thinking about the DM chapter, and how Armand later says Daniel put him on a pedestal.
i think it's more complicated than that bc Daniel does see Armand for what he is and pushes back as hard as he can considering the power imbalance, when they have their disagreements. he goes on entire tirades to roast Armand ("you don't even know what taxes are, steal another Maserati and be done with it!"), but there is undeniably a blind spot in Daniel's pov and it's got everything to do with Daniel's own insecurities and his romanticization of vampirism.
Armand says, "you overestimate me or underestimate me. Seldom do you ever hit the mark." and it's always about power, what Daniel gets wrong. He thinks Armand is purposely creating this pull he has on Daniel, when in fact he's basically just going by Marius' book (Marius shared blood with Amadeo too when he was human so what could go wrong?). I don't think he knew what effect vampire blood has on mortals until it was too late.
Daniel thinks Armand is indestructable, can protect him from everything and find him everywhere, and time and time again Armand reminds him that's not true. Daniel calls him his demonic god but Armand says, "I am not omnipotent,". "Your faith touches me, but don't be my acolyte". "How can I protect you when I, myself, am so afraid?" Armand tells him plainly: he's not the oldest, sometimes he can't keep up with how fast Daniel runs, and he's in over his head re: what's happening since Lestat awoke Akasha. Could Daniel, who was so close to dying at the time, really understand this?
Yet he does see Armand's human side. His youthful laugh makes him drunk, but seeing Armand vulnerable and suffering is unbearable to him. but one of the big problems is: he thinks he's just a blip in Armand's long long life, and that makes him blind for the effect he himself has on Armand. bc he doesn't believe he can have that much power over a vampire, for one thing, and Armand specifically, for the another thing. He's being sarcastic in this exchange, but i think he really is surprised that Armand would weep over him.
anyway my point was supposed to be: I wonder how the chapter would look from Armand's pov. Because Daniel makes him out to be all suave and seductive in Pompeii, for example, or dark and mysterious when he waits for Daniel to come back to Night Island. but really I think Armand was mostly overwhelmed. Daniel believes Armand was pulling all the strings, but I don't think he was. I think sometimes when it came to Daniel, at the core of it all, he was just a young boy in love, frightened of the intensity of his own feelings and what they would do to them both.
