I Feel Like I Get To Pick One Thing For Myself, And It's Her. A Weird White Lady I Met By Happenstance.

off we go into the wild pale yonder

Want to get these on tumblr since I only ever posted them on twitter... various reference collages of official art for disco elysium stuff! Harry, Kim, & Kineema (from 2023)

mrs sadie adler, widow

vampire with a pearl earring

washing off the stench of death

Daniel being sure enough of himself to make the big reveal that Lestat saved Louis because somehow he KNEW that no matter what he did or said, Armand, the most powerful being he’s ever encountered, would never ever harm him.

Hot take, while I do think aging Daniel up was a good choice in that it opened up new avenues of exploration (and a potential DM amnesia plot!!!) I don’t think it actually was necessary to fix DM because maturity differences weren’t the real core of DM’s relationship problems.

Their flaws are still the same—old Daniel is still blunt and somewhat insensitive, stubborn and reckless and Armand is still controlling, condescending, melodramatic and above it all. These flaws were causing some tension but they weren’t insurmountable.

Old Daniel and B!Daniel also aren’t that different—Daniel at 20-24 is constantly scared Armand will kill him and still pushes back against him verbally with sarcasm and bite and expresses any and all frustration every chance he gets (it’s part of why he remains entertaining) just like 69 yr old Daniel.

This is only compounded once book Daniel realizes he’s not at risk of dying and has Armand just as wrapped around his finger as vice versa. Show Daniel is just a little more wrapped up in cynicism and hides his softer parts compared to B!Daniel who balances it out better imo, he’s not necessarily more mature.

They love each other’s “flaws” they acknowledge each others negative traits but mostly enjoy them. The actual core to their countless fights was the age old human wants to be vampire/vampire sees it as a curse dilemma. (Yes DM ran so Twilight could tip toe softly lol).

I think B!Daniel was absolutely 100% fair in feeling like Armand was treating him like a pet dog and would move on and not mourn that long if he died (even if this absolutely wasn’t true—we know this) and Armand wasn’t helping by belittling him when he did return home and not actually communicating that he did care that well.

However, that’s already been solved in the show—the second major problem (and break up causer) is an extension of the the initial one—Armand feels too unnecessarily guilty about the turning (and thinks Daniel hates him) and leaves—Daniel feels abandoned (and thinks Armand preferred him mortal).

I think a maturity difference issue would be more reasonable and less silly than their actual relationship problem which is weirdly banal given how weird they are everywhere else but nothing’s perfect.

moderation will kill the patient