#The Vampire Chonicles

[cbrownjc]

Rashid is Armand, and I will stand by this theory until the show proves me wrong

So I gave it one week to think about it, and I am fully on the Rashid is Armand theory train. Reasons?

1. Having Armand go by the name of a minor character from Marius’ backstory (Blood and Gold) hints at the character's ties to Marius in a small way before the reveal that his ties to Marius are even bigger than that.

2. Not only does he always wear gloves and never stands in direct sunlight, but he’s also the only other person in the penthouse besides Louis who doesn’t wear a mask around Daniel. The pandemic has been mentioned more than once, with Louis specifically saying Daniel is immunocompromised in EP1. All the other household staff we see - particularly during the 7-course dinner scene - wear masks. Rashid never does, even when standing near Daniel in EP4. This hints that Rashid isn't human - like Louis, he isn’t going to pass the virus to Daniel because he’s already dead. 

3. What about his eyes, you say? The simple answer is that he’s wearing contacts to hide his eyes. The more intriguing answer to me, however, is that Armand is actually using the Spell Gift on Daniel to make Daniel not notice what his real eyes are like. Because, and this is key, all the modern-day 2022 scenes are told from Daniel’s POV. The whole tv series opens with Daniel, establishing him as the POV character for all the 2022 scenes. So when we see Rashid’s eyes, we see them as Daniel sees them, not for what they really are. 

4. But why is Rashid worshiping/serving Louis as a God, you ask? Well, he’s not. When Daniel directly asks Rashid about Louis being his god, Rashid doesn’t answer the question and changes the subject. Rashid has never directly said that he specifically worships Louis; it’s only what Daniel inferred. (Again, all the 2022 scenes are from Daniel’s POV.)

5. But then, why is Armand hiding his identity? Well, he’s hiding it from Daniel. And why is he hiding it from Daniel? Well, because The Devil’s Minion event already happened between him and Daniel. I want to shout-out @alwynwitch , who gave an awesome theory/breakdown of this theory of how The Devil’s Minion event could have already happened in the AMC universe. Basically, Armand let Daniel go instead of turning him. And Armand used the Spell/Mind gift to alter Daniel’s memories when he did so, so Daniel doesn’t remember any of it. As Daniel said in the first episode, he doesn’t even remember the interview between him and Louis in 1973. 

The reason he doesn’t remember isn’t just because of the drugs. 

But we are set to get a flashback to that first interview in EP6. And I think that is because Daniel’s memories will start fully returning to him, beginning in EP6. We got a set-up for it in EP4, with Daniel saying he’s been dreaming of Polynesian Mary’s, the gay bar he and Louis first met at, ever since he got the tapes back.

But neither Louis nor Rashid/Armand want to break Daniel’s mind in one go if/when the memories came back, especially by explaining it all to him all in one go. Hence, the slight subterfuge wrt Rashid’s real identity. 

I don’t expect to see the full Devil’s Minion story in EP6 or EP7 btw. That is totally something that would happen/be shown in S2, if this turns out to be true. But I wouldn’t be surprised if EP6 ended with Daniel remembering he’d met Rashid before in the 70s, too, just like he did Louis. (EP7 is when they’d fully reveal his identity IMO).

6. And of course, there are the other specific things - the Crimea/Ukraine connection and Rashid being shown to be religious - Muslim in this case instead of Christian like book-Armand, but still religious.  

7. That apartment? Again, will not be at all surprised if the place is actually Rashid/Armand’s, because it is very much more his style than Louis’ (going by the books, at least). Very much Night Island or what little I’ve read about Trinity Gate so far. (I’ve just started the Prince Lestat trilogy. Before now, the last book I read in the Vampire Chronicles was Blackwood Farm, back when it was first published, and then I stopped reading the series.) It feels like Trinity Gate, but in Dubai instead of New York.

* * *

So yeah, those are my reasons for backing the Rashid-is-Armand theory. Just looking at everything, it just makes so much sense to me for now.          

[knifeeater]

two of our three old men have a slow start into the week

[thenightling]

This could actually be really good.  Back when I was fourteen-years-old and first reading The Queen of the damned (where The Talamasca was first introduced) I felt they should have their own stories.

I always thought something from their point of view, the supernatural equivalent of the Men in Black would be very interesting.

https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3759121/anne-rice-cinematic-universe-grows-with-spinoff-series-set-in-talamasca/?fbclid=IwAR0KYvHNifOTihuwXNmHS_-yeMJHPHuWOG19XUD2f2sy2fmKZk7g1kw9Q-Q

[coldvampire]

UPDATE- NO LONGER OFFERING THESE POSES!

Thank you to everyone for there help! I plan to offer more commissions in this style periodically, so please check @luxecoffin for updates on the newest batch <3

[fairydust-stuff]

I don’t know how the show is going to do ,  but what’s with this end game nonsense in reguards to the vampire chonicles books? 

Argument that Louie is lying about Armand being the love of his life. 

Lestat takes on at least three more lovers in the last couple of books and basically does the vampire version of dating other people even after he gets Louie to move back in with him. There together but their not exclusive. 

Louie also takes a lot of very vacations with Armand and Daniel and their children to the point he practiculally lives there.  

Armand and Lestat are both the loves of Louis’s life. 

He’s part of Armand family and Lestat’s equally. 

Armand himself loves Daniel, Louie and even Lestat in a romantic sense. (its complicated) 

So there’s no end game in the books everyone keeps loving each other after after. No one ever leaves the love  rectangle in these books, everyone wins! 

[castleaudios]

Hello, I'm here to deliver the first (of probably many) question dumps

1. How long is the Endax Chonicles going to be?

2. Are we gonna dive full in in the Bloodmage/Vampire war? or is ot just going to be something happening in the background while we focus on the main character's story

3. Continuing with Endax questions, let's say for example there was a very succesful cabbage merchant in EC, is there a possibility of a descendant of that character becoming a side character in present day Gleenwood audios?

4. Is the lifespan of a shifter shorter/larger than a nonmagical human?

5. Do shifters lose the ability to transform if they are turned into a vampire?

6. Are your dragons going to be inspired in any particular culture's take on dragons, or are they going to be completely original?

(I was originally going to ask you like 2 questions but I got excited and kept typing, and I feel like some of this question are getting into spoiler territory, completely understand if you can't answer them)

Very excited to be answering some Endax questions!

The Endax Chronicles will be 16 episodes long

We will be focusing on how the main characters wound up in the middle of the every end of the war

I'd say there's a very good chance of certain characters from Endax having a legacy that lasts into the prime Glenwoodtimeline!

A shifter's lifespan is slightly longer than an average human but not by much, only a few years to a decade, give or take.

Yes, they lose all ability to shift once turned

Dragon shifters will be based on multiple cultures with small twists to work into the narrative of the story

[lilover131]

Best vampire boi 🩸

[eliestela]

Here mortal Nicolas (again!) because I changed the last hair colour for a darker one XD

I have to say that the late 18th century menswear in France, especially the incroyable style, is one of my favourites from all of history. So, double breasted coats with many stripes for everyone!

BTW I'll delete the other version of this illustration later.

[ellayuki]

10.05.20

TRC Month Day 10  -  KuroFai   /  Tsubasa Reservoir Chonicle / CLAMP  /  Fai POV

~

this dream of white flowers (make it come true)

~

"So? Is it done?"

Fai opens his eyes (two of them, because he has them both again), and puts his hair brush down beside him on the bed. When he turns towards the doorway to their room, he sees Kurogane leaning against the door frame, casual as you please. But after so much time spent together, after everything they've been through together, Fai has learned to read the tense lines of his shoulders, the tight set of his mouth. The thousands of questions Kurogane will never ask, lurking just behind his red, red eyes.

Fai takes a breath, and wonders if this is what he thinks it is about. "Is what done, Kuro-sama?" he asks, just to be sure.

There's a brief flash of irritation passing lightning-quick through Kurogane's features, before the man steps away from the door frame and into the room, and closes the door firmly behind him.

"You know what I mean," he says.

Fai plays with the edge of his shirt sleeve almost absent-mindedly. He thinks he does, yes. And, still.

"You could mean a lot of things, Kurorin. You have to be more specific than that if you want me to answer properly."

Kurogane huffs in annoyance, grinds his teeth. His mechanical fingers wrap around his flesh and bone wrist, over the healing scars there, only for a second. It looks more like an unconscious move, than anything. Ah, so it is.

"The blood," Kurogane says at last, and it feels like an open wound. "The vampire bond. The witch said-"

"The witch said, yes," Fai interrupts, because it feels like this is important to Kurogane. It would be, wouldn't it? That first, terrifying sacrifice. Tying his life like that to someone else's, agreeing to be their food for the rest of his life. Fai doesn't know if he, himself, would ever have had the strength to do such a thing.

(That's a lie. If the roles were reversed, he knows now that he would have done the same. Even with his mission, and all his curses, and his death wish at the time, he would have.)

"So?" Kurogane asks again. He walks to the desk by the bed, pulls out the chair. Lets himself sink heavily in it. "She said that the whole thing would be undone if you got your eye back. Has it?"

Fai looks down at his lap, at his hands playing with the fabrics covering his legs, and then he closes his eyes.

He wishes he could tell Kurogane that it has.

He can't.

"It seems,” he starts, a little hesitant. Things have changed between them, for the better, in ways he’d never dreamed he’d have a chance of ever experiencing. But they’ve never talked about what this vampire bond would mean in the long run. Well, he guesses, we’re about to have this conversation now. “It seems she might have miscalculated.”

There’s a beat of silence.

And then, “Miscalculated,” said flatly. “How.”

Fai sighs. Then, he raises his head, straightens his shoulder.

When he meets Kurogane’s gaze, the ninja’s eyes widen. “What the hell?” leaves Kurogane’s stunned lips to accompany the growing frown between his brows. Fai just blinks blue and gold eyes at him.

“I think it’s because I didn’t have any magic left in me when I got my eye back. It must have changed what was supposed to happen.”

“Changed,” Kurogane says, unimpressed, unconvinced. “Just like that.” Like he’s about to take his sword and run someone through. “And both your eyes were blue until a while ago.”

Fai shrugs. “It was probably from the overflow of power. Syoaran-kun,” and oh, how it still hurts to mention his first son. “Used it so much, it grew to unbelievable degrees. There was an overflow when I took it in. It must have finally ebbed, settled, for the gold to be visible again.” At least, that’s what he assumes has happened. He wishes he could consult Yuuko-san about it. Speaking of which, “And as for Yuuko-san, maybe she didn’t take into account that I’d get drained of all of it at some point.” Kurogane snorts at that. “Nothing is set in stone, Kuro-sama,” Fai tells him, amused. “Our choices change the course of things, you should know that by now.”

Kurogane leans back against the desk, crosses his arms in front of his chest. He doesn’t look furious anymore, but he doesn’t look happy either. Fai swallows past the lump in his throat.

“You should drink, then,” Kurogane says.

He sounds like he’s expecting a fight, and Fai almost wants to laugh. “I don’t need to, Kuro-sama,” he answers instead. And, when Kurogane looks like he’s about to burst a vein, he adds, “Some things did change.”

At Kurogane’s confused frown, Fai raises from the bed and walks to the desk. Leans against it, besides the ninja, and looks up at the ceiling. “Ah, how should I put this,” he starts. “The bond is still there. I can still… I still thirst for your blood. Crave it. But,” he pauses, wets his lips. “I don’t need it as sustenance anymore. I’ve been awake for two days now, had my magic for a few more days before that. I’m not hungry for it. I want it, yes, but I don’t need it. And you’ve already seen me eating normal food again, Kuropuu, I couldn’t do that before.”

What he doesn’t say is that he doesn’t know how this affects Kurogane’s end of the deal.

The witch had said his lifespan would lengthen to match Fai’s, but since Fai could live without him now (well, in this sense, because he doesn’t think he would be able to handle it emotionally if the man died), he has to wonder if maybe that wouldn’t be the case anymore.

He doesn’t want to think about the long years ahead of him, if he has to watch Kurogane grow old and die while he still has decades, maybe centuries left to live.

“So what now?” Kurogane asks, looking up at him. Fai can’t help carding his fingers through his dark hair.

“Now,” he answers, heart in his throat. “Now we carry on with our lives, see where we end up, I guess.”

“The kid wants to continue traveling,” Kurogane tells him, and yes, Fai had figured he would. He’s been waiting for Syaoran-kun to tell them.

He nods. “I’ll go with him, if he’ll have me.” I’m not losing another child, he doesn’t say.

Kurogane rolls his eyes, and stands up. “We’ll go, you idiot.”

Fai laughs at that. “Yes, yes, Kuro-papa. We will.” Because, of course.

“And after that,” Kurogane continues, and Fai blinks at him when he feels metal fingers twist in the locks of his hair by his shoulder.

“After that…? Kuro-sama?”

“After that, we go back to Nihon. Together. If you want.”

And, well, how can Fai say no to that, when his heart feels like it might just beat right out of his chest.

“Mn,” he says, touching his forehead against Kurogane’s, smile wide and true on his lips. “After that, we go home."

[cbrownjc]

a lot of the people on twitter and even here just won't admit they dislike horror as a genre. there are even people who read the books hoping they cut out some of the foulest stuff and it's like... that nasty shit is what made it gothic (for better or worse lol) it's like everyone is fine with blood and guts but nothing thematically uncomfortable when stuff like armand's backstory etc is the vilest content in the series. reaction to season 2 will definitely be interesting.

Hey Anon,

I think many people who've come into the show blind are more here for the Romance part of this story than for the Gothic and Horror parts. And I mean, that's okay. But as far as the upcoming stories via the books go, the Romance part starts getting more overshadowed by the Gothic and Horror parts after the second book, along with a myriad of other things:

Aside from the Devil's Minion chapter (Armand/Daniel) and the ending part with Louis and Lestat, the bulk of the book Queen of the Damned is dedicated to vampire world-building.

The Tale of the Body Thief is, at heart, a dark adventure story.

Memnoch the Devil? Reconciling Christian faith and God vs. the Devil fanfic.

Pandora, The Vampire Armand, and Blood and Gold are all backstory + lore/info stories.

Merrick, Blackwood Farm, and Blood Canticle? Those stories are The Mayfair Witches crossover event you always wanted, but when it actually happened, you were just kinda like, "meh." To the point that you didn't even read the third book in it. (Sorry, was that just me?) 

(I'm leaving out the Prince Lestat trilogy since I'm only halfway through the first book. But I know there is more world-building in it, mainly in the Atlantis book, just like with QotD.)

There's a reason Rolin Jones had to specifically say he didn't want the romance to disappear after the first story when adapting the books. Because it more or less does. It doesn't become a major focus for most of the remaining books, more or less becoming more of a background/secondary thing (if that). A lot more focus is on the nature of these vampires. Who and what they are, who some of them were before, etc.

And those are things and themes that can’t be changed or thrown out wrt the stories they tell IMO. You can adapt more romance into them, sure. But romance isn’t the main focus.

And yes, some of the things in these stories are very disturbing (like, as you point out, Armand's whole backstory.) I don't think the show will tone any of this down. Quite the opposite, as we’ve already seen in S1. 

I already see some people around here and on Twitter hoping that change some significant, dark events that are set to happen in S2. But I just don’t see it happening because those things are very much tied into the Gothic and Horror parts, not to mention one of the overall themes of the IWTV story. 

So yeah. I’m ready for some shock, outrage, and even anger wrt some things coming in S2. We’ll see how it goes. 

[fairydust-stuff]

please let the writers not turn the louis X Armand  thing into some tacky ass love triangle where Lestat and Armand fight over Louie. I’ll be boring as shit!!!! 

And will take time away from scenes where they could be develping Armand and Lestat’s mental health struggles and focusing on them slowly facing their past pain/ mistakes and dealing with the damage they caused Louie. 

That’s the story I want to see improved, the Ann Rice had off screen mostly in the  novels. 

Not some stupid fight where Louie gets reduced to Lestats prize (yuck!) 

Also Armand & Lestat have a really interesting dynamic that does not deserve to get reduced to you stole my boyfriend bs!!!! 

[fatnut]

"Evil is a point of view. God kills indiscriminitely, and so shall we, for no creatures under God are as we are, none so like Him as ourselves."

Lestat de Lioncourt, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

[eliestela]

Work in Progress: Nicolas de Lenfent

Yep. I'm drawing Nicolas now. And I always forget that I should not draw curls because I end up coloring each curl individually, but here we are coloring curls in 4 colours. He'll look cute.

Anyway, I ended up using Louis Garrel as a reference because I love his profile, his crazy hair is the perfect Nicolas ref AND thanks to @echo-de-la-lumiere I can only think of Nicolas as "unbearably French", and that's M. Garrel for you all, according to the internet and that old photo of him in front of the Eiffel tower looking stereotipically French 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also, I haven't decided yet if his suit should be red or terracota, but Nicolas (in my mind) is definitely the kind of man who wears suit and a tee shirt, and looks stylish and simply elegant, and is also alive in the 21st century. So, there's that.

I think I'll finish tomorrow and maaaaaaaybe make his hair darker. Who knows.

[fairydust-stuff]

Lestat/ Louis dynamic thoughts book and tv series

Honestly I don’t get the Lestat complaints about his behavior, Lestat wouldn’t act like that since in the books Lestat was cannonly very controlling and ignored other people bodily atonomy whenever it was inconvient for him.

A lot of fans seem to forget the body theif had Lestat rape two women while he was human again and he also forcefully turned David into a vampire despite him screaming no don’t turn me! Ann Rice later has both victum’s tell Lestat it was fine because they secretly wanted it which is just (eww!)

If you want to argue Ann went off the rails in later books and lestat is occ. I’ll remind you the Vampire Lestat had Lestat tell a boy  who was raped at 12, 13 they should of just offered a grown man sex and shamed them for not doing so.

So yeah Book Lestat feels he and other men are very much entitled to sex, company ect......

For those who claim book Lestat isn’t racist like tv show Lestat.  It is cannon that book Lestat was freinds with a british colonizer David who eventually became his lover so yeah it was there in the novels as well that Lestat wasn’t exactly mr  progressive. I mean he turned a slave owner into a vampire at best he was unconcerned with slavery/ race relations. 

  The Show just adds another icky layer to his book counterparts behavior. Which is already super icky.  I also think fans ignore  that show  Lestat has more power over Claudia/ Louis.

If Lestat tried some of the shit he did with Book Louis, he would of lost his finacial security since book Louis was playing for everything. Lestat turned him mostly for his bank account.

While their relationship gets pretty abusive emotionally book Lestat couldn’t cross certain lines with Louie since he had actual status/ wealth in the books. It seems he even waited two centuries to even get emotionally abusive. 

So book Louie had some pull in their relationship.  Lestat used his knowedge as a weapon to control him and Claudia but book Louis wasn’t where tv show louis was in terms of position due to racism. 

tv show Lestat louie have a more unequal power dynamic then their book counterparts. So Lestat can be more openly violent/ controlling because Louis has fewer options. Which is why I cann’t wait for Armand to show up since despite their unhealthy start book Armand gave Louis an exscape from Lestat when he needed it and an connection outside of Lestats bubble. 

Shipping aside Louis needs Armand and his family (though I am sour that tv series Daniel/david combo might be a part of that) to have people in his corner. 

Though I am happy that tv series Claudia actually is in Louis’s corner.