I Used To Shine Like Gold

IWTV S2 Set Details: San Francisco Apartment

Thought experiment, just hear me out:

So Daniel “I don’t remember, that’s why I’m asking” Molloy could be remembering bits and pieces of 70’s-80’s Devil’s minion now that he’s remembered the majority of what happened in San Fran. BUT instead of it being memories that make sense, it’s all out of order and they don’t make any sense similar to how he remembered San Fran.(this is usually how memory loss works, but not how it’s often represented in media) so what if he’s remembering Devil’s minion except for the important stuff. Then you layer on the fact that his memory has been erased so what if, even with all his will power he can’t remember Armand’s face while all the dm stuff is happening. And I can imagine the horrifying feeling of trying to explore these memories and seeing the soiled sheets, feeling the bite on his neck, feeling his hands tangled into someone’s hair and telling himself “turn your head, look at him, all you have to do is turn your head, he’s right there!” But he can’t because the man’s face is just a black hole, an erased memory, an identity he can never confirm on his own. UGH it’s violating, it’s horrifying, and yearning for more all at once.

I’m theorizing that erasing a “whole” memory(multiple events, faces, feeling, actions, etc.) is a lot harder than erasing one persons face from someone’s memory. So what if that’s why there were so many cracks in Daniel’s false memory that allowed him to recover what was lost PLUS this was made easier because Louis was helping with his own memories. I really think that if Armand just tweaked Daniel’s memory to forget his face, it would hold longer since Daniel would still remember fucking up his life, all the lows, all the highs(literally) and of course he would attribute any lapse in memory to “well I remember being high so I was probably on another bender” when in reality there is a nightmare twink standing behind him the whole time but he’s just so perfectly out of frame so Daniel doesn’t see his face. And it’s everywhere he looks, a picture has a perfect smudge to cover this man’s face, his memory has literal black spots over this man’s face, and then none of his friends remember this strange man. Like could you imagine being haunted by a faceless man that you feel a magnetic pull towards. AND even when you can’t remember, you still feel him there, he’s in every corner, every room, every bed, every lover, every town, every city, every state and every country. So it’s so real when Louis says, “You were there, Daniel.” And all he can say is “I don’t remember, that’s why I’m asking.” Cause he’s so painfully aware that he was there, he just can’t shake the feeling that someone else was also there.

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Old man yaoi

no because i'll be having a good day and then remember armand turned daniel into a vampire. 500 year old vamp who never made a fledgling before because the thought 'repulsed' him, drained daniel of his blood and then fed him his OWN blood to complete the transition. and the worst part? it happened OFF SCREEN.

I am an absolute supporter of the theory that Daniel and Armand were together in the seventies and that Armand erased or altered Daniel’s memories of it. It would add so much nuance to their characters and their relationship. There’s just this bittersweetness within their interactions that I couldn’t quite explain otherwise. I think Assad’s performance in this scene especially supports this interpretation:

Imagine seeing the love of your life again after 50 years—seeing how he has changed as a person, how he has grown from a silly boy into this amazing reporter, how he has matured both physically and mentally. You are forced to remember your relationship and the feelings you buried deep within yourself all those years ago, while he’s staring right back at you—with no recollection of it at all (which was your doing).

Not only is Armand forced to see the love of his life again and grapple with the resurfacing feelings that come with it, but Daniel is also dangerous to him. Daniel is smart enough to uncover Armand’s carefully crafted web of lies—lies built to maintain control, something Armand desperately needs. Armand has meticulously built himself a life where he gets to keep Louis, and Daniel has the potential to tear all of that down.

It’s such a rich, layered dynamic: Armand’s love and guilt for Daniel, his need for control, and his inability to resist the pull of someone who could destroy it all. It creates such incredible tension and emotional depth.

Helloo

I read some fics where devil's minion in the show was developed with Armand taking and restoring every time Daniel's memory (After having his company)

How do you think it'll be implemented in the show? I honestly think (and hope) that Armand has taken the memory of Daniel only once at the end, because I'd like Daniel to have the feeling of being stalked like in the book.

Hmm. I think DM might be split, into past hunt and then relationship, and today's ... well, whatever that will turn out to be.

I... could see someone else taking Daniel's memory back then, tbh.

For one Armand's behavior in s1 & 2 is not conclusive - he vacillates between taunts and aggression, as well as assuaging. He is not clear in what he wants, which makes me think that maybe, just maybe it was not him who took Daniel's memory - even if it was him who took Louis'.

The thing is, in the books, Armand's hand is forced: Daniel is close to dying and Akasha is rising, and though she deliberately spares them (it is remarked that Armand felt her passing over and knows she spared them) Armand feels that as the final push to break his own rule on turning.

In the show Daniel was not close to dying then, and Akasha did not rise.

So ... who made Armand let Daniel go?

I don't believe for one second that Armand let Daniel go after that night, I think there's more to it all. I think the hunt happened after that. And someone with the power and the habit of knowing what's best™ interfered with Armand's handling of Daniel then. Maybe.

At least I could easily see that.

I... cannot see them skip the hunt, it's too deliciously "a thing" in the book, and certainly pays into what makes Daniel increasingly fascinating to Armand.

And I don't think Armand would erase his memory in-between... Armand wants to be seen - they all want that.

And Daniel sees him.

Armand would not voluntarily give that up imho.

Some scenes from Delicate Machinery

Do you think the show will let us know Lestat becomes a rockstar to try and shield Louis? Or do you think they will try and make it like Lestat wants Louis to know he is fine without him? (He’s not)

I think the ending of S2 was a deliberate setup to coincide with how TVL begins — Louis is in danger, and Lestat concocts the rockstar career in an effort to shield him.

They let us hear all those threats against Louis for two reasons. One, it was meant to show that Louis is owning himself finally and is not the same as he was before. He is now The Vampire Louis. Two, like I said, it was setting up Lestat’s main reason for doing what he does with the rockstar shenanigans.

I also don’t think Lestat will be actively trying to convince Louis that he’s “fine” without him. It will be more like Lestat doesn’t want to burden Louis or be “too much” for Louis and will only want to give what he thinks Louis wants to receive.

In other words, he will be at Louis’ feet…..just like he’s really always been at Louis’ feet.