#and how to armand he thinks this is him pulling away. that louis loving him in the only way he knows how is a rejection like oh my gooooood

[apoptoses]

Armand, Haussmann, and Paris:

The thing about Paris that's not really discussed in the VC books themselves is the Haussmann project.

In 1853 Napoleon III commissioned Haussman to completely renovate Paris. The plan was to tear down all of the old structures and rebuild the city; reorganizing the streets and reshaping them to accommodate more green spaces, and replacing smaller buildings with taller apartment blocks in more uniform style.

The Paris Armand knew when he arrived as the coven master and which he came to know as the theater leader would have looked something like this:

Dark, winding streets leading off wide boulevards and short, leaning buildings.

The Haussman project would see all of these places systematically torn down, occupants removed to other areas of the city while new buildings were put in their place. In some areas workers were destroying and rebuilding things 24 hours a day.

At this time Armand would have been living at the theater on the boulevard du Temple, Paris's street of theaters:

This dagguerotype shows the boulevard in 1838. This painting, in 1862, looks much the same:

But by 1863 all but one theater on the street had been destroyed, and that was only because that theater was on the opposite side of the street shown in the painting. How and why it wasn't pulled down, I don't know- no information on it seems to exist, just like no explanation for the very small handful of other old structures that were left untouched.

That theater, the Théâtre Déjazet, still exists today. But it was established in 1770 by Comte de Artois, so while it could have been Anne's inspiration for Armand's theater it's not the 'rickety wooden rat trap' that seats 300 that Lestat describes in TVL.

Anyways, knowing all of this, I think it makes even more sense why Armand so quickly grabbed onto Louis and was ready to run away with him at any cost.

Armand, who'd been kidnapped from the monks, who'd had his palazzo torn out from under him, who'd established something of an existence under Les Innocents and was then ripped out of that world when the cemetery was destroyed. Who was watching the city he'd finally come to know get systematically torn apart. Everything that was familiar to him was being taken again.

So why not let Louis burn the theater? He arrived in Paris in 1870, just as Haussman was dismissed. But the work of destroying and rebuilding Paris was set to carry on. Chances were the Theatre de Vampires would be next, and if that were the case there's no way the crypts beneath the place would remain safe and undiscovered.

And if he'd stayed where would they go during the renovation? What would they do? What would the point be in continuing trying to run a coven he was bored of and a life he didn't care for in a new location?

Armand was going to have to begin again somewhere- better that be with Louis, out in the world, than roaming a now unfamiliar Paris. And even though he didn't burn the theater himself, allowing/instigating Louis to do it still gave him more control than letting a stranger come in at some unpredictable moment to demolish things all over again.

(And what of Lestat, what does he feel about these changes? He never could have shown Louis the Paris he knew and loved, which existed when Louis was still mortal- that Paris was largely gone)

Chances were Anne might not have known most of this at the time she wrote interview or even TVL. But I think it still makes a lot of sense and brings up a point about Armand and immortality that I don't see brought up much- that not only do vampires lose every mortal they've ever known, but with time they also see the destruction of every place they've ever known or loved.

(ps: I'm not an expert on this topic or anything, so if anyone does know why some buildings were unchanged or has any interesting historical info to add by all means please, reblog and add it on!)

[dreadfuldevotee]

relapsed. relapsed. relapsed. the loumand/claudeleine bar scene is so fucking diabolical because what do you mean they're all sitting around smiling and laughing, talking about their blossoming lives together. What do you mean Cladeleine are growing flowers out of their victims remains. That Claudia has finally found the peace she deserves to go and let life and love carry her without fear. What do you mean Madeleine puts in plain words that Louis is in love with Armand, that she can feel it through him and subsequently, Armand's wondering if he does. Armand turning to smile at him, giving a gorgeous little laugh before kissing Louis cheek and standing from the table. "Why don't you want him to know how much you love him?" "he knows" as the joy slides off Armand's face and he steps out of the warmth he has forsaken.

[cuntylouis]

It's an underdiscussed part of the show, maybe because it's so obvious, that ultimately this whole interview is happening because Daniel Molloy wanted to fuck that vampire. Like before the 1st season even started Eric Bogosian was already talking about Daniel feeling attracted to Louis, and that attraction is an essential part of their complicated history and relationship and is always underneath every other thought and feeling Daniel has about Louis.

Daniel's intellectual/journalistic interest in Louis is inseparable from his physical attraction to him. When they met in the 70s Daniel felt an instant pull towards Louis, and as he said he really wanted to interview him, but he was also quite obviously assuming they would sleep together. Decades later that pull is still so strong he's ready to throw everything else away to get some kind of closure. I think he's sort of embarrassed by his own emotions (especially when he seemingly hasn't come to terms with his sexuality) and that they still have so much power over him no matter how old and mature he is. He's so snarky and rude to Louis to protect himself, to hide his vulnerability and feel like he has some kind of control over the situation. It's something similar with Armand; whether Daniel and Armand have a history or not, Armand is an attractive, powerful man who managed to trick Daniel, so Daniel feels the need show that he's in control and that he's not afraid of or intrigued by Armand, even though he's both.

But this exterior started to crack at the same time Louis' own did. In the beginning Daniel tried to keep his distance (and he probably reminded himself 'these people serial killers' every time he found himself feeling sympathy towards vampires) but when Louis is now acting so vulnerable and strikingly human, doing things like openly crying when talking about his daughter and sincerely thanking Daniel for helping him, it's impossible for Daniel to not feel empathy for him. In the s2 premiere you can see he's genuinely sympathizing with Louis and not even always trying to hide it anymore. Although Daniel says he doesn't really care it's a blatant lie; he's personally invested in Louis' situation. He cares about finding out what's going on and he cares about Louis. He wants to solve this and he wants to help Louis. He still feels strongly attracted to him. Hell, he might even be a litte bit in love with him. Most people who meet Louis are.

In the first season Daniel often perceived Louis as his opponent, and in the s2 premiere he acts like Louis and Armand are both his opponents, but i think the situation will (based on what we've seen so far and promo/cast interviews) now probably pretty fast evolve into Daniel starting to think he and Louis are in the same team and Armand is their common enemy. We know Daniel is basically inserting himself between Louis and Armand's relationship and even the word love triangle has also been used. Armand and Daniel were famously a couple in the books and might end up together in the show too, but at least for now they're both focused on Louis. I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel starts to feel like he has to 'save' Louis from Armand - even though Louis probably doesn't want to be saved

[massiveharmonytiger]

Anyone ever think about the fact that Armand probably hated the hell out of Claudia for having what he never could.

Claudia gets rescued from death as an innocent. Armand gets rescued from death as someone whose innocence died the day those slavers captured and raped him.

Claudia gets Louis and Lestat's love and takes it for granted. Armand craves their love but gets their scorn.

After she is made a vampire, Claudia lives with two caring fathers only to pine for a mortal life she'll never have and run away from the situation when the cruelty of being a vampire gets to be too much for her.

Obviously this isn't how I see it. Claudia had every right to run away after how she was treated and seek out her own answers. And her child/fledglinghood definitely wasn't all sunshine and roses. Her aunt abused her, Lestat was extremely cruel to her after Charlie's death, the Loustat brawl, Lestat dropping Louis from the sky, Bruce's abuse - all of these were extremely traumatizing and hard to live through.

My point is that Armand could know all of this and still see Claudia's past as the rosy childhood he never had because his was just that fucked up.

Also, I think book Armand is enslaved around a similar age to when book Claudia is turned (I read it this way, although I'm struggling to confirm this, can anyone confirm?) and I can see him wondering why he couldn't have had the dark gift to protect him then. Why does Claudia get it? Why is she any more worthy than he is?

Where Claudia doesn't have to do a thing, Armand has to prove his cruel streak to earn the dark gift and after he is made a vampire, he lives with his groomer, Marius, who is set on fire and Armand is captured by a coven that teaches him to hate himself until Lestat steps in.

So yeah, why would he stop the coven from killing her when she's had everything he's ever wanted?

Side note because I've seen some really bad takes on the Marius/Armand relationship.

Yes, Armand was in love with Marius and Marius loved him too. Yes, Marius rescued Armand from the brothel. Yes, Marius was kinder than Armand's slavers and Armand enjoyed a lot of the sex stuff he did when he was living with Marius. Yes, pederasty was normalized during that time and Marius was just acting like any man in his position would.

AND

Marius was still a groomer and an abuser. Marius was still in a position of power pulling strings to get Armand to do what he wanted and throwing tantrums when things didn't go his way. Marius still got off on Armand worshipping him. Marius was still Armand's owner and his kindness was dependent on Armand doing what he said (like letting himself be donated when a friend came from out of town - some people will say Armand was lying about that, to which I say, fuck you).

The fact that Armand enjoyed sex, started fetishizing his own abuse and using his body as a tool of manipulation doesn't make him complicit, neither does the fact that Marius had redeeming qualities (beauty, kindness, wisdom) and Armand fell in love with him.

None of this makes what Armand went through any less traumatizing. He's 500 years old and we can still see him grapple with what happened in his childhood.

I have no idea how they're going to portray Marius/Armand's childhood in the show, but I feel that even just a fraction of this would make Armand's resentment of Claudia pretty real, and I really hope we get to see Armand confront this in later seasons even though I'm pretty sure a lot of it is unconscious and he may not even be fully aware that he feels this way.

[heliza24]

Please allow me to brain dump all of my episode 5/devils minion thoughts/questions/predictions one more time before the episode comes out this weekend here. Only partially organized into something of a list:

- After the initial aborted interview, Armand is jealous that Daniel is able to connect to Louis in a way that he cannot, and he’s furious that Louis tells him about Lestat. He’s also just angry and frustrated. He’s been trying to make things up to Louis for thirty years, and their relationship has been strained for as long. And he takes it out on Daniel. I imagine the “is that was makes you fascinating?” Could easily be in response to Louis saying something like “I know I should have killed him, like we always kill the boys we sleep with, but he was just so fascinating that I didn’t want to.” And then all the jealousy that Armand has carefully stored away when Louis was imagining Lestat or choosing to sleep with another human rather than him just bubbles up to the surface.

- The more I think about it the more questions I have about Louis and Armand’s relationship (and their relationship to the absent Lestat) at this time. What caused Louis to want to do a first interview in the 70s? What happened between the 1973 and 2022 to change how he describes Lestat to Daniel so much? How and why do Louis and Daniel connect, and what does that mean for why they are repeating the interview in 2022? I am sometimes very guilty of having Armandaniel ship goggles on, I love them so so much together, and most of the further points on this list are from that lens. But I would be remiss to forget that Louis is the protagonist of this show, and that he has always been paralleled with Daniel narratively. So their connection is going to be really important, and i am also dying to understand it.

- Armand’s “I am the quiet you have been longing for” speech to Daniel is the equivalent of Santiago rooting around in his victim’s head before luring them into a willing death on stage. It’s seduction, but a seduction towards death. Armand is trying to peel Daniel apart in his anger. But somewhere along the line he gets too used to looking, too fascinated himself, to kill Daniel.

- I’m sure some of the initial anger at Daniel, and some of the initial anger at Louis, for humoring and connecting with him, has to do with Armand’s engrained respect for the great laws. Louis violates the law about not recording the history of the vampires, by talking to Daniel. He has revealed his true nature and let Daniel live, etc. part of me wonders if that’s why there’s that photo of Armand and Louis carrying Daniel when Louis is clearly being burned by doing it during the day. He made a mess, and his punishment is to do the dirty work of cleaning it up, even if Armand could take care of Daniel quickly on his own if he wanted to. I presume that eventually Armand ends up breaking rules himself around Daniel (not killing him, chiefly) which makes the forbidden aspect of their relationship all the more interesting to me.

- The two examples we have so far of Armand peering into Daniel’s memories (selling porn magazines and sleeping with a girl only if she would cover her face) speak to a combination of sexual shame, cruelty, repression, and desperation. There is something prompting Danny to sell those magazines, whether it be poverty or some hidden trauma. And Armand is familiar with that kind of relationship to sexuality. There might also be something about Daniel’s sexual brashness, as complicated as that might actually be, that feels refreshing after decades of Louis’s simmering resentment. There’s also a similarity between these early Daniel facts and Louis pulling the knife on Paul. It demonstrates a vampire-compatible personality (a certain viciousness combined with certain type of shame) while they’re both still human. And I’m sure that is fascinating to Armand.

- I’m also hoping that we’ll learn a little bit about Daniel’s childhood or backstory. I do feel like he has to be already running from something by the time he meets the vampires. He’s self medicating for sure, and I want to know why. Whenever I write about Daniel in fic I always end up coming back to his relationship to women and mothers/daughters, maybe because his daughters that he doesn’t speak to anymore in 2022 seem to loom large in absentia to me in the Dubai version of his character (especially in the ways they echo with Claudia). His disavowal of his queerness and kind of casual acceptance of the fact that he was a shitty husband does the same thing. The casual cruelty and misogyny of the bag over the head story reinforces this to me. I would love to learn more about this side of Danny, not because I think it’s a particularly good part of him, but because it’s a thing I think we’re missing in our understanding of him. It makes him grey in the same way the vampires are grey, in the same way Louis was grey before he was turned, and I want to understand it better.

- I think Louis begs Armand to stop torturing Daniel; whether or not he and Daniel actually hook up (and I kind hope they do!) I think Louis genuinely likes him. But Armand either refuses or continues to chase/torture/fall in love with Daniel behind Louis’s back. I’m not positive this is what the show is going to do, but I think it would work so well to have Daniel basically be an affair during Louis and Armand’s marriage. that information imbalance would make the drama in the penthouse more dynamic, and I think it would make sense that Armand would be looking for some kind of release, something that was just his, while he was trying to manage Louis’s moods and continued attachment to Lestat.

- I have a kind of more structural question as well, which is- how much they are gonna show us in this episode? Just from a character arc perspective, I don’t think they can end season 2 without Daniel knowing exactly why his memories were erased. That’s his dramatic question; not just what happened to me, but why do I not remember (and what does that mean for me now)? So I suspect that if we only see the first part of Devil’s minion in this episode, the torture and the stalking maybe, but we don’t get to the point where Daniel’s memories are erased, then there will be future revelations in the later episodes about happened in the 1970s. I am also wondering if the episode will be akin to a bottle episode, at least in the San Francisco section, set all over the same night in the same location. This is very play-like, so it would not surprise me if the writers room full of playwrights wrote it this way. And we’ve also only seen images and clips from the one location and the one set of costumes. If that’s the case, and we learn why Daniel’s memories were erased in this episode, that means his interaction with the vampires was actually pretty short lived, and any deeper devil’s minion stuff is gonna happen in the Dubai era if it happens at all. Because of that I either hope that the episode is less of a bottle episode than we’ve been led to believe, or that the bottle episode is only the start of a longer interaction between Daniel and Armand.

- To me Armand is like a dragon, who has been taught through repeated trauma that the only way to get what he wants is to roll over and show his vulnerable belly. Thats his dynamic with Louis; he grants him control even though he is the more powerful one because he wants to keep Louis. But Armand comes in like the monster he is to Daniel, and the fact that Daniel ends up liking him anyway, and doesn’t ask him to dim his power or appear more human or more gentle, is what makes their connection special. That’s what makes generally terrifying Danny early on necessary, the idea that he sees the absolute worst of Armand and is still somehow interested. I hope we can get to the point in this season where Daniel can articulate how attracted he is to Armand’s monstrosity. Based on the critic’s reactions I guess we’re not getting that this episode? But I live in hope that we’ll get that sentiment somehow before the season ends.

- Part of me is scared that the critics who believe that nothing romantic is going on between Daniel and Armand are somehow correct. Like, maybe we just aren’t gonna see any of that at all this season. Maybe if they have a romance at all it will just be in the Dubai timeline somewhere down the road. But then I remember the way Assad plays Armand around Daniel, and the way that he has jumped to Daniel’s aid twice (once in season 1 and once in season 2), and the “Alice wanted to say yes when you proposed but you hadn’t given her a reason to trust you” comment, which to me so clearly reads as Armand talking about himself. Surely those things don’t mean nothing.

- I love the idea that if Daniel and Armand were having an affair, Daniel asking to be turned and made into Armand’s companion would involve Armand leaving Louis, or at least breaking his trust further. That would be a huge leap for Armand because of the ways that he’s committed to and indebted to Louis because of what happened in Paris, and it makes sense to me that he wouldn’t be able to make that leap. Especially if Daniel’s addiction issues ends up transferring to vampire blood. The question of “do you really love me or do you just want to drink from me?” Is such a great doubt for a vampire to have, and I can see it really plaguing Armand, enough for him to not want to turn Daniel. I also hope we get him just in general not wanting to make fledglings because it feels like passing on a curse, and wanting to protect Daniel from the hellish parts of vampire existence by keeping him human. (I wonder if we’ll also see some kind of evolution in Louis and Armand’s relationship that will make it easier for Armand to recommit to Louis. Some kind of demonstration by Louis that he would pick Armand over Lestat if he had a choice? Something else? I’m not sure).

- I do think Daniel asking for the memory wipe himself is the most dramatically satisfying way for it to happen. Daniel being desperate for immortality, and despondent at the fact that Armand won’t turn him, and choosing to forget him instead is just so good. Especially if Armand acquiesces because he can see that his and Daniel’s connection is hurting Daniel and affecting Daniel’s mental health. It would fit with the way that Armand puts all of his partners before himself, because Armand would erase Daniel’s memory to save him, at the expense of his own broken heart. And that broken heart would explain the vacillating coldness and bitterness and affection he treats Daniel with in Dubai. And it would be an incredibly difficult realization for Dubai Daniel to have, that the person he initially thought was a monster because he committed this violation of his mind actually did so at Daniel’s own behest. This would fit with something that Eric mentioned in an interview, that Daniel realizes that he has fucked up two marriages because of the things that went down with the vampires that he cannot remember. What if the reason he could never be happily married was that he was never fully over Armand, even if he didn’t realize it? Heartbreaking. Juicy. The stuff of good drama! This is the other reason I keep reassuring myself that something romantic did happen between Daniel and Armand in the past. It changes the Dubai dynamics in ways that are simply too rich to ignore.

- I also do suspect that season 2 is gonna end with modern day Louis and Lestat being reunited. Lestat has to be around to narrate season 3 after all, and we have that tiny clip of the Loustat hug that feels modern. I’m really excited about that! But my heart breaks for Armand in that case, and I just… really hope that Daniel could be Armand’s safe place to land if Louis ends up leaving him at the end of the season.

[zkaus]

I need to tell you all that I FUCKING CALLED IT over FIFTEEN MONTHS AGO!! And now I don't know whether to celebrate or sob.

Probably both because 😭🫣😂😫 Episode 12 was a revelation!!

But also HOLY SHIT Armand?!?!! You brutal, conniving, sinister, murderous fuck! Way to be book accurate in the WORST possible way 🫣😬

But also... I was so damn close!!

As Armand says in the episode: "Did I catch you in a fantasy, where the boy somehow fumbles his way to publication? Where Lestat strolls past a bookstore, your book displayed in the shop window, where he buys himself a copy, reads your nasty embellishments and comes chasing after you again?"

This literally maps perfectly to how the events of the original novels play out.

Louis impulsively gives an interview (a clear provocation) to Daniel, who then publishes it as IWTV. Lestat wakes, reads Louis' book, and decides to write his own book in response and publicly announce his vampirism to protect Louis (by diverting the other vampires rage towards himself) and to both communicate with and ensure Louis can find him. He is so desperate to find and save Louis, he pulls a gigantic spotlight onto himself this causing the spiral of events in Queen of the Damned and all the rest...

The original interview is the metaphorical spark that the lit the fire (IWTV), and set the house on alight (TVL), that burned the entire neighbourhood to the ground (Akasha). And we all know Louis loves starting fires.

But it never happened so... now we know.

Its ONLY because Armand is still there with Louis in San Francisco that the original IWTV was never published, therefore the events of TVL and QOTD never played out like they did in the novels.

So now we have some confirmation... If Lestat woke up in 1984, he never came out as a vampire, and therefore Akasha never woke up. She's somewhere, sleeping still...

Also here's my (also 15 months old) theory on Dubai....

So in celebration of my apparent predictive accuracy, I have a few more theories to share about season 2, lets see if I'm right...

Or completely off 🫣🤔😂

Season 2 theories:

1. In the books, for years Armand stalked and psychologically tortured Daniel. He was 'fascinated' by him, just like in the show. I think we're going to see that although Armand convinced Louis that Daniel was only involved in 1973, he actually stalked the shit out of Daniel for the next decade (at least!) and probably never truly stopped*

*I'm fairly confident Daniel's apartment is in Trinity Gate (check out those ceilings!), and now we know Armand is into real estate it's even more likely.

2. I think we'll see that Armand moved from obsession with Louis, to obsessively amd sadistically fucking with (and actually fucking) Daniel for years and years. But when Armand eventually genuinely fell in love with Daniel (and it's reciprocated) he freaked the fuck out, and wiped/doctored Daniel's memories. Forced him to forget Armand was ever in his life at all, even manipulated Daniel by transferring his love from himself towards a woman (maybe Alice, maybe his second wife).

Then Armand went back to Louis.

3. I'm about 90% sure that in 1973, Lestat was either locked up (probably locked inside one of Armands horrible drawers in the rubble under the theatre) or horribly incapacitated. Very likely, Armand locked him away after the trial, and kept him there all this time.

In the books, Lestat was sleeping while healing during the events of 1973, so it's possible that he will be in the ground in the show. But by 1984, Lestat able to revive himself (as seen in the opening of TVL). However, in the show Lestat was awake enough in 1973 to speak with Armand. So when Armand told him that Louis was gravely injured (very much like in Merrick) we all know that Lestat would have done everything he could to get to Louis, tried anything to save Louis. So we can only assume that he can't. He's weak, malnourished and most likely imprisoned. And probably reamains so in 2022...

So now, the question becomes where the hell is Lestat right now? He would be with Louis if he could be? What the Fuck did you do Armand?!?

I'll be thinking hard on this one...

What do you think? What are your theories?

.

[nalyra-dreaming]

I'm sure you've heard already but ppl on Twitter tearing sentiment about Louis entering relationship with Armand for protection TO SHREDS. Going off how flirty Louis looked on the date. I just have two question for them:

1)What is that happened after that date that would've made Louis change his heart? (Sarcasm) Yes, Louis clearly boldly flirted with Armand there (lets ignore lestat third-wheeling and Louis taking photos of lestat with Armand being at the side). And AFTER he nearly died by Armand's hand. And Assad confirmed that Armand was planning to kill him, it wasn't just a sham. So, it's understandable that Louis started to look at Armand differently there.

2)"it's also the beginning of the ultimatum with Armand and the beginning of the darker side of their relationship" from Jacob's mouth. They need to look up definition of ultimatum. It's a CONDITION usually combined with a threat. We're being NICE when discuss this scene because I haven't seen single person imply that Armand was pressuring Louis into sex. All I saw people saying this situation happened unintentionally on Armand's part because he's used to power plays, toxic relationship etc

People are sooo hypocritical in this fandom. They SWEAR they love toxic love stories but get scared by toxicity. Bet same people who are pissed about this believe that Louis didn't want sex in ep6 and that he did it to appease lestat. Picking and choosing where to see abuse and where don't.

Also it seems like some give more importance to reviews than cast's interviews. I read reviews and read about tender romantic loumand in Paris.

I also heard Hannah saying that cage in bedroom was intentional. I also read jacob saying Armand is dark looming presence and that he serves function to Louis and that Louis becomes dissatisfied. There was a lot in Jacob's interviews actually.

Reviews and interviews don't always say the same thing, sometimes even contradict each other (Assad and Eric mentioning devil's minion and reviews saying there's nothing between them). And you would think people will focus on words of someone who WORKS on the show, but they prefer to hear only things that support their headcanons

Tbh, I have been taken aback by how willingly everyone is jumping/hating on that post (and, I mean, I have pointed out the same thing???), because... it completely dismisses what Assad and Jacob have said...

AND it completely dismisses Jacob's acting there.

Really look at him. I'm not going to pull up the gifs now, it's the current episode, go look at Louis' face and expression and body language... and then remember what his "inner Lestat" said.

And we all know how good an actor Jacob is, right.

I mean. The fandom dismissing what cast and creators say in favor of accusations is nothing new. God knows I've ranted about this. But... I mean... how can you think Louis, after Armand almost kills him... would just happily enter a relationship? When he just asked to be decapitated??? When the only thing that stopped him - was Armand's comment that Claudia wouldn't be around for long.

THAT is, as far as the tale is currently spun, what made Louis stop. Literally.

Jacob said that it would go darker from here and I... don't doubt it. But I think some people are not prepared, lol.

Dubai is a golden cage, by intent and set design as stated. And Louis was "the little birdie for the next 50 years".

Or does anybody really think the overlay with the coven telling Claudia that was a coincidence....

Or wonder why AMC did not promote Loumand as a couple... at all.

I'm just glad the gag orders have dropped away, at least I can listen now to Assad, Jacob, Sam and Rolin telling it like it is.

[whoreofabaddon]

I apologize somewhat insincerely for the pause in my regular posting, but I'm about to talk in depth about some of the power dynamics we see at play in IwtV.

Particularly, something that has been weighing on my mind is this post by @platoapproved in which we see Louis lightly stroking the bruises of Armand's trauma. Despite the fact the OP caught those hints so amazingly, the reblogs turn into an absolute cesspool in which there are many baffling accusations. So I wanted to touch on this from the perspective of someone who has both been in multiple D/s relationships (albeit as a lesbian and not a gay man) and is also a psychotherapist so trained in trauma responses.

The first thing I wanted to say is that we’re never given any reason to believe Louis is anything but a compassionate and skilled dominant partner. There are no moments portrayed between them where he oversteps any of Armand’s boundaries or where he uses their dynamic for manipulative purposes. We’re actually shown the opposite of that in the scenes where their power exchange come into play. He soothes Armand’s trepidation around setting boundaries and doesn’t force him to witness a new vampire being made. The one time we see Louis truly push Armand to accept a command is when he’s preventing him from killing Daniel, and even then, he validates that he’s hurt Armand enough to understand why he wants to. 

Similarly, we’re actually never shown Armand pushing Louis to take part in that dynamic when he doesn’t want to like so many keep claiming. I suspect that it was actually thrilling for Louis to meet a vampire older and more powerful than his maker, only to find that vampire would willingly allow him to have the control and authority between them. After having spent years in an abusive relationship, it must have seemed to be a gesture of great love to be shown such deference after Lestat had treated him so cruelly and disrespectfully. 

If anything it’s likely healing due to the change in the pattern. And that, I think, is also what is happening when we see Louis begin to draw from Armand’s history of trauma and introduce that into their dynamic. I fully believe he is playing with this dangerous subject because it is something Armand has never finished processing; he's such a trusted figure in Armand's life that it is safe for them to do this together. Armand's not been able to complete the loop of thoughts surrounding his abusive childhood, and so his mind is going to replay it over and over and seek out ways to ‘master’ it. That means his brain has to be convinced that he’s ‘solved’ the issue and the risk is abated. So he is going to keep returning to it or desperately avoiding it, and Armand’s patterns lean towards pursuing the subject matter over and over. The fact that it is Louis drawing on the memories means he knows he’s able to have the freedom of changing the ending; he goes ‘to coffin’ with his maitre at the end, he’s not truly given away for someone else’s sexual pleasure, and the fear and humiliation is touched on but ends before it can get worse. This time the offer is declined, this time he can reply snappily ("I wouldn't let you near my neck..."), and this time he doesn’t have the horrible emotional push-pull of ‘how dare you do as I tell you’ which Marius tended to use against him. (I also think Louis is referencing Armand’s blood being addictive to Daniel in the books, but that’s another layer to explore at a later time).

So I’ll say that, unlike some commenters, I don’t think it’s ‘ugly’ that Louis is mirroring aspects of Marius’ behaviors. Instead, I think the vulnerability and trust that it would require for them to successfully do this shows something very beautiful about the way they relate to each other.  

(Mandatory disclaimer that I am not suggesting that everyone ought to drop out of therapy and process their trauma using an untrained partner and kink. There is a high chance that you can trigger your partner. I am simply illustrating the psychology and perceived intentions at play and why this could feel satisfying to the characters).  And tagging @thequeenofsastiel for the promised meta.

[iamthedevilsminion]

You mentioned you had thoughts on art in iwtv? Something about Louis and photography?

yes, i did! in this post, i had a brief aside about louis and photography in comparison to daniel. a quick warning, i'm pretty black and white about good and bad art in this, that's not something that works in life about art. for the sake of this though, bear with me.

art and vampires is a really interesting topic; almost all the main cast has some point of connection to the arts. marius and painting, lestat with acting and music, louis with photography, armand with directing the theatre. claudia and journalling. i'm going to count daniel's journalism here too, i'll come back to that a little later.

specifically, these are all ways to connect to the world around them, and almost all of them fail spectacularly. marius' works haven't really survived him, he is an unknown name among his venetian contemporaries. lestat is not perceived as being "a real vampire", instead someone running off the clout of daniel's book. louis is desperately trying to connect to the world, but the only "good" work of his portfolio is someone else's.

and a very specific aspect of their artworks are an attempt to mimic, capture, and connect to life and living. and even more specifically, they're all failing.

marius as a painter, had to stage his references. each painting is a facsimile of a staged moment. it's noted that his works are often references to other, more esteemed painters. he has the skill, but is missing the eye required. marius is only ever creating imitations. there is no connection there, no understanding. his work is beautiful, certainly, he loved his aesthetics and maintained them through painting, but it is, at the end of it, a failed connection. he isn't actually interacting with the world, with life and humanity, he's still locked away in his tower crafting an idea of life that he thinks looks beautiful to the eye.

lestat, as an actor, is always performing; all the world's a stage. there is a struggle for genuine connections because he cannot move beyond the role he's assigned himself. his interactions with humans is coloured by the the person he is attempting to be within those interactions, and it leaves him unable to be genuine. we get little flashes of him being honest, such as the conversation with louis' family in early s1, with big emotions, but there is always an element of public performance. when he becomes a rock star, his attempts at honesty are twisted on him because of the book. it's not the vampire lestat, it's lestat the vampire from the book interview with the vampire. it's twisted into another role to play. a chance at connection lost.

armand is interesting, as he's been the subject of paintings, never true manifestations of himself, but as a role, an aesthetic. then, of course, he also directs -- and sometimes performs -- at the théâtre des vampires. he structures the performance in the same way that he leads conversations. there is an ideal outcome, a way that allows the audience the best experience, that portrays the right themes. his interactions with everyone are played like this. he pulls the strings; once more with feeling. there is no connection there, he sees players, not people. even the way he hunts has a script; gentleman death. armand also seeks this in other people. i've spoken about it a lot here, how he tries to live vicariously through other people, and i think this is only exemplified by his attitudes as a director.

louis' photography is the most literal translation to completely missing the point of his form. photography is meant to capture moments; there is something about photography as a medium that works so well in a connecting with humanity and life. to take a photo, and make the moment live forever. however for louis, it isn't. the best shot he captures in the show is a moment of vulnerability from armand, a spur of the moment shot that does successfully capture him. but he captured an immortal, his subject is going to live forever. and he walks each night looking for photographs to take. his camera is up at all times, he is not living in the moment, not living life. he's put a literal barrier between him and the world at large.

another little aside, but there's also something to be said about the way louis views art, as a dealer. he isn't viewing artwork for arts sake, he is looking at it for profit, and i think this is also a big tell about how he views the world.

daniel is an interesting aspect of this. he has spent his life succeeding at connecting with life. looking for stories about people who have slipped through the cracks. he knows people, how they live, how they love. he's seen the worst and best of humanity, and how complicated people are, and i think that while he has a distance between him and his subjects, there is a connection there that the others cannot make. this makes his transition into vampirism really interesting; will he maintain this level of connection? will he keep living? can he?

[starofhisheart]

Sooooo episode 5, huh........

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SEASON 2 EPISODE 5 under the cut

Wow. What breathtaking acting from Assad, Jacob, Eric & Luke. Assad in particular had me captivated. The uncomfortable but graceful otherworldliness he exuded was incredible to watch. I asked for psychosexual torture for devil's minion and that's exactly what I got. Armand, angry but sexy, torturing and controlling Daniel for DAYS. Being so kind to his victim he becomes like a god in Daniel's eyes. The "teach me to be fascinating like you"!! The dropping to the knees part!!! Daniel talking back and resisting Armand's compulsion. God, such good food.

But what I didnt expect was being moved by Louis and Daniel's friendship. How Louis' words stayed with him throughout his entire life, pulling him back from the edge over and over again. Their flirty, casual comraderie in 73' and their burgeoning alliance in the present. They're the friendship i didnt know i needef but im so glad i have.

So.e moments that made me insane in bullet point form cause im lazy:

Armand mind linking to Lestat but not relaying his desperate "i love you's" to Louis

Daniel casually offering sex to Louis and present Daniel like "Did we...?" asdfghkl

Louis shit talking Lestat in the interview and Daniel hyping him up like they're drunk girls in the pub bathroom vs finding out he was doing that so Lestat would read the book and come find him (he doesnt know he's still trapped by Armand probably 😭😭)

The line Louis said at the beginning of the episode being said by Armand at the end, cementing how much Armand has played with Louis' mind

Armand revealing a piece of his past to young Daniel and then seeing him visually switching back to the kind killer (Assad when i find you!!!!)

Confirmed bisexual Daniel

Armand basically telling Daniel exactly what his life will be like and it being accurate 😭

Louis thinking he hears Claudia and immediately running into the sunlight

Thoughts:

So here's how the Alice theory could still work asdfhhkl lol no but seriously I think Armand, like in the books, stalks Daniel throughout his life and perhaps even interacts with him at different points. A cat and mouse chase, per say. This theory of mine is flimsy cause if this were true old Daniel would have had flashbacks & Armand could have just looked into Daniel's past with his powers. But what gives me hope about this theory is that interaction in a previous episode when Louis is cajoling Daniel & Armand tries to softwn the blows with "she wanted to say yes...but you hadn't given her a reason to" and also this:

I very much hope these devils minion seeds they've planted bear fruits, maybe not in this season but in the coming seasons. Surely there's more to their story...

But anyway, the show continues to blow me away each week and I am so sad we are nearing the season finale. I want a million seasons of this. Every Vampire Chronicles book adapted. Truly outstanding performances, writing, direction-everything!

[ladyodium]

I’m feeling strangely poetic today.

TW: Domestic Violence

Lestat is such a blackhole. He’s a chaotic mess with an abusive backstory from which he never really healed from. Lestat is a lot, he knows that and he loves very deeply. Louis to him is His. His creation, His sun, and His Saint. Louis is everything Lestat isn’t, he’s the human quality that he lost so long ago. Lestat believes that Louis is his saving grace, finally someone just like him. In this Sun he’s found there is a deep underlying darkness. He wants Louis so desperately to accept himself as a vampire. He’s constantly angry that Louis denies this dark gift, this blessing he’s given him. He wants Louis to act out, he’s constant pushing Louis to react like him. He cheats, he lies, and he manipulates. He does everything in the book to get a reaction out of Louis and sometimes it works! He gets that reaction he wants, the vulnerability that Louis shows in his anger delights him. He’s a blackhole sucking the light away from The Sun, he’s the darkness that devours light, he’s this all consuming being who wants so desperately to be loved for who he is.

Louis is The Sun, The Saint, The creation. Louis meets Lestat and he’s instantly sucked into the vortex of him. He’s intrigued by this man who seems otherworldly. He finds him so fascinating, so attractive and alluring. How could you not be pulled in? Louis also is someone who is a victim of abuse. His family, his mother, Lestat, and now Armand. He isn’t always a good person but he tried to be. Louis is so traumatized that his mind just blocks out certain memories. Even before Armand messes with his mind. He loves Lestat and he’s ashamed to admit that. He loves Lestat so much but he hates the way Lestat makes him feel so unwanted. Louis really suffers from these severe moments of depression. He struggles with the concept that he is no longer human. He can’t have his business anymore and he can’t see his family. He’s afraid of his own vampirism, he can’t stomach the guilt of killing someone. He’d rather just drain animals and Lestat can’t stand this. 

I feel like Louis is the perfect example of a domestic abuse survivor. Before Lestat never hit Louis, he never raised a hand to him. However, he would humiliate him, cheat on him and then turn a child into a vampire just to keep him shackled in the “marriage”. Louis was happy that Claudia was there for a brief period in time Claudia was his light. They were a happy family until they weren’t. Lestat was jealous of Claudia, they were too similar to each other. Lestat saw himself in Claudia and how Louis was so happy with Claudia. Louis never judged Claudia for eating humans. Louis wanted Claudia to have everything he couldn’t do or wouldn’t do. He (for a time) respected her choices. Claudia really loves Louis, she loves him so much that she wanted to save him from himself. Louis let Lestat do what he wanted, just like how a victim will agree with their abusive partner to keep the peace. Lestat was good at making such good promises to Louis, he whispered honey in Louis ears and he never did them. He was jealous of Claudia having Louis love and attention. He could handle that, so he went to Antoinette.

I’m really grateful with how the show kinda incorporates Louis being black to his situations, it’s very subtle, but you can pick up on it. Lestat could never understand how Louis being black in a very dangerous New Orleans contributed to some of his choices.

The whole fight scene was really graphic and so well down. Lestat had finally snapped because Louis was thinking about leaving him for real. Louis would talk about it, think about it, but he had no one to turn to. His family turned away from him, he doesn’t have his business, and Claudia was gone. I feel like Claudia gave him the courage to finally remove himself from Lestat. Claudia wanted to save Louis from his own abuser like she saved herself. The way Lestat dropped this man from the sky?! Then he comes back just like an abuser and tried to cover it up with gifts. “You are not cruel, Louis.” And he isn’t. Louis isn’t cruel, he’s a survivor. That’s why he’s so quick to deny that he’s Armand’s. He doesn’t wanna be someone else’s anymore, he knows what it’s like to be owned and shackled. He’s free and he doesn’t wanna be tied down.

There’s a whole lot else I wanna say but that’s another post. Thanks for listening to my TED talk.



[casually-slips-into-coma]

spoilers for iwtv s2e4

my thoughts after a rewatch:

i know claudia hates the baby loves window play but she ate up that little song

the lulu role really is so humiliating :(

louis’ expressions whenever he watches these plays always kills me lmao he hates theater kids

louis and armand talking over each other to daniel

armands theater notes lol

claudia no eyebrow big eyeliner look is kinda cunty ngl

im a fan of sam the irish vampire

making claudia be lulu all the time oooh armand i hate u so bad

almost threw up watching louis and armand give different answers to the companion question IN FRONT OF THE COVEN that shit was so embarrassing

i wouldve kms if i was armand

vamp catfight

armand stuck in this situationship dont worry king we’ve all been there😔

literally telling each other i love you and still having the what are we conversation

“do you notice how hot the room gets when you two talk about the secret” plsssss

louis only able to use the fire gift when hes angry👀👀 gee i wonder if thats gonna come back👀👀👀👀👀

louis going🤨🤨 to the schizophrenia question like it came out of nowhere

armands face while louis talked about dreamstat why not just shoot me in the head

loving these dutch angles whenever daniel dissociates and gets an armand memory

santiago looks so good in the gold suit? robe thing??

claudia santiago friendship is killing me santiago i know what u are

claudia killing the guy singing baby lu

i like that you can tell claudias french has gotten better. nice small detail

i love scenes of louis and claudia just talking about non vampire things

santiago mimicking louis was pretty cool

buffoon sighting!!!

whole dinner scene bangs

the guy saying theres smth “fragile” about armand in the photo louis took and louis saying “no he’s anything but” and then the guy saying “you’ve captured the soul he hides” 🤌🤌

louis would never survive a 4 hour art school critique

daniel telling a girl he’d only do her if she had a paper bag over her head??????

claudeline truthers how are we feeling

context for the eating paper clip in the trailer

romeo!!

armand is so down bad its sick

madeline tailoring a yellow dress for claudia😟😟

the whole claudeline interaction was great

amadeo☹️🔫

MARIUS KILL YOURSELF!!!!!!!

the way armand talks about marius

MARIUS KILL YOURSELF x2!!!!!!

“no one has painted me in 400 years” fuck

madeline period blood moment. theres so much here about femininity and maturing might make a separate post about this scene

armand pinning claudia against a wall armand i hate you so bad

we already know that armand is powerful but seeing him choke and manhandle santiago really solidified that i think

picked another one over me!!

delainey is ACTINGGGGG

louis not believing claudia about armand ooooh louis i hate you so bad

love makes you stupid clock it

louis still referring to claudia as his daughter in his head (thru dreamstat)

louis just actively talking to himself girl do that in your head

park bench moment <3

“wanker” i giggled sorry

that suit is his favorite on him :(

“im a little wet” and armand instantly pulling out an umbrella, armand lighting his cigarette, armand calling him maitre

louis calling him arun and armand calling him maitre and then louis throwing away the lighter this fucking scene is cinematic art

the other coven members calling santiago maitre

i kinda like that daniel can hear them arguing from another room. i feel like its a very human experience? really domestic? even given the circumstances

armands eyes were never brown!!!

san francisco flashback episode might kill me im not kidding

insane way to end the episode

ok this was much longer than i thought it would be but this episode has a lot in it. each episode gets better and better and this is definitely my favorite of the season so far.

i am LOVING louis and armands relationship and also both of their story arcs and characterizations. their dynamic is kind of the opposite of what i, and i think a lot of other people, expected but it still makes total sense and im enjoying it a lot

god i love this show

[pynkhues]

https://www.tumblr.com/pynkhues/767837690335019008/httpswwwtumblrcomdownstairsbar76764587027983?source=share

Catching up on stuff, and this post is really interesting and well-thought-out. Can I ask--I've been seeing more discussion about Armand and whether or not Louis could consent to him, or when, and today I saw someone bring up the 1.6 "dissociating" sex scene between Louis and Lestat and call it dub-con. It doesn't really feel like that to me, even though it's obviously sex in a toxic relationship? But Louis gets distracted as Claudia is talking to him, Lestat stops and says his name, then only continues when Louis kisses him--they pretty explicitly have Lestat waiting for permission/encouragement to continue, and the whole thing is rather different from "we're having sex after I've done various mind-wiping/mind manipulation things on you, plus I am hiding the fact that I was directly responsible for killing your daughter and torturing you".

idk where the line is between "this is fucked up" and "this is non-con/dub-con" comes in a show about fucked up vampires lol. But whatever, that scene is hot as well as fucked up, which seems to be their intention in how they shot it. Side note, it's also crazy how those gifs that rotated the scene 90 degrees make it even hotter? I don't know why that is.

Thank you for your kind words, anon! It's definitely an interesting area to explore, especially given how questions of both mental and physical autonomy and agency are so deeply entwined with the themes of the show.

And mmm, I mean, Louis does talk about general disassociative episodes around that sex scene in 1.06, but I'd agree with you, I don't think he was actually disassociating in that scene, and I don't think there was any dub con there. As you identified, Lestat actively seeks consent from Louis when he feels Louis pulling away, which Louis gives, and so it's kind of a non-starter of an argument for me. If anything, it comes worryingly close to implying that people with depression can't consent to sex, which is infantilising at best, and, well - - a pretty dangerous line of thinking at worst.

Not all consensual sex is joyfully passionate lovemaking, especially in long-running relationships, regardless of how toxic they are. People have sex, and want to have sex for a lot of reasons, and I think Louis' resignation to his relationship with Lestat at that point was a resignation not to a lack of power or choice in the relationship, but a resignation to the fact that he's in love with him.

He's taken him back, he knows that he's always going to take him back, he wants to have sex with him, he wants to be close to him, but that doesn't change the gaping wound of a fact that their relationship isn't working. Lestat's still lying and cheating, Claudia's being extremely punishing to Louis over taking him back, he's lost the last of his family twice over, first with his mortal one, then with his immortal one with Claudia no longer willing to be his daughter (an infant death indeed! Louis has to grieve the loss of a child twice over), he's lost his business - something that's vital to his identity - to say nothing of the fact that he's still healing emotionally from what Lestat did to him.

Again, Louis' depressed, but he's consenting. I actually don't even find it that fucked up, like, I think Louis' there because he wants to be, he's just miserable that he wants to be there, which if anything, is just really sad.

[nosferatufaggot]

Okay. Does anyone else think that the end didn't go down how we were told it did?

Like Claudia's last words. Louis was there to hear Claudia tell the audience she would kill each and every one of them. He was there to hear her make peace with how she feels about the life being in tbe coven made her feel. What he wasn't there for were her actual final words. He only can go off of what Armand has told him. Armand who, has hidden away Claudia's diary entries about him. Armand who says he couldn't have prevented it when he very well could've.

I'm so sorry but I don't think Claudia, who recorded the last words of hundreds of people, would choose to make her last words "No I don't like windows when they're closed." It's plausible. Claudia in the most powerful in her strength. Not physically, no, but where it matters. It's possible for Claudia of all people to be in excruciating pain and still make a snide remark. However, I don't think she did. She was trying to comfort Madeleine. The only person who chose Claudia above all else. Claudia would not take this time to be selfish. Like I said, she already took her verbal hit on the audience and arguably the coven since she also knows their faces. Why would she take another hit? Even after Madeleine is dust in her hands, I don't think Claudia will refer back to the thing made to mock her for two years of her life. I really don't.

And another thing. Lestat in Claudia's final moments. He looks kinda smug in my opinion. And I don't believe it. You mean to tell me Lestat sobbed over Louis but didn't shed a tear as his daughter died right in front of him? Like it or not, Lestat did love Claudia. Time and time again Lestat went off script so the audience could know that he was also at fault. He didn't allow Santiago to paint him as a perfect victim. He may not have been fully honest. Louis and Armand may not be recalling what Lestat said in full honesty. But I think there is enough truth here to say that Lestat was NOT pulling that face while his daughter was dying right in front of him. While his daughter was looking at him while she turned to dust. Not now.

My favourite filthy liar is saying some lies once more. And like, if I'm correct, which I 100% believe that I am, it's so repulsive that someone would deny a father the truth to his daughter's last words. I don't know what Claudia said, but it nothing could be so bad as to hide it from Louis. Nothing.

[heliza24]

In which I try to figure out Armand:

My brain has been ticking away thinking about Armand ever since episode 2.1. I have been fascinated and irritated by Armand in the off-season, so to speak, because I love Daniel and relate to him so much, and I know Armand is going to be very important to him. But we were given so little of Armand last season it has just felt impossible to get a grip on what his deal is. I am admittedly not a book reader, but I also feel like these feelings are still justified because the show version of Armand is so different than the book, in circumstance at least. So he’s the character I’m most interested in this season.

We still didn’t get a lot of him in ep 1, but I’ve been thinking about him and synthesizing some of the stuff that people have been saying about him in interviews, especially about his relationship to control. I’m specifically thinking about Hannah describing him as “Louis’s creature” and saying that he’ll do whatever Louis wants, and that this is part of their sexual dynamic as well. I think this makes sense with what we’ve seen in the trailers; it seems like Louis is the more sexually dominant one between them. So Armand is happy to be more of a sub in the bedroom and in their original flirtations. Maybe in their earlier dynamic as a couple too, we’ll have to see. Meanwhile, he’s in the background, arranging scenery, pulling strings, trying to do everything he can to hold onto Louis and keep him at least passingly happy. This, by the way, perfectly meshes with his role as director at the theatre. Never in the limelight, but always in control. (The stage management school of sexuality, if you will.). I think that emphasis on control probably becomes more pronounced as the years go on, and Louis is sitting in his grief for Claudia and more of their initial spark dies. But it also perfectly explains the Rashid act. Armand is comfortable playing a servant role. He’s comfortable observing from just off stage. He’s comfortable doing those things if it means ultimately having a better grasp on the way the scene unfolds.

For his part I think Louis is probably drawn to the way Armand seamlessly irons out the bumps in his life. The penthouse is a cage, but Louis is his own jailer; Armand isn’t the one keeping him there. There’s probably an interesting comparison to be made against Lestat here. Lestat revels in melodrama and high emotions, while Armand is intent on maintaining a facade of calm stability. It makes sense to me that Louis would have leaned into this facade, even if he knew it was partially a falsehood, after losing Claudia. I think this is true even around Claudia’s death. It was easier for Louis to forget and forgive whatever part Armand played in it, and allow Real Rashid to hide those diary pages away, than to really reckon with Claudia’s death.

I think Louis requested the interview as part of his general goal to narrativize and soften his own memories and grief, and Armand acquiesced in order to keep Louis. The original goal of the interview was for Louis to convince himself he really had killed Lestat, literally and maybe emotionally too. I think it’s possible that Lestat is back in the picture somehow and the interview is Louis’s last ditch effort to convince himself not to return to his maker. But then of course the whole thing goes off the rails and Louis ends up facing down his true memories for the first time in years. It makes sense that when put in an uncomfortable situation- watching Louis talk about Lestat- Armand would default to his old role of manipulating things from the wings of the metaphorical penthouse stage. Him stepping into the interview is a big departure from that, and shows how effectively Daniel has rattled him.

So how this plays against Daniel is interesting. Armand is putting on a big show about how he and Louis were able to manipulate Daniel in San Francisco. But I wonder how true that ever really was. I imagine even in San Francisco, Daniel represented a completely opposite dynamic to Armand’s relationship with Louis, which would have hooked Armand’s attention. If Louis appeared in control on the surface, but relied on Armand’s ability to arrange the periphery of his life, Daniel would have appeared to be easily (and perhaps happily) dominated, but resistant to Armand’s larger attempts to control his life. Obviously I don’t know exactly how they’ll play out a 1970s devil’s minion scenario. But I imagine that Daniel’s addiction, and Armand’s misguided attempts to protect him from it, will play a role in whatever kind of break up and memory erasure ensues. Whether it was the addiction or his personality or something else, there was some element of Daniel that was too wild for Armand to tame. He threw him back into the pond, all memories of being snared on the fishing line erased. And it’s entirely possible that Armand feels this loss of control very deeply. As heartbreak and loss, but also as a scary moment when his grip on the love that he needs in his life faltered. It’s possible that the break up with Daniel made him even more determined to control outcomes with Louis. And it’s also possible that the pain that he felt when he originally lost Daniel is causing him to revise and edit his own memories of his relationship with Daniel. If Daniel broke Armand’s heart, it would be a lot easier to remember him as a silly boy Armand manipulated in tandem with Louis than someone Armand actually found fascinating. Admitting otherwise means admitting his own weakness. So memory becomes the monster, again, even if you are the one controlling the vampire amnesia.

For what it’s worth, I currently think that Louis doesn’t know about Armand’s past with Daniel. I don’t think Louis would be as vulnerable with Daniel if he knew. And that would point to Armand once again subtly manipulating and managing Louis, completely hiding his connection to this mortal from him.

Regardless, I don’t doubt that Daniel was less fearsome in San Francisco than he is now in Dubai. (The show’s insistence that an elderly disabled man is just as powerful in his own way as an immortal vampire is perfection, and it makes me want to kiss all the writers on the mouth). He’s even less controllable by Armand than he once was (if he ever was), and he’s intent on finding out Armand’s truth, and the truth of their connection. I was really struck by Assad saying in an interview that the thing that Armand wants most is acceptance. He craves love and acceptance, but is terrified to show his real self and be vulnerable. Thats why he’s continuing to play stage manager to Louis’s love. But Daniel is coming for his true self in Dubai whether Armand wants it or not. And I imagine that is both extremely confronting but also ultimately attractive to Armand.

I deeply hope we get to see Daniel crack Armand’s sense of control. I hope we get to see Armand being vulnerable to Daniel and Daniel being receptive to that. I also hope we get to see Daniel facing down Armand as the source of his trauma (because being stalked, bitten, and then having your memories forcibly repressed is trauma, even if Daniel was attracted to Armand through it). I hope we get to see the way that trauma and fear and desire and love intermingle. And I also hope that when Daniel breaks Armand’s sense of control and sees his true self, he still likes what he sees. Because I would like Armand to get that acceptance from someone, even when his worst tendencies are laid bare.

(Oh, and while I’m making predictions- I’m not worried about 70s Devils Minion not happening, or them interacting in the 70s but it not turning into some form of romance. There is simply no better way to add stakes to the Dubai iterations of the characters than to give them this hidden history, and Rolin has talked extensively about needing to bring Daniel into the story in a personal way and crank up the conflict happening in Dubai. The penthouse is no longer just a framing device, but a site of active conflict and growth, and the only way you do that is exploring past and future DM dynamics. In ep 1 it’s still mainly acting as a frame, but I’m really excited to see its importance grow over the season).

Armand is such an intriguing mystery, but if I’m right about some of this stuff I actually relate quite strongly to him too. (I am reminded of a Brennan Lee Mulligan quote, where he describes characters you love/play as being garages attached to your actual personality of a house, and sometimes some piece of writing or improv shoots a sniper rifle perfectly through the garage door into the house and hits you in the heart)

@bluedalahorse warned me that this is how you really get stuck on a ship, when you see pieces of yourself in both characters, and I do fear that she is right.

So we’re really in it now, is what I’m saying. Send me your Armand thoughts, I want all of them. I will be counting down the days until episode 5 and obsessing until it airs. I’ll check back in on this meta later, I guess, to see how correct or incorrect I was.

[kindaorangey]

half blank, half apocalyptic [armand playlist]

half blank

i'm your man (mitski)

this song is like. a thesis statement of sorts for the playlist. every line is armand. but here's the key stuff:

"i can feel it gettin' near/like flashlights comin' down the way/one day you'll figure me out/i'll meet judgement by the hounds"

i find it interesting that armand let daniel interview louis a second time, even though he had so much to hide. on the one hand, he believes himself powerful enough to retain control of the situation; on the other hand, there's only so much he's willing to do to make sure louis stays - louis is suspicious of armand before the story begins and armand knows this, thinks daniel will help put those suspicions to rest if he can make it through the interview without being found out. far from exerting complete control over louis all the time, armand pulls the strings from time to time from the cover of shadow. so, by letting daniel come for the interview, he inadvertently bring about the unravelling of his lies.

"people always gave me love/others were never to blame after all"

there's a tendency among trauma survivors to swing from understanding themselves as a victim to viewing themselves as solely at fault for the damage done to them, and as evil. of course, these extremes are both kind of true for armand - he is a victim, and he is kind of evil and responsible for his own suffering. but the pendulum swing is what i'm talking about here - in the wake of his lies being revealed and louis leaving him, that sense of guilt bleeds into everything he might otherwise see himself as innocent for. this is my fault, therefore all of it has always been my fault.

geyser (mitski)

"you're the one i want/and i have turned down/every hand that had beckoned me to come"

rewatching s2 it's crazy to me how much armand throws himself at louis in paris, how quickly he's ready to let his coven turn on him just so he can chase after his manic pixie dream boy

"i will be the one you need/i just can't be without you"

as much as armand molds louis into someone who would want to be with him by lying to and gaslighting him, he also molds himself into someone louis would want to be with. he plays the victim, he's subservient to louis, he lets louis sleep with hundreds of other men even though he's clearly not thrilled about the situation. and i think he enjoys playing this role, but a lot of it is not good for him. louis makes a mess, armand cleans it up.

off to the races (lana del rey)

THIS ONE'S ABOUT MARIUS!!!! DON'T COME FOR ME!!!!!! listen i feel so self-conscious putting a song that is so quintessentially modern LA on a playlist about a 500-year-old vampire. but there really isn't anyone that captures the concept of this song better than ms. lana del rey.

"my old man is a bad man, but/i can't deny the way he holds my hand/and he grabs me, he has me by my heart"

"he knows me/every inch of my tar-black soul"

"light of your life, fire of your loins/tell me you own me"

"i'm not afraid to say that i'd die without him/who else is gonna put up with me this way?"

the power imbalance, the slight awareness that this relationship is unhealthy, but committing wholeheartedly to it because you sincerely believe there's nothing better you deserve, and nobody else would treat you better. it's armand and marius.

me and my husband (mitski)

"i steal a few breaths from the world for a minute/and then i'll be nothing forever"

anyone else constantly thinking about lestat calling armand "nothing"?

"i bet all i have on that furrowed brow/and at least in this lifetime, we're sticking together"

again, a big part of armand was willing to throw away his coven of 300 years to be with louis. he just latches on to louis as his thing to pursue and reason to live.

to be alone (hozier)

sexual trauma song woo

half apocalyptic

the kiss (the cure)

"kiss me, kiss me, kiss me/your tongue is like poison/so swollen it fills up my mouth/just, just love me, love me, love me/you nail me to the floor/and push my guts all inside out

just get it out, get it out, get it out/get your fucking voice/out of my head

i never wanted this/i never wanted any of this/i wish you were dead"

armand tends to seek out relationships that remind him of his relationship with marius - which is to say, one where he concedes control to the other person, and toxicity feels familiar to him. he simultaneously craves this dynamic and, naturally, resents it, because it's unhealthy for him. and in 2×05, i think we see hints of him conceding control to louis as a way to punish himself for what he did in paris.

f major (hania rani)

plucked straight from assad zaman's armand playlist! it's dark, it's elegant, it just has a really beautiful ominous vibe

tuck (yves tumor, NAKED)

mostly vibes tbh. it's unsettling to listen to, and i put it on here because it's unsettling to listen to. but here are the relevant lyrics anyways:

"tears on steel for you/you, you, you/piercing skin for you/you, you, you/scars in my heart for you/you, you, you/i fell off this world for you/you, you, you"

"tie me up/looking down/black mass ready/tie me now"

"have someone else's will as your own/mercy of the master you've never known"

it will come back (hozier)

this one's full gremlin.