#but I will if needed

[apoptoses]

It’s been like 10 years (my god) since I last read the books but I distinctly remember Armand’s turning being extremely consensual and… something he actively wanted Marius to do. Am I going insane? Have I actually forgotten a major plot point? Asking because I’ve been seeing a lot of discourse on here/twitter about him being turned against his will and I’m like “yeah that’s not how I remember it”. I figured I’d just ask an expert in all things Armand and settle it once and for all lol. He might not have been begging for it every 10 seconds like Daniel was but he wanted it right?

Armand pretty much begged for it every time he and Marius fooled around (like, he really gives Daniel a run for his money when it comes to pleading for immortality). Let's go right to the text:

Armand wants to become what Marius is when they first start playing with sharing the blood, and is overjoyed when Marius says he'll eventually turn him:

"It's lost its savor for a little while," he said patiently. "But you'd be surprised."

"At what?"

"At how much you'll lament it when it's gone utterly, when you are perfect and unchangeable like me, and all those human mistakes can be triumphantly supplanted by a new and more stunning series of failures. Don't ask for this, not again."

I would have died then, curled up, black and furious and too bitter for words.

But he wasn't finished.

"Amadeo," he said, his voice thick with sorrow. "Say nothing. You don't have to. I'll give it to you quickly enough when I think the time has come."

At that I went to him, running, childlike, flinging myself at his neck, kissing his icy cheek a thousand times despite his mock-disdainful smile."

-TVA p. 62

Then once again after the whipping, he agrees he would want to be turned:

"Yes," he said. Then he came again to kiss me. "Will you be this forever?" he asked. "This man, this young man, that you are now?"

"Yes, Master! Forever and with you!"

-TVA p. 85

Armand had no qualms about what being like Marius necessitated. When he sees him kill, he's not repulsed:

"I was speechless. Fear, loathing, these things had no part in it. I was simply amazed. If I thought, I thought it was wonderous."

-TVA p.89

When Armand does cry for a victim he goes on to say:

""Master, hear my lesson," I said. "Judge my work." I caught my breath in haste and went on. "I saw you drink from those who were evil, convicted in your heart of some gross crime. I saw you feast as it is your nature; I saw you take the blood with which you must live. And all about you lies this evil world, this wilderness of men no better than beasts who will yield up a blood as sweet and rich for you as innocent blood. I see it. That's what you meant for me to see, and it's done.""

[...]

"Would you be with me, and be my pupil and my love?"

"Yes master, always and forever, or for so long as nature gives to you and me!"

-TVA p. 113-114

When Armand is dying, this is what they say:

"It's not my time," I said. "I know it. And such a statement cannot be undone by a mere handful of hours. Smash the ticking clock. They meant, by a soul's incarnate life, it wasn't time. Some destiny carved in my infant hand will not be so soon fulfilled or easily defeated." "I can tip the odds, my child," he said. This time his lips moved. The pale sweet coral brightened in his face, and his eyes grew wide and unguarded, the old self I knew and cherished. "I can so easily take the last strength left in you." He leant over me. I saw the tiny variegations in the pupils of his eyes, the bright deep-pointed stars behind the darkening irises. His lips, so wondrously decorated with all the tiny lines of human lips, were rosy as if a human kiss resided there. "I can so easily take one last fatal drink of your child's blood, one last quaff of all the freshness I so love, and in my arms I'll hold a corpse so rich in beauty that all who see it will weep, and that corpse will tell me nothing. You are gone, that much I'll know, and no more." "Do you say these things to torture me? Master, if I cannot go there, I want to be with you!"

[...]

"Very well, beautiful one. This is the moment. Would you come with me, and be like me?" His voice was rich and soothing, though it was full of pain.

"Yes, always and forever yours."

"Forever to thrive in secret on the blood of the evildoer, as I thrive, and to abide with these secrets until the end of the world, if need be."

"I shall. I want it."

"To learn from me all the lessons I can give."

"Yes, all of them."

[...]

"This is the only sun that you will ever see again. But a millennium of nights will be yours to see light as no mortal has ever seen it, to snatch from the distant stars, as if you were Prometheus, an endless illumination by which to understand all things."

And I, who had beheld a far more wondrous celestial light in that realm from which I'd been turned away, longed only for him to eclipse it now forever."

-TVA 135-139

Now, what I'm guessing is going on since I don't read Discourse™ is that some people are out there playing morality games over whether or not Armand, being that he was under 18 and due to the nature of his and Marius' relationship, could consent. And I am not going to touch that argument, because I have no desire to get angry on this fine Monday afternoon when I have so much to do.

I would only say that though Armand comes to regret what he is that's due to his long and traumatic life, and he himself never once says that his turning was against his will. And as you can see in the text he, in his very own words, asked to be what Marius was, knowing what all that entailed, again and again again.

[ace-disgrace-on-the-case]

For those who needed to hear it today

[raan-miir-tah]

Amal has spoken to me, asking me to help boost her campaign to save her family from genocide. Please donate whatever you can reasonably spare!

[catlaila]

justice for kabru. they put my man in the wrong genre. bro was meant to be playing psychological games with light yagami and instead he’s playing yaoi mind tennis with a blonde himbo

[codecicle]

Guys I'm so glad everyone loves hit JRWI campaign: The Suckening so much. 12 thousand notes on just a thumbnail that's so cool. Anyone think about emizel pussy-out post revival

[bulbabutt]

i don't know the etiquette for posting other peoples tiktoks but the delivery of this punchline hit me like a FUCKING TRUCK please

NikhilClayton <- you should follow this guy on tiktok he's fucking hilarious

[shithowdy]

i thought my laptop was on its last leg because it was running at six billion degrees and using 100% disk space* at all times and then i turned off shadows and some other windows effects and it was immediately cured. i just did the same to my roommate's computer and its performance issues were also immediately cured. okay. i guess.

so i guess if you have creaky freezy windows 10/11 try searching "advanced system settings", go to performance settings, and uncheck "show shadows under windows" and anything else you don't want. hope that helps someone else.

*yes sorry i mean usage i posted this before bed :( i do not mean the hard drive is full aaaaghhhh

[communist-hatsunemiku]

avogado6

[sheepydraws]

The secret Dungeon Meshi sauce that's getting people to eat better is that it's so non-judgmental. Senshi and the rest of the gang never talk about what not to eat besides things that taste bad and literal poison. They don't even talk about "health" that much besides the importance of a balanced diet. It's so much easier to eat well when you think of food simply as something your body needs, and that it's often worth the extra effort to make it taste good, especially when you understand how to connect "things your body needs" with "things that taste good"

[wankadoodles]

Métis Miku (Creeku)

[bonesandthebees]

one of the most infuriating things about becoming an adult is when you realize that it actually is 10x easier to solve problems by making a phone call vs literally any other communication method

[liquidstar]

i always think abt my cousin in greece who's like obsessed with american culture, bc ill say that im going to a barbecue and she'll be like "wow.... a real life american barbecue... will there be red cups?" you bet your ass there'll be red cups. take my hand. have a hot dog. all your dreams can come true here at the real life american barbecue

[stimmingandstruggling]

more good news from tiktok: they’ve started blocking celebrities.

they’re calling it block party 2024. just blocking and ignoring countless celebrities who havent said shit about palestine. influencers, actors, anyone who went to the met gala, whatever, they’re getting blocked. and people keep talking about how cathartic it is, how good it feels, how they never realized they could DO that. there was some kind of subconscious law against blocking famous people, but it’s broken, and people are LOVING it. and it’s WORKING. a social media/digital advertising coordinator was talking about how ad companies are PANICKING, because they can’t accurately target anymore. so many big influencers, including fucking LIZZO started talking about palestine the MOMENT their follower counts started going down. and the best part? no one is forgiving them. lizzo posted a tiktok asking people to donate to palestinian families, and all the comments just said you’re a multimillionaire. put your money where your mouth is. blocked.

i feel like i’m witnessing the downfall of celebrity culture, right here right now. people are waking up.

[kaereth]

Dragon harpy chimera birdy FALIN!! I love her

[transxfiles]

cant talk rn obsessed over the design concept of this 2017 production of pinocchio as a stage play where pinocchio is the only character played by a human actor and the rest of the cast are portrayed as puppets ,,,

[dilfsisko]

you there. high quality production youtube channel with a team of people. why are your captions autogenerated.