On Armand, Psychology, and Kink
(Because this needed to be its own post)
Something that breaks my heart about Armand is the way he is almost forced into these submissive roles. Stemming from his childhood trauma and abuse, it seems like a survival strategy. When i see Armand revert to these submissive tendencies, it very much reads to me as a survival strategy. To either avoid harm or mitigate it somewhat. The fawn response, he bares his throat because that is what he has learned to do in these situations. He falls into this role that was thrust upon him to maintain some semblance of sanity. When in reality, the person that has been created and shaped by these experiences is actually very scary, controlling, and violent. Because who wouldn't be! After enduring all of this, the anger and resentment that builds is astronomical. Something that is repressed for that long will eventually blow. It's better to release the steam slowly! Safely!
In kink, it's oftentimes people who feel powerless in life that find the most satisfaction/gratification in being the dominant in the relationship, whilst people who are in positions of power tend to enjoy being in submissive roles. Now you might think that, oh Armand led a coven as Maitre, this doesn't make sense. Side note, I don't think he ever wanted to be the leader of the coven. I think it did allow him to be in control of something, kind of treating his relationship with the coven as a dom/sub relationship in and of itself. After living the life that he did, this is now his outlet. But again, something that was thrust upon him.
Armand has consistently been subjected to abuse that forced him into submissive roles and stripped him of his power, his autonomy, and his personhood. In the future, in a stable, loving, and healthy relationship, I think having him explore being submissive would be so healing but that's another thing we can talk about later. A scene that struck me the most is when Louis orders Armand not to kill Daniel in San Francisco:
"I need this one to live"
"are you asking, maitre?"
GET HIM OUT OF THERE! Having him slip back into this dynamic just broke my heart upon rewatch. We're working with relative morality because this is IWTV and they're vampires none of them are good people. It's not crazy for Armand to kill Daniel! It's a reasonable conclusion given the circumstances. He even says to louis "You owe me this". And yet he is ORDERED not to. Which just feels incredibly manipulative! Because Louis knows what happened to him! It feels purposeful! AND HE DOES. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE'S BEEN TRAINED TO DO! AND LOUIS KNOWS THAT.
In a healthy relationship, I truly think him being the Dom would be soooo intensely healing for him. It gives him the control he so desperately craves, and he doesn't have to worry about feeling boxed in or controlled or taken advantage of. He can be scary and violent (within agreed-upon bounds), and trust that his partner likes it and enjoys that part of him fully! And it's not all doom and gloom and whips and chains; him being able to take care of someone, and make sure they're ok, to have such a good communicative relationship, a person who he trusts and who trusts him. Not having to worry about this person freaking out on him, seeing all the scary parts of him, and relying on him! Taking back his power and autonomy in a sexual context when it has so often been stolen from him. He deserves a space to feel what he needs to feel. Control and domination is NOT always scary. It can be so loving.
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