#pandora/marius

[desertfangs]

Necessity - Marius/Pandora - 948 words

Pandora watches Marius get frustrated and leave a council meeting, and follows him out to talk. Written for the @vcmicroficmay prompt "Necessary." I just reread Pandora and I've had her on my mind lately.

Marius tries to play it cool but Pandora sees his jaw tighten and his glare harden. Fareed is speaking at the front of the room, but no one is really listening. Lestat is smirking at Armand, clearly feeling like he got the better of him somehow in some unspoken game. Armand, for his part, sits statue-still, blank as a canvas, pretending not to be bothered. But beneath the table Pandora can see his fists clenched tight. 

Beside him, Daniel clicks a pen over and over until Viktor yanks it away from him. Daniel looks abashed, swallows, and tries to focus on Fareed.

Gregory might actually be listening but Pandora sees his rigid posture and the deliberate way he does not turn to look at the rest of the conference table.

Pandora watches Marius’ anger build. He tries to contain it but then Lestat makes some gesture at Armand, and Armand finally breaks his composure, sneering back. Then Benji’s phone blares some tinny, annoying ringtone and Marius explodes like a volcano. A slow flowing one, where the lava oozes out slowly into the sea, but a volcano nonetheless. 

He stands abruptly and leaves the conference room. Fareed, consummate professional, only pauses briefly before continuing his talk about results of his recent experiments exposing vampire blood to the sun. 

Pandora stands, more gingerly than Marius, though it is impossible to do so surreptitiously. She ignores the looks of the others as she follows Marius out into the hall. He’s gone all the way down the long corridor and turned the corner, where he now stands with his back against the wall, his eyes closed. 

“You’re in a mood tonight,” she says. 

Marius opens one eye. “I’m taking a short break.” 

Pandora folds her arms over her chest. “You know, there’s a trick professors use where they clap their hands and tell the class to pay attention. Then they don’t need to storm out of the room.” 

Marius sighs heavily. “What do you know of modern academics?” 

Pandora laughs. “I audited several classes at Vassar years ago.” 

Marius opens his mouth and then closes it again. She can tell he has questions but he won’t show interest, not now. He’s too busy being grumpy. 

“Fareed is an interesting fellow and his experiments are fascinating, but not everyone signed up for science class,” Pandora says.

“It’s not too much to ask that they pay attention for the duration of a weekly meeting,” Marius says. 

Pandora has to hide her smile. He’s so irritated by the tomfoolery, and she wonders what he expected when this Court was formed. Surely he remembers their time on Night Island and how any attempt to have a large group meeting was often foiled by something or another. The fact that he regularly manages to get them to the conference room is a feat in and of itself. 

“Don’t take it so personally. It’s not like it was your talk that was boring them.” 

He shakes his head. “It’s necessary that we make this work. It’s a chance for our kind to truly be united for the first time, to remake the world together in ways we’ve never dreamt of before.” 

Pandora puts her hand on his shoulder. For a second, she thinks he’ll pull away but instead, he relaxes, his muscles unclenching. “It’s not necessary.”

Another glare. She resists the urge to roll her eyes.

“It’s good, this Court that you’ve built,” she says. “It will have enduring effects on our kind for millennia even if it doesn’t last the centuries.” Marius presses his lips together in a tight line. She hurries on before he can argue. “But you can’t always take it so seriously. People goof off in meetings. Haven’t you ever watched The Office?”  

Marius scoffs. “No. Have you?” 

She shrugs. Marius likes to pretend he’s above the mindlessness of television but she’s seen him curled up on the couch with Daniel while all sorts of inane things play on the screen. 

“I’m saying you can’t make this Court the cornerstone of your existence. It won’t last forever.” Marius opens his mouth to protest and Pandora holds up her free hand. “It can’t, because nothing does. Surely you and I can both attest to that. But that doesn’t mean every poorly received meeting is a harbinger of doom.” 

Marius is silent for a long moment. Finally, he says, ”I suppose there’s some wisdom to what you’re saying.” 

She beams at him. “Only some? And here I thought it was brilliant. I was going to offer to give the next talk.” 

Marius reaches out and runs one of her loose brunette curls through his fingers. “I’m afraid the schedule is booked for the next few months.” 

Pandora holds her breath while he touches her hair and then smooths her cheek with his delicate, long fingers. She thinks of taking them in her mouth, of dragging him somewhere they can be alone for a while and forget the meeting. 

Marius drops his hand and sadness overtakes his expression, hardening over it like ice. 

“You’re not the only one who seeks reasons to continue, you know,” Pandora says. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting a purpose. But you don’t need to be so severe.” 

“Severe?” A faint smile. 

She smiles back. “What’s that expression Lestat loves? If the shoe fits?” 

Marius laughs, the ice around him melting. He shakes his head and then pushes off the wall. “Come, let’s get back. Fareed deserves at least half an audience.” 

He extends his elbow. Surprised, Pandora takes his arm and lets him walk her back to the conference room, glad that he seems a little less irritable, at least for now.  

Cross-Posted to AO3

[0junemeatcleaver0]

𝖜𝖎𝖕 𝖜𝖊𝖉𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖉𝖆𝖞

I was out of commission yesterday, so I missed it. Oh well. Time is illusory, have a slice of this Pandora/Marius fic I'm working on:

“What folly.” She sighs, eyeing him from the low bench in his quarters. From her perspective, he’s backlit–standing at the open doors leading out to the balcony, the light of the moon etching a livid silver halo around the outline of his head.  She can’t know for certain, but she’d be willing to bet he’s watching the light glint off the crystals of ice coating the grass below. She’d been entranced by the sight herself just an hour earlier.  “And what are you raving about now, my love?” His tone is familiar to her ear, though she’s not heard it since Antioch–airy, yet undercut with a wicked playfulness. He is being sly, spoiling for a lively fight, a flirtatious tiff. If she wished, she could stoke that fire until it grew into a blaze that would consume them both–greeting the dawn blood-drunk and sated.  But that is not what she’s after tonight.  This is the third year in a row she’s been met with the same sight and the thought of going through this year after year for the rest of eternity is so loathsome to her that she’s made peace with herself for the fall out that will inevitably happen from her pressing the issue.   “Will this carry on forever?” She asks.  “I don’t know what you’re referring to.” He sniffs, puffing his chest out and clasping his hands behind his back. She knows he thinks this stance makes him look big and important. She thinks it makes him appear as though he’s wearing invisible shackles.  “You seem rather…pensive–” “Yes, tragically I am one of a handful of creatures under the Heavens that has been plagued by deep thought my whole life and–” “--to the point where you look like…” What was that phrase she had heard Benji use? Ah, yes, “...a slapped ass–” “Animalian or anatomical?” Sadly, Pandora wasn’t certain herself though she had her suspicions. 

[funtheysaid]

iwtv ships be like 🧶🕸️🌪️

[xxhellonursexx]

What?? Marius and Pandora actually enjoying each other's company? Yes! According to Pandora in her own memoir, it's a thing that really happened!

[I think I might be back on my Marius/Pandora bullshit.]

[armandposting]

if you are caught up in what ships are "endgame" in the vampire chronicles or related media you are missing the whole point of anne rice vampires which is that they function like the worst most drama-filled queer community group you've ever heard of while being immortal and having unlimited resources. one of the last books in the series is about drama in lestats polycule because this guy that he pissed off ages ago kidnapped two of his boyfriends and his mom (who he is in love with as well don't worry about it) therefore provoking the ire of several of his other boyfriends because they were also dating those guys so they set aside their differences of opinion on whether or not they should farm the alien species that lives among them for easy blood in order to go steal back the cule members which lestat accomplishes by tearing the kidnapper's eyes out and eating them (which he didn't do before because the kidnapper was hot and so lestat was holding out hope that he would also join the polycule eventually). a side plot to this is lestat meeting a vampire he hasn't met before and bringing him home so the new guy and louis can read tolstoy together because as soon as lestat met this vampire he was like omg I need to bring this guy home for boyfriend enrichment. you cannot BEGIN to comprehend the complexity of vampire sucking and fucking in the anne rice universe

[hekateinhell]

loustat

early devil's minion

pandora/marius

bianca

[louisbxne]

QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (2002) Dir. Michael Rymer

[chicalepidoptera]

Day 3 of @vampirefest 's vfkinktober2024: Clothed coitus

[desertfangs]

"Does Marius know where the clit is" as if Pandora did not make sure of that immediately.

[kaelio]

pandora is dying and she's sloughing the contents of her uterus and she's barfing and emptying all her Various Orifices and makes marius fuck her on the grass while she's consuming his blood AND THE TWO LITTLE SLAVE BOYS ARE RIGHT THERE. i mean truly roman attitudes. what why wouldn't they be there? what if i need someone to carry something

[ladisgarde]

From Pandora– I choose to interpret that proposal like her father said:

[bubblegum-blackwood]

How I think the VC characters would feel about the pumpkin spice latte

Lestat: obsessed, can’t get enough, fall girl 100%

Louis: curls his lip up in distaste at the thought

Armand: fascinated by the concept and definitely enjoys it now and again

Daniel: tried it once because Armand begged him, but it’s a liiiiittle too sugary for his taste

Marius: probably likes it more than he cares to admit

Thorne: a fun treat for every once and a while, but not something he would order consistently

Santino: It is evil and indulgent! 😡

Quinn: thinks it’s kinda mid but drinks it for the aesthetic because he’s a dork

Nicki: actively makes fun of people who drink it

Mael: what’s a pumpkin spice latte?

Jesse: prefers it iced 😔

Seth: no hate but he doesn’t prefer it

Fareed: tried it once and that was enough

Khayman: he thinks it’s absolutely delightful

Pandora: prefers the iced pumpkin cream chai

Bianca: thinks it’s super cute and totally gets it as a more-than-occasional treat

Gabrielle: doesn't get the point of flavoured coffee in general

[xxhellonursexx]

Illustration from "Queen of the Damned."

You really gotta admire Marius and his "never give up" spirit. He just knows that the 259th gift he's given Pandora is what will really do the trick, and NOT cause her to throw him in the ocean!

[killer-laurent]

Pandora and Marius (Commission) A birthday gift for @monstersinthecosmos from @hekateinhell and @apoptoses 💖💖💖

[hekateinhell]

@monstersinthecosmos and I were talking and she dug up this exchange Anne had with someone on Fanpop back in the day, concerning vampires' love and sexuality. There were quite a few fascinating tidbits but these are my favorites:

I see them [vampires] as transcending matters of gender or age. Lestat loves Louis. Louis loves Claudia. Armand loves Lestat. Lestat loves Gabrielle. There is no distinct difference in the quality of any of these loves. This has also been described as polymorphous sensuality.

"--- Armand is desperately in love with Lestat but it has nothing to do with sex. Armand feels Marius failed him and Marius feels Armand failed him, and that part has nothing to do with sex. Marius and Pandora, that is a love affair, but again sex has nothing to do with it. So they are all capable of loving people of their own gender and the other gender; gender doesn't matter. It's the essence. Lestat loves David Talbot as a lover, a friend, a mentor, a father, etc. --- It goes on like that. The act of dominating and drinking blood can happen between any two characters regardless of gender. They cannot be pinned down. They see all life as potentially beautiful and all forms of love as rewarding."

X

I'm verklempt at the fact Anne mentioned Armand and Lestat in the same vein as Armand and Marius and Marius and Pandora, but also I love how much she emphasizes that they can cannot be pinned down and all that forms of love are rewarding!

It's just such a revolutionary way of thinking especially when you consider that she was a woman born in the 1940s in the American South. She may have missed the beat on some things but on others, she was right on the fucking money. 

[nothing-but-paisley]

Top 12 romantic vc moments:

12. Pandora and Marius have sex mortal style while arguing the entire time

11. Devil's minion movie nights with Daniel agreeing to watch Blade Runner 500 times

10. Distraught Marius reunites with Armand after he survives going into the sun

9. Bianca tenderly caring for the dying Amadeo

8. Lestat calling Armand good to embrace and good to love

7. Amadeo hacks through Marius' door with a battle axe

6. Lestat & Louis' first flight

5. Nickistat drunken makeout at the inn

4. Armand tells Louis he wants him more than anything in the world

3. Daniel's turning in the imaginary garden

2. Pre-concert Loustat reunion

1. The Villa of the Mysteries