I think THAT'S the moment Damon stops being necessarily linked to Stefan in her mind, and starts being "hers".
Hmm, I didn't think about that, but good point! They had an understanding before, but now Elena just knows that she can count on him. She can trust him - for a given value of "trust" ;).
Though, it seems more like she's trying to figure out how to deal with a problem she refuses to acknowledge as existing. XD (See: 3x04.) MUST BE CONFUSING, ELENA.
#I ship things based on contradictions
This is the kind of thing that makes me D: when people suggest that D&E aren't really ~friends, for whatever reason, I want to be like FUCK YOU they are FRIENDS dammit. It's the other~ stuff that they suck at, lol.
I've heard people saying that Damon and Elena aren't really friends, because the only thing they can talk about is Stefan. But the point is that they don't have to talk about stuff! Why does everything have to be about communication? There is "we talked all night and it was epic", and relationships like that are important. But there is also sitting together for hours in a dark cellar in front of a cell door, waiting for the most important person in their lives to detox. There is saving each other without hesitation. There is "Why do you even have to hear me say it?". There is "I can help you forget". I mean, can you imagine their sexual attraction being so twisted and complicated if it wasn't based on such a friendship? There are bright, good, healthy friendships in which you say: "Hey, I can totally help you move", and there are dark, harsh, brutally honest friendships in which you say: "I'll help you move the body". And both kinds are equally real.
#I have FEELINGS about friendships, a lot
And I think this ~instinctive understanding of each other is actually the very reason they would suck at having a conventional r/ship? (...) And for two people as guarded and distrustful as D&E, that's not a great basis for a stable romantic r/ship. It's already manifest that Damon resents Elena for tearing down his defences, and vice versa (2x12 and 3x02 are good examples).
THIS. That's why I can't imagine them, you know, actually dating. Comfort sex? Totally. Angry sex? Bring it on. Getting drunk together because they can't stand the world the way it is? This should happen every other month. Having coffee together? LOL, what would they talk about, movies?
Uh, I can't remember a conversation about Damon's feelings o_O. Now I'm embarassed, sorry for repeating the question :(.
But it's not just that he wants things he can't have; it's that he is captivated by the POSSIBILITY that the impossible might become possible. Just that--just the possibility.
THIS. You are right, I don't think Damon was actually deeply in love with Elena in s1; if he was, 2x01 wouldn't have happened; he wouldn't have gone to Elena straight after he failed with Katherine. He was just desperate for SOMETHING, the whole structure of his life was going into pieces, and he wanted ANYONE to take him in and hold him together. Elena, Katherine, whoever. It's pathetic, actually. Then he falls for Elena, because she is the impossible, but also because he has to completely reject Katherine if he wants to remain at least remotely sane, and he needs a juxtaposition. Elena Who Is Not Katherine seems perfect. Then it gets even more complicated, because the juxtaposition breaks when Damon is already so much into Elena that nothing else matters to him. I guess we could say that Damon talked himself into loving Elena.
If Elena actually suggested they date, who knows how he'd react.
He would freak out, but would be incapable of missing the opportunity.
But what really appeals to him is the IDEA of defying the impossible. The idea that even though she's in love with his brother, and he snapped her brother's neck, and so on and so forth, it might still happen.
Oh, it makes all the sense. He almost turned her into a vampire (and her biological father had to sacrifice his life to save her), he did all the horrible things, and she still calls him her friend. Of course it's impossible for Elena to love him, but, hey, it's also impossible for Elena to be his friend. He can't have her... or can he?
Re: HUMONGOUS COMMENT PART TWO
Hmm, I didn't think about that, but good point! They had an understanding before, but now Elena just knows that she can count on him. She can trust him - for a given value of "trust" ;).
Though, it seems more like she's trying to figure out how to deal with a problem she refuses to acknowledge as existing. XD (See: 3x04.) MUST BE CONFUSING, ELENA.
#I ship things based on contradictions
This is the kind of thing that makes me D: when people suggest that D&E aren't really ~friends, for whatever reason, I want to be like FUCK YOU they are FRIENDS dammit. It's the other~ stuff that they suck at, lol.
I've heard people saying that Damon and Elena aren't really friends, because the only thing they can talk about is Stefan. But the point is that they don't have to talk about stuff! Why does everything have to be about communication? There is "we talked all night and it was epic", and relationships like that are important. But there is also sitting together for hours in a dark cellar in front of a cell door, waiting for the most important person in their lives to detox. There is saving each other without hesitation. There is "Why do you even have to hear me say it?". There is "I can help you forget". I mean, can you imagine their sexual attraction being so twisted and complicated if it wasn't based on such a friendship? There are bright, good, healthy friendships in which you say: "Hey, I can totally help you move", and there are dark, harsh, brutally honest friendships in which you say: "I'll help you move the body". And both kinds are equally real.
#I have FEELINGS about friendships, a lot
And I think this ~instinctive understanding of each other is actually the very reason they would suck at having a conventional r/ship? (...) And for two people as guarded and distrustful as D&E, that's not a great basis for a stable romantic r/ship. It's already manifest that Damon resents Elena for tearing down his defences, and vice versa (2x12 and 3x02 are good examples).
THIS. That's why I can't imagine them, you know, actually dating. Comfort sex? Totally. Angry sex? Bring it on. Getting drunk together because they can't stand the world the way it is? This should happen every other month. Having coffee together? LOL, what would they talk about, movies?
Uh, I can't remember a conversation about Damon's feelings o_O. Now I'm embarassed, sorry for repeating the question :(.
But it's not just that he wants things he can't have; it's that he is captivated by the POSSIBILITY that the impossible might become possible. Just that--just the possibility.
THIS. You are right, I don't think Damon was actually deeply in love with Elena in s1; if he was, 2x01 wouldn't have happened; he wouldn't have gone to Elena straight after he failed with Katherine. He was just desperate for SOMETHING, the whole structure of his life was going into pieces, and he wanted ANYONE to take him in and hold him together. Elena, Katherine, whoever. It's pathetic, actually. Then he falls for Elena, because she is the impossible, but also because he has to completely reject Katherine if he wants to remain at least remotely sane, and he needs a juxtaposition. Elena Who Is Not Katherine seems perfect. Then it gets even more complicated, because the juxtaposition breaks when Damon is already so much into Elena that nothing else matters to him. I guess we could say that Damon talked himself into loving Elena.
If Elena actually suggested they date, who knows how he'd react.
He would freak out, but would be incapable of missing the opportunity.
But what really appeals to him is the IDEA of defying the impossible. The idea that even though she's in love with his brother, and he snapped her brother's neck, and so on and so forth, it might still happen.
Oh, it makes all the sense. He almost turned her into a vampire (and her biological father had to sacrifice his life to save her), he did all the horrible things, and she still calls him her friend. Of course it's impossible for Elena to love him, but, hey, it's also impossible for Elena to be his friend. He can't have her... or can he?