#dubai penthouse

[apollodreams]

Hey babe are you alright? I noticed the set designers made it so that the only room in our home with colors and warm lighting was our bedroom indicating that our marriage is essentially lifeless outside of sex. Also there's iron bars around our bed?

[holographic-abstract]

You can see the toys in their bedroom, briefly, in S02E04. They are on Armand's side of the bed.

[canonicallysoulmates]

I'm sure others have pointed it out already but look at the difference in how the penthouse looks between when it was Louis and Armand's place vs. when it's just Louis place. It went from looking cold and impersonal to looking warm and inviting.

(not to mention that you can't really see it here but Louis is back to wearing color, and comfy sweaters!)

[revengeagainstlifeitself]

The Self Seers II (Death and Man) by Egon Schiele in the Dubai Penthouse Bedroom.

thank you @90sgreggaraki for identifying the painting

[nightcolorz]

ARMAND IS NOT A MINIMALISM GIRLY I STG

my bad if this is an old news take I'm not sure, but I needed to get it out there regardless cuz I've got big thoughts.

So,, at least from what I've seen the perception around the state of the Dubai situation in amc iwtv is that Louis seems super miserable and "off" in the penthouse, and based on what we know of him in the books and in the show he is definitely not the type of character who would enjoy living in a sterile prison like minimalist hell, he likes coziness and warmth and humanity--which yes agreed. So the fair assumption to make is that since Louis doesn't enjoy his living situation, and he is living with a sterile off-putting ancient unknowable vampire who's cold personality aligns with the aesthetic of the penthouse, this probably means Armand is the orchestrater of this life style and is likely keeping Louis there despite his unhappiness.

I disagree!! With this!! I think assuming that Armand would hold someone prisoner is not out of line, but assuming that Armand would hold Louis prisoner in a house *like that* is just very unlike him. If Armand was the mastermind manipulator behind the penthouse prison that shit would be lavish, it'd be decked out. Louis would be so spoiled it'd be borderline ridiculous that he would ever want to leave. Armand is not beyond imprisoning his lovers, but he is beyond bad taste, and he knows home decor like a mf. His love language is essentially providing the people he loves with as much lavishness and belongings as they could possibly want until they hate him for it. Sugar daddy king. In devil's minion Daniel was arguably being kept against his will, yet he was being kept in a beautiful incredibly rich island mansion with every mortal possession he could ever want. Armand would not create the penthouse!! He would never stoop so ugly. I could only see him doing smth like this if he was furiously hateful of Louis,, like absolutely despised him, and idk about u but I do not get that vibe!! They definitely seem strained, but Armand very clearly wants Louis to be taken care of and protected.

So if armand is not designing the penthouse, who is, is the question now.. Well,, Armand may not be a character who builds a lifestyle with the intention of self restriction, dullness, and a lack of indulgence that feels prison like stale self isolating and full of agony, but you know who would? I wonder which vampire chronicles character would create a penthouse designed so that he can access as little stimulation joy or lavish possessions as possible, in the style of the monk, alongside an ethical yet plainly grotesque system of blood feeding that doesn't take human life. I wonder who would do that.. it couldn't possibly be Louis...the character who in the books denies himself new clothes or a nice house or technology because he "doesn't deserve it". Yah it's a mystery really. Lmfao.

I think Louis has built a prison of his own making bcus he sees himself as some sort of needy unhinged beast that needs to be caged in a scary under stimulating tower for the betterment of society. And Armand is assisting him begrudgingly under marriage and love obligation. The theory that the penthouse situation feels like watching a caged animal bite on its bars is one I agree with, but not for Louis, for Armand. Armand is restless bro he is on edge Louis is in his god damn self hating priestly self flagellation elementttt. They r both miserable and trapped but I think it's much more mutual then is often recognized. Throughout the season Louis is in control ASF and I don't think that was just an act. I'll see myself out now lmfao

[squirrellypoo]

Is Dubai later than we think?

At the end of season 1, we still don’t yet know where the Dubai scenes fit in with the wider book timeline. It feels like the general fandom consensus is that it's at a point when Lestat is incapacitated, either in the ground (TVL) or possibly comatose elsewhere in the penthouse (Merrick, which could possibly account for The Groan?).

However, I saw someone recently suggest that the Dubai scenes could be set during the early Prince Lestat era, and I like this for a number of reasons. I’ll try my best to keep this spoiler-free for non-book readers!

Image source

Placing Dubai in the early PL era gives a different, yet equally plausible reason why Lestat hasn’t turned up in Dubai yet - he’s busy renovating the Auvergne castle and setting up the Court. In the books, Louis was hesitant to come to Court at first, and stayed with Armand at Trinity Gate, even though he and Lestat were in contact regularly. Dubai could easily be a Trinity Gate replacement in the show and not really lose anything.

Placing Dubai at the Prince Lestat time means that TVL, QOTD, TOTBT, Memnoch, and Merrick have all already happened in the grand Vampire Chronicles timeline. The latter is extremely important for Louis’ character development, and could explain why his feelings for Lestat have changed so much since the first interview. It would also explain how Louis’s powers have increased (hello, Fire Gift!) as he gets an inadvertent “upgrade” during Merrick.

Likewise, it means we could see rockstar Lestat in a different era - think late glam rock, 80s hair rock (as in the books) or even 1990s grunge, and still have decades of time left between that and present day to fit in the rest of the intervening books’ plots.

Also, I just want to point out that even if the events of TVL-Merrick have already happened, doesn’t mean the books have been written yet “in universe”. In the books, Louis/Daniel publishing IWTV is the catalyst for Lestat to write TVL, and then all the rest. So Daniel not knowing about the vampire books wouldn’t be a problem, and let’s be fair, even if rockstar Lestat already happened but not written about, it wouldn’t have necessarily been on his radar (esp if Lestat’s career was as short-lived as in the books).

As much as I’d love to see these books' events happen “in present day”, I think narratively they make more sense being told as flashback stories, a’la season 1. It allows for more time to pass between events, but also to continue the framing of the show as being told to an interviewer. This means we get to carry on with the “Memory is a Monster” and unreliable narrator themes, too.

If this is somehow the way the show is going, it’s going to be WILD to get the first glimpse of modern day Lestat, because he gained significant powers in QOTD (and then again near the end of PL) that are going to be a huge contrast to what we’ve seen so far in Louis’s memories of their time together at Rue Royale. It would also add more colour to Louis and Armand’s relationship to see them weather multiple huge crises together rather than just fading into comfortable complacency as in the books.

In any case, I’m not 100% convinced this is the case, but it’s interesting to think about how the show might handle the differing timelines between it and the book. I love that, even after nearly 30 years of reading these books, this show can still surprise and delight, and keep me guessing.

[instumpin]

[revengeagainstlifeitself]

ok but who hung the painting?

Egon Schiele : the Leopold collection, Vienna Texts by Magdalena Dabrowski and Rudolf Leopold

x

[carveredlunds]

i know everyone has said this before, but the dubai penthouse is a concrete cell with huge dining tables and muted colours and tastefully modern décor that is actually soulless. the dubai penthouse audibly creaks and groans so often that louis and armand just call the sounds "the groan" and ignore them. the dubai penthouse is a monochrome empty space where louis and armand can't decide what to put on the walls to hide the cracks. louis and armand act out married life like a sitcom couple with their matching pyjamas and their double bed and their handholding when really they're both in this loveless sinking ship of a marriage because louis wanted to hurt lestat and armand doesn't think he deserves better than this. the dubai penthouse is a place of stagnation and bitterness, a prison of their own making. there is a rock garden full of rocks just like the ones louis was buried beneath. there are books up high in the rock garden room where armand can fly to grab them but louis can't reach them because armand keeps knowledge out of louis' reach. where's your coffin? daniel asked. you're standing in it, louis said.

[phantomsofmyformerself]

lestat and daniel should hook up during the documentary making whilst armand is standing outside the studio in the rain like a kicked puppy.

[revengeagainstlifeitself]

Love so much about the dubai penthouse renovation for louis but he fixed the bookshelves and left them on the ceiling???

[iwtv-az-hours]

Just bringing to attention that Bally Gill shared this picture of Real Rashid and there is officially no character on that show that isn't 110% cunty

[instumpin]

[theinfinitedivides]

going to freak out about my bestie Daniel again by talking about headcanons but to me he's like. not only half-Armenian half-Irish (yes Molloy is an Irish surname but Eric is Armenian people. so what do we do we make the sensible choice and split the difference. put that shit in your fics my rep is lacking) but also Jewish. not necessarily practicing but yk. it's called his mother grows up in the US in a household where her father's Armenian Orthodox and her mother's Jewish and takes a little bit of both but mainly from her mother and then she meets his raised-Catholic nebulously-agnostic Irish-American father and gives shit a shot. and here's Molloy in the midst of it all, born to wreck marriages fail at parenting his own kids and get his shit absolutely fucking rocked by two vamps in the 70s

[the-woman-upstairs]

It’s just…so painful to watch Armand readily submit in order to obtain the love he so desperately craves. And while it’s most assuredly a manipulative tactic, it’s still one borne out of fear and desperation. He cannot lose this person he’s come to love and so will become whatever they want, do whatever they want just so they’ll stay with him. But it won’t be enough. No matter how much he acquiesces or seeks to control (himself, others, the environment), he won’t be able to make Louis stay with him in the perfect life, perfect self he built in the hopes of finally being loved. It will all crumble with Armand left alone in the rubble of what he created, the author of his own abandonment.