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Murderersmittens - Fandoms And Stuff - Tumblr Blog
No. Can you explain why not please?
Because symbolically and narratively, I think Stefan is the only character on the show who is treated as a vampire.
I saw your really long ask about how “theologically” Katherine and Klaus are true vampires along with Stefan because Katherine has spent 500 years on the run and isolated and “forgot how to love” in the process and Klaus is power hungry but for me, that isn’t enough, there isn’t anything particularly vampiric about these narratives except for the fact that they were immortal.
Stefan is the archetypal vampire.
He is tortured by his eternity which is why the whole “hell” plotline of season 8 really bothered me because vampirism is supposed to be its own hell, that’s the point, they’re denied eternal rest and are tormented by their sins forever:
Vampirism is also a metaphor for excess and marries sex with death: “The vampire represents this excess as he personifies “those aspects excluded or rejected by society, its existence in itself denotes excess”. In addition to this, Calabrese associates this vampiric excess to the exotic erotic which alludes to the scandal and breaks the boundaries of what is socially acceptable. In this sense the vampire’s bite is linked with the erotic. Further to this explicit erotic act‟we have an unavoidable act with death.”
It can be argued that because Katherine sleeps with both Damon and Stefan in 1864 she represents a break in boundaries of what is socially acceptable but even that isn’t enough for me because how does TVD make that break in social boundaries inherently linked to the vampiric instead of Katherine simply being a woman who is breaking social boundaries?
With Stefan, his bite is frequently linked to both death and the erotic, which should not be confused with what Damon does or what Katherine does. Katherine will bite during sex because a bite is erotic and Damon will sleep with his victims as he uses them (as will Katherine) but when Stefan feeds on particular women, his goal is the blood but the feeding itself is erotic, the death is erotic:
and because of the ripper, he is a representation of excess
Even his behaviour changes into someone who indulges excessively when he’s high on blood
Not to mention, on a non-symbolic note, that Stefan acts non-human in the beginning episodes, he’s statue-esque
and becomes more and more human the more he interacts with Elena. Back to symbolism, vampires can also represent isolation and a sense of non-belonging:
And of course these aren’t the only metaphors within the [Western] vampiric mythology, the blood-sucking vampire has been likened to the blood-sucking capitalist or the fear of the unknown/fear of what’s foreign and what’s “Other”, True Blood shifted the narrative into vampirism being a metaphor for sexual liberation instead of the danger of excessive sexuality but I still don’t see how Klaus and Katherine fit into these categories that highlight their vampirism. Like yes, Katherine says that she wants a life with Elijah, she’s tired of running from Klaus and wants to put down roots but that can be like anyone who is running from something, which is my issue. What vampires represent should still entwined with the condition of vampirism
And Klaus, for me, he’s one of the better portrayed vampires on TVD but I wouldn’t put him on par with Stefan and I actually find him to be more representative of a werewolf than a vampire.
Imagine Harry and Ginny a few months into their marriage and they’re so happy and in love and then one day they go shopping for food and household items and Harry just casually grabs certain items before Ginny hisses at him to “Check the prices, Harry, God! That bed set is far too expensive, we’re not going to have anything left to get the food with!” And Harry starts to laugh and say “We don’t have to worry about -” and then he stops and he and Ginny look at each other. And Harry realizes that she’s grown up having to measure out all her money and decide what she can and cannot have for a certain week or month or year. And Ginny realizes that she is actually no longer obligated to worry about money ever again.
Imagine Harry and Ginny eating dinner together and Ginny’s telling him about certain meals her mum made and teasing him about how he wolfs everything down and “Honestly Harry, you’re worse than Ron!” and Harry retorts laughingly “well old habits die hard, I had to fight Dudley for meals all the time, you at least knew you were going to eat every day!” And Ginny’s grin starts to fade and she asks “You…you didn’t get to eat everyday?” And Harry realizes what he said and he changes the subject quickly and Ginny looks at the plates in front of him and resists the urge to pile on some more potatoes. And the next day Vernon Dursley’s car is egged.
Imagine Harry and Ginny both suffering from night terrors and PTSD and agreeing that maybe going to that therapist Hermione recommended isn’t such a bad idea, and that’s how Thursday night became Therapy Night when they go out to dinner or to the pub after each session and agree that they need to talk to some Healers about introducing these sessions since therapy is still widely seen as muggle nonsense in the wizarding world.
And Ginny murmurs over her fire whiskey that sometimes she can still hear Tom Riddle murmuring in her ear, and Harry whispers that he dreams about running after his mother and father and Sirius and Remus as they disappear behind the Veil in the Department of Mysteries and he doesn’t know if he wakes from terror or regret about not making it through. And they go back home and hold each other closer that night and both wake up with raging hangovers.
Broke: vampires are vulnerable to the trappings of Christianity only, particularly Catholicism, no matter how dubiously applied. (See: Van Helsing’s Communion wafer grouting).
Woke: vampires are vulnerable to sincere faith of all kinds, and atheist vampire-hunters need to believe very strongly in the Power of Friendship or their love of Star Trek to get by.
Bespoke: vampires are vulnerable to the faith that they followed when they were alive, and hunters tracking down an ancient vampire are obliged to learn about Neo-Babylonian theology or Middle Palaeolithic bear cults.
Going to drag you into rarepair hell with me and ask: blair/raina! 💜💜💜💜💜
ooh. this is hard because my entire blair/raina conceptualisation comes solely from YOUR fics? anyway, here goes!
who wakes up first in the morning: blair, unless raina has a meeting of some sort. though not by much - raina's usually up by 8:30 latest, it's blair who gets up earlier.
who’s the first to fall asleep at night: blair, definitely. i think raina's more of a night owl, and often sits up in bed on her laptop or reading something quietly while blair is already asleep next to her.
what they playfully tease each other over: i feel like whenever blair says something slightly ridiculous raina will just... repeat it back at her and raise her eyebrows disbelievingly fdklhgfkl. and i feel like at random and inexplicable times blair will just be like "is this from the raina thorpe handbook of success?" and raina will roll her eyes at her.
what they do when the other’s having a bad day: they talk about it! i think raina is BIG on "denial just makes things worse, say whatever's on your mind, however bad, just be honest." this doesn't come naturally to blair, but she knows raina isn't judging her and genuinely wants what's best for blair, so it's a bit easier. plus, once they've had a difficult conversation, blair always automatically feels better. post difficult conversation there would be a lot of taking care of each other - comfort food, comfort movie, cuddles on the couch, gentle sex, etc.
how they say ‘i’m sorry’ after arguments: post-chuck, blair is naturally distrustful of gifts or grand gestures, and raina doesn't operate that way, so that's not a thing. i think raina would insist that they talk it out (see above) and i think blair and raina would always have a conversation about it. much like my response to db, i think for blair especially, there'd be this feeling of 'this person is my best friend, i cannot leave things like this, i HAVE to resolve this' - raina definitely feels that too, but i think that's raina's outlook on everything in life tbh (we have to find a solution and fix things!) as compared to blair's default (deny, deny, deny!)
which one’s more ticklish: in general, blair, but i think raina has a few specific places where she's extremely ticklish.
their favourite rainy day activities: more cuddling on the couch, and probably just talking? i think they'd just really like to talk to each other, tbh.
how they surprise each other: blair loves planning events, as previously mentioned, so i think she'd do that, but i also... am thinking now of nate's date w/ raina in 'while you weren't sleeping' and thinking of BLAIR doing those things with raina. which i'm guessing you're going to write eventually. and when you do you KNOW i'm going to read it. as for raina... i don't think she'd surprise blair tbh? i think for her a big part of making plans for blair would involve taking blair's input every step of the way. and like. that's important in its own way! it makes a difference.
their most sickening shows of public affection: i don't think they'd really do PDA, save for a little kissing? but they would always sit very close together, put their head on the other's shoulder, arms around each other's waists, holding hands, etc. they're very openly physically affectionate, but they'd rather their sex lives be private & out of the public eye entirely.
I love AUs. I love the “we would fall in love in any universe. i would find you in any universe. i am yours, no matter the circumstance, no matter where i am what i am who i am, all i am is yours. always. in every universe, but especially this one.”
Looking for a beta reader for bamon fanfic
Hey! I need a beta for my fanfic in the vampire diaries fandom. Pertinent details below:
Fandom: The Vampire Diaries
Pairings: Bamon [primary], stelena [secondary]
Trigger Warnings: Canon-level violence, coercion, dubious consent
DM me if you’re interested 😊
what keeps us standing
Basically, all I want is a fic in which Anthony notices how Colin and Marina’s engagement is tearing Penelope apart and he sympathizes with her. Their situations are mirrors to each other - the ones that feel responsible for their families, the ones that try to keep everything together.
Everything proceeds mostly as in canon up until the s1 finale. But- Anthony and Pen have started developing a friendship because Penelope recognizes a fellow heartbroken soul and she can be the support system his family can’t be.
Eloise at first is jealous, but she comes around to the friendship once she realizes it could mean that Penelope would marry into the family.
In the meantime, Anthony and Penelope aren’t even thinking about marriage, because they both still need some time to get over Sienna and Colin respectively.
And then we come into s2 territory, and the Sharmas remain in India (sorry Kate, Edwina, Newton and Mary, no way you wouldn’t have derailed the hell out of this, we’ll miss you) and Colin is still not back from his travels.
And this is where things start changing - Anthony is not in search of a viscountess (or so he thinks lol). Eloise makes her debut in society, which means that she and Pen can spend much more time together at social events.
Which means that Anthony and Penelope start spending much more time together in front of the ton. Their interactions are always super proper and respectable on the surface, but they can read each other pretty well by that point, because they’ve written to each other for the whole off-season (PORTIA FEATHERINGTON AGGRESSIVELY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE CORRESPONDENCE IF IT MEANS A MARRIAGE TO A VISCOUNT), which means that they don’t need words to communicate.
(Cressida Cowper is dying of jealousy, because what the fuck did Penelope Featherington do to make Anthony Bridgerton pay attention to her?)
The ton at large mostly assumes that Anthony dances with Penelope because of either 1) Eloise or 2) Violet but nope. He just wants to dance with her because she told him she loves to, and it’s not like it’s an imposition to dance with her.
Violet has decided to keep her mouth shut, because she fears Anthony will shut everything down if he gets even a hint of the fact that he’s basically low-key courting Penelope, and she’d like her as a daugher in law, thank you very much.
Anyways. Weeks go by, Penelope’s dance card is steadily full (she’s dancing with a viscount, it makes eligible bachelors notice her), she is invited promenading with Eloise (even if she spends an awful lot of that time talking with Anthony) and really, this is just so much better than last year.
And then she makes a mistake - she writes one of the comments she made about someone into a Lady Whistledown column. Anthony isn’t dumb and he connects the dots: Penelope is Lady Whistledown.
Which means… which means that she almost ruined her own family for Colin. Colin, his idiot brother who had never noticed the yearning glances Penelope sent his way, who needed to grow up a lot more before he could be worthy of someone as amazing as Penelope.
That evening he gets drunk, seriously drunk, for the first time since after Sienna refused his marriage proposal.
He has no idea what to do- someone else will connect the clues, sooner or later, and Pen will be exposed to the ridicule of the whole ton. She’s more clever and witty than most people he knows, but she’s a woman, and one that does not fit the standards of beauty at that. They will tear her apart and enjoy the process.
And it’s three sheets to the wind that Anthony gets the best idea ever. If she marries into the Bridgertons she’d be protected from a lot of the backlash. The idea of marrying Penelope is almost… nice.
The next day he’s hungover and irritable. It’s not even anyone’s fault - he just took a look at his and Penelope’s friendship and realized he’d already been low-key courting her.
Meanwhile Penelope’s getting over Colin because well. she’s falling for his older brother and damn if he isn’t even more unobtainable than Colin. He’s a viscount, he’s charming, he’s beautiful and there is no way he’d ever look in her direction when he’ll decide to settle down.
Sure, they’re friends (or as much friends as they can be when they’re both unmarried and there is no understandings between their families) but she’s well. She’s the third daughter of a baron, she does not fit into the ton’s beauty standards and she’s keeping a big secret from everyone.
No way she’ll end up married to any Bridgerton, let alone Anthony Bridgerton.
[insert weeks of Anthony trying to make clear to Penelope he wants to court her and her being super oblivious, until she finally gets it]
And basically. Penelope and Anthony get married, Colin gets a weird pang in his chest for the first six months he’s around them bc well. sure. Penelope is an amazing sister in law, but he thought their friendship would never change.
Eloise is ecstatic bc now she and Pen are really sisters! Violet had wanted to adopt her basically five minutes after meeting her and now she’s her daughter-in-law!
Lady Whistledown stops publishing a season after Pen and Anthony marry (she reveals her secret after they return from the honeymoon and he goes ‘Oh, I already know’ and she is gobsmacked bc she expected a big argument) and they live happily ever after.
Ok I want to say something controversial
But you are responsible for your own safe spaces. You can block tags, block words, block people.
“But i thought fandom was supposed to be a safe space” —yeah you have to curate it.
Unfortunately one persons’s safe space may be another persons’ trigger. That’s ok. Simply block them, block the tag, block the word etc. They can do the same for you.
Maybe I’m just out of touch, but I’ve been around since the days of “don’t like, don’t read” and that’s a good philosophy. If it squicks you, scroll past. If it causes you anxiety or upset, block! Plenty of people are responsive if you ask them to tag an upsetting trigger. And if they’re dicks about it, block em.
