well...

Look, I don't know what this is, but, uh, I think I'm not s-

This is the last time you will see me. … They brought me here to kill me.”

CANON BRAN CHALLENGE ↳ Parallels with Ned Stark

"I never asked for this cup to pass to me." "Perhaps not," Catelyn said, "but Brandon is dead, and the cup has passed, and you must drink from it, like it or not."

Catelyn II, A Game of Thrones

Bran had never asked to be a prince. It was knighthood he had always dreamed of; bright armor and streaming banners, lance and sword, a warhorse between his legs. Why must he waste his days listening to old men speak of things he only half understood? Because you're broken, a voice inside reminded him. A lord on his cushioned chair might be crippled—the Walders said their grandfather was so feeble he had to be carried everywhere in a litter—but not a knight on his destrier. Besides, it was his duty.

FLY OR DIE.

The raven flew to his shoulder, crying, “Live! Live!”

it makes sense that louis tries his hand at being an artist, and that attempt a symbol of profound hope! but he also happened to pick the artform most prohibitive to him as a vampire (photography requires light and patience, whereas he’s always outrunning the sun.) and he takes photos of humans that he cannot get emotionally close to (the photo he takes of armand is notably the only one an art dealer gets a lil frisson off of.) he completely stacks the deck against himself, putting himself in a position to reaffirm his prior belief that vampirism is a curse and a limitation.

when he realizes his art isn’t great he quits. but if he had waited for cameras to improve, or taken photos of fellow vampires, (and fwiw i think there was a post floating around about how if louis just ate more, things might be easier lolol) or just been content to suck at it for a while, there’s no reason why he couldn’t have continued (lord knows other vampires are out there being bad and weird at whatever they’re making, in part bc they’re v much out of step with the culture they’re attempting to contribute to. and louis actually seems a great deal more clued in to the zeitgeist based on what he says to claudia about the parisian modern art scene, and even up to 2022 where he knows what essencefest is like my girl still knows whats what more or less.)

i think louis stops not only bc its painful and frustrating to not be able to practice this artform the way he wants to, but bc he cannot deal with the idea that he isn’t Creating Value or contributing, he would just be enjoying himself.

even if you're an absolute source material loyalist who's like "armand and lestat never slept together armand was lying" the way armand describes their relationship is still relevant to armand's character- if you think it's a fantasy, how does he build that fantasy?? it's clearly very important to armand that lestat recognized him as his master before they began their affair, even though we know armand could already throw lestat around like a ragdoll and lestat was no physical threat to him. the formality of the coven dynamic still matters.

and with louis in paris, you can clearly see in s2ep2 and the first half of s2ep3 that louis is attracted to armand and making extremely unsubtle advances- i want to highlight their riverside scene in particular where louis smiles at armand, steps forward to kiss him, and armand turns his head and says "if we were the only vampires in paris". his obligations as the coven master are his shield not to reciprocate (even though there's no "the coven master shall not fuck outside the coven" 6th vampire law and he's not exactly celibate now that they left the children of darkness)

but armand changes his mind about entering a relationship with louis literally as claudia's coven initiation is taking place and armand's weighing whether to kill louis during the ceremony- armand's coven obligations haven't disappeared, they're as present as ever, and louis is on even shakier ground with the coven than he was before. the main thing that's changed materially is that claudia is under armand's power now, and armand knows louis cares about claudia more than anything (also from s2ep3 when louis realizes armand knows the secret and when he thinks he's gonna die in the tunnels- "what does this mean for claudia??" "take care of claudia...don't give up on her. tell her she's beautiful. tell her that every morning")

and we see the reversal in their dynamic- while in the riverside scene louis was the one stepping forward to kiss armand, smiling and at ease, here louis is still and concerned, and armand steps forward to kiss him. louis fully knows armand holds both his and claudia's lives in his hands at this point, and it's only under those conditions that armand feels comfortable enough being with louis.

even the maitre/arun dynamic doesn't change the material power structure here- louis might be "maitre in the bedroom, maitre when it's hot or convenient" but it's only when claudia decides to leave paris with madeleine, leaving the coven and leaving armand's area of authority, that armand decides his relationship with louis is too unreliable and agrees to direct the trial.

and there's a possible argument- i'd def have to chew on this more- that part of the reason for armand's escalating control and gaslighting over the course of his relationship with louis (other than the primary reason of antiblackness and seeing louis more like an object than a person- let's not get it twisted) is that after the trial, with no formal power structures to secure louis' companionship, armand resorts to undermining louis' autonomy and selfhood. there's no coven and no claudia, but if louis literally thinks armand "protects (his) happiness", that armand knows what's best for him and he's a danger to himself and others without armand to care for him- and ofc as long as he keeps believing the lies around the trial- then he'd have no reason to ever leave.

HBO's House of the Dragon (2022, United States)