#just finished tvd

[no-1-rosalind-lang-apologist]

The way Chloe Gong pulls off fake deaths the way she does is an amazing testament to her skill as an author.

Usually fake deaths cheapen the blow of losing a character. You have to go through all of the emotional turmoil of losing a beloved character and watch everyone mourn them only for everything to be okay because actually they were kind of integral to the plot and the author needs them but also they also wanted to make the book sad for a little bit but hey everything is okay now!

But Chloe Gong doesn't do this. She gets you invested in what you usually know from the start is a doomed story. She makes you very desperately want to believe that the character that you know is going to die won't die. And then. She kills them.

And it's horrible. You mourn for them. You have to watch the other characters react to the death. But most of the time, it's a fake death. And even if you know or suspect this from the beginning, it still hurts, often just as much, if not more, than it would if the death were real.

And not just because of the way she writes grief, which gets more and more painful with each new book she releases. But instead of killing off a character for a quick gut punch and bringing them back because they were actually way too important to kill and she needs them for the plot, she uses fake deaths to create these absolutely insane scenarios that are often, at least in my opinion, more painful then just killing off the character.

When Marshall fake died, for example, she could've just had him die and forced Juliette to deal with the grief and guilt of killing her friend as well as the implications of Marshall's death for her relationship with Roma plus everyone else's grief and then created a weird situation where Roma can just,,, get over her killing Marshall and still like her. Instead, she creates this absolutely insane situation where Juliette is still grieving for the loss of her relationship with Roma, and Roma and Ben are grieving for Marshall all with Marshall still being alive. And rather than just using Marshall as a plot device to be sacrificed to make the other characters more interesting, she makes him more interesting as well. She forces him to watch as Benedikt and Roma grieve for him, making his relationship with both of them, as well as Juliette more interesting in the process.

And then when Roma and Juliette fake died at the end of OVE, even if you suspected it, it being fake doesn't take away from the pain very much, especially knowing what happens in Foul Lady Fortune. Alisa, whose only real family was arguably Roma and Benedikt, is left behind to raise herself and she is too afraid to check to see if Roma and Juliette are really dead. Because if they are dead, then she's truly alone, clinging onto the false belief that hope won out while everything she ever knew disintegrates around her. Plus, even though Benedikt and Marshall figure out pretty quickly that the death was fake, they're still forced to cope with the grief and guilt of having had a hand in the situation and forced to flee the country with only each other, thrust into a world where their best friends are dead and the hope that they are relying on to get themselves away from everything is based on the same sense of hope that ultimately lead to the "deaths" of Roma and Juliette. And then there's the cruelty of the sense of responsibility Rosalind feels for their deaths. And how after they died, she became deathly ill, but like them, was inexplicably saved. But she can't move on from their deaths and spends every waking hour and every unsleeping night of her immortal life trying to put the broken world they left behind back together. And Celia sees Alisa and Rosalind regularly. As she watches two people who she cares about immensely suffer for years after the deaths occurred, she can't say anything. Even though her first loyalty is to her sister, she's forced to watch Rosalind grieve and become a ghost of a person who seems to derive purpose solely from the pursuit of an impossible mission. And Roma and Juliette, who so deeply wanted to make the city better are forced to watch as things get worse and worse and the people that they seemingly sacrificed everything to save continue to suffer.

In Foul Lady Fortune, the fake deaths are a little different. So far, the only characters who have fake died are Dao Feng and Lady Hong, the later of which falls into this trope a bit more loosely. In Dao Feng's case, it leads to worry then betrayal on Rosalind's part. Her worry was all for nothing, and she's once again put in a place where one of the few people she dared to care about has left her and likely never truly cared about her in return (at least as of the end of FLF). Assuming that he did genuinely care about her based on As You Like It, I am very interested to see how this ends up playing out.

Lady Hong's case is somewhat similar. Although we never really think with absolute certainty that Lady Hong died, Orion suspects that his father could have done something to her and has no concrete explanation for her disappearance. He grieves her absence even though her relationship with him was always iffy at best. Only to find out that she never cared for him as anything other than a tool for her to take advantage of. Like Rosalind, he is left feeling used and as if all of his grief and pain were for nothing.

(Hiding the part below this because of huge Immortal Longings spoilers)

In Immortal Longings, you know that either Calla or Anton is going to have to die at the end because of the structure of the games. And as their relationship progresses, you dread the resolution more and more. You want a fake death. You want them to find some hole in the rules that will allow them both to survive. And Calla comes up with a plan that allows this. She gives you false hope. She lets you cling to the idea that the horrible ending you can so clearly see coming won't happen. And then that hope is snatched away, and you're even closer to the ending. And you know what's coming. You know that Anton has to die. And then the final crumb of hope is snatched away from you and they're in the ring together. And just when it's too late, Anton tells Calla that they could run for the wall together. He's finally willing to set aside Otta Avia, without who they wouldn't even be there in the first place. But it's too late. Because this is bigger than either of them. And Calla knows that she has to kill him. And she sinks her knife into his back in some of the most excruciating paragraphs I have read in my life. You see Anton realize that although he was willing to make a run for it with her, she has bigger plans. She isn't doing him a kindness by killing him first, and even though she may be planning on ending her own life as well soon, she cares more about killing King Kasa than she ever did about him. So when, at the very end, it is revealed that Anton somehow survived, it's somehow a million times worse than if he had actually died. Even though you so desperately wanted the book to not end in on or both of them dying, this isn't what you wanted. Now, he's alive and remembers just how willing she was to sink a knife through his back. And Calla must grieve for him all over again because even though he's alive, she surely can never truly have him back after what she did.

In conclusion, Chloe Gong is a legend and a genius. Thank you for coming to my tedtalk I guess.

#help i just realized how long this post is i genuinely have no idea how long i spent writing this i think i was in a trance #this has been sitting in my drafts since i finished immortal longings ooops #this is also a testament to how she handles miscommunication incredibly well #will forever defend 90% of the most hated tropes because usually they're just badly carried out and not recognized when done well #i think this is probably the longest analysis i've ever written oops #oh the things i will do to procrastinate my homework #chloe gong #secret shanghai #these violent delights #our violent ends #foul lady fortune #foul heart huntsman #last violent call #tvd #ove #flf #fhh #lvc #immortal longings #flesh and false gods #il #fafg #juliette cai #roma montagov #marshall seo #benedikt montagov #rosalind lang #celia lang #alisa montagova #orion hong

[helpimstuckinafandom]

Losing my mind fyi

#I JUST FINISHED SEASON 3 OF THE ORIGINALS NO SPOILERS PLEASE #but the parallels are paralleling dude #it's making me lose my mind i can't believe they're doing this to me AGAIN #bonenzo #kolvina #the originals #the vampire diaries #tvd #also gonna tag #bonnie bennett #davina claire #because the similarities for them are really getting to me the way y'all onyl apologize or talk to them to get a favour #bonnie's so-called best friend and davina's so-called father both do this #watching the originals #the originals memes

[belle-keys]

Damon being both physically and emotionally vulnerable is such a delicious concept. Like this is what we the people have been fighting for.

#just finished 2x22 #amazing showstopping spectacular #my tvd rewatch #tvd #the vampire diaries #delena #damon salvatore

[marsneedstherapy]

my brain has melted, I have brainrot, and it'd secret shanghai's fault

#no thoughts just secret shanghai #omg wait the series is over- #i hate that #ew #take me back :( #HELP I REMEMBER READING TVD BC OF TIKTOK- #tiktok has done that one single good thing #but my children's story is finished #what am i doing with my life? #:((( #i ponder lifes biggest questions here in the tags #its been like exactly 2yrs since i read tvd for the first time #thats crazy #i hate this #i hate time #chloe gong #foul lady fortune #secret shanghai #foul heart huntsman #these violent delights #our violent ends #last violent call

[i-will-sing-no-requiem]

@otpsource 2023 Valentine's Day Celebration

Day 1: Delena + Words not in the english language

#otpvday2023 #otpsource #delena #damon x elena #elena x damon #damon salvatore #elena gilbert #tvd #the vampire diaries #my edit #otp: it's right it's just not right now #valentines day #valentines day edit #i stayed up way later than i should have finishing this #but i'm really happy with how it turned out

[nerdie-faerie]

Slowly rereading the vampire diaries series every time I travel and you know what? Maybe it wasn't ever good, maybe I was just 11

#TVD #vampire diaries books #i accidentally grabbed the wrong books when i went up to uni in September grabbed 2&3 when i was part way through 3 #so its taking even longer to get through cus i couldnt read on the trip down but i remembered to grab 4&5 this time #listen im not saying the books are bad theyre just not the top quality ive remembered them as being in the decade since i first read them #i think part of it is i read 1&2 as one book and 3&4 as a second and now im reading them separately so i feel like the pacing is wack #anyway not gonna rekindle my vampire phase but eventually ill finish this series only been waiting a decade

[summerfrwrks]

(contains tvd and charmed 2018 spoilers)

if i have a dime every time my ship:

has character A as a mentor/someone that guides character B through their supernatural world (and also protects character B) and character B is one of the most disciplined individuals of her kind when it comes to their powers/supernatural nature (and a close and loyal friend to character A)

has friendship as the foundation of the relationship 🫶🫶🫶🫶

has involved character B in an all-girl trio

has given character A an evil counterpart that is the spitting image of him

has "the other woman" trope that put a major strain on their friendship and delayed a confession 🥹

gave character A temporary amnesia (bonus: it led to moments that really fed the shippers)

gave character B's mom a death scene (the death greatly impacted the trajectory of her life)

has [screaming at a distance] A WEDDING SCENEEEE

has dance scenes that cemented their bond that shippers all know by heart

character A's immortality was taken away and wasn't able to live a full and happy life with character B

and one of them dies 🥹🥹

i'd have two dimes which isn't a lot but you can bet your ass i have gone through the stages of grief multiple times

#this is in no particular order btw - a's are for stefan and harry while b's are for caroline and macy #the vampire diaries #charmed 2018 #steroline #hacy #harry x macy #stefan salvatore #caroline forbes #harry greenwood #macy vaughn #paul wesley #candice king #rupert evans #madeleine mantock #the cw #i haven't even finished s3 yet #by god #i'll be so hurt #i didn't finish tvd either i just read the wiki and watched the moments compilations #summer.txt

[vergina-spva]

Sometimes you just want to rewatch your comfort show for the bazillionth time, but it switched streaming platforms a while back and you don’t wanna give Amazon any money 😢

#I mean I know I can pirate but 8 seasons is so much to downlowd #tvd #I know it left netflix like 2 years ago already but until now I never felt the need so bad to watch it again #maybe I should watch one of those gay vampire shows I heard about instead #vampires are vampires right? #but new shows are such a commitment #I just want to watch Damon and Elena and Stefan and Bonney and Caroline and Matt and and and... #sometimes I just miss them #maybe I should just start pirating the first season and see how far I get #I never finish watching anything anymore anyway #I haven't finished season 3 of tua #I haven't finished watching the sandman #I haven't even finished rewatching ohshc

[latrodectal]

not me starting the americans again when i’ve already started about five other shows again

#the americans #i loved this show but was kind of going through it while it was airing and never finished #i’ve also started ergo proxy and orphan black and am cowatching bridgerton s2 with a friend and also the boys s3 and tvd #and i just finished rewatching cruel summer

[itachi86]

writing denzo fic before enzo’s even shown up haha

#tvd #rewatch #writing things #denzo #the fic i'm writing is actually one i started #last time i rewatched 5x10 #but just got insp to finish a few nights ago

[ashiemochi]

I can't help but feel excited for the third story of aphrotitty. I just rewatched RE vendetta and leon is just so attractive.

#cupid answers #i just need to get through the first chap and it's smooth sailing from there #im currently fixated on TVD #pretty sure if i watch vendetta #id finish it #<3

[helpimstuckinafandom]

Elijah Mikaelson my beloved

#just finished 4x19 of tvd #and my man is back baby #elijah mikaelson #tvd

[belle-keys]

“heart of darkness” (3x19) is just too good! we got: rose and damon playful flirting, elena checking out damon all while he’s totally aware she’s watching him, ‘never let me go’ rabid makeout scene, rose unprovoked giving jeremy the best insight about delena versus stelena thereby making me deep these vampire ships like if i have to write a paper on them or something, evil alaric comes out to play, and klaroline crumbs!

#from the time miss flo’s masterpiece ‘never let me go’ started playing #it was JOEVER for me #also knowing that this was when ian and nina were still together is the icing on the cake #mind you that i don’t actually ‘ship’ those two right now or anything #i’m just nostalgic about it #they both seem so happy and settled and thriving in their respective couples rn #nikki seems like an angel #but i love reminiscing on what was and how iconic is was #at that specifc time #i’m gonna get back into the cast lore but *only* when i finish season 6 of tvd #cus i don’t want cast lore distracting from the show’s plot and characters and ships aka my comfort place this fall #but after season 6 when elena is out of the picture??? maybe just cus i love tea and the tvd cast is awesome #okay i’m done thinking out loud for now time to sleep #my tvd rewatch #tvd #the vampire diaries #tvd season 3 #delena #klaroline

[readingwriter92]

I keep starting shows and then giving up after five mins only to then complain about not being into anything rn

#like yeah I’m watching tvd and Gotham and ds9 and owl house and she hulk #and Dexter and xfiles #but like. I want something to get obsessed about #I need something moderately big with lots of fic and a mid sized run time #bfjdjdjdjjdj #I’m gunna soon either start the pirate show everyone was talking about five months ago #or sandman bc I gotta watch that eventually or I’ll end up getting spoiled #also wanna finish moon knight. #I haven’t checked but like. did that get fics?? bc I feel like the amount I heard about it + Oscar issac being in it had to give it a boost #in the fic department #in the meantime I’m getting back into tma fic ig bc I really wanna get rediculously invested in a fic and it hasn’t happened #I’ve been reading good fic I just. there’s something missing yknow

[belle-of-a-time]

Does anyone have like a list of obscure occult/supernatural campy tv shows, I’ve watched everything like super mainstream that I have access too, I’m looking for stuff in the vein of like Vampire diaries, Buffy, teen wolf, Wolfblood, iZombie, the imperfects, etc. Like campy, kinda trashy at times, but with enough spook and gore to be interesting and mildly thrilling. But like fun thrilling not gives me nightmares thrilling yk?

#please give me recs #I’d rather not pirate wolf blood for the 4th time just to rewatch it lmao #but like I know they exist #like weird little red riding hood retelling #and werewolf cop shows (like teen wolf tbh) #i need assistance #I want campy shit but I’m having a lot of trouble finding it #like yeah I love wolfblood but I’m not In the mood to rewatch it Again #and teen wolf does not have good rewatch ability for me #like it’s cute but I do not want to watch it again once was fine #and TVD is…. ok… but I didn’t finish it for a reason like there’s a reason I prefer legacies to it and it’s because tvd is too fucking long

[ayoedebiris]

Do you not like legacies anymore why haven’t you posted it

too sad

#if i finish the season it’s over fr so i’ll just ignore it like i did tvd for 8 years and the office and parks and rec and oth and teen wolf #anonymous