#daniel fucking armand next to eric fucking assad

[demonpoppyseed]

Eric being bashful and grumpy about how everyone around him is so hot and young and energetic and hot

Eric woke up, disoriented, to the sensation of four pointer fingers poking him hard in the arm and chest.

“Mrraghrm,” he grumbled, weakly trying to bat them away. Someone giggled by his ear and then said, in what Eric thought was the silliest accent on set, “Should’ve put shaving cream on his hand and then tickled his nose. Or drawn a dick on his forehead.”

When Assad answered he sounded less amused and more concerned.

“He’s got to be on camera tomorrow.”

“You don’t think Armand would draw a dick on Daniel’s forehead?”

Eric was being shaken now. He scrunched his face up in annoyance, trying to resist the pull to consciousness.

“Eric,” Assad said. “Eric, are you okay?”

Defeated, Eric opened his eyes. He’d taken his glasses off before falling asleep in his chair, and it took a moment for Assad’s face to come into focus. When it did, it was so close to his own that when he startled their noses bumped together.

A grinning face appeared next to them, its owner bending over Eric’s shoulder to put himself in Eric’s sightline.

“Hi Luke,” Eric said, his voice gravelly with sleep. He licked his dry lips and looked around the set as best he could with Assad taking up most of his field of vision. “Where is everybody?”

“At the bar,” Luke said. “We’re done for the day. You coming with?”

Eric groaned. He should not have fallen asleep in this chair. He thought his back might be permanently stuck in this position.

“I’m an old man, Luke, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “Old men can’t work 11 days in a row and then go to the bar.”

When he opened his eyes again, Luke and Assad seemed to be having a silent conversation. It mostly involved Assad shooting daggers at Luke and Luke shrugging helplessly.

“Eric,” Assad said when he saw that Eric’s eyes were open. “Do you need help getting up?”

“Fuck you,” Eric said. After a moment of struggling, he added, “Yes, goddamnit.”

“Help me,” Assad hissed.

Eric fought back a wave of mortification as each of his pretty young coworkers took him under an arm and hauled him to his feet. He looked at Assad’s knit brow and sighed.

“I’m fine, kid,” he said. “I just overdid it yesterday.”

That only made Assad look more concerned. Eric turned away from him to look at Luke, who seemed uncertain of what he was meant to be doing.

“Go,” he said. “Have fun. I’m fine.”

Luke looked to Assad. Eric rolled his eyes and bit back the urge to snap at him that he wasn’t a child, actually, and Assad definitely wasn’t his fucking mother.

“You go ahead,” Assad said. “I’ll meet you there.”

Luke shrugged.

“Okay,” he said. “Uh, feel better, Eric.”

Eric’s jaw clenched. He forced it to relax.

“Thanks, Luke,” he said. “I’m fine.”

Luke hesitated a second longer, then jogged backwards a few feet before turning and running out the door.

Eric let out a long breath.

“Sorry,” Assad said, grimacing. “I should’ve made him leave before I woke you up. Dunno what I was thinking.”

“It’s fine,” Eric said. He was getting sick of saying it. I’m fine, it’s fine. We’re all fine. “You’re allowed to want your boyfriend around.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Assad said, as he always did. Eric laughed.

“You should get on that,” he said, as he always did. “He clearly wants to be.”

“Yeah, well,” Assad said, not looking at him. “I’m not interested. Come on, let me help you back to the hotel.”

“I really don’t need—”

“I know you don’t,” Assad snapped. Eric suddenly became very aware that Assad was still clutching his arm, like he was afraid Eric might fall over. “Let me do it anyway.”

Eric studied Assad’s face, the very real worry there.

“Okay,” he said, the annoyance draining out of him. “Okay, yeah. Sure. You can play nurse all you want, babe.”

Assad bit his lip, looking at his feet.

...Huh.

[brian-kinney-apologist]

what if we are getting daniel but with old daniel instead... it's all i want tbh. don't get me wrong luke brandon field killed his performance as young daniel but eric and assad's chemistry is already mesmerizing as it is just imagine if they went down that road. but then again i say that and i'm not even ready for the confrontation in the next ep (if there's even one at all). it was daniel self soothing and rubbing his arm and clenching his jaw while louis parroted armand's words back at him that got me. our boy is stressed okay.

I think you meant what if we get armandaniel with old daniel and you don't have to ask me twice for it, I'm seated, I'm all for it!!!! I'm always thinking about eric constantly saying to the press that he got to do some things in iwtv that he hasn't done before in his acting career and I'm like keep going please 👁👄👁 because objectively as for now he's playing a cishet™️ (lol) human journalist and it's not anything special, he's not playing a vampire, he's not kissing assad on set so what is so unusual about it??? nothing of course....unless??👀👀👀👀

(and I've said it before and I'll say it again: if 20+ years ago they were able to show emmett from aueer as folk fucking and sucking a man 30+ years older than him so what's stopping iwtv in the year of our lord 2024?? (also considering the fact that everyone in iwtv production is a freak and we'll be down to do whatever))

[brsb4hls]

So I've been following the 'devil's minion in show' speculations since the start and here's my take on it.

At first I was pissed the show seemed to have cut it and I stand by that.

The show did cut it.

They changed the dynamic by aging Daniel up and building the show on a 'recent' interview, putting the one chronologically closer to book canon in the past as a failed attempt.

And I still think nothing 'romantic' or whatever you want to call it in regards to the Daniel/Armand dynamic was intended.

They did the bottle episode with a different take on it and that was it.

The flashbacks were revealed to not have the context people expected, so I'm convinced the show did not plan for or hint at DM having happened in the past.

And Armand's 'fond' looks might as well be amused-condescending.

This also ties in with Eric referring to Armand as Daniel's 'nemesis'.

It started off with that cat and mouse play between them, which also makes for a great dynamic btw.

And Daniel being revealed to have been turned at the end is a classic horror story move and a nice extra. Especially when season 2 could have been the last.

So there's that.

Now we have a third season and an, albeit smallish, pretty dedicated fanbase.

DM content is all over social media and Rolin and the cast get asked frequently about it.

We also know Assad would be very open to that storyline, he read the books and dives deep into every aspect of Armand's personality.

Eric seems to also get on board, judging from recent interviews.

So I do think Rolin did not expect the fans to be that dedicated to an arguably pretty small part of a big book series and just planned on the bottle ep and Daniel's turning (which is left ambiguous enough for anything), but he might now actually reconsider.

So I do think there could be a switch in Daniel's and Armand's dynamic in the future.

Nobody probs expected people to thirst over 71 Eric Bogosian tbh and so they most likely thought an aged up Daniel would be 'safe' from shipping, well surprise, he's still hot and people have taste.

Just to be clear, I a) do not really believe in creatives changing their stories due to fan response and b) I do not support actors getting pestered about certain dynamics.

But in this special case DM already is part of book canon, so nothing that would have to be changed or added and it wouldn't take away from the next big plotline.

It can be squeezed in as a treat without affecting anything major.

And the fan support I've seen was mostly positive and respecting boundaries (nobody has yet told Assad to his face to 'fuck that old man already', and please let's keep it this way).

So it's mostly just enthusiastic DM shippers promoting the show in their own way.

Plus the actors have built great chemistry and are quite ship positive.

To conclude: I do have high hopes for DM to be part of a background story in season 3 and I would also be fine with a reversed chase/cat and mouse/resentment and fascination dynamic.

But I still don't think it was planned beforehand.

[once-delight]

Yes, I have similar feelings/hopes

I absolutely delighted in Louis going full on vampire slayer, it was cool and hot as fuck. I loved Daniel skewering all the inconsistencies in the narrative. I'd wish there'd been much more to the confrontation between Armand and Louis. More fighting, and more yelling and intensity. After two seasons the aftermath should have been apocalyptic, not just a push and a shove. I'd like for Armand to at least have TRIED to explain his motivations. It's very strange that they claim he would have let Louis die when in the book ALL he wants is just someone to love him like he loves them. Claudia I can believe, but Louis? Still feels fishy to me that only Lestat tried to save him and Armand was fully willing to let him die. Why? Hmmm.

I'd also needed to see the turning scene with Daniel, if they HAD to turn him. I love Daniel as a vampire, don't get me wrong, but Armand is adamant not to turn people so it's a strange thing to do "out of spite" (especially because he knows Daniel wants to be turned - so not a punishment for Daniel at all). Ideally we'd had had Daniel follow Lestat on tour as a human next season, as a protection from vampires/Armand, and Armand stalking him DM-style before they fall for each other, and then Daniel begging to be turned with Armand denying until Daniel's life is in danger. Now that Daniel already is a vampire it feels like they've missed the opportunity for some good drama. At least I want a flashback to a seventies DM era, which Daniel starts to recall when he's a vampire now? At least give me SOME DM 😭 ASSAD AND ERIC YOU TEASED IT! 😭It's a shame to have Luke play such an excellent Daniel if we're never going to see him again.

I am also a bit disappointed that the Dubai apartment looks so similar to as it did before the divorce, compared to his apartments with Lestat in New Orleans. I thought there ought to be a revelation that the minimalism was a part of Armand's plan to tame and suppress Louis' desires.

I liked the reunion and reconciliation between Lestat and Louis, but also wanted them just to kiss already haha. It was nice to see Lestat finally expressing empathy towards Claudia instead of jealousy, and appreciation for her strength and character.

Truly disappointed that there was nobody buried in the rock pit by Armand. If not Lestat, then at least vampire Sam! It would have been such a cool/cruel echo of Louis' burial, and a perfect gremlin thing of Armand to have done.

I missed the real big revelation/twist that was hinted at by Sam Reid.

It wasn't the pinnacle of the season, which I feel like a finale should be. It didn't leave me breathless, like episode five, or yelling at the screen like episode seven.

All in all, a nice finale, but it doesn't feel like a show finale, just a season finale. The themes and story started definitely doesn't feel wrapped up. If I didn't know there's going to be more, I'd be disappointed at the treatment of Armand and Daniel, as they are my main boys through and through (though I am aware that it is the Lestat/Louis show it did feel like the actors and writers also have expressed a certain fondness for the Armand/Daniel dynamic).

Compared to any Supernatural finale it was fucking gold tho, lol! And I am still exited to see what happens. Until then I will read all the missing scenes and modern DM fics to stay my Armandaniel heart.

Too bad Ao3 is having downtime tomorrow. What timing!

i will need to let the finale simmer before i make a definitive decision on it. it was thoroughly enjoyable and funny and campy and i had a great time. but also i unfortunately was not vibing with the aesthetic of present day as much because i think of this show as a beautiful period piece with elegant costumes and decoration. and sadly the gray dubai penthouse and lestat's dingy little shack was just not that.

also i choose to believe that the armand turning daniel scene was fully omitted so that it can be revisited next season in all its beautiful glory. i think it deserves that. also i hope they got absolutely nasty in that penthouse while louis was off in new orleans. in this very particular situation gay sex would fix them i think.

as for armand i hope the mask is off now. i hope that now that he's not playing gaslighter 5000 to keep louis, he just gets to be his normal batshit self. i think we deserve that as a little treat.

[brsb4hls]

It's more then I expected tbh. I was going back and forth with bitching about the show cutting devil's minion completely, so I'm happy I still got the Daniel being Armand's only fledgling part. Which is a huge fucking deal to Armand, even if it's starts with spite.

And I gotta say the way the show changed their dynamic this makes the most sense.

If they didn't hook up in the 70s like in qotd (which I don't think happened, it wouldn't fit with some of the interviews and the present storyline) then a turning out of spite was the only option.

I thought Daniel might be wounded and safed by either turning or the talamasca stepping in and I'm beyond relieved it wasn't them and a body swap. It was actually Armand turning old Daniel and for no actual reason, just to be a dick and because if he's miserable, Daniel has to be too.

That's such a great dynamic and it leaves the door open for more Eric/Assad bitchyness in the future. They have such great chemistry, I hope the get some side plot interactions next season.

I gotta say, Armand turning Daniel out of spite is way more compelling to me than him doing it because he loves Daniel so much that he can't refuse him or whatever. The idea that, having never turned anyone in over five hundred years, he finally broke his rule because he was pissy about being revealed as a lying liar and dumped by Louis and decided to take it out on Daniel not by killing him but by making him his fledgling, irrevocably tying himself to the man who destroyed his life, is so perfectly petty and stupid, it's just delicious. I would be absolutely fascinated to see how their relationship develops in future seasons, if they both remain on the show, and in the meantime please give me all the fic of them awkwardly running into each other and hate-fucking periodically over the next several decades.