Is the Vampire Diaries fandom dead? If not, I'd like to say a few things. Before we start, I would like to say that I am a Twilight fan who loves making fun of Twilight, so my opinion is unfairly biased, but I digress. Here is my rant disguised as an analysis.
I was fairly young when the Vampire Diaries was aired, and growing up I would often confuse it for Twilight, since they were both vampire centred pieces of media that came out during the 2000s. I was a Twilight kid growing up, even if I didn't understand the plot, I liked cool scenes and stuff.
As a teen (say age 12-13) it was recommended to me a few times by my sister since I liked vampires, but I wasn't really into watching seasons long shows (especially since I was watching anime at the time, which tends to be long as hell), so I ended up doing some investigation before watching a few episodes. I didn't like the sound of the plot, it sounded like the beginning of a porno with a vampire kink added, not something I wanted to subject myself to. Girl has to decide between two brothers who are oh so hot, and the reason they can't be a threesome is literally because they are brothers. I skipped the first season, and then the second season and went straight into Klaus and his hybrids because that was the only worthwhile season for me. I skipped a bunch of scenes and episodes, but you get the idea.
Stefan is into Elena because she looks exactly like his ex-girlfriend who strung along his older brother. Elena finds this out but is still into him. These clowns. I also can't take Stefan seriously because of his eyebrows.
Damon and his dynamic with Klaus and Elijah was the only thing that kept my attention. Not just because I was thirsting over Ian Somerhalder and Joseph Morgan, but also because I loved watching their chemistry through the screen, only to be reminded that it was about Elena and her constant stringing of the Salvatore brothers. The whole show literally could've just been about Damon going against the Mikaelson family and I would watch the hell out of it. Any interaction Damon had with Mikaelsons was such a cinema moment.
I didn't find anything else going on to be as interesting, but I used to ship Jeremy with Tyler. Like, why was he so pressed about Jeremy Gilbert? Always antagonising Jeremy as soon as he saw him, that's some fruity behaviour.
A lot of people love to point out the pedophila of Twilight - as they should - but Tvd had blatant pedophilia. You're telling me that Damon, who was turned at age 25, is trying to (and has) pipe a bunch of high schoolers who are 17-18, and no one batted an eye? I can understand if his emotions were turned off, as learned from the first season, but with his emotions on? Still going after high schoolers??? Ian Somerhalder was also 30/31 when the show started airing, and Nina Dobrev, Candice KIng, and Kat Graham were all 20-21. That's quite the age gap. Not saying he's a pedo, I'm just saying it's a little icky. Let's also address the way Rebekah had a relationship with Marcel despite being his adoptive aunt.
Elena and Marcel are victims.
The worst part is that Damon doesn't act like a teenager, he's so obviously an adult, and hangs with adults (Liz Forbes, Alaric, Jenna, Carol Lockwood, Mason Lockwood?). He even refers to the others (except Alaric) as nicknames you would use when referring to children. Sometimes he comes off as parental, which would've been funny. Unfortunately the story is about a girl having a brother fetish.
I'm aware that a lot of the fans love Katherine Pierce, and I must say, she's a great villain. But she pissed me off so much, getting so angered by people who don't even pay taxes. I get that she was turned at age 17, but home girl you could do better. It was also how Elena and the others handled Katherine. Ya'll are American enough to support Confederacy, nothing should scare you. Why don't ya'll just beat her ass? That would've been entertaining to see.
You're also telling me he saw Bianca Lawson and still chose Katherine. Nothing against Nina Dobrev, but I would move on quickly if I saw Emily Bennett.
Kind of mad that they killed off Mason, and there was potential when they brought him back. You're gonna have boring ass Alaric, but not hot werewolf Mason Lockwood. Sure, let's have a bunch of vampires walking around, but 2 werewolves is asking for too much. Could've focused less on Matt Donovan and just have the show be more interesting with Damon and Mason learning to be mutual with each other if it means protecting their loved ones.
Also, the show was just... so boring. The camera quality, and the background music that sounded like something only a person who's never listened to mainstream music would listen to. I was being tortured. It was so mid.
I am going to lay out a scenario written by me, using dialogue that had potential.
Such as Damon going out of his way to get the tomb opened only to discover that Katherine isn't there, therefore becoming disillusioned with her and Elena by extension. Since a lot of viewers said Bonnie and Damon have chemistry (they do, I just don't ship them) I'm just gonna say that he should've sworn to protect her from then on, thus sealing the deal he made with Emily Bennett to protect the Bennett line and becoming her guardian. Damon still continuously butts heads with Stefan, causing Elena to think he's still romantically interested in her, when in reality Damon is just looking out for them in his own way (the typical, hardcore Damon way).
Since Bonnie goes into conflict with her friends anyways, she starts to withdraw from them. As they keep asking her to do spells for them, Damon steps in their way. It also would be cool if they kept his powers in the show, that way he can use his crow to report to her. Damon killing Jeremy to hurt Elena can actually just be misinterpreted by her self centred mindset, because he really did it to get back at him for hurting Bonnie. I might be messing up the timeline because I don't remember things very well, but that would've been great.
Bonnie doesn't go to the Mikaelson ball because she doesn't trust the family, so Damon attends as a sort of spy. Damon turning Abby into a vampire also has to do with the fact that he's supposed to protect the Bennetts. Damon is fine with dying but isn't going to let Stefan die, nor is he going to break his deal, so it was a tough decision on his end. While he does kill Abby she also lives, kinda. It takes a while for Bonnie to come to terms with this even though she's rightfully angry.
Back to Season 4 and 5 and stuff, I think it's around this time that the Originals started airing. Damon becoming more involved with Jeremy is his parentified side of him trying to guide him but is misread as him using Jeremy to get close to Elena.
Bonnie is waiting for college to start, and Damon suggests going to New Orleans because there are tons of witches there so she can get guidance on her powers, which is how Lucy can be reintroduced. (They had Lucy show up for like one episode just for her to never show up again.)
Marcel had a great entrance, and Klaus' went all colonist on him. Marcel got me curious about the Originals but then they pulled a Twilight on us and brought in Hope, that turned me off from the series so I don't know what goes on. I am aware that Klaus terrorised a few witches. So let's say Damon and Bonnie go to New Orleans for a little vacation + training for Bonnie before college starts, and they both find out what's going on in New Orleans. Damon meets Marcel, and while their personalities do kinda clash, they bond over their mutual distaste for Klaus, with Marcel even opening up about his past once he sees how protective and dutiful Damon is towards Bonnie.
Together they must find a way to bring an end to the Originals without killing every other vampire in existence. It could also be a thing where Damon reflects on his past as a confederate soldier and questions himself (this needs to be addressed).
Lucy trains Bonnie and Davina. The reason Damon is uncomfortable around Mikael drinking vampire blood is because of his time in Augustine. And Kol has met Damon, but doesn't remember him until one fateful bar fight. (I heard that someone had an idea where Damon and Kol met in a bar fight, but the idea was scrapped). Also an opportunity to get Kol have an infatuation with Bonnie, I remember that glance in the hallway.
I, ladies and gentlemen, have come up with a fanfiction that I will never write. I bet it's a better storyline than whatever happened in canon.