerous web of the supernatural.

    Over the course of the series, she grapples with each new discovery - vampires, witches, werewolves - and how constant threat from ancient creatures changes her as she tries to keep herself and her loved ones safe. She also finds herself torn between her undying love for Stefan, and her undeniable attraction to Damon, all turned on its head when she unexpectedly dies and becomes a vampire herself. But she gets by with her friends, her wits, and her capacity for empathy and cunning in equal measure.

    (This episode focuses on Elena in seasons 1 and 2A.)

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of depression, mental coercion and manipulation, sexual assault, sexual harrassment, suicidal ideation, and suicide.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the fourth instalment of the Gilbert Journals, your hosts pull several archetypes from a grab bag of supernatural creatures in The Vampire Diaries: Hunters, Doppelgängers, and Mediums. The most mortal of archetypes, these appear often briefly or for singular purpose, but Sandile and Fadzai will still spend an exorbitant amount of time telling you what makes them tick.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the twelfth episode of the podcast, Fadzai and Sandile break the world with magical retcon, Daniella Labonair aka Alex Gilbert.

    A late entry in the final season of The Vampire Diaries (and the fourth season of the Originals), Alex claims to be the long-lost twin sister of main character, Elena Gilbert, magically erased from the world and from the minds of the Mystic Falls Gang by a powerful witch. In the midst of the conflict with Cade and his psychic "hell", Alex tries to regain her life and her personhood - as well as her true love, Stefan Salvatore, whom she had to leave behind long before she was removed from existence.

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  • In the eleventh episode of the podcast, Sandile and Fadzai join the relentless pursuit with supernatural huntress, Rayna Cruz.

    The primary antagonist for the seventh season of The Vampire Diaries, Rayna was from a small Louisiana village in the mid-1800s - the daughter and protégé of a Hunter from the Brotherhood of the Five. When the vampire Julian compelled her to kill her own father, she sought help from a group of shamans who magically imbued her with the strength and agility to match her skill in hunting vampires; in addition, they linked her to her shortsword and affixed it with the Phoenix Stone, a gem that would entrap the soul of every vampire she killed.

    In present day, Bonnie Bennett and Nora Hildegard - one of the Heretics who traveled with Julian, before the huntress tracked him down and killed him with the Phoenix sword - seek out an aged Rayna in Ohio after apparently receiving a postcard with her mark. When it turns out to be a trick by Enzo St. John, who kills Rayna and spirits her body away, she immolates and resurrects as her younger self - determined, in need of her sword, and ready to pick up where she left off.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of dismemberment, patricide and suicide.

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  • In the third instalment of the Gilbert Journals, your hosts chain themselves up under the full moon along with some familiar supernatural creatures from The Vampire Diaries world: Werewolves. Though supposedly close to extinction, the wolves are a force to be reckoned with, so let Fadzai and Sandile advise you on how to keep out of their way - and out of their teeth.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of racism and genocide.

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  • Bad moon rising! Fadzai and Sandile chart the rise and fall of the now unsired hybrid, Tyler Lockwood.

    A main character on The Vampire Diaries, Tyler starts off as the rich, arrogant jock in town, tied to the other characters by their history as part of the founding families, and his friendship with Matt Donovan. Most of his early time is characterised by his anger issues and his mistreatment of the people around him, though it turns out to be more than just his toxic upbringing - he's influenced by a curse in the Lockwood family that turns them into werewolves.

    Tyler is set off on a metamorphic journey after the death of his father, and the triggering of his curse; forced to reckon with his behaviour and its consequences, he endeavours to become more in control of himself and his life, which brings him closer to his friends. But it's when Klaus comes to town and forcibly turns him into a vampire-werewolf hybrid - a curse and a blessing all at once - that he becomes tied to the central plot.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexism, misogyny, attempted sexual coersion, sexual assault, physical and mental abuse.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the tenth episode of the podcast, Fadzai and Sandile howl at the moon with Mystic Falls Gang's resident werewolf, Tyler Lockwood.

    A main character on The Vampire Diaries, Tyler starts off as the rich, arrogant jock in town, tied to the other characters by their history as part of the founding families, and his friendship with Matt Donovan. Most of his early time is characterised by his anger issues and his mistreatment of the people around him, though it turns out to be more than just his toxic upbringing - he's influenced by a curse in the Lockwood family that turns them into werewolves.

    Tyler is set off on a metamorphic journey after the death of his father, and the triggering of his curse; forced to reckon with his behaviour and its consequences, he endeavours to become more in control of himself and his life, which brings him closer to his friends. But it's when Klaus comes to town and forcibly turns him into a vampire-werewolf hybrid - a curse and a blessing all at once - that he becomes tied to the central plot.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexism, misogyny, attempted sexual coersion, sexual assault, physical and mental abuse.

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  • The scales of justice tilt! Sandile and Fadzai prepare their closing statements in this, the third and final part of the trial of Damon Salvatore.

    One of the lead characters of The Vampire Diaries, Damon starts off as a villainous vampire in the show's first season; his propensity for murder and violence, his animosity for his brother, Stefan Salvatore, and his desire to free his old love (Katherine Pierce, a notorious 500-year-old vampire) from a magically-sealed tomb, makes him an opponent of the main characters that are aware of the supernatural - and a danger to those that aren't. However, due to greater threats making themselves known, and his growing attraction to Elena Gilbert, he progressively allies himself with the Mystic Falls Gang, eventually becoming a protagonist by association.

    Over the course of the series, Damon seems to tend towards begrudging antihero, though the character never seems to land in this respect, given his constant return to periods of callousness and wanton violence - sometimes to an excess that doesn't make much sense in the context of the story. Despite this, Stefan and Elena's commitment to finding the humanity in him keeps him in the group for better or worse, and he remains a fan-favourite character long after the show's conclusion.

    (This episode focuses on Damon in seasons 6B, 7, and 8.)

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexism, sexual assault, physical and mental abuse, murder, graphic violence, and torture.

    Questions, queries, or just to say hi!

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  • Court is back in session! Sandile and Fadzai narrowly avoid contempt in this, the second part of the trial of Damon Salvatore.

    One of the lead characters of The Vampire Diaries, Damon starts off as a villainous vampire in the show's first season; his propensity for murder and violence, his animosity for his brother, Stefan Salvatore, and his desire to free his old love (Katherine Pierce, a notorious 500-year-old vampire) from a magically-sealed tomb, makes him an opponent of the main characters that are aware of the supernatural - and a danger to those that aren't. However, due to greater threats making themselves known, and his growing attraction to Elena Gilbert, he progressively allies himself with the Mystic Falls Gang, eventually becoming a protagonist by association.

    Over the course of the series, Damon seems to tend towards begrudging antihero, though the character never seems to land in this respect, given his constant return to periods of callousness and wanton violence - sometimes to an excess that doesn't make much sense in the context of the story. Despite this, Stefan and Elena's commitment to finding the humanity in him keeps him in the group for better or worse, and he remains a fan-favourite character long after the show's conclusion.

    (This episode focuses on Damon in seasons 3B, 4, 5, and 6A.)

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexism, homophobia, sexual assault, physical and mental abuse, murder, graphic violence, and torture.

    Questions, queries, or just to say hi!

    E-mail: [email protected]

    Refs and Links: IWAA S1

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

    Twitter: @animattackpod

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  • In the ninth episode of the podcast, Sandile and Fadzai swear in the jury and bang the gavel, for the trial of Damon Salvatore.

    One of the lead characters of The Vampire Diaries, Damon starts off as a villainous vampire in the show's first season; his propensity for murder and violence, his animosity for his brother, Stefan Salvatore, and his desire to free his old love (Katherine Pierce, a notorious 500-year-old vampire) from a magically-sealed tomb, makes him an opponent of the main characters that are aware of the supernatural - and a danger to those that aren't. However, due to greater threats making themselves known, and his growing attraction to Elena Gilbert, he progressively allies himself with the Mystic Falls Gang, eventually becoming a protagonist by association.

    Over the course of the series, Damon seems to tend towards begrudging antihero, though the character never seems to land in this respect, given his constant return to periods of callousness and wanton violence - sometimes to an excess that doesn't make much sense in the context of the story. Despite this, Stefan and Elena's commitment to finding the humanity in him keeps him in the group for better or worse, and he remains a fan-favourite character long after the show's conclusion.

    (This episode focuses on Damon in seasons 1, 2, and 3A.)

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexism, homophobia, sexual assault, physical and mental abuse, murder, graphic violence, and torture.

    Audio Note: There is an echo quality to the early section of Sandile's audio; this issue resolves at around 00:40:00.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the eighth episode of the podcast, Fadzai and Sandile sing a sultry song with the "siren" sisters, Sybil and Seline.

    Introduced in the eighth and final season of The Vampire Diaries, Sybil and Seline were born psychics in an Ancient Greek village, where such a power was punishable by exile. Trapped together on a barren island as young girls, the older Seline orchestrated a plan to psychically lure passing ship to crash on their shores, and make meals of the drowned crews - presenting them as recovered provisions from on board. When Sybil discovered the horrible truth, she hurled herself to her death from a cliff; it was then that she and her sister were visited by Arcadius (a psychic in life, and in death, a Devil-esque figure) whom Seline made a deal with for immortality and power in exchange for their service.

    In present day, Sybil has escaped a vault in the Armory - a supernatural repository that was run by the St. John Family - and has brought Damon Salvatore and Enzo St. John under her spell. While her early antics seem centred around feeding on hapless strangers and causing chaos amongst the Mystic Falls gang, she later divulges that she is sending souls to Arcadius in his psychic dimension, where the people he considers evil burn for all eternity. Sybil is hell-bent on having her lackeys assist her in this respect, but little does she know, her sister Seline is already embedded in Mystic Falls with plans of her own.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of child endangerment, mental torture, defeated mental state, suicide... and cannibalism. Like, a concerning amount of it.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • The first of the Killer Bites! This series of episodes is for the more minor characters in The Vampire Diaries, but who shined as brightly as they did briefly - or weren't allowed to shine enough.

    In the first instalment of the series, Sandile and Fadzai give a voice to Beau, one of the Heretics from the show's seventh season, who is arguably under-served relative to the rest of his found family.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of racism and ableism.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the seventh episode of the podcast, Sandile and Fadzai turn off their maternity switch with the mother of the Salvatore brothers, Lillian "Lily" Salvatore.

    Virtually never referenced in the first half of The Vampire Diaries, Lily is thereafter mentioned once or twice to have died of "consumption" (tuberculosis) in the late 1850s. In the sixth season, however, Bonnie Bennett encounters her by chance in the Gemini coven's 1903 prison world; when Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert return with Bonnie to rescue her, it appears she is a vampire - a ripper like her younger son, Stefan - and could not return to them when they were children, for fear of harming them.

    Once back in the real world, though, Lily makes clear that she's no longer the mother they knew, and isn't keen on rebuilding their relationship. More importantly, her focus is on rescuing her new family of Heretics - the witch/vampire hybrids who helped her settle into her new vampire life, and were trapped with her in the prison world - who the Mystic Falls gang are not intent on letting out. This scores a divide between Lily and the Salvatore brothers and, once reunited with her Heretic family, cements them as the antagonists for the seventh season.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of physical and mental abuse, domestic violence, child abuse and endangerment, familial abandonment, and suicide.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the second instalment of the Gilbert Journals, your hosts ask the spirits for knowledge on the oldest supernatural beings in The Vampire Diaries world: Witches. Practitioners of magic and stewards of nature, witches are often a force to be reckoned with, and Sandile and Fadzai will teach you how to maintain the balance - so you don't incur their wrath.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of sexism, racism, and implicit bias in the writing of people of colour.

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  • In the sixth episode of the podcast, Fadzai and Sandile merge minds over the sinister siphon and Gemini witch, Malachi "Kai" Parker.

    The main antagonist for season 6 of The Vampire Diaries, Kai is encountered by Bonnie Bennett and Damon Salvatore after the collapse of the Other Side, when they are shunted into a snapshot of their reality from 1994. He reveals that he massacred most of his family upon learning he was being replaced as the next leader of the Gemini coven, and was confined to this "prison world" by the coven as a result; he then terorrises Bonnie into aiding his escape into the real world, leaving her trapped and alone.

    With newfound freedom, Kai makes his way to Mystic Falls in pursuit of the remainder of his family: his twin, Jo, with whom he was to magically merge and become the next leader of the Gemini coven; and his younger siblings, twins Liv and Luke, who their parents birthed to take their elder siblings' place after discovering Kai was a siphon. Seemingly, he's come to make good on his promise to finish what he started, but as the season progresses it becomes clear that Kai is blazing a path to the coven leadership he was denied those 18 years ago.

    Content Note: This episode contains discussion of Antisocial Personality Disorder, as the character is textually described as a "sociopath". The IWAA hosts are not medical professionals, and therefore not reliable sources of information on the subject; please seek reputable and peer-reviewed sources if you wish to learn more about ASPD.

    Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of ableism, torture, massacre, defeated mental state, and attempted suicide.

    Questions, queries, or just to say hi!

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the fifth episode of the podcast, Sandile and Fadzai load their crossbows with Hunter apparent and occasional Medium, Jeremy Gilbert.

    A main character for most of The Vampire Diaries, he begins as the moody younger brother of the lead, Elena, sinking in substance abuse as he struggles with the untimely loss of their parents. When his girlfriend-turned-vampire Vicki is killed before his eyes after attempting to feed on him, he is thrust into the supernatural core of the plot, including the history of the Gilberts as one of the founding families of Mystic Falls.

    Subsequent seasons find Jeremy in various states - assisting resident witch, Bonnie, with her magic for the group; making contact with sprits after his third (and first permanent) death; and being chosen as one of The Five, an ancient group of supernatural vampire hunters - but after enough periods of narrative lull, the character is written out in the sixth season. Regardless, Jeremy maintains a mark in history as an integral part of the series.

    Content Warning: A technical suicide attempt is discussed at 00:36:23 - 00:40:00, and occasionally referenced in the rest of the episode.

    Audio Note: There is some intermittent background noise at 00:54:50 - 00:56:00 and one or two other points in the episode; the conversation is audible above the sound.

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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  • In the fourth episode of the podcast, Fadzai and Sandile breathe life into a Greek tragedy with the first immortal, and originator of the Salvatore doppleganger line, Silas.

    Once a witch in Ancient Greece, he made Qetsiyah (the only witch more powerful than him amongst the Travelers) fall in love with him, and help him develop the spell for immortality. After he abandoned her at the wedding altar, she discovered that the spell was actually for him and his true love - her trusted handmaiden, Amara. Furious, Qetsiyah killed Amara and imprisioned Silas with magic, burying him with the cure so that he would take it and die alone.

    In the fourth season of The Vampire Diaries, The Mystic Falls gang, along with unlikely allies and necessary enemies, are roped into a rat race to find this cure for the vampires of the bunch. This turns out to be a plan of escape by Silas; through a series of psychic terrors and false promises - and the aid of an impressionable Bonnie Bennett - he seeks to bring down the veil separating the Other Side from the living, and die to be reunited with his true love.

    Content Warning: Due to the subject matter of this character's storyline, themes and acts of suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and defeated mental state are discussed throughout the episode. Though the nature of these in the text is mostly fabricated by fictional forces, do take it into consideration if such themes are potentially harmful or triggering for you. The following sections have the most detailed discussion:

    00:25:47 - 00:27:31

    00:32:29 - 00:38:51

    01:58:27 - 01:59:18

    02:16:53 - 02:17:13

    02:55:24 - 02:56:19

    In addition, a Greek myth is discussed that contains sexual assault in this section:

    02:06:53 - 02:09:46

    Audio Note: There is some intermittent background interference at 02:34:39 - 02:34:39; the conversation is audible above the sound.

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  • Introducing the Gilbert Journals! A series of episodes that chronicles the supernatural (and mundane) lore of The Vampire Diaries world, much like the oft referenced Jonathan Gilbert himself.

    In the first instalment of the series, your hosts bring you all there is to know about the titular supernatural creatures: Vampires. Whether young or old, part or full, Original or otherwise, Fadzai and Sandile will teach you everything about what makes vampires tick - and how to take them down.

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  • In the third episode of the podcast, Sandile and Fadzai go back to the beginning with mother of the Mikaelsons and creator of the Original vampires herself - Esther.

    A witch from 10th-century Norway, she and her Viking husband* bring their children to far-back America in hopes of a better life. After their youngest dies in an accidental werewolf attack, they make the fateful decision to protect the rest of their children; they use magic to turn them into vampires, not knowing the bloodshed that will plague the world for centuries to come.

    The Mystic Falls gang unwittingly resurrect Esther in the third season of The Vampire Diaries, seeking a weapon to finally be rid of Klaus Mikaelson. What they don't know is that Esther has been orchestrating her return for some time from beyond the veil, and seeks not only to kill her son, Klaus, but all the Originals so the world can be free of vampires.

    *We do also talk about her husband, Mikael.

    Questions, queries, or just to say hi!

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    Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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