#this tells me more about how insane armand is going to be in this show than anything else

[loumands]

This scene is so funny now in hindsight. Like they really were basically having sex right in front of Daniel’s salad. Why. Just for shit and giggles? Voyeurism kink? To psychosexually terrorize Daniel? Just to commit to the bit? Either way forget all the killing and maiming this was literally the most deranged thing they’ve ever done

[lou-iz-stat]

We are officially 7 weeks away from Interview with the Vampire season 2 !!!!! So that means that it is time for a rewatch each week that will eventually lead up to the premiere.

This post will be my rewatch of episode 1 and it will include observations that relate to the rest of the season so there will be spoilers for season 1 as well as book spoilers. I will also make some predictions for season 2 since I have seen that amazing extended trailer I haven’t been able to get out of my head since. So with that here is my rewatch of episode 1…

IWTV S1 E1: In Throes of Increasing Wonder

The first thing we see is of course Daniel’s little master class commercial that is there to quickly establish what his character is. I have seen a lot of reactions to this first episode from people and they are always confused of if they are watching the right show (lol).

Next we are in Daniel’s apartment in New York which at first glance might not seem like something that is very important but there are so many clues that can be scene there. The bite mark on his neck, THE PUZZLE, the little pink bike helmet. That damn puzzle has confused many of us in the fandom and it could be a clue for something in season 2 when we get to uncover some of Daniel’s missing memories. I have a feeling like it could be from a different painting that Marius or even Armand has done. Only time will tell.

Even when he starts to listen to the tape he is afraid when he realizes that he could be living some of his past trauma by listening to these tapes but he still finds the strength go all the way to Dubai for a second interview.

I also don’t mind that the pandemic is included in this as we are still feeling the affects of it right now.

I also really like that they made Daniel old and have Parkinson’s in the show since it really brings Daniel’s mortality to the forefront and for the reason why he can afford to be so sassy and can push back since he knows he is at the end of his life anyway.

And of course Rashid (Armand) is sitting in a chair in the background. Armand is here from the beginning probably telepathically talking to Louis. And he talks to Daniel for the first time in probably awhile and in hindsight it is pretty funny how butthurt Armand gets at Daniel not wanting him there for the interview but he’ll still be able to hear. 🙄

With inclusion of Storyville and the masterful change of Louis’s race it really elevated Louis’s character from the books. Because of this change it gives the character of Louis some more bite, because of his race he is forced to show an illusion of strength. It just gives him so much more depth so that a modern audience can really connect with him. No matter what anybody says they HAD to change Louis from being a slave owner! Nobody wants a protagonist that owned people like that. And this act of strength that Louis does against his brother is what initially got Lestat to be interested in him in the first place. Everything just flows together so well in this first episode.

Right out the gate they establish Louis trying to distract himself from his closeted self by him seeing Ms. Lily. And with that we meet the gentleman vampire, Lestat. I must admit that when I first watched this I had some reservations about this version of Lestat because as I watched his accent kind of confused me but as the episode goes on, he definitely wins me over and I grew to love Sam’s voice. Sam’s Lestat is definitely what made fall in love with this character.

I never noticed how animalistic they made Lestat sound as he ripped into the lamplighter but his growls are insane.

The way Louis smiles at Lestat when he sucks at playing poker is so cute. ☺️

This is where we first see Lestat’s ability to spellbind a room. If this is the amount of power that Lestat has then I am sure that Armand’s power is going to be out of this world. And this is also the moment Lestat really wins Louis over by connecting to Louis hardship at being mistreated by the Alderman and Thomas Anderson. He also references his own past with the line “protection from the wolves.”

Love that Lestat references more his past from The Vampire Lestat at the Pointe du Lac dinner including his mom, Gabrielle who we will hopefully meet in s3. And knowing his past everything he says about his falling out with religion is sadly very true. 😢 Classic Lestat fuck up though… oh boy. 😭

The line “Dishonesty breeds dishonesty” is an interesting line. I know it proves true later on in the season but will it also prove true in s2?

🤣 The gay panic in Louis’s eyes when Lestat asks him up for a night cap is so good. Jacob Anderson you will always be famous.

Our first Nicki reference when Lestat talks about the music box which was Lestat’s first love.

The first scene in Lestat’s townhouse is iconic indeed but it is also where Lestat is slipping in the idea of Louis becoming his companion. 🥹 And when Louis pounces on Lestat I totally screamed with joy when I first watch this. It is so important to me. And the move that Lestat does to Louis when he goes behind him will definitely be a move that we see Louis replicate on Armand. No matter how much Louis will want to forget Lestat it will never work. lol

A reference to Daniel and Louis’s first meeting that will see later was good to set up now.

Seeing Louis actually getting to have a good time with his family for once before it all goes to shit really helps make what happens later especially tragic.

“Come to me” comes up a lot in The Vampire Lestat but it’s not Lestat saying it, it is usually what Armand says to Lestat. I wonder if this will come up later in s2.

Many have raved about Jacob Anderson’s performance but it truly is one the greatest performances of all time, especially his performance is the confession box and I’m sure he only be better in s2 if that’s even possible.

Along side that this whole scene in the church is so brilliant from beginning to end. The speech that Lestat gives to Louis. Killing of the priests. The kiss. The confession of love. The speech modern day Louis says. And the turning of Louis. All. So. Perfect.

And there you have it the end of my s1 e1 rewatch. If you are still reading this then thank you for sticking with my rambling ass. Hopefully I can keep this up for the rest of the episodes in the coming weeks.

7 more weeks. We can do this!

[emeraldracer]

I'm thinking about the possibility of the first interview being set up by Armand.

The book and the interview aren't finished in the show, so they had to change how Daniel and Armand met. At this point, we can safely say that Devil's Minion has happened. The only question is how if Armand is already there at the bar. Daniel supposedly doesn't know yet where Lestat's place of slumber is, he hasn't found the watch, etc., because Louis hasn't finished telling his story. So it's definitely not the original scenario. It can be an elegant Armand finding Daniel half dead in that room and finding him interesting. I don't see him wrestling Louis for an unknown human when he attacks though (only if killing would mean something dire for Louis??). So it should be as simple as that. Just him finding the boy like that, then proceeding with the canon turn of events. The Loumand breakup could happen somewhere in the middle of it then, wouldn't be hard to squeeze it in.

BUT. Two things have me thinking it can be more complicated: first interview unfinished and Daniel asking Louis to turn him before he is done with the story. Could it be that Daniel knew Armand already and he canonically refused him, so he took the chance to ask another? Which would only enrage Louis, of course, and force Armand to intervene. I'm guessing the final IWTV Loumand dialog still takes place before SF in that case. Armand leaves him, then somehow meets Daniel, they go about their insanity, and Armand comes up with an interview idea. It's gonna be hard to explain, because Louis's story was crucial to Danny's obsession with vampirism, and they'll have to come up with how they hooked up in the first place. Also, the reason Armand returns to Louis to give him that interview should be sound, but I'm seeing a vision. Luke's expression when seeing Armand in the flashback kind of supports this theory for me. Could be just a *wow this one is gorgeous* of course, but it also looks like the reaction he would have during the chasing era. Apprehensive and stupidly curious at the same time.

I admit I'm a bit sad there's a big chance he won't go to NOLA to look for Lestat because of how Armand is already there, but this opens so many other routes I'm happy to theorize about. Just gorgeous writing.

[apoptoses]

Okay, I need you to be horny on main with me again I'm dying out here 🥹 so I'm sure we all have our respective mental images but with regards to your smut specifically... just how big do you envision Daniel's dick to be? Length, girth, the whole nine, tell me everything 👀 ty ily 💖

okay so like I usually leave this to the reader's imagination because what makes for 'good' or 'big' is so subjective, but I have SUCH specific ideas on how all of their bodies look.

SO IF YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW

I think if Armand was playing goldilocks and the three bears over dicks, Daniel's is the one that hits the 'this one is just right' target. Not excessively big, not too small- tbh in my mind it's just beautifully average. Like solid 6", just thick enough Armand's index finger and thumb can just touch if he wraps his hand around it. Enough to show someone more than a good time but not so much they're gonna be hurting, you know? Very straight, so perfectly proportioned it's like a textbook image.

And. Also.

The man was born in 1953 in the US, when doctors whisked babies away without even asking to cut them. He would be circumcised and I don't think we think about that enough in the smut side of the fandom because the rest of these vampires? Born in the past when that wasn't a thing at all unless you were Jewish or a member of some other very specific sects of religions. Chances are Armand would never have interacted with someone who's circumcised until Daniel and idk, idk, I think he would have questions and would be very curious!

and like later, at Night Island, he probably got interrogated by Lestat about it because he's also a curious and shameless weirdo but- that's a different fic entirely

Also if we really wanna get graphic and smutty, I see him with a fairly prominent vein on the underside that drives Armand insane from being so intimately aware of his pulse at all times. Like going down on him is the ultimate test of self control because the vein is just there, it would be so easy to nick, it gets the fantasy of drinking Daniel dry going in the back of his mind every single time.

And since I'm letting it all hang out here anyways- some people have really short flat pereniums and some are more slightly rounded and defined and he falls into the latter camp.

So. In summary. There's some dicks you tackle for the challenge and the story but there's some that are keepers because they hit the spot in more ways than one and I just think that's him. And I will die on this hill if I have to haha I find his normalcy and humanity the most appealing thing about him and in my brain Armand does too 😤

[nightcolorz]

i’m late but for the ask game: armand 6, 8, 25

YIPPIE!! Thank u sm for sending this, I’ve been pretty severely injured lately and I woke up feeling so shit and sad, so getting this notif absolutely made my day. Armand !!! He is my favorite character in anything ever. I have literally never been so insane about a guy before. U picked some great questions so I’m super excited about this.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

I identify strongly with Armand for a lot of weird little reasons. I think the root of it is transgender and autism stuff if I’m honest 😭 Im going to try not to get tooo personal 👍👍 but I will let’s be honest, I will get personal. I can relate to being fetishized and characterized for my sort of androgynous/pretty/boyish appearance while I feel like how I look doesn’t truly reflect who I am as a person. I definitely get the struggle of being demeaned and treated like a child bcus of the juvenile ish appearance transitioning can give you. I also can relate to being demeaned and treated like a child because of my social awkwardness (due to autism) that causes many ppl to assume I’m unintelligent or immature, need to be treated gently or talked to slowly, etc. I see these parts of myself reflected in Armand ofc in different more vampiric ways, and having a character who is infantilized and talked down to while also fetishized and sexually exploited for a perceived innocence that isn’t reflective of who he really is at all, a guy who is also very strange and awkward and doesn’t act right, who is also simultaneously very bad ass (imo lmao) in his shamelessness and his overtly violent and freak of nature attitude, is weirdly very validating and empowering for me, lmao. He is like the weak shameful parts of myself if the weak shameful parts of myself had teeth. 👍👍👍 Yeah 😁😁😁😁 Armand 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

lmfaooo, I’m so happy u picked this one bcus I love complaining and being a hater 😍 I am sorry in advance if I say anything that ruffles any bodies feathers, just bcus I don’t like these things ppl do doesn’t mean I don’t like the ppl who do them, y’all do u I’m not stopping u. Anyways.

I don’t enjoy how a handful of amc exclusive fans characterize Armand, because you can tell they rlly only understand him based on Wikipedia reads and his brief appearance in the show so far, which results in this sort of glaring simplification of his character in fan content. This wouldn’t rlly bother me if not for how prevalent it is 😭 like it’s genuinely difficult for me to find interesting and in character fanfic about Armand bcus so much of it is uniformed. The amc fandom sort of dominates the tvc fandom, it’s just so big. I don’t like when Armand is reduced to Louis’s new scary hot boyfriend/Lestat replacement/potential villain. It feels like he’s often perceived through this lens of a role in the story, like “hm this guy seems like a potential villain”, “no I think he’s a new love interest”, which is a conversation I find no appeal in at all considering you can’t fit the Armand I love into any of these narrative boxes. This isn’t rlly smth I have personal beef with bcus there’s no harm in fans of the show characterizing armand based on there limited knowledge while they wait for the next season, but for me it’s a pet peeve you know, as someone who rlly rlly likes armand a lot 😭.

(This is the exception to my no hate to u if u do this disclaimer btw, all the hate to u). on the subject of amc fans, I also often see this hostility towards fans of book Armand, where I’ll see amc fans talking about how perverse he is conceptually in the books and how gross ppl who like him are, which REALLY makes me very mad, because ok. Listen. Show armand is not a character yet, any and all things you enjoy about armand as of now as someone who hasn’t read the books are 1. How he looks. And 2. Things from the books that you apply to him in a new context. Assad’s performance, the people working on the show, the writers, everything that you base your enjoyment of armand in, is from the books 😭 But god forbid someone enjoy the source material over the hypothetical character who barely exists yet? God forbid someone do the same thing u do (take smth arguably morally dubious and interpret it in a way that u find interesting and compelling while acknowledging the morally dubious source material) just not in the context of an adaption. Ok. God forbid I enjoy and identify with an adult character trapped in the body of a child who is misperceived for his youth and sexually abused, it’s not like this is the same concept of beloved amc Claudia anyway. It’s also not like I am capable of enjoying something while criticizing it and disliking it’s flaws, and coming to conclusions based on critical thinking and analysis of concepts that may have been executed poorly, that I still admire and enjoy, bcus I am capable of complex thinking, and I don’t need to blindly enjoy every part of smth and perceive it as flawless to enjoy it. We all know that’s fake ! Anyways sorry for the angry rant 😭😭😭 moving on.

On a separate note, I also sometimes have beef with how fellow book armand fans portray him. This is small and sort of petty but it bothers me when Armand is drawn as like, very small and skinny. Maybe it’s bcus I head canon him as chubby and sort of cherub-built, maybe it’s bcus in TVA armand describes himself as strong in build and “not waif-ish”, but either or it does feel sort of wrong and off putting when I see Armand drawn as like, so small and petite that it’s emphasized. To me this reads as a missing of the point, if you will. An emphasis on physical qualities representative of innocence and youth that aren’t reflective of Armand’s character, only rlly how some other characters see him. I can often tell when an Armand fan enjoys him for the superficial qualities (eternally young, angelic looking, etc) over who he is, and it always encourages me to steer clear. I hope I’m making sense lol. This is also sometime present in fic but it’s more subtle and difficult to describe. Anyways

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I was thinking about this yesterday! I was first introduced to Armand when I was maybe 11 or 12, my dad put on 94 interview with the vampire for me and my twin sister while he did work around the house etc. he started watching it with us (he loves 94 iwtv) but by the time Armand showed up at the half way point he got up and started doing other things, so my sister and I were alone in front of the screen. For some reason lost to time my sister and I were very excited about seeing Antonio Banderas, maybe because we knew him from Zorro, so in the aftermath of the buffoon scene with Santiago that we found really funny, when Antonio Banderas appeared on screen we were hyped tf up. We were so enthralled in the moment of his cunty ass entrance we started cheering and clapping and screaming 😭 I think shrieking ARMANNNDDD!!!! At the screen (with no knowledge of who armand even was) Till I started laughing to tears is in my top ten formative moments. My first viewing of iwtv was just like that 😭 there was smth in the water that had my sister and I loosing our fucking minds with excitement over that movie. Anyways, I only immersed myself into the fandom and got rlly into tvc just last year, when I read interview with the vampire (smth that’s always been in the back of my mind since my first viewing, I really did love that movie) and then the rest of tvc. When I was reading interview with the vampire I had that subconscious excitement over Armand’s half way point appearance brewing from the get go (every time my sister and I have watched iwtv together since we were 12 we’ve done the same screaming at the screen ritual for armand) so when I was re introduced to him I was instantly attached to him. I very quickly discovered how much I was enthralled by this guy, like by his first appearance and description it went from a weird little nostalgic affection to a “omfg I feel many inexplicably strong feelings for this guy”. He was just so magnetic and weird, I was intrigued by every thing about him, like Louis lol. I started drawing him a bunch b4 I’d even finished the first book, and by the time I was introduced to him in tvl he was my favorite character. Tvl really solidified my armand obsession, and queen of the damned made me the person I am today 😭 insane. I think my impression of him now should be obvious at this point 😔 he is my silliest guy every morning I wake up and he is the first thought in my mind I cry about him daily I worship him like he’s my god sometimes I see a blender and I am so overwhelmed with emotion I want to scream if a professional looked into my brain and saw all the armand in there they’d diagnose me with super mega autism. I like him a lot. 🫶

Thank you sm for sending this ask once again! I’m sorry it’s so long lol, hope my responses were interesting. This is the ask game in question for anyone who may potentially want to send me more asks: https://www.tumblr.com/nightcolorz/734243514562510848?source=share I would cry with joy if so.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hey, I love your blog! I have so far only read the first book and I know about Nicki only from fanfics and I’m pretty new to this fandom 🥹 I have some questions (if you want to answer them):

• Which year was he turned?

• When did he die and when/how did Lestat learn about it?

• Why did he go insane/Why did Lestat just leave him with the coven?

Thank you in advance! 💕

Hey dear!

So glad you enjoy my little corner!

Also welcome to the fandom, I hope you enjoy your time here!

These are quite difficult questions^^. I'll try to answer them as best as I can, but I can only do some of it by inferring them. (Also, these are obviously the book dates^^, some of these will (need to) change in the show.)

____

Nicolas de Lenfent is supposedly Lestat's age.

He was my age perhaps, and quite tall, and when our eyes met I remembered who he was. Nicolas de Lenfent, eldest son of the draper, who had been sent to school in Paris.

Lestat was (supposedly) born November 7, 1760. He goes to Paris with Nicolas after the wolves, which he hunts at 20:

In the winter of my twenty-first year, I went out alone on horseback to kill a pack of wolves.

I interpret the "winter of" as 20+, because Lestat later refers to himself as having been 20 when he was turned.

Which gives us the year 1780 as the year Lestat was turned (likely December?! or beginning of 1781), since November is quite late in the year). Lestat has been a vampire for a short while in March.

One night in march, I realized as Roget read my mother's letter to me that I could read as well as he could.

Lestat is a vampire for about half a year before he turns first his mother, Gabrielle, and then Nicolas.

So I would put Nicki's turning in 1781.

Lestat learns about his death in a letter that Eleni wrote him.

Our Oldest Friend, maddened by the excesses of Our Violinist, finally imprisoned him in your old residence. And though his violin was given him in his cell, his hands were taken away.

"Our Oldest Friend" here is Armand, btw, who cut off Nicolas' hands and starved him until he broke fully.

But N., maddened by the pain and the starvation, for this can alter the temperament completely[...]

Lestat reads this letter in Cairo, and he reaches Cairo a month after leaving Greece, and there he had read letters noting the following:

Before I ever left Greece, I'd been hearing disturbing news from English and French travelers of the troubles at home.

King Louis had been forced to recognize the National Assembly.

Which puts Nicolas' death in the year 1791.

As per the why he went insane... (I'm pulling a bit from an earlier post of mine, but will expand here further)

Nicolas fought against the status quo and his father's expectations from an early age, in fact that is one of the things that bonded him and Lestat. Only he did it... in, let's call it "defiant darkness", in the gloomy intent to self-destruct and thereby hurt his father even more.

It's why he tells Lestat later that he expected and wanted them to fail in Paris, but Lestat (and he) didn't.

Nicolas was depressed before he got turned, and he hid it from Lestat for the most part, concentrating all that he was on his music instead. When Lestat disappeared (from their bed!!!!) no-one believed him, no-one believed his story, and when the gifts that Lestat sent arrived the bitterness of being excluded just made everything a 100 times worse.

When Armand kidnapped him to pressure Lestat he was thrown into the midst of horrors, and perceived rejection, and he used the guilt Lestat felt for having had to abandon him to make him turn him. Which... drove Nicolas over the edge.

Nicolas was already doomed before he became a vampire. He only endured for a while because he could continue to play the violin in the theater.

Lestat saw no alternative as to leave him with Armand - Nicolas wouldn't stop playing the violin manically and he was at times catatonic, and at times feral, and had to have vampires with him when out.

All this is the genius of Our Divine Violinist, but we must now be with him every waking moment. To force him to write we tie him to the chair.

He is overwhelmed by his powers, dazzled and maddened by his vision.

And... last but not least - Nicolas despises Lestat in the end, for the light he has.

From Eleni's letter:

He despises you as much as ever. When we suggest that perhaps he should go to you, he laughs and laughs.

As noted above, Nicolas expected them to fail and die in Paris, but they didn't... and in a way he despairs through that even more.

The rage thickened his voice again. "You didn't drink yourself to death in the gutter. You turned everything upside down! And for every aspect of our proposed damnation you found exuberance, and there was no end to your enthusiasm and the passion coming out of you-and the light, always the light. And in exact proportion to the light coming out of you, there was the darkness in me! Every exuberance piercing me and creating its exact proportion of darkness and despair!

Which is why Lestat simply... had to leave him behind, unfortunately.

It's really quite tragic.

___

Hope this helps - let me know if you want/need more! 💕

[cbrownjc]

what if i told you that I've read all the books and still prefer loumand over lestat. what if i told that not even armand killing claudia with his bare hands wouldn't make me hate him. what if i told you that i will still stan louis for continuing to be with armand even after armand probably kills his child. like i am aware of everything. you would tell me that loustat is endgame. so it's not that you care about louis or claudia or armand or even fans hating assad. you just wish show lestat wasn't already such a pile of garbage and that so far for many fans he's irredeemable. i can promise you the only people that already hate and will definitely hate assad and lash him are white fans. which is going to be so funny for you who thinks you can buy your way into whiteness by keekeeing with white fans against the mostly black and brown loumand fans

Hey Anon, guess what?

I don't care if you've read the books or not. It clearly hasn't stopped you from making incorrect assumptions about people and things or being absolutely toxic about all of this.

I probably read the books and was originally in VC fandom before you were even born. There were only four books published when I joined. I saw the 1994 movie in theaters.

And guess what? People were shipping Louis and Armand back then too. And nobody cared and there wasn't any insane "nice guy" Armand theories or ship wars about to prop it up either. People shipped who they liked and that was that.

Again, because you can't seem to understand or get it: I don't care if you ship Armand and Louis. Many of us don't.

And this is not about that and you know it.

First of all yes, I'll still say Loustat is endgame. Do you know why? Because not only is that how the book series ended, but Rolin Jones - you know, the showrunner - has said it himself as well that the relationship between Louis and Lestat is the heart of the show.

So saying that is just based on feakin' logic, based on actual current available information. Not my personal opinion.

I can sit here and say all day or all night that Harry is going to end up with Hermione one day, but that will never make it true, either via the books or the movie series based on, you know, the actual facts of things as they currently stand.

So until you've got something other than yourself and your personal feelings about all of this to go by? Then yeah I'll keep saying it based on the books and what RJ has said about it all so far.

And he's not on social media. So all of this you're doing? Not only is he not aware of it, but he probably wouldn't care if he found out either.

None of this has anything to do with the damn sipping war, or personal grievance you so seem hell-bent on wanting to start and have with me or anyone else about all of this. Or any slights you continue to keep personally feeling whenever someone says it.

If the books had ended at Blood Canticle, which is where the series did end for a long-ass time BTW, I would have said that book canon endgame couple was Lestat-Rowan - because that is what it was - while the show was changing it to Lestat-Louis because that is what Rolin Jones, you know, again, the showrunner, was saying it was going to be.

Again, it's all called facts and logic. No more, no less.

And I'm going to call BS right now on people like you not attacking Assad. You say that now but I'm very sure the minute he doesn't back your "nice guy Armand" theory in some way or push that something other than Armand and Louis is endgame, you'll turn on him and say not-so-nice things about him. It always happens. And you'll probably call him a sell-out and trying to latch onto whiteness when he does, just like you're trying with me right now (or anyone who dares not to back or support your theories from what I've seen). (And attacking Sam Reid just because you don't like his character still isn't a good look for ya'll BTW.)

This isn't a race or racism thing Anon. No matter how much you'll try and keep saying it is. And because you don't know a thing about me you of course don't know how I've already called out white fans when it comes to Armand and Assad being cast as him just a few days ago. So don't come at me with your weak argument regarding this topic okay?

Because see, if you really want to go on the topic of race about all this, then why this need to erase everything Armand actually is a character now that the person playing him is a POC? Why the need to, pardon the pun, whitewash him?

Is it absolutely impossible for you to see a POC play a problematic character, in a story full of other problematic characters, and still prefer him over another? You say it isn't, that you like Armand from the books despite the things he's done. But yet, here you all are with the theory that Armand is going to be a good guy and whatnot, based on absolutely nothing but your own feelings and opinion.

Is Armand's problematic nature worse to you because he is a POC now? Why this need from you and some others to erase the complexity, and the trauma, that made Armand become who he was to where he did what he did to Claudia, and instead you have this need for him to be an unblemished good guy instead?

Because you damn well know this isn't - and never has been - about you and other shipping Armand and Louis and anyone having a big problem with that. Because if you knew me at all, you'd know that I'm actually very poly about all this - and really like the polyamorous nature of all these vampires in general - and would be just as happy with it ending with a four-character pile that has Louis and Armand in there.

No. This has all, and only ever been, about this "nice guy Armand" theory you and many other keep insisting on trying to make real.

And maybe you should ask yourself why that is.

Because it seems to me you want him to be unproblematic to actually do the very thing you're trying to accuse me of - which is kowtowing to white fans' most awful racist tendencies when it comes to POC who aren't perfect, or unproblematic. (Something especially seen with black people - real and fictional.)

Why is Armand not being as problematic and complex as all the other characters on the show, just like his book counterpart, so important to you? Maybe you should ask yourself that Anon, before you start attacking other people on this okay?

[licncourt]

Hello, Im not sure if you've discussed this already but I was wondering if you could give me a breakdown of what happened with Claudia in the books? From all the mentions of her I assume she dies at some point in the series, but I was wondering if you could go into the specifics a bit? What led to that, what happened, how did Lestat and Louis react, how did that affect their relationship? And then I suppose, your opinion on if that same thing will happen in this show, or if things have changed so much we can't tell yet?

I really appreciate your commentary on the books. I've found a lot of interesting opinions and information on your blog since watching the first episode. Tysm for your expertise and willingness to chat about it <3

Yeah, for sure! And thank you so much!! I'm so glad you like my rambling meta posts and unsolicited opinions on these little guys. Hopefully this will be useful to you and anyone else who's curious about Claudia. She's an amazing character and so richly written.

Obviously reading the book itself will give a better picture of her, but I can definitely summarize her story. Under the cut for spoilers obviously, since it involves several major book events that will likely come up in the show as well.

I don't know how much you know about book Claudia, but just to summarize her backstory: Claudia is adopted by Louis and Lestat in 1795 when she's ~5 years old and newly orphaned after her mother has died of plague. Rather than a fire, she's brought to the brink of death when Louis feeds on her after losing control in a state of starvation. In a final bid to keep Louis from leaving him, Lestat turns the dying Claudia and basically babytraps Louis in their "marriage".

I don't know it will be portrayed in the show, but in the book, Lestat is extremely controlling of Louis and Claudia, pretty verbally/mentally abusive to them, and withholds as much knowledge of vampire nature from them as he can to keep them dependent.

After sixty years of living as a family in Rue Royale with things disintegrating over time, Claudia finally snaps, driven pretty insane by the lack of autonomy and the fact that she's trapped in a child's body, especially after learning the truth about how Lestat was the one who turned her. In 1860, she manages to convince Lestat that she wants to make amends with him and gets him to drink the blood of two young boys who she poisoned with laudanum (opium). While Lestat is incapacitated from the drugs and the betrayal, she slits his throat and stabs him to "death".

Louis is there while this is happening and even though it destroys him, he lets Claudia finish the job so they can be free of his tyranny and have their own lives, essentially choosing his daughter's happiness over Lestat. Together, they throw his body in the swamp and begin making preparations for travel to Europe. Before they can leave, Lestat does come back after them even though he's all gross and corpesy (affectionately dubbed Swampstat by the fandom), but Louis sets him on fire and runs off with Claudia for Europe.

Basically they fuck around in Eastern Europe for a while killing zombie vampire revenants and searching for other vampires like themselves, but are unsuccessful. They eventually end up in Paris in 1862 where Louis finally meets two vampires, Santiago and, more importantly, Armand, the leader of a coven of vampires who live in and operate a theater.

Armand is 400ish years old and develops an immediate obsession with Louis and Louis is taken in by the knowledge Armand is giving him. Unfortunately for Claudia, Armand knows that Louis will never abandon her to be his companion. Claudia is terrified that Louis WILL leave her because she sees what's happening, so she convinces Louis to make her a new caretaker by turning a bereaved mother, Madeleine, into a vampire.

Still, Louis can't bring himself to leave Claudia and Armand loses patience, realizing he has to get Claudia out of the picture before he can have Louis. He sends a mob of his vampire underlings to kidnap Louis, Claudia, and Madeleine and bring them to the theater, where Claudia is put on trial for the murder of Lestat (Armand knows what happened from looking in their minds).

In the midst of this, it's revealed that Lestat has healed enough to follow his family to Paris and beg for them back, but weak and disoriented from Armand's influence and in his desperation to save at least Louis, he confirms that it was Claudia who attacked him. (In The Vampire Lestat, we find out more of what happened between Lestat and Armand right before this, but it's not relevant here).

Armand is absent for all of this so it looks like it's happening without his consent, but Claudia is sentenced to death and Louis is locked in a coffin and buried alive. Obviously, Armand "comes to the rescue" and frees Louis, but he finds out that while he was imprisoned, Claudia and Madeleine were killed by being locked in a cell with an open top and exposed to the sun.

This is a huge turning point for Louis and he's completely destroyed by this, consumed by grief until he's a shell of himself. He sees Lestat again after finding out, and he's also devastated, sobbing and holding what's left of her dress. He rejects Lestat's final pleas to stay with him and runs off, but returns the next night just before sunrise and burns the theater down, killing all the vampires there except Armand (and Lestat we find out later).

After that, Lestat disappears and Louis, with nothing and no one else, travels with Armand for several decades, but he's basically an empty husk at this point. Armand finally leaves him after accepting that all Louis' passion and humanity died with Claudia.

Sometime in the 1920s or early 30s, Louis returns to New Orleans and finds that Lestat is there and has been living in an abandoned house for decades, half a corpse and too weak and mentally scarred to function. They have a bit of a heart to heart where Lestat begs Louis to stay and be his companion again, but Louis says no and leaves again to wander alone.

We know from The Vampire Lestat that soon after this, Lestat buries himself in the Earth to heal and hide from the world, but this last meeting is the last thing Louis knows of him at the time of the interview. Except for the final exchange between Louis and Daniel, that's where the first book ends.

Claudia is mentioned by Lestat in his brief version of the events of IWTV at the end of the second book, and he says he isn't angry and that she was right to do what she did (and that he would've done the same in her situation).

In the third book, another character has visions of Claudia at Rue Royale, and Louis and Lestat reunite there after the main events of the novel, checking to see if Claudia's ghost is really there (it's not). In the very cursed books that are book four on, Claudia is mentioned shockingly little, but we know that Lestat never tolerates any slander of her and Louis is still actively grieving by the early 2000s.

In the book Merrick, Louis speaks with a spirit who claims to be Claudia and it says horrible things to him, that she never loved him, her death was his fault etc, but it's pretty implied that it's an evil spirit pretending to be Claudia. Still, Louis believes it because it confirms his worst fears and it's the primary factor in his suicide attempt in that book (another event that brings him and Lestat together after a period of separation).

She isn't mentioned much after that, but I suppose it's to be expected. The character of Claudia is a representation of Anne Rice's daughter, Michelle, who died of leukemia at five. The first book was written while she was grieving. I think the treatment and presence of Claudia in the narrative reflects what kind of mindset AR was in when writing more then any kind of consistent arc.

As for the show, I honestly have no idea what will happen with Claudia. There's a scene from one of the trailers that some people think shows Claudia in modern clothes, meaning she doesn't die, but I don't find it to be definitive proof. I don't think her survival is out of the question with all the changes that have already been made to her story though, and I do think it's possible that they'll follow the original draft of the book where Claudia runs off and leaves Louis instead of dying.

With the aged up Claudia, I feel that's more feasible. I don't think there's any happy ending for a Claudia permanently stuck in the body of a five year old, but maybe fourteen can be dealt with? I'm not sure, but I do have more hope for this Claudia. It's too early to say though.

[runningwithfangs]

Vampire Chronicles Book Review/Rant #3

The Queen of the Dammed

Wowowow congratulations to the world’s worst polycule on saving Vampirekind. 

Another super fun romp where so much happens, yes there is nonsense, but the nonsense is nicely paired with a lot of intense drama and high stakes. I like how Anne got around her own premise that the vampires are writing their life stories by it still being Lestat who writes it, but he’s gathered all this information from the other vampires that were actually there, even when he was not. 

The chapters being mini-stories and the many characters we meet, everything coming together in the end, it’s not just fun but so immersive. Anne doesn’t hold back in expanding her universe. At no point does it feel like too much too soon, or like the universe and characters are expanding faster than the story or getting out of hand. Anne is a fantastic writer.

In this book we start to see the world outside of our main vamps, the fledglings (Killer and the Fang Gang 🤯), the vampire bars, the Talamasca, the vampire cult followers, and so many new characters! 

Feminist Icon Akasha (is trying to kill most men). See kids, that’s what happens when you watch TV for 50 years straight.

This is one of my favorite books from the series, maybe one of my favorite books ever. 

Favorites:

It’s hard to pick! Jesse’s story is great, the dreamlike drunken nights at Maharet’s house with the vampires asking her about chocolate, the Great Family and the care and love Maharet has for them, her records and her family tree of lights, the attention and advice she gives them all, it’s just so sweet.

Devil’s Minion! I’ve been seeing fan art and posts about Armand/Daniel since I started this blog and did not get it until I read this. Now I GET IT, holy shit, it's chewing-through-drywall material. The horror of Daniel running for his life, being hunted, then suddenly they’re bonding, hanging out and doing all these cool things, Daniel admitting he loves to cuddle a dead thing?! The experiments, the smoothies, the madness from hanging around a vampire, the “I love you too much to turn you” vs “I love you too much to let you go on without me.” Insane. Horrible. Beautiful. I could rant about this section alone for so long. Oh, and learning how the book was published was neat too.

Getting little bits about the twins from everyone’s dreams, that repeating imagery of the cooked body, the heart and the brain on plates. I got really invested in this mystery, and once it all came together it was horrible but so captivating. It’s a great vampire origin story. 

Vampire road trip and vampire roommates at Night Island! I wish this part was longer and that vampires could stand to hang out with each other more, I want my vampire friends to hang out damn it! Jesse and Gabrielle became friends! Louis wants to know about his daughter’s ghost! Grandpa Khayman telling stories! Uncle Marius accepting that Lestat is gonna be little shit and no one can stop him!

Least Favorites:

The violence enacted on Maharet and Mekare, I know it’s to show Akasha’s cruelty but damn.

Smutt:

Lestat’s permaboner. Thanks, Anne.

Lestat and Akasha pinning each other back and forth on the bed and drinking from each other was kinda hot tbh.

Armand and Daniel in Pompeii when they start their romance, if you can call it that. Armand making Daniel have sex with other people while he watches 🙈

Nonsense Meter:

4/10 nonsense again. A bit of nonsense in the Devil’s Minion, and a bit in the Lestat training montage/kidnapped by Vampire Mommy part, but not a ton. Maybe it’s a bias because I liked this book so much and every story was full of drama, high stakes, and complex morality. 

Misc:

I can’t help but wonder what kind of research Anne was doing, I looked up some of the cities, artifacts, and locations she mentions and it checked out. Was she taking ancient history courses or just living at the library?! Gotta give that woman credit. 

I don’t want to get into a long discussion of Akasha’s idea that killing most men would allow women to bring about world peace and fix all our earthly problems, but as someone who has mostly existed as a woman in the world, I may have fantasized once or twice about Thanos snapping a bunch of men, sure, I get it. I don’t agree, I think money, isolation, messed up priorities, and lack of checks in power have more to do with *waves hand around vaguely* everything, but it makes for an interesting premise. “Tell me, my prince, what is the primary use of men now, if not to protect women from other men?”

[thenightling]

Interview with the vampire episode 5 review:

No wonder I don’t like this version of Claudia. They merged her with Baby Jenks. And I always found Baby Jenks a bit insulting.  That character actually was fourteen-years-old and very vapid.  When I first read the novel Queen of the Damned I was fourteen and characters like Baby Jenks in The Queen of The Damned and Mona Mayfair in the Lives of the Mayfair Witches both insulted me.

  Now we have Bruce AKA Killer with his motorcycle and talking about The Fang Gang.  I never expected Claudia to be merged with Baby Jenks. 

Claudia’s questioning of if she’ll always be a virgin because she heals down there is right out of True Blood. This isn’t Claudia.  It’s Jessica from True Blood merged with Baby Jenks.  

Louis somehow psychically triggered a serious Parkinson’s tremor in Daniel and got a well-deserved slap for it. Claudia is being abused by Bruce.  There’s no elegance in this.  It’s cynical and rather mean spirited and that’s saying something when it’s a vampire story.  There’s no charm, no Gothic poetry.  It’s so... shallow. They even off-handedly tell you Lestat’s not a reader. That he reads the first ten or eleven pages of books to seem “cultured.”  Lestat loved to read in the novels.

 Yet again all the characters say that Claudia’s emotional state is the result of perpetual puberty so it’s dismissive. Lestat nearly killed Louis because he was going to leave him.  WTF?!  That is literally the opposite of his character in the books!    This version of Lestat behaves more like Armand, it’s insane. Having Claudia want to kill Lestat because he’s physically abusive to Louis really, really bothers me. They amplified Lestat’s abandonment issues to make him a violent and self-absorbed asshole.   

Even hearing the audio preview for the next episode with Daniel mockingly saying “He only beat me the one time, officer.” really bothers me.  It’s cynical and dismissive of cycles of abuse for the sake of plot drama that wasn’t even in the book! 

This show runner is awful.   He’s just an awful human being.   His commentary on the behind the scenes video of episode 5 shows his nature.  This is a terrible person running this show.  He trivializes and even seems to mock domestic violence and abuse.   The fact that they added physical and sexual abuse really rubs me the wrong way.  How are we ever supposed to potentially sympathize with Lestat later when he’s portrayed like this?   He would never, ever, ever have harmed Louis in the books, no matter what he did. Something that bugs me is the showrunner actually behaves as if Claudia being raped by Bruce / Killer was some sort of righteous punishment to make her realize her homelife isn’t that bad.  It’s victim blaming for any vulnerable person, especially runaway, or homeless, child who gets sexually assaulted.  And it really rubs me the wrong way.  It’s like the guy hates teenagers, especially girls.  It’s agist and misogynistic and I’m saying this as a forty-year-old woman.   This show is cynical, mean-spirited, unsubtle, in-your-face, blatant, exploitive, and crass. This episode in particular, with its blatant use of modern domestic abuse, and implied sexual abuse, is just mean spirited and it feels exploitive.  I went from disliking this show to starting to feel disgusted by it. 

[hekateinhell]

"DA girl if you read all this lol bless you because you asked for thots and I guess I had them big time" but of course 🥹 a good @hekateinhell meta post (so basically, any @hekateinhell meta post) is like chicken soup for the soul.

Such a good point re: the use of "waif"! Lestat constantly thinks of Armand as a child or something close to it (specially in TVL) in a way that is very specific imo. He's obviously meant to look very young and boyish all the time, but the contrast between his looks and his personality, the sheer contradiction of his existence is so shocking to Lestat at first (so innocent, so seductive, so cruel), so it would make perfect sense for him to think of cult!Armand as a "filthy waif" in the context of a dirty, disheveled child.

"That's my all-time favorite Armand description btw" QUOTE OF ALL TIME. I tear up every simgle time I read it, starting from "this was the coven master, surely" lmao Anne was so outta pocket for that one 🤧

"some of my friends and I have this theory that she based Armand's later physical characteristics off of the character Alexi" I haven't read CoSB but I know of Alexi because of you of course! Honestly grateful for Alexi, who knows how Armand's whole backstory would've been like if it hadn't been for him 🥹

"you'd been seen in New York, as handsome and vigorous as you ever were. But I had to lay eyes on you to believe it." I love this one because I feel like the only other person who'd describe Armand this way is Armand himself. imo Louis' version of Armand and Armand's version of himself are actually very similar (and I can only imagine how rare that is) which goes to show just how well they know each other.

"And it's an excellent example of how differently we see ourselves, even superficially, compared to how others see us." Absolutely, specially for someone like Armand who's both been defined by the way others see him but is also at odds with the way he's perceived.

"Daniel romanticized vampirism and Lestat romanticized humanity and they're at opposite sides of the spectrum at these respective points in time" and it's fascinating when you put it like that because even though they were coming from opposite sides of the romantic spectrum, they both reached the same conclusion (and the fact that they probably exchanged notes on all things Armand while at NI as Lestat was writing QotD will never not drive me insane).

tysm for indulging me and turning my silly musings into monumental meta as usual xoxo DA ❤️

Lestat constantly thinks of Armand as a child or something close to it (specially in TVL) in a way that is very specific imo.

He really does! Armand was no innocent when Lestat met him, yet his natural manner with Lestat in the chapter when he's opening up to him and sharing his life story is incredibly vulnerable and childlike (i.e. how he holds the backs of his arms when he's upset, like he's comforting himself). And at the same time he's just recently massacred his own coven! For most of their subsequent canon interactions, I think Armand maintains this demeanor around Lestat — it's something intrinsic within their relationship.

I'm suddenly reminded of where Marius in B&G describes newborn vampire Amadeo (still in Venice, pre-cult) as having a faint cruelty in his eyes. Lestat in TVL sees much more of the evidence of Armand's capacity for cruelty than Marius ever did, and still it's Lestat who feels a greater responsibility towards Armand after the cult is destroyed. He tells Armand how to survive in the current era the best way he knows how to, he gives him gold and the theater, etc. He doesn't even blame him for what happened to Nicolas because he could perceive the level from which Armand was operating. I go back to this quote from MtD often because I find it so interesting that it's Lestat who's saying this to Armand, and to me it's a testament of the guilt Lestat carries when it comes to him, given how everything has played out thus far:

"Why do you care about me?" I asked. "After all the bad things I did to you? Why?"

I haven't read CoSB but I know of Alexi because of you of course! Honestly grateful for Alexi, who knows how Armand's whole backstory would've been like if it hadn't been for him 🥹

I'll just say Anne was so wild for all of that lmao especially as a woman, especially back then. But it's interesting looking at some of her other stuff and recognizing aspects of various VC characters' physical attributes and personality traits scattered throughout. Would I have liked to not have the most tragic blorbo of all time? Probably yes, pretty sure Armand Pain™️ has taken years off my life. Would he still be Armand though? No. (btw there's another sex slave called Laurent that really gives me Lestat energy even though he doesn't look like him js)

imo Louis' version of Armand and Armand's version of himself are actually very similar (and I can only imagine how rare that is) which goes to show just how well they know each other.

DA... fucking ouch, babe 🤧 but I think so too, given what we have to go on! Armand even calls Louis his mirror in TVA ('mirror of patient misery' to be exact). It might not be how others see Armand, or even how we see him, but it is how he saw himself at that point in time. I think as much as they share this all-encompassing love for Lestat, they're able to understand each other in a very simple, fundamental way that Lestat just can't.

"Daniel romanticized vampirism and Lestat romanticized humanity and they're at opposite sides of the spectrum at these respective points in time" and it's fascinating when you put it like that because even though they were coming from opposite sides of the romantic spectrum, they both reached the same conclusion (and the fact that they probably exchanged notes on all things Armand while at NI as Lestat was writing QotD will never not drive me insane).

You and me both! Since they never actually interact on paper and Lestat's so fucking traumatized post-Akasha, I always wonder how it played out in-universe — either way, I think they'd both agree Armand gives the best Puss-In-Boots Eyes™️

tysm for indulging me and turning my silly musings into monumental meta as usual xoxo DA ❤️

no THANK YOU for always giving me such excellent jumping off points every single time whether it's meta or filth or both!! the way I want to study your brain I swear 🥹♥️

[lou-iz-stat]

5 more weeks and I am starting to loose my mind a little bit haha. I am in my rewatch of episode 3 and I do have to say that I adore this episode. Once again there will be book spoilers and spoilers for the rest of season 1 as well as maybe some theorizing so be warned.

I’m excited! Let’s go!

IWTV S1 E3: Is My Very Nature That of the Devil

This episode starts with Louis and Lestat sitting at their bench in the park. ❤️

And it kind of acts as Louis trying to convince Lestat to only kill bad people. But in the book that is how Lestat actually kills so I wonder if this will come back when he finally tells his side of the story.

This episode definitely brings the comedy with Lestat quips and him just tackling that guy. 😂

Not the cat Louis!

I’ll tell you what Lestat can be such an asshole but just like the scene where he calls out the piano player at first he’s sour then he’s sweet. Yep Lestat is a sour patch kid.

I love how Daniel uses the recording from 1973 as that’s a callback to the first interview where Louis is just ragging on Lestat just like he did in the book.

The “Oddity of recollection” scene is great. I’m sure that is to come back in full force next season. I’m just excited thinking about what we are about to uncover.

When Louis realizes that Lestat didn’t kill Antoinette he looks so disappointed. Ugh I feel so bad for Louis here. 😩

And Lestat uncontrollably laughing when it’s the worst possible moment to do so is sooooooo Lestat it’s killing me…

But I just EAT UP the instant regret in Lestat’s eyes when Louis wants to fuck other people even he was the one who suggested it! He is just his own worst enemy all of the time.

When I first watch this episode I was so scared that Lestat was going to kill Jonah.

BUT WAS IT RAINING LOUIS!?

The look Louis gives Armand! “Your lingering Rashid” what sick game are they playing!!!!??? I’m going insane.

Lestat is doing the most this episode! But on second thought he always does the most lol.

“ I HEARD YOUR HEARTS DANCING!!!!!!!” It’s such an iconic scene!!!! “You watched the whole thing like some CREEPER!” The writing is everything

We have the iconic gif of Louis putting the “Colored Only, No Whites Allowed” that gif has gotten more people to watch the show than any promo amc has done.

I LOVE the scene where Louis kills that racist ass Alderman! Jake the dog gets his guts ripped out!” Some great quotes include. “Why’s your heart beating so fast?” And “ You said I’m arrogant!? Maybe I am arrogant! I’m a vampire” so goood!

It hurts just so much more after reading The Vampire Lestat when Louis tells him “It’s why you’re always gonna be alone.” 😭 Louis doesn’t know Lestat’s past yet but damn!

And finally yay it’s time for my girl Claudia!

I made it through another episode for my rewatch! If you are still reading this thank you for your support.

I’ll hopefully be back next week.

Until then 5 weeks! It’s going by fast!

[blaqueswanzaghouliishiilikeda]

Hi! I love your blog ☺️

What are your fave theories of where or what Lestat is doing in the current timeline? How do you imagine they’ll finally see each other again in the present day? I know that I will go feral tho

🥹💕 aawwe hiii

Thank you! I appreciate you saying that. I like the Theories that Lestat might be in like a deep slumber and they are trying to get him up as this is going to put Louis in danger and Lestat would wake up to protect him. (at this point i need to see him raise actual hell behind Louis as much as i need to see him die and suffer multiple times. but love him. but i also hate him and i want to see him hysterically cry and go through PAIN like. its complicated okay!? he’s a fantastic character.) Maybe he’s underground in a deep sleep somewhere else, but there has been a theory that he might be the groan in the tower. and I wonder how that might be. I thought that was really interesting. especially with the aspects that Louis been taking care of him trying to get him up to no avail.

I like the theory that maybe he isn't sleeping, but hasn't done his rockstar era yet so we’ll get a modernized version of that. to couple this with a theory about his music. i like this theory that he’s like more of this underground artist that Armand is aware of and Louis isnt.

i like the theory that we might see a drop off the tower in Dubai. That it might be Armand who tosses Lestat off it. Though I’m thinking if this were the case it would have to be combined with him being awake and out there and that the interview makes him show up??? Im not sure how this will go. but I am a fan of seeing their dynamic like I sooo badly want to see Armand and Lestat at each other’s necks. like in each others faces like there might be a kiss but they won’t cause they fighting and arguing and the like. Assad and Sam playing off each other is gonna be so so good. like im ready to have my head blown panties blown off

ALSO i like the theory that David been cancelled all my homies hate david 🤭 and he’s being combined into Daniel. That Lestat might tell Daniel his story. I gotta say Daniel and Lestat in a scene together gonna send me into the stratosphere. I listened to like the first page of TVL on a youtube audiobook recording thing bc I wanted to see if that post about how it starts was real. I cannot even believe how accurate that was lmao. I’d love to seee Daniel take in Lestat telling his story. like starting him off with that description of himself as if Daniel isnt looking right at him. Sam would EAT. and Eric playing against is all these insane vampires would be incredible. They all play into the comedy soo well. like i expect absurdity at the highest level. It’d be interesting to watch Louis listen to Lestat talk about his end of things too you know? especially where Claudia is concerned as well. Like doesnt Lestat call up her ghost? so what if he’s done that you know? and he talks about that and that’s something Louis doesnt know yet? idk im speculating from a place of not knowing so please jump in if you know how that actually plays out. and like if Daniel does get pieces of David’s story then doesn't that mean Lestat would be kinda into him? I need this old man to get passed around is what im getting at 😭

(ohh re: daniel as david… will he be a part of the totbt stuff too!? oh that would be cool from what ive heard of it)

[daffenger]

episode 7 thoughts under the cut (off the cuff, not worth much !)

I will probably have to watch it again to get all the details but i've been making noises like a broken whistle all through the episode so i must pace myself. it's like they made this show for ME specifically it's my hole ! my hole ! & it's so cruel that the season is only seven episodes... not so long ago it seems 12-13 was the standard, even for more plot-dense series :,o

love the insane way daniel pronounces "cercueil". & it's so gnarly and yet satisfying when claudia gets to write down his last words :D it's her hobby !

the way we spend nearly the whole episode with lestat in the full face makeup that makes him look uncanny and cruel and then for the throat-slitting scene he's completely bare-faced messy-haired vulnerable. hm.

claudia is SO valid for hating louis for a while there because she's been tortured for that man. and then he slams here against a wall. by the throat no less ??? also lestat and her continue to be so alike. with the piano playing, and with the "always the petty slights with you" and two seconds later she's kicking at antoinette, even though she's pinned to the ground.

antoinette is SO hot in her frock & with her crow's feet !! and for what ! give her back ! but i can't imagine how lestat thought taking claudia out of the picture and bringing antoinette in would lead to any kind of good <:D this man is so stupid

when claudia said "i've killed so many but this is the first time with someone i... ((love))" i was like. ok, & so charlie? and io and behold, it was louis' clumsy rewriting <:D

louis is SO passive (/affectionate). there's a nicer way to say it probably but there's something about how he shoots down the idea of going to Italy in the second episode or so, then the idea of leaving with Claudia (i'll only hold you back), and the way they have him asking lestat whether he was responsible for his brother's death after idk how many years of holding that in... it reminds me of [iwtv book spoilers] how he reacts to armand telling him he pushed her to make madeleine with a vague "oh well don't do it again", and then much later when armand tells him he was the one who had claudia killed, it's hinted he knew/suspected and just lived with it in a don't ask/don't tell way. and he's territorial ! when he and lestat & claudia team up to bully the poor man with the letter there's just something very animalistic about the bunch of them. i guess we will see that too with the theatre des vampyres, and i guess i will love it because i adore everything that has to do with the ethology/sociology of vampires (lone killers vs pack killers). like in the book when louis says like all predators vampires can't stand proximity to the remains of their prays... i jut find it very neat (though that's not actually a real thing re:bears huddling with the carcasses of their kills, etc.).

book spoilers for a book i haven't even technically read (platroa) & a fic everyone should read (The Courts of Love) but the 18th century costumes for the ball gave me flashforwards to the vampire court Lestat ends up creating in his family's castle in Auvergne, France.

technically i was 99.9% certain rashid was armand but still. it's such a cool twist. and i can't wait for season 2 obviously, so that we see more about what their relationship looks like. (i'm still holding out hope for daniel to be turned somewhere along the way)

[apoptoses]

"honestly the most distressing thing about making creative works is that the thing you’re really proud of is never what resonates with your audience, and the thing you feel like you just slapped together ends up a hit" wait don't tell me!!! Is this about Apotheosis? Girl that was a masterpiece, I'm still recovering. It's been a very busy couple of days and it took me a while to be able to finish it but I have so. many. THOTS. But before I get into that, if this is watersports 2.0 (which I still love with every inch of my heart) in that people aren't responding to it as enthusiastically as they have to some of your other stuff... I can't dsjssk the prose is fucking insane, it's all fucking insane!!! @ everyone please do yourself a favor and go read this!!!

First, loved the title. Killed it as usual.

Ngl, initially I was mostly going to focus on Daniel’s monsterfucking tendencies and his depravity and Armand enabling his ass and helping him make a mess in his pants at church and how this fandom needs more church porn (all things considered) but then halfway through I had a fucking revelation lmao, and once it hit me I couldn’t stop.

Like I said, a masterpiece, I don’t even know where to begin! Armand-not-Armand whispering behind Daniel’s ear was the perfect blend of unsettling and hot. Calling him a child in the same way he was called a child. So vivid and bizarre and unnatural. It made me wonder just how much Armand shared with Daniel in such a way, how much he let him see. My guess is that… Daniel saw more than enough djdhdjssj, and Armand even made a point to remind him on the plane that once he turned him, he would never share his visions with him again. How much did he show him? How much did he reveal about himself when he chose to comunicate with Daniel like this? I had never really thought about their relationship in these terms (not beyond them communicating through the mind gift at least, and what happened with their shared dreams of the twins but that was part of a much bigger thing), but it was an undeniable part of it, and you explored it in a way that felt so perfectly Ricean. Unsettling, hot, so full of possibilities. Like, Daniel being devoured like the woman at the theater, and the vampire drinking from Daniel’s thigh in the vision, was it meant to resemble Alessandra? Insanity! 🥹

“Daniel Molloy was never going to be canonized a saint, the only god he knows is the dead thing on the kneeler at his side. There’s no more down hill from here.” Yes bb we have arrived! Welcome to rock bottom 😎

This is unlike anything you’ve written imo, and I’d be so so down for more joint depraved visions and Armand sharing what might or might not be memories, pieces of his own history and recreations of his past disguised as filthy fantasies in order to torment his lover, bring them closer together and ultimately doom them both. You’re a genius I stg!!! xoxo DA ❤️

Ahhhh thank you DA 😭 I have this persistent worry that low feedback = the thing I tried to do didn't telegraph and as much as I like risk taking I can't help but wonder when the risks pay off.

But like they're not in a happy place in this fic so maybe that's the problem lol I usually have them so loving but being dragged to mass, forced to sit and listen to Good Friday sermons on death and resurrection and ever lasting life- Daniel would be hanging by a thread! He's sitting beside the person who can give him that but is denying him and he can't talk to anyone about it! And Armand won't talk to him about why and won't share his past! Of course he ends up crabby and snippy even at the end.

Re: the visions, I had this really strong intention that this is a variation on something that happened to Armand when he was taken to the cult. Not in an actual church, maybe, but he's blending himself with his memory of Santino here and creating a version of his own experience for Daniel. So absolutely that was Allessandra, that was sometimes Santino holding him up, some of those were words Armand himself heard.

And to me that puts his performance at the theater for Louis into perspective. Because people have caught on that this is also a repeat of that, but maybe not drawn the conclusion that the theater scene came from something even further in the past.

And YEAH I think a lot about what memories Armand might have twisted around and shown Daniel, that Daniel might have written off as straight up fantasies crafted for him until much much later. Or what acts he replayed with him without telling him it was something he experienced. I think Daniel learned a lot about him without even realizing it.

[...] you explored it in a way that felt so perfectly Ricean. Unsettling, hot, so full of possibilities. <- This is the best compliment ever 😭😭😭 That's all I wanted to do!! I will be treasuring this message forever!!!

and god YEAH we need so much more church porn, these are the most weirdo religious books and weirdo religious vampires, we deserve smutty blasphemy!!

But thank you, you always come through with something so nice and insightful every time I'm pressed about my work, how could I live without you ♥

[maggicktouched]

Diverging from talking about witches for a hot minute I wanna talk about Daniel and my portrayal of him.

It probably doesn't matter, because the fandom is small and largely inactive in writing and I appear to be mostly blacklisted from it, but it matters to me and a character I write and how I'll handle things as the show goes on (hopefully a long time).

I've seen a fan theory gain traction in the last few days that I don't like. It's cool if you like it, I don't like, think it's toxic or a bad thing to like, but it does bug me. The theory is, essentially, that Daniel's faulty memory is entirely constructed by Armand and I just wanna lay out what I dislike about this theory personally and why I won't engage with it.

One: It doesn't really make sense to me. Devil's Minion lasted around ten years in the book (I think), and I've always been a little on the fence about how I feel about that happening in the show canon. Ten years is a massive span of your life to forget. Even if someone plants ten years of memories (which sounds insane) into your head, you're still going to be lacking things like connections to other people, you're gonna say a lot of weird shit to people who know you that won't add up, and before you say "Armand thought of all that." I'm sorry no he didn't. Armand needed Daniel to teach him how to be more human. He cannot realistically fabricate a decade of life, relationships, achievements, etc without it very obviously being wrong in some ways. Idk maybe you believe that, and you're allowed to, but I think it's so out there that it is kinda laughable.

Two: When did we just all hop on board the "Armand has memory manipulation powers" ship? Anne Rice's vampires are extremely powerful and I guess that's fine, even if I do think things like them being able to think people to death or just instinctively know how to use technology for some unspecified reason is pretty stupid. But it's her lore, it's her rules. However I genuinely don't remember the books saying vampires can alter memories. They can read minds and control minds, they appear to be able to distort perception, but I don't recall memory manipulation being a part of it. And I guess it's fine to add that, but it's weird we've all just auto accepted it as a fandom and then to accept it can be used on such a scale. Ten years of your life.

I'm 31 and if you ask me about people I knew at 21 I would be able to give you pretty decent descriptions. I can tell you about conversations we had, things they liked, places we went together. I can do that for multiple people. I can do that with the type of car I drove. I can remember the places I liked to eat and why. I can tell you when I learned new skills. I can tell you the names of every child I worked with and every animal I met (and I lived in farm land---there were a lot of animals). Am I able to recall every moment? No. No one is. But there is so much that goes into a single memory, better yet hundreds from over the course of a decade. I'm down with Armand being powerful... but that feels like too much. I can't buy into it. Sorry.

Three: Most importantly, there is a single reason I think show Dan is better than book Dan and it's basically the only real difference between the core of the characters. And that's that show Daniel is a person whereas book Daniel really isn't.

Daniel in the books is only really ever there to enhance the story of whatever vampire he's with at the time. He's in the first book for the singular purpose of giving Louis someone to tell a story to. He's in QotD to tell us about Armand's character and, in my opinion, make Armand into a true main character in the cast and not just an ex lover for Louis. We don't really hear about Daniel's life before. He has some creepy visions, he does some alcoholism, he talks about what Armand has been up to, and he talks about how Armand makes him feel. Where's his mom? He's not an old guy. What about his dad? What led him to be a journalist? Where was he born? What does he really like? Because for the most part, aside from some bitching at Armand when Armand pushes the envelope, he is just about as fine with sleeping on a park bench as he is a lavish bed. Because only one thing matters to this Daniel: vampires. There is no real Daniel. There is a narrator. There is a normal dude who we can put ourselves into. Now granted I haven't read QotD in its entirety in years so maybe I'm forgetting things... but I doubt it.

Then he's just gone. He just doesn't matter anymore after QotD not until we get to Marius' book. And I honestly think he's only there in that book to show that Marius has someone to fuck.

I haven't read the newer books.

My point in all of this, what is really important to me about this version of Daniel, why I love him so much even though he doesn't look like the Daniel I imagined all those years reading the books, is that he's a person. He's got his own issues, and he's lived his own life. This Daniel is a whole person. And maybe we won't get to see as much of his life as other characters because he'll likely be pushed to the side in the future, but at least it is implied. At least we have some reason behind how he acts, some clue to how his world was shaped and the things he cares about.

To erase all that just to give Armand a power boost/ability he doesn't even have in the canon is a waste to me. I really hope the show doesn't go that way, and I don't plan on writing that way regardless. You're welcome to like the theory. You're welcome to enjoy it or to go "ha ha I knew it" in my face if it happens. I don't really care. But I won't be writing it because Daniel deserves to get to be more than some sad old man that Armand wants to fuck.