saw a post (i don't know who op is sorry!!) about how armand calls daniel a black hole while being the most black hole-coded character in existence and i can’t stop thinking about it because YES. everyone latches onto the innuendo of “not much more to you than a hole” (and sure, it’s iconic i love some devils minion), but armand being a literal black hole metaphor across the vampire chronicles is so intense and weirdly consistent that it stops being subtle and starts feeling like a cosmic joke
lestat in tvl straight up talks about armand pulling him into his orbit. like, not metaphorically—he literally describes being caught in armand’s gravitational pull, like he’s circling something ancient and destructive and beautiful and terrifying. he feels like armand wants to consume him, strip him down to nothing. that's not just magnetic energy. that's black hole behavior
then in iwtv, louis tells armand (in the most devastating breakup scene ever) that being with him drained all the life out of him. that he was interesting because he was different, but armand pulled him in and now he’s empty too. literally tells him he made him just like him. that’s the event horizon! you cross the threshold and there’s no going back!
qotd really hammers it home—daniel talks about how armand has this bizarre magnetic pull that draws people in. it’s not even intentional. he just exists and people fall into him. and by being with him, daniel starts getting drained too. again. same cycle. same gravity well. armand doesn’t even mean to destroy people—he just does, because that’s what he is
and the creepiest part is how often older men project their obsession onto him. “i don’t know what it is about you, armand, you’re just so... captivating.” like okay. maybe take a moment and examine your own weird fixation before blaming the literal 17-year-old-looking vampire. but no. it’s always framed like armand has some unnatural power when really they’re just falling into their own desire and blaming the gravity on him
oh and let’s talk about how he hunts. armand doesn’t chase. he doesn’t go looking. he just hangs out in public being beautiful and unreadable and lets people come to him. and they always do. they throw themselves at him. it’s terrifying when you realize he doesn’t need to do anything except exist and wait for people to offer themselves up
so yeah. the line is a banger. it’s brutal. it’s layered. but it’s also projection in real time. armand isn’t talking about a black hole—he is the black hole. he pulls people in, drains them dry, and leaves them hollow. the vampire chronicles don’t even try to be subtle about it. and i love that for him. horrifying little cosmic void of a man
wait i just thought about how Armand’s two most frequent pet names for Daniel are "beloved" (passive, the one who is loved by me) and "lover" (active, the one who loves me)
Something that kills me about rdr1 is John's apparent feelings towards the Javier, Bill, and Dutch.
Javier, he is 50/50 with. He can kill him or turn him in alive. It's clear that he's still very hurt from what happened between them, but it's also apparent how he still cares deeply for him. He talks highly of him. Fondly, even, as Reyes puts it. When choosing to kill Javier, he sheds a tear before bitterly spitting on his body.
When killing Bill, John shows little to no remorse. Sure, he tries to settle things civilly to begin with, but after realizing that he has no other choice, he doesn't make a big fuss about it. He doesn't think twice about shooting Bill in the dirt and handing his body over.
Then there's Dutch.
After handing over Bill's body, John demands his family be returned home safe and sound, only for Agent Ross to remind him that he still needs to find Dutch. John doesn't want to. He was trying to get out of it. He was hoping that Ross would just forget about Dutch now that he's gotten Javier and Bill.
John and Dutch play this cat and mouse game over and over, chasing after each other, tormenting each other, shooting at each other, but never killing one another.
Then there's the final stand off.
John had the full opportunity to shoot Dutch where he stood on the edge of that cliff, but he didn't. He couldn't. Before him, he didn't see a monster. He saw the man who raised him. He saw a father.
In his hesitation, Dutch also had every advantage to turn this around and kill John. But he doesn't. He watched Arthur die. Hell, he killed Arthur. He killed his other son, and he knows it. It haunts him. He can't kill the other one, too. So instead, he kills himself.
After his fall, Ross comments on the fact that even after all this time, John still didn't have the guts to kill Dutch. He then takes John's gun and shoots Dutch's lifeless body to make it appear as if John had killed him. "Looks better in the papers," he says.
It's such a heartbreaking detail. They couldn't hurt each other up on Mount Hagen. They couldn't hurt each other in the end.
I think in the future Armand should continue to do his gaslighting, subtle manipulation, narrative weaving, scheming etc except over non-consequential things, and Daniel should just continue to unravel these threads, puzzles, mysteries, lies etc and it’s like foreplay for them.
armand would love those tiktok videos that are like when i remember he’s my boyfriend and I can do whatever i want to him i already knnooowwww bro is biting + licking + pinching and pulling daniel’s hair and poking him in his ribs and shoving a finger in his ear whenever he feels like it
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.
kimharrys everywhere for those with the eyes to see them (original)
A detail I love is that John's are cloudy like the stormy sky, while Arthur's are clear and look like they have a little planet hiding inside.
i think the single greatest thing about luke brandon field as young daniel is that when he runs into the wall his arms are still down at his sides like those cats that get smooshed against the wall headfirst by their owners and fail the intelligence test. every time i see it it brings me immense joy
He/him tired girl 🌟 Obsessed with IWTV (especially when it comes to Devil's Minion) 🌟 English isn't my first language
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