I post and reblog anything I find of interest, but I'm largely focused on crafting/sewing, thrifting and goth and extreme metal subcultures. I've been an alternative weirdo since the 90s!
She/her, 44, UK, married, childfree, cishet, a-spec, bookworm with a literature degree, vegan and general nerd.
I thought I should make a pinned post which is slightly more in depth than my bio concerning general interests as I seem to have gained a few followers, and in case any of them have a wish to know!Ā This is not definitive and will likely get added to over time when I have the thought āhow could I possibly have forgotten Xā.
Music:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
Devin Townsend/Strapping Young Lad/Casualties of Cool
Ulver
Alcest
Agalloch
Gojira
Cattle Decapitation
Itās a safe bet that Iāll probably enjoy anything which could be labelled post-punk or goth, particularly if it originates in the 80s or 90s.
Ditto for 90s metal (reminds me of my teen years!)
Most classic rock from the 70s or 80s (my parents brought me up on this)
Industrial and aggrotech.
Classical music, including opera
1950s and 60s rock and roll
Many genres of extreme metal, like black metal, death metal, funeral doom, goregrind etc.
Recently a friend has been getting into Black Metal having never listened to it before, and it's been causing me to rediscover my love of that genre as well as find a few new artists that I've never heard before š
Authors:Ā
Edgar Allan Poe (also fits under poets)
Terry Pratchett
Neil Gaiman
Stephen King
Joe Hill
JRR Tolkien
Robin Hobb
Brian Lumley
Clive Barker
Way too many more to count ā I read A LOT
Poets:
William Blake (see my Good Omens/Blake posts here and here)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
John Milton
Christina Rosetti
Walt Whitman
Shakespeare plays (having a literature degree, I feel like I should know more Shakespeare, nonetheless the ones I am familiar with I absolutely love):
Hamlet (loved it since the Mel Gibson version, and I have seen many since!)
Macbeth
Richard II (not only because of David Tennant, but also Fiona Shaw, hers was the first version I saw of it).
A Midsummer Nightās Dream
Movies:Ā
12 Monkeys
Bladerunner
Subspecies movie series
Nightbreed (Cabal Cut for preference!)
Dredd (2012)
Only Lovers Left Alive
Panās Labyrinth (honestly anything by Del Toro really, but this one especially!)
Donnie Darko
Franklyn
The Green Mile
Dark City
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Schindler's List
Mad Max: Fury Road (the others too, but this is my favourite)
Again, loads more than Iām not listing, I love movies
TV Shows:
Good Omens
The Sandman
Star Trek (all versions, but particularly TNG and DS9)
Farscape
Blake's 7
Classic Dr Who (I do like the new stuff, but pre-Eccleston will always be my favourite, it's probably a nostalgia thing)
Spartacus
Black Sails
Sharpe
Robin of Sherwood
General interests:Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā
Charity shops/thrift store shopping
Sewing
Crochet
General DIY/crafting as the mood takes me, particularly customising items that I buy at charity shops
Pencil sketching (relearning to do this, I used to be pretty good when in school!)
Tattoos/piercings
I've seen a lot of people saying that Armand torturing Louis doesn't make much sense, and it should have been Lestat he was torturing.
I personally think it makes a lot of sense. Armand is deeply traumatised and messed up and does not process these feelings in the way ordinary people do because he's a vampire and pretty much a psychopath (and I say this as someone who's been an Armand fangirl for 30+ years and loves what the show has done with him).
He was in a loveless relationship with Louis for 77 years. He knew Louis didn't love him. Louis is a selfish bastard (his own words) and during arguments he can say extremely vicious and cruel things, as we've seen him do with both Lestat and Armand in S2 (again by his own admission). Armand has probably heard such things countless times during those years.
Louis was openly unfaithful, constantly bringing boys back to their home to kill and let Armand clear up the mess.
In Armand's mind it doesn't matter that he did his fair share of bad (or worse) shit to Louis, he'd still see it as only fair that now he's apologised to Louis, Louis should apologise to him.
Also something that was touched on slightly in the scene but I've not really seen addressed anywhere: Louis was a pimp. Armand was sold into sex slavery in a brothel at 12. You don't think having suffered that, and knowing your partner had been a pimp and possibly done similar things to other people wouldn't mess you up? That you wouldn't see your past abusers in him? Maybe even want to punish him for it?
Louis said in this very scene that he saw a lot of this kind of stuff happen, and whilst he may not have trafficked children, he admits in the very first episode of IWTV during his attempt at confession that he makes his money exploiting women.
This fandom seems to have real difficulty in remembering that all of these characters are evil monsters who by necessity have a different moral compass to most humans because they have to murder people regularly to survive. They all also have very fucked up traumatic pasts. Both things can be true at once, and saying "this behaviour is justifiable *TO THE CHARACTER*" doesn't mean you're defending or agreeing with it.
I saw a couple of other people have crocheted dolls inspired by TVL so I thought I'd have a go at making one for @armandsbitchboy. Just because I felt like it.
I already have a pattern for a doll base that is partially my own but really mashed up out of several other doll bases which I used to make my Edgar Allan Poe doll. I really like this pattern because it works up super fast, gives realistic proportions and good shaping to the hands and legs (even knees!). And as you can see it will actually stand up on its own if you put weights in the feet (I'm using a couple of flat glass beads in each one).
This doll is also completely no-sew, you crochet all the pieces together as you go.
I don't like making removable clothes so they're just crocheted into the body. I have a ton of this multi-tonal purple which I really love so his clothing is very loosely based on the scene where Armand is wearing the purple shirt in S2 (though obviously this is a lot brighter) and I've given him silver buttons as I have loads left from the Poe doll.
It may seem somewhat silly to share him when he's so close to done, but I *HATE* embroidering mouths on these, I just attempted it and it looked godawful so I unpicked it. Obviously I'm going to try again but just in case I can't get it to look right I'm sharing now at a point when I'm reasonably happy with how he looks.
I particularly love the eyes (gotta get the beautiful huge orange eyes right for Armand!) and the hair, which is made by pulling strands of yarn through each stitch of the head in rows, knotting them and then untwisting them to make them look curly. I also used a felting needle to help flatten the hair and make it sit right as it was very big and floofy at first.
Work in progress shots!
Just embroidered a front seam and collar to the shirt to make it look neater.
Hair metal Armand! šø
Pre-trimming and needle-felting.
I will reblog the finished one once I can work up the courage to try doing the mouth again, but in the meantime I hope you like this little guy!
First of all, I said this about 3 times already, but again: they are both monsters. They solve their issues in a monstrous way.
And it's not even as horrible as what some humans do to each other.
So, for the scene: yes, the body horror was exactly that, body horror. You could call that unnecessary, otoh it was simply practical. That may soznd cynical, but it is what it is. Armand needed Louis immobilized for his confrontation and Lestat out of the picture, otherwise it wouldn't have worked out.
Since those two absolutely did not take him seriously.
Yes Armand is completely fucked up. As are a lot of vampires. But in interaction with other vampires who stregth-wise are somewhat equal or at least close to his level he could have gotten basic respect.
Both Louis and Lestat though thought he was too pathetic for that.
And Armand is caught between his need to somehow rectify that disrespect and his need for actual connection.
His way of finding whatever counts as closure for him was to confront Louis in a way where Louis had to react.
And Louis does not want to play that game at first. So he refuses.
Which drives Armand to extremer measures.
To Regina, the one human and actual victim in that scene. As a non vampire she could not withstabd Armand's manipulation and was in a vulnerable position. So she played along.
And got severely traumatized and almost killed for it. That was the one part I found unnecessary. I don't think Claudia needed to be brought back that way and I don't think Regina needed to be dragged into that shitshow.
But emotionally, she served as a strong visual representation of Louis' guilt and regret. Him seemingly cooperating when Armand threatened to kill her just showed that Louis still didn't get over Claudia and never will.
As a quick side note, I do love how Armand decides who lives and dies. Some 'mindless' follower gets offed without a thought. Regina, who was smart and interesting gets to live, but with a warning.
Now to Louis seemingly cooperating. Yes, he was not honest at first, of course, he was forced to play along by extreme measures.
But in the end he decided to switch to openness and honesty.
Maybe because he thought 'fuck it, might as well before I choke' or because it also meant closure for himself in regards to his relationship with Armand or because he thought Armand should finally get some closure himself.
So Louis apologized for the only thing he was responsible for: staying in a loveless relationship. He also acknowleded Armand's trauma from his past human life, which nobody ever did before and took responsibility for using kniwledge of that trauma to emotionally control Armand.
Because he did, in combination with their Dom/Sub relationship.
So yes, Armand built the 'relationship' on a lie. He did it out of desperation, but that is no excuse. He also fucked with Louis and manipulated his memories to keep him.
Also horrible and totally on him.
But Louis started the relationship, despite not veing in love with Armand. He could have walked (ok, as soon as he was able too) away after the trial. But he instead stayed with Armand. At first as a fuck you to Lestat. That was very clear in the tower scene. Louis doesn't feel anything during that kiss. It is a demonstration to Lestat how little Lestat seemingly means to him.
Louis then proceeds to treat Armand as a doormat, he pity fucked him without any genuine care and outright ignored him, pushed him away and insulted him.
He fucked (ad drained) -what was it?- 138 dudes? and let Armand clean up the mess.
While cosplaying the happy rich hipster gay marriage for his own fucked up reasons.
That certainly caused another crack in Armand's already fractured psyche.
They both abused each other.
And now Armand forced his closure (which also served as closure for Louis, at least in regards to Arman) and got it.
And he was satisfied with it.
He let Regina go, he let Louis and Lestat go and simply fucked off.
And I consider that a happy ending. For a gothic horror show. I've seen and read way worse.
I don't disregard Louis' trauma btw, but he had two whole seasons of focus. Lestat had one season. Armand can get one scene.
Because, to get back to the start, they're equally montrous, and every monster deserves their own coping strategy.
the two black lead writers iwtv had 1) didn't work on the same seasons, 2) were men and only one was black american, 3) were always co-writers never sole. we have no idea if they have sensitivity readers/editors.
we've all heard heinous shit from family born in the 40s-60s. claudia was born in 1903. she is gonna say some wild shit to louis bc black ppl say wild shit to each other especially when we're mad. we should not be judging claudia by our 2026 pro-black standards. she is rightfully angry and trying to hurt louis. i say this as someone who's only read excerpts of merrick, they adapted her anger very well from the book seance.
last thing: what if they did have someone (a black woman from the south?) come in add the extra 'umph' and now she's seeing a bunch of black folk call her writing the product of a racist writer's room? the core writers who made this show we all love hasn't changed.
#black men betray black women every day#she could've said worse
I mean, I've seen comments from other black viewers/creators on TikTok who think Claudia not only could have said worse, but should have said worse. š¤·š¾āāļø
Though yes, if she had said worse, and a black female writer had written it, it would be interesting to see what fandom would be saying right now about it. š¤
I think what Claudia said was pretty tame compared to what she said in Season One. Which, yes, given the time period Claudia was born in? That language matches.
Because yes, I too have heard much harsher shit from family who were born after Claudia would have been, in the 20s, 30s, and 40s. And not only that, she's a vampire. Language like this is one way in which she has already tried to hurt Louis because of her hate of him. Again, as we saw back in Season One.
And many in fandom appear to have developed a case of collective amnesia about that wrt Claudia's character.
Trust me, if I felt a line had been crossed with this, I'd say it. As it is, I think they barely walked up to the line, never mind not crossing it.
On a discord I'm on for Black fans of IWTV/TVL, we're pretty much in agreement that she was pretty tame all things considered. I think she should have said worse. It's really wild to me that Black fans are acting like Claudia didn't call Louis (and herself) Lestat's slaves and that her calling him nappy headed and a slave was OOC and purely racist writing.
I think that some Black fans don't get how some Black people talk to and about each other or at least are trying to act morally/racially superior by acting like they've never said some out of pocket, over the top shit to another Black person.
A lot of this faux outrage and screaming about racist writing is largely because their view of Louis as some innocent, helpless angel and selfless father that just got dragged out back and shot in the head for good. Just Claudia calling Louis out for going after Bruce not actually being about her and the audacity to act like she should have been grateful for too little, too late. Daniel literally called Louis out for not prioritizing Claudia and choosing Lestat over her but because a lot of them see Daniel as racist, his words don't hold weight.
Louis had shown time and again that for all Louis's insistence that Claudia was all important to him, his words and actions never quite aligned and even if they did. It wasn't for very long i.e. attacking Lestat for choking Claudia to choking Claudia himself to dismissing Armand choking Claudia.
They also really don't like hearing Lestat threatening her with rape was a lie despite all the textual evidence even before the book was published to get Louis to go along with the murder plot.
There's also the fact that Claudia admitted to hating Louis more than Lestat which really doesn't gel with their racist White abuser view of Lestat (I've really seen takes about how that was the writers absolving Lestat of wrongdoing nevermind that it's quite literally lifted from canon and they are doing the books like it or not. She literally talked about using Louis to destroy Lestat and by extension himself to punishing them both for trapping her in the body of a child)
There's also so much of this believe that you can't hate someone and do things for them and show care when you 100 percent can. So much of "Claudia took care of Louis so she couldn't have hated him". It's both mind boggling and annoying.
It's also like relationship are usually nuanced and complex, loving someone doesn't mean you cant hate them. Just like liking or even loving someone doesn't mean you just accept everything from them.
And don't get me started on the thought that liking Claudia behaving in a very canon compliant manner is somehow internalized racism/anti Blackness.
A good portion of this fandom really has a problem with seeing Claudia as anything other than as a perfect victim, just like with Louis. She is/was a victim but that's not a free pass or an excuse.
Because let's just ignore that that scene is a near accurate lifting from the canon text or that vampirism is literally a metaphor for slavery, pretty sure that one of the characters saying that that's how vampires reproduce but you can't applaud her getting over on Lestat and act like she's incapable of lying to and manipulating Louis, that's not how that works.
i'm soooo happy that they've never witnessed the worst of black folk but this take gives chronically online to a degree i've never reached and i've been in tumblr for a decade.
the 'absolving lestat' narrative makes my blood boil. the desperation lestat called armand out for in paris lives in him and is why he sucks. i only started listening to book fans bc of DM fans and the dynamic was too interesting to tune out. i know when to step back as a show-only fan but also how to call out the disgusting calls for rolin's death and a total s3 rewrite. gtfo
we deserve to have black protagonists who are shitty. black people have range!!!
I'm grateful to all the black fans who are commenting on the seance scene. I've wanted to say something myself but as a white English person I felt it's not my place to do so.
For what it's worth my immediate take upon watching that scene was that Claudia was using the most hurtful language she possibly could, and that it was fully in character. I'm glad to know it wasn't wrong of me to think so, even if I didn't understand the wider context
This season has some serious pacing and structuring issues but most of the whining can be boiled down to:
This isn't book-accurate!!!11!!
Where is my ship??!!??
This isn't how I imagined this dynamic to be!!11!!!
This isn't the dynamic I wanted!!!111!!!
I have a serious case of white saviour complex and I need to exercise it at the expense of POC characters and actors, everyone should be grateful to me!!!111!!!
I ignored that this was gonna be part 1 of 2 and now I'm upset everything wasn't given to me on a silver plate!!!11!!!
I planted false memories of the first two seasons in my brain and now I'm gonna make it everyone's problem!!!111!!!
It wasn't perfect, nothing is, and I hope they will wrap up a lot of things they didn't show us this season in the next one. But I still liked the job the writers did.
I liked that the characters were different than in S1 and S2, because they were shown to us in a different person's perspective. I add all they showed us this season to what we already know about the characters. I don't think they were changed or ruined, I think they were expanded on. Anyone you ask will have a different opinion on you based on their experiences of you, and none of them will know the real you.
I love that Louis was held accountable for the wrongs he's done, but I don't think he was painted as a villain, as I've seen people claim online. Everyone in that show does bad things. Everyone makes mistakes. Just like in reality, only real people usually don't go into such extremes. I personally don't see Louis portrayed as a bad character or a bad person, but a man who tries to do good things, but is misguided in his attempts.
I like that Claudia got to finally scream at the both of them and show her angriest self. That she wasn't being painted by Louis as this innocent child, so at odds with her own words in her diaries.
I like that Armand got to gremlin out. I like him a little evil. I like him spiteful. And I love that he has finally broke free from his role of the victim and embraced his wrongs. Maybe I'm projecting, but I see in him the need to scream "yes, I did horrible things, I fucked up, but so did you!".
And I liked that they managed to make me feel with Lestat. That they didn't go in and completely erase the first two seasons, that they didn't remake them, instead, they showed us why those things happened the way they happened. They gave us a way of seeing horrible acts with a bit of compassion.
I love that these characters are flawed. I love them for their flaws. None of these vampires are heroes. They never were. But we are all the heroes in our own story, and we were seduced by the tale.
Yeah, no, this isnāt adding up. (Finale spoilers ahead)
Because the writing isnāt bad, not in a typical way.
They kept giving Daniel one notably offensive line per episode and he was just angry, but with no clear arc.
They made Armand use slang words heād never ever say and used the word gremlin far too menu times, and he said ārestā even more. And the evil laughing? It doesnāt get more on the nose than that.
Louis was just mopey the entire season, though arguably had the most sympathetic portrayal.
Even Gabriella felt cartoonish.
We also saw nothing of Armand and Danielās relationship onscreen.
Every single person except Lestat. These are patterns, not mistakes. Itās intentional. A single one would be an error. Every single character except our narrator behaving like a Flanderised version of themselves? I donāt think so.
I just want to know why. You donāt forget the voices of every single character in between seasons. You just donāt. Season 4, if they get one, will hopefully recontextualise somethings, much like this one has with seasons 1 and 2 (mainly with Armand ;-;)
Yeah, having now seen the finale I agree with this assessment. I didn't hate it the way some people clearly did, but it definitely felt very strange, like there were some intentions beyond what we were seeing onscreen being set up for later.
two seasons of loustat slow burn wonāt scare me because I was raised on watching 10+ seasons of tv shows with 20-22 episodes in each season and we the viewers were lucky to get the will they wonāt they potential couple to actually become a couple in the end of s8 or something lol
Ha, I was thinking about this just this morning in reference to Devil's Minion. People crashing out because they weren't kissing/fucking by the season finale, not stopping to think about how that would work narratively (it really wouldn't, their relationship is nowhere near that point yet). We got a love confession and confirmation of 52 years of stalking. Plenty to build on for future seasons.
Iām not a black person but I am a person of color and I just wanted share some empathy with you.. these past few days post ep 6 Iāve seen so many white people assume blackness because they are a āstanā of a black or brown character, and speak over black people on what they believe is racist or not.
demanding black and brown people to prove their blackness/brownness as a performance for your headcannons of a fictional character in a tv show that is based on 40ish decade old books is impossible self centred and pathetic.
just wanted you to know that there are lots of POC as well that are not so foolish and cruel and here for you! It really is a loud minority and can sometimes feel so invasive, and Iām just sorry youāre having to deal with some of that as well, sending you lots of warmth šš
Hello! šš¾
So first of all, thank you so much for the kind words and thoughts. They really do mean a lot, thank you. š
And yeah, this performative activism wrt fandom, and yes, mostly from white people in the fandom, has been going on since after Season 1.
And with many actual, real-life black and brown fans, like myself, being attacked by white fans due to it. And that somehow we have to prove ourselves by thinking about all this in the exact same way that they have/do.
When, first off, the real sad truth of it all is that a lot of all of this stemmed from shipping, which you can read the receipts about here:
š¬ 8Ā Ā š 39Ā Ā ā¤ļø 118Ā Ā·Ā IWTV Fandom PSAĀ Ā·Ā ā ļøWarning: Very long post
TLDR: The users to block if you want to enjoy this fandom
I'm really hopin
And here:
š¬ 5Ā Ā š 24Ā Ā ā¤ļø 59Ā Ā·Ā Are you getting paid to defend these white people like this? Like let me know so I can apply.
Really Killejoie? Are you
If you weren't around during Season 1, and particually the hiatus between Season 1 and 2, it was very easy to miss this being the reason why such things happened, and why fandom is in the state it is in now wrt this stuff. But it very much is.
But the second big truth about it all is that while many people in fandom are fans of these black and brown characters, they never really bother to learn about and look closely at the cultures of these characters and what that means for them as characters, at least when it comes to the black characters, from what I've seen, within the story.
Because this whole recent discourse came about from mostly white fans looking at Louis and Claudia's interactions during the seance scene through a white gaze and lens.
Whereas for many black people? It wasn't something that was overly shocking to many of us because we grew up within US black culture and understood the nuances of why what was being said was being said:
š¬ 8Ā Ā š 19Ā Ā ā¤ļø 88Ā Ā·Ā #ššš #thevampirelestat And one of my favorite songs shout out to the brutal loveĀ Ā·Ā Black people calling each other "nappy
And like, I'm not from NOLA, nor do I have family from there. But from some comments from people who are from that region and understand even more the black/creole culture of that region -- which is where Louis and Claudia are from -- there was even more nuance to that scene than just the overall black culture that was going on in it, as well, as these comments explain:
There is a YouTuber who is from NOLA that I watch, who also talks about the show and the NOLA cultural things the show has been putting in, wrt Louis and Claudia in particular, since Season 1 as well:
Jacob and Delainey, but especially Jacob, did a lot of studying of Louisiana/NOLA Creole culture after he got the part of Louis. So I don't think I'm wrong in assuming that Jacob would very well know what those things Claudia was saying to Louis would mean to someone like Louis, given his background and culture.
But, as has been happening since Season 1, really, too many people did not look at it all through this lens -- or even think that there might be a layer to all of this beyond their own outside-of-my-own-cultural-understanding lens to look at it all from.
Which, honestly, is all part of a larger media discussion when it comes to US media, at least when it comes to black people and white people. White culture and a white pov/lens are always, even still, universally viewed as the default when it comes to storytelling.
This is one of the many reasons things within that culture are never explained to the wider viewing audience when such stories are told. Because it is just assumed that people know these things, even if they are not white.
This view of things, however, is not the same as media that pulls from black culture, however. If something isn't explicitly explained, then many non-black viewers just default to the white lens view of it. Even though Louis and Claudia would have felt no need to explain the deeper cultural things that were going on between them, with the things Claudia was saying to him. And therefore, by proxy, explain it to the audience.
I noticed this same thing going on with the movie Sinners last year. There are many US black culture things within the movie that Ryan Coogler, rightly, IMO, didn't feel the need to explain to the non-black audiences because the characters in the story would have had zero need to explain it to each other.
Such as, for example, why Stack told Sammy not to look at Mary when they were at the train station. Or why Mary's passing for white was so dangerous for her to be doing.
I watched reactions where people, who, yes, were mainly white, missed the underlying cultural reasons for things like this. (Granted, I did see some white viewers who did get and understand the reasons behind those things, including the history behind why, which was very nice to see as well.)
So yeah, sadly, the default lens through which stories and characters are viewed by many people, especially white people-- at least when it comes to people in the US, at least -- but likely also worldwide -- is through a white lens.
Even when the characters in question are not white and are from an entirely different race and culture.
And that is what happened during EP306 and the seance scene.
And the very idea that all black people saw the scene in that same way they did, and that if there had been a black writer or two on staff, that would have changed the scene, taking that dialogue out, is also something that is viewed through that same lens and monolithic viewpoint that all black people are exactly the same when it comes to such things.
Because like, I personally am not someone who uses words like the N-word, or calls other black people's hair nappy. (Or, at least, I've never called someone's hair that to be mean. š)
But Claudia? It was very much established back in Season 1 how she talks and the things she has said to Louis in this manner. So not only was it in character for her to say such things, but her being from NOLA and knowing Louis' background, she would have known exactly the meaning behind what she was saying to him and how it would insult him.
So, writing her saying it? Is something many black writers might also very much have done, too. And, as I have said many times, with likely maybe even harsher language than what we did hear.
But fandom, being what it is now and has been for the past four years, didn't even bother to ask or try to find this out. And instead just went right into doing... well, what it did. Without actually listening to the black actors and their thoughts about it, never mind the voices of us black folks within the fandom about it.
Yes, there would have been many of us with diverse opinions about it, I'm sure. Because again, black people are not monoliths that all think the same about everything.
But listening first would have been a much better move than jumping to one conclusion about it, to the point of someone trying to report the show to the NAACP, for goodness sake. š
... in many ways, this show is too smart and nuanced for the audience it has, IMO.
Anyway, again, thank you so much for the warm wishes. It is so very much appreciated. š
I understand wanting to see important devils minion moments play out on screen. Trust me I do. But I feel like weāre losing perspective here. Season 1 and 2 gave us crumbs. Delicious crumbs, but crumbs nonetheless. By comparison, Season 3 has given us several beautiful on screen moments with the promise of more to come in future seasons. Would it have been nice to see Armand teaching Daniel to walk in the sun or see how their relationship has been developing since their last conversation? Of course! But the lack of those moments doesnāt mean weāre not going to get any more development between them. We just have to be patient. I mean, look how long it took for Louis and Lestat to truly reunite, and wasnāt it worth the wait? I get the frustration of having to wait until another season. I really do. But Iām also sick of the doomerism and the amount of people who are acting as if DM is dead, or poorly written, or no longer a dynamic worth shipping.
All of this, plus as I keep saying, Lestat is narrating the story right now, and he's unlikely to care very much about DM (aside from the fact that they cut his and Louis' heads off). So why we would get their entire story in this season?
Lestat has given us those few moments because the fact they *did* get together is relevant, but why would they get anything beyond that in this series?
The scariest part of the 52 years of stalking isnāt even the stalking. Itās that Armand knows every bad thing Daniel has ever done and he doesnāt care.
Daniel knows heās an asshole. Heās potentially the most self-aware character. He knows he hurt his ex-wives and his daughters. He understands that they hate him and he frequently validates their decision to do so. He gets it. Heās not hiding from his mistakes. He knows what heās done. People leave him because anyone sane would. Thereās no malice there. He knows who he is.
But here is this beautiful, ancient creature who has lived through some of the most incredible periods of human innovation in modern history, who lived in Renaissance Venice and witnessed Paris return to its former glory after World War 2 , who has been exposed to some of the most important works of art in history, who has had so much time to absorb humanity and all its most impressive creations, and this creature tells him heās in love with him, some random kid he met half a century ago by chance.
And not just that heās in love with him. That he was actively in love with him while he was doing all the terrible things. None of it ever mattered. Armand has seen every shade of Danielās soul, more than anyone else ever has, and he is in love with him because of it. It is one thing to have your mistakes exposed, itās another entirely for someone to see them and decide to stay.
Armand has so freely given to Daniel what he has been trying to find for himself for half a millennia. The only thing he has ever wanted: to be truly known and accepted for everything you are, including the unseemly, ugly parts. How utterly and completely terrifying.
