#tl;dr: armand/marius and armand/lestat were baby's first ships

[hekateinhell]

You say Armand/Daniel weren't your first vc ship, which makes me wonder what *were* your first vc ships? Were you ride and die for Armand/Lestat from the start or did that come later?

I accidentally wrote a dissertation (but it is the holidays and I have time to kill).

The Vampire Armand was the first VC book I remember reading. I may have picked up IWTV when I was 10 or so but I didn't make it very far, because I was 10 and not that precocious so I couldn't really follow along yet. But I just had turned 12 when I read TVA, and at the time I didn't make the connection to IWTV—did not realize there was an entire TVC until I had already gotten pretty deep into the story.

My first VC ships were Armand/Marius and Armand/Lestat. It took a few more years to be able to fully appreciate Devil's Minion and the absolute psychosexual hold it would have on me. I think I was about 16-17 when it... hit.

With Armand/Marius, the savior and student/teacher tropes really appealed to me as a kid who didn't actually comprehend much of those particular dynamics, and I was simply devastated by the way they were torn apart in Venice. As I got older and understood more, I did grow out of loving Marius and that ship altogether unless it's in fic, although I do think I'm able to empathize with him more and see him as a complete character now. I don't have to like someone in real life to feel empathy for them, and that translates over into fictional stuff for me personally. Everyone's different and honestly I don't overthink it lol.

Since I was introduced to Armand via his own book, I got to meet Lestat, Marius, and the rest of the cast through his eyes. I also have a rather peculiar habit (at least people tell me it's peculiar) of spoiling myself for everything I consume. I'll read the wiki pages of every movie and tv show before I watch them; I'll skip to the end of every book before I read the beginning so I'll know who's left standing. I don't like surprises! 

Technically, this is where I met Armand and Lestat:

It was Lestat, and he was tattered and dusty as he had been on the chapel floor. No thoughts emanated from his mind as far as I could figure, and his eyes looked vague and full of exhausting wonder. He stood before us, merely staring, and then as I rose to my feet, scrambled in fact, to embrace him; he came near to me, and whispered in my ear.

His voice was faltering and weak from lack of use, and he spoke very softly, his breath just touching my flesh.

"Sybelle," he said.

"Yes, Lestat, what is it, what about her, tell me," I said. I held his hands as firmly and lovingly as I could.

"Sybelle," he said again. "Do you think she would play the Sonata for me if you asked her? The Appassionato?"

I drew back and looked into his vague drifting blue eyes.

"Oh, yes," I said, near breathless with excitement, with overflowing feeling. "Lestat, I'm sure she would. Sybelle!"

Obviously, this Lestat guy is a big deal to Armand. Then when I went back and read the book properly (binged that baby in a day, took psychic damage that's still painfully evident today), I thought it was so interesting that Lestat really isn't featured in TVA that much and yet Armand doesn't talk about anyone the way he does Lestat. I was enchanted.

TVL was next on my list because I am a chaos gremlin with no respect for chronological order. Maybe this is why in my head I always think of TVL and TVA as companion novels? But I also see them as being the most similar in tone and style than any other two books in TVC. And once again, baby me was riveted by the L/A dynamic. 'Confusion and desire'! A 'monstrous intimacy'! The way Lestat describes Armand as one would a living angel, with all the horror, apprehension, allure, and worshipfulness that would entail.

Just as Armand doesn't speak on anyone the way he does Lestat, the same is true with Lestat when it comes to Armand. There's something so unique to their relationship and how they see each other that's not replicated with anyone else. I was hooked for life. 😔

And like I said, Devil's Minion came later to rearrange my brain chemistry one more time! I definitely go through phases with which ship I'm feeling the most but tbh I could talk about either of them all day long if given the opportunity (proof is in the archive, RIP). 🖤

But yes, I was an L/A girlie from day one, and I'm sure that's at least in part due to the way I started with TVA and TVL. I just love them so much, okay??? It's excellent writing and I think whether Anne meant to or not, she wrote them to complement each other perfectly and I'm gonna die emotional about it 🤧