Queen Bex

If Louis recovering his memories from Armand's mind control thing... Why is Armand allowing this second interview to go ahead? Especially when Daniel is obviously able to get to Louis?

Hey! :)

well... for one I think it needs to be differentiated what "control" is... Like, canonically Armand spellbinds Louis on several occasions in Paris. For example. That... is for more selfish reasons, I would say, we will see how they will spin it in the show.

Later on though, when he seems to have "tinkered" (as Assad called it) in the show... that was likely done in an effort to "help", imho - because he does love Louis. And Louis suffers. The things Louis will remember now... will not be pretty. On the contrary, it will be beyond painful what will be uncovered.

And then, of course, there is the aspect of "the Devil's Minion" having happened in the past (as I am quite sure we will get to see at least parts of in the upcoming seasons)... Armand loves Daniel, Daniel who book canonically becomes his only fledgling.

So, with that in mind...

We know Daniel was kept track off, the package with the tapes arrives in his post box without an address on it (for example), his medical status is known, and there is medicine for him there, which was prepared, and which is not what they claim it to be (the side effects don't match, as noted by others).

I think Louis might have... come to the conclusion at some point that a few things do not match, and I think... that he leveraged the idea of redoing the interview, in an effort to get Daniel to Dubai, and in an effort to slay multiple dragons at once:

Redo the interview. Find out what his subconscious is telling him, what Armand might be hiding (possibly hidden with Louis knowing !- that is also a possibility, that he asked for the memories to be taken away, but has doubts now?! We'll see^^)

Reunite Armand and Daniel, because he does not want Armand to be alone after... because Louis is tired. And if Claudia's diaries are used as I think they will be (as the catalyst they were in the books), then this season will end rather... cataclysmic.

Find a way to at least prolong Daniel's life. As noted above the medicine Daniel gets had to be prepared, and Fareed's presence is no coincidence, it hints at... certain things. (Fareed is the physician/scientist of the vampires in the later books).

Armand... Armand "allows" this because he needs to prolong Daniel's life, wants to see him again, and... loves Louis. And there is also the aspect that what he is keeping from Louis and Daniel - if deliberately or by promise - must weigh quite heavily on him.

I think there is at least a tiny part of him which looks forward to it all being revealed, because being the only one to know the truth... must be a heavy burden.

... ultimately I think it's not clear cut. "Decisions are made of kneaded feelings" (to quote Hannibal here) and all that.

There are a lot of aspects playing into it all. And a lot of them have to do with potential (and very real) emotional hurt.

For ‘A Meal to Remember’ fanfic appreciation event <3 A list of canon-compliant (and canon adjacent) fics!

Avoiding too many double-ups here so see the Loumand list for more Loumand-centric fic recs (plus a bingo card!)

Pre-IWTV Paris

To Pluck Gently At Strings (M) by @iwtvdramacd18 (Nicki x Armand in Paris!)

IWTV New Orleans

among the wildflowers (T) by ipsilateral (Pre-show, beautiful Louis character study)

all the blood involved in love (M) by @gayvampiredivorce (Ep 1, Louis’s memories of the early days of Lestat’s courtship)

the harrow, the tiller (E) by @baberainbowao3 (Ep 2, Louis's first night as a vampire, fever dream in the best way possible)

grab the rings of saturn (E) by verseau (Ep 2, Louis and Lestat consummate their marriage)

pietà by @enterprisery (Ep 3, Grace and grief)

Babyfather (T) by @nlbv (Ep 4, Louis character study, Claudia's first night in the coffin)

Bury Me Deep Inside Your Heart (E) by @prouvaireafterdark (Ep 4, coffin sex)

Roadkill (E) by @baberainbowao3 and @nlbv (Ep 4 era, a family trip to the circus, insane)

After the Storm (E) by Anonymous (Ep 6 reunion scene, mind the tags)

Scenes From a Marriage series (E) by @nlbv (Truly harrowing post-ep5 scenes, sex as character study, brilliantly written, they make me want to claw the wallpaper off the walls and sob)

Paris

ad infinitum (E) by peripheralaudio (adaption of the iconic tower scene)

vanishing point (E) (loumand motorcycle sex!) by @knifeeater

Interlude: Post-Paris, Pre-Dubai

Dirges (E) by @wordforworldisforest (iconic loumand work, has never left my brain, a seminal work)

Prey Drive (E) (unhinged loumand roleplay) by @iwtvdramacd18 and selfsame (E) (glory holes) by @vampdf aka insane loumand at its best

thy fearful symmetry (E) by mothmaiden (Daniel, Armand, and Louis threesome before the interview)

long live the car crash hearts (M) by exastris_scientia (Daniel and Louis crash a car)

a ghost is a memory (T) by @quensty + a memory is a ghost (regret, regret) (M) by @enterprisery (Daniel and Louis meetings remixed)

In a similar vein, middle aged Daniel getting re-seduced by Armand before being made to forget: Perfection (E) by @bandedbulbussnarfblat , i love you like an alcoholic (E) by @quensty and all i got left (is my bones) (E) by @enterprisery

Dubai

a memo from human resources by nestorius (human Rashid!)

And for every kind stranger , there is one who would break you (G) by ABigScaryBat (Armand watches Daniel sleep)

nothing but teeth series (G to M) by @gayvampiredivorce (series of oneshots and fics related to the interview, great character studies, written while the series was airing)

A trail of honey (M) by @butchybats (Armand and Daniel have sexual tension in the kitchen feat. a little knifeplay)

Grouse (T) by @iwtvdramacd18 (Louis eats a bird!) and Alluvium (E) (oral sex and geomorphology) by @knifeeater aka fics inspired by this piece of Pink's gorgeous art

out of cape cod tonight (E) by exastris_scientia (Armand and Daniel play mind games)

And he was mine (E) by watertiger (Louis and Daniel dance)

Post Season 1 Dubai

Lethe series (E) by @knifeeater (Daniel in the Loumand torture labyrinth of Dubai (where he belongs))

Don't forget about them now.

Don't forget about them tomorrow.

Don't forget about them in a week from now.

Don't forget about them in a month.

Don't forget them next year.

Don't forget them in 5 years.

When the history books start to update, don't let them put lies in there.

When documentaries come out, boycott the ones who call this a victory for Israel.

When books release talking about soldier's personal experiences with Palestine, remember the victims. Remember the truth.

Don't forget about what we've seen.

Don't forget about what we've heard.

Don't let them tell lies about Palestine.

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AMC IWTV:

Gif by @sommerspage

Nibbles (Armand x Daniel Molloy, fluff, cat fic)

Love bites (Armand x Daniel Molloy, Daniel’s daughter walks into him and Armand having sex. Cracky, funny, spicy. Slightly NSFW)

We are never getting back together (Loustat, Armand x Daniel Molloy, crack, humor with a touch of fluff and vandalism against Lestat’s hair)

The Vampire at Mary’s (Lestat x Daniel Molloy, smut, vampire bites, Lestat as Daniel’s maker, NSFW)

Of Love and Other (over the counter) Drugs (Armand x Daniel Molloy, sick fic, domestic fluff, crack)

Baby Claudia and The Vampires (Loustat, baby fic, fluff, human au, rockstar!Lestat, New)

Claimed Series:

The Claim (Armand x Daniel Molloy, smut, semi-public sex, PWP, seriously just pure filth NSFW)

The Reeling (Daniel remembers)

The Affair (Prequel. Daniel runs, Armand finds him. Unethical smut ensues. Very NSFW)

The Aftermath part I (Daniel is dying, Armand needs to make a decision)

Part II (Daniel wakes up as a vampire)

Part III (The inevitable end. Smut, rough sex, dirty talk, very NSFW)

The Lesson (somnophilia, rape/non-con elements, minor character death, threesome, kinda. Very NSFW)

The green-eyed monster (Daniel discovers jealousy. Armand takes it better than expected. NSFW for vampire sex and general horniness. New)

Various Storms and Saints Series:

Part I (all human, loustat modern day, criminal au. Rough sex, consensual non-con, knife kink, VERY NSFW)

Part II (armandaniel/ the devil’s minion, role play, power play, rough sex, consensual dub/non-con. VERY NSFW. New)

And They Were Roommates Series:

Part I: The Roomie (armandaniel/ the devil’s minion, crack, humor, fluff, all human, college au)

Part II: The Saboteur (loustat, Lestat having a crush on EVERYONE, Louis being infinitely patient and wise)

The Grishaverse:

Grisha don’t get sick (modern setting, fluff, blurb. Can be read as Darklina or Darkling x reader)

Can I keep you? (Kaz Brekker x Reader, soulmate AU, fluff)

Just mortal (Darkling x Reader, post Rule of Wolves… Kinda. Aleksander being his dramatic self, fluff)

Plan B (Darkling x Reader, plotting and manipulation, the darkling might actually be outplotted this time)

Upside down soy iced caramel macchiato (Darkling x Reader, coffee shop au, Aleksander the simp, Ivan the long suffering, fluff)

Untouchable (Kaz Brekker x Reader, smutty)

Eat me, Drink me (Halloween special, darkfic, Aleksander Morozova x Billy Russo x Reader threesome, non-con, NSFW)

Like real people do (Halloween special, Aleksander Morozova x Reader, haunting, fluffy, just a tiny bit creepy)

Sleeping Beauty (Darklina Darkfic, non consensual somnophilia, breeding kink, NSFW)

Starstruck (Modern AU, Actor!Aleksander Morozova x Reader, size kink, NSFW)

Logan Delos:

Ex Machina (Logan x Reader, darkfic, knife play, non-con but not really, NSFW)

Marvel Cinematic Universe:

Matt Murdock

Begin again (Matt x Reader, first date, first kiss, fluff, new)

Vigilante shit coming soon

Billy Russo:

something about cordelia being the only one of king lear’s three children who can’t give her father a public declaration of love, even in exchange for power

something about roman and cordelia both being cut out because their love runs too deep for words and that is considered an unforgivable weakness

Louis is completely lost in thought about why his life is such a mess

And all Armand's attention is paid only to Daniel

ㅤ

And then, I'm gonna make a character who fights back, creates a safe space for witches, finds a way to make them indispensable to the king, and plans to put an end to the ongoing genocide.

Readers with functional braincells: Is that your hero?

Leigh: Hero? No! Oh God, no!!! Where did you get that impression??? He's the VILLAIN with a capital V!!! Ugh, I guess I'll have to add more nonsensical mustache twirling evil villainous visuals to make it clear. Maybe throw in a black cape and shadow magic into the mix while I'm at it.

Readers still refusing to shut their brain before reading YA: So what do your heroic leaders want?

Leigh: Its really brilliant and subversive actually! Get rich quick hustles for money. Housewife to the first boy to talk to her. And inherit a royal title from his father.

Readers refusing to kill their reading comprehension: So what about the persecuted witches?

please stop being ridiculous. it’s fiction. the darkling is a fictional character, and if miss leigh didn’t want us to like him (which she, by the way, tried very hard for) she shouldn’t have created this entire narrative of a hunted & persecuted minority who have literally one person in the entire world to stand up for them. she shouldn’t have given aleksander the thousands of reasons for him to be the way he is. she shouldn’t have shown us all the centuries of torture and prejudice grisha received until the darkling made a safe haven for them.

human morals don’t apply to eternal beings. simple as that. there is no definite good or bad for him, all there is is life and death and the safety of his kind, who are still enslaved, experimented on, murdered, burned alive, and all other sorts of the most horrific things in the neighboring countries. was the way he treated alina morally right? no. of course it wasn’t. but he has lived centuries of war and loss for even a glimpse of hope and then it came in the form of a fickle teenage girl, who hadn’t seen the things he’d seen, and who didn’t have a clue about the hurt her kind had been receiving since the beginning of time. what he did was wrong, but in his eyes necessary; the end justifies the means.

and i could go on and on about this, explain all of his actions (which i very well can, this is the tip of the iceberg) but the thing is, i shouldn’t have to.

we are allowed to like a morally grey (or, in the hater’s view, entirely fucking evil) character because he’s fictional. we aren’t morally obligated to blindly take over the author’s opinions over their fictional characters because they brought them into this world to be critiqued. to be viewed and liked and hated. we are allowed to like and defend fictional characters despite the author’s intentions for them.

if Alina and the gang had just let Aleksander usurp the king I'm inclined to believe the situation for Grisha in Ravka could only have been improved. and for all that I see claims of Aleksander's belief in Grisha supremacy, I've yet to find any support or evidence for that in the text. if he wanted to enslave all otkazat'sya or get revenge on them surely that would have come up at some point? instead he's a loyal patriot to the country of Ravka and is more interested in cleaning house of the corrupt Lantsov regime.