owlsnotes

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One of the many things I adored about Assad's performance as Armand in season 2 was how he as Armand talked about his backstory.

During the Lesmand fanfiction flashbacks, it's told so simply, with little to no emotional connection (compared to how Louis had been doing the interview) and it's all wrapped up under 20 minutes. Daniel spoke for all of us when he said "...that's it??" (spoiler alert - no. No it isn't.)

But then there's the gallery scene, where he talks about Marius. Aka one of the scenes I was most dreading but the writing pulled it off so well. He's still very calm but it's very dream-like, which makes what he's saying and not-saying all the more tragic and horrifying. It's like Armand doesn't know the full extent of what he's talking about and just how bad that part of his life was. Which sadly makes all too much sense for his character.

Assad nailed it.

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"A Cloud in Trousers" by Vladimir Mayakovsky

Part 5: Lestat de Lioncourt

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

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"A Cloud in Trousers" by Vladimir Mayakovsky

Part 4: Armand

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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"A Cloud in Trousers" by Vladimir Mayakovsky

Part 3: Loustat

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4

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This is the magic lucky word count. Reblog for creativity juice. It might even work, who knows.

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The Demon's Head, Mikhail Vrubel Assad Zaman as Armand, Interview with the Vampire

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Ivan the Terrible killing his son

Louis the Saint killing his maker

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IWTV Characters as:

Toasters!

Anonymous request!

Lestat:

Insane. Does it work well? No. But who cares when it looks like that? She hasn't toasted a piece of bread in years but she will sit prominently on your counter nonetheless.

Louis:

Fun to look at but confusing to operate. Needs 3 different adapters to function. If you can figure it out it makes perfect toast every time. This toaster heats up immediately and takes hours to cool down.

Armand:

Petite and adorable but looks can be deceiving. Keeps toast in a cage while it cooks. Passed down from your great aunt. This toaster is a fire hazard and should be handled with caution.

Claudia:

Equal parts cute and effective. Tries to look complicated but really just wants to toast bread, and a lot of it. Can cook at two different temperatures simultaneously. The devil works hard, but this toaster works harder.

Daniel:

Still looks and works great despite being an antique. Only has two settings: burnt and more burnt. A strong exterior that can take a beating. This toaster is fine being a single slice machine, two slices are overrated.

Santiago:

A bastard creation with a cursed aura. Makes everyone uncomfortable and yet nobody can look away. Only looks like this to upstage the microwave. This toaster lives to make you uneasy.

Last one for the night (it's 5:30am help). I love doing these so please submit requests for characters/objects you'd like my take on!

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Similarities between Daniel & Armand (analysis)

In the iconography: 20 y old Daniel is on his knees (and 20 y old Amadeo is on his knees in the painting). I also have to point out that young Daniel has a startling resemblance to the white-washed Amadeo painting as well. A visual cue that they’re more alike than meets the eye.

"Bartering with desire" vs "in kind". At 20, both were 'rent boys'. Daniel 'bartered' himself for dr*gs. While Armand was 'donated...in kind' to pay for art work . "In kind" = payment in goods or services as opposed to money. "Bartering"= trade by exchanging one commodity for another. 

At the end of Louis' interviews both get their heads shoved into walls.This could be visual symbolism : both their ‘minds are broken’ because both of them can’t recall a decade’s worth of memories. Ironically, Louis may know more of his own story , than Daniel or Armand .

"curiosity"

“An instinct to self efface" . Effacement :“to erase oneself from a situation (to keep oneself in the background ) ” . Cough Armand literally erasing himself from memories & his Rashid disguise. Interestingly, out of all the traits Armand lists about Daniel this is the one trait Daniel agrees is true about himself. Both of them use ‘self-effacement’ as a manipulation tactic to find connection with others. Armand does so to stay with Louis. Daniel uses it to "get angles” and get people to "open up" to him. Literally right after Daniel said this he almost got Armand to open up about his life story

Armand:" That warrants investigation" vs Daniel the "investigative journalist".

Daniel & Armand lounging on the couch and saying Louis is being overly dramatic XD

being turned while having terminal illnesses : Parkinson's (Daniel) & in the show an unknown illness (for Armand) . Similarly , in the books Daniel was turned due to alcohol poisoning and Armand due to being poisoned.

Armand says in ep 4 his memories as a human are “fragments” vs Daniel saying his memories from the 70s-80s were a “blur” .

Both are called “boy” despite being old men. Santiago, the youngest coven member referring to the oldest : “I don’t know what the boy sees in him.” Louis: “he looked like a boy masquerading as a gentleman.” Daniel: “I’m not your f*cking boy! I’m an old man with all the triggers that come with it.” Daniel : “save it for the rent boy.” Armand looking visibly triggered by the comment then asking to leave the room . Armand to Marius (who often called him “boy”) : “I hate you! I’m a man and you deny it!”

As a human , book Amadeo had a drinking problem while book Daniel almost died of alcohol poisoning. Young Daniel (in the show) may also have drinking issues like his book counterpart /book Amadeo. Armand to Daniel in episode 5 : “a genteel drinking problem , like your father .” Armand’s dad : “Ivan the drunkard… Ivan was hopeless. Ivan would never see another sober night or day .Ivan would die soon poisoned by liquor./ a soft prayer for my father that he would not freeze to death tonight as he had almost done so many times, falling down drunk as he did in the snow. (*this echoes human amadeo getting so drunk he fell into the canal)”

Show Armand says Marius called him his "beloved Amadeo", which seems like foreshadowing/an easteregg of 70s dm since "beloved" was his nickname for Daniel in the books. Armand tries to emulate the Marius/Amadeo dynamic in his future relationships since he still equates it to love. Like how he tries to put himself in the Amadeo role with Louis as his 'Maitre (master) '. But for d.m he put Daniel in the Amadeo position (partially because it’s his first relationship with a human , since becoming a vampire and his relationship with Marius is the only vampire/human relationship he’s had) . So at least on some superficial level he recreates some aspects of the Marius/Amadeo dynamic, with Daniel .

In the books Marius feeds human Amadeo his blood, like Armand does to human Daniel. In the books amadeo says Marius’ blood tastes like “honey”.Cough- Louis describing Armand's blood as tasting like "honey" and Armand saying to Daniel in ep 5 "like honey on your tongue" (*this could be foreshadowing he will drink Armand's blood in the 70s/80s… or simply when he was turned).

Armand , during their first encounter, says “it’s okay it’ll be like a bath ” after he uses a rag (to remove the dried blood from his neck). This reminds me of when Marius first met amadeo and used a rag to clean his face / give him a bath. “He bathed me slowly . He had a soft gathered cloth with which he wiped my face.”

Human Amadeo/daniel were incredibly sarcastic and snarky to their future vampire makers

And both of their makers abandoned them

The parallels between Armand/Daniel persist throughout ep 5 , Daniel says he’d be a good companion to Louis because he has traits similar to Lestat and Claudia . 

But the IRONY is throughout the whole episode we see Daniel has A LOT of similarities to Armand . Possibly laying the groundwork for devil's minion in the 70s-80s.

I think while Armand was reading Daniel’s mind -whether it was as subconscious or conscious - it irritated him even more that they had so much in common. Or at least how similar Daniel was to Amadeo. Especially because he was trying to discern why Louis found him “more fascinating” .

For Example , all the other traits Armand lists out about Daniel’s could also be attributed to himself

'Dirty'

'deceitful'

'Enterprising'

'A splinter of coldness ' .

“He wants you in pieces for the privilege of putting you back together “

There’s also other more superficial similarities like Daniel saying he’d do night swims if he was a vampire (similar to Armand who swims often). Or the fact they both read the newspaper often.

I feel one of the MANY reasons Daniel and Armand were probably constantly butting heads and being snarky to each other in the present timeline is because on some subconscious level they remind each other of themselves (and they don’t want to acknowledge that). Especially Armand who is constantly playing a new character to placate his lovers . Young Daniel definitely reminded him of Amadeo . Similar to how Claudia reminded Armand of his past self as well .  

If I missed anything feel free to add to the comments or in a reblog :P

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Iwtv and incorrect quotes from What We Do in the Shadows, 2014

Part 1

(why didn't I see this before???)

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If you see this on your dashboard, reblog this, NO MATTER WHAT and all your dreams and wishes will come true.

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Imagine Daniel saying to his wives that they are BORING, because he knew someone who isn't!

Parallel that we deserve

If past Devil’s Minion happened, it’s no wonder Daniel’s next relationships failed. Daniel, who seeks danger and thrills compulsively, having been the beloved of a murderous inhuman monster, trying to settle into normative nuclear family life. Daniel, who has tasted ancient blood, wondering why the kiss of his wives loses their flavor so quickly. Daniel, who was doted on by a creature who could give him anything he wanted, feeling confused as to why he constantly demands more and more and more. I’m sure Daniel’s wives weren’t boring. He probably tried to find as close of an approximation to Armand as he could. But what could compare?

Daniel’s memory may have been wiped, but Armand could never erase the hole in Daniel’s heart that is shaped like the dark and devoted obsession capable only by a 500 year old vampire. Daniel feels that hole like a constant ache and thinks it’s his own inadequacies that drive him to crash his marriages into the ground. But really it’s the monstrous love he had and lost and doesn’t remember. Feeling only a constant, inescapable thrum that he cannot explain telling him that his other loves are just not enough. No wonder he grows into such a cynic about love.

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"A Cloud in Trousers" by Vladimir Mayakovsky

Part 2: Lestat de Lioncourt

Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 4

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"A Cloud in Trousers", Vladimir Mayakovsky

Part 1: Armand

Half-blank, half-apocalyptic look

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

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Am I losing my mind, or are they really just mirroring each other's face expressions?

(I need more of them together)

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Paintings by Amedeo Modigliani / Madeleine Eparvier (Roxanne Duran)

GUYS

I mean... omg

Not only Armand is a living painting here ❤️

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Wow

Looking forward to hear his Italian, I'm sure it will be amazing ✨

As a French girl who used to teach French to foreign students, I cannot believe Assad Zaman didn’t know French before season 2

For non trained ears, let me tell you: his French is the best of all the cast. It’s better than Sam Reid whose character is supposed to be French

Sure you can hear it’s not his first language but mostly because of his accentuation, he’s doing typical English pauses here and there, while French is fast paced. Other than that, he is nailing the prononciation. Great “r”, great “u”, doesn’t pronounce silent letters. He’s a natural