Bamon

"He clutched at her as if he needed her for blood, as if they were in a hurricane tossed sea and to let her go would be to lose her."

- Damon and Bonnie, The Return: Nightfall

Bamon is the het ship between Bonnie Bennett and Damon Salvatore from the The Vampire Diaries fandom.

Season 1
Bonnie and Damon first "met" when he dropped Caroline off at school for cheerleading practice. Bonnie surmised that Damon was the mystery guy from the grill that Caroline had talked about, and Elena informed her that he was Damon Salvatore, making Bonnie realize he was related to Stefan. Throughout Season 1, Damon tried everything he could to to steal the Bennett Talisman but his plans were foiled when it ended up in Bonnie's hands. In Haunted, Damon walked up to her asking about Caroline's whereabouts, and after Bonnie warned him to stay away from Caroline, he noticed that the she was wearing the talisman around her neck. When she refused to give it to him, Damon tried to take it by force but the necklace burned his hand, and a frightened Bonnie ran away. Because of the necklace, Bonnie began experiencing hallucinations and dreams about her ancestor, Emily. In History Repeating, Damon approached Bonnie and told her it was her last chance to give him the talisman, and Bonnie (unsuccessfully) tried to get away from him. Damon managed to stop her and said that whether she wanted to believe it or not, he wanted to help her. After Damon allowed Bonnie to leave, Bonnie drove Elena home and told her about her encounter with Damon, saying how he really scared her. She then stopped the car and threw the talisman into a field, removing Emily for good.

As it turned out, Emily could not be removed so easily. When Caroline, Elena and Bonnie had a sleepover, the talisman was inside Bonnie's bag, angering Caroline, who had thought Bonnie lied to her. After Caroline and Bonnie made up, Caroline managed to convince her and Elena to hold a séance to communicate with Emily. During the séance, Emily was able to possess Bonnie and use her own more mature powers to destroy the talisman so she could prevent the release of the vampires sealed in the Tomb under Fell's Church. After Emily was finished, Damon tried to kill Bonnie and almost succeeded had Stefan not interfered.

After some brief interactions and mentions, Bonnie and Damon were seen together again in Isobel, where after learning that the Gilbert Device was dangerous to vampires, Bonnie offered to dispel the device, which would make it useless. Damon doubted Bonnie's abilities but she proved him wrong, much to his amusement. During Founder's Day, Damon came to "watch the parade" but instead followed Bonnie after she walked away feeling annoyed by his presence. Despite Bonnie's reluctance to talk to him, Damon stopped her and thanked her for what she'd done.

However, she only pretended to dispel the device because of her dislike of vampires. When Elena asked for Bonnie's help to save Damon, reluctantly, Bonnie helped her and Stefan and saved him from death. After he was saved, Bonnie went up to Stefan and told him that if Damon ever spilled another drop of innocent blood, she would take him down and wouldn't hesitate to do the same with him if he tried to do anything to help Damon.

Season 2
After Damon tried to kill Caroline thinking she couldn't survive the effects of vampirism, Bonnie was angered by what he had done and almost succeed in killing him had Elena not stopped her. The two shared a brief moment together in The Return where Bonnie proved Damon wrong about her abilities yet again, giving him an aneurysm with a simple look. In Plan B, Bonnie bumped into Mason Lockwood and got a vision of him and who she thought was Elena (but was really Katherine) kissing. Stefan realized what it meant, and informed Damon. Together, Bonnie and Damon incapacitated Mason and took him back to the Salvatore Boarding House where they tried to find out where the moonstone was and what he and Katherine wanted with it. Bonnie helped Damon tie up Mason and he protected her when Mason scared her, and before leaving, the two shared a moment where Damon called out, “Hey judgy...thank you.”

With Klaus arriving in Mystic Falls, Bonnie prepared herself to fight him by harnessing the powers of a hundred dead witches, but at the cost of losing her life. Upon finding this out at the Decade Dance, Damon cut in between Jeremy and Bonnie's dance and asked her to dance with him instead. Bonnie agreed, and the two decided to talk. There seemed to be tension between the two and Damon almost seemed hopeful that maybe the chance of her survival would be possible. Bonnie teased him, saying, “Careful, Damon. I'm starting to think you actually care.” and Damon sarcastically replied, “We wouldn't want THAT.” When Bonnie realized Klaus was possessing Alaric and was trying to provoke her into using too much of her powers (which would kill her), she informed Damon and he reassured her that Klaus was not going to win. He asked if she was still willing to do everything she could to beat Klaus, and Bonnie nodded. When Stefan and Elena returned, they found Damon alone and Bonnie in the cafeteria fighting with Klaus. After a few striking blows at Klaus, Bonnie sank to the ground and presumably "died". Damon cut in and told them to leave and that he would take care of the body, stating that the Sheriff couldn't find out about it. He was seemingly upset and caressed Bonnie's face before picking her up and taking her back to the house on the witch burning site. She woke up soon after, revealing to a devastated Elena that she had only pretended to die in order to give the group more time to formulate a plan to kill Klaus. Damon and Bonnie decided not to tell anyone because the only way that Klaus would think she was dead was if everyone else did as well.

Season 3,4
The two shared brief interactions in Season 3 and 4, but there was obvious chemistry and comradery between them. One of the main scenes with them was in Stand By Me. When Bonnie found Damon in the woods, a relieved Damon commented, "I could actually hug you right now" and embraced Bonnie. Bonnie told Damon she knew how to save Jeremy, revealing she knew how to save Jeremy, and she and Damon drove up to Elena's house, and Damon immediately told Caroline to get Stefan. Bonnie mentioned dropping the veil between their side and The Other Side, so all supernatural creatures have access and they could all see Jeremy, Alaric, Vicki and everyone that they ever lost.

In The Walking Dead, Damon held Silas down while Bonnie used her magic to defeat him.

Season 5
When Jeremy was brought back, he told a devastated Damon that they couldn't just bring someone back from the dead. Magic had to find a balance and in return for bringing him back to life, Bonnie payed the price. He revealed that she was dead, angering Damon, who later attended her funeral. Throughout Season 5, Damon tried everything he could to bring Bonnie back to life. Eventually, he was forced to turn to Qetsiyah for help. Qetsiyah agreed to help Damon bring back Bonnie. This was successful, however Bonnie came back as a corporeal ghost. In the end, she came back and reunited with Caroline and Elena. The two became enemies again in Total Eclipse of Heart when Damon lashed out after being dumped by Elena (who was actually Katherine), but in Home, Damon and Bonnie worked together to bring Stefan and their other deceased loved ones back from the Other Side. Bonnie said her goodbyes and crossed over to the Other Side where Damon appeared alongside her. Despite their differences, they joined hands and embraced their impending doom together. Bonnie asked Damon if he thought moving on would hurt, but before Damon could answer, they were consumed by a vast white light, presumably killing them and destroying the Other Side.

It is in Season 6 where Bonnie and Damon establish a much more deep and beautiful relationship.

Season 6
After being consumed by the white light, Damon and Bonnie find themselves standing in the same place, the graveyard, still holding hands, and awkwardly let go. They walk into town to find it deserted and look to see that the grill Damon had blew up, The Mystic Grill, was still standing. They walked through various streets and find no one in town, see cars that looked about 20 years old and start getting suspicious. They eventually go to Elena's house, which was not burned down like it was in their world, where Damon finds a newspaper. He shows it to Bonnie, where she reads about a solar eclipse, and an annoyed Damon points out the date: May 10, 1994. When Bonnie says that where they are is impossible, an eclipse happens. Later, the two start bickering and Bonnie says to Damon that where they were clearly wasn't peace otherwise she wouldn't be stuck with him. When the topic of how they're going to escape comes up, Bonnie tells Damon that with magic, it may be possible for them to get out, however she was still incapable of doing spells. Later, Damon is in the Salvatore Boarding House kitchen making pancakes while dancing in place, listening to music, and drinking from a bottle of alcohol. When Bonnie walks in with Ms. Cuddles, she informs Damon that she may be able to learn magic again, but Damon doubts her. The two bicker again and Bonnie gets annoyed and asks for his support, to which Damon gives her the pancakes he made her and a puzzle from the newspaper. Bonnie starts doing the puzzle and soon, the eclipse happens again.

Two months later, Damon is in the kitchen making pancakes again while Bonnie tries to figure out a 27 crossword. When Damon brings her pancakes, Bonnie stabs them with a fork and tells him that she hates pancakes, and Damon whispers in her ear, “Woah! Don't take it out on the pancakes.” More bickering insues and Damon remarks that not only was he stuck with her, he was stuck with the "useless" version of her, annoying Bonnie. Bonnie then hears something and asks Damon if he heard it too, but Damon annoyedly responds that there was nothing to hear since they were the only two people on this world. Later that night, Damon and Bonnie share a moment where she makes him food and tells him she misses their friends too. Damon sadly nods but then gets surprised when he looks down to see the 27 word crossword filled in. When Bonnie revealed she didn't solve it, the two become suspicious that there may be someone else with them.

In Welcome to Paradise, Bonnie and Damon go shopping together and explore the town yet again. They get into an argument when Damon loses hope that they'll ever escape, and Bonnie responds that hope to as the only thing getting her through this before storming off. Damon eventually meets Kai Parker, and as he's about to get killed by him, Bonnie comes back and saves him. Damon knocks Kai out and apologizes for calling Bonnie the most annoying person in the world, stating that he hadn't met Kai yet. Bonnie smiles, and later back at the boarding house, she and Damon question Kai as he's tied up. Kai revealed that he was trying to kill Damon so Bonnie could access her magic, because Bonnie's magic was the key to getting out. Because of the information he had, Bonnie and Damon decided to temporarily work with Kai.

The next day, Bonnie walked in with an assortment of items that Kai wanted, and Kai said that he'd show them how the items would get them out when Damon tells him what he did on May 10, 1994. Damon refused and when Bonnie asked why he wouldn't tell, he replied that it was about the worst thing he'd ever done. With some coaxing from Bonnie, Damon began telling the story of what happened when he came home on May 1994 to make amends with Stefan and start fresh. After testing Bonnie's magic, Kai shows them the Ascendant, the tool that will allow them to get home. While they work with him, Bonnie shows Damon a newspaper about a family massacre in Portland, Oregon, where Kai was from. Kai admits that he is the one who killed them and sarcastically comments that it was as if his family expected him to be evil when they named him "Malachai". He told them that even though he's a witch, he couldn't practice magic and his coven had banished him. Bonnie warned Damon that they couldn't leave because that would free Kai. Damon then revealed how he killed Gail, the pregnant girlfriend of his nephew Zach Salvatore, and their unborn child. Later, Damon comes in the boarding house as Bonnie is eating pancakes. She surmises that Damon makes pancakes everyday because Gail liked them and Damon was punishing himself. Despite previously seeing no hope in him, Bonnie now believed and told Damon there was hope for him because he felt remorse for the bad things he had done. They share an emotional moment together, and after, Damon suggests that they steal the Ascendant from Kai. Kai hears him and explains that he can temporarily consume magic from others, which he demonstrates by absorbing magic from Bonnie and using it. Kai threatens to consume all Bonnie's magic (which would most likely kill her) if they didn't agree to work together to get home.

One thing led to another and eventually, Bonnie presumably killed Kai. Damon got annoyed at Bonnie for killing their only chance of getting out, but Bonnie discovered that the Ascendant could only be used by Bennett witch, securing their hope. Echoing the same moment they shared when they got trapped in the Prison World, Damon remarked that he was sure she'd rather be here with billions of other people than him. Bonnie, however, smiled and said “Not exactly.” The two smiled at each other and shared a nice moment before Kai shot Bonnie. Instead of choosing to pick up the Ascendant, Damon used his vampire speed to get to her side and pull out the arrow, healing her with his vampire blood. When Kai tried to go home alone, Damon stopped him and this gave Bonnie enough time to drag herself over to the Ascendant. She tearfully told Damon that she wasn't going to make it, but he was. She flinged Kai away and tossed Damon the Ascendant, activating it. Damon could only watch in horror before he was flung back home, leaving Bonnie with Kai alone.

Novels
In the novel series, Bonnie and Damon have a very deep, complicated romantic relationship. Damon strongly cares for Bonnie and has a very strong connection with her, and they were hinted to be soulmates in the Evensong trilogy. He is shown to be very affectionate, gentle, loving and tender towards her and is very overly protective of her. Bonnie is Damon's established weak spot and berserk button. It was established that Elena could never bring out this side of Damon that Bonnie had brought out. While Damon's feelings for Elena were purely lust and a way to compete and upset Stefan, his feelings for Bonnie were confirmed to be much more deeper than anything he ever felt for Elena. In contrast to the show, their relationship dynamic is very different. Damon is often portrayed as a dark, brooding character, whereas Bonnie is the "sunshine" in his life.

Bamon and Stelena were originally going to be the endgame ships of the novel series, but due to L.J Smith not wanting to make Delena canon (and to align the novel series to the show), Harper fired her and replaced her with a ghostwriter (and later Aubrey Clark) who wrote Delena for the rest of the story. Fortunately, L.J Smith began writing her own series for Bamon and Stelena, Evensong.

Fanon
Bamon is one of the most popular ships in The Vampire Diaries. It has been popular ever since the 90's trilogy came out to the CW's first season of The Vampire Diaries. It is Bonnie's most popular ship and Damon's second most popular. Many ship them because of their dynamic, development and depth throughout the show. Many fans often prefer Bamon over Delena, and were saddened by the fact that they weren't together in the show as well.

Many Stelena fans also support the ship over Delena.

On AO3, Bamon is Bonnie's most written ship, Damon's second and the fourth most popular ship in The Vampire Diaries (TV) tag.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Bonnie/Damon tag on FanFiction.net
 * Bonnie/Damon tag on FanFiction.net

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WIKIS
 * on The Vampire Diaries Wiki
 * on The Vampire Diaries Wiki

Trivia

 * Damon calls Bonnie many nicknames in the novels. That includes: Little Redbird, Redheaded Bird, Sweetsinging Redbird, Sweetsinging Songbird, Brown-Eyed Enchantress, Little Redhead, Little Witch, Redheaded Witch, Red-Haired Maiden, Red Songbird, Little Red-Haired Songbird, Little Bird, Baby Bird, Little Human, Human, Sleeping Maiden, Sweet Baby Bird, Sweet Red Bird, His Bird, His Bedraggled Little Bird, His Maiden, His Witch, The Redbird, Fiery Little Fury, Kitten, Sweet Songbird Bonnie.
 * Kat Graham posted "Bamon ;)" on Twitter.
 * Ian Somerhalder held up a sign that said "TEAM BAMON.. SHHH.. DON'T TELL ELENA."
 * When asked which relationship was healthier for Damon, and which he preferred between Elena and Bonnie, Ian Somerhalder chose Bonnie.
 * Bonnie and Damon won Popsugar's poll of the Hottest Sexual Tension of 2015.
 * In 2015, Bamon were nominated for Ship of the Year at the MTV Fandom Award.
 * Kat Graham and Ian Somerhalder were nominated for Choice TV: Chemistry at the Teen Choice Awards for two consecutive years in 2015 and 2016.