Rewrite Announcement
I have hated the words and
I have loved them,
and I hope I have made them right
- Markus Zusak
I started Bloodstone ten years ago, enamored with The Vampire Diaries and Bamon. I abandoned it eight years ago, disillusioned with the show and unable to write another word about it, even for Bamon. The passing years have dulled my annoyance at the show runners, but heightened my guilt over leaving the story unfinished, for both my readers and myself. A decade later, with COVID-19 ravaging New York, I found myself at loose ends. No school, no work, no social obligations.
To fill my time, I was reading a lot of fanfiction, and even dipped my toe back into TVD. Who were these characters I thought? Who's Kai Parker? Or Enzo? Does Caroline have kids with Mr. Saltzman? What? Is Stefan dead? I decided to rewatch The Vampire Diaries. It was right there, on Netflix, waiting for me. And lo and behold, a season in and my brain began to itch about Bamon- and about Bloodstone.
I paused my rewatch, (halfway through season 2) and I should tell you I've never seen an episode past season 4 even the first time around,and looked up Bloodstone. I had the thought to finish it. But I opened the first chapter and found that it was in first person. No, that was not going to work. So I started rewriting it from the very beginning. It is now complete, and fully published, under a separate story on my profile. I can tell you it's very different from the original, but hopefully it manages to capture the same spirit. For any old readers, I hope it brings you some of the same amusement as my teenage writings did.
I've decided to keep this story, the original, up for comparison purposes, and so that I do not lose the reviews that brought me sp much happiness years ago. If you enjoyed the first Bloodstone, check out the rewrite.
In case anyone is interested, here is the very last thing I wrote from the original version of the story:
I woke up to a vampire looming over me. He was sipping from a blood bag as he nonchalantly tossed and caught a rock over and over. It was my bloodstone- or a fragment of it at least. The one large rock had broken into at least thirty pieces, and in my rush to get to Katherine from the woods I had only picked up the largest piece. It was about the size of a golf ball, but it crumbled every time I touched it, growing smaller still. I had kept it in my jacket pocket since I got back, not wanting to let go of the object that allowed my foray into the past. It must have fallen out while I was sleeping- or Stefan had been digging through my pockets for something to do while he waited for me to wake up.
I shifted and rubbed my eyes, trying to push myself into an upright position. Stefan finished his snack and tossed the bag in the trash can in the bathroom. He managed to place the rock on the bedside table and be standing in the exact same spot he had been before, within a second. I hadn't even managed to sit up fully yet. He didn't offer any help, but I managed on my own. I didn't feel ill per say, or even tired. I felt unbelievably heavy. My body didn't want to move.
"Mmh" I groaned, blinking a few times to try and adjust my eyes and mind to the idea of being awake. "How long have I been asleep?" Stefan smiles down at me before speaking, and I feel relief. I had been terrified that upon my return I would have no friends left. I knew Damon and I would never reconcile, though there wasn't much to reconcile from before my trip. I feared that Stefan would follow his brother's lead, and that the rest of the friends that I had not seen in so long would follow his.
"Well, since today is Sunday afternoon, and you fell asleep Friday night, a little less than 2 days." My eyes opened completely after that statement. It didn't feel like I had been sleeping that long.
"Seriously? Two days?" Stefan just nodded to my questions.
"You must have been tired, I didn't realize the spell took that much out of you." I nodded in compliance before I actually registered what he had said.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Stefan narrowed his eyes a bit and tilted his head ever so slightly. His furrowed brow brought back memories of how broody he was when he first arrived in Mystic Falls. In the 21st century that is.
"You know, the spell that you used to desiccate Klaus? That shriveled up body me and Damon are dumping today?" I made my face appear as if it was just dawning on me. I smiled sheepishly up at him.
"Sorry, I guess my mind is still asleep, you know." Stefan nodded slowly.
"So I assume you and Damon talked on Friday." I felt my heartbeat speed up in my chest as I rushed to deny it. Why I wanted to deny it I have no idea, but lately nothing has been making sense so I just go with it.
"What gave you that idea?" Stefan gave me an incredulous look.
"Oh I don't know, I got home and you were weeping on my living room floor with a shattered glass of bourbon next to you. Then Damon came back this morning, and promptly stormed back out again upon finding you in his bed." I looked down at my hands, twisting them together and apart while I tried to process his words. Damon had seen what a wreck I was, twice over, and left both times.
Again I reminded myself that this is what I had wanted, this is what was necessary. The reminders were becoming a little redundant though, and were becoming meaningless. I didn't seem to care what was necessary anymore. I almost wanted to go back and-. Except no, going back and changing things certainly did not work out the last time I tried it.