#LIKE NO ARMAND!!!! YOU WERE A CHILD AND A SEX SLAVE! THAT MARIUS BOUGHT!!!

[autistically-zoinked]

Thinking about this one fic where Armand had a panic attack because he was worried that he was doing the exact same thing Marius did to him to Daniel.

It was so fucking well written and gave me psychic damage, if you know the name please tell me

[armandposting]

i think the biggest anne rice crime in tva, of which there are countless, is the fact that marius in his attempt to get armand to stop asking him about the vampirism thing calls him a baby that doesn't know anything and armand insists no were sleeping together im an adult right? and marius retaliates by sending him to not one but TWO DIFFERENT BROTHELS one with adult women and the second with boys (younger? then him) and the book doesn't even bother to talk about the abject cruelty of marius sending the child sex slave he bought in a brothel to other brothels (one of which is filled with presumably other child sex slaves) and instead focuses entirely on how marius gets mad that armand liked it. insane. criminal even. anne rice WHAT WAS THAT

thats one of those parts where I'm like ok setting aside the insanity for a minute. lol. because it's one of MULTIPLE times where marius does some crazy shit that has an easily foreseeable consequence (that he often Does In Fact Foresee) that makes him go >:( when it actually happens. he's like oh I'm such a nice and cool dad I'm going to send armand to learn about human sex so that he will enjoy it and not want to be a vampire :^) and then armand enjoys it and marius is like hey wait what about me >:( which is extra stupid because while armand DOES somewhat enjoy it his first reaction is to come home and try out all the stuff he's learned on marius because he spent the whole time missing him. so like don't worry bud your grooming is still absolutely holding there but he has the audacity to be jealous anyway about a situation he created. marius. literally what are you doing ever

[bitter-limelight]

So I'm only dipping my toes in "interview..." fandom and I might be swinging on hornets' nest here but

Why is Armand/Marius such a popular ship? Wasn't Armand like 15 when they met?

Woooo ok now this is an ask, Anon, and one I'm excited to answer!

I'm going to preference this with warnings though. Talk of Marius/Armand always leads to talk of Marius/Amadeo, which is discussion of consent, underage sex, historical changes of behavior, abuse, rape, and physical punishment. Just to round out the categories.

Yes, Armand, or Amadeo as Marius named him, was 15 when Marius bought him from a brothel and yes they were immediately lovers. Marius and Armand's relationship is between a fifteen year old mortal and a 1500 year old vampire in the body of a 40 year old man. Get that clear and out of the way.

Now as to your question, why do people ship it? Well. A lot of reasons. Let's start with the fact that TVA I. The Venice years is written as a love story. It's a romance. And I know some people will point out that it can't be a romance story, it's noncon/dubcon/statutory etc. But that doesn't mean it's not a romance. Romance can be and often is full of Proeblantic Content. Let's looks at just some of the romance tropes M/A hits on-

Teacher/Student. Tale as old as time. It's a very basic erotic fantasy, the older man, the one in authority, the one who will guide you and teach you and look after you. Marius is teacher to Amadeo, in the ways of art, history, language, culture. The power unbalance is implicit in this kink

Rescue Fantasy - another common one, as much emotional as physical or sexual. So many people who live in absusive homes or relationships or live with the trauma of that abuse fantasize about someone coming to take them away from it all, be it a pirate captain, a Viking warlord, or One Direction

Incest- like it or not incest is a hell of a kink. Everyone's mom got off to Flowers in the Attic, and there's been media for ages that deals romantically with incest. Angel Sanctuary comes to mind. Marius refers to Armand as his son and raises him as one in many ways. It's another part of the taboo power play.

Whisked Away- this is the one talked about the most in fandom circles and it's related to Rescue Fantasy. This is the captured bride, the arranged marriage, the sold to a king, the harem, the war bride, the sex slave. "Oh I can't let myself enjoy my body and my desires but what if someone stole me and made me and I had no choice?"

"ok but he's 15." Yes. But again none of that negates the previous things. And in fact it only draws me to another point- he's also not real. He isn't real. Armand isn't real. Marius isn't real. All of this is fantasy make believe and in Make Believe land you can do anything you want. Really. You can.

I think people forget that TVC is not a series written for teens. I know a TON of us read it as teens, or younger, many admit to reading it TOO YOUNG, but the fact is these are adult works written for an adult audience and such books, especially romance and horror and historical novels, often contain taboo material and not just taboo material that is explicitly condemned. Because it's assumed that the reader, as an adult, doesn't need the disclaimer to their fantasy to know it's not ok in real life. And this is *fantasy*. Vampires are not real either. I always have to wonder if people would be so upset about M/A if Marius was 1500 but physically 16 or 17. That's still not a child, that's still an immortal creature, but it's one that wouldn't set people off so much. And like. They're Vampires. They simply don't see age the same way. Even Lestat says he could make a child fall in love with me. It's part and parcel with their age.

Why do I ship Marius/Armand? Because I come from an abusive home full of religious trauma, because I was unwanted, because I had no parents who wanted me. Because I was struggling with my sexuality and gender at a young age and stories like these were my favorite fantasy. *Fantasy*. I knew this thing wasn't real but the fantasies helped me escape and it still does. Because I know that fantasy and reality don't have a one to one equal affect. Because I'm an adult and I interact with other adults who also understand this trauma and why we deal with it this way. Because their story is beautiful and horrible and romantic and tragic and dark and glittering and attractive and terrifying. Because they are fucking AMAZING characters in an amazing story and I love that.

Loving this kind of relationship is not new or novel but being so confused about it and anti behavior is.