The Vampire Diaries

the only woman i “ship” damon with.

and let me be honest here and say that i may be biased because i pretty much despise delena and don’t think that damon deserved the girl that tried to force himself on and then killed her brother after she rejected him… but anyways.

on the other hand, rose and damon worked so well together in my opinion because their connection was built on acceptance and an emotional understanding rather than chaos or obsession, and that made their relationship feel unusually real for damon. rose never tried to fix him, change him, or turn him into someone “better” for her sake, which was something damon was constantly pressured to do in other relationships, especially with elena. instead, rose saw him exactly as he was: flawed, sarcastic, reckless, and deeply hurt and still chose him, which gave him a sense of safety he rarely had.

i’m not really a damon fan, i find him too centered around the women he was obsessed with but his scenes with rose i actually found him enjoyable. he was free to be himself which then led him to not be spiraling over trying to be “better”. because she had lived for centuries and experienced betrayal, loss, and fear herself, she understood his emotional walls and didn’t push him to open up before he was ready, allowing him to be vulnerable on his own terms. when damon was with rose, he was noticeably calmer and more genuine, not performing or hiding behind cruelty, but simply existing as himself. their relationship was free from manipulation, power struggles, and emotional games, and it was based on mutual respect and quiet companionship.

this is especially clear to me in how damon reacts to her death, when he stays with her, comforts her, gives her peace, and allows himself to be openly emotional, showing that she truly mattered to him in a deep and sincere way. that was the first scene where i finally felt damon maybe had a good side to him and it was through his relationship with rose that i saw that.

with elena, damon’s love was intense and passionate, but it was also rooted in obsession, insecurity, and fear of losing her, which often led him to make selfish or destructive choices just to keep her. their relationship constantly went through cycles of breaking up, hurting each other, and rebuilding, which created emotional exhaustion for both of them. with rose, there was none of that pressure or volatility. she didn’t make damon feel like he had to prove himself, compete with stefan, or constantly earn her love by changing who he was. instead, she accepted him as he was and supported him without ultimatums, which allowed him to be more honest and emotionally open.

i know after elena the most popular ship for him is him and bonnie and i used to be on that side as well, but i feel that my opinion started to change once I realized that she deserves better than him as well. i don’t think i actually wanted to see bonnie fall in love with him because she is too strong headed to fall for the man that is responsible for her grams death, her mother turning into a vampire, SAing her friend, and killing a bunch of her friends and even trying to kill her at one point. (which is why i also don’t buy that she would’ve fallen in love with enzo but that’s a different conversation). and let’s not forget, even after they became besties in the prison world he still continued to betray her when he forced her to see kai again after she explicitly told him that she never wanted to see kai again. he knew that kai had put her through physical trauma, yet he still showed up to bonnie with kai to force her to see him since kai promised damon info on his mother if damon got bonnie to see him again. so even after they became friends, damon was still selfish and still self-centered. i don’t ship bonnie with that kind of man.

if rose had lived longer, their relationship could have grown into something stable, healthy, and long-lasting, because she supported his growth without shaming him and loved him without conditions. while elena represented passion and bonnie represented deep emotional connection, rose represented peace, and for someone as damaged and restless as damon, that kind of love could have been exactly what he needed to build a truly balanced life.