Graphics: your words just disappear
Scene: "I just have to say it once. You just need to hear it."
Episode: Rose, 2x08
For Warm Up the Winter
There is so much to enjoy in this scene that I doubt I'll be able to cover it all, so I'm just going to go for the things that stand out to me the most. The memories. The emotions.
Like in "The Return," Elena comes out of the bathroom to find that Damon is intruding on her personal space. But things are different between them this time, so her surprise turns into concern and apprehension instead of gratitude and relief. She knows now that Damon could do anything he wants, and she's right to be wary of him. She won't let her guard down anymore. She won't forget what he is.
Damon, for his part, is also very aware of what happened the last time he was here. Before, when he was in Elena's bedroom, he felt comfortable enough (whether Elena shared his comfort or not) to sit or lie on her bed. This time, he shouldn't be there, and he knows it. He can't ignore it. So he sits on her window seat and wears an almost repentant expression. He tries to break the tension with a silly compliment, and he holds up the necklace as a peace offering. Because, maybe if he shows her how well he's behaving--how well he can behave, she'll let him stay long enough for him to say what he needs. But, needing to say it and needing her to hear it are not the same as needing her to remember he said it. So he can't give her the necklace just yet, and this sends Elena back into her emotional fortress.
Still, the walls between them crumble a bit as Damon tells her that he loves her but doesn't deserve her. It looks to me, when Damon leans in to kiss her forehead, like Elena not only expects him to kiss her lips, but she's undecided as to whether or not she might let him. That's quite a change from the aggressive refusal she gave him when he kissed her before. Granted, Damon's approach is much smoother now, but something inside her must have changed for her to let him kiss her and then stroke the side of her face.
One of the things I love about the way memory-erasing compulsion works on this show is that the emotions do not change. Damon's words affected Elena, and, even though she may never remember what he said, she will never forget the way he made her feel.
It took me a lot longer than I expected to come up with this post, and I think that's because it's impossible for me to capture everything about this scene that feels important to me. So, perhaps, this one of those times when less is more. I don't know.
For this week of the meme, I made 3 gifs (which are 400x226, but shown here as 200x113), 15 icons, and 5 picspam.
All the graphics here are available for download, but please credit crowandfog if you decide to use anything. Please do not edit, hotlink, or repost. Also, please do not use outside LiveJournal. Thank you and enjoy! :D
Damon: "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this.
...But you do."
This time I used a texture on the picspam. I don't usually do that, but it felt kind of appropriate here. *shrugs*
