#stelena meta

[nikkiruncks]

So…

I’m gonna be adding some jealous!Leia in this chapter and I’m thinking of how to do it. It may be slightly different than with Jay and Serena.

With Serena, she was reaaaally sad and jealous as you can see here:

And then she tries to play it off and hide in a way that’s like ‘lmao nice to meet you, just here for the ketchup.’

With Nikki, it's a similar reaction, but Leia's a lot closer with her than Serena. With Serena, she is a little insecure since she’s like one of the more popular-ish, more confident girls and Leia feels inferior.

For Nikki/Jay, I’m planning on having Leia reaction to them being similar to Elena’s reaction to Stebekah right here.

Where she’s in shock, slowly turning into raging jealousy. Except Leia would go to Jay’s house similar to how Elena went into cabin with Stefan and Tessa. But the shock value and Nikki answering to Leia just like Rebekah responding to Elena would be there. And then Leia and Jay would have a scene like this (minus the murder references):

And then similar to Elena, Leia’s like ‘Are you doing this just to hurt me? Are you really doing this just to back at me and Nate?’

But then Jay is like ‘You actually think I’d go low enough to intentionally hurt you? I’m trying to move on! What did you expect? That I’d sit around and pine in the sidelines while you’re dating my best friend?’

And then Leia is like "I don’t know how many times I have to say I’m sorry.” But Jay would cut her off and say that she has nothing to apologize for but that he also shouldn’t have to wait around for her either.

Then Leia would be like 'oh shit i made a mistake. i think i lost him.', similar to this:

I just really love enhancing the stelena effects in jeia lmao.

[dragonlands]

Elena Gilbert stops being boring the moment you stop viewing tvd as romance and start viewing it as a gothic horror of an underage girl groomed into an incestous love triangle between two serial killing brothers.

Her parents are dead and she only finds comfort in graveyards, her thoughts are filled with death. Then she meets these guys who CANNOT DIE and she even canonically says that's what drew her to Stefan (and let's be honest it's exactly the same with Damon). These older men want to protect her and they desire her obsessively and they form a weird, weird little family dynamic where Elena is constantly treated like a child. Elena latches onto these guys who don't only fill the role of boyfriends but also the role of parents. How she acceps the role as daughter/lover/victim of the Salvatore brothers could be fascinating if the narrative acknowledged it for what it is - horror.

[jessmalia]

Rewatcing TVD season 5 and I'm on 5x04 where Stefan has his memory loss and I'm having a lot of Steroline thoughts so I'mma just dump 'em all here.

So first thing that happens is drunk Stefan calls Caroline hot when he first sees her, establishing that he does find her attractive on a baseline level. Meaning, he probably would've noticed her when he came to Mystic Falls if he wasn't so distracted by having found a doppelgänger of the girl that turned him into a vampire.

Then there's the difference between how Elena and Caroline handle amnesia!Stefan's bloodlust. Elena, in classic her-fashion, makes it all about herself. You were a great boyfriend to me. You never scared me. So, naturally, when he tries to kiss her and she tells him she's with his brother now, he feels betrayed and runs off. Elena tried to get him to remember by recreating how they met, she distracts him from his bloodlust by telling him all about their relationship. It works temporarily, but this makes it so that Stefan ties his control to being around Elena ("Whatever monster I was capable of being, I could see why I was different around you.") so when he finds out about her and Damon, his control goes down with their relationship.

But when Caroline sees him feeding on Jessie, she tells him, "This isn't you. Okay, you might not remember, but I do. You are better than this! You are not this person." Not only does she solely tie it to who Stefan is as a person, but as a byproduct, she informs Stefan that he has other people who care about him besides his ex and brother. It's no wonder she's the only one he trusts after that. And then she and Stefan agree on a plan for her to call him every hour to check in, because Caroline prioritises making sure Stefan's okay before making sure that he remembers. ("I don't want my brother's advice. I don't wanna hear how I supported you, Elena. [...] Don't worry, I'm not gonna go on a ripper binge. Besides, Caroline said she'd call me every hour to make sure I was okay, and, uh... I actually do trust her.")

And then there's the scene in the Salvatore Tomb before Bonnie's funeral where Stefan comforts Caroline. It's in my, like, top 10 scenes of theirs at least. ("Me. You have me. Look, you were there for me last night. Sounds like you're always there for me. So let me be there for you.") Elena told him that he always showed her and others compassion, but that doesn't do much when she disrespected him by lying by omission about their history and the fact that she left him for his brother. Caroline tells him that he's a compassionate person and then backs it up by showing him compassion. So when Stefan sees her hurting, he wants to return that. He puts his own worries aside for the time being, asks her what's wrong, says he wishes he could remember Bonnie, offers physical comfort and tells her he'll still be there for her despite him not remembering their friendship, because he sees how much she does for him and others and he knows she deserves it.

[andreal831]

I’m the same person who asked the question about Datherine and I wanted to ask similar one about Stelena: Do you think they could’ve worked out if l Damon weren’t in like, in the picture?

Hi! Welcome back <3

When I used to watch TVDU, I loved Stelena. As I've gotten older, I see how problematic the whole thing is. But they still kind of get me because of nostalgia.

I really do think they would have worked if not for Damon. Elena's attraction to Damon always felt forced to me. She was so caught up in the whirlwind romance of Stefan and then they settled into this very calm, happy place. Even with all of the chaos around them, they found peace in each other. Elena and Stefan were so happy in their relationship, the show had to force them apart physically to wedge Damon in there. They even had to use the sirebond to force Damon in the way more.

The only thing I felt was truly unhealthy in their relationship was the age gap. Even him originally wanting to get to know her to see if she was Katherine didn't totally bother me because of how he felt about Katherine. Damon seeing her and thinking she was Katherine made him think he was seeing his first love. Stefan hated Katherine when he saw Elena. He didn't pursue it out of some lost love. He fell for Elena as her own person.

Now granted, Elena was in high school and those relationships usually don't last, but this is a show about vampires and magical babies, so I think we can suspend reality on that.

I love Steroline, but feel like Caroline didn't necessarily want the same things as Stefan. They just kind of forced motherhood on her. She wanted a career and to travel. She would have loved to go off with Tyler and discover the world. Just like Damon didn't have similar wants to Elena. Wanting the same things in life is very important in a relationship. Compromising will only cause both of them to be unhappy no matter how much they love each other.

An important aspect I really liked about Stelena and felt would make them last is how much respect they had for each other. Stefan would always let Elena make her own choices, even if he didn't agree. And Elena was always there to fight for him. I know some people don't like how he handled the transition, but that's usually from people who just wanted Delena to happen. Elena never wanted to harm anyone and never wanted to be a vampire. Stefan understood that and tried to help her live with what she was. They both just wanted the best for each other.

Stefan helped Elena find joy in life again. Season 1 Stelena was so happy. They would have found this happiness again if Damon and Klaus stopped interfering. The visions they saw from the Travelers felt really organic to me. They both wanted the same things. They wanted family and humanity. Stefan taking the cure made more sense than Damon. Damon loved being a vampire and Stefan hated it, plus had trouble controlling it. I could very easily see them settling in Mystic Falls. Her being a doctor and Stefan going to school to discover what he wanted from his life. They would have had kids and would have created a loving home.

Thanks for the ask!

[antizionistrussophile64]

I am not buying into Stefan treating Elena as a broken toy in Season 4 of The Vampire Diaries. She said she didn't want to be like Damon and wanted to go back to being a human. Damon is still projecting what he felt about Katherine onto Elena because she is a nicer version of Katherine.

[melmedardasworld]

I read your metas and loved them! What is your opinion about the Traveller's storyline? I really thought that we would get more Bennett history since it was revealed that Qetsiyah is one, but it was mostly focused on the Parker family, really.

First off, thank you for your kind words and taking the time to read my thoughts! The Traveler storyline certainly had a lot of potential, especially in relation to Bonnie’s rich family history. It was a shame how they wrapped it up so quick and just made a mess out of it. It didn’t help that we got the love triangle being dragged and forced once more to come to the conclusion that true love doesn’t exist; it was just a spell to break a 1500+ year old curse. I know TVD is a romance show, but come on…. It was corny to me.

While the show introduced significant lore surrounding the Travelers and the witch community, through Qetsiyah and Silas, it did more to explore the Parkers than the already established Bennetts. No surprise it was around the same time JP had plans to kill of Bonnie for good but Kat convinced her that there was more to tell, we would have gotten Liv as the go to witch for the MFG. Considering that the Bennetts are a prominent witch family with a deep-rooted history in magic and set the TVD lore of the universe for us, it was a missed opportunity not to delve into their family's connections with the Travelers.

Qetsiyah and her descendants: Qetsiyah stands out as one of the most powerful witches in the universe. If her storyline had been more entwined with her descendants, too, we could have expanded on how her actions created ripples throughout supernatural history. Her creation of the Immortality Spell led to significant schisms for magic, the impact of which could have been explored through Bonnie’s bloodline. This could have included infighting among offshoots of her bloodline or even other Traveler branch clans (like the Parkers or Silas’s family, for example) who either supported or rejected Qetsiyah’s actions. It’s what we the show so often popularized as the Balance of Nature aka the Spirits. I believe this relationship dynamic could have been enriched by introducing Bonnie to (distant) family members who did adhere to the strict ideals to not use magic without rules (the Spirits / Spirit Magic) or those betrayed by their forebears for cursing them. Also, her having zero interactions with Bonnie?? Nah that’s some bs.

Potential for Infighting: I also think this would introduce a narrative where the Bennetts’ bloodline suffers from centuries infighting due to differing ideologies about magic and the use of their powers. The show could have introduced family members who either aligned in favor of Qetsiyah’s actions (replacing Markos and his group) or fiercely opposed them (we already had the Spirits and we only saw the Bennetts at the forefront of it), providing more depth to Bonnie’s character development and the complexity of magic and it’s lore.

The Travelers Curse

The origin and implications of the Travelers’ curse were also somewhat convoluted to me when it was revealed tied to Stelena and true love not actually being true love or destiny. As I said, we also got a whole new witch family introduced when the Bennetts were right there. Onto my thoughts about how the plot could've gone.

Historical Context: When Qetsiyah created the immortality spell, it caused a schism within the Traveler community. Many of the branch family’s (Parkers and Silas’s) already feared the power of Qetsiyah and her family. They knew they were powerful, and Qetsiyah was a step above that too. But with her true immortality spell and defying Nature itself for love, they believed that this family's seemingly unlimited power was a threat to them. Keeping the Balance was just an excuse they could use to strengthen those fears and cripple her and her family. So even after Qetsiyah’s brother killed her to redeem his family, the other Traveller covend insisted on further measures—leading to what is known as the Traveller’s Curse placed upon Qetsiyah’s descendants. Again, this introduces some intrigue and infighting in one of the earliest witch covens.

The Curse’s Mechanism: To prevent future disruptions by his family, Qetsiyah’s brother promised the other Traveler families to limit the power his bloodline, forcing it to scatter whenever they attempted to congregate as large coven. If they did, this resulted in disasters and plagues or their death, effectively suppressing the extraordinary abilities and potential of Qetsiyah's descendants. The Bennett witches today may be known but remain unaware of their full history—their curse hidden and forgotten even from them.

Living Bennett Witches: Contrary to the show’s narrative, which suggests very few Bennetts are left, I feel it’s important for the story to recognize that their bloodline is significant and widespread. Even on an individual level we get so much of their feats, inventions and spells. This concept would open the door for multiple lines of the Bennett family, allowing Bonnie to discover relatives with diverse views on magic, some aligned with tradition and others breaking away from it.

Thematic Depth and Character Development

The motivations behind magic use in TVD could have been explored more deeply. The recurring theme in the TVD universe was witches maintaining the balance of Nature often felt hypocritical and biased and even bitter. Yet the Bennetts frequently disrupted it with their feats.

Nature’s Perspective: The concept around Nature as an entity that puts things back into balance is intriguing. Rather than being strict overseers, the witches could have been portrayed as part of a wider supernatural ecosystem, where even supernatural beings like vampires, hybrids, and werewolves might eventually be normalized instead of abominations and whatnot.

Potential for Conflict: By aligning the story with Bonnie's journey, we could have seen infighting not just among the Travelers, but also among witch factions within the Bennett line—those adhering to Nature's rules versus those who pursue Qetsiyah's radical legacy, even if that wasn't her intention at all. Such tensions could have elevated Bonnie’s journey as she navigates her identity, her ancestry and power.

I know you said you’ve read my metas but below some links on my theories and the travelers / Qetsiyah and the Bennetts specifically.

My Love-Hate Relationship with the Travelers

Qetsiyah's Legacy

Modern Bennetts and Nature

[kmze]

Thoughts on 5x01 - 5x11 again SO MUCH FUN watching this half season. Does the plot make sense? Not really. Was it a compelling storyline? Not so much. Did I laugh a lot? YOU BETCHA! The thing with this season (at least this half) is you cannot take it seriously, it is the most this show has ever been "meta" because this was just episode after episode of laughing at the Triangle of Doom. I would say DE got it the worse but even SE got hits against it too. Stefan was mocked by having amnesia Stefan point out all his worst qualities. Damon was mocked relentlessly via his insecurity. Elena was mocked by being the flip flopper that she is. It was beautiful. Silas and Tessa were great as scorned lovers/enemies and I truly enjoyed the doppelgänger shenanigans. Amnesia Stefan you will always be famous! Of course there's bad stuff, like Bonnie's storyline and Jesse's treatment and sadly that's not surprising because Dries (racist) was in charge. I touch on all of this below!

5x01

LMFAO at Elena’s little shimmy

Damon is such a moron that is obviously not Stefan, when would Stefan ever say “Chateau Salvatore” thank god Jeremy could tell. Katherine too like when has Stefan EVER blatantly flirted with her like that, but Katherine was just thinking with her downstairs brain I understand.

Poor Caroline, but at least Jesse is smoking hot.

Random observation: last season the beginning of the season did not look like it was filmed in the summer like every other season and I've always kind of wondered why that is. I think I read somewhere that they continued filming the beginning of S4 when S3 ended and that's why you never get the summer attire in S4 like we do here again in S5.

5x02

Elena coughing up blood/water after kissing Stefan keeps happening and it’s so mean LMFAO

CRYING at the camera angle and lighting of “Stefan” seeing Elena and her getting all googly-eyed at him and then hanging up on Damon. Serves him right for not telling her! Silas causing problems with Delena almost instantly, amazing no notes.

Katherine shooting Silas YAS QUEEN

This scene LMFAO!!! The fact that they made thinking about Stefan be the thing that stops Elena from trying to kill Damon is just a hilariously mean thing to do to Damon!

Caroline’s face seeing Damon and Elena in what looks like some weird sex thing DEAD.

Paul does a good job of differentiating Silas from Ripper Stefan. They’re both evil of course but Silas has more calmness to him and more quips whereas Ripper Stefan is chaotic and mocking.

Lexi changed clothes on the other side so why can’t Bonnie!

5x03

Katherine and Silas are having way too much fun making Damon feel insecure about Stelena and I truly love it!

Stefan saying he didn’t want to turn his humanity off so he could be himself when he murdered Silas. Classic Stefan! Revenge is his biggest motivation in life I swear.

The doppelgänger curse (aka creating shadow selves every 100-ish years because of Silas and Amara) is good mythology, I thought it was a good reason to explain the existence of doppelgängers. But I also think it hurt some of the special-ness that Stelena had because it cheapens the fate part about it (and that’s before we find out it’s a literal spell pulling them together). Tessa saying she watched versions of S&E fall in love over and over the last 2000 years makes it feel like it’s predetermined destiny, which is a weakness against a ship IMO. It actually gives more power to Delena because having a love that conquers destiny is a great trope. I'm not even sure the writers meant to make this hurt SE at first because I don't think they like DE either. I know Dries was the showrunner this season and it's hard to understand what she likes when it comes to the triangle (her fav is Katherine that's all I understand about her). Everyone always thinks it's DE but LOL the person who wrote this season does NOT like DE I assure you. It would make sense she'd think this storyline is strong for SE on paper, but in tone it's not. It's like she cut her nose despite her face.

Delena being described by Tessa "like a soap opera, but boring and with no volume control" best description ever!

Silas saying his doppelgänger's face makes him wanna vomit THEY JUST KEEP GOING!

I like that they almost made you believe Damon was going to leave Stefan there lol, but even Damon isn't that selfish.

This season is just one big kinda mean commentary on the show and I love it LMFAO. I can see why it’s hated because it’s not really an intriguing plot as far as forward movement (I mean Silas' motivation is to die). But I'd be lying if I said the way it’s being used to mock and almost break the fourth wall isn't giving me so much joy. I guess I’d describe it as camp? Like Silas said messy but fun to watch.

5x04

Am!Stefan not remembering Elena’s name and the look on her face ADXSFXGGGKKHK (this episode makes me so incredibly petty)!

Again, Damon worst sober sponsor ever.

I’m sorry but Elena is cracking me up the way she is GLOWING at making Am!Stefan remember when he bumped into her. The way she spreads her fingers over his chest DEAD! Her excitement at molding her Stefan back together with only the pieces she wants... I have never seen her more alive!

"Whenever someone tells me I can’t do something I prove them wrong" her life’s motto!!!

Am!Stefan being like “I need time to process that I let my girlfriend drown” I KNOW RIGHT? It’s so crazy isn’t it you’re just like flabbergasted.

Sometimes this show just hits my narrative and this episode is it baby! Am!Stefan knowing Caroline’s full name (unlike Elena), that she’s his best friend and BLATANTLY flirting with her saying she’s much hotter in person (the way he totally checks her out a few times too) THAT'S THE STUFF. Then you’ve got Caroline being the only one who actually stops the ripper because she reminds Stefan who HE is, not who she is (because just to point out again she didn't have to because he studied her pictures and knew her instantly!!!) Damon and Elena on the other hand keep telling him who they are (which is a bunch of liars) and that’s why Stefan trusts her and not them. Their scene in the crypt is so nice too, it's one of the first times they get a scene like this with the hand holding, the comforting emphasis, and a beautiful shot on the bench. Plus Am!Stefan staring at Caroline's lips *swoon* you can really tell he has a crush on Caroline.

This Bonnie memorial is so infuriating I can't believe this Bonnie is dead for 8(!!!) episodes was a plot.

5x05

This shows racism towards black characters is really disgusting the more you become aware of it. I swear everytime a character is cast that’s going to get tortured or brutally murdered they are always black. Luka, Jonah, Aja, Connor and now Jesse. There’s no way it was a coincidence.

Nina’s physical comedy as human Katherine is just perfect!

The costumes Caroline picked ARE KILLING ME! First having her and Tyler as Bonnie and Clyde because they almost ran away together (and perhaps a part of her knows they’re doomed like B&C). Having Damon and Elena as Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn because she hates Damon and thinks he’s so bad for Elena he’ll get her head chopped off LMFAO. And then Stefan as JAMES FRIGGIN' DEAN can’t make this up, I know I keep saying this but amazing, no notes.

CTFU at Am!Stefan TOTALLY IGNORING Tyler when he asks Caroline to dance with him, like even with amnesia he knows he doesn’t fuck with Tyler. Am!Stefan’s face when he twirls her HE IS SO SMITTEN (and so is she if we’re being honest), James Dean daydream look indeed.

EL OH EL Silas trying to get Tessa to admit that she’s still in love with him. Honestly Silas your doppelgänger is way better at this, Stefan would have gotten that confession no sweat.

Poor Forwood but honestly I do think this makes sense and neither of them is really wrong, they are both acting like themselves. It makes sense Tyler can't just let Klaus walk away after what he did, and he especially can't deal with Klaus giving him permission to be with Caroline. Caroline on the other hand wants to move forward with her life and as far as she's concerned Klaus is out of sight out of mind. Caroline's also not a big revenge person, I don't think she's ever cared enough to enact revenge on someone (with humanity of course).

Amnesia or not Stefan will always be smarter than Damon.

5x06

For my own sanity I’m not even gonna pay attention to scenes talking about the cure and how it works because I’m STILL not over that bullshit in S8.

Silas again being the audience surrogate and pointing out how SUPER WEIRD it is that Defan keep falling in love with THE SAME FACE!

KATHOLINE TEAM-UP!! You know Caroline enjoyed slamming her against the wall after Katherine used her as her lackey in S2.

Crazy bitch kinda is Stefan’s type ASASCDHGHKKHH

God I love the Katholine team-up.

KATHERINE’S CHURCH HAIR!! I’m not even kidding I have tears in my eyes. This is the BEST! Omg Aaron is so much more smitten with Katherine than Elena, but like she’s absolutely adorable how could you not be!

Am!Stefan being like "I didn't think you deserved to be killed" translating to "I will always protect you Elena, memories or not" is an impressive delulu journey Elena has decided to take. She was acting like he was dead because he wanted to talk to Caroline and not her! Elena he has amnesia, he doesn't have the script anymore for the persona he's supposed to be performing.

Tessa was trying to do God’s work too getting Stefan to let go of Damon but he never learns!

5x07

Elena get out of your ex-boyfriend's bedroom JFC she’s so desperate.

Tessa kinda the best vindictive bitch ever! Janina Gavankar is also a beautiful and stunning woman who is just a pleasure to look at. But why was she so cold to Bonnie? Dries again I'm sure...

THANK GOD BONNIE IS ALIVE AGAIN!

Elena's thought process about this speech she gives Stefan is something else... I just don't know what kind of delusional narcissist you have to be to think this was a good way to ask if someone is okay. Stefan absolutely looks done with her too lol. This is the season where Stefan's facade from the earlier season really starts to come down. He doesn't want to be the person in his journals anymore.

5x08

FINALLY THAT HIDEOUS WIG IS GONE!

Oh look! Stefan not telling anyone he needs help, something new and different for him! /sarcasm

Matty Blue-Blue might be my favorite nickname ever used on this show and there’s a lot so that’s saying something!

I love how much Caroline embraced being a teacher for baby vamps! Makes her endgame even better!

Caroline is right why couldn’t Elena just snap his neck or just not stab him in the heart stab his back shoulder.

One thing about Stefan he has never seen a crazy bitch in danger that he didn’t want to save. I do really enjoy Steferine with human Katherine because it gave all the power to Stefan since she can’t physically hurt him anymore. It’s kind of like the scene in the series finale where Caroline comforts human Damon because he can’t hurt her anymore and she doesn't need to be afraid.

They really had to interrupt Bonnie’s first SEX SCENE EVER IN 5 FUCKING YEARS so she could scream in agony because the show killed another black character. Dries you will never see heaven!

Gee I don’t know Elena when is someone supposed to get over the fact that they were abused and raped by your fucking boyfriend. And you laughed about it with him! Never? I’m gonna go with never. And yes I realize it’s a bit hypocritical to enjoy Steferine and hate Daroline when they both have the same consent and rape issues. I fully admit Katherine is a rapist too. Stefan might be over it, Caroline is not and that's what matters to me.

5x09

I like that Katherine knew to ask Caroline for help knowing the other morons would be no good.

I know the answer is “plot reasons” but how did Damon not immediately recognize Whitmore when Elena started going to college there or even last year when he visited it?

Enzo… yeah *falls asleep*

Not to defend Stefan because I still think he’s an idiot for not seeing that Caroline had feelings for him. But he hears this whole conversation Caroline and Katherine are having where Katherine asks if they’ve slept together and Caroline is appalled like no absolutely not we are friends and I’m just saying! It makes sense why he never thought she did with scenes like this. Mostly because Stefan compartmentalizes people but that’s a topic for later this season. Katherine though bless her heart is not blind and can obviously tell these two feel a tingle for each other.

Not sure how intentional this was but I like the parallel back to the scene in 5x07 where Stefan said when the safe opened he wanted Damon and Elena to be the ones he saw. And now that he went back into the safe to get over his PTSD from that (and their betrayal) the person he sees when the safe opens up is Caroline.

5x10

Katherine’s exhilaration at sleeping with Stefan CTFU I can’t help it, she’s too much!

I love how little Elena is wearing essential what S1/2 Elena used to wear.

Feels like they just implied Grayson was testing if vampire blood could cure cancer. Would have been good to check on that next season folks!

Stefan starting off on the wrong foot with Enzo already LMFAO

Anytime they try and make Matt more relevant to a plot I instantly zone out from that plot. Case in point, I have no idea what is going on with the passengers and travelers and all I really know about Nadia is she’s Katherine’s daughter.

OMG Elena torched her Dad’s experiments! Important information what are you doing!?! I guess that’s why they don’t check next season.

5x11

Caroline throwing a breakup breakfast because Delena broke up is why she is my favorite character ever!

Stefan is so sanctimonious lol.

I like how they reminded me how awful Klaus is with the Katherine flashback before he has sex with Caroline. This show.

OMG Damon is insufferable! First his list of evil things Katherine did are all things HE did and now he's just torturing her because he's mad he broke up with Elena??? Can we just put him in the '94 prison world now I need him gone.

Stefan really switched from heartbroken to team Delena in like 3 episodes lol. I get it was the PTSD and we gotta speed stuff up but it did not take long. Another moment of "what are people talking about on Reddit" because they are always like "it took Stefan so long to move on from Elena" IT TOOK 3 EPISODES!

It's kind of amazing how many parallels and mirroring storylines Stefan and Caroline get with each other (these gifsets illustrate it well (x) (x)) but I really like how Steferine and Klaroline are used similarly for Stefan and Caroline in their journeys (these gifsets are great (x) (x)) and this season shows that a lot. Klaus and Katherine were both looking for love confessions from Caroline and Stefan respectively and while they sleep with their admirer/abuser they don't give them a love confession in return (because they don't love them). There's even the Klefan and Katholine connection as they are both used as their lackeys (Stefan in S3 and Caroline in S2) but then they also have a kind of understanding with each other. They both show pity for Katherine in this episode and they both felt remorse for betraying Klaus in 4x09. If this had actually been Katherine's death it was similar the Klaroline's ending on TO, with Caroline giving Klaus the date in NOLA and kissing him goodbye. Stefan sleeps with Katherine after she helped him through his PTSD, then he gives her peace with the memory before she dies (he thinks). Too bad the show had to RUIN that!

Look Stefan has his flaws (manipulative, enables Damon, can be a dick, serial killer) but one thing I love about him is he has a willingness to forgive the unforgivable. He didn't have to give Katherine peace after everything she had done but he did. I think it does come from a place of he believes everyone can be saved because he wants to believe he can be saved, but I also think he has a lot of empathy (at least for women).

The Katherine twist was great I will give them that, she's a survivor!

Lines that made me laugh:

Am!Stefan: I think I still need to be drunk to understand this story (REAL I chose edibles instead but YMMV)

Katherine: So are you part of the secret society? You know the "Society" (SHE KILLS ME)

Tyler: You're the hottest serial killer here (LMFAO the levels to this line are what makes me laugh the most)

[thevampirediariesdiary]

...is this a safe space for me to post the anti-stelena meta I've had in my drafts for literal years

[zalrb]

hey! just wanted to say that I originally found your blog through ashburn bc you were one of the only other ppl shipping them, and I finally got around to watching tvd this year. I finished a few months ago and I’ve just been making my way through your stelena metas bc you’re so good at putting into words all the the thoughts I have around that show…don’t know if tvd was worth it but now stelena is one of my favorite ships of all time lol. I almost feel like them and ashburn are kind of similar.

Oh hey! TVD is definitely not worth it but Stelena most certainly is, And I absolutely get what you mean about Ashburn and Stelena being similar because they both have a version of being kindred spirits in common.

Like when I talk about Ashburn:

On top of that they share the similarities in their liminality: Michael, a human raised on Vulcan struggling between logic and emotion and Ash, a fusion of human and Klingon, both of which are conditions steeped in traumatic events, and in season one they helped each other navigate that

With Stelena:

Elena was like this walking dead person, she felt dead inside. And along come Stefan, who literally is dead, and looking for a way to come back to life. And these two people, these two souls who were really, you know, out of breath, find each other and learn to breathe again and fall madly in love. And from that, this epic love story was born

And with Ashburn, despite the horrors Ash went through, he's optimistic and compassionate and his fortitude and his sense of will inspires Michael while also providing her a safe space while Ash is in awe of Michael's empathy and capacity for kindness and that provides him a safe space.

Comparatively, Elena loves Stefan's commitment to atonement and to helping others and his outlook and optimism continuously helps her grow while Elena's openness and understanding and compassion [for him] provides him a safe space and also allows him to grow.

So then they both have scenes like this

[nikkiruncks]

Stefan and Elena's love is so unique. Neither of them will ever love anyone else the way they loved each other. They may move on with other people and maybe even in be madly in love with them, but it’ll never be the way they were in love with each other.

And that’s not a bad thing. Stefan and Elena had a very unique love story which changed their lives for the better. Their love for one another made them both fall back in love with life. Which I can’t say for any of their other ships. Which once again, isn’t a bad thing. It’s just different.

[jonquilete]

stelena from my pov ksjdnf

lol i’ve always been one to look at both sides of a story. i can’t just pick a side and i don’t know why. it always changes. my sister calls me fake because i will change my mind very fast. maybe it has to do with my struggle to express myself since young and because i thought (think) that my opinions aren’t original and just thoughts that i have read from other people etc.so of course i shipped both of these ships and heard arguments and jokes about both the ships.not a meta but i don’t know just expressing what I think.

I personally think that Stefan/Paul is just boring. But there is more to it. Paul is such a good actor, better than Ian in my opinion. And Stefan as a character has a more complex story then Damon’s. I think Paul nailed that by playing all the complex sides of him and just playing a character who has been alive for so many years and has experienced A LOT and you can trust him when he gives you advices lol. Because he is been there. I think teenagers and people like more fun characters. True for me too but i am aRtSy so of course i tend to like all characters and their stories and go deeper. Which is why people didn’t like Stefan as much. First because when you see a character put in a pedestal (as if he isn’t the main character???) in contrast to someone else, most likely there will be people who are gonna like to prop up that other poor character because he is been doing wrong by everyone and trying to make him better then the comparison. Stefan good brother and damon the bad brother is one of the reasons why people leaned on Damon so much. Especially when they saw the flashbacks and saw that Damon was just a quiet sweet guy who was humiliated by Katherine and his love for her. And of course because Stefan forced him to become a vampire. The writers did a good job on making things complex and writing more complex characters. But of course everyone already hated that stefan was being seen as the better brother and damon as the bad one. so instead of appreciating the complex story they used it to hate on stefan even more because it’s his fault that damon is a vampire. and they hated that both elena and katherine loved and choose stefan. now as i said people love fun characters. damon played by ian in that fun sexy nonchalant character and funny too?!? of course people liked him. even though he treated caroline horribly and other women he fed and compelled. he actually killed jeremy because of katherine and rejection of elena. but that’s all forgiven because he was played by the charisma of ian. so stefan never really had a chance. he is the better written better acted more complex character but people like fun nice cute stuff. which is why they liked damon and shipped him with elena. he helped to defeat the enemies and was becoming friends with funny banter with ric, liz, bonnie sometimes. and he was the underdog still so of course girls went feral.

the problem is that both elena and stefan are just too much main character energy. i think maybe that’s why people didn’t like it as much as delena. as i said they are written better because they are the heroine and the hero of the story. it’s why people loved care more than elena just because there was a “competition” in season 1. both stefan and elena were written as the guys who are righteous and know best and everyone knows and treats them as such. so fans don’t like that. it happens all the time that the secondary characters especially when they are mirrors or foils (not sure exactly) of the main characters are gonna be loved more in the fandom and endless discussions on who is the better one. if these characters are also the best looking/more fun and cute can affect that “fighting” on proving that damon is the better man or care is better than elena.

which is why it didn’t work as well. i like stelena. but i love the characters more than the ship. i think i would have liked the ship better than delena if stefan was just more interesting played by some one else. someone with more spice lol. i think i saw an interview of julie where she was like paul was so over stefan since season 2, and how in season 8 the scenes where he is human and lost i don’t remember the situation in the woods and cold, paul was ao hyped for these because he is a storyteller and he loves a good story and he is an incredible actor but otherwise he was kinda done with stefan. and honestly knowing paul yeah he played his part but i don’t think he fought that much for stelena the ship. he loved the ship and playing with nina i think she is his best partner for him because you can see it in every scene. but i think since s1 when damon became a fan favorite and everyone wanted delena to happen and plus nina actually dated ian, i just think he didn’t care enough to fight for that ship. i don’t think he liked to play in a couple so i don’t know. he is amazing but we needed someone with more spice and commitment in relationship with elena. they are cute and i like them. i just understand why majority didn’t. they both felt like the main character, and it clashed with their energy. and i think it was balanced but most of the time it was like it was more focused on stefan and his past experiences which then didn’t connect well with teenagers who are a sucker for “guy is a simp for the girl”. make it bad boi who is only soft to the girl and it’s gonna eat everytime. as i said stefan has more experiences and elena helped him a lot with that in s1. with the blood. and i have to agree that stefan does seem like a manipulator and gaslighter. him changing personalities when he was struggling with bloodlust, not telling elena she looks like katherine, he came to school to know her, he knows more than her at the beginning and the purpose was a romantic one or just getting to know her personally. i don’t know it was kind of creepy and manipulative. i don’t understand the writers why they did that. like yes the vampire element was more apparent in season 1 and more dramatic and goofy sometimes and damon watching elena sleep and making her dream of him is also so creepy since he is the brother of her boyfriend. delena fans are just hypocrites picking and choosing. but with stefan i just find it a little creepy that he is the one who investigated who she is and went to school because “i have to know her” and then he was doing all kinds of stupid shit for her to not know his secret but also why are you near her then. which i think it represents a conflict within him. he wanted to know her, he was curious and says that he gets to feel human(i haven’t rewatched s1 in a long time maybe i am not correct) with her. i know that he says in s2 that he gets to just be himself to katherine’s question “is that the appeal”.

i think that both stefan and elena are the main character energy guys, who know best what’s right and wrong, try to do the right honorable thing, mature and complex when it comes to death and love and empathy. They are the heroine and the hero. They are in the same scale. And I think that both of them just really admired each other very much and looked up to one another a lot and wanted to live the each other’s expectations. It’s such a more complex dynamic than just girl meets boy and become together immediately cliche. I think Elena as she said after her parents death, a traumatic event, she didn’t know how to live anymore but with Stefan she figured it out. When I see Elena in season 1 i see that she wanted to appear stronger and better and try to be the old her. and then she immediately instantly fell for Stefan. i think no one would have been more soothing to her as stefan a freaking empath. everyone would have been scared by her emotions and with stefan they just understood each other. the complexity of losing people and feeling that pain and living through it and just doing one day at a time, but putting in the effort to try not to break every single day. jeremy her little brother was struggling and drinking and having dr*gs and it’s sad but she couldn’t feel those in front of everyone because she had to be his big sister. she had to be okay for him and jenna and all the people in her school. she had to be better and not sink in that depression and try and try and try. and stefan i think as an empath, as someone with a lot of experience with death and as i said actually trying to be better everyday is something that fit with elena. as she said he came at a time when she needed someone the most and she fell. and obviously he could never die. which was something assuring to her and was everything to her at the time. they understood each other, the patience and care was always there. not giving up on each other and pushing each other to be better and not fall and sink. it’s like he kept her alive and vice versa. but that emotional and understanding that they gave each other no one could have. and she needed him too. she was making all the moves and being open to him, kiss him first and just really being a bad bitch and putting herself out there. and she was safe with him. even when he was having problems she stood through it all and helped him. and that’s why people don’t like it because it’s all about him and his problems and how she stood with him which isn’t cute and self insert for people enough. but no i think both of them helped each other a lot, gave each other a safe haven, were patient and understanding with each other, especially when other people wouldn’t understand why elena was so self sacrificial and had survivor’s guilt. why she was ready to sacrifice herself so no one gets hurt. and it’s only stefan who truly understood these dark sad parts of her. because he went through them himself in the past but also in the entire series. he sacrificed himself in every turn he could till the end for his brother too and actually died. he always struggled with being a vampire and elena struggled with being a human who is going through so much. stefan was that empathetic and gave her space to validate her feelings like being self sacrifical and having her own choices. i obviously don’t agree with some of the things in s2 where stefan just is like elena is your choice to die.. but also as he said “free will is important. you never know it until someone gets it from you” or something like that to matt in season 4. because he knows how it is. repeatedly. he respects elena a lot and she does respect him too. as i said they know each other deeply because they are very deep themselves. and i think they see each other as the best person they have ever met in their lives. it’s so obvious. and honestly it’s so damn beautiful. i love these two characters a lot. and their relationship. he was good to her and kept her and everyone else alive and safe. because he is a good person and because elena needed that. maybe p2. idk lol

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

hi, shannen. don't mind all the likes, i'm just doing a steroline rewatch and reading some of your tvd meta. even though i don't ship stelena, it's painfully obvious that they were meant to be the original endgame. but like with swanfire and cs, they switched the love interest out for his ~dark, broody~ counterpart about halfway through. i actually liked delena at first, when they had that whole selfish ~forbidden~ love thing going on. but where i can get into spuffy if i'm in a dark mood, btvs actually portrayed that relationship as abusive, but delena is supposed to be "true love." nope. i don't buy it. damon quite literally sucked the life out of elena and in the end really made me dislike both characters.

Hey Fatima! No problem, like away 😆 I’m not on here as much these days so sometimes don’t even notice when someone spams me with lots of likes, but it’s always appreciated 😄

Yeah, I think it speaks to a wider issue we have within romance as a genre in media that the “bad boy” love interest is often still the most popular one. Clearly there’s something about that trope that appeals to people 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I do think it can work in some instances but like you said, it’s all about context and how it’s portrayed. We shouldn’t be portraying abusive relationships as romantic or true love. People will argue that it doesn’t matter because it’s only fiction, but we all know how influential the media is sociologically speaking. What we see in media mirrors our own world and in a lot of instances it shapes our perspectives and beliefs.  Therefore, normalising relationships for women where the man constantly oversteps personal boundaries, is controlling, violent and threatening is never good. Hopefully one day we’ll move past this type of relationship being romanticised in media. 

[andreal831]

Update Tags

I've had a few asks that I wanted to refer to old posts and had trouble finding them, so I went through and added tags to all of my metas and thought I would share if anyone wants to find specific metas I've done:

Main Tag: #andrea831 metas

Mikaelson Tags: #andrea831 metas elijah #andrea831 metas klaus #andrea831 metas rebekah #andrea831 metas freya #andrea831 metas kol #andrea831 metas finn #andrea831 metas mikaelson

TO Characters: #andrea831 metas hayley #andrea831 metas cami #andrea831 metas celeste #andrea831 metas davina #andrea831 metas jackson #andrea831 metas aurora #andrea831 metas josh #andrea831 metas antoinette #andrea831 metas hope #andrea831 metas esther #andrea831 metas mikael #andrea831 metas dahlia #andrea831 metas hollow #andrea831 metas lucien #andrea831 metas tatia

TO Ships/Relationships: #andrea831 metas haylijah #andrea831 metas celijah #andrea831 metas camlijah #andrea831 metas gilijah #andrea831 metas haymille #andrea831 metas klamille #andrea831 metas haylope #andrea831 metas klope #andrea831 metas haybekah #andrea831 metas klarcel #andrea831 metas jayley #andrea831 metas klaurora #andrea831 metas klelijah

TVD Characters: #andrea831 metas bonnie #andrea831 metas elena #andrea831 metas stefan #andrea831 metas damon #andrea831 metas caroline #andrea831 metas enzo #andrea831 metas katherine #andrea831 metas matt #andrea831 metas tyler #andrea831 metas lexi #andrea831 metas kai #andrea831 metas heretics

TVD Ships: #andrea831 metas forewood #andrea831 metas bonenzo #andrea831 metas stelena #andrea831 metas carenzo #andrea831 metas elejah #andrea831 metas kalijah Legacies Characters: #andrea831 metas lizzie #andrea831 metas josie

Anything Related to my stories has this tag: #long live the mikaelsons

My Ongoing Stories: #haylijah in every episode #elijah ships song series

Essentially if you are looking for something I've posted, put my tag and then what you're looking for.

Hope this helps!

[antizionistrussophile64]

Yeah, I criticize how Elena treats Stefan after dumping him for Damon because he doesn’t deserve that. Yeah, I criticize Damon while I ship him with Katherine. She broke his heart by choosing herself over him, but the thing is Damon needs a woman that is more compatible with his personality who takes him down a peg, and keeps him in check. Elena isn’t strong enough to do that since she enables him.

[kiss-my-freckle]

https://twitter.com/DaejahTalksTv/status/1769559846649745806?t=PhXZm_OvXEPZKxZhQysXYA&s=19

I saw this viral thread about Ezria and the red flags that were pointed out reminded me of Stelena. One of the things that was pointed out was Aria was Mike's emotional caregiver since there were issues with her guardians which made her more susceptible for filling that guardian void with a older man and that reminded me of Elena with Jeremy and Jenna and Stefan trying to act as her substitute parent. Sadly often people miss this with Stelena's case because it's only a vampire show where Shit-hit-the-fan is concerned. They also pointed out the scene where Ezra berates a student for Aria in class as a red flag but Stefan berating Tanner in class for Elena isn't seen as one. Them pointing out him silencing Aria from telling her friends about their relationship reminds me of how Stefan scared Elena into silence and didn't allow her to tell her friends. Too bad Stelena is rarely criticized, even by Delena fans. I remember during the early seasons of the show I had a conversation with a popular Delena blogger who sadly deleted her account that posted great metas and pointed out that Stefan was Elena's surrogate parent protector.

"Aria was Mike's emotional caregiver since there were issues with her guardians which made her more susceptible for filling that guardian void with a older man"

It's the same with the death of Elena's parents, only Stefan is a 162 yo stuck in a 17 yo body. You can see the void Stefan fills when Elena talks to Matt in 3x16. The love she was getting from her parents, she's getting from Stefan. She trusts in that love because Stefan is a vampire, so he can't die as easily as her parents did.

"But it's like I knew that he would never stop loving me. Like he would never…"

"Die. Like he would never die."

"Like your parents did."

She faces this truth after Jeremy loses Vicki in 1x7. Stefan pushing Elena to keep their vampire secret also pushed her to act as the caregiver in the household. She accepts blame during Klaus' ritual because she feels responsible as Jenna's caregiver.

Jenna: Look around, Elena. I failed you. Elena: No. You didn't. I failed you.

"and that reminded me of Elena with Jeremy and Jenna and Stefan trying to act as her substitute parent."

Stefan became the ultimate substitute., and it's this type of substitution that fosters isolation and dependency, which is a huge red flag. Anyone can Google and know what I'm talking about. Isolation and dependency makes it all the more difficult for a person to leave. Stefan became Elena's substitute guardian, her substitute friend, and her substitute brother. I could gif for all of them, but I'll only do one to keep this short.

"Oh… and when you do tell Elena and she needs a friend to talk to about anything, I'm here for her."

"i want you to know that I will always be here for you. You can come to me about anything, okay?"

Stefan is quite literally expecting Elena to turn to him, even when she needs to talk to someone about him specifically. It's because of this, the beginning of their conversation needs to be repeated.

"i want you to know that I will always be here for you. You can come to me about anything, okay?"

"I can't. Stefan I can't, and that's the problem. I'm keeping all these secrets from everyone. I can't even tell my best friend."

"Do you know how hard that is? It's like I need to talk to someone, but the only person I can talk to is you…. and…"

It's disgusting that she has to get advice about Stefan from Stefan's best friend rather than her own, but that's how isolated and dependent she is due to this secrecy. Like abuse, what happens behind closed doors stays behind closed doors.

"They also pointed out the scene where Ezra berates a student for Aria in class as a red flag but Stefan berating Tanner in class for Elena isn't seen as one."

This is a red flag because it also fosters dependency. Elena could've spoken up for herself, but Stefan felt the need to do it for her... as if she's a child incapable of defending herself.

"Too bad Stelena is rarely criticized, even by Delena fans."

I always criticize Stelena because I consider them a more toxic ship than Delena. This post is partly the reason.

[scienter]

Note: I had to copy and paste this ask from Word because when I returned to my inbox to answer it was no longer there. Idk what happened. 🤔

Hi. I'm not sure how to tumblr. I'm basically here because a friend linked me to one of your tvd metas after I started watching the show a few weeks back. I was halfway through the penultimate season when I decided to drop it altogether. Something tells me the writers either hated Stefan & Caroline or at least they didn't want them to be happy. And while I understand stefan's character trait of being consumed by revenge, he's been acting so irrationally this season that after a point even his otherwise weak-willed, bad strategist, impulsive brother was like 'I quit! You deal with your BS!' Fortunately/unfortunately I'm aware of the series finale & I think the writers never wanted Stefan's hero hair to have any character development so that they could justify his death as some sort of sacrifice but in the end it was to service his selfish brother's manpain. I wonder how people watched tvd for 8 years and I'm not saying it didn't have great moments but I also noticed how they rinsed-repeated storylines every season. For e.g Stefan seems to be dumbed down version of who he originally is and kind of reminds me of Tyler whose life pretty much changed for the worse because of Klaus or when he was so stupid that he was practically going to use his own body to put Klaus down in s4 & didn't even bother telling Caroline about it until she found out about it or something. Thankfully, this time Caroline didn't sleep with her boyfriends's mom's murderer though. What an absolute nightmare that would have been. Sorry for the rant but that wasn't the sole point of this message. I noticed you are a X-Files fan! Yay! If you don't mind me asking what's your favourite Mulder-Scully scene? And just out of curiosity,have you watched Normal People? If yes, then what's your opinion? If no, then please do watch. I think you'd love/enjoy the series.It's insane how much the characters, their individual characters arcs & overall journey is similar to that of Stefan and Caroline but with quality writing. Lastly,what does "scienter" mean? Thanks, Chandreyee. P.S: My friend is a Delena shipper & thinks Delena is the best thing to have happened on TVD * rolls eyes * but seemed to have enjoyed your blog back in the day. Hence ,the recommendation.

Hi there, Chandreyee. Welcome to tumblr!

Stefan & The TVD Finale

Oh, I’ve had my share of rants about the TVD finale and how Kevin Williamson spitefully killed Stefan because he wasn’t going to get the Stelena ending he wanted. That’s not a crackpot theory – he said as much in an interview. So yeah. We got the nonsensical finale that reverted Stefan & Damon to their season 1 characterization. That frustrated me given that I spent 8 years watching that show.

And like you one of the things I disliked about TVD was the repetitious storytelling. The formulaic storytelling drove me nuts, especially in the later seasons.  I take it as a sign that a story has gone on too long. If a writer can’t imagine new conflicts or plots then it’s time to call it quits.

Favorite Mulder & Scully Scene

Oh, wow. This is hard. Because there are ten or fifteen (or twenty) Mulder and Scully scenes that I could call my favorite.

I love their last scene in Triangle when Mulder tells Scully he loves her.  

I love their scene in Detour when Scully sings Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog.

I love their scene in Folie a Deux when Mulder tells Scully that she’s his “one in five billion.”

I love every single scene of theirs in Bad Blood.

And I love, love, love Mulder teaching Scully to play baseball a.k.a. Hips Before Hands in the Unnatural.

And of course, I’d be remiss to leave out Mulder & Scully dancing to Walking in Memphis in The Post Modern Prometheus.

I could go on. I love Mulder & Scully. They are my favorite tv couple. They are my original ship. I don’t know how to distill my love of them to a single scene.

I’ve thought about writing a Top Ten Favorite Mulder & Scully Moments meta over the years, but I’ve have never gotten around to it. Maybe I’ll do it this year. Hmm . . .

Normal People

No, I’ve never seen Normal People. I’ve heard good things about it though.

Scienter

Scienter is a legal term for intent or knowledge of wrongdoing (i.e., the defendant knew that his or her act or statement was illegal, deceptive, or wrong.) It’s random, I knew. I chose it because (1) it was short, (2) I could spell it, and (3) the word’s obscurity meant that it was available.