I know Daniel is kind of an asshole sometimes but I absolutely reject this idea that he wouldnβt take Armandβs trauma seriously. Especially not when Marius is such a lying asshole.
Heβs crass and blunt but heβs also good at his job, and at his core he was, by his own admission, looking for people in the cracks. Thatβs who he was when he starting out. Thatβs the purest view of heβs aspirations weβve seen, and returning to that after struggling so much with Lestat doesnβt feel unrealistic to me. I donβt know if there is someone who has slipped further into the cracks than Armand.
And unlike Lestat, who is intentionally winding Daniel up and has no desire to tell the whole truth, Armand on two separate occasions has demonstrated willingness to volunteer information about his past. He wants to be known more than anything, even if his view of his abuse isnβt super clear to him.
Considering the nature of the things Danielβs discussed researching before, I find it nearly impossible to believe human trafficking hasnβt come up. Heβs interviewed sex workers and frankly itβs not too much of a leap. Heβs mentioned being held captive while doing an interview (that wasnβt in San Francisco) and seems to have met some really bad people so itβs not hard to believe that heβs spoken to victims like this before, or at least come across them.
And itβs not like itβs a stranger or someone he knows is trying to deceive him as Armand was during the Dubai interview. This is Armand, the lost love of his life. His maker. Daniel visibly felt bad for him after the concert and he probably doesnβt know why yet. He should still hate him and yet he couldnβt hide the concern on his face. Imagine him when heβs actually trying to help him piece together the many broken pieces of his life. Imagine him when he knows heβs in love with him.
Iβm not expecting Gen Z therapy speak from this seventy year old man. Heβll probably be blunt and unhelpful at times and impatient and trigger the hell out of Armand, but he called Magnus Lestatβs abuser and he doesnβt tolerate bullshitters, which was the very reason he was so rude to Armand in Dubai. He ought to see Marius for the manipulative, obfuscating, condescending monster he really is. Armand wants the truth, Marius refuses to tell it. Itβs also doubtful the Talamasca has much on Marius regarding his abuse of Armand aside from the basic facts, and Armand has disclosed very little. Youβd need Armandβs account for that.
Itβs one thing to know the bullet points of what he went through. Hearing the details is something different entirely. You donβt see the look in Armandβs eyes as he tries to recall if he even knows his own name by opening a Talamasca file. Daniel isnβt soulless and youβd have to be in order to feel nothing about Armandβs story. I get about twenty pages into TVA before I already want to be sick and this is the love of his life.
