#armand ��� lestat: i will love you and i will hurt you. if i cant have you then i will break you

[kanjichris]

"why don't you want him to know how much you love him?" "that's a little personal. he knows." "uh-huh."

[frigidwife]

i would like to ask ur opinion on this bc u are one of maybe 5-6 iwtv blogs that i trust and i don't know if i am simply biased but i think u are very thoughtful and fair in ur analysis of iwtv. because even among self-proclaimed louis lovers/understanders, i have seen the idea that louis "could not and would not" save claudia from the fire, or choose her over armand, or that louis was also abusive to claudia if not the Most abusive, or that he "let" lestat/armand destroy her. and i agree that louis failed claudia in some ways (though saying that feels much too vague at this point) and that liking characters doesn't mean apologizing for their flaws and i understand the reflex to spotlight claudia's mistreatment as many fans are so quick to dismiss her importance. but i think people get so caught up in emphasizing claudia's tragedy that they end up falling into victim-blaming rhetoric and ironically de-legitimizing really important aspects of her character and impact. so i wanted to ask though, how do you think louis actually did fail claudia? and should we call claudia's death louis' failure?

ty for valuing my opinion 🥹 i agree w you completely people emphasize claudia's tragedy at total expense of her personality...which sucks bc i love her personality...i think louis actually primarily failed claudia in the exact way that every single parent fails their child. if you've read frankenstein it's about the inherent monstrosity of creation--inherent hubris of creating something whether it's a creature, a work of art (the novel itself!), or a child (shelley's miscarriages and her relationship with her parents haunt the novel). you create something that is a part of you and a mirror of you, you confer your expectations as naturally as breathing, even with the best of intentions, but now the creature/novel/child exists outside of you, outside of your body and your imagination, autonomous, with desires and effects you couldn't have dreamt of, and there is something terrifying and painful in that chasm even in the best of conditions. and this is more broadly true of loving anyone. and in that sense i don't think louis's turning of claudia is really more selfish than having a child ever is. it's not an aberrant or evil desire. so that's one layer.

and then the next layer is the conditions. louis cannot stop seeing claudia as his daughter, even if he calls her sister. she'll always be his daughter. and again this is an almost fundamental condition of being a parent. even if ur parents make an effort--and louis is making an effort--to see you as equals, that foundation is underlying it and can't come undone. the problem is that normally, even if maybe you're always a baby to your mom deep down, you're also functionally an adult in the real world. but claudia is an adult who is constantly belittled and condescended to and treated as a child from all corners. so she goes from louis who can't see her as her own person because he cant stop being her parent to an outside world that can't see her as her own person bc it's structured to deny children's autonomy, and girls' in particular, and especially black girls'. AND THEN the abuse. “you chose lestat over her again and again” i think people take daniel as word of god a lot even when the show has demonstrated that daniel is less than careful talking and thinking about abuse, when it comes to both louis and claudia. Louis chooses to take lestat back, can’t kill him for good, chooses to commit to armand, tells her to put up with the coven’s abuse. those are choices that hurt claudia terribly. but they also exist in the context of abuse. over two decades of debilitating destroying violence and then a new man who tracks him down and dangles his and claudia’s life over him as penalty from the jump. louis is constantly calculating risk based on what they’ve experienced and the same way claudia’s trauma drives her into the waiting arms of a cult, louis’s means he sees enduring as his strongest means of survival . and even from before that from keeping his family afloat under jim crow —performance, self sacrifice at the expense of closeness with grace and paul; using “weakness to rise”. so when louis tells claudia to endure its bc he cannot imagine a way out. which is a failure sure and something claudia can and does resent him deeply for but is entirely and categorically different from what lestat and armand inflict on her . his “choosing armand” is never really about him liking armand particularly it’s him deciding he knows what’s best for both of them—again seeing claudia as his child—to the extent that he won’t even tell her about armand knowing their secret.

this isn’t selfless it’s foolish it’s prideful but the story very clearly is not Louis picking a man over his daughter. (claudia calls out what he wants in a companion in 2.01—“if he can’t call you pretty and take you ballroom dancing” Armand won’t even light his cigarette). i think people have constructed this narrative which funnily enough is the exact same one armand uses to gaslight louis with in 2.05 ("you threw around her name for cover, but you always went back to talking about him" or something like that). Which is really obviously a victim blaming narrative lol like the amount of joke posts that r essentially saying Maybe if louis wasn’t so cock hungry his daughter wouldn’t be dead. Okay?? i think its absolutely fucking insane to call her death louis's particular failure when she was lynched. by armand

and you can tell by episode 6 claudia has realized louis isn’t picking armand over her. her frustration with him is with this martyrdom that she never asked for or wanted, that clearly isn’t “you and me” either. Like you cannot tell me she believes “imagine me without the burden of her” means louis is happy and relieved to see her go Bc she’s not stupid and she’s seen him happy before. If she really thought he meant something like that she wouldn’t behave towards him as she does in the rest of ep 6 and doing the trial. completely ignoring her personality

there is also a hopefully really small subset of people who think pointing out how patriarchy works Is gender essentialism who posit louis as the primary perpetrator of misogynoir in order to justify their fundamental queer human right to call lestat femme . and then expect pats on the back for acknowledging #intersectionality . which is. absurd.

[storyteller-aprendiz]

I dont think shipping is right in the context of IWTV, as like wanting to characters to be together/end up together (someone pls explain what is shipping to me, I still dont understand).

For me is more about which of these toxic/abusive relationships you find more interesting and want to explore, examine, and talk about. And that for me is Louis and Armand.

Because unlike Louis relationship with Lestat, I think Louis has more agency (?) In this relationship. Like he knowingly (?) chose to be with Armand as an act of punishment

And like idk but it is really interesting to see someone know that this person is bad for them, that they had a hand at doing the worst that can be done to you, and you still having love for them and choosing to be with them even as they harm you in horrible, unimaginable ways. Like we could say that is just Louis trauma that keep him tied to Armand, but seeing how easy he left the guy in the finally (unlike you know, having to resort to murder) makes me think that some part of Louis was consciouslly saying with Armand.

Which like so fucked up, but also so interesting to examine.

Which also brings me to the difference in reception between 1x5 and 2x5. I don't really read posts talking about Lestat, but in some ways I think people talk more about 2x5 because the psychological nature of the fight, the way it's like language/emotions based rather than physical which in my opinion is more interesting to talk about.

And again with Louis agency (?), like he was not in you know, Armands playing field, because of the drugs and suicidal tendencies but he still manage to hurt Armand in ways he couldnt (and didn't) if the fight was physical.

Which brings me to another aspect of their relationship I found interesting. Like I don't fear for Louis' physical safety when he is with Armand unlike when he is with Lestat- though considering he is suicidal I maybe should. But that's the point also, like how physicological/emotional abuse is as powerful but very different from physical abuse and we don't see that talk about.

Plus the fact that it comes from a place of *care* of all places.

So yeah, I am sooo happy Louis dumped Armand out of his ass, and that he is happy (?) In the finale of the series and that's it there's nothing else.

But I still enjoy looking at their relationship and how Armand (and Louis) fucked it all up. Because like if only the guy, Arun, had trusted Louis, had learn how to be in a relationship outside of like coven/vampirism, if only he could have relax instead of plot. Alas.

Still the healthiest relationship Armand has ever had. Anyways, I wish we could have seen more of Jonah, see how Louis interacts in a normal (?) Relationship, which tbh I think that like Armand, he cant.

[saintundying]

I’m sorry for jumping into your inbox with this but I feel like I’m about to start climbing the walls rewatching season 2.

I’m trying to stop myself from getting too much hope up for 70’s Devil’s minion. But like…. if it wasn’t a thing, they are soo toying with us (which hey, they might be 😂).

The “digging around in Daniel’s head” scene in 2x2 drives me insane. Daniel proposing to his wife in 1985, okay, let’s say there’s no earlier Devil’s minion, this is about how different a trajectory his life took in this version of the story compared to 1985 in the books.

But- BUT with the knowledge from the books this scene becomes insane!! Daniel, proposing to his wife, in 1985 and being turned down. Daniel proposing the same year he was turned in the books but isn’t turned in the show?! The camera lingers a moment on Armand while Louis asks about how Alice responded to Daniel’s proposal? THEN!!! then Daniel starts flashing to memories Armand fucking erased from his head!!!! (The proposal being turned down also helps drive me crazy, because of it was just about the different trajectory of his life, why doesn’t she say yes? Why is it instead a rejection that matches with how Daniel isn’t a vampire yet?)

1985 -> Daniel being turned down -> camera lingers on Armand -> memories of Armand, erased by Armand.

How is anyone meant to still have any sanity left after that??

Then they keep rubbing it in with stuff like cutting to Armand making a face after Daniel says “Yah” in 2x4. And I’m not even a hardcore Armand is Alice believer 😭😭, but I’m still standing here with my bloody conspiracy wall covered in red threads. I know there are other explanations (for example, Armand is just about to start an amazing face journey listening to Louis wax about his emotional-support-hallucination-ex-husband, so maybe he’s just not super keen about that) but there’s so much of it that if it’s not meant to mean something… someone in that writers room is doing an evil snicker.

omg never a bother - i love talking theories and devil's minion! i have no sanity left with them

GODD the way this show conflates the Dark Gift with marriage and how lestat turned louis on the alter and daniel proposing armand turn him so they'll be together and equals.......but yea lol, alice is clearly meant to stand out as odd. you are so right that placing that memory in 1985 is weird. they'd be well aware tvc fans would notice that. there's...a lot of weird questions that surround daniel, and by extension, armand. i am fascinated with why armand needed to hurt daniel with alice. he's the one who brings her up and he lets louis hurt him with her memory just enough to unsettle him before soothing his pain. that's armand's thing - i am the hand and the balm (i was literally bothering oldbutchdaniel today about armand/amadeo/daniel and how their dynamic is just reynold/alma and control and care ughh armand you need to settle down!!!) anyway, yea past devil's minion happened to me, but alice is a very real person (i think daniel left armand for her or some mix of that). 70s dm is the only logical reasoning for the show to establish armand would never turn someone only to turn someone a day lateri. armand loves daniel and cant bear him leaving/dying. the end!

also tbh i think the timeline for past dm makes way more sense than i think people believe but you have to subscribe to loumandaniel+dubai is loumand trinity gate era in order to see the vision lol

[llycaons]

okay and here's p2. imagine me walking around going HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO???

armand isn't in a forgiving mood, which I can understand, but louis IS in excruciating pain so making him apologize NOW, and partially for TRYING TO DIE feels really petty

and now he's talking about selling...dude that's cold

HELLO?

armand. dude. what the fuck. stop torturing daniel to get back at a guy who's like half-dead. I wish this dl had subs bc armand going THIS IS FINE WE'RE ALL FINE is insane

we talk a lot about louis's trauma since the story IS about him but daniel recalling details like what products were being advertised on tv while staring at the cellophane-wrapped neighbor is like extremely horrifying and I don't like his unwarranted hostility and cruelty towards louis but given that experience I can understand his wariness the beginning of s1 better

the off-tune kazoos in the background. really fucky. im so scared

armand torturing someone louis likes in front of him to 'understand'...I guess the gloves are off. at the end of s1 everyone was claiming freaking out and claiming armand was WORSE than lestat which i think is pretty patently untrue but this man. this is real fucked up. I don't understand why louis stayed after this except...what, to make claudia's death not a waste? to have something to do to stave off his suicidiality?

I mean something they do have in common is being really obsessive and controlling over louis's affections/attention

'BARTERING WITH DESIRE IS THAT WHAT MAKES YOU FASCINATING' SAYS THE FORMER SEX SLAVE

daniel says he's good at getting people to open up which is funny because we have rarely seen this skill in the interview here

but ALSO. armand asks this and daniel actually engages, doesn't just yes-man to stay alive

well. a little

*physically and mentally torturing a guy who you're holding captive* DO YOU THINK I'M BORING????

armand's from delhi

'eager black hole' to contrast louis's tearful confusion

daniel's not hunting for the truth, in this moment. what's the point to his question? no point. fuck your boyfriend

oh shit, instead of armand and louis vs. daniel now it's louis and daniel vs. armand. hurry, he's almost back!

the feet in the sand!

one of the podcast groups I listen to is CONVINCED louis and armand want daniel to reveal some secret he apparently has, and that's the entire purpose of this interview and that's what 'we can have him saying what happened next in no time' means. I really don't understand that assumption. it just sounds like they're trying to control the narrative. but the interview structure is upended now. louis is asking daniel - try to remember! try! go back to the chair. what was happening? what was he saying?

it's also so disturbing hearing louis periodically beg for armand to help him from the bedroom. he can't even move on his own! it hurts! and he doesn't have claudia anymore :(

based on what I know about the novel it sounds like they ramped up armand's malice in this episode. oh wait no he goes and does it

you can see his big vampire fang wounds right there too

*leaning over your grievously wounded boyfriend* so why are you still so obsessed with your ex?

ahhh so louis's description of lestat WAS exaggerated compared to what he shared privately with armand. and armand theorizes this is because...he wants lestat to chase after him again? unhinged, but both of them have made poor decisions when it comes to lestat so I'm not surprised by the suggestion

🙄 over armand being like 'ohh im trapping you in ~empathy~ so I guess I'll selflessly leave you to the man you really want as an act of service' as if louis wasn't HALF-DEAD and lestat wasn't his abusive ex OUT FOR BLOOD. more like acts of DISSERVICE amiright

FUCK HE CONTACTED LESTAT????

okay I SQUEALED 'YES IM HERE'!!!!!!!!! BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOUIS IS SAYING NO!!!! WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!!

'oh hon hon hon louis louis whet hes heppened why hev you injured yerselfff mon cher mon cher' omggggg and armand CANT SAY I LOVE YOU SCREAM

'you left me for death' way to make his suicide attempt about YOU

this is such an insane comment to make and I apologize in advance but this would never happen with wangxian because lwj knows the importance of being selfless and supportive and doesn't take suicide personally. wow such a strong couple 💪actually how funny is it that I'm watching this messy complicated show about toxic relationships between awful immortals and going 'hmm NOT getting a lot of fanfic wangxian vibes from this' like yeah I should read more romance but I simply do not like it! so many of the tropes are boring and played out!!! what's a girl to do!!!

REST

REST

REST

SUDDEN TENDERNESS??? ARMAND?????

ah no. the softness of murder

this speech he gives must be close to what they said to their prey in the theater. he's very good at it. your future is bleak and will be full of regrets. living is hard. do the easy thing instead and die here instead. and I'll take care of you. I'll hold you. rest now. rest

and we know that obviously daniel doesn't die here so it's not so much tension as the somberness and weight of the moment. it's a beautiful scene, and terribly tragic. a murderer - a predator - is convincing his victim - his prey - to give up. to simply stop resisting, and allow himself to be consumed

but daniel has two daughters and a successful career in the current day so we know that's not how this ends. louis again! not asking. maitre and arun. the script is flipped once again. who's really in power in this relationship for long? daniel must live as a testament to our companionship. let him go. so armand does

and what DOES louis see in daniel? is his long-neglected humanity returning? what is he saying to him, in his excruciating pain?

oh my god. reading his own book. he remembered every word. he gave him a lifeline. he gave him a lifeline. because there are stories out there and they need to be told, and daniel is passionate about telling them, his life matters, and he isn't inconsequential. and no matter how his marriages crumbled or his daughters stopped talking to him or his career stalled or his health faltered that was always going to be true. daniel's life mattered, and it mattered that louis saved him that night.

and louis taking on the voice of a god or angel...wow. wow. damn

the precise edit on daniel and louis's memories. of course it's armand. just like the ruler, slicing away the pages of claudia's journal so neatly.

louis's feetsies 🥺 so sweet

louis and daniel vs. armand....louis easy and calm, and armand slightly nervous - what have they been talking about while I was gone? san francisco?

HELLO. I PRESERVE YOUR HAPPINESS WHEN YOU CAN'T???

WHY DOES THAT SOUND SO FAMILIAR?????!!!! HMMMM ARMAND????

[blueiight]

🔥

Do you agree with the (parts of) fandom take that there was "mutual" toxicity btwn Loustat? I'm trying to think of what exactly Louis does that's so toxic that would make it remotely mutual

i think the urge to find “mutual” abuse shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what power dynamics even look like lol theyre just discomfitted theres near zero openings for them to make a black male character out to be be a big brute and self insert into the fictional man of no color. louis is a master of language, and he never actually says ‘i love u, lestat’. people fixate on it for the wrong reasons, or misinterpret ppl pointing the fact that louis never said those 3-4 words as some false attempt at looking for “mutual abuse”.

louis is not withholding, but trying to claim some semblance of power thru his mastery of language. like @lynnenne said:

Over the course of the season, we see that Lestat is hurt that Louis never says, "I love you." On the surface, this seems like a personal argument between them, but it's actually a symptom of a huge structural problem in their relationship. How can Louis ever make a credible declaration of love when the power gap between them is so huge? …Louis could tell Lestat he loves him morning, noon, and night, but it would be meaningless. And Louis knows this. The one time he tries to leave, Lestat beats him nearly to death. When Claudia tries to flee, Lestat tracks her down and drags her home. They're only as free as the colonizer allows them to be. Lestat believes that vampirism will set Louis free, but he won't even set Louis free. Expecting society at large to be cowed by Louis's vampirism is a delusion on his part.

telling lestat “ima boutta lose the last fucking thing i ever cared about”, “u gone always be alone” [an echo of what armand and nicki told lestat in the books..] & insinuating lestat somehow knew the race riot would occur somehow is incredibly cruel if not erring on delusion w the belief lestat could predict racism but do recall lestat was just as incredibly cruel himself. louis tells lestat in the beginning of episode 3 how theyd gore runaway slaves in jackson square, lestat is a crash test dummy in response to the city leaders cracking down on the azalea, treating this enterprise of pimping as a mere “hobby” of louis like a husband talking down on his wife’s “hobbies” as both lestat and louis can both hear how racist the city leaders are.. was lestat tryna take a seat back& let louis kill them himself? yea and also this passivity in the face of men far weaker than lestat was w/ zero of louis’s obligation to ‘save face’ is jarring. so much for “if disrespect was done to u i wouldve killed him myself” hann les? and in the race riot lestat’s even tryna seduce him& have the riot be their anniversary? in wider context , louis saying those words is a lashing out, a response to treatment already present... and theres no equivalent to what lestat does physically to louis in ep5 that we see so far, and i guess that unnerves ppl& makes them want to draw upon mutual abuse theories? which is crazy cuz im p sure them mens of no color yall watch be tearing eachother up& yall have no problem shipping them otherwise w/o mutual abuse theorizing but i digress. imo what louis placed on & has done to claudia is far worse than w/e hes done to lestat but we all know fanon is generally far more sympathetic to fictional men of no color than they are to a fictional black woman... if by toxicity , they mean that lestat along w/ turning louis out [cant find a better way to phrase this] also draws out louis’s vile attributes & fans the flames for louis’s capacity for cruelty [embrace the beautiful things u r & embrace what u r, ur a killer, louis.] that was already there n i wrote this entire think piece for nothing, then i agree. but mutual abuse theories is just😂😂 i just want ppl to embrace we r all here for the problematic yaoi n stop tryna play stan wars.

[bitegore]

(9 People You Want To Get To Know Better, tagged by @dovesndecay!)

I'll taaaaag... uhh... ok tbh i have a headache and i cant remember anyone's urls, tap yourself in if you want i'm curious about everyone XD

Three ships:

Vortex/Wildrider (Transformers) - freak4freak fastbrain4fastbrain "i'll try anything once" freaks should hold hands and cross cables about it, thanks for coming to my TEDtalk Louis/Armand/Lestat (Interview with the Vampire) - I think they should have a really angry hatesex threesome about how they literally cannot stop fucking Louis over and then I think they should all try to fucking kill each other. For my amusement. Motormster/Drag Strip (Transformers) - still not over that one. they hate each other and they are sooo bad for each other </3 and i think that's very sexy of them and they should try to kill each other

First ship: I think it was Anidala (Anakin/Padme Amidala). I've always loved a tragedy. First ship I ever wrote for was Church/Tex from Red Vs Blue though. I wanted Tex sooooo bad, I had such a crush on her.

Last song: Had Goodbye Sober Day by Mr Bungle, ПЁСИК by SQWOZ BAB, and Cobra by Megan Thee Stallion actively playing as I write this ✌️last song I deliberately looked up and put on was Not Like us by Kendrick Lamar though

Last TV show: Interview with a Vampire (2022). Good fucking show. God damn.

Currently Watching: nothing - I'm not really a big show-watcher.

Currently Reading: Does Sexual Selection Influence Ornamentation of Hemipenes in Old World Snakes? by Konstantin Andonov, Nikolay Natchev, Yurii V. Kornilev, and Nikolay Tzankov (this is a research paper about snake genitalia)

Currently Eating: scrambled eggs with leftover squash and carmelized onions from last night, interspersed with handfuls of salt. i have a salt headache. i need more salt or im going to die.

Currently Craving: I want dairy treats so fucking bad right now. im out of milk and i havent got ice cream and i want both soooo fucking bad. i should go to the grocery store but i dont want to becaue my head hurts.

[monstersinthecosmos]

mother wounds & maker wounds !

So I’ve talked before about generational trauma with vampires and the nature vs nurture aspect of how some of it is behavior, but how maybe the Blood can create an epigenetic thing too that’s just gonna be baked in forever.

BUT LATELY I’ve been daydreaming a lot about the concept of The Mother Wound and how it applies to vampires!!!! And like when you read about Mother Wounds it’s described as generational trauma and it gets brought up a lot that it can be part of family cycles, ie: I raised my child this way because my mom raised me this way, ad infinitum. So I’m interested in looking at like, how the behavior of makers influences their fledglings and what types of assumptions we can make about what it does to you.

And I think if you take any vampire from the books you can kinda ask how it applies, how was their turning traumatic, how did the combination of their deadbeat maker + inherent personality influence their lives and their OWN fledglings. Like, Lestat and Armand for example have extremely different personalities and handled Maker Trauma differently. Lestat continues to breed because he is so desperate for love and afraid of losing people, vs Armand is convinced he’ll be a terrible maker and that it isn’t worth it to hurt your child, so he doesn’t bother. (Except that one time where it became a self-fulfilling prophecy bc he didn’t know how to deal with it after.) Armand is completely cynical about the entire concept that you could have a healthy relationship with your maker because he’s seen it fall apart at every level, from down in the dregs of existence in the cult beneath the cemetery, the meaningless decadent vampires of the Théâtre who barely understand immortality, and all way the up to the absolute ideal of civility and domestic mainstreaming that he got to experience with Marius.

I just find it wild how like, within VC where we are working with Big Brained Vampire Feelings and relationships that exist outside social constructs because of it, which makes the lines between parent/maker/lover very blurry. The love the vampires have for each other is so all encompassing and bigger than human labels & social roles (ie YOU ARE MY EVERYTHING), and yet as a maker you still have a responsibility to usher your fledgling into immortality in a way that doesn’t COMPLETELY TRAUMATIZE THEM and so few of them actually know how to do it.

There’s something hopeful about human relationships in the way we (at least my aro-ace ND ass does, don’t @ me) see the permanence of relationships and the way we measure the hierarchy of loss. Like the way we respect the pain of a romantic breakup and don’t talk about the pain of a friend breakup. It kind of tells us that friendships or romantic relationships can be fleeting, but family bonds are supposed to be permanent. It’s the same way people leaving abusive families or refusing to respect older relatives are shamed for harming the sacred family unit. So it makes me wonder like, when you think of a Maker/Fledgling relationship, especially in a universe where they might live forever, where do we put the permanence of this relationship and how to we romanticize its longevity? The solution in the later books of turning fledglings as a favor to each other seems to be a huge progression for them and a way to avoid some of this. It puts more boundaries between Maker and Lover, where the Maker is providing your life and immortality and doesn’t need to be there for the rest of it.

And especially because of the barrier, it’s like, you CANT be here for the rest of it. You lose the ability to ever truly know each other again. You have to actually develop your verbal communication for this to work and so many of these characters are too fucked up and not ready to do that hhaha. I think there’s a lot of substance in here about like, relating to parents as adults and how that relationship shifts when you grow up. Something similar happens when  you turn someone, maybe, like you’ve given them life and now you don’t know each other anymore. And yet something very antithetical to being a mother when you’ve taken their life in the same moment. HMM.

I just really like the way the universe presents these relationships and how complicated they are. Or maybe they’re decidedly uncomplicated because everyone is just “everything” to you. Your maker is your parent and your lover and your companion, they are your everything. It’s only complicated when you try think about it like a human.

Still, anyway, for funsies. Thinking a lot about Maker Wounds today and how it affected Armand, and how it affected his future relationships and sense of self worth. 😊

 I was reading this article on PsychologyToday.com about mother wounds if you wanna read it and learn more about what they are and what they do to you and how you fix them haha. BUT FOR FUNSIES, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU CTRL+F AND REPLACE TO VAMPIRE WORDS?? 

 The best way to think of the maker wound is a loss or a lack of makering. This is typically a deficit in the maker-fledgling relationship that is passed down through generations, and it is a reflection on how we have experienced parenting and how we parent. While not a specific diagnosis, it is a way of looking at how current codependency behaviors may be linked to missing elements in the past.

(Lol MAKERING good word)

So anyway I’m thinking about this concept a lot regarding Armand and I’m sure you could really take any set in the series and look for some of these patterns. But my main thing about Armand that I think harmed him the most was that

- Marius was very rigid with the person he expected Armand to be 

- Marius never rescued him.

When you look back at some of the times Marius was especially cruel to him (I always think about when he hits Armand for crying about his dad or whatever lol) and like all of Marius’s bullshit about I WANT YOU TO CHALLENGE ME … but wait not like that ! it’s like, was Armand just floundering with the cult and wondering what he did wrong?  (See also: Armand’s defectiveness schema haha)

It’s a loss he can experience twice—on one hand, if he didn’t think Marius survived the fire, there’s no reason to think that he would worry about this aside from dealing with the grief of losing his maker. But if he believed Marius was strong enough to make it, or if he had any indication that Marius survived, that gives him a few hundred years to feel bad about himself and wonder if he’s not worth saving. Then of course, when he learns that Marius is alive (from Lestat’s book?) he can go through it again. 

Like there’s always going to be two sides to a reunion like that. Half might be: I’m so happy that you’re alive, and the other half is: Wait you were alive that whole time and never came to get me wtf

I feel like Armand’s early life and even his centuries in the cult are so rich with trauma and grief, though. He loses and loses and loses. He was devout as a human, ready to dedicate himself to living in caves, and it makes me wonder if the cult felt right to him, like he got there anyway. Maybe he looked at his time with Marius as a brief period of sin. It’s no wonder that he doesn’t know how to fuckin behave haha. 

But you look back at what happened with Marius and it makes sense that some of his wounds and insecurities show up the way they do. 

 These types of feelings reduce self-esteem, feelings of self-worth, and feelings of worthiness to have a positive relationship. Individuals with a maker wound always feel incomplete and lacking in their ability to connect with others, while also having deeply rooted feelings about the need for perfection and control.

It feels kinda similar to the way Louis is like GUY WHO IS TURNED WHILE SUICIDAL, like they all have something that kinda sticks with them, I think. Like something about their mortal lives that gets written into their personality. Armand was not rescued! 

Here’s some other fun stuff from the article:

Signs of the Maker Wound

·  Never feeling they had their maker's approval or acceptance

·  Concerns about not being loved by their maker or not being loved as much as other siblings or family members

·  Difficulties in relating to the maker on an emotional level

·  Uncertainty about the relationship with the maker and if it could be lost with a mistake or an accident

·  Always trying to do better or to be perfect, to attempt to gain your maker's attention and acceptance

·  Feelings of having to protect, care for, or shelter your maker rather than them protecting, caring for and sheltering you

It’s funny like most of what we know about Armand’s relationships and how he behaves in them is from everyone’s POV except his own. So it’s almost like unfair to try to figure out how he is, how he feels, what last effect abandonment has on him when we’re not hearing it FROM HIM. But it’s like oscillates between being a needy baby or being a weird monster. I’m thinking of like, the “Love me” and pathetic way he threw himself at Lestat & Gabrielle, also the way he takes charge as a cult leader, also the way he introduced himself to Daniel. I just think there’s such a deep need for acceptance, but when that fails or when he’s too afraid to be vulnerable he’s gotta just be rigidly in control to cope with it. 

Anyway I don’t have a graceful offramp here, I just wanted to yell about this a little LOL. Also I wanna share one more bit from the article because it feels really potent to me:

These are makers who may provide for the physical needs of the fledglings, and even interact with the fledglings in a positive way, but simply do not provide the deep love and attention that all fledglings require. They may not have been abusive or neglectful, and they may never have engaged in negativity in their relationships with the fledglings, but they were also always distant and less tuned-into the emotional needs of their fledglings.

This one sums them up the most to me, I think. Like the way Marius provided for him even when it’s maybe not exactly what he needed. Giving him every material luxury he could need but slapping him because he’s sad. It’s such an enormous pressure to live up to. 

Rewinding back it’s so interesting because when you look at it as a family pattern like, Marius was abandoned by his maker too, even if it was a different circumstance. Marius would have also had to go through that loss more than once; if he ever imagined Teskhamen survived and couldn’t find him, or if he ever wondered why Teskhamen didn’t come to him sooner. Especially a vampire like Marius who was so known in the vampire world, and someone like Teskhamen who had connections to the Talamasca. But there’s sort of a thing here of like, my maker didn’t teach me how to vampire, I had to figure it out myself. But then he fucks up with Armand so bad that Armand falls into the “my dad sucks so I wouldn’t be a good dad” space. 

It kills me that we don’t know more about what happened with Daniel, when they drifted apart, how he wound up with Marius, etc. I tend to wonder if Armand fulfilled his own destiny by convincing himself he’d be a bad maker to the point where he barely tried. 

And where does that leave Daniel with all of this? Idk.

The thing ultimately that makes these stories so fantastical is that they have all the time in the world to heal, to grow, to get past grudges. This is what the article lists as solutions on how to heal this wound:

·  Exploring the feelings of the inner child and allowing those feelings of being ignored, unloved, unwanted, or not valued to be expressed in a safe, therapeutic environment.

·  Learning to validate and love ourselves creates a positive emotional and mental picture of our lives as they are in the present time, letting go of the past concept of self-developed by our interactions with our maker.

·  Setting boundaries—creating a relationship with the maker that is based on your needs and the ability of the maker to change and contribute to your emotional needs in a healthy, positive, and fulfilling way.

I wonder if Daniel has a hand in that, in bringing the two of them together. 

Personally I’ve always felt like, I don’t “””ship””” Armand & Marius because I think they’re awful for each other lol but there’s just so much unhealed baggage here. But, like I was saying, vampire relationships are so different from the real world. I would love if they could simply coexist, be there for each other as needed, love each other safely. I’ve talked enough so I don’t want to get distracted with like all the work they’d have to do to fix it and how they’d have to build a new version of their relationship that exists in the present but it’s nice to see that there’s a way through and I hope Daniel can help them.

I WONDER WHAT DANIEL’S FLEDGLINGS WILL BE LIKE — !!  🥸

[salomeapologist]

i think two interesting (kind word) things happen when you say “hey i dont think the maître thing was like…good”

1. “oh, so you think louis is a monster?”

no, i think louis is caught up in a situation way more complicated than hes ready to deal with. i think hes got his own history and his own flaws as a person that lead him to react to that situation in not the best way, but i wouldnt expect almost anyone to react to that situation in the best way. we dont have to assign characters into rigid categories based on their actions, especially because actions arent always 100% helpful or 100% hurtful

2. “well, armand is way more powerful than louis, so it cant be that bad”

it can still affect armand even if he put himself in the dynamic and he can get himself out at any time. hes not taking care of himself and making good choices. thats…a thing people can do. just because someone thinks and says they want something doesnt mean it’s good for them, even if it can be good for someone else

loumand in general has a weird function in the narrative, especially for fandom people, because it’s not trying to win ship wars. they arent the loves of each others lives, no matter what they tell the press. louis wants something different than he had with lestat, and that is something less. so of course it’s not built to succeed. the parts of their relationship that dont work are going to make it very interesting if they get back together later—like they do in the books—and actually help each other out!

[apoptoses]

please talk armand/lestat! getting obsessed with em and cant get enough

Oh man, oh man, where do I begin?

I am a recent convert myself (and I'm going to page armand/lestat master @hekateinhell to add anything I missed) but they're one of those ships where once you look at it you can't stop seeing the potential everywhere. Their initial meeting is so cataclysmic. Armand is in the catacombs playing coven leader and torturing Nicki, Lestat is so young (literally and figuratively, since he's 22 and only been a vampire for weeks? Months, maybe?) and he just rolls in and blows up Armand's entire life and you'd think that's it, they're enemies forever. And yet not long after the two of them meet again and are able to take a good long look at each other and realize they're not so different, that in being made vampires they've been forced into a deeply difficult existence and under all the hurt they've dealt one another they love each other too.

It's funny to think that Lestat's code name for Armand in his letters to/from Eleni is 'our oldest friend' because as you go through the series they genuinely are each other's oldest friend. They deal each other so many blows in their youth but both of them keep coming back with the knowledge that one day they'll be able to spend time together and mend things and if that isn't a fated love I don't know what is.

They're both indulgent. They both appreciate the same kind of overwrought art and beautiful objects. They're not maker and fledgling and thus can be truly equals to one another, can share a kind of mental intimacy they can't with the ones they've made.

Lestat, I think, with all of his chaos and lust for life can bring Armand out his shell whenever he's going through a dark night of the soul. And when Lestat is in the thick of things, really going through it like in MtD, Armand somehow always shows up to be an anchor for him (and sometimes to call him on his shit).

Could they settle down and make some kind of long term happy home? Maybe not. But they can keep coming back into each other's lives and be what the other needs, taking comfort in the deep and intimate knowledge they have of each other? Absolutely.

idk I just think they're neat.

[classic80sand90smovieloves2]

Masterlist

A list of my old writing that you can request I revise

Song Prompts

Meeting and Dating Headcanons~

Pretty in Pink

Andie Walsh

Duckie Dale

Blane McDonagh

Steff McKee

Sixteen Candles 

Jake Ryan

The Lost Boys

Paul

Dwayne

Poly Lost Boys

Edgar Frog

The Breakfast Club

Brian Johnson

John Bender

Andrew Clark

The Outsiders

Sodapop Curtis

Dallas Winston

Two-Bit Mathews

Rumblefish

Steve Hays

Ferris Buellers Day Off

Cameron Frye

Karate Kid

Daniel Larusso

Johnny Lawrence

Dutch

Heathers

Veronica Sawyer

Jason Dean

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Jeff Spicoli

Brad Hamilton

Better Off Dead 

Lane Meyer

Weird Science

Gary Wallace

Wyatt Donnelly

Dream A Little Dream

Dinger Holfield

Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure

Bill S. Preston Esquire

Ted Logan 

Dating Poly Bill and Ted 

The Princess Bride

Inigo Montoya

Interview with the Vampire

Louis de Pointe du Lac

Children of the Corn

Malachai Boardman

National Lampoons 

Rusty Griswold (European Vacation)

Cant Buy Me Love

Kenneth Wurman

The Chocolate War

Jerry Renault

Archie Costello

The Mighty Ducks

Fulton Reed

Dean Portman

Adam Banks

Les Averman

Porkys

Brian Schwartz

Anthony ‘Meat’ Tuperello

Tommy Turner

Tim Cavanaugh

Mickey Jarvis

Just One of the Guys

Terry Griffith

Greg Tolan

Dead Poets Society 

Neil Perry

Todd Anderson

Charlie Dalton

Knox Overstreet

Steven Meeks

Earth Girls are Easy

Mac

Combat Academy 

Perry Barnett

Waynes World

Garth Algar

Austin Powers

Austin Powers

Toy Soldiers

Ricardo Montoya

Good Will Hunting

Chuckie Sullivan

10 Things I Hate About You

Joey Donner

My Bodyguard

Ricky Linderman

Melvin Moody

Stand and Deliver

Angel Guzman

Something Wild 

Ray Sinclair

Three O’Clock High 

Buddy Revell

Intruder

Randy

Young Guns

Jose Chavez y Chavez

Billy the Kid

Doc Scurlock

Dazed and Confused

Benny O’Donnell

Don Dawson

Kevin Pickford

Randall “Pink” Floyd

Fred O’Bannion

Mitch Kramer

Ron Slater

Shavonne Wright

Dogfight

Eddie Birdlace

Ladybugs

Matthew

Goosebumps

Sticks

Freddy Renfield

Twister

Robert ‘Rabbit’ Nurick

Stand by me 

Ace Merrill

School Ties

Rip Van Kelt 

Chris Reece

The Untouchables

Eliot Ness

The Godfather

Tom Hagen

(Young) Vito Corleone

(Old) Vito Corleone

Goodfellas

Henry Hill

Little Shop of Horrors

Seymour Krelborn

Newsies

Specs

Near Dark

Severen

Friday the 13th

Jason Voorhees

Scream

Billy Loomis 

Poly Billy and  Stu

Stu Macher

The Craft

Nancy Downs

Hocus Pocus

Max Dennison

Thackery Binx

Beetlejuice

Lydia Deetz

Adam Maitland

The Crow

Eric Draven

Ghostbusters

Ray Stantz

Aliens

Bishop

An American Werewolf in London

Jack Goodman

Sleepaway Camp

Ricky Thomas

Re-animator

Herbert West

Silence of the Lambs

Clarice Starling

Fright Night

Jerry Dandridge

Candyman

Daniel Robitaille

The Evil Dead

Ash Williams

Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Harvey Kinkle

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Spike

Full Metal Jacket

Sgt. Hartman

Joker

Animal Mother

Pyle

Preference~ the boys with an s/o whose ex stalks them

Grease

Kenickie

Labyrinth

Jareth

Total Recall

Douglas Quaid

Requested “Would Includes” and Imagines/Fics~

Darry falling for Johnny’s sister

Allison Reynolds dating a shy nerdy girl

Starting a family with Cameron Frye

Making out with Cameron Frye

Cameron Frye comforting you when you’re upset

Getting drunk with the Ferris Bueller crew

Gary Wallace dating a tall girl

George Mcfly with a dominant flirty s/o

Comforting and being comforted by Will Hunting

Will Hunting having a crush on you

Being apart of the good will hunting gang

Armand with a virgin s/o (including nsfw)

Lestat and Louis dating a girl who loves horror movies

Making out with Duckie Dale

Duckie Dale cheering you up

Cliff having a crush on you

Making out with Cliff

Making out with Bryce

Bryce having a crush on you

The Lost Boys with an s/o having an anxiety attack + fighting depression

The Lost Boys with a sweet and innocent s/o

The Lost Boys with a curvy mate

The Lost Boys fighting with their mates

The Lost Boys dating a shy short girl

The Lost Boys taking care of you when you’re hurt

Getting drunk with the Lost Boys would include

David x Laddies older sister

Making out with Edgar Frog

Being Married to Archie Costello

Going to the beach with Archie Costello

Making out with Archie Costello

Darrys girlfriend landing a job at a local cafe as a singer

Making out with Kenneth Wurman

Being Cindys friend and Ronalds crush

Harold Sherbico having a crush

Kim Kelly dating her polar opposite

Neil Perry dating an artist

Making out with Charlie Dalton

Jealous Charlie Dalton

Jealous Knox Overstreet

A study date with Steven Meeks

Spending the winter season with Neil Perry

Comforting Charlie Dalton after he gets expelled 

The dead poets walking in on Charlie and his secret, shy girlfriend 

Simon Boggs having a crush on Laneys friend

Faking It-Cindy Mancini falling for the girl who paid her to be her friend

Spike having a crush on you

Steff McKee having a crush on you

Marko having a crush on you

David having a crush on you 

Paul having a crush on you

Dwayne having a crush on you

Dwayne x vampire reader who dresses like Stevie Nicks

Making out with Keith Nelson

Meat having a crush on Peewees sister

Admit it- Mickey Jarvis and his future s/o having crushes on each other

Being a part of team USA and meeting Adam and Charlie

Dwayne Robertson having a crush on you

Sleepover with Bill and Ted (including nsfw)

Being pregnant with Ted Logans child

Starring in the schools Romeo and Juliet with Ted Logan

Ted Logan asking you to be his valentine

Spending Valentines day with Steff McKee

Spending Valentines day with Steven Meeks

Spending Valentines day with Keith Nelson

Spending your first Valentines day with Bryce

Wishing I Was Her (Nick Andopolis)

If You Want Out Just Say It (Ace Merrill)

Going on the Ferris adventure

Going on your own adventure with Cameron Frye

Making out with Randall ‘Pink’ Floyd

Travelling back in time with Marty McFly

Tommy Devito dating a chubby artist

Years Gone By (Michael Corleone)

Sonny Corleone dating his opposite

Phillipe Gaston x reader~ Fairy Tale 

Being Fulton's sister and Dating Dean Portman

Comforting Todd when he’s upset

Being married to Bill S. Preston Esquire

Being married to Ted Logan

Spending Halloween/October with Knox Overstreet

Making out with Knox

A will they, won’t they relationship with Seth Brundle

Falling in love with Edward Scissorhands

Dwayne Hicks with an Android!Technician s/o

Private Joker dating an artist 

Jareth falling in love with you

Being married to Matt Hooper and going to Amity

The way you make me feel~ John Bender

Being in a long term relationship with JD

J.D. with a chronically ill s/o

Archie with a chronically ill s/o

Making out with Ted Logan

Archibald Craven falling in love

Andy Dufresne falling in love

Nsfw Headcanons~ 

Group sex with the lost boys

Sam Emerson

Threesome with Obie and Archie

Armand

Archie Costello

(sub) Archie Costello

Obie

Johnny Cade

Cameron Frye

Duckie Dale

Blane

John Bender

Randy (Intruder)

Joey Donner

Kenneth Wurman

Keith Nelson

The Dead Poets Kinks

Knox Overstreet

Charlie Dalton

Steven Meeks

Todd Anderson

Neil Perry

Gerard Pitts

John Bender taking your virginity

Louis de Pointe du Lac

Dinger Holfield

The Lost Boys

JD

Randall ‘Pink’ Floyd

Benny O’donnell

Fred O’Bannion

Cliff

Bryce

Johnny Walker

George Mcfly

Brian Moreland

(sub) Perry Barnett 

Bill S. Preston Esquire

Ted Logan

Randy Meeks

Michael Emerson

Nancy Downs

Ray Stantz

Egon Spengler

Spike

Angel Guzman

Sgt. Hartman

Brad Hamilton

Douglas Quaid

Chris (night of the creeps)

Sonny Corleone with a shy, virgin s/o

George Mcfly getting jealous and being dominant

Grease Monkey (Keith Nelson smut)

Sins of the flesh and matters of the heart (David x reader + Dwayne smut)

[princelestatdelioncourt]

Ok I just need to say this.

Someone mortals mentioned Armand is more mature than I am. I am not going to rant and scream and cry as you might wish but there are some points that people I am sure missed when while reading both my book and Armand's.

And what I will say here is none to make Armand or myself better. Or like its said...Armand more mature than I am.

So let me explain, it all started with this:

“I’m trimmed in memories as if in old furs. I lift my arm and the sleeve of memory covers it. I look around and see other times. But you know what frightens me the most - it is that this state, like so many others with me, will prove the verge of nothing but extend itself over centuries” ~ Quote from Armand taken from the book ‘The Vampire Armand’

Then comments began

"Armand is more mature than Lestat. Lestat is not mature at all. Armand is fully matured becasue all he went through. Lestat was born with a silver spoon in Lestat mouth. Aristocrat. This is why Lestat will never be mature. Armand was poor and had a poor family, Armand is more humble that Lestat will be"

Oh Really? Again I am not saying Armand is not mature. Hell, how long has passed since he was born? 600 years ? Some maturity should he has that sad icon painter. But to say I am not mature and never will? Really?

Let me tell you this.... Have you forgotten I was raised poor with no food even if I was the Marquis son, with no money to even get a glass of wine? Have you forgotten how many times I was beaten by my father and brothers when all I wanted is to be happy and get away from that misery dark cold in ruins castle where I could do nothing but to stay there and swallow their words and hate? Have you forgotten by the age of 13 and 14 I had to do the duties my father should have done, which was hunting and providing? Have you forgotten how so many times we had no food and I had to go hunting everyday and good look if there was something I could get and provide? Have you forgotten that I only had 1 pair or pants, boots and shirt and slept on a straw matters and that the first beautiful garment I wore was that red clock and boots Nicolas's father made for me after the wolves? Have you forgotten I wanted to do good and learn and I was sent to the monastery and when I wanted to stay they got me back by force and took my books and locked me in my room? Have you forgotten that I was beaten repeatedly when I went acting becasue I wanted to do good making people to forget about their lives and give them happiness on that moment to make them forget about their pain? I was never happy, Never. Every time I was everything was taken from me. Even after I was given the dark gift. I was happy with Nicki and once again alone and trying to figure out things by myself.

Armand suffered as a kid, yes he did but still as mortal he had this beautiful life when Marius rescued him and he lived with him in luxury, he had food and beautiful clothes and brothers that loved him and Marius teaching him things!! He had a father and a teacher!! I had non of that, NONE. He was able to read and write and paint. Me, 21 and still had no clue how to read of write, what a shame and I had Nicki to read everything for me. No one had the patience to teach me anything but I had learned things by myself, when I went hunting, when I tried to escape, when I did things either if it was good or not, it was Me, no one else, I was trying! I wanted to do good and learn and know. I was my own teacher and pupil.

I am not complaining on Armand, again yes he has suffered, absolutely he did but so I did. He had Marius and he loved Armand and Hell just think about it how much I wished I had a father like Marius, a maker like him!! To give me the blood and staying with me, a guide!! I only had Magnus for 1 hour and what I learned from him. Go to sleep in that sarcophagus every sunrise and stop drinking before the heart stops and here is my treasure and spread my ashes. What else? What i should do? what was going on?? Why me!?? Call me reckless, brat, narcissist....whatever you want...just dont forget all I had to go through as well.

Each an everyone of us, has its own story. Maybe all of us are narcissists, possessive, brats, etc ...we all have had our own pain, doubts and we have learned from experiences and situations.

I have done some many things since that first night that I was given the blood. I went to discover, to know, to ask, to do something other than to hide in the darkness and complain to why I am this now. So many ups and downs. Surrounded by my beloved ones then left alone again. I have done some good things and some bad things but at least I have discovered. I moved on. I did something, I learned and yes I have matured.

I love you mortals, I really do but these things said are no true and you know it. I just hate some just want to see what you want and not the whole picture just because it appeals more this person or that. We all have our issues so do not judge saying someone is not mature becasue we are in a world of discovering and learning things and we will have mistakes, so we are all no mature and we will mature while discovering. Understand?

I am open to discuss this on a mature way. Ask me if you wish. I am here, ready. Go ahead.

=============

//I am sorry I had to write this. I am not disrespecting anyone. Lestat has his own pain as well. All of us love our characters so much and I understand we will defend them or discuss them becasue X reasons. I personally have been called immature and I know how much that hurts. Is not fun and for me, having this character of Lestat as part of who I am, becasue I have quite a few things in common, I felt this was while reading that. I am not trying to make this drama, I just hope that people understands that even if its only characters should not be disinterested. I dont know how to describe it so it makes sense and does not sounds like I am crazy. Perhaps all of this was said with no intention to hurt anyone and I took this to the core becasue it happened to me. I should have not interfere my life to just a characters life. But sometimes I cant. I might be just crazy. And again, I am not blaming anyone here. Perhaps just take it as if Lestat saw that and he is just writing about it. This is a blog after all and we are the owners of it and we publish whatever we want right?. So here is mine for today :-)

I love you all!!!

[gentlemcndeath]

last time, on the vampire chronicles @immortal-gentleman

“Once you’ve found the best city in the world, there’s little reason to go anywhere else for long.” Though even if Lestat hadn’t fallen completely in love with New Orleans, he would have settled somewhere else. Had he not been brought into the Blood, it’s likely he’d never have left Paris. Lestat isn’t one for the nomadic lifestyle many immortals seem to prefer, far more inclined to pick a person and a place to nest.

Speaking of people, he can’t help but smile when David asks about his current companion. "His name’s Damon. He’s been in the Blood about as long as Armand, and he’s exactly my kind of trouble. He’s also bright and warm and makes me feel safe. He’s damaged; comes with baggage, but I think that’s why we understand each other so well.” When David and Lestat were together, Lestat always felt incredible guilt underneath it all. David, so well adjusted and stable while there would be years at a time that it was all Lestat could do-- and often failed to do-- to keep it together. He’s doing better now, but back then he couldn’t shake the sense he was a burden.

“...I have to thank you. If it weren’t for you, for how you’ve always treated me, I’m not sure I’d have ever recognized how good Damon is for me.” Lestat used to mistake toxicity and turmoil for passion. It’s entirely likely he would have thought the complete lack of drama between himself and Damon meant they weren’t compatible. "You’re the one who taught me love isn’t supposed to hurt.”