Me, a 31 year old mother, seeing every child character as my own personal baby, just rooting for them surviving through literal peril every damn second and seeing any relationship story beats as just as transient and impermanent as my own teen experiences:
I'm so proud of you, my little babies! (Also please wash more)
I think Rudy might be 22 today because if you look at his twitter he says he changed his birthplace on Wikipedia because it wasn’t the right one so why would he change that and not his birth date??? Unless he’s just dumb 😂
I saw that too actually his birth date on the initial post was in january... but like there’s too much “proof” that he turned 23 today, his friends and manager posting with lots of hashtagged 22, on his birthday last year.
I’m still waiting for the people i dm’ed to answer or leave me on read. @pink-meringues
I honestly couldn’t tell you but most of the “evidence” points towards 23
Future Scene: the Salvatore sisters find out about Caroline
Hey guys, I know it’s been forever since I updated and believe it or not, I’m still chipping away at the latest chapter whenever I find time, but I have an inordinate amount of asks about the Salvatore family in my inbox (lol I’m lowkey convinced you’re all one person but I see you and I love you), so I figured I’d post this snippet I wrote awhile ago for a fun look into that family dynamic. This is set during the Christmas chapters where everyone’s finally home and Stefan’s getting grilled about his bummer attitude. Mildly spoilery since it’s set in the near future. Opening line based on this gifset because I think the idea of Lexi as a wedding photographer is hilarious.
“I take wedding photos for a living—capturing regret and self-loathing is what I do.” Freya snorted and Lexi shot her a flat look. “What?”
“You’ve photographed two weddings—I’d hardly call that a living.”
“Um, everyone starts somewhere, Freyabot.”
“Yeah, usually in college when they pick a degree.”
Lexi groaned. “Are we seriously going back to the degree thing? I graduated five years ago.”
“Yeah—you couldn’t pick a major then and you can’t pick a job now.”
“Of course I picked major—I got a degree, hello.”
“In interdisciplinary studies,” Freya said pointedly, and Lexi raised her hands in askance.
“And?”
“And everyone at UGA knows that’s the slacker degree,” Rebekah supplied as she blew at her nails, though she promptly broke into a squawk at the pillow Lexi had launched at her. “You’re such a mongrel!”
“I’m a delicate dandelion.”
“Dandelions are a weed.”
“MOM, REBEKAH KEEPS TALKING ABOUT WEED,” Lexi yelled toward the kitchen and Rebekah rolled her eyes.
“Grow up.”
“Seconded,” Freya chimed in.
“Y’all are rude,” Lexi drawled, settling back against the couch in a lazy sprawl. “Stefan’s the only one who believes in me—right, Stef?” At the lack of response, she turned to find the brother in question staring into space, brows drawn into their token furrow. She waved a hand around. “Earth to broseph.”
He glanced over with a vague look, as if breaking from a trance. “What?”
“What’s with you, dude?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you’ve been a gloomy little space cadet ever since you got here.” She paused to reconsider her words. “Well, gloomier, anyway. What’s wrong?”
His shoulders lifted into a shrug. “Nothing’s wrong. Just tired, I guess.”
“Tired from what?” she pressed. “Haven’t you been sitting around doing nothing all week?”
“Lexi knows a lot about sitting around doing nothing,” Rebekah chimed in and Lexi launched another pillow at her face without breaking eye contact. “Rude!”
“Spill, baby bro.”
His brow furrowed. “I already told you, nothing’s wrong.”
“Try again.”
He lifted a puzzled hand. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“The truth’s a good start.”
“The truth is that I’m tired.”
“From what?”
“From—I don’t know, jetlag.”
“From Boston?” she snorted. “Did you make a pit-stop in Tokyo on your way here?”
“Lex,” he sighed and Rebekah ruffled in her seat.
“Leave him alone,” she snipped, likely more out of a desire to fight than save him, but he appreciated the effort all the same. “It makes sense that he’s tired—spending time with people can be draining.”
“Oh, don’t I know it,” Lexi offered back sweetly, and the two promptly fell into their seventy-fifth squabble of the hour. Stefan eyed them for a resigned beat before glancing away, and his stare landed on an unexpected Freya tucking herself into the seat beside him on the couch.
“Hey,” she offered innocently and he sighed—living with his sisters was like living in a 24/7 interrogation unit.
“I’m fine, Freya.”
She shrugged as she settled her computer onto her lap, gaze focused on the screen. “If you say so.”
“I do say so.”
“Well, your mouth says so but your face doesn’t.”
His eyes veered ceiling-ward. “And what’s my face saying?”
Her face pulled into a cartoonish look, voice knocking up a few pitch levels. “Help me, sister, I’m sad.”
He let out a dry laugh. “Did I turn into Pinocchio over the past five seconds?”
She glanced away from the screen and flicked her glasses down to peer at him. “Well, you’re lying and your nose isn’t growing, so I guess not.”
“I’m not lyi—”
“Stefan, I’m an incredible lawyer and an even better sister—I know when you’re lying to me,” she cut in, though something about her delivery always managed to sound softer than Lexi’s blunt attacks. “Plus, these pregnancy hormones are giving me all these supernatural maternal instincts so I’m basically a human lie detector test. Did I tell you I made a CFO break down crying on the stand just by staring at him because he knew I knew he was lying?”
He smiled briefly, glancing down at his hands. “You have an interesting definition of maternal.”
“It was badass.”
“Sounds like it.”
He felt her staring at him for a beat. “Look, it’s totally fine if you don’t want to talk about it, okay? I get it. I just wouldn’t pretend nothing’s wrong because even if me and Dad and Mom are willing to overlook it, Lexi and Rebekah are going to be on you like bloodhounds.” She shot a glance at the pair—Rebekah was gesturing wildly and Lexi was mimicking her every move. “I mean, assuming they don’t kill each other first.”
He nodded vaguely, stare still fixed on his hands. Christ, he wished he could just shake this. He hadn’t been home all year, not even for Thanksgiving, and now that he finally was, his head was somewhere else. He couldn’t even really blame them for prying.
“Was it Bonnie?” she ventured after a few seconds, testing the waters. “Did you guys get into a fight or something?”
He shook his head. “Nah.” He chuckled after a second. “I mean we did, actually, but we’re all good now.”
She nodded, sorting the information into the digital filing system that was her hyper-efficient brain. “School?”
He shrugged. “School’s good.”
He wasn’t sure why he was fighting telling them the truth so badly. Part of it was annoyance, sure—he loved his sisters, but they were nosy and entitled as all hell—but if he was being honest with himself, a larger part of it felt more like guilt. He didn’t want to unload another drama on them. He didn’t want to be the idiot who got carried away with another girl and ruined a holiday over it. He was so damn tired of being that guy.
He could handle this on his own.
“Internship?”
He shook his head at the well-meaning prompt. “Just got promoted, actually.”
Her brows drew up. “Big case?”
“Huge case.”
“That’s my little brother.”
He smiled and she returned it for a beat before chewing her lip. “Is it…” she hesitated and he glanced up at her, brows drawing in a bit. Freya wasn’t the hesitating type. After a few seconds, she sighed and met his gaze with her typically frank look. “Stefan, is it Elena?”
He broke into a dry laugh. “What?”
“Elena,” she repeated, eyes humorless with concern. “Did she, I don’t know, get in contact with you or something?”
He opened his mouth to say no before suddenly remembering that yeah, she had gotten in contact with him. They were meeting for coffee in a few days. He’d almost forgotten.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “Or, I mean, not in the—that’s not what—” He shook his head again, waving his hand to dismiss the notion, and her brows drew up.
“Then is it some other girl? Because the only other time I’ve seen you act like this is—”
“Caroline!” a voice suddenly rang out in triumph, as if it’d just discovered the cure for cancer, and his gaze immediately snapped over to Rebekah. Her eyes were bright and eager on his, hair a mess from struggling to get her phone back from Lexi. “It’s Caroline, isn’t it?”
He felt his stomach filling with lead.
“Who the hell is Caroline?” Lexi scoffed, and Rebekah grinned at her, too excited to remember her hatred from three seconds ago.
“Stefan’s future wife.”
“What?”
Rebekah rolled her eyes. “Bonnie’s friend from college! The other girl stuck in the apartment.”
Lexi’s eyes lit up like a ping-pong machine as she turned to look at him. “Bitchy Roommate!?”
Stefan sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face—he could feel all three of their gazes boring into his profile.
“I thought you guys hated each other.”
“They did, but then they fell for each other.”
He let out a groan of resignation. “No, we didn’t.”
“They totally did.”
“Is that true?” Freya asked, her voice gentler than Rebekah’s, more curious. “Did you meet someone?”
“I didn’t meet her—I’ve known her for three years,” he offered in irritable reply, and Freya’s eyes took on a glint of humor.
“You know what I mean.”
“He’s avoiding a direct answer ‘cause it’s true,” Rebekah simpered and wow, he really wished he was an only child.
“Hold on, I’m so confused—so we like Bitchy Roommate now?” Lexi pressed, and Freya shot her an amused look.
“Her name’s Caroline.”
“Bitchy Roommate, Bitchy Carol, same difference—Stefan.” She snapped her fingers at him to get his attention in the most obnoxious way possible. “What’s going on here, dude?”
“Nothing,” he replied stubbornly and Freya gave him a knowing look.
“Stef, I think it’s pretty clear that something’s—”
“No, you know what, enough,” he cut in, lifting a hand in a silencing wave, and all three of them straightened a bit at the outburst. “Freya, you said if I had a problem, all I had to say was that I didn’t want to talk about it so this is me formally telling you guys that yeah, some things in my life aren’t great right now, and while I appreciate the concern, I don’t want to talk about it.”
They blinked at him, surprised, and he panned his gaze across each of their faces with a serious look.
“Understand?”
Freya lifted her palms in surrender, easing back against the couch, and he glanced back at Lexi and Rebekah. They were chewing their lips and peering at him with identical expressions, and God, he really hated them sometimes.
“It’s definitely Bitchy Carol.”
“Totally.”
“What do you think he did?”
“I don’t know, but the last time I talked to her she seemed fine.”
“Tell me everything you know.”
Correction—all the time. He hated them all the time. He shot a harassed stare at Freya and she shrugged, returning her gaze to her laptop. “I don’t claim them.”
Aaaaand now you know why Stefan doesn't always want to go home, lol. Anyway, the mammoth chapter to end all chapters that is 17 will at the very least be up this summer when I get a modicum of a life back. Maybe sooner, but honestly, probably not because I have cardio and renal blocks to get through first. But I’m still here! World’s still going! Ideas are still flowing! Just limited time. Anyway, thanks so much for sticking with me if you’re still here and know that no matter what, unless I specifically say something, I’m still here too. Just slow and busy af ;)
