Sandile and Fadzai are blasting in from the past with the first of the Heretics, Valerie Tulle.

Introduced as one of the antagonists in the seventh season of The Vampire Diaries (though first appearing towards the end of the sixth), Valerie was a witch from the Gemini coven in the mid-1800s - a siphon, born without magic of her own, only able to take it from other sources. She and five other siphons were taken in by Lily Salvatore after being exiled by their coven, and through differing circumstances they were all turned into witch/vampire hybrids known as Heretics. After drawing too much attention to themselves with their feeding habits, though, they were imprisoned along with Lily in a prison world in 1903 by the Gemini coven.

Once back in the real world in present day, Valerie is loathe to adjust to the modern world, and along with her family becomes at odds with the Mystic Falls Gang as they begin causing trouble in town. Amidst the conflict is also her lingering care for Stefan Salvatore from their past relationship in the 1860s, cut short when she was kept from returning to him by Lily's manipulative partner, Julian. Despite her many complex dramas, though, Valerie handles herself with a cool and calculated energy that makes her one of the more fun parts of the season.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of domestic violence, familial abandonment, feticide (intentional causing of a miscarriage), mental coercion and manipulation, physical and mental abuse, racism, sexual abuse, assault and related victim blaming, and suicide.

Questions, queries, or just to say hi!

E-mail: animalattackpod@gmail.com

Refs and Links: IWAA S1

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Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

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Check out "Call to the Dark", Sandile's supernatural horror fiction podcast, wherever you listen!

Podcast: Call to the Dark

Twitter: @calldarkpod

Instagram: @calldarkpod

Out the back door! Fadzai and Sandile close out with final appearances of The Mikaelson siblings, aka The Originals.

Introduced over seasons 2 and 3 of The Vampire Diaries, the Originals are the children of Esther (a witch from 10th-century Norway) and Mikael (her Viking husband), who brought them to far-back America in hopes of a better life. After their youngest sibling dies in an accidental werewolf attack, their parents make the fateful decision to turn them into the first ever vampires, from which all others would thereafter be descended.

In present day, the Originals become antagonists to the Mystic Falls Gang - primarily through Klaus Mikaelson, and his pursuit of Elena Gilbert as a magical doppelganger - and are further embroiled as more powerful figures come along. On the back of their immense popularity as characters, they exit the show by the end of its fourth season to star in their own eponymous spin-off series.

(This episode focuses on Elijah, Rebekah, Klaus, and Kol in season 4.)

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of emotional abuse, ethnic erasure, homophobia, mental coercion and manipulation, misogyny, misogynoir, physical abuse, racism, sexual abuse and assault, stalking, suicide and suicidal ideation, supremacy, and torture.

Audio Note: Slightly lower quality to Fadzai's audio, with occasional drops that have been artificially amplified, but still audible for most of the episode. For a partial transcript of the key moments that may be difficult to hear, scroll to the episode 18 section of our Refs and Links page: IWAA S1

Questions, queries, or just to say hi!

E-mail: animalattackpod@gmail.com

Refs and Links: IWAA S1

All our online stuff!

Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

Twitter: @animattackpod

Instagram: @animalattackpod

Tiktok: @animalattackpod

YouTube: @animalattackpod

Check out "Call to the Dark", Sandile's supernatural horror fiction podcast, premiering 6th April @ 6PM SAST wherever you listen!

Podcast: Call to the Dark

Twitter: @calldarkpod

Instagram: @calldarkpod

Spin-off! Your hosts talk boy bands of the '90s and 2010s, the storied career of Sebastian Stan, and Franchesca Ramsey's musical takedown of bigots. Also: comics Captain America's gay best friend, music genre revival, and a looot of Game of Thrones.

Content Warning: This episode contains discussion of homophobia and queer erasure, Nazism and supremacist ideals, pedophilia (and ephebophilia), racism, and sexism.

Questions, queries, or just to say hi!

E-mail: animalattackpod@gmail.com

Refs and Links: IWAA S1

All our online stuff!

Podcast: It Was an Animal Attack

Twitter: @animattackpod

Instagram: @animalattackpod

Tiktok: @animalattackpod

YouTube: @animalattackpod

Chapters:

(00:05) - Boy bands of the '90s and 2010s

(03:40) - Sebastian Roche, Fringe, Once Upon a Time

(04:40) - The storied career of Sebastian Stan

(07:05) - Captain America's gay best friend, Arnie Roth

(08:45) - Franchesca Ramsey and the "Leopards" song

(10:32) - Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll"

(13:43) - Jessica Jones, CA: Winter Soldier, enchanced people in the MCU

(15:21) - The Drifters' "Save the Last Dance" and musical genre revival

(17:22) - Doctor Doom and Kylo Ren unable to keep a disguise

(18:59) - Game of Thrones: Race and Ethnicity

(20:12) - More Game of Thrones: Infidelity and Nobility

(22:08) - Even more Game of Thrones: Layers of Evil

(23:30) - Game of Thrones for the last time but it's just Cersei slander

(24:30) - The CW and relationships with a concerning age dynamic

(25:30) - Pretty Little Liars' various imported actors

(26:30) - Shay Mitchell, Trese, and the Hi Nay Podcast

(27:30) - Covers of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

(28:38) - Southern African names in Western context

(30:44) - Daniella Monet's "Chicago" and North American geography