#marius and daniel

[desertfangs]

Let's talk some more about Daniel's madness as seen in B&G (which is the only book we see it in, though it is mentioned in PL that he has recovered).

Marius has brought Thorne to his home and introduced him to Daniel the night before. This is Thorne's POV:

As he came to the door to the chamber where Daniel made his wondrous cities and towns, he paused, and very reticently glanced inside to see the boyish blond-haired Daniel at his work as though he had never retired for the day at all.

Daniel looked up, and quite unexpectedly, gave Thorne an open smile as he greeted him. "Thorne, our guest," he said. It had a faint tone of mockery, but Thorne sensed it was a weaker emotion.

"Daniel, my friend," said Thorne, glancing again over the tiny mountains and valleys, over the fast running little trains with their lighted windows, over the thick forest of trees which seemed Daniel's present obsession.

Daniel turned his eyes back to his work as though they hadn't spoken.It was green paint now that he dabbed onto the small tree.

Quietly, Thorne moved to go but as he did so, Daniel spoke: "Marius says it's a craft, not an art that I do." He held up the tiny tree.

Thorne didn't know what to say.

"I make the mountains with my own hands," said Daniel. "Marius says I should make the houses as well."

Again Thorne found himself unable to answer.

Daniel went on talking."I like the houses that come in the packages. It's difficult to assemble them, even for me. Besides, I would never think of so many different types of houses. I don't know why Marius has to say such disparaging things."

Thorne was perplexed. Finally he said simply, "I have no answer."

Daniel went quiet. Thorne waited for a respectful interval and then he went into the great room. This whole scene fascinates me. We get so little of Daniel in this book, and this exchange with Thorne is so interesting. He’s focused on his models, yes, but he also seems so dejected that Marius calls his art "a craft" and admonishes him for using kits for some of the houses and buildings, even though he’s doing a wild of amount of work to put these little worlds together. And the weaker emotion Thorne mentions? I suspect that’s sarcasm. Marius had introduced him as “our guest” and I wonder if this is a sardonic, almost self-deprecating response to that. As in, “I am mad creature who builds models, I am not hosting anyone” sort of thing. What really gets me is that Marius tells Thorne Daniel is wholly obsessed with his models, to the extent that he passes out on the floor in front of his work tables unless Marius intervenes. But he asks Daniel if he’s fed in an earlier scene, presuming Daniel is at a stage where he can leave the house by himself if he chooses, and he’s not unaware that Marius is less than impressed with his model worlds. I tend to think of Daniel’s madness as being overwhelming and all encompassing, and we don’t know at this point how long Daniel has been mad. I assume it’s been worse but that’s only an assumption. And we know he gets better and he and Marius become very close by Prince Lestat (they seem close now but very much in a caretaker/person in need of care sort of way). We just get this strange little window in what is years of madness Daniel suffers.

I'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this and how you picture Daniel's madness and the arc of it if anyone wants to share! And just as a sidebar, I love that apparently Throne is impressed by his models. I think that sets the stage for them being friends later, if nothing else.

[cloudabserk]

what am i to you? am i your companion?

inspired by this awesome artwork, which in turn is based on this vocabulary question:

[ihateornithologists]

queen of the damned.....

and bonus armand:

he's so cringe he WOULD love doctor who i swear

[platoapproved]

armand & louis playing out echoes of his relationship with marius

[erebus0dora]

let's just say that's one of the things i would like to see one day, but so far i just had to get it out of my head

(i caught a cold, i can't do complex stuff)

[suddenly-frankenstein]

uhmhmhmmm just occasional thoughts about Daniel's interaction with Marius

[sirtrancy]

[thevtuberlestat]

the vampire armand / the vampire lestat / the queen of the damned

[fishfingersandscarves]

like father like son

[chasiufan]

I'd love to see your version of Daniel (book or show, with or without Marius or Armand or both!) Your style is amazing!

awww thank u!! here’s show daniel interacting with marius(: meeting the father in law

[botticelli-angels-minion]

I’ll know AMC’s Interview with the Vampire is really for the people when I see Daniel Molloy take a SWING on Marius

[prisonhannibal]

season 3 wishlist I hope we get 24/7 daniel molloy callouts of marius de romanus. I hope that man never gets to say anything without experiencing a category five molloy moment

[cloudabserk]

fuzzy socks (in case vampires feet get chilly…)

[funtheysaid]

iwtv ships be like 🧶🕸️🌪️

[loumandaniel]

imagine you loved someone so much that you built them their own luxury hotel mall on an island and filled it with interesting people and material goods to keep him occupied from his vices (just like marius taught you, right?) but, instead of feeling love and safety, he felt like a pet and kept running away. this made you afraid his love was fickle and fleeting, so you took away his memories of you and built a better, less comforting house of safety for your other lover. however, your other lover felt imprisoned, so he brought the former lover back to rescue him, since he was the only person who had ever escaped from you before - why can't they understand this is the only way you know how to love?

[preyingmantits]

Step into my office. Today we are talking about Marius creeping on Benji, treating him like Amadeo 2.0, leaving clothing and jewellery at the Trinity Gate doorstep for him. Taking him on solo outings to classical art galleries while Armand paces at home, anxious and conflicted, until they return. Benji pawns all the gifts to buy Roblox giftcards and Fruity Pebbles vape juice. He says "OK Groomer" everytime Marius opens his stupid mouth. When they get to Botticelli's Annunciation, he yawns and rolls his eyes. Pulls up a picture of Andres Serrano's Piss Christ on his ASUS ROG 9 Pro gaming phone and says "now that's art." Marius' dick shrivels up like the Wicked Witch of the East's feet and falls off. I lay down my chainsaw because I can see Benji Mahmoud has this all under control. The world is healing.