semele

Ugh, I read all that D/E fic too (in my very early days of TVD fandom before I realized there was serious quality stuff on LJ, and I was just so desperate for fic that I compromised on my usual standards), and it was just very off-putting. I even read some pretty decent fics whose only problem was that they had NOTHING to do with Damon and Elena. Those were just convenient names to put to original characters. And it's so frustrating, because (I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it many, many times again) one of the best things about TVD is that it denies those romantic tropes and actually follows through on darker, original storytelling, so why are these people ignoring that? Turning Damon into the male romantic hero is a total waste of an excellent character. And Damon is a freaking phenomenal character. Damaged and troubled and worrisome, but fantastic. If you need a classic male romantic lead, find a different show (pretty much any other show - they all do the same things over and over again anyway). I want my self-destructive psychopath who isn't just acting out because no one loves him. Been there, done that. Give me the actual psychopath this time. #weird turn-ons