Damon Salvatore

Damon Salvatore is a character from the Vampire Diaries, playing important part in both the books and the TV show. 
==Damon in Books==
Damon Salvatore is a 500 plus year old vampire, he was born in Florence, Italy during The Renaissance Period. Like his younger brother Stefan, Damon came from an Italian aristocratic, noble family. In the 15th century, Damon and his brother Stefan both fell in love with a young vampire named Katherine von Swartzschild. Both brothers became intense rivals and competitors for her love, which caused a rivalry between the two. Their already strained relationship became more hateful, vengeful and competitive. Katherine transformed Damon and Stefan into vampires, hoping that they would resolve their lifelong rivalry, and all of them could live happily ever after together. When Katherine's plan backfired, Katherine felt both guilty and extremely hurt that they would not end their hatred with one another. As a result and as a price, Katherine ended up "committing suicide" (which was later on revealed to be fake), in order for the brothers to finally come together, resolve their issues and grieve her loss together as brothers, possibly rekindling their love for each other and their brotherhood.
However, her faked "suicide" only caused the Salvatore brothers to hate each other more, and both of them blamed each other severely for her death. Because of the intense hatred, and threats that Damon gave to Stefan, Stefan ended up leaving his hometown of Florence and decided to get as far away from his brother as possible and try to escape his dark, painful past. Stefan ended up settling in a town called Fells Church. Damon followed him there to endlessly torment his brother and make his life as miserable as possible.
==Damon in TV Show==
In TV show canon, Damon is an American of Italian decent who faught in the Civil War before deserting the fight to come home to Mystic Falls. He has been turned into a vampire by Katherine Pierce, whom he considered a love of his life. Initially, when he and his brother Stefan were in transition (and he thought Katherine was dead), he didn't want to become a vampire. Stefan talked him into it. Due certain plot developments the brothers had a falling out and Damon promised Stefan "an eternity of misery".
In season 1 of the show, Damon is the antagonist, bent on opening the magically sealed tomb where he is convinced Katherine is trapped. 
He slowly develops feelings for Elena Gilbert, Katherine's doppelganger, which prompt him to try and be better. Though other characters and Damon himself consider him a monster who kill without qualms, in season 4 Damon implies he is "bad with purpose", which makes me worthy of people's (Elena's) forgiveness.
Damon has a tendency to disregard possible collateral damage, and do everything necessary to accomplish his goals (often killing and/or compelling people, his friends included). He has some self-destructive tendencies.
==Fandom==
===Relationships===
Romantic Relationships:
In fanworks the most popular Damon pairings are Damon/Elena, Damon/Stefan, Damon/Stefan/Elena, Damon/Alaric, Damon/Elijah, Damon/Bonnie, Damon/Katherine and Damon/Stefan/Katherine. Very few fans ship Damon/Caroline.
Platonic Relationships:
He has a strong friendship with Liz Forbes, but that doesn't translate into a pairing presence (in fact a platonic Damon & Liz is much more common). His canonical friendship with Alaric is very popular in fanworks (especially in fanworks were Damon is involved in a het ship) as a side dynamic.
Familial Relationships:
Damon's mother has little to no fandom presence and she is almost never mentioned in fanworks (though with the developments of season 6, this may change). Damon's father, on the other hand when mentioned, is rarely a positive character. His relationship with Damon is, as a result, usually negative and painted in an abusive/neglectful light.
Damon's familial relationship with his brother, Stefan, is by far the most complex one. Fans write their relationship on a whole spectrum: from incredibly close nit (a'la The Mikaelson siblings), to a relatively positive and close dynamic, to antagonistic.
===Common Tropes & Fanon===
* Damon as a screw-up - when writers use Damon as a secondary character, especially in All Human AUs, he is sometimes portrayed as a screw-up; often with a drinking problem or some other type of addiction. 
* Damon as The Bad Brother - The words "I'm the bad brother" in one form or another, are often used by Damon himself to describe himself. Often in stories where he makes a point of embracing his "evil" side, as an explanation to people who are surprised by his evil deeds, etc.
* Damon's Redemption - usually connected with the pairing the fan writer is focusing on, his romantic interest plays an important role in redeeming Damon and turning him into a good guy.
* Friends to Lovers: is a popular trope in slow burn Damon stories
* Damon dealing with loss' - where the focus of the fanwork is Damon dealing with loss (or in a reversed trope, others dealing with the loss of Damon). The way fans choose to approach this trope is varied and not always similar to the way Damon has dealt with loss in the source material.
===Fandom Essays and Meta===
* What's wrong with Damon Salvatore? by upupa_epops, a character meta analyzing Damon's emotional disfuction and how it probably had little to do with him being a vampire.
* Character Therapist: On the Couch: Damon Salvatore
* Why I Fangirl Damon Salvatore by badboy_fangirl
* The Damon Salvatore Fan Club: Or, Alternatively, "Hey, Remember That Time I Killed You?" by theweightofus, A look at the relationship between Damon Salvatore and those he murdered. And the effect it has on fandom.
===Controversies===
Fandom's relationship with Damon have always been polarized. There are fans who love him without question, there are fans who hate him. There are fans who love to hate him. A big number of fans perceive Damon's action on the show as problematic, though it doesn't seem to affect their love for the character. Words "I love Damon, but..."Tumblr post, accessed February 26, 2015Tumblr post, accessed February 26, 2015Tumblr post, accessed February 26, 2015 (or similar expressions"So the guy's basically a rapist, definitely a psychopath, and also fits into my growing (and slightly alarming) list of favorite sci-fi characters who are misogynist bastards", from Misogynist Bastards and the Women Who Obsess Over Them, accessed February 26, 2015) appear to be common among those fans.
Fans who dislike/hate Damon often quote his treatment of Caroline ForbesWHy Wouldn't Caroline like Damon? Tumblr gifset, accessed February 26, 2015 in season one, and (though less often) his treatment of Andie Star, as reasons for their dislike. A lot of those fans ouright call Damon a rapistThe Sexually Violent Diaries, accessed February 26, 2015Tumblr post, accessed February 26, 2015.
In fact, that term is a point of contension between the two camps (pro!Damon and Anti!Damon):
Each camp refuses to yield to the other's arguments and they do not shy away from sharing their opinions of the character alongside each otherEven in the comments under one article you can find several opinions that Damon is "the perfect boyfriend", while others call him "an abusive asshole". Comments accessed February 26, 2015. Sarcasm is often employed (especially by the Anti!Damon fans)Tumblr post, accessed February 26, 2015Tumblr post, accessed February 26, 2015.
==Damon-centric Fanworks==
===Fics===
*Much More Complicated by Gale (iphignia939), Damon/Alaric, summary: "Damon snapped your neck and you got up to kill vampires with him and punch him in the face. For him, that’s like a valentine."
*All The Same To Me by silvia kundera Elena/Stefan/Damon, summary: Do not underestimate Damon's powers of persuasion. Or: the one where Damon runs for public office while trying to date his brother & their girlfriend, as told by Stefan Salvatore.
*Across Unhallowed Ground by ghostrunner7, Elena/Stefan/Damon, for 2010 Vampire Big Bang summary: Damon looks directly at him and either he’s been drinking much, much more than he should, or he’s trying to tell Stefan something important when he says, "It would be so much easier to just end it badly." (Damon writes novels!)
===Vids===
* I'm sexy and I know it by Drankini
* One Love by angelaj89
* Tik Tok by daisy2069
* Sexy Back by Rica Gstettner
* Boy Like You by MsVampigirl
===Fanart===
* damon at the bar by h1artyness, black colour pencil on grease proof paper
* 'm staying, am I not by Syllirium
* A man with magical eyes by Michael1525
===Meta===
* A Damon Salvatore (/Elena Gilbert) Meta... by badboy_fangirl, Damon is not heroic in the traditional sense. I suppose some could call him an antihero (defined as a protagonist who lacks the attributes that make a heroic figure, as nobility of mind and spirit, a life or attitude marked by action or purpose, and the like). 
==Archives and Communities==
* Damon Salvatore works at AO3
* Damon Salvatore (TV) works at ff.net
* Damon Salvatore (Books) works at ff.net
* Everything Damon a ff.net community for TV series.
==Resources==
* TV show!Damon Salvatore at The Vampire Diaries Wiki
* Novel!Damon Salvatore at The Vampire Diaries Wiki
* Damon Salvatore at Wikipedia
==References==
Category:LJ Smith Category:Vampire Diaries Characters