cbrownjc

[cbrownjc]

Great breakdown! And to just add some more of my own, general thoughts regarding the book lore about this:

One: Yes, the blood exchanges between Daniel and Armand during their past relationship are a significant part of why what is going on is going on, IMO.

I think I've spoken before about having a theory that Armand couldn't read Daniel's thoughts during Seasons 1 & 2 before because of those past blood exchanges. However, Armand never drank enough blood from Daniel or gave Daniel enough blood back in the past to turn him.

But doing so in the first place, IMO, did leave a significant trace amount of Armand's vampire blood inside Daniel's body IMO. Enough so to either make it hard, if not impossible, for Armand to read Daniel's mind anymore IMO. However, as shown by Louis with Madelaine, Armand could/can probably feel Daniel's emotions on some level. Though maybe only very strong ones, like the ones Daniel was having about Alice back in episode 2x02.

Now, all of this would only be expanding on lore from the books regarding how Daniel was affected by the blood exchanges between himself and Armand. Because Armand's not being able to read Daniel's mind anymore after exchanging blood with him for almost a decade was never something that happened in the books, and Armand very much could still do so.

However, Daniel did feel -- though he was never completely sure -- that the blood exchanges did affect him in other ways, and Armand himself very much saw it all as binding Daniel to him.

And again, I do think the show has expanded on all of that here. As well as it all, maybe, giving a very simple explanation as to why Armand never seemed to ever read Daniel's mind regarding things, and just looked at him in confusion sometimes, particularly in episodes 2x04 and 2x06.

Whereas if you look at their first encounter with each other, back in episode 2x05 during the 1973 flashback, Armand was reading Daniel's mind super quickly and easily.

And this IMO is why Armand did not know, or pick up on, the fact that The Talamansca had made contact with Daniel or that Raglan James was messaging him. Armand could maybe feel that Daniel was hiding something, but he couldn't figure out what it was because he couldn't read Daniel's thoughts with ease anymore, like he could back in 1973.

And that, IMO, is because of the almost decade-long blood exchanges between Armand and Daniel in the past.

(Side note: The Talamansca show also appears to be setting up the lore that its agents are skilled mind-readers, as well as being able to block people from reading their minds, from the books as well; given the spoiler we have regarding Guy trying to read Daniel's mind. This also explains why Armand couldn't read Real Rashid's mind as well IMO.)

Two: In the books, there are three founders of the Talamansca. They are --

Teskhamen: an anchinet vampire who was Marius' Maker. And Marius, as we know, is the one who made Armand.

Hesketh: a vampire made by Teskhamen, and his companion.

Gremt Stryker Knollys: a spirit who has been a spirit for so long that he doesn't remember what his former human life was.

Now, something both the IWTV/TVL show and the Talamansca show have done is have vampires be among their members of the order as agents, as we've seen with the vampire Sam Barclay. That is unique to the show's universe. In the books, while these three supernatural beings were the ones who founded the Order, the Order at large never knew that. The founders, as well as those who were considered to be "The Elders" -- meaning those who currently ran the whole Order afterward over the centuries -- were never seen by anyone. (The thought was that members of the Order were secretly selected to become a new Elder when a current Elder would die.)

Anyway, in the books, no vampires were ever members -- or "agents" -- of the Order. However, the show has very much done that and made vampires a part of the Order.

Which then, IMO, means that there are also likely some spirits (or ghosts) who work for the Order in the TV show's universe as well, given that a very old spirit was one of its three founding members, just as it is regarding the vampires.

Meaning it is quite likely that Raglan James is not the only one around in the Order who has the ability to place their soul/spirit inside another biological body.

And as said, some spirits are very strong and powerful. For example --

Three: Amel is the spirit that created all vampires over 6000 years ago. And it is through Amel that all vampires in the world are connected to one another. Think of it all like a spider's silk web. And Amel is the center of that web, with Akasha's body being his host, with his spirit essentially fused to her brain.

If the host body is fully destroyed, with Amel's spirit still fused to the brain of the host as it is destroyed too, then all vampires the world over will be destroyed.

Amel also has the ability to have his consciousness travel along that web that connects all vampires. And he can use his consciousness to influence and cajole other vampires into trying to do his will, particularly violent things. All of which comes to a head in the book Prince Lestat.

And in time, Amel becomes strong enough to even take over his host's body, meaning the biological body of the person -- the vampire -- Amel's spirit-self is contained in and fused to, and can make that biological body move and do what he wishes. Even though the body's original soul/spirit is still in there as well, along with Amel's.

So yes, as seen with Amel, one body can have two spirits inside it -- the original body's soul/spirit plus the invading spirit.

However, it is also possible for the invading spirit -- if it is stronger than the host's soul/spirit -- to kick the original soul/spirit out of the body in question and fully take that body over.

-----

These are just the general lore overview of things regarding this that, on my end, I feel okay talking about. Because some of this stuff is going to be coming up outside of what might be going on with Daniel at the moment.

And the blood-exchange thing, IMO, goes into explaining why Raglan James might have sought Daniel out specifically -- as well as explaining what connection that gives Daniel to the Order in general (along with Armand).

hi, im trying to understand the body swap theory but its really confusing for me, since i havent read the books. (so im sorry in advance if these are stupid questions)

when you say theres a "thing" possessing daniel's body when he's angry, how exactly does that work? what is that "thing"? does daniel become unconscious when he's possessed or is he still aware of it? does his soul get transferred to another body? does that mean every time we see daniel with orange eyes then its not really daniel talking, but someone/something else? and how would talamasca be connected to it?

this theory is very hard for show-only fans to grasp, but much of it is due to not having the lore knowledge that book fans have. and i understand that you cant have a complete detailed theory yet, since we're still missing information. but i would appreciate if you explained a bit more how the lore works in the books and how it could potentially work in the show, regarding this body swap theory with daniel.

thank you :)

Okay, so in real quick and much simplified and obviously(!) not in detail (yet), a few lore facts :)

I'm putting this under the cut though so only those who want read it, because while it won't explain everything right now, some might want to take it a step at a time?! 😅

there's spirits and ghosts in the VC that possess or haunt others

sometimes that spirit merges with that person and creates something new (this is how vampires were created)

sometimes that spirit or even just traveling soul possesses a person only temporarily

this "temporary" possession can be a "visit" (Akasha tells of living with mortals for a while, while her body is sitting there for millennia, for example), OR... that possession can be a "takeover" (Amel for example takes over vampires later to make them do what he wants. Amel is also the spirit that merges with Akasha to make the first vampires)

Amel, also, comes to awareness "as himself" within the vampires (it's complicated) rather violently, he is drawn to violence and blood, and he literally takes over the vampire, making them also at times blackout

there is also a more... "permanent temporary" possession, let's put it that way, where another soul takes over a body and pushes the original/pre-existing soul out. That is what happens in the fourth book, "The tale of the Body Thief", and Raglan James IS that thief

ghosts can haunt and are factually very close to spirits, and they can manifest, meaning (some) become "solid" and almost alive again

Alright, with these little... facts out there, this is what I think:

Daniel, in The Talamasca show(!) is likely not yet fully turned and I think the Talamasca show might be before TVL, time-wise.

They (or Raglan James) have sought access to him because of his past with Armand, and the blood he shared back then with Armand. Armand is Marius' fledgling, and full of powerful blood from the Mother and Father... and therefore has already traces of Amel within his body.

There was the question of "reciprocation" for the trial script, and Raglan being Raglan... means he is already low-key planning getting a vampiric body for himself (which is his plan in the book). And Raglan can body swap.

Now, they probably do/need trial runs, with someone else? Someone else's soul? Some kind of spirit they can call? I think that spirit or whatever feeds on Daniel's anger, and therefore comes to the fore then. I think the changing eye color is their way of visualizing that, because they need to find a way to visualize the possession.

And they need to establish the concept, because there is more than one of those... possessions/swaps/takeovers happening in the chronicles. A lot more.

So I think the Daniel that is fully turned in s3, after whatever happened in Talamsca and whatever else happened before we got to see him at the end of s2.

Now, as said, this is speculation, built on a gut feeling and the very few hints we got already, and what I talked about with others in DMs, and as such it is... still thin.

But ... given the things they need to establish?! I would be very surprised if it didn't at least touch all this :)

[cbrownjc]

Interview With The Vampire And That’s The End of It. There’s Nothing Else

[cbrownjc]

Enjoying hot springs

(via)

[cbrownjc]

SUPERMAN and SUPERGIRL — SUPERMAN // (2025) dir. James Gun

[cbrownjc]

Like, I am biting my tongue not to talk about this. Because I really, really want to watch The Talamasca show first, at least, before I even think about writing out some long-ass meta about the things we've talked about regarding this.

But yeah, IMO, the show is very much following the books on this, particually lore-wise. More than I thought possible until recently, honestly.

And 100% agree that Daniel's transformation has to do with his past with Armand. Frankly, (if what we're thinking is correct), then it wouldn't have been possible without Daniel's past with Armand. And that is why Raglan specifically roped Daniel into the reciprocation thing, plus everything else you mentioned.

Canon spirit possession. That is going to take on such a big role, particularly for Lestat's character, going forward after Queen of the Damned.

Hell, it's part of the basis for their being a Queen of the Damend in the first place, and the vampire tribe's very existence.

And yeah, all of this is from the books. And the show, by my eyes at the moment, is very much pulling it all in, even earlier than some of the books themselves did.

And right now, it is very much a long game of waiting and seeing if this is all really going there or not, and if the small seeds really are what they appear to be at the moment.

Are they even following book lore that deeply? They are going a different direction with the show and maybe keeping the important plots, but basing everything on the book is eh now. I don't see how James would be possessing Daniel all the time his eyes change. Even him talking to Louis in 2x8. He would have to possess him 3 times in the scene in Talamasca, if that's what you are implying? Even when he has human eyes, he's still himself as Daniel. I do think the body switching/ soul switching will happen at some point, I just don't see a possession?

I personally think the body switching would happen when Eric no longer wants to be part of the show or something else....

Sorry, I'm trying to really understand your theory, and your tag doesn't really go into depth.

No, what I am implying is that the thing that possesses Daniel there comes to the fore when he's angry/hungry :)

I assume you have not read the books, else you would know about the canon spirit possessions. Which created the vampires, which are a driving force behind some of the biggest canon events.

It's not just about Daniel, Sam also confirmed that "Lestat has that thing inside him", and Rolin recently talked about that as well.

Eric talked about how when Daniel is afraid he gets angry, and this spirit loves violence, and comes to the fore in violent situations.

And, tbh, I think they -are- following the book lore quite closely. It may -seem- as if they do not at times, but every time I doubted they did (so far)? They then pulled back to it. And I think that will hold here as well.

*sighs*

There is a lot of speculation wrt Daniel right now, nothing I can conclusively argue. I talked about it with @cbrownjc, but we agree that it is a bit... well, thin still though very much based in the lore, books AND show.

But I don't think the fandom is ready to discuss all that, there is heavy resistance already to even the Amel theory, and THAT has been confirmed by both Sam and Rolin.

And I have talked about it, I do get that resistance to an extent, because that does lean into abuse apology, wrt the fight... not that Rolin will care much about that.

So. In real short?

I think Daniel's transformation has to do with his past with Armand and the physical basis for what the vampires actually are, the current reciprocation issue with Raglan and wrt body swapping, the Talamasca wanting something from him, and him then getting turned. :)

I know that might make not much sense to you right now.

But... maybe, in a few years, you can come back to this post, and we'll both high five - or slap our foreheads in unison *grins*

[cbrownjc]

And if I may add:

If you look at the vampires in the show, their vampire eyes will change shades within the same color palette, but they don't change to a totally different color away from that palette.

Like, Armand's eyes don't change from dark amber to light blue all of a sudden, depending on his mood. The shades all stay within the dark amber color palette.

And look, leaving aside for the moment that Daniel's eyes shouldn't have their same human look to begin with if he's turned, those eyes going from Eric's regular blue color to a possible purple/gray? Still within the same palette range at least. (And yes, the purple part does match the books.)

But Daniel's eyes going from those colors to yellow/orange? Yeah, no.

As to whether the show is following the book or not regarding the eyes, I already made an argument here about that. If the show weren't following the books about this, then, IMO, they wouldn't have bothered changing Jacob Anderson's real-life brown colored eyes to book!Louis' green ones. Because there is no story reason why Louis' eyes need to be green. (Unlike Lestat, who Mangus specifically chooses because he has "Sunlight in the hair" and "the blue sky fixed forever in [his] eyes.") As far as Louis' character goes, it's just an aesthetic-beauty thing.

But the show went out of its way and did it anyway. And has done so for other pretty insignificant canon details (like the color of the dress Claudia died in).

However, yeah, as @nalyra-dreaming said, neither of us sees this all as some type of lore-breach or something. We both very much think that this is a scenario, and probably one of the show's way of setting up and bringing in lore from the books regarding souls/spirits, body switching, and other things.

And yes, I'm pretty sure some think this eye color thing is insignificant, but no. I truly do not think it is. And that it is all very much a visual cue setup for story threads and plots that will be coming later down the road.

Because storytelling in a visual medium works best using, well, visuals.

And a vampire's eyes are one of those things the show is choosing to use to tell the story they are adapting from the books IMO, given what we've seen the show do with them before regarding possession and such.

And as Rolin himself said, the show has to set this stuff up (regarding souls, body switching, and the like), and I still very much believe he is using Daniel's character to do so (and yes, even after the Talamasca show spoilers).

I don't believe it's a far stretch that his eyes change depending his mood. I doubt they are following the book through and through. It can also be an Eric thing with having to wear contacts all the time.

Can you also elaborate on the body switching theory? Why you think that's part of his power? In Talamasca, he hates the Talamasca organization now for how they rewote on his book, and how he doesn't like to be rewritten. (Written by a person on tumblr who saw the advance screening) Shouldn't this power be Raglan James, not Daniel's.

thank u! =)

Eye color changing by mood IS a far stretch, it is totally outside the lore.

I know it may not seem much if you are "only" (no shade!) coming from the show, but canon-wise this is a big "WTF".

And I did not say it was part of Daniel's power. But it IS a power Raglan James has, yes. And there was this discussion in 2x08 for reciprocation for the trial script.

@cbrownjc and I have talked about it, but ultimately I think we are looking at a possession scenario here, more than a lore-breach. Rolin Jones is on record having to "find a clever way" to visualize the canon body switching, and "establishing the concept of a soul", and they have to start somewhere, right :)

All the body swapping posts should be in the tag, I can only recommend also following the links provided.

[cbrownjc]

Also, there is a recent spoiler from the first episode of The Talamasca show (from a recent screening that took place) about this:

And apparently, Daniel flat-out says the Talamnsca not only edited the book, but that they rewrote parts of it too.

And Daniel is very much pissed off about that. Apparently, specifically noting that he hates being rewritten.

So, hey, if that reunion scene WAS put in the book? It very much was NOT Daniel's doing.

The train scene would be different because that was specifically talked about during the interview. Whereas the reunion scene was after the interview. So the context of how both scenes are presented is totally different from each other.

And as said, Daniel would not be making shit up just for a good story.

That is NOT Daniel's character when it comes to interviewing and reporting, or his MO. As he said in the damn opening of the show, "honesty is not a tactic." He would not be throwing his journalist reputation away doing something like that -- especially not when the story he was looking to tell was so fantastical in the first place.

Daniel didn't want a good story. He wanted the whole story. The full truth.

And I talked about it here, but Daniel is not going to throw falsehoods into the book for shits and giggles. It would destroy his credibility.

[cbrownjc]

AMC's Interview with the Vampire (2022), Season 1 Episode 1 | Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac & Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt

[cbrownjc]

⚠️Beware spoilers⚠️

Disclaimer: I am considering the eighteen books as TVC, which is just a personal decision

[cbrownjc]

Yes, this here is the theory as to WHY Armand's eyes do the shaking thing when he's angry... and it might actually have nothing to do with Armand being a vampire, but have to do with what Armand could have been dying of when he was turned into one.

And which would fit with the established lore in the books about vampires who had such conditions before they were turned (and which we really begin to see the extent of in Queen of the Damned).

And Daniel still having his human eyes/eye color ON TOP of them changing colors? That's not "vampire eyes." Daniel's human eyes and eye color shouldn't exist anymore once he's been turned.

So yeah, I agree that there is a lot more going on here IMO. Especially if, at times, Daniel really does still have his regular human eyes and eye color at times.

Someone else who was at the screening said the same thing about Daniel's eyes, noting that it works the same way as Armand's shaky eyes - whenever they are angry, the eyes vibrate/change color. I don't see this as a stretch, especially since we've already sorta seen this with Armand. His eyes go from honey brown to neon orange to amber gold, depending on his mood

Yeah, I see it as a big stretch, especially given that Daniel does not seem to have "vampire eyes".

I remain with the theory that there is a lot more going on here than meets the eye (ha!), and that it will have to do with body switching, souls and possession.

Armand's shaking eyes are something else, but something that will come into play with Daniel's actual turning (and his Parkinson's) I think.

[cbrownjc]

Fair. 👍🏾 As said, it's just a theory/spec in how the scene maybe could have still happened if the show might go there.

Because I forgot about the revisit to the fight. But while we do get new context about the fight with the reveal, the fight did still happen. We only just saw it from Claudia's POV in Season 1, which I always took as being an account from her diary. And Season 2 being Louis' account of Lestat's trial account of the fight, if that makes sense?

I don't see it as the same type of revelation that Claudia's turning was, in which Louis explicitly says afterward that the first version of it he told was incorrect, and for Daniel to go with Lestat's version of it.

But yeah, if Louis was with Lestat when the book was published, it would have made more sense for Louis to read it immediately to understand what is in it before he brought the subject of it up to Lestat than to just ignore it, I agree with that. In fact, being there with Lestat more likely would have given Louis less incentive to ignore it than to do so, I think.

I think Louis and Lestat could have talked a fair amount between the end of season 2 and the book, but that doesn’t mean they were having painful conversations about stuff the book covered (might have been a lot of Louis helping Lestat get back on his feet, and Lestat seems quite fragile—both of them might have wanted to hold off on really delving into their past and Armand and all of it). Louis says he’s companion enough for himself — he might have spent time with Lestat but left again, and maintained some distance. If Long Face is about that and exists in the world of the show, it might be that Lestat felt abandoned by Louis even before the book and Louis didn’t realize because he was still trying to avoid being consumed by Lestat again. And since Louis thought the book was destroyed, it took him by surprise to some extent too—and as we’ve seen from the trailer, the content of the book seems to have surprised him in some way, whether that’s because he just didn’t realize how everything he said to Daniel would look written down, or because talamasca has edited it.

I disagree.

I think that if the reunion happened that they did open the door to all that already, and they would have reached a point where they would have discussed what Armand did, and what happened between them.

And, like, in what universe exactly would Louis, after that discussion, have left Lestat there?? Asking for a friend.

Lestat would not react like THAT on the publication then. No way.

[cbrownjc]

in the vampire Armand there is a chapter where newly vampire 17 year old Amadeo starts getting really frustrated because of his gaps in memory from childhood and he asks Marius if he can return to his homeland to get closure and see his family for the last time and Marius agrees and takes him to Russia and Armand talks to his father who is getting drunk (as he apparently has done everyday since his son was sold into slavery) and his father is overjoyed and extremely emotional to see Armand again and to know that he is alive, and then when he is leaving Armand talks to his mother, who he thought wouldn’t recognize him but immediately does, and she (distrustful of Marius, who she doesn’t interact with but sees lingering behind Armand and is immediately concerned about) has Armand sign the cross the way he was raised because she wants to know that he “still remembers” and then parts with him with the plea that he not forget his religion or his culture. When Armand returns to Venice with Marius he stops listening to his teachings and becomes emotionally adrift and distant towards Marius, probably shaken after fully understanding what was taken from him, and after giving him some time to himself, Marius beats Armand for not recovering “quickly enough” from this experience.

Giving all this context for amc only fans to just to say that, what if in the show-verse, Marius took Armand to see his parents in Delhi, and in the same way, gets angry with him when they return and Armand is emotionally adrift after the experince. And maybe in this world the change in Armand after returning to Delhi is more drastic (maybe he’s growing super resentful towards Marius or being irresponsible or aggressive as an outlet for his grief). But instead of just beating him, what if Marius removes the memory of Armand seeing his parents in Delhi, and instills the idea that Armand’s parents willingly sold him into slavery, to keep him from trying to go back to them? Wouldn’t that be aweaome! (Fucked up)

[cbrownjc]

You know, it just clicked in my head JUST NOW that what Armand says here... is different than the account about it that Armand starts to give Daniel in San Francisco.

Because in San Francisco? Armand said his first memory is "being chased down by slavers in Delhi." Which is kinda not the same thing as being sold by your parents into slavery, I think.

In fact, there is a post I liked the other day here (and that I am now going to reblog for future reference) that has a good theory about the scene regarding Marius, Armand, and Armand's parents from The Vampire Armand book, and what the show might be setting up about that moment in their own version of it.

And which might very well fit into what is going on in what Armand is saying about how enslavement happened in the Louver scene vs the one in San Francisco...

"Who am I, Louis?... Am I my history I have endured?"

[cbrownjc]

Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) | dir. Harold P. Warren

[cbrownjc]

okay here’s the relevant and slightly spoiler-y iwtv/daniel molloy information from the first talamasca episode:

- burton (jason schwartzman) makes a joke about disliking daniel’s book (he owns a copy). he watches a lot of reality television and collects rings. uh #jason schwartzman gay voice. he seemed like a talamasca exclusive character

- guy (nicholas denton) goes to daniel because burton points out that there’s some information about guy in his book so guy attends daniel’s book reading/signing. the excerpt daniel reads is when daniel walks into the living room after louis throws armand into the wall (rashid was written out of the book obviously) also, daniel’s writing is flowery and i remember thinking “sounds kind of like anne” initially

- he makes an innuendo at the crowd and calls a fan ‘sweetheart’

- when he’s wearing his sunglasses, his eyes are bogo blue-green (human). when he takes the suns off, his eyes looked (to me) purple-grey or pale yellow (you can see them in the above photo). they’re very much the armand-orange you see in the s2 finale when he’s mad. it’s a noticeable shift.

- what triggers his eye color shift is guy attempting to read his mind. he states he hates when people root around in his head without permission. they absolutely seemed tied to his emotion. anger=armand orange

- the talamasca edited his book and he’s pissed about it. he also mouths off about them - guy tried to whisper about them and daniel starts yelling “the TALAMASCA” bc he doesn’t give a fuck and clearly hates them ❤️

- he’s an ass, but he does help guy out because he “hates being rewritten” (funny guy). he does tell guy to leave it alone though. at he end, he tells guy to “leave before he does something he’ll regret” no glimpse of his teeth sadly.

- without getting into plot spoilers, i would assume this isn’t going to be his only appearance. he seems to know more than he let guy onto about the talamasca.

- no raglan or rashid this episode!

um the end 🙂💛