pearlprimrose

Here’s the thing about Olly and Qifrey for anime watchers who don’t want outright spoilers, but are curious about their dynamic going forward. Spoiler-y manga panels at the bottom so I’ll put a cut.

On Qifrey’s side, without getting into spoilers, he needs Olly in his life, but because of certain circumstances that are revealed in later chapters, that need becomes something greater that is hurting them both. The stability of the atelier and Olly as the Watchful Eye is absolutely a gift in Qifrey’s eyes, but it’s a double sided blade.

Armand has NEVER been the first choice. He tries so hard to change himself into his partner’s desires, but it’s never been enough because everyone he pursues ends up using him as a coverup for their true desires(ex: Louis with Lestat). Armand even KNOWS he’s the coverup, but he just accepts it. He’s so desperate for this idea of being love, of unconditional love, that he just allows it(cue that one line from perks of being a wallflower: you accept the love you think you deserve)

In some of the first ever Loumand romance scenes, Louis is ALWAYS thinking of Lestat and Armand knows this. Even in scenes where Louis says he loves Armand, he can still hear his thoughts flee back to Lestat. He knows he’s not the one Louis truly wants, but he just stays anyways. He keeps changing himself because he still holds out hope that he, for who he is, will be chosen.

At the same time he’s okay with the love he’s accepting because he doesn’t even truly know what he wants for himself. He’s never been his own person; he just sees himself as an extension of his romantic partners in a sense. He’s spent half a millennium

Louis lost so much control in his relationship with Lestat that he tries to overcompensate for it in his relationship with Armand- meaning he reverts back to his hypermasculine, pimp persona. Armand notices that Louis needs this illusion of control and he so desperately needs to feel wanted, protected, and loved that he reverts back to his subservient persona. They have such a complex dynamic because of this- which, for example, is why their “petnames” for each other consist of Armand calling Louis “maitre” and Louis calling Armand “Arun” (the name given to him at the brothel he was sold to). They both revert back to some of their worst moments with each other, making the toxicity of their relationship cyclical.

Armand has been a survivor for so long that even if he has to revert back to such a traumatic persona, Arun, he’ll do it as long as he feels some form of live in response. When Louis first calls him “Arun” you see him pause and then just give in, because he’d throw away his issues with the name in order to appease Louis and be what he wants. He’s okay with pretending to be meek and malleable if it means he can earn Louis’ affection.

All of this is to say that Armand has known nothing but self sabotage and despair, which is why daniel molloy is so perfect for him.

WRONG.

Daniel was listening to T-Rex on the bus, and T-Rex were playing in Polynesian Mary's the night they met.

Watching S3E1 and the lengths the writers have gone through to show, in just a few brief moments, the breaking of Lestat by the mere appearance of Gabriella… I will be *livid* if we are subjected to yet another mishandling of Armand and Marius’ reunion (as written in QOTD), where there is no acknowledgement of the *intense* and *crushing* trauma that not only Armand suffered through in his human life, yes even under the hands of his maker, but the mind-shattering reality of having your only guardian, the person you trusted the most (for better or worse), turn you into an immortal being, then be BURNED “ALIVE” IN FRONT OF YOU — only to find out not only did that person survive, they NEVER CAME BACK FOR YOU. Never reached out. KNEW that you were kidnapped into a cult, and according to the book TVL, decided that was too much effort to rescue you from, especially since you seemed to be buying into the cult nonsense, **even though you HAD TO in order to SURVIVE**. And then this being that you had built up as a perfect deity in your mind, that you believed you saw die in front of you, whose death you believed was YOUR FAULT… he opens up to this blonde upstart and shows him things he never shared with you?? And then one day, the world is falling apart, and you walk into a room and there he is?? This mythical being?? That you thought died?? But instead just never cared enough for you to even write a letter?? To say he’s at least alive??

Rolin, I beg you, GIVE THIS MOMENT TO ASSAD. Armand deserves to finally have that, to come to terms with that heart-wrenching break, that utter collapse of his entire world… let him cry, scream, explode, LET HIM HAVE THAT. Give him what Anne didn’t! Let our hearts break for him, let us see that child within the man that begs for some kind of reckoning… let us glimpse that broken boy, like you are letting us see in Lestat’s scene with his mother.

Marius, and that traumatic night Armand was ripped away from everything he had known (AGAIN) just as his world was starting to feel stable… these are people and events that undeniably shaped Armand, if not defined him (at least in his own mind), please, PLEASE do not ignore this. Do not do him dirty and just have him blindly accept Marius’ NON-DEATH and surprise entrance.

Here’s a Ten Things I Love About Assad’s Performance As Armand list:

The way his voice cracks ever so slightly on the word donated in the Louvre monologue. Also, the entire Louvre monologue.

The hand acting. Thanks to @platoapproved for this gif set which illustrates what I mean.

“Do you find me boring?” Like, obviously, all of 2x05, but that line reading, terrifying and obsessive and heartbreaking and childlike all at once.

The stillness. The way he can be completely still and nevertheless absolutely mesmerising.

Contrasted with gremlin mode in San Francisco when he is anything but still. This post from @hypermania is a great analysis of his physicality and acting choices in this scene.

The micro expressions. The sixteen layers of emotions including three I’ve never even heard of before in some of the reaction shots. The way the directors clearly understand this and hold the camera on his face so that we can watch Assad showing us Armand’s brain at work without a word being said.

His French accent.

The way he sits down on the couch next to Madeleine.

Just how fucking cool he looks on the motorbike in the hunting scene.

Sauntering back into the Dubai apartment in his cunty sunglasses and tragically misplaced confidence.

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2022-) | S03E01