#destielonfire

Hey!

Welcome (back) to the madness!!! *laughs* Glad you loved it, this season is AMAZING!!!

As per your question: It's a play of words of Daniel wanting Lestat to take it all more seriously. No "baby talk".

Lestat then launches into that monologue about the world today, and "Lulu Lemon" that is in black and white in the show, and I absolutely loved that, because it showed so much of what Lestat can do with words. And what he sees about the world, what he recognizes and can contextualize.

He considers Jean to be one of Neil's people, just like any Fox that isn't Kevin, Aaron, Nicky or Neil is Renee's. Jean is also kind of Renee's ofc (shared custody lmao) - Neil is more of a distant protector, but we know from his actions that he'll show up for Jean if he has to. Andrew knows Neil cares about Jean, in his own way. The whole FBI thing and Neil's deal with Moriyama is Neil's concern - Andrew would only get involved if there was an immediate threat to any of his people.

I don't think Neil straight-up lied about it either (they don't lie to each other), he just didn't mention it and Andrew didn't think to ask. I'm guessing that when he got back to Fox Tower he may have mentioned something about it to Neil, but I think there is mutual respect, trust and an understanding between them that this was something Neil had to do and could take care of without needing Andrew's help. Andrew probably figures that Neil would have asked his assistance if he had needed it. At the end of the day, Neil was doing what he needed to stay alive (by staying in Ichirou's good graces) and that's all Andrew cares about, anyway, since none of his other 'charges' were hurt or threatened in the process. After all, with Riko dead and Neil's deal with Ichirou, there's way less immediate threats to Neil's life than there were in the original trilogy (well...until the Foxes vs Ravens game lmao).

imo Andrew also really doesn't care about (and probably approves of) Neil ordering a hit on Grayson - I think the only reason he asked Jean about it was to of course confirm Grayson never touched him and to know if Neil had put himself in any danger by doing the deed himself. Ordering a hit keeps Neil safe so it's all good in his eyes - we know Andrew doesn't really care that Neil has killed people, he only cares about possible fallout/blowback to the people under his protection. That's how I interpreted those scenes, anyway!

Aw this is really sweet, I like your take on Neil and Andrew’s relationship. Also "shared custody" is killing me

-Nate

I see where you're coming from but something inside me still feels like Andrew would at the very least be annoyed that Neil didn't tell him where he was going. Whether Andrew actually brought it up with Neil is less certain to me. I can picture Andrew's first reaction being anger (at Neil for not being forthcoming, or maybe just at himself for not thinking to ask) but then talking himself through it using the logic you laid out re: Jean and the FBI are Neil's problem, etc.

Maybe it's just my own headcanon at this point but I'd like to believe that Andrew "Strangled Kevin When Neil Went Missing" "Might Quit Smoking Because He Couldn't Get to Neil In Time" Minyard had at least Some kind of negative reaction to hearing about Neil's secret trip to California. Would he actually confront Neil about it? I'm not sure! I'd love to read what that conversation would be like tho

@destielonfire First of all let me apologize for having no idea when you sent this, I never saw a notification so I hope it hasn't been too long!

I think Daniel's hot girl summer moment we saw a glimpse of in the finale is a ruse by the writers. It added an air of levity to the season finale and gave viewers (and eric!) the gift of swaggering badass vampire Daniel.

But season 3 will have the time to get into it more deeply and well, I don't think anyone ever has a great time after being turned, even if you are rich and famous.

I'm not sure Daniel has ever had his shit together a moment in his life. He says he did when he convinced Alice to marry him, but it must not have lasted long. He was never able to balance his work life with his family. I doubt he'll have an easier time balancing his work life with being a vampire.

I'm also leaning towards the reads on him that this is going to pull him right back down into his addiction issues, now that he's immortal. There are no (well fewer) consequences for substance abuse as a vampire, plus he has a whole new drug, blood, and all that comes with acquiring it. In Dubai we saw that Daniel was squeamish about eating wriggling fish. How is he coping with killing and eating people? I think we only saw one half of the story in the finale. We saw the alcoholic at the bar, buying shots for all his friends while everyone laughs and cheers. We didn't see the next morning's hangover.

In the books, Armand effectively drives Daniel insane to the point the point he falls in love with him, which is hella fucked up (and we love that), so I can see the show taking one of two paths here.

The first is they just adapt that method straight from the books. Lonely and desperate Armand chasing Daniel around the world trying to figure out how to navigate their future as master and fledgling (and understand what drove him to break his vow to never make another vampire for THIS GUY), eventually coming to the conclusion its because he loves him, and Daniel later doing the same. Because they're both trainwrecks impossibly drawn to forms of self harm.

The second is a little less inexplicable and a lot less toxic. Instead of Armand driving Daniel crazy with his psychosexual torture, Daniel does it to himself with his hedonistic desires and lack of self-control. He feeds and kills and feeds and kills, pushes away his family, friends, and collegues, ruins his professional reputation. And he can't understand why he can't stop, why nothing ever makes him feel complete, etc etc. And because he is his maker, because of their invisible cord, Armand takes responsibility for picking him up off the floor and attempting to help him deal with this. Because Armand's the one that gave immortality to a man who can't stop blowing up his life and the lives of everyone around him.

I also think that on a more specific note, Daniel in season 3 will continue to be the plot device that presents the backstory to the audience. I think he'll probably go on tour with Lestat to try to get that second book, and Lestat will share his story, which we know features not only Armand, but Armand's maker Marius, and other places and characters that inform the audience (and Daniel) on Armand's history, motivations, traumas, etc. Daniel has been learning about Armand as a side character and villain in all these other vampires' stories where obviously they're the main characters, the heroes, the victims. But slowly piece by piece he is putting together the Armand puzzle, and now that they're inextricabIy linked he has even more motivation to put the pieces in place. I think those glimpses into Armand's history are going to intrigue him, maybe even endear him to Armand. When they're reunited he wont be able to resist going straight to the source. Which is good because Daniel finding him fascinating is going to melt Armand.

:/ we'll help you through it as much as & however we can

CAUGHT RED-HANDED CASTIEL!! 

So this is just one long blog on EYE-FUCKING, and fun other shipping stuff.  

“What do you say to someone in Dutch when you really like them?”

— “Klootzak.”

Coda to 12x23 based on this scene. 

The door opens with a creak, drawing Castiel’s attention from his hands. They have been mindlessly picking at a loose thread on his trench for however long he’s been sitting here. Dean enters, that same distracted, tired look on his face that’s present much too often nowadays. It takes a moment for Dean to realize he’s not alone in his room - that Castiel is sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Cas?”

“Sit down.”

Dean sighs, a quiet thing that makes his shoulders slouch as if the weight of the world was set upon them.

“Cas, it’s la–”

“You’re avoiding me.” It’s blunt, Castiel realizes. It’s the end of a long day, another hunt come and gone, and he knows Dean’s tired. But he’s come to his end with trying to get Dean to talk to him or even look at him. Something has been wrong ever since he came back. Sam seems perfectly fine; welcoming Castiel back with friendly smiles and conversation outside of working a case. Dean’s another story, though. Whenever Castiel walks into a room, Dean leaves. When they brush past each other in the kitchen, Dean flinches as if burned. There’s hardly any talking. Next to no eye contact. The times Castiel tries too hard to pull more than a few words out of Dean, it only results in a snippy remark. But Castiel can’t stand this wall that’s been built between them any longer.

When Dean doesn’t say anything, Castiel gets to his feet and approaches him.

“You and Sam are all I have. There’s no one else. So the way you’ve been brushing me off, snapping at me, just –” Castiel huffs a breath, feeling himself getting worked up. “Look, I don’t know what you’re so angry at or scared of and I can’t, for the life of me, figure it out because you’re avoiding me. But I’m scared too, Dean. I can’t deal with what happened alone and – and if you’re – if you won’t –” Castiel cuts himself off, words failing him inelegantly. “Please, Dean, I need…”

Castiel begins to reach out to put his hand on Dean’s shoulder just to be able to ground himself, but Dean’s hand flashes up to stop him from going any farther. Castiel glances at their contact, the grip on his wrist a little too tight, before he looks back into Dean’s troubled eyes.

“You died.” The words are soft. Then, as if saying them triggered something, anger builds within Dean’s expression, his voice becoming louder. “You died. You fucking died and I then I had to see you with your wings burned into the damn ground.”

Castiel’s rendered speechless, unable to do anything but stare into those heated green eyes.

“You wanna know what I’m scared of? I’m scared of everything, Cas! I’m scared to move, I’m scared to – to breathe. I’m scared to touch you,” Dean yells, a pain resonating underneath the anger. Emotion is making it hard for Castiel to take even the smallest of breaths. Then, in a gentler voice, Dean continues.

“I can’t lose you, do you understand that? I’ve already seen you – I’ve seen you die too many times, and it’s getting harder and harder to survive after that.” Dean drops Castiel’s wrist to point accusingly at him, the intensity returning to his eyes. Their faces are too close now, but Castiel doesn’t dare back away. “And that’s your fault, Castiel. You – you made me love you, you made me let you in. And then you fucking died in front of me!”

Castiel swallows thickly. Dean loves him.

He waits for Dean to continue, but it seems all the words have been drained out of him. Castiel takes a small step forward, setting his hand on the side of Dean’s face, a pang of – of something hurting him when Dean leans into the touch and closes his eyes. Castiel closes the space between them to press a soft kiss to Dean’s lips. It’s a second later that he realizes what he’s doing, and he’s about to pull back and apologize when Dean presses back, returning the kiss. Castiel feels wetness collide along the hand on Dean’s cheek. Despite Dean’s anger, the kiss is gentle and tender with only a hint of desperation taking form in the way his hands fist themselves into Castiel’s trench to pull him closer. In all the times Castiel’s imagined kissing Dean would be like, this was never one of them.

Castiel breaks the kiss after a moment, entirely overwhelmed by the past sixty seconds, but he doesn’t pull away. Instead, he leans his forehead against Dean’s as they breathe together, Dean’s a little heavier as more tears slip down his cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” Castiel whispers.

Dean breathes out a shaky breath. “I know.”