Here is the repeated image of the lover destroyed - a Damon/Elena meta
This is yet another spontanous TVD meta. Because I have feelings about the last episode, and I have FEELINGS about what I currently see all around the internet. So, you know, it's either writing a meta, or spontanously growing a set of fangs and eating random people. This meta is a pitchfork in the hand of an angry God
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/good lord i need to stop talking
Re: Katherine=Stefan/Damon=Elena. Kat and Stef are "survivors". Or, self-preservationists. IDK. They never doubt that the world is worth living in, even after everything has been stripped away from them. (When Stefan tries to commit suicide in S1, he does it because he objectively believes he doesn't deserve to live, not because he's lost faith in the world.) Damon and Elena are fatalists. They are survivors too, but they're the type who have repeatedly tried to give up (i.e. suicidal depression), and are surviving because the world has not allowed them to die in peace. They're only just now learning to own their status as survivors. ("We always survive" -- which is remarkable coming from Elena, considering that very fact is exactly what's caused her depression and suicidal ideation in the past.)
Those are just some brief thoughts I have. What say you?
Heh, I was actually thinking that even if Damon weren't a vampire, D/E would still be a huge mess. Like, the main source of conflict in Elena/Stefan right now stems from Stefan being a vampire. If he were human, they'd probably be a perfect couple. If Damon and Elena were both human (but still with the same personalities and basic issues), their relationship would still be a clusterfuck, because their issues with one another are deeply character-driven. You know?
MY TURN, hey? lol. Um. I've just about finished my top 10 scenes? I'm wary about posting though, because it is an absolute fucking monster.
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Whoa, I'm starting to think that you might have shame after all! :P
To the point: OT4!
I agree with this comparison! There was a softly-me's fic in which she said something like "Stefan wouldn't mind being the last living person in the world" (only, you know, better phrased), and THIS IS SO TRUE. But Damon? He would never bear anything like this, and neither would Elena!
But you could also argue for Elena=Stefan/Katherine=Damon, because Stefan and Elena both have this longing for normality (like, from time to time they agree that they'll avoid talking about problems for a day, and just pretend to be normal kids), while Damon and Katherine can't stop themselves from pushing it where they shouldn't. They just want to see things burn, ok? Just like in s2, when Katherine, apart from having a secret agenda, is trolling them just for the kicks, and Damon can't stop himself from constantly confronting Stefan about the elephan in the room they have (EXCEPT THERE IS NO ELEPHANT, BECAUSE THEY TALK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME!). We could say that Elena is a fatalist protective, Stefan is a survivor protective, Damon is a fatalist destructive and Katherine is a survivor destructive. And then there is this obvious Brothers vs Doppelgangers thing (impulsive Damon vs reflective Stefan, selfless Elena vs selfish Katherine).
But I was also going for the fact that, apart from their personalities, they also have certain roles within the narrative, and in the beginning it was very specific which roles belong to whom, but right now they're starting to fly freely.
Heh, I was actually thinking that even if Damon weren't a vampire, D/E would still be a huge mess.
I've never thought about that, but I have to agree. Damon's vamipirism barely exists in their relationship.
I'm wary about posting though, because it is an absolute fucking monster.
Well, a Damon/Elena top ten is bound to be a monster! Can I help?
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There was a softly_me's fic in which she said something like "Stefan wouldn't mind being the last living person in the world" (only, you know, better phrased), and THIS IS SO TRUE.
YES I remember this line. I had a big discussion with Ruth about that topic once, lol. ITA that neither Damon nor Elena would be happy being the last person in the world. Damon may pride himself on being Alone, but he's clearly very bad at being alone, lol. He has a very basic need to connect with people... and perform for them. And Elena's the sort of person who will always look for symbols of hope, etc. Strangely, though, I think they could probably bear it if the other person was the only one left with them. *g* (Since this is basically how they work.)
We could say that Elena is a fatalist protective, Stefan is a survivor protective, Damon is a fatalist destructive and Katherine is a survivor destructive.
OOOOH I LIKE IT. ITA about the E=S/D=K parallels too, of course. That's sort of why I think E/S and D/K are actually well-suited for functional long-term romantic/sexual relationships. D/E and K/S, probably not so much. Because Damon is Elena's dark reflection and Kat is the same for Stef, so there's always gonna be that friction which makes things difficult. But they do challenge each other, unlike the other matching pairs.
But yes, agreed that all the "roles" within the narrative are breaking apart. I ain't even mad.
I WOULD LOVE HELP. \o/ How 'bout I filter the post so you can see it and make constructive criticism? I wrote a shitton of meta that would probably benefit from a beta, ha.
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Now I want a post-apocalypse Damon/Elena fic :(. What have you done?
I wrote a shitton of meta that would probably benefit from a beta, ha.
Sure, bring it on :D.
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Because I once asked mollivanders to write my post-apocalypse Damon/Elena fic.
Shut up.
That's how I like them best.
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Btw, perfect icon is perfect. I have a wallpaper with this caps, and I love it beyond sanity \o/.
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I still do no understand how that episode is real sometimes.
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There is maybe nothing more fascinating to me than the similarities between Stefan and Katherine (mostly because I think nothing infuriates him more than the idea that he is like her).
It's strange that we talk about Stefan as someone who will never lose his will to live because he has actually tried to kill himself three times (1864, 1x20, 3x05). The thing that gets me is that, for Stefan, it's never about losing his faith in the world. No matter where his headspace is, he always sees life as something that is worth living. Stefan tries to end it because he can't live up to the expectations others put on him or that he thinks others put on him. He wouldn't mind being the last person on Earth because it would be easier, simpler, peaceful at last. As much as Stefan is inherently other-centered, he'd actually be relieved to get rid of them all. Sometimes I think that all he really wants is to be left alone.
And I like what you said about Elena & Stefan clinging to normalcy. You can really see this in their relationship itself. It's not epic or grand or anything like that. They built something natural and easy and real and it is such a comfort to them because nothing else in their lives is. I also tend to think of them as the two who are other-centered. They're givers; they take care of others and forget about themselves.
These have been my thoughts.
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Stefan tries to end it because he can't live up to the expectations others put on him or that he thinks others put on him.
I would add that sometimes he even feels that there is an expectation for him to die. In s2 he declares more than once that he would die for Elena, and I have no doubt he would if need be, but at the same time he gives a very conventional reason: he's already lived, but she is only 17 and she deserves a chance. This is such a socially acceptable thing to say. He would die for Elena because he believes that it's a proper thing to do in his situation. It's a motivation rooted in something external (while being 100% sincere).
As much as Stefan is inherently other-centered, he'd actually be relieved to get rid of them all. Sometimes I think that all he really wants is to be left alone.
Being other-centered produces certain tensions, and Stefan doesn't strike me as a type who can vent those tensions in a healthy way. Maybe that's why he has those Ripper periods when he goes completely crazy?
This ability to ignore all the problems for at least few hours and just enjoy life is one of my favorite things about Stefan/Elena :D. Though I think it's more of an Elena thing than a Stefan thing; he plays along, but he would never initiate anything like that. Which proves my point that he can't really take a break (unless he is expected to do it because of internal rules of his relationship with Elena).
(If this comment really sounds as pompous as I feel it sounds, I blame the philosophy textbook I had to read today...)
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You think Stefan would be angry if he was reminded that he is like Katherine?
Most definitely. Also seething with self-hatred. He'd maybe be torn between hating himself for being like her and hating her for being like him (Katherine is the only person he can be irrationally angry at, except maybe Klaus now I guess). Stefan wouldn't see this as an objective fact that he can do nothing to prevent. The one thing Stefan can always change is himself. Like you said, he would work to remove any similarity from his behavior.
He would die for Elena because he believes that it's a proper thing to do in his situation. It's a motivation rooted in something external (while being 100% sincere).
Yes, definitely, I didn't even think of this instance. I see this as a perfect example of Stefan adopting, as you said, socially acceptable moral standards and living by them. Stefan does a pretty bad job of creating his own ideas of right and wrong, so he lets other people (sometimes individuals like Giuseppe or Lexi, sometimes society as a whole) teach him how to behave. At this point, Stefan has been living among humans long enough to have learned the rules they live by. The old are willing to die for the young; that's just a human thing.
Also, relevant to this, but I cannot talk in depth because it is what my too-long-to-read meta post is mostly about: I think it ties into Stefan's efforts to be as selfless as possible (it's a general thing of his, but he does it particularly with Elena). Love is being willing to do anything for the other person. He willing die for a cause he believes in or if he thinks he should, but it's never really something he wants.
Which proves my point that he can't really take a break (unless he is expected to do it because of internal rules of his relationship with Elena).
I think you get him better than you think you do. Boy is an introvert to be sure. He loves his people, but they swallow him up and they are just so much work.
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I think you get him better than you think you do.
You taught me well :). My first intuition was always that relying on norms and expectation to such an extent is bound to be ingenuine; you convinced me that Stefan actually internalizes those things deeply, and that he is sincere. I'm a Damon here, in my perception Stefan is simply deceiving himself, he is a liar. I can understand that it is not so, and, to some extent, I can figure him out intellectually, but emotionally a being like Stefan is inconceivable for me ;). That's why for the good part of the first two seasons Stefan was simply annoying me: I couldn't understand him, and it bugged me. He just didn't make sense!
Katherine is the only person he can be irrationally angry at, except maybe Klaus now I guess
So Katherine would work for Stefan the way Damon works for Elena? Interesting! *notes another parallel*
He willing die for a cause he believes in or if he thinks he should, but it's never really something he wants.
THIS! Now I'm even more excited about your meta :D.
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OMG I LOVE THIS OBSERVATION. That line has SO much more meaning coming from Elena than from basically anyone else on this show.
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