When I first heard that LJ Smith had been fired, I was tempted to think it was a hoax. Some fans speculated that LJ had been fired for something else, and her Pro-Delena stance was merely a cover up for legal reasons she couldn't go into. However, since LJ Smith has confirmed she has been fired, I think it's clear from the statement she issued that she WAS fired for wanting to make Delena endgame:
"(And remember, for fans of Bonnie and Damon, and strict Stefan and Elena fans, the immediate dynamics may be more to your liking.)"
Stefan and Elena are mentioned, as are Damon and Bonnie. But there's a big glaring hole where Delena should be. Given that they've played such an important role in all her books up til now, this not only doesn't make sense, it's preposterous. If LJ Smith hadn't wanted to make Delena end up together, she wouldn't have clashed with her publishers and she wouldn't have been fired.
I don't know how SE and Bamon shippers feel. I don't know if they're planning to read the next trilogy, but I don't want anything to do with them. I'm fairly new to the books (currently on Chapter 16 of 'Nightfall'), but if LJ Smith didn't write them, the books in no way can represent her or the vision she had for them. Therefore, they don't count.
LJ Smith loved Delena enough to stand up to her publishers and fight for them, even if it meant losing her job. It's clear that her heart didn't lie with Stelena or Bamon, but with Delena. That's all that matters.
LJ Smith's firing seems to have caused some doubt among TV fans over the future of Delena in the show. In a fanpick question, more than half of the people who voted were unsure if it affected DE in the show. Harper and Alloy don't own the CW or the writers of 'The Vampire Diaries' and can't influence the scripts they write. I was surprised that people weren't more confident.
If Stelena shippers can sometimes be accused of being complacent, and Bamon shippers can be accused of over-exaggerating, I think Delena shippers can also be accused of having a fault. I think we are way too pessimistic when it comes to having faith in the future of our ship. For example, I know there are DE shippers who think - in spite of it only being Season 2 - that Stelena will be endgame. I know that there are DE shippers who think that Julie and Kevin adore SE but clamp their jaws together when it comes to Delena. Which is all the evidence they need to prove to them that Kevin and Julie are never going to give us DE, and the whole 'series-long love triangle' they tell us they've got planned is just a big old lie to get us to keep watching.
I'll admit that in the past, I've voiced my concerns regarding Kevin and Julie's contradictory approaches to Delena. But I don't doubt that they'll give us a proper love triangle after the brilliant episodes we've recently had. I know it feels as if Julie and Kevin favour Stelena, especially when they talk about them in glowing 'together-forever' terms. But they can't ignore that they're a couple and never talk about them. I think that Kevin and Julie know that Delena have incredible chemistry, but to talk about them in such a way in interviews would be misleading to fans when they're not together yet.
It's also worthwhile to remember that Kevin and Julie have never explicitly stated that they prefer Stelena. I know they may have given that impression, and I can never condone the Twitter disaster Julie Plec made last year, but I don't think she or Kevin have something against Delena or the fans who love them.
I honestly believe that DE shippers can be too hard on themselves AND on Delena. On YouTube, I was flummoxed to read a comment from someone who had given up on Delena and thought that Forwood were better than them. (This was around 2x11). I like Forwood, but it seemed that this person only thought Tyler/Caroline were better than DE (even though DE have been around for much longer), because the writers were giving the Forwood fans what they wanted. It worries me when we get one bad episode, or an episode with no DE which is reason enough for fans to give up. We've got the whole series to go. There's absolutely no reason for fans to be so down for so much of the time. Delena were LJ Smith's choice for endgame. There's no reason why they can't be endgame in the show too.
"(And remember, for fans of Bonnie and Damon, and strict Stefan and Elena fans, the immediate dynamics may be more to your liking.)"
Stefan and Elena are mentioned, as are Damon and Bonnie. But there's a big glaring hole where Delena should be. Given that they've played such an important role in all her books up til now, this not only doesn't make sense, it's preposterous. If LJ Smith hadn't wanted to make Delena end up together, she wouldn't have clashed with her publishers and she wouldn't have been fired.
I don't know how SE and Bamon shippers feel. I don't know if they're planning to read the next trilogy, but I don't want anything to do with them. I'm fairly new to the books (currently on Chapter 16 of 'Nightfall'), but if LJ Smith didn't write them, the books in no way can represent her or the vision she had for them. Therefore, they don't count.
LJ Smith loved Delena enough to stand up to her publishers and fight for them, even if it meant losing her job. It's clear that her heart didn't lie with Stelena or Bamon, but with Delena. That's all that matters.
LJ Smith's firing seems to have caused some doubt among TV fans over the future of Delena in the show. In a fanpick question, more than half of the people who voted were unsure if it affected DE in the show. Harper and Alloy don't own the CW or the writers of 'The Vampire Diaries' and can't influence the scripts they write. I was surprised that people weren't more confident.
If Stelena shippers can sometimes be accused of being complacent, and Bamon shippers can be accused of over-exaggerating, I think Delena shippers can also be accused of having a fault. I think we are way too pessimistic when it comes to having faith in the future of our ship. For example, I know there are DE shippers who think - in spite of it only being Season 2 - that Stelena will be endgame. I know that there are DE shippers who think that Julie and Kevin adore SE but clamp their jaws together when it comes to Delena. Which is all the evidence they need to prove to them that Kevin and Julie are never going to give us DE, and the whole 'series-long love triangle' they tell us they've got planned is just a big old lie to get us to keep watching.
I'll admit that in the past, I've voiced my concerns regarding Kevin and Julie's contradictory approaches to Delena. But I don't doubt that they'll give us a proper love triangle after the brilliant episodes we've recently had. I know it feels as if Julie and Kevin favour Stelena, especially when they talk about them in glowing 'together-forever' terms. But they can't ignore that they're a couple and never talk about them. I think that Kevin and Julie know that Delena have incredible chemistry, but to talk about them in such a way in interviews would be misleading to fans when they're not together yet.
It's also worthwhile to remember that Kevin and Julie have never explicitly stated that they prefer Stelena. I know they may have given that impression, and I can never condone the Twitter disaster Julie Plec made last year, but I don't think she or Kevin have something against Delena or the fans who love them.
I honestly believe that DE shippers can be too hard on themselves AND on Delena. On YouTube, I was flummoxed to read a comment from someone who had given up on Delena and thought that Forwood were better than them. (This was around 2x11). I like Forwood, but it seemed that this person only thought Tyler/Caroline were better than DE (even though DE have been around for much longer), because the writers were giving the Forwood fans what they wanted. It worries me when we get one bad episode, or an episode with no DE which is reason enough for fans to give up. We've got the whole series to go. There's absolutely no reason for fans to be so down for so much of the time. Delena were LJ Smith's choice for endgame. There's no reason why they can't be endgame in the show too.
