Stefan Salvatore

Stefan Salvatore is the main male protagonist (or deuteragonist as Elena is the main protagonist overall), a 165-year-old vampire and both the descendant of and one of the two known doppelgängers of the world's first immortal man, Silas; he is the sole remaining doppelgänger of Silas' doppelgänger line, as well as one of the two remaining doppelgängers overall (the other being Elena Gilbert, who is a doppelgänger of Amara's doppelgänger line). Aside from being the male lead and the deuteragonist of the series, Stefan is also the narrator of The Vampire Diaries, as the story and the series is being told from his point of view. Stefan was born and raised in the supernatural town of Mystic Falls, Virginia and came of age during the Civil War. He's the youngest son of Giuseppe Salvatore and his unnamed mother, who died of consumption, presumably when Stefan was a child. He had an older brother, Damon, who was also a vampire, as well as an unknown half-brother. Stefan has had a love-hate relationship with Damon since 1864, when they both fell in love with Katherine Pierce, the woman who turned them into vampires. In the 1920s, Stefan had a brotherly friendship with Klaus Mikaelson, and was romantically involved with his sister, Rebekah Mikaelson. He was best friends with Lexi Branson until her death, and eventually became best friends with Caroline Forbes sometime in 2009. 

Stefan Salvatore (portrayed by Paul Wesley)

Stefan had what seemed to be a rather simple life during his human years. He was the "golden boy" was seen to be noble, dutiful, academic, scholarly and responsible. Stefan was also seen to have a very close relationship with his brother, Damon. This all changed in the year 1864 when Stefan and Damon both met and fell in love with Katherine. Their relationship with Katherine would change Stefan and his relationship with Damon forever. At the tender age of seventeen (just shy of his eighteenth birthday), Stefan was killed, triggering his transition into a vampire. Stefan had blood control issues as a newly turned vampire and could not handle human blood or control himself around it. After Damon had abandoned Stefan due to feeling betrayed by him, Lexi became his mentor and best friend, helping Stefan to control his blood lust and retain his humanity. Over the many decades of his immortal life, Stefan would leave and come back to Mystic Falls on and off, and he spent his time travelling all around the world, being exposed to a variety of different cultures and ways of life. 

After many years away, Stefan returned to his hometown of Mystic Falls to visit his distant nephew Zach. On May 23, 2009, Stefan saw Elena Gilbert for the very first time while rescuing her after her parents' car drove off of Wickery Bridge. Although he managed to save Elena's life, he could not save Elena's parents in time. Stefan was initially shocked and suspicious about Elena's uncanny physical resemblance to Katherine Pierce, and decided to research Elena's background in order to make sure that she wasn't the woman he'd fallen for over a century ago and the woman he eventually grew to hate and resent. Eventually, after finding her personal records and observing her from afar, Stefan determined that Elena was definitely not Katherine and that she was in fact the opposite of Katherine in every way. Still, he was strongly and indescribably drawn to and intrigued by her. Because of the connection he had felt towards Elena, Stefan decided to get to know her, so Stefan posed as a new transfer student at Mystic Falls High School. Stefan and Elena had an undeniable connection with each other and instantly bonded, eventually engaging in a romantic relationship. But his relationship with Elena began to become rather chaotic and tumultuous as many outside forces and obstacles tried to keep the two apart. As a result, Stefan and Elena ended up struggling to be together and stay together throughout the series.

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