#i will scream if he starts wearing band t-shirts and a leather jacket though lmao

[pynkhues]

I’m really hoping we get current day Armand in s3 mostly because I need to know if his clothing in Dubai is genuinely his style or just another thing he does to maintain the perfect life facade with Louis. I feel like I have a solid idea of what Louis and Lestat’s (and Daniel’s) clothing choices are going to be but I’m having trouble imagining what a rogue current day Armand would wear. What do you think? I think it’ll be funny if he just starts dressing like Some Guy (stealing from victims) in contrast to Louis and Lestat who both stand out in their own specific ways

I think we'll definitely get modern Armand in s3, especially with him having turned Daniel (and with Daniel being on tour with Lestat, of course!), but I do lowkey think it'll probably be a couple of eps before he reappears in the modern timeline? Either that, or we might get brief glimpses of him in earlier eps before he takes on a meatier role later in the season.

But yes!! I totally agree - I feel like we've got a much clearer sense of what the other characters are going to be dressed like, whereas for Armand without someone to orbit, I honestly have no idea. That said, I was interested that in Carol's interview with TVGuide, she kind of insinuates that the plain, dark clothes in Dubai are Armand's choice, although from the way she phrases it, I think you could pretty easily argue that it's indicative of what Armand thinks Louis would like, as opposed to what he actually does:

In the controlled ecosystem of their Dubai penthouse, Louis and Armand share a subdued color palette of slate gray and black, often wearing coordinating outfits. These featureless shirts and hoodies represent a marked difference from Louis' early years in New Orleans, when he was a notably snappy dresser. Armand would probably argue that Louis' new wardrobe is proof that he can finally relax. But you could also interpret it as evidence of Armand's insidious control, dressing Louis to match the muted decor of their apartment.

I love what you've suggested about him just stealing from victims (and also think it's very funny) now that he's without a person to shape his identity around, and I think you'll probably be on the mark there. It could be very funny to see him bouncing between Louis, Lestat and Daniel's style though too - just every time we see him, he looks like he's cosplaying as another character - a walking identity crisis, if you will, haha.

It's really hard to predict though! What do other people think?

[hdnprplflwrs]

she held the world (and i’m just living in it): the hogwarts express

Read on ao3.

Based on this prompt lmao I did say that I might make a fic out of it ;-))))))

__________

Steam below in Adrien’s eyes, causing him to cough. People were shouting, things were screeching, wings were flapping, and thuds of suitcases could be heard amidst the general excitement and nervousness floating around Hogwarts Express. The trolley carrying his new leather trunk, labeled with a gold-stamped Gabriel emblem on the front. His cat, Plagg, was a notorious escape artist and it was clear with the amount of yowls and new holes in his wicker basket that he wanted out. He could feel Nathalie’s eyes boring into the back of his head as he stumbled towards an open door, pushing his heavy trolley a few inches more before he gave up and focused on lifting Plagg through the door and into a blessedly empty compartment.

He could barely lift the large wicker basket, what with the black cat being his usual annoying self and trying to claw his way out. Plagg jumped in the carrier, causing Adrien's hand to lose its grip on the corner of the basket—

A pair of hands — or rather, two pairs of hands — alleviated the weight of the basket some and caught the cumbersome thing before it could fall and allow Plagg a chance of escape. Adrien’s saviors helped him push the basket into the compartment with a shout of “One! Two! Three!” and met him with wide grins when they finally managed to get "the blasted thing," as one of them called it, into the compartment.

“Thanks,” Adrien smiled in the carefully doctored way that his father taught him, only for it to dissipate and a much more genuine one to take its place when he got a chance to look at the two people who helped him.

“‘Course,” the first one grinned, a tall, tanned boy with close-cropped hair. Brown eyes looked at him curiously from a pair of black glasses that looked a lot like the Muggle swimwear goggles Adrien’s father would sometimes make him wear in a swimsuit photoshoot. His companion giggled, a small girl with bluish-black hair pulled into two pigtails and captivating bluebell eyes.

“We’d better get’chor trunk,” she said, her blue eyes roving over Adrien’s face before she settled down at one end of his trunk, the boy at the other end. Adrien took the handle, guiding them to the floor of the train. Together, all three lifted it onto the train and into the corner of the compartment.

He was surprised that the both of them could lift it, considering that all of his belongings were in there, and a lot of the things his father provided were not cheap, nor light. He wondered what his companions would think of the amount of expensive parchment in his trunk. He wouldn't be surprised if he found a solid gold wizards' chess set.

The rest of Adrien’s parcels were lifted onto the train with ease. The tall boy held out his hand to Adrien and was about to say something when two trolleys appeared out of the smoke and shadows of other people, followed by two families.

The first trolley clearly was the girl's, as the trunk it held had been patched over with different fabric swatches in all colors, patterns, and sizes. A box sat atop it, holding her cat if the loopy cursive and cat motifs were anything to go off of. A large man, in stature and size, pushed it towards them, a smaller woman the size of the girl on his arm. The mother and father, Adrien presumed. They looked a lot different than his parents when his parents were together. They looked like they enjoyed each other's company.

“Nino! Marinette!” The pair looked up at the sound of their names being called. Adrien didn’t know what else to do but stand awkwardly as the two looked at each other before huge grins split their faces and they took off to join their families.

The boy -- his name was Nino -- rushed over and hugged his father and mother and then a little brother, laughing at something the father said. His trunk was covered in stickers ranging from large posters of both Muggle and wizarding bands (some of the people in them didn't move, so Adrien supposed those were Muggle bands) to smaller stickers of cars and ones Adrien realized the brother must have stuck on. A tawny owl sat atop the trunk, preening its glossy feathers. Adrien's father wanted to get him an owl, but Adrien wanted a cat instead. He liked cats.

Now, he was starting to think an owl probably would've been better.

Adrien looked around for Nathalie, but she’d probably left already, as usual. She never stuck around for long, always needing to do something for Gabriel Agreste. It was odd, like she trusted him to take care of himself but that usually meant that he had to figure what his father wanted out for himself, and that usually meant being alone. He sighed and hoisted himself into the compartment, resigning himself to a lonely train ride to Hogwarts as the whistle blew.

He had barely tucked himself into a corner of the compartment, trying not to listen to the loud chatter of other students around him, when two familiar trunks pushed their way into the compartment, followed by a familiar owl, a familiar cat box, several more parcels, and two laughing kids waving goodbye. It was the raven-haired girl and the tall boy — Marinette and Nino, was it?

The train began moving as they continued screaming out th window goodbyes to their parents and....Christmaster?

Odd nickname, if it was that.

Adrien had arrived at the station in a neatly pressed button-down shirt and pants, but it was clear that such formalities weren't necessary. The boy -- Nino, Nino, Nino -- was wearing ratty jeans and a large T-shirt that Adrien vaguely recalled had a mix of letters on the front. ACBC? ECDC? ACDC? He wasn't sure. The girl, however, was wearing a jean jacket and a paint-splattered white dress. The paint seemed intentional, which Adrien thought was very cool.

Once the train pulled out of the station, the tall boy tugged the smaller girl back to her seat as it seemed she didn’t want to stop waving in until they were totally out of sight. He had to pry her fingers from the window, making exaggerating grunting noises that the girl laughed wildly at. Once her last finger was free, Nino successfully shut the window and pushed her -- Marinette -- into the compartment, seemingly forgetting that they hadn't put away their trunks yet.

Marinette sprawled at his feet, laughing as Nino climbed over her and into the compartment, right across from Adrien. “Sorry about ditching you, dude, but our parents insisted on a picture by the train,” Nino explained, holding out his hand. “Nino, by the way. Lahiffe. And this mess—“ he prodded the giggling girl with his toe, “is Marinette Dupain-in-my-ass-Cheng. And you are?”

“Adrien,” he replied, shaking Nino’s hand. “Adrien Agreste.”

“Nice to meet you, Adrien Agreste,” Marinette smiled at him from the floor and held out a hand to him and Adrien could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat.

He shook her hand, but she had a different idea as her grip on his tightened and she pulled herself off of the floor, dusting off her skirt and taking a seat next to Nino on the cushy bench. Nino sniggered.

“What?” Adrien frowned at him, but Nino just shook his grin off his face. His mirth was soon replaced with a nervously excited energy that was, strangely, contagious.

“You ready for Hogwarts, Adrien Agreste?” Nino asked as he and Marinette procured their wands and rummaged around bags (for what, he wasn’t sure yet). Nino was positively wriggling with excitement as he held up his wand for Adrien to see. “Walnut, unicorn, twelve-and-three-quarters, pliant. I’m so excited. We’re going to be able to, like, create stuff outta thin air—” Nino snapped his fingers. “But I can’t wait for Quidditch. Man, I wanna be a Keeper.”

Adrien could only stare, wide-eyed, at Nino, who prattled on and on about anything about Hogwarts his mind could find. While Nino was going on about the secret passageways in the castle, he made eye contact with Marinette, who was miming him; Adrien nearly choked on the chocolate croissant that she had offered him from a box from her parents' bakery. She just grinned at him.

“You have a cat?" she asked, shoving a croissant into Nino's mouth, which stopped the monologue for a little bit. Adrien nodded. "Is he good with other cats? Because I bet Tikki's just waiting for a stretch after that long car ride."

"Plagg's….." Adrien grimaced. "He's not even good with humans. I don't know about other cats."

“Well, should we try?" Adrien just shrugged his shoulders, reaching for the clasps of the wicker basket. Plagg jumped out almost immediately, pouncing on Adrien's pocket. Adrien just chuckled and gave him his prize: a small slice of Camembert cheese.

He was vaguely aware of eyes on him. He looked up, only to find Marinette staring at him, an orange cat in her arms. "What?"

"You have a nice laugh," she said softly, an unfamiliar emotion in her eyes. It was a good emotion, though, if the heat erupting in Adrien's cheeks was any indication.

As it turned out, Tikki (Marinette's cat) and Plagg did get along quite well. They settled down in the space next to Adrien that had been previously covered with snacks off the trolley, all of which Adrien had bought to show appreciation for his newfound friends. At least, he hoped they'd have him.

They put on their robes just as the sky was beginning to darken. Adrien learned that Nino and Marinette had grown up together, which had just caused a lot of mischief in the Lahiffe and Dupain-Cheng households. Nino had a Muggle mother and “how she managed to keep her head on straight with us around, I have no idea.” They were quick to reveal any inside joke they came across, which quickly devovled into who could embarrass who first. Adrien couldn't recall a time where he's laughed this hard with a full belly. Conversation turned into rumours and gossip about Hogwarts and about the Battle of Hogwarts from nearly twenty years ago, to talking about the Houses. Neither Nino or Marinette knew which House they wanted to be Sorted into, and they had spent a good deal of the trip discussing each House and who had been in it.

Adrien wished he had the choice.

His father had been particularly adamant about Adrien becoming a Slytherin. Every Agreste had been Slytherin since, well, the first. Lo and behold, his cousin Felix had also been Sorted into Slytherin. Felix had also been chosen to be a prefect. It was like that for generations and generations, Head Boys, Prefects, et cetera. His father had hammered into him what was to be expected of him and from him once he stepped foot in Hogwarts.

He wasn’t even sure he wanted to be in Slytherin. He didn't like dungeons. He got enough of that at home, and he really didn't like home.

He could barely remember freezing on the boats and shuffling his way up to the castle with the other first years, he was so nervous. He might have bolted had Marinette not grasped his hand as they walked down the entrance hall, sending him a reassuring smile.

That alone sent a flood of warmth back into his system, and he sent her what he hoped was a grateful smile in return, but it probably looked like he had a toothache.

She was really pretty. She was like the princesses that the princes would save in the books he had in his room, but he suspected that she was also very different from those princesses. He suspected she could probably save herself.

She had a few different laughs: a loud, wild laugh, a small, giggly laugh, a laugh that that made her nose scrunch up cutely, and a few more, all of which he saw on the train and liked. A lot. He liked her smile a lot. She was a happy human being, and she made him feel happy too.

She made him feel a lot less lonely.

She didn’t let go of his hand as Professor Longbottom explained the Houses briefly in a small room off the side to the Great Hall. She didn’t let go as they marched under the huge, arching entryways, shuffled into what resembled a line and walked down the center of the Hall, stars twinkling above them mischievously amongst the floating ghosts and candles. The chatter of students quieted down, and only when they were silent did Adrien realize the whole school had been talking and bubbling amongst themselves.

She gave his hand a squeeze when he was among the first to be called up to the Sorting Hat. He glanced back at her, and her wide, beautiful blue eyes were comforting. He squeezed her hand in return and made his way up.

He sat on the stool, seeing hundreds of eyes bore into him as Professor Longbottom placed the hat on his head. He could see Felix sitting proudly amongst the Slytherins, a prefect’s badge glittering on his chest.

Hello, a snide voice spoke in his mind. Adrien nearly jumped out of his skin.

Jumpy, are we?, the voice spoke again amidst Adrien’s turmoil of thoughts. Hmmm. Another Agreste. Let’s see, quite a large heart, knowledgeable, quick on the feet. Longing to prove yourself — but not....hmm....

My father wants me in Slytherin, Adrien thought, albeit glumly.

But you don’t want to be, the hat mused. As you should, it won’t do you much good.....well then....”GRYFFINDOR!”

The row of gold and red under the lion hangings burst into raucous applause as Adrien numbly walked over to the nearest empty seat to back pats and hair ruffles. He grinned at the excitement of the people in his new House, but felt a growing sense of dread in his stomach. Marinette had been watching him take his seat and shot him a wide grin once they locked eyes that he couldn't help but mirror, but it did little to soothe his fears. He wished Marinette was right with him. He hoped she'd be Sorted into Gryffindor, too.

He glanced at the Slytherin table as the next person was Sorted into Hufflepuff. Felix was staring intently at him.

Slowly, he put his finger to his lips, as if he was telling Adrien he was going to keep it a secret from their family.