(If you're wondering why this is in the Delena spot, it's because a good half of it deals with the effect that Klaroline has on Delena. Am I overthinking this?)

So why exactly is Klaroline so popular? Is anyone else confused about this sudden craze? Now I'm sure that this article, like most of mine, will be very controversial. In particular because many Delena shippers are also Klaroline shippers.

So I'm going to start this article by saying very clearly that there is nothing wrong with Klaroline or shipping Klaroline. Heck, I don't like them canonically but I do love them in fanfiction. There are many types of Klaroline shippers who all have different effects on the Delena fan base. I'll be talking about some types that I've seen. Remember, these are broad categories, so it's very possible you fall into none or more than one if you are a Klaroline shipper or that some things that I've said don't apply to you. Don't take it personally, please.

First, I'm going to define the different types of Klaroline shippers that I have seen. Then I will explain how this affects Delena. Because believe me, it does. In a big way.

The Delena-Klaroline shippers- These are people who ship both Delena and Klaroline, showing a preference to Delena if they had to pick. Normally, I find that they became a part of that ship because they were disappointed with an aspect of Delena's relationship and noticed the similarities between the two ships. They either stay with the ship because they realize the chemistry between Joseph and Candice or because it's their backup Delena. Or some other reason.

The Klaroline-Delena shippers- Pretty much the reverse of the Delena-Klaroline shippers, these are people who ship both Delena and Klaroline, but show a preference to Klaroline. Normally, these are people who started watching the show during season 3, therefore noticing the parallels between Delena and Klaroline while there was a focus on the latter. They usually become a part of our ship because to put it simply, they like to ship good-girl/bad-boy relationships. Delena's the backup Klaroline. Or some other reason.

The Original ones- Like the Klaroline-Delena shippers, these are usually people who have started watching the show during season 3 and therefore developed an attachment to the Original siblings over the original trio. These shippers are often particularly attached to Klaus and will ship Klaroline along with one or more of the following: Stebekah, Elejah, Kennett. In short, they want whatever makes the Originals happy. A small subsection of this type of Klaroliner also finds Damon, Elena and Stefan irritating, though this doesn't apply to all of them. There is a specific subsection of this type that focuses on Klaus.

The Caroliners- These are people who love Caroline and whatever makes her happy. Most have been watching TVD since season one and have shipped Caroline with whoever made her happy at the time, hating whoever didn't. So they shipped Maroline (before he became 'Matt, that idiot!'), then Forwood (before he became 'Tyler, that idiot!'), then Klaroline. These are people who love the idea of a bad boy with a good girl, but since Damon was horrible to Caroline in S1, they usually do not ship Delena.

The Innocent Shipper-Klaroliners- These are people who usually ship the good guy with the good girl. They make an exception for Klaroline because on a show like TVD, the 'good couples' can be depicted as rather boring. They usually belong to ships which include Damon or Elena such as Stelena, Datherine, Bamon or Elejah. Therefore, they do not ship Delena. There is a Delena variety of this type as well.

The Manipulative Shipper-Klaroliners- This is another subsection of the Shipper-Klaroliners, and unfortunately, this is the malicious variety. These are people who usually ship the good guy with the good girl. Klaroline is not an exception to that, however, they ship Klaroline in the hopes of splitting the fanbase. Luckily, there are very few of these in the TVD fandom and if you are a Shipper-Klaroliner, there is a 99-1 chance that you are NOT in this category.

Okay, now on to the important part. How does this affect Delena?

I'm going to begin by saying that I believe the Originals were created with the specific purpose of dividing the shipper fandom. Feel free to contest me on this, but I do have reasons to believe this. Firstly, they are the creators of vampirism. On a show about vampires, that sounds like a series finale topic, not something to be tackled halfway through the shows run. The timing (right in the area where Elena is neutral between Damon and Stefan) leads me to believe that they came with a purpose. Secondly, they have English accents. The ones that Klaus has been dragging around in coffins, I understand. But Klaus, Rebekah and, to some extent, Elijah have been in North America for centuries. Heck of a long time to not adopt an American accent. So they were probably manufactured to appeal to the audience. Finally, they stole the main characters' thunder. Enough for them to get a spin-off! Not something you usually want the Big Bads of the season to do. On one side, you gain viewers, but on the other, you lose the fans you gained from the Big Bad because they're being shipped off somewhere else.

So I think clever, clever Julie noticed the big gap between the number of Stelena and Delena fans along with the total disinterest in Caroline's love life and BOOM! Klaroline was born. She created it knowing that each of these types of Klaroliners would exist and uses it every Thursday to make sure she keeps all her viewers. Because if you're watching a show for only one ship, there's a chance you'll drop it if you are disappointed. But if you're watching two or more ships, the chances are you'll stick with the show. Watch very carefully. When the sire bond was mentioned, she knew that would be a highly controversial aspect of the Delena relationship. And Delena is popular. But since Klaroline is also popular, and she added in that cute little chat between Caroline and Klaus, the ratings were largely unaffected. If you rewatch seasons three and four, you'll notice that every time Delena has a fight or a negative decision is made, there is a Klaroline scene. Not saying this without proof! I had two examples before writing this, found more during!

Examples:

3x14- Elena is trying to go to a ball which might get her killed. Damon steps in and Elena feels like she isn't being allowed to make her own decisions. At the Mikaelson ball, Elena called Damon's love a problem.
Elsewhere, Caroline is receiving gifts from Klaus and shares a cute little dance with him. And then they have a very romantic talk outside where Klaus flirts with her.

3x20- Elena is taking Stefan to the dance right after making out with Damon. Damon is really upset and distant. Aside from that, Alaric's going to die.
Elsewhere, Caroline and Tyler are dancing and Klaus interrupts, using his power over Tyler (he doesn't know Tyler's unsired yet) to dance with Caroline and flirt with her more.

4x07- At the Miss Mystic Falls pageant, Elena and Damon are talking, when suddenly the writers start throwing in hints about the sire bond. They give us DEx, interspersed with Caroline and Stefan making it seem sinister.
Elsewhere, Klaus and Caroline are talking. They're being all cute and romantic again and Klaus is actually the one who tells Caroline about the sire bond.

4x13- Damon and Elena are constantly fighting in this episode, with everyone egging them on. They have a massive argument about the cure and Elena is 'jealous' of Rebekah and Stefan.
Elsewhere, Caroline is able to have a conversation with her sort-of ex and his mom's murderer after killing Klaus's brother. And Klaus basically admits that he's in love with her after nearly killing her.

Klaroline is a ratings gimmick that evolved into a future relationship which has serious potential. It's not a bad thing, so don't take it as one. Many of the best characters and relationships started as nothing more than fanservice. But do you see how this affects Delena? We all know that there probably aren't going to be two identical couples on the show. While they're both exciting in their own way, they become boring if they both happen, because they have very similar dynamics. So let's see what we're up against.

Delena is the largest ship in the TVD fandom after 4 seasons, 4 kisses, 6 dances and 3 DEx scenes.

Klaroline is the second largest ship in the TVD fandom after 2 seasons, half a kiss, 2 dances and repeatedly trying to kill each other.

Do you see a slight imbalance here? Or maybe a weird, shaky balance? If you are one of those people who ships both Klaroline and Delena, there's still nothing wrong with that. But you probably won't get 2 for 2, unfortunately.