Mıshh

what mattered the most in that scene (and their subsequent argument) is that it revealed hidden dynamic in dubai apartment. and i think once you fully realize all the implications of that scene, you'll also realize that there's no point at all to defend armand with technicality of "who did this".

season 1 depicted louis as someone who had full power in the apartment, since armand was pretending to be a member of the staff, someone who served louis. after it's revealed to be a disguise, armand and louis give another, more subtle performance instead: that they're equals, that they're romantic partners who do everything together. there are some suspicious details you can notice in their interactions etc, but they're almost always downplayed, made to be seen as some sorta compromise ("could i see the pages we removed?" - "we made an agreement").

and the thing is, this is the first moment when we see something very clear in their dynamic, something bigger than all the hints we got before it. the scene still doesn't say it explicitly, but it's a great opening for what's gonna be revealed in s2e5. so it's still subtle but it's also not subtle enough to be ignored anymore.

the show does some interesting things there, and i greatly enjoy thinking about them. let's look at some of them closely.

The other day, I wrote a little meta about how you can pretty much always tell how powerful Armand is feeling, by looking at how low his neckline is. Low necklines = powerful and relaxed, high necklines = threatened (or else being actively *threatening.*)

So I want to take a look at the late 1700s Armand/Lestat flashback, the only part of the story that is POV Armand... which is maybe why it does some pretty fun powerplay stuff with the necklines.

Lestat starts off with VERY high necklines. Much higher than Armand's.

The blocking is also consistently putting Armand ABOVE Lestat. First Armand is up in the balcony, watching Lestat down on the stage, and then he's literally standing over Lestat, after telekinetically pushing him to the ground.

Armand does seem to be wearing his thin, dark "meeting new people" scarf (he wears very similar scarves when first meeting Louis and Daniel.)

Which communicates that yes, he's being a little self-protective. But everything about the costuming and framing is still telling us that in this moment, Armand (the old, powerful coven master) has the upper hand.

But THIS is what Lestat wears when he shows up to rescue Nicki.

Open neck = powerful. And he pretty much immediately starts trying to pull coven leadership away from Armand.

This scene puts Lestat on a flight of stairs, and Armand on a throne. They both have open necked shirts. And so, the power level is equal.

(this does support Armand's thing about how he WANTED Lestat to take over the coven.)

The same thing is true in their next scene together, where they drink each other's blood.

Open necks, same eye level. They're equal.

But THEN we get a major switch-up.

Now LESTAT has the low collar, and Armand has the high collar. (Armand is also sitting in the audience now, BELOW Lestat.)

What's especially cool is that Lestat is wearing the same costume he was wearing at the beginning of the sequence... only now it has a different (lower) collar. It's VERY deliberate.

Basically, we're visually being told that Lestat has established himself as coven leader.

But wait...

Is this Lestat (now with a high collar again) deliberately taking OFF Armand's collar?

(he goes in for a kiss/bite on the neck right after this, so I'm thinking yes.)

A while ago I wrote a rec list of Devil’s Minion fics that feature disability which people seemed to enjoy. It was really gratifying for me to see so many people engaging with my post and reading fics that focus on disabled characters, so I thought I would do it again! I’m always looking for stories that embrace chronic illness, disability, and neurodivergence in relation to Daniel and Armand and I love sharing my discoveries with you all.

As I said last time, there’s really no escaping crip themes with Daniel and Armand– whether it’s Armand’s autistic traits, Daniel’s Parkinson’s, or the way that Armand was sick before he was turned by Marius– their stories are crafted around bodies and minds that don’t quite fit the definition of normal, and I love that about them.

Ok, let’s get to the recommendations. All of these are show canon unless otherwise noted. I tried to find all of the author’s tumblrs if they were available, but if you know one of these authors that I missed, feel free to tag them!

Kitten Teeth, by @arun-armand-amadeo. 2,641 words, complete, General. 

Daniel and Armand have a conversation in Dubai about why Armand’s fangs are so small and why they’re considered a disability for a vampire. I love inventive fics like this that use disability language to explain Armand’s differences as a vampire. It adds a whole new perspective to the characters which I really enjoy. Marius’s role in the shaping of Armand’s fangs in this story feels so horrifically accurate in a way that really adds to their relationship. 

Stuck Together by @bioluminescent-zeph. 9,324 words, complete, Teen

Vampire Daniel and Armand try to work out their issues, including those caused by the symptoms of Daniel’s illness that have continued after his turning. This fic does a great job of capturing the passion and the acrimony that can build up between these two. The tension builds up perfectly until it dissolves into laughter when Daniel and Armand end up stuck together in the La Brea tar pit, a truly perfect image. 

The Tower (30,910 words, in progress, Explicit) and The Hermit (13,343 words, finished, Explicit) by @bob-fish

The Tower is Bob’s long fic that I am lucky enough to beta, and The Hermit is a shorter fic in the same universe. The Tower is set right after season 2, and follows Daniel and Armand as they try to recover their mutually missing memories of each other. In The Hermit Louis shows the newly turned Daniel how to hunt and reminds him that his body can still be used for pleasure, even as Daniel is struggling with the way his illness has shifted since being turned. In both Bob writes really sensitively about Daniel’s disability, and their prose really is gorgeous. 

You, Young Blood by @arabellatheauthor. 15,810 words, complete, Mature. 

What if Daniel had a port when he died and was turned into a vampire? What if that port proved necessary to treat his Parkinson’s symptoms post turning? This fic explores this idea, and really digs into a lot of emotions that feel familiar to me as a chronically ill person-- anger, anxiety, and the need to know that if everything goes wrong, the person you love will still love you back. 

Five Times Armand Hurt Daniel (And One Time He Healed Him) by @heliza24 (that's me!) 6,603 words, complete, Mature

I’m so proud of this fic! The first five scenes are all about the different times Armand causes Daniel physical pain–from the first week in San Francisco, to when Armand realizes that his hasty memory wipe may have caused Daniel’s Parkinson’s, to when Armand almost kills Daniel and then turns him instead. And the last scene is my own spin on how Daniel’s madness arc could be translated to the show. Armand’s complicated relationship to caregiving is one of my favorite things about his character, and I really like writing about him embracing his desire to care for Daniel. And of course I also love writing about Daniel’s pain, and the tenderness that can bloom from it.  If you read it, please tell me what you think!

He Prefers to Hunt for It by @hummingbee-o0o. 17,991 words, complete, Mature. 

A lovely 5+1: five times that Daniel couldn’t catch Armand after being turned into a vampire, and one time he could. Disability isn’t really the focus of this fic, but Daniel mentions his Parkinson’s as one of the reasons that he is scared Armand has run from him. The final scene, with Armand reunited with Daniel and teaching him how to hunt by making himself into willing prey, is so sweet and lovely.

Deep calls to deep by jupiters_end. 6,132 words, complete, Explicit

This is set in the Dubai era, and is one of my favorite “Rashid”/Daniel fics. The sex they have is very hot, but it’s underpinned by a tenderness and sense of longing that Daniel doesn’t quite understand. I like how Daniel’s Parkinson’s is integrated into the sex without it becoming the focus of the fic.

The good nurse by @armandlovesgirlcock. 2,561 words, complete, Explicit

I absolutely love how sexy this fic makes erectile dysfunction. It’s one of the symptoms of Daniel’s Parkinson’s that had stuck around post-vampirism in this fic, so of course Armand has to roleplay as a nurse and provide treatment to help Daniel get it up. This fic has such a perfect balance of actual medical knowledge and really hot sex, it’s so fun!

They Call You Ecstasy ( 6,633 words, complete, Explicit) and Why Don’t You Close Your Eyes and Reinvent Me? (4,604 words, complete, Explicit) by TheAngelsAreWatching.

They Call You Ecstasy is a heartbreaking 5+1: Five times Armand hides his pain from Daniel, and one time he tells the truth. This fic is set after Daniel’s turning, but before Daniel remembers his past with Armand. The fic does a really good job of exploring Armand’s complicated relationship with sex and how he consents to things out of a misguided belief that he has to do so in order to keep Daniel. Some of the pain Armand feels is literal, but some of it is guilt over the way he turned Daniel. The fact that Daniel is still having Parkinson’s symptoms and requires an excessive amount of blood adds to that guilt.  I like that this fic doesn’t pull its punches and ends with Armand leaving. In Why Don’t You Close Your Eyes and Reinvent Me? Daniel, now struggling with hallucinations on top of lingering Parkinson’s symptoms, hunts Armand down after recovering his memories.  I love a show canon interpretation of Daniel’s madness, and this bloody reunion is vicious in all the right ways.

Two Birds, One Stone by medievalvampire. 5,243 words, complete, Explicit

As much as I love when fics really flesh out Armand as autistic, I also like when authors write Daniel as having ADHD. This is a sweet and sexy example of that, set in book canon. Daniel and Armand are watching Blade Runner for the millionth time, and Daniel cannot sit still. So Armand figures out a way to occupy him and calm him down. 

Silkweight by DeafeningUnknown. 3,175 words, complete, Mature

Armand wants to dress up as Alice again for Daniel, but he can’t go through with sex when some of his past trauma comes up and pushes him into an autistic shutdown. I really like the Armand POV in this fic, and how Daniel responds to Armand’s unresponsiveness.

Come get your knife by @apoptoses. 26,446 words, complete, Explicit

This fic is book canon, and does some amazing work expanding how vampires are able to experience pleasure and sensation even though they can’t have sex normally. Even though this isn’t intentionally a disability fic, it really speaks to me as someone who experiences sexual dysfunction as part of my disability. In this fic, Daniel really wants Armand to fuck him, which seems like it might be technically possible, if only Armand could allow himself to feel pleasure long enough to try. I really love how Armand’s inability to stay in his own body during sex is wrapped up in his religious and cult programming, but is also a reaction to the changes vampirism has made to his body; he’s afraid that he might not be able to feel anything at all, so he never lets himself try. The resolution of this fic is really cathartic, which is one of the best compliments I can give.

A Million Little Things by @aberrantangelsmind. 9,582 words, complete, Explicit

Another 5+1 recommendation (can you tell they are my favorite?). This is five times that Armand is jealous of Daniel, and one time that Daniel encourages Armand to find something he loves that doesn’t involve Daniel. Disability isn’t the main theme, but Armand’s eating disorder and the lingering effects of Parkinson’s on Daniel are both mentioned. I really like how this fic captures Armand’s fascination with Daniel, and how Daniel gives Armand the freedom to be himself in the last scene.

Resurgence by ChristianVega. 45,415 words, in progress, Explicit

A Frankenstein-inspired AU where Armand is the creature who has escaped his maker Marius and is being sheltered by lighthouse keeper Daniel. Before Armand was remade by Marius, he was in a chronically ill body, and this fic really explores what it would be like to be so used to sickness and then suddenly be navigating a new and healthier body that you didn’t ask for. Armand is also trans, which adds to these themes as well. This fic is very atmospheric and takes its time allowing Armand to heal from his past, which I really like.

It would have taken another immortal to keep up with him.

so i haven't read the books but i did read the Devil's Minion chapter and this part made me laugh out loud: