#I have had so many Armand feels lately | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

apoptoses · 1 year

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Armand lived in Venice during the absolute sluttiest period for mens’ clothes and I gotta talk about it.

Anne constantly used Botticelli as a reference for clothes (who was at his peak in the 1470s/1480s) but Armand was in Florence when Savonarola died, which puts him in Venice the late 1490′s. Fashion was moving fast, there was a big moral panic over society falling apart and becoming too secular, and in Venice it was time to let your inner ho out.

The look: Short. Tight. Made of as many expensive scraps as possible.

Let’s get into it.

The words used to describe clothes in TVA have zero basis in reality but were probably chosen because the average reader can picture a tunic easier than they can suss out what a cioppa was. So for quick reference:

Shift: a shirt (made out of linen, unless you want Armand to be the stinkiest boy in Italy. Shirts needed to be white, which meant they were bleached with piss, and ammonia eats away silk. So he could not have worn a silk shirt unless it was never going to be washed and he was happy to run around with pit stains, which would have been horrible). Considered an underwear layer.

Doublet: the renaissance equivalent of your shirt. Wool or silk, either is fine.

Cioppa: a pleated ‘tunic’ worn over your doublet, always sleeveless. Wool or silk.

Gamurra: your coat. Wool or silk.

Hose: pants, always made of wool flannel

So most folks reading probably picture Armand in something like this, ala Botticelli’s time:

Long cioppa, down mid thigh or to the knee, puffy sleeved doublet, not too risque. But this is like 25 years out of date by Armand’s time, and when he goes shopping it’s with a bunch of teenage boys with Daddy’s credit card. Marius, with his ever present Botticelli hard on, might have had them wear this stuff sometimes but this is not what a fashionable boy at the time would go out and buy himself.

Now the dude on the right here:

This is the look.

Doublet? Tight

Cioppa? Short

Ass? Out.

The entire point of the style was to show off your snatched waist and manly thighs and boy did the Venetians do just that.

Also doublets by this period were basically scraps of fabric tied together to show as much shirt as possible. Which was scandalous because your shirt is your underwear, so running around like this was the renaissance equivalent of wearing a sheer shirt with your bright pink bra exposed.

As a little rich boy and Master’s favorite, Armand would have been able to afford the finest linen, so sheer it would have been nearly see-through. Which makes a helluva statement when your doublet was split down the front like this:

His hose would be bias cut wool flannel for maximum stretch and maximum ass sculpting. Until the later 15th century hose were just thigh high stockings, and your doublet had to be long enough to cover your underwear. Now that doublets were being worn cut off at the waist hose had to be joined like modern pants. But how did you keep your junk safely in the trunk?

Enter the pre-cursor to the codpiece, which I mentally refer to as The Dick Flap:

This was a little triangle of fabric, shaped to hold your goods. It tied to the waist at each upper corner. Hose were so tight you couldn’t wear underwear (!) so you just had to tie your flap tight and go about your day. Like the modern zipper, it made for easy access (do with that info what you will)

This was the first time in European history that men just ran around with their full crotch emphasized and on display, so having your doublet so short it just all hangs out was both sexy and shocking to people.

But how did these pants stay up, you wonder?

Your pants would be tied to the hem of your doublet. Which meant that every day, Armand had to have someone lace him into his super tight clothes. I personally headcanon that he and Riccardo helped each other get dressed every day while he was mortal but you can feel your own fantasy on that one.

Another fun trend during the period was having your family emblem or a symbol of your trade embroidered on the sleeve of your gamurra:

Which Marius would have taken full advantage of, and put his fleur de lis in pure gold thread on every gamurra Armand had.

Here’s some more fashion fit pics just for fun:

Fleur de lis branding on the gamurra and the hose? Marius would have been into it.

The tied on sleeves! The shift pulled out of every seam! The renaissance man ass everywhere!

A plump and juicy young man indeed.

Anyways I hope this was useful or inspirational, or at least makes your next reread of the Vampire Armand more fun. Because the clothing descriptions in there don’t even begin to touch the painted on fashion fantasy that was going on in 1490s Venice.

(also if anyone really, really wants to see details on what Armand would have seen when he put on his clothes, I’m making a 1490s fit with all historically correct methods right now and I can post some of that if there’s interest)

#is it any surprise every living being in venice wanted to bang it out with amadeo when he was wearing all of *that*?#this is probably the nerdiest and most pedantic thing i will ever post #i refuse to feel shame #i hope this inspires some really slutty fanart #or some fic of someone lacing armand into his clothes #i need to edit my lestat/armand fic or i'd just write it myself lmao #armand #marius de romanus #the vampire armand #the vampire chronicles

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thesalemwitchtries · 7 months

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Dreaming Of a Grave: Chapter Two

Word Count: 3,190

Pairing: Matt Murdock x Named! Fem! Enhanced! Reader

Warnings: Descriptions of injuries sustained through physical assault (no implication of sexual assault at all, so maybe goons beat reader up in her apartment, but they weren't total pricks about it?), There is mention of a man being a creep towards young girls and physical violence against him because of it, the girls are fine, mention of distrust of police/government, Also I didn't change Mrs. Cardenas' existing dialogue, but for everything I created it's in Spanish, because the broken English being spoken when two other speakers are present and when she understands English just fine and then also being killed off for white male plot reasons... none of that sits right with me, so she speaks Spanish and Foggy is accommodated by Matt and Karen, as is perfectly common in an American setting I feel. I know that it was for an English speaking audience but still, subtitles or something. Also when they address her in Spanish they call her Sra, just because I've never spoke to someone in their native language and used an English title, it just was too weird for me to write it that way idk.

Masterlist

Thank you so much for reading! Any comments or feedback are much appreciated!

Also I am not a native Spanish speaker, I've been studying it for a long time, but I've been practicing French and Arabic more lately, which sometimes are all jumbled together in the Non-English half of my brain, so if you see something wrong or funky, please let me know, I would rather be corrected than go around not knowing, especially since it's my favorite language.

Another person might have struggled to focus when faced with the amount of turmoil that Matt Murdock was currently against. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for those who cared about him, Matt had been capable of excellent focus ever since he was young. Beyond being able to tune out any extra input or hone in on the important bits, when Matt cared about something, he could drive out everything except for his goal.

His problems with Fisk, the Russians, keeping Claire safe, that could all wait until after work. For now, his attention was locked in on the nervous woman who’d walked into their offices, claiming to have been directed there by Brett’s mother.

Karen helped to translate as Mrs. Cardenas spoke, given her soft voice and more gentle demeanor, Matt felt content to let her do the questioning while he listened in. According to Elena, two weeks ago men came to her apartment building and tore into the walls with sledgehammers, leaving many people without power or water. Their landlord refused to answer them or help, and when they went to the police, they were told that there was nothing to be done, it was an issue for the city to solve.

A whole building of people and families, left completely on their own. They deserved to have hope that justice would be served on their behalf. Nelson and Murdock could give them that, though it may take a few months in the courts.

The case that Mrs. Cardenas had brought them was daunting, to say the very least.

Armand Tully had a reputation as a predatory landlord. His properties were rent-controlled by the city, which was the only protection that tenants had against his greed. Buildings crumbled under his purview. Leaky pipes, faulty wires, and poor security all combined to leave only the most desperate candidates willing to build their lives in his apartments.

Tully presided over another twist in the cycle of poverty, ensuring his tenants had to spend their own money on these repairs and legal fees, money that could’ve been saved to afford a better landlord.

Worse still, no one could fight Tully. He kept barely within municipal code, and allowed other suits to be tied up in civil courts for as long as possible before doing the right thing. Matt and Foggy had detested running into his cases when they were interning, it felt like a betrayal of their roots.

To Matt, Wilson Fisk was like a blackout rolling through Hell’s Kitchen. Even when Fisk wasn't the direct cause, the increasing spread of darkness through the city was emboldened by his mere presence. The worst sides of everyone around him were encouraged, their greed and cruelty nurtured to monstrous levels.

People feared the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen for the pain left in his wake, but he wasn’t the one inspiring lowlifes like Tully to start smashing in the walls of family homes. All for a quick buck and an investment opportunity.

Elena’s voice wavered as she explained that the tenants had exhausted all of the options that they could. They were desperate, and it was a relief for Matt to know that at least he was still capable of making one right decision, it could even be easy.

Talking with Claire had him questioning if he really was doing more harm as the Devil than good, it certainly hadn’t been good enough to help protect her last night. However, if Matt hadn’t decided to leave Landman & Zack, he would be defending an asshole like Tully against a vulnerable woman like Mrs. Cardenas right about now.

Maybe he wasn’t doing the right thing as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen, in fact he was pretty sure that he wasn’t, but he couldn’t stop. The work had to be done, and if the city was going to paint people with sin, Matt would prefer it to paint him. If it did, then the people who deserved better could finally have better. Matt Murdock would be there in the daylight, always ready to listen out for the weak, to help them the way that God and his father wanted him to.

Karen walked around the table to offer Mrs. Cardenas a box of tissues. Meanwhile, Foggy was already moving on to next steps, thinking aloud about strategy; “This says Tully offered them 10,000 dollars to give up their rent control and vacate the premises. Maybe we can pressure him into giving a better payout.”

While that’d be the easiest solution, Matt knew before she spoke that Mrs. Cardenas wouldn’t go for it. He could hear her head and gold earrings shake in unison, and a whiff of aerosol hairspray accompanied the resolute motion.

“No, Señor Foggy. We do no want money. We want to stay in our homes,” she pleaded, barely holding back her tears while trying to get them to understand her position. Matt already understood, he wouldn’t want to leave his home either.

Matt remembers when aliens tore a hole in the sky and started smashing Hell’s Kitchen apart— as if anyone could forget something like that. He’d been sheltered with Foggy in their broom closet of an office at Landman & Zack, desperately trying to understand what was happening, worrying about the Nelson’s, and dreading the possibility that he may die before passing the bar. Below the more urgent panic, as the trembling ground and ear-splitting attacks slowed into one of the worst headaches of his life, Matt worried about Hell’s Kitchen, his apartment, if there would be even a scrap of home left to return to.

He had prayed for a long time that day. Just as he was about to reassure her, Mrs. Cardenas took a shaky breath and continued speaking.

“Hay algo más. Los obreros, son solamente un ‘city issue’. Pero, uno de mis vecinos, Ms. Charlotte, ella fue… atacada por ellos.”

“They attacked her?” Karen gasped, pen almost falling from her grip. She and Foggy exchanged a frantic look, and Matt’s back straightened, posture growing as stiff as the curl of his frown.

“Pienso que si, pero no me digas lo que sucedió—”

“She thinks so, but her neighbor won’t tell her what happened,” Karen translated, stumbling over the words a little in her shock.

Mrs. Cardenas grabbed another tissue from the box that Karen had provided for her as she spoke, explaining that she thought that her neighbor had been hurt while standing up to the workers.

With Karen intermittently translating for Foggy, Elena explained that once, an older man had been following some of the building’s young girls home from school. Rumor has it that when Charlotte found out, she began walking home with them to keep them safe. One day the creep dared to say something inappropriate, and Charlotte maced him. She then allegedly stomped so hard on one of his hands that the story says she broke every finger. Allegedly.

He never returned, and she leads a pigtailed parade into the building almost every afternoon.

Elena figured maybe Charlotte had tried to stop the damages, having been one of the only younger adults there that day, working from home. Many of the working tenants were out, leaving only children, older residents, and few others. People had been scared, many of the children down Elena’s hall had gone to hide in her own apartment. Mrs. Cardenas also swore that she’d seen Charlotte injury-free just that morning before the workers arrived.

“La próxima día, la ví en el vestíbulo. Charlotte tuvo moretones en la garganta y las muñecas, y en el pómulo— la piel está rota.” Mrs. Cardenas spat out the list of injuries as if they stung, jerkily motioning to her own body as she spoke. Karen turned her mouth into the palm of her hand and closed her eyes, Foggy looking between her and the stone-faced Matt.

“What does that mean? Guys, what happened?”

Foggy’s question was absorbed into the tense silence of the conference room.

Matt pulled his hands from the table and tightly knotted them in his lap. It was good that his glasses shielded the old woman acrost him from the full force of his glare, Mrs. Cardenas wasn’t the intended recipient of his rage. No, it was someone else entirely that he’d be searching for that night. The Devil had heard its name being called, and wanted nothing more than to punish the kind of worm that would beat a young woman in her own space. His fingers twitched, knuckles turning even whiter from the force of his restraint.

“Seriously, what did she say?”

Sensing the lump in Karen’s throat, Matt took it upon himself to answer Foggy’s question as best he could through the gritted frown on his face. He translated what Charlotte looked like when Mrs. Cardenas saw her in the building lobby the next day, from the bruises on her neck and wrists, to the one on her cheekbone that came from a hit so hard that the skin had split open.

“Jesus, and they still claim that these were contractors? Maybe brutes for hire, but certainly not plumbers.” Foggy scoffed, shaking his discomfort off in the only way that he knew how. Unknowingly, he’d set the Devil to work inside of Matt’s head, achingly familiar with the work of hired goons. Maybe there was more at play here. Or, you could be obsessed and paranoid.

“Did she say anything about what happened? Give some story or excuse?” Foggy asked, leaning in across the table. Karen picked her pen up again, turned to a fresh page of the notepad and copied down the injuries that Elena had described. The gentle scratching filled Matt’s ears as he thought. He arranged a tentative plan of action, the rest of the day could be spent on gathering information, and once the sun had fully set, he’d let the Devil pick his favorite of all the violent thoughts running through his head.

“Excuse? No, no. Ella no hablará con nadie sobre eso. Intenté muchas veces, y nada. Brett, el hijo de Bess, lo vistió, sin uniforme, sin placa. Pero ella, no… no budge.”

Shifting in her seat, Karen turned toward Foggy and Matt, head bowed towards the table as she spoke; “She won’t talk to anyone about it, Brett Mahoney visited without his badge and uniform, but she still wouldn’t explain.”

“Sra. Cardenas, por qué Charlotte no se ha ido a hacer una denuncia? No es ‘city issue’, eso es criminal, asalto con agresión.” Matt asked, wanting to know why an assault charge hadn’t been filed. Were there more cops on Fisk’s payroll then he’d thought? Maybe they’d dismissed the charges to cover up what had been done.

“Si, yo sé, y le dije. Nada.” Mrs. Cardenas spread her hands in defeat as she explained that even though she’d explained this to Charlotte, it had done nothing.

“Mrs. Cardenas, if those men hurt her, why won’t she file a report?” Foggy asked, brow furrowed as he tried to understand this neighbor. There were many reasons why victims of various crimes didn’t come forward, maybe if they could help to ease her fears, then they could move forward with charges.

It would certainly make the civil case more valid if they were also filing criminal charges against the workers.

“Pienso que está herida y tiene mucho miedo. Más por los funcionarios que los obreros. Ella fue tajante, no quiere hacer una denuncia, no quiere hacer nada sobre eso.”

This wasn’t good news for the civil case. Injured and scared, Charlotte wasn’t willing to file a report because she was more afraid of the officials than of the workers returning. She was firm about not doing anything. Matt wondered if someone had already convinced her not to step forward. Like that one scumbag had said, there’s gonna be another light in another window.

“Sra. Cardenas, vamos hacer todo que podamos. Foggy hablará con su abogado de la gentador esta tarde, y hablaré con tu vecina sobre sus opciones para ayuda. Estarámos en contacto.”

It was such a relief to hear that something would be done, to have a plan, and Elena sighed, reaching across to squeeze Matt’s hands, “Gracias, Senor Murdock. Muchas gracias.”

Karen led Mrs. Cardenas out of the office, and Matt explained to Foggy that he was going to be spending his afternoon speaking with Tully’s lawyers on behalf of the tenants.

“Tully’s lawyer?” Foggy asked, exiting the conference room hot on Matt’s heels, “Do you know who reps him?”

Matt grabbed his cane from the corner, not even attempting to hide his laugh before he turned back around, “Yeah, I know.”

“Landman and Zack!” Foggy insisted, arms gesturing at his sides in a way that agitated the air, the smell of anxiety wafting towards Matt. Apparently deciding that Matt didn’t quite get it, Foggy leaned forward, voice straining with hushed emphasis, “Landman and mother-freakin' Zack, man!”

Karen and her soft perfume breezed through the door behind him, having guided Mrs. Cardenas to the taxi waiting for her on the street below.

“Ooh, sounds impressive.” She made her way to her desk with the notes and information from their meeting, “Are they looking to hire?”

“Oh, you wouldn't be happy.” Matt said, gesturing to Foggy with his cane, “We used to intern there.”

“Oh, right.” Karen bobbed forward over the desk, how could she have forgotten about the first thing that Foggy brought up whenever the cooling fall air came in through cracks in the windows, or when the lights flickered, or if Matt breathed too loudly. Karen had made the mistake one of her first mornings on the job of thinking out loud about how nice a bagel would be for breakfast. Matt had groaned from his open office, and before she could ask, Foggy was suddenly opining in the reception space about a place where there were all the free bagels that you could eat, every. single. morning.

Foggy flicked his hands around in annoyance, defeat and coating his dry words, “And they offered us a job, a great job. Which we turned down to go off and save the world. Now they hate us.”

Karen and Foggy shared a smile as he finished his speech, all of them knowing that he wouldn’t change a thing, even for free bagels. As much as he complained about their circumstances, Matt knew that he loved what they were doing, that Foggy wouldn’t have survived long in a place like Landman and Zack.

Letting Foggy in was easy, it was impossible not to really, and staying friends with him was even easier because Matt saw that Foggy was one of those people that was effortlessly good. Unlike him with his devilish shadow, Foggy didn’t have to struggle to make the right choice. Greed and desire could tempt as much as they wanted, he wouldn’t cave, even if he pretended differently. When he knew something was wrong, Foggy Nelson would not do or endorse, and having him by his side always made Matt feel more at ease.

Already, he was moving away from sarcastic complaints, turning back to Matt so they could start working on a plan for how to approach this case. “We'll need to load for bear if we're gonna take them on.”

“I'll hit the precinct to check for complaints against Tully.”

Foggy’s panicked objection was cut off by Karen calling out, “Is that before, or after you go talk to Elena’s neighbor like you said you would?”

He released the hand that he’d had on the doorknob, he’d been so close to leaving. Unfortunately Karen seemed to have her own radar for picking things up, and she wasn’t always keen on offering slack. Matt could sense, but was in no way fooled by the innocent tilt of her head. Beside him, Foggy’s eyes narrowed. Just one step and he’d have been out the door, no such luck.

“After,” Matt nodded, having to accept defeat, “Thanks, Karen.”

“No problem,” she chirped back, mirroring the sarcastic smile that he’d given her. Hands spread between the two, Foggy abandoned his professionalism in favor of once again being annoyed at Matt Murdock.

“Wait, wait, hold on. How is it that I’m going to Landman and Zack, while you go and talk with the damsel in distress?”

It’s not as if Matt could say that he was going to speak with the neighbor not just for the case, but also for an illegal extracurricular activity where he would be using his super senses to try and identify the assailants. Matt sighed, shifting on his feet. Half-truth it is.

“Well, from what Mrs. Cardenas described, it seems like the only way that Ms. Tanner would answer the door for a man in a suit is if he looked like he needed help. What was it that you call it again?”

Foggy threw his head back, groaning for a long moment before facing Matt again. Though his face spelled his disapproval, his eyes shone with the reminder of their first meeting and love for his friend.

“The ‘wounded duck’, you’re gonna wounded duck yourself.” Foggy said, one hand on his hip and head bobbing. His free hand leveled an accusatory finger at Matt. “I swear she better not be hot, because this is becoming cosmically unfair. You need a new phone for all of your girls, and now I’m going to play chum while you’re off being a hero.”

“Chum?” Matt laughed, hearing Karen tilt her head in confusion, before her hair rustled with a shake and she focused back on organizing the new files. There were maybe three whole files in the whole cabinet, but Matt could hear her moving them around repeatedly on slow days. So, almost every day.

“Yeah, chum!” Foggy burst out, leaning forward to hiss out a plea to Matt, “I can't go to L and Z alone. They're gonna shark attack me, Matt. Look at me, I'm delicious.”

“Well, take Karen.” Matt said through his chuckling, pointing over at the woman who had been trying to mind her own business.

“I-I mean, yeah, if she wants to.” Foggy stumbled and shrugged, taken completely unaware by Matt’s suggestion. His heart raced despite the way that he was trying to play it cool, and Matt fought off a smirk.

“Oh,” Karen straightened with her own surprise at the action, before tossing her hands up. “Sure. Never seen sharks feed up close before.”

Matt chuckled as they all prepared to leave the office, “Try not to splash too much. It attracts 'em.”

“You both are so funny.” Foggy huffed in mock despair as he turned to grab a coat. The two just laughed louder. “That piece of notebook paper on the door has my name on it first, you know. Which means that only one of you is allowed to mock me at a time.”

Already out in the hall, Matt called over his shoulder, “Of course, that’s why we were taking turns.”

“Oh wounded duck off, Matt!” Foggy cried, and the laughter of his friends followed Matt all the way down the stairs and out onto the street.

#matt murdock x reader #daredevil x reader #daredevil x y/n #daredevil #slim ficc #matt murdock #dreaming of a grave #doag #daredevil x you #daredevil fanfiction #matt murdock x enhanced!reader #matt murdock x you #matt murdock fanfic #matt murdock fic #daredevil x female reader

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cosmicjoke · 1 year

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You know, it always stayed with me, when I first read “The Vampire Lestat”, the end, when Lestat reveals what happened to him in Paris with Armand, and reading it once again, I’m reminded of why it never left me. It’s maybe the most heartbreaking thing in the whole book, and that’s saying a lot, considering all the tragedies of Lestat’s life up to that point. Armand’s cruelty to Lestat here is breathtaking, the way he manipulates him, and then imprisons and starves him in order to place him in a desperate enough state to give testimony against Claudia and Louis, when already Lestat was in such horrifyingly dire straits. Making it all the more heartbreaking is the way Lestat holds no ill will or grudge towards either Claudia or Louis for what was done, how he even feels he deserved what they did to him, and the way he had no intention of revenge, or even knowledge of their presence in Paris, but how Armand uses him to exact his own revenge for Lestat’s rejection, a thing Lestat never even conceived, and a thing even if he had understood, he couldn’t have given to Armand anyway. It’s just so awful, and sad beyond words, the final blow being when Armand pushes Lestat from the roof of the tower. God, it’s brutal.

And the sadness of it is really driven home all the more when so many years later, Armand finds Lestat again, and Lestat is rotting away, cut off so completely from life and the world and humanity, with no real will to live, and we see the tragedy doubled in Armand’s own loneliness and despair, the way he’s wrought his own ruin too, deserted by Louis, his duplicity and manipulation and assault of before rendering any kind of genuine reconciliation with Lestat impossible. The way he tries one last time to win Lestat’s love and companionship, only he uses the same methods of deceit as always, conjuring illusions to win the love he craves. And it’s far too late, too much bad history between them, too many mistakes made, and Lestat is too far gone at that point for it to have ever worked.

I think what really drives these scenes home in their tragedy too is the kind of juxtaposition of Lestat and Armand, the way their roles have in a way reversed, with Armand decked out in the modern finery of the 20th century, moving among the modern world, while Lestat lies in ruin beneath the foundations of a rotted out relic of a house from the 18th century, clothed in rags and lost in despair and physical degradation. But both of them are totally alone still, cut off and outcast in their own ways. Armand’s strange obsession with Lestat, continuing to hang about near to him, and Lestat’s consuming despair at last driving him under the earth. It’s just such a powerful and poignant and heartbreaking study of loss and aloneness and what it means to be truly outcast. I felt so deeply for both of them while reading this, even with the horror I felt at Armand’s cruelty.

I think the paragraph that got me the hardest was this:

“The earth was holding me. Living things slithered through its thick and moist clods against my dried flesh. And I thought if I ever do rise again, if I ever see even one small patch of the night sky full of stars, I will never never do terrible things. I will never slay innocents. Even when I hunted the weak, it was the hopeless and the dying I took, I swear it was. I will never never work the Dark Trick again. I will just... you know, be the “continual awareness” for no purpose, no purpose at all.”

It speaks so hauntingly and with such sadness to Lestat’s true tragedy. That he feels so lost in the world as this being with no purpose, no use, no point.

His one and only consolation in life was this idea that he could give his life meaning through doing good in the world, and he’s left now an immortal who can give his eternal life no meaning at all.

Ah, I weep.

How can one not feel for Lestat? How can one ever accuse him of being a shallow or frivolous person? I’ll never know. He’s anything but.

#Lestat De Lioncourt #The Vampire Lestat #armand

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isnovelman · 11 months

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Isn't Being A Wicked Woman Much Better? Side Story Chapter 8

***

'Hmm. By the way, Michelle Granbert is more than a princess's friend... .'

I feel like an ardent believer.

During the battle with the Warlock, I lent her a joint doll to serve as a bait, so I thought she was pretty close to the princess, but Michelle's condition was a little different from being a friend.

“Wow, Princess. Doesn't my face look weird now? I’m so nervous.”

Michelle asked me about her condition with a pale face. Her clenched fists were trembling with tension from before.

“Originally, you’re on the white side, so you don’t look much different from usual. But, are you so nervous? ”

After all, Deborah is the saint who saved the empire.

The other day, there weren't many people who recognized her true worth, and she was with the devil, but after the battle, it was definitely felt that her followers increased.

“I really can't believe it. I didn't expect it, actually, I prayed, but I wasn't very lucky, so I never dreamed that I would be invited to this event. It is such an honor and thank you again, Princess.”

Michel Granbert, who was invited to this tea party due to the whim of the princess, had trouble sleeping from the day she was invited.

Everyone was envious of themselves attending a tea party with two celebrities from the Empire... . I never liked her because she was a saint!

Michelle took great pride in not being late.

'The owner of Armand, whom I had only vaguely imagined, was Princess Deborah! She even had a sublime side job of being a saint.'

Tea time with the person whom I admired enough to prepare a tribute to the doll to secretly present and even write an analysis thesis!

“You are a very successful person. It was good to be alive.”

Michelle was thrilled.

“But I didn’t know that you would be in front of the imperial family since dawn. Damn I came out early.”

“If you are late for even one second, it is a big deal. So, it is more comfortable to wait in the morning.”

“Huh, yes, that aside, I’ve been concerned about it since a while ago, but what did you have in your hand?”

“It's a script...”

“I don’t know why I need a script for the tea party, but I’m skipping this one, so what did I write down?”

The 5 princesses showed curiosity as they looked at the paper note that Michelle had been holding like a lifeline before.

“… Listen to what I have to say when we meet. this and that.”

“Can I see her?”

While Michelle was hesitating, the news came that the princess had just arrived in front of the Imperial Palace.

“Princess, I suddenly feel dizzy with my tongue…”

Suddenly, Michelle staggered and touched her forehead.

“Wake. You've been waiting since dawn If you fall down like this, you won't be able to see for even a second. ”

“I'll hold out.”

Michelle clenched her teeth and nodded her head resolutely.

Soon after, Princess Deborah appeared through the door, and Michelle managed to suppress the scream.

“How have you been, Princess?”

Princess Deborah greeted her with her characteristic cold expression. However, Princess 5 could now read the warmth in her eyes.

“Thanks to you.”

The two made eye contact and shook hands lightly.

“Did the princess do well too?”

“Yeah, thanks to the princess, I’ve been able to rest and have a good time.”

“But we decided to call each other names, Deborah.”

“It is, Vivienne.”

Seeing the two of them calling their names affectionately, Michelle rolls her feet and wanted to strengthen her feet.

'I'm so envious of you, Princess. I want to ask you to call my name so friendly! '

Although she was yelling out violently inside, Michelle, like a high-ranking nobleman, was adept at hiding her emotions.

“My Michelle, it’s been a while.”

Deborah greeted her, hiding her inner awkwardness.

In front of the company who wrote an analysis thesis about Armand and even promoted it as a five-star restaurant, I was a bit pricked in conscience because I pretended to know nothing about it and was hiding my identity.

In addition, to lure the 3rd Prince by boat, Michelle borrowed what he had, but he dropped the doll in the water and was unable to return it.

'I said in the first place that I don't have to give it back, but... .'

Since she's Princess Seymour, maybe she couldn't ask for the money back.

Deborah glanced at her, and Michelle barely raised her voice, her pupils trembling.

“Princess, it’s been a while.”

“Last time I suddenly asked you to borrow a doll for the boat, thank you for willingly allowing me.”

'It's just an honor for the princess to remember and even use my doll to do something big! Another honor! So there's no need to thank you with such a gracious attitude... Sobbing.'

However, Michelle could not utter the sentences that quickly passed through her head. It was because she was so crazy that her eyes became white as she got entangled with the lines of the script she had written in advance.

‘Just don’t prepare anything. '

“Michelle?”

The 5 princesses lightly called out to Michelle, who seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.

'I guess I'm a little uncomfortable.'

Deborah opened her mouth with a humble face, thinking that Michelle was having a hard time with her face just looking at her face.

“Seymour will surely pay you back. It will not be easy to find a work worth as much as a doll that you made, but I want to reward it.”

'uh? Wait, I guess it's time to spit out those lines?'

Michelle, who suddenly remembered a line from the script, managed to tear her lips apart.

“It’s a reward. Don't say that. I can feel the wall from the princess.”

“At first, my face was a little cold… .”

“...perfect”

“.....”

The 5 princesses, who had been silent for a while in the difficult atmosphere, muttered painstakingly.

“Aha, perfection is a barrier.”

“… I'm just going home sorry!”

Michelle jumped up, dyeing her pale face like a ripe apple.

“hey!”

When she couldn't stand the shame and tried to run away, the silent princess suddenly covered her mouth and shook her shoulders.

Seeing her smile for the first time, Michelle relaxed her legs and sat down.

“ where is the handkerchief?”

Michelle mumbled gibberish.

“Why, you said you were getting dizzy from excitement earlier, but this time you look like you’re going to have a nosebleed?”

“no. Princess Deborah smiled, so the juice was splashing all the way here.”

“.....”

laughter means as fresh as fruit.

“You have to wipe… . ”

“… Would you like some tea?”

“Yes. sorry.”

“Until I’m sorry. It's just the head of the empire's best puppeteer... Hmmm, the sense of humor is just amazing. Every time you say something like a gem, it feels like you're facing the wall of another world. Absolutely perfect. ”

It didn't seem like a compliment for some reason, but Michelle was satisfied.

'I'm embarrassed, but it's okay because the princess smiled.'

Anyway, it was the script produced by this vain greed to spit out the memorable lines of the person I admire, but it worked.

'I got on.'

While Michelle dies inside, Princess Deborah raises the teacup with a smile on her face.

“The tea smells really good.”

“Yes, it is very good. ha… .”

“I brought the tea leaves my father loved, especially for you. If there is a wall that has remained for each other, even tear it down and sleep. Of course, it's not perfect. haha.”

“… I will never do that again... .”

“why? It’s fun.”

'They're both having a good time.'

The awkward spot was warmed up by Michelle's jokes, and Deborah sipping tea while listening to their chatter among her peers.

“Ah, princess. do you know that There is no purple amethyst these days, so I can't sell it. ”

“Purple silk and yarn are also trendy. I tried to wear all the dolls I own, but some were out of stock.”

“I am thinking of suggesting that sooner or later, the color of the imperial emblem should be changed to purple instead of blue sky.”

“What the hell… .”

Deborah was smirking inwardly, but, as always, her expression didn't show it well. And it gave the impression of being detached from popularity.

“cool.”

Michelle said first.

“Then, of course not. You are my girl.”

“......”

'They are really close friends.'

Deborah tried to ignore the twinkling gazes of the two of them, while involuntarily fiddling with her sweaty ring fingers. It was a habit that I suddenly developed as I recently wore my engagement ring every day.

And their eyes naturally stayed in the ring.

“Hmm. I heard that she was engaged to Princess Deborah and the Duke of Visconti. congratulations.”

“thanks.”

“I, that, by the way.”

Michelle shyly curled her lips and bit, then pulled it off.

“At the wedding, the… May I be your bridesmaid? huh, if there are any seats left.”

In Asteia, on the day of the wedding, four or five friends of the bride stood next to the bride holding flowers. It was one of the traditions that stemmed from the custom of protecting the bride from outsiders.

“I am unconditionally sitting next to the princess. Don't look too far, Michelle.”

“Still, the left side is empty.”

Deborah felt a strange feeling as she looked at the two of them fighting. She once said that she was the object of fear, and she didn't even have a young girl who made proper eye contact with herself... .

In addition to the two of them, Margaret and Arin came to me saying they wanted to have another bridesmaid. I've been busy with my life, but when I woke up, I was really surprised and happy that there were so many people congratulating me on my marriage.

The princess smiled softly as she slightly curved her sharp eyebrows.

'Ugh.'

His eyes were dazzled for a moment, and Michelle looked around his eyes... .

‘Isidor, you envious child. '

5 The princess seriously went to Isidor with the latest offensive magic tool collection and almost had a political battle.

Keep supporting me with like, comments & share. Your support encourage me to upload next chapter faster. Thank you.

#novel translate #light novel #novel #villainess #isekai #reincarnation #isn't Being A Wicked Woman Much Better novel #isn't Being A Wicked Woman Much Better manhwa #isn't Being A Wicked Woman Much Better side story chapter 8 #side story chapter 8 #side story 8 #isn't Being A Wicked Woman Much Better novel translate #isn't Being A Wicked Woman Much Better side Story 8

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hekateinhell · 10 months

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As far as I can tell, it doesn't seem like synesthesia was really on the radar until the 80s-90s but even then I don't know if it would have come up in any of the classes Armand took with Daniel.

From what I found, synthesia started popping up as early as the late 1680s but it didn't really take off until the 1800s, then it died down between the 1930s-1980s when the research trends in psychology veered in another direction.

I often think about Lestat watching feral Armand tearing through the books in TVL, and even if he wasn't actively engaging with the human world until the DM era, I headcanon Armand was still a pretty well-read guy during the decades at the theater!

Louis makes note of the books in Armand's lair in IWTV (one of many things he was "powerfully attracted" by). No idea where these books came from — how many are Lestat's, are they old or new, etc. So it's possible Armand might've stumbled on something he perhaps could have applied to himself at some point. He must've had some thoughts on Lestat and Gabrielle when Freud became prevalent (he had read baby Lestat's mind, he knew).

But really what I wonder is if a vampire like Armand (or Louis or Lestat for that matter), would have the capacity and/or desire to label themselves with a "human" condition.

Tbf one of my first Louis headcanons was him picking up the DSM-5 and secretly diagnosing Lestat and Armand within an inch of their lives and then slamming the book shut as soon as he sees something that maybe also applies to him. He's a hypocrite like that (affectionate).

But I think in-universe having the language and information to recognize a neurological condition like synesthesia and things of that nature would be good for them, make them feel less "othered" than they already do by virtue of their existence.

#you ask and hekate answers #vc #armand

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nightcolorz · 6 months

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i’m late but for the ask game: armand 6, 8, 25

YIPPIE!! Thank u sm for sending this, I’ve been pretty severely injured lately and I woke up feeling so shit and sad, so getting this notif absolutely made my day. Armand !!! He is my favorite character in anything ever. I have literally never been so insane about a guy before. U picked some great questions so I’m super excited about this.

6. What's something you have in common with this character?

I identify strongly with Armand for a lot of weird little reasons. I think the root of it is transgender and autism stuff if I’m honest 😭 Im going to try not to get tooo personal 👍👍 but I will let’s be honest, I will get personal. I can relate to being fetishized and characterized for my sort of androgynous/pretty/boyish appearance while I feel like how I look doesn’t truly reflect who I am as a person. I definitely get the struggle of being demeaned and treated like a child bcus of the juvenile ish appearance transitioning can give you. I also can relate to being demeaned and treated like a child because of my social awkwardness (due to autism) that causes many ppl to assume I’m unintelligent or immature, need to be treated gently or talked to slowly, etc. I see these parts of myself reflected in Armand ofc in different more vampiric ways, and having a character who is infantilized and talked down to while also fetishized and sexually exploited for a perceived innocence that isn’t reflective of who he really is at all, a guy who is also very strange and awkward and doesn’t act right, who is also simultaneously very bad ass (imo lmao) in his shamelessness and his overtly violent and freak of nature attitude, is weirdly very validating and empowering for me, lmao. He is like the weak shameful parts of myself if the weak shameful parts of myself had teeth. 👍👍👍 Yeah 😁😁😁😁 Armand 🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

lmfaooo, I’m so happy u picked this one bcus I love complaining and being a hater 😍 I am sorry in advance if I say anything that ruffles any bodies feathers, just bcus I don’t like these things ppl do doesn’t mean I don’t like the ppl who do them, y’all do u I’m not stopping u. Anyways.

I don’t enjoy how a handful of amc exclusive fans characterize Armand, because you can tell they rlly only understand him based on Wikipedia reads and his brief appearance in the show so far, which results in this sort of glaring simplification of his character in fan content. This wouldn’t rlly bother me if not for how prevalent it is 😭 like it’s genuinely difficult for me to find interesting and in character fanfic about Armand bcus so much of it is uniformed. The amc fandom sort of dominates the tvc fandom, it’s just so big. I don’t like when Armand is reduced to Louis’s new scary hot boyfriend/Lestat replacement/potential villain. It feels like he’s often perceived through this lens of a role in the story, like “hm this guy seems like a potential villain”, “no I think he’s a new love interest”, which is a conversation I find no appeal in at all considering you can’t fit the Armand I love into any of these narrative boxes. This isn’t rlly smth I have personal beef with bcus there’s no harm in fans of the show characterizing armand based on there limited knowledge while they wait for the next season, but for me it’s a pet peeve you know, as someone who rlly rlly likes armand a lot 😭.

(This is the exception to my no hate to u if u do this disclaimer btw, all the hate to u). on the subject of amc fans, I also often see this hostility towards fans of book Armand, where I’ll see amc fans talking about how perverse he is conceptually in the books and how gross ppl who like him are, which REALLY makes me very mad, because ok. Listen. Show armand is not a character yet, any and all things you enjoy about armand as of now as someone who hasn’t read the books are 1. How he looks. And 2. Things from the books that you apply to him in a new context. Assad’s performance, the people working on the show, the writers, everything that you base your enjoyment of armand in, is from the books 😭 But god forbid someone enjoy the source material over the hypothetical character who barely exists yet? God forbid someone do the same thing u do (take smth arguably morally dubious and interpret it in a way that u find interesting and compelling while acknowledging the morally dubious source material) just not in the context of an adaption. Ok. God forbid I enjoy and identify with an adult character trapped in the body of a child who is misperceived for his youth and sexually abused, it’s not like this is the same concept of beloved amc Claudia anyway. It’s also not like I am capable of enjoying something while criticizing it and disliking it’s flaws, and coming to conclusions based on critical thinking and analysis of concepts that may have been executed poorly, that I still admire and enjoy, bcus I am capable of complex thinking, and I don’t need to blindly enjoy every part of smth and perceive it as flawless to enjoy it. We all know that’s fake ! Anyways sorry for the angry rant 😭😭😭 moving on.

On a separate note, I also sometimes have beef with how fellow book armand fans portray him. This is small and sort of petty but it bothers me when Armand is drawn as like, very small and skinny. Maybe it’s bcus I head canon him as chubby and sort of cherub-built, maybe it’s bcus in TVA armand describes himself as strong in build and “not waif-ish”, but either or it does feel sort of wrong and off putting when I see Armand drawn as like, so small and petite that it’s emphasized. To me this reads as a missing of the point, if you will. An emphasis on physical qualities representative of innocence and youth that aren’t reflective of Armand’s character, only rlly how some other characters see him. I can often tell when an Armand fan enjoys him for the superficial qualities (eternally young, angelic looking, etc) over who he is, and it always encourages me to steer clear. I hope I’m making sense lol. This is also sometime present in fic but it’s more subtle and difficult to describe. Anyways

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I was thinking about this yesterday! I was first introduced to Armand when I was maybe 11 or 12, my dad put on 94 interview with the vampire for me and my twin sister while he did work around the house etc. he started watching it with us (he loves 94 iwtv) but by the time Armand showed up at the half way point he got up and started doing other things, so my sister and I were alone in front of the screen. For some reason lost to time my sister and I were very excited about seeing Antonio Banderas, maybe because we knew him from Zorro, so in the aftermath of the buffoon scene with Santiago that we found really funny, when Antonio Banderas appeared on screen we were hyped tf up. We were so enthralled in the moment of his cunty ass entrance we started cheering and clapping and screaming 😭 I think shrieking ARMANNNDDD!!!! At the screen (with no knowledge of who armand even was) Till I started laughing to tears is in my top ten formative moments. My first viewing of iwtv was just like that 😭 there was smth in the water that had my sister and I loosing our fucking minds with excitement over that movie. Anyways, I only immersed myself into the fandom and got rlly into tvc just last year, when I read interview with the vampire (smth that’s always been in the back of my mind since my first viewing, I really did love that movie) and then the rest of tvc. When I was reading interview with the vampire I had that subconscious excitement over Armand’s half way point appearance brewing from the get go (every time my sister and I have watched iwtv together since we were 12 we’ve done the same screaming at the screen ritual for armand) so when I was re introduced to him I was instantly attached to him. I very quickly discovered how much I was enthralled by this guy, like by his first appearance and description it went from a weird little nostalgic affection to a “omfg I feel many inexplicably strong feelings for this guy”. He was just so magnetic and weird, I was intrigued by every thing about him, like Louis lol. I started drawing him a bunch b4 I’d even finished the first book, and by the time I was introduced to him in tvl he was my favorite character. Tvl really solidified my armand obsession, and queen of the damned made me the person I am today 😭 insane. I think my impression of him now should be obvious at this point 😔 he is my silliest guy every morning I wake up and he is the first thought in my mind I cry about him daily I worship him like he’s my god sometimes I see a blender and I am so overwhelmed with emotion I want to scream if a professional looked into my brain and saw all the armand in there they’d diagnose me with super mega autism. I like him a lot. 🫶

Thank you sm for sending this ask once again! I’m sorry it’s so long lol, hope my responses were interesting. This is the ask game in question for anyone who may potentially want to send me more asks: https://www.tumblr.com/nightcolorz/734243514562510848?source=share I would cry with joy if so.

#tvc #the vampire chronicles #vampire chronicles #vc #armand #The vampire armand #interview with the vampire #Iwtv #anne rice #Armand iwtv #armand tvc #armand vc #ask game

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apoptoses · 2 months

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I CAN'T believe that was your first time writing femslash! You're such a gifted writer, I feel like I can't stress it enough fr 🥹

Such a fun (and stupidly hot) experience to read this version of them, you captured their dynamic so perfectly but made the little differences so palpable and enjoyable.

“Daniel. What is a ‘kotex’ pad, and why does it say that it has wings?” lmfao please I need her so badly. Felt for Daniel's horrendous experience with period cramps at the drugstore tho, been there way too many times (but sadly I've never had a hot redhead trailing after me). And her struggle with femininity and butchness and not fitting in, ugh. She's absolutely perfect.

Armand's Farrah Fawcett hair killed me!! She absolutely would and she would want to know every single thing about tampons and watch Daniel put one in in front of her (honestly boy!Armand would too imo) and then eat her out in a semi-public space AND buy her all the candy she'd been thinking about. Dynamic of all time in every universe I swear.

So grateful for you and this fandom for giving me the opportunity to spend a whole weekend reading femslash xoxo DA, hope you see you around more often! 🥹❤️❤️

omg thank you!!! I was so nervous about it because one, I'd never written femslash, and then two adding the butch/femme dynamic to the mix felt like a vulnerable thing? It really turned into a piece about self esteem and identity but I think the smut melted that aspect out of everyone's minds, so maybe it didn't resonate like I'd hoped lmao

But YAY I'm glad it was still them even with that major aspect of who they are changed. That was the biggest challenge, I think, keeping them who they are while adding these new internal conflicts.

And yeah absolutely Armand would want to know all about these feminine hygiene products lmao That felt like a Copley moment, 'I didn't know what you wanted so I got you one of everything', except this time instead of michelin star food it's menstrual products and pharmacy candy lmao Even when Daniel wins he/she loses because now every single item is gonna have to be consumed and explored so Armand can get a secondhand experience.

I'm so glad you liked it!! And I'm so happy the fandom did this too, we don't get enough lady-love around here ❤️

And I'm hoping to be around more, I have a fic idea cooking which...idk if anyone will actually want, but Daniel's first visit to Venice and his experience reading Armand's words from his interview with Louis vs the real, in person encounters with Armand is heavy on my mind lately. I've got lots of feelings about Armand and people pleasing, and his acts of voyeurism so hopefully it'll cook up into something palatable. Fingers crossed!! ❤️

#apoptoses answers #dungeon anon

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allegra-writes · 8 months

Text

"The Lookalikes"

Louis De Pointe Du Lac x Lestat De Lioncourt & Claudia; Armand x Daniel Molloy

General Audiences

Warnings: Bit of angst, canon typical homophobia.

SERIES MASTERLIST | MY MASTERLIST

Like so many incidents in Lestat’s life, it had all started with Armand.

Armand loved kids, they were chaotic, energetic, and curious like himself, and like himself, they didn't understand why things had to be a certain way because of an implicit set of arbitrary rules. And, since Armand didn’t talk down on them and was always so generous when dealing with them, kids usually liked him back.

Except for Claudia.

From the moment they had met, they had instantly disliked each other. Every time they looked at each other, it was to be expected that little Claudia would scrunch up her nose and Armand would stick out his tongue at her in reply.

Claudia did, however, love Armand’s boyfriend, Daniel. The second she had laid eyes on the curly-haired boy she had, for lack of a better word, adopted him. Leading him by the hand, pointing at things, and babbling extensively at him, as if she were explaining the world to him . And lately, even exclaiming "Good job!" enthusiastically whenever Daniel correctly completed a task, like tying his shoelaces or drinking from his cup, just like Louis and Lestat did with her.

Brilliant baby that she was, Claudia soon realized Daniel and Armand were a package deal, so she started tolerating the latter and even getting excited when he came visiting because it meant Daniel was not far behind. Of course, Armand liked anything and everything that made Daniel happy, and that way, an uneasy alliance was born between the man and the toddler.

Lestat was less than impressed by this development, and he made his displeasure known to his husband.

“He’s a bad influence” He complained to him one Sunday morning, watching Claudia and Daniel play with some legos as Armand sat on the floor beside them facing the TV, boredly drifting through the channels with his cellphone once Lestat took the remote away from him. “He’s evil. And rude. He’ll teach Claudia to- to…” He stammered, clearly unsure how to finish that sentence.

Louis arched an unimpressed eyebrow.

“You don’t even know how to finish that sentence, do you?”

Lestat huffed, looking for all the world like an offended chicken puffing up its feathers

“Course I do” He lied. Louis narrowed his eyes at him, but as if on queue, Armand chose that moment to interrupt.

“Claudia, look! Your Dada is on TV!”

Lestat’s heart leaped to his throat, little Claudia was not allowed to watch his music videos. However, as his eyes fled to the screen, it was not his face Lestat was confronted with, neither Armand’s nor David’s or Ben’s.

It was a cartoon.

It was Shrek, or more precisely, Prince Charming on the screen Armand was pointing at, while Claudia turned her head from the TV to her dad, considering.

"That!" Lestat exclaimed, feeling vindicated. "He's going to teach her that!"

To Lestat’s chagrin but not surprise, his husband was fighting a smile.

"You have to admit the resemblance is uncanny"

"I have no idea what you're talking about" He scoffed in reply, flipping his hair dramatically like he always did when he was feeling, well, dramatic.

Apparently it was the wrong thing to do, because Daniel made a sound comparable to that of a dying animal, burying his face on the nearest pillow as Claudia laughed, delighted.

"Again Dada! Again" She demanded.

"Little tyrant" Lestat growled under his breath. However, he indulged his little princess, repeating the gesture, as Claudia clapped and cheered.

"Again Mand!"

Armand obeyed with a gracious bow of his head, rewinding the movie to play the exact moment Charming flipped his luscious animated mane just like Lestat had done.

Ever since then, Claudia had searched for similarities between the animated shows and movies she enjoyed and the world and people around her, a behavior they unwittingly reinforced when they took her to the local aquarium and she got to see the clown fish in person. She spent the whole afternoon shouting loudly about Nemo and refusing to leave that particular tank until closing time.

And so, Aladdin became Uncle Mand, Linguini Uncle Dan, and Merida was Auntie Jess. In hindsight, it seemed obvious it was only a matter of time until she found a Louis lookalike to latch onto. Thanks to Lestat’s lucky star which let’s face it, it was probably the fucking sun, it appeared in his time of direst need.

Being the frontman of a successful rock band predictably came with a lot of touring, so it was usual that Louis stayed a lot of nights home alone with Claudia with Lestat gone, not the other way around. But when Florence, Louis’ elderly and very much homophobic mother got sick, it was his turn to leave the house and the safety of his beloved little family behind. And, while Lestat understood it was to protect baby Claudia from the nasty Lady’s hatred and bigotry, his baby didn’t.

“Shhhh, it’s ok baby, please don’t cry” He was begging, close to tears himself as he gently swung from side to side in front of the TV with a wailing Claudia in his arms. “Look at the nice, colorful cartoons!”

“Papaaa!” She demanded, screaming, not very interested on the movie and throwing dirty accusatory looks at her dad, clearly blaming him for her Papa’s absence, “I want my papa!”

“Me too, cherie, me too” Lestat lamented, “I miss papa a lot too”

“PAPAAAAA!”

“DON’T YOU DISRESPECT ME, LITTLE MAN!”

Lestat jumped as the animated guy on the TV bellowed so loudly little Claudia was shocked into silence. He risked lowering the audio to a less aggressive volume, but Claudia seemed already hypnotized.

“Don’t you derogate… or deride” The cartoon of a tall, thin black guy with an extremely small waist started singsonging, while an open-mouthed Claudia watched in complete awe, “You’re in my world now, not your world… and I got friends on the other side…”

“Papa?”

Lestat snorted inelegantly but quickly covered it with a polite cough when Claudia turned to him looking far too affronted for a two-year-old.

“I get it, ma cherie, I do. I can see the resemblance, though I personally think your dad has nicer teeth. But he does use big words like your papa does, doesn’t he?”

“Big wods!” Claudia agreed, before cheering in excitement when Dr. Facilier declared he had Voodoo and hoodoo and “Things I ain’t even tried!”, although that, Lestat admitted, could be because of the flaming face he conjured on screen. Claudia seemed to share her papa’s, ahem, affinity with fire. Whatever the reason, she fell in love with the witch doctor, certain it was her papa playing with her on the TV. Lestat replayed his song so many times he ended up memorizing the words and Claudia wore herself out dancing and signing with him.

“Love you, papa” She told the TV, right before planting a big kiss on the screen, while Lestat snapped a quick picture with his cellphone to send to Louis, who had been snubbing his calls and texts since morning, worrying him slightly. It was typical for Louis to close himself off when his mental health started deteriorating.

And there was nothing more toxic for Louis’ mental health than mean old Florence De Pointe Du Lac.

* * *

Louis was exhausted, but more than that, he was disheartened. It didn’t matter to his mother that it was Lestat’s money that was paying for her medical bills at the best facility in the United States, she did not approve of Louis’ relationship with him and would make it known at every chance she could get, but Louis was already expecting that.

What the rookie father had not been expecting, was his own sister, Grace, bringing into question his and Lestat’s adequacy to raise their little girl together.

His eyes burned with unshed tears as he closed the hotel room door behind him with more force than necessary. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself underneath eighty pounds of blankets and cry his heart out when his phone vibrated with Lestat’s latest message. Louis was ready to ignore it like all the others he didn’t have the emotional energy to reply when he saw it was a photo attachment.

Curious, he opened it to find it was a live pic, of course it was, Lestat still didn’t know how to take ordinary pictures with his iPhone, and it was the most adorable thing ever. O rather, the second most adorable thing ever, because it was their little baby girl in the image, kissing the TV screen where a cartoon of a black man was smiling. Under the pic, Lestat had explained,

She thinks it's her papa.

And it was like coming alive again, his chest filling with warmth, the feeling expanding, growing until it seeped into his arms, his fingers, his feet. Suddenly, it was clear to Louis: Florence, Grace, her husband, they didn’t matter. Their judgment, their toxicity, he didn’t have to take any of that anymore.

Because they weren’t his family. He had built a better one, a more loving one, with Lestat and Claudia and Armand and Daniel and all of his friends. A family he could be himself with, and that loved him all the more because of it. He owed everything to them.

But to Florence and Grace, he didn’t owe anything anymore.

A quick internet search later, he was throwing his clothes hastily into his small suitcase and calling an Uber. Phone still in hand, he typed a reply to his husband:

I’m flying home tonight.

#iwtv claudia #amc interview with the vampire #louis de pointe du lac #lestat de lioncourt #loustat #fluff #fanfiction #armand x daniel molloy

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monstersinthecosmos · 6 months

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i know i'm super late to the character ask game but if you're still up for it: 2, 3 and 21 for armand!!

of course I am still up for it! We always have time to talk about the baby boy!!

(character asks!)

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Gosh he is such a SURVIVOR. Like even thinking back to IWTV how he tells Louis like how few vampires have the stamina for immortality. I think there's a deeper conversation to be had about vampires' fear of the afterlife/unknown and like how to we measure survival against that fear, but! He's survived. And he did try to end himself once. But he's survived. And he's been through the worst of it! He's a lil trouper.

Also I was just thinking about this today actually that Marius went into the ground for the first time around Armand's (current) age, like ~400-500 something and like. I JUST WONDER IF ARMAND NEEDS A NAP.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

Literally can't think of it anything, next question!

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

!!!!!!! UGH. I love making him WEIRD. Like, writing fanfic is in so many ways just a CELEBRATION of characters & stories and so I really enjoy exaggerating things about him that maybe canon glossed over. So for example in Devil's Minion era fics I really want us to sit with the fact that he's a weird creepy predator. And writing Amadeo or writing human AUs I want to really emphasize that he's weird. ((I also feel like, I have ethical reasons against diagnosing fictional characters bc it's a slippery slope to making sweeping stereotypes about conditions! BUT! He has so many neurodivergent traits that really resonate with me and I like to emphasize that when I write him because it gives me an outlet to talk about my own experiences. :) ))

Something I DON'T like is that I get really hung up on meta when I'm writing and I really agonize over character motivations WHICH CAN BE FUN but sometimes I worry if he's going over my head and sometimes I worry I don't truly understand his religious fanaticism. So big big apologies if my Armands are ever OOC!!!! I'm doing my best!

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covenofthearticulate · 10 months

Text

Tagged by @desertfangs and @hekateinhell to talk about fic/art concepts that are on my mind but haven't officially made it to the wip stage yet!

I’ve always wanted to write something where Lestat and Louis just get to wrestle LMAO I think about that Bayou Mud Wresting scene in iwtv a lot like asdfghjsjbng not only is that lowkey super hot, but idk I just think Lestat’s love language is so heavily rooted in physical affection, I’d love to do a study where I get to write about him getting so overwhelmed with affection he just has to tackle Louis to the ground. I want the boys to be boys!!!!!!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately of what a follow up would look like to this drabble I wrote a while back, discussing Louis and Lestat’s sexuality. I do think Louis is genuinely kinda fascinated with Lestat’s bisexuality, so I always wonder how he would react if Lestat ever did get around to staging a “demonstration.” It’s not his particular cup of tea, but I want Louis to get turned on watching Lestat get turned on from eating out Bianca (or someone else, but tbh I think Bianca would be the most fun, and the most game for it).

I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted a low-stakes fluff piece about Armand at the aquarium okay. He needs the enrichment. I want him to look at weird ugly fish and infodump to his boyfriend.

Okay, so. Even though I KNOW trinity gate and auvergne are where most of the vamps spend their time post-canon, when I imagine loustat in my head, even contemporary, 2023 loustat, I can’t see them anywhere else but New Orleans. I want to write about them settling back in NOLA for good one day. I’ve had this one scene tableau stuck in my head for a long time, about Louis living with Lestat in court and just getting so incredibly anxious and depressed and Lestat catches him crying one night and Louis confesses that he just wants to go home. Their Rue Royale apartment has been through so many eras, idk I’m always so interested in people’s relationships to the concept of home, and especially how Louis and Lestat feel about the way they share this space with so much baggage

To end on a lighter note, I also want to write a full-length smut fic around Louis and Lestat having an intellectual debate while also having sex LOL i don’t have the brainpower for it these days (Louis is so much smarter than me lmfao rip) but I mean. Louis and Lestat’s petty quarrels are some of my favorite things to write. they are so ridiculous

I think I’m late to the game on this one so most folks are already tagged but please if you want to participate, go ahead and consider yourself tagged!!! <3

#tagging game #my writing #thanks for the tags y'all!!! <3 #this fandom is so fucking TALENTED i can't

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graygiantess · 3 months

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Thank you for In Hell Together After All, it absolutely crushed me (in a good, painful way). ❤️ It made me wonder what is your history with IWTV/The Vampire Chronicles: how did you become a fan, what caught your attention and what made you want to "stay"?

And also, you probably write a lot of your headcanons into your stories, but do you have any specific headcanons of any of the characters/relationships in the series?

Hey Nonny!

Sorry for the late reply. Covid broke my brain and I can only focus on reading/writing for very short stretches of time.

(I love getting these asks, though, so please no one feel deterred by this, lol!)

I'm so glad you enjoyed In Hell Together After All! And thank you for your ask. 😊

Putting my answer under the break again so as not to clog up people's dash with my novel-length ramblings.

Luce and TVC

I first got into TVC when I was 14, which is almost 21 years ago. My 13yo foster sister and I were completely obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I was aware that there was a vampire movie with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt and wanted to see it. I have a much older half-sister and the three of us ended up having a movie night at her house. We watched Interview With the Vampire and The Blair Witch Project.

We were all very 👁👁 throughout the entire movie. Then I bought a boxset of the first four books, foster sister and inhaled the first three books, watched the QotD movie and got very pissed off by how terrible it was. 😂

We were like, "Guess we'll always have the books 🤷‍♀️". I ordered TVA, because QotD had left me completely Armand-obsessed, and started reading Tale of the Body Thief.

I don't remember quite what it was, but Lestat says something at the start of TotBT that my 14yo self just thought was so stupidly retconny that I went, "Yeah, fuck that". I think it was something about how he only ate bad guys and that that was somehow in service of Jesus? Whatever it was, I wasn’t having it, so I put it down and never picked it back up. 😂

Then in my late teens/early twenties I followed Anne Rice on Facebook for a while, but I got kinda creeped out when she started addressing everyone with 'dearest People of the Page'. I distinctly remember thinking, "Lady, I'm here for gay vampire reasons, not to be in a cult". 😅 So I unfollowed her and spent about a decade not thinking about TVC very much at all.

AND THEN in early summer of 2022 the YouTube algorithm informed me that AMC was making an IWTV show. I reread IWTV and in October thought, "Let’s give this a go."

I had my reservations because I still remembered my teenage rage at the QotD movie, and I wasn't sure how I felt about them changing the time period and casting 'some old guy' as Daniel (sorry Eric! 🙈).

BUT THEN Jacob came on all, "Dear Mr. Molloy, did you know you can orgasm just from hearing a man's voice? Wanna finish what we started half a century ago?" and my head just about exploded!

This is the second interview?! They’re revisiting it 49 years later?! OMGGG, that's the most genius storytelling move in the history of storytelling! 😱

I watched ep2 right after and then desperately needed to yell about the show with other sickos. So I joined Twitter and started reading fic again (which I'd only really done when I was 17 and obsessed with that wizard school franchise), started writing fic, joined fic-themed group chats/Discords and made a Tumblr so I could (lovingly) yell at other fic writers.

And now I've published over 150k words in fic and there's IWTV fan art all over my house. 😂

So it was really the show that made me come back to stay. It's just thee best TV show of all time to me.

And as much as this fandom can be a shit show, it's really helped me stay sane while grappling with my long covid, which has left me very incapacitated in many other areas of my life.

Luce's headcanons

Asking me for my headcanons has the same effect as asking me for my favorite movies or songs in that it immediately makes me forget any headcanons I ever had. 😂

You're right that I write a lot of them into my fics, which are mainly me exploring my headcanons and asking myself what if...? I have a couple others, though I'm not sure these are really headcanons or more actual theories, though, so I apologize if this wasn't what you were looking for.

- I've mentioned this one before, but Louis and Lestat had a grand old time during their honeymoon phase between Louis getting turned and Louis almost eating Grace's baby. I think people tend to make too big a deal out of Louis being an unreliable narrator but it's a little too convenient how quickly he skips over those 6-7 years. I think he doesn’t like to think about how much fun he had with Lestat just having all the sex, getting super rich and eating whoever the fuck he wanted.

- Daniel isn’t going to give a single fuck about the ethics of killing people in order to survive once he finally becomes a vampire. We already know he’s selfish and a hypocrite. I can just see him fully ready to view all humans as savory inferiors once he’s no longer one of them.

- If show!Daniel ever met Marius, he would punch him in the face. 🤭

- Santiago is going to be SO jealous of Louis's relationship with Armand. I don't care if Santiago and Armand end up having zero homoerotic tension between them on screen, they're fucking to me.

- I'm also a Claudeline truther. Show!Claudia doesn’t need a parental figure the way book!Claudia does but she very much yearns for romantic love, and she did say Charlie was the last boy she'd ever love, and went after the woman when Lestat asked her if she wanted the Mr. or the Mrs. in ep7.

Kudos to anyone who made it all the way to the end of this answer! Your prize is getting to choose if I share:

A) A silly anecdote about that movie night I had with my sisters.

B) A shocking fact that might get me cancelled as an Armandaniel fic writer. 👀

(Though tbh, if you pick B, I'll probably still give you A for free.)

#asks #headcanons

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blaqueswanzaghouliishiilikeda · 11 months

Note

What theories do you got for the end of season 2?

hii 🫶🏾

sorry i’m so late with this. i haven't been online too much lately. So theories??? man i’m not really engaging with much speculation as far as S2 goes. mainly bc i don’t think i have the ideas that will happen how my mind is formulating them. also bc they would be based off of nothing but what ive seen said about the books and vibes i got from S1 lmao. i’m so sorry if i disappoint you my ideas. here’s what i hope…

S2 will focus on loumand in the past and in the present maybe Armand might get to contribute to the telling of things. I’m very fucking excited for loumand. Idk how to not lose my mind about this! it’ll be interesting to me if there’s points of contention between how louis remembers something and how he does. what happened to Claudia and how coming out in this contention would be really fun to watch. “the love of my life” seems to be something that’s gonna come undone next season. seeing how they came together. seeing what makes their relationship tick. seeing the cracks in what their dynamic is now. seeing how Daniel’s tendency to be provocative and rude when he feels endangered will impact things or how it will shift now that he knows Rashid is actually Armand—now that he realizes he’s been talking to an even stronger vampire crazy out the side of his neck. and he’s greatly out numbered rn. i want to see if Daniel tries to run and leave and how they might convince him to stay or if he decides to stay what lends to that decision. the book? answers that he wants? im sure it’ll be many things.

I wonder if they will put off the hows of how Lestat finds his way to Paris since no one but him would really have all that information. I think with seeing Sam and Assad hanging out off set there will be some Armand/Lestat scene to look forward too. they’re gonna fight and its gonna be nasty and full of tension and armand longing for lestat while lestat longs for louis and he’s [lestat] gonna get that look in his eye were he agrees to something he know damn well he shouldnt in the name of saving louis. its gonna be delicious. Im excited to see that.

I hope we only really get hints of the devil’s minion stuff and i hope a good chunk of most of it happens in the modern day so they can have lots to fill coming seasons with. i want S2 to be more about loumand anyways. THO i do want them to put the fear of the devil into that man. I want him to really come to terms with what the fuck situation he’s in and I want Louis and Armand to make him feel it for real. I want the cracks in his dynamic with them and his supposed superior morality to start to show.

I think the situation with Louis might make Claudia desperate for another connection by the time it’s clear Louis is stuck in the past and longing for Lestat. Her hatred for him i think is soemthing we’ll see develop in it’s fullness. i hope she’s just as petty as she’s been. there wa a post about her playing piano and playing bach even tho she knows it torment him. i love that post. i wish i had it in me to find it. that post is genius. but yeah so i think she’d even accept the mother like way Madeleine treats her even tho she’s been looking to be treated like an equal bc anything is better than where they find themselves in terms of being stuck together after all thats happened and the spector of him choking her and lestat being spared because of him always looming over them. i think that adds to the sheer sadness of her situation. the living truth that yeah lestat is alive and louis would have him even now. and then the realization that he would also have armand who wants her dead clearly. i think someone who seems to “see her” would be preferable. but bc i know this is the painshow i cant say that they’re dynamic won’t be hard to watch. i think it will. I think madeleine will be working out her own trauma in losing her family on Claudia and it’ll be really clear that Claudia will always be choosing the lesser of an evil. i think they’ll play with our minds and hearts about what they could be, but ultimately they’re doomed and she’ll still wind up dead. and apparently so does madeleine even after being turned soo.. yeah i’m about to be heart shattered behind claudia.

sorry if these are disappointing. but yeah that’s as far as i’ve got. tho i’m sure i’ll think of something else and make a post about it. but i havent really wanted to speculate too much on S2 beyond being horny about loumand. maybe we’ll see their dungeon!

#iwtv #s2 speculations #louis de pointe du lac #armand #claudia #lestat de lioncourt #madeleine

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fantasies-fairytales-n-fics · 1 year

Text

Thranduil and Josie Part 86- Heat

Notes: I am going to discontinue the summaries and just leave important notes when needed.

All Hallows' Eve 11 pm

As Thranduil helped you up off the floor after the stage explosion, Lestat's vampire clan approached you and they were far from happy. They thought you had tried to hurt their leader when in fact you were only trying to protect him and Marius from the Nazgul. You couldn't blame them though as your newly discovered powers went awry and accidently blew up the stage, sending Marius and Lestat hurling through the air and the rest of the ballroom occupants crashing to the ground.

Thranduil shoved you behind him as he swiftly revealed his sword, fearlessly swaying it about in front of them as Legolas and Haldir stood at his side with their large bowie knives in hand. In only mere seconds, Maharet and Julian was at your side and Armand, Lestat and Marius stood between the volatile vampires and your three keepers. Selene and Garrett were nowhere to be seen and you had to wonder where they had gone.

"Stop!" Lestat ordered to his followers. "My rules and regulations remain in tact and you will comply or suffer the repercussions of my wrath. No harm comes to Josie or her company." They all cowered back and hissed as Lestat's eyes blazed bright red. They didn't dare cross him. He then turned and walked over to you.

His face held no expression so as usual, you couldn't read him to tell if he was angry for what you had done, but his eyes, the way he looked at you told you he was both elated and shocked that you would defend him. You were still quite intimidated by his demeanor.

"L..Lestat...I...I am soooo sorry. I was only trying to help. My powers, I...I don't know what happened." you stammered as he kept coming towards you with a blank stare. He came up so close to you that you gulped and began to raise your hand to stop him.

His cold hand briskly grabbed yours making you gasp, then he gently held your hand as he stared at it.

"I know that your beautiful beating heart was in the right place. No human has ever come to my aid. It will not be forgotten." Lestat actually formed a kind smile as he let go of your hand and walked back to the others. "The dealers may have been handled, but Richard still lurks about so the danger is far from over. Not to mention Raven and Caroline."

You quickly turned to your father in panic. "Daddy. You were with her, where is she???"

"I am sorry my child, the blast knocked us both over and broke my hold on her. She flew off before I could react. Your friends, Selene and Garrett went after her."

"Oh god. This is not good. We have to help them. And...she has the pendant. How stupid could I have been to not take it from her while I was in her face."

"You mean this pendant?" Julian grinned and dangled the emerald from his hand.

"Daddy! Oh my god. How did you..."

"While you all were tending to the show, I took it from her scrawny neck. I know what it is and it's significance. I also knew that she should not be a bearer of it. Needless to say, she had many choice words for me in doing so. She has wicked plans for this little gem that holds such big power."

"It belongs to Haldir. May he have it?' you asked your father as you smiled at Haldir.

Julian held it out to him and Haldir took it. He then turned to you and took your hand, placing it on your palm and curling your fingers shut. "You hold onto this for now. Something tells me you will need it. I can feel the evil Caroline has conjured just as your father had said."

Just then, the doors burst open and in walked Aragorn. You could see unfamiliar guards outside and a hooded figure walking about.

Legolas and Haldir's faces lit up and they ran over to the exhausted looking ranger.

Legolas joked of him of being late and told him he looks terrible. Aragorn laughed and then his face fell serious. "That is because we had some unexpected company to fight off. Nazgul attacked."

"Why would they come after you?" the prince asked in confusion.

"I guess they were hungry as the humans are slim pickings around here." Aragorn also joked. He then turned to Thranduil. "A rival of yours has arrived with his army and assisted me. Lord Narcisse is here."

Thranduil's expression spoke volumes. He was less than pleased to hear of this. You on the other hand were amazed as Narcisse made it very clear to you he would not be a part of the vampire dealings. You had to wonder why he changed his mind and you would now have the chance to ask him. Stephane walked in while removing his cloak and stared straight at you.

"Always a pleasure Josephine." he politely said and bowed his head to you. An uncontrolled smile began to form on your face as you were held in an eye lock with him. This man had completely gotten on your last nerve back in Dorwinion, yet you found yourself undeniably thrilled he came.

"There is no pleasure on this end of your appearance here. Why have you come? It is none of your concern and there is no use for you here. Do you not have wine to create?" Thranduil griped as he came to your side, glaring down at the newly revealed warlock.

Narcisse was in no way intimidated by Thranduil's mockery and display of obvious jealousy. At least that is how Stephane saw it. "I assure you, King Thranduil, there are many uses for me." His sapphire globes glided back to yours. Your eyes slightly widened and looked away as you now felt a bit uncomfortable with his statement. He then returned his gaze back to your King. "One of most importance is that of the vintage you so desire. It would be a shame if there were to be a sudden shortage....Now, if we are through with the pettish nonsense, Josephine, I came because my horse I lent you made it's way back to my kingdom in a panicked state. I knew something was terribly wrong here and he confirmed it to me. I then knew I must come, regardless of how I felt." Narcisse was genuinely sincere in his words and you were beginning to see him in a different light. He risked his entire kingdom by coming here...all to help you.

You went to speak but Julian came rushing up. "Stephane...old friend. You are certainly a sight for sore eyes!"

Narcisse's eyes popped. "Julian?? How is this possible? You...died."

"I am very much alive my friend. Long story short, Caroline killed me and I have been held here all these years."

"Well son of a ...." Narcisse grinned ear to ear and he and Julian gave each other one of those manly back beating hugs while they laughed. You were blown away as you had no idea they knew each other. Of course it made sense that they would since they are both warlocks but the world is full of them. Small world in this case, you thought as you smiled at their happy reunion.

"Josephine, your father and I go way back. I knew of you as a child but never knew what happened to you after your father's passing. My reaction to you showing up on my doorstep should now be understandable to you, for it was then that I knew who you were once we touched. What a magical moment that was indeed." For a moment, that memory flashed through your mind. Both of your fingertips lit up with a magnetic electricity and sent you both whirling onto your butts from the shockwave. "Julian...I must also warn you of my horse's visions. Your brother, Jareth is amidst and canoodling with the deadly dhampir."

"Wait, what???" You spun around to Thranduil..."Jareth, the man you told me of that is called the goblin King? The man you recognized from my description of when I dreamt of him, or should I say memory of when I saw him all those years ago.?"

"Yes...as far as him being your father's brother I did not know of nor did I know he was prowling around here with Raven. The question would be why. This is by far not his cup of tea."

"Daddy??? That evil man is my....uncle?"

"Sadly, yes. One of 6 more as I am the 7th. Only he and one other lives. You saw him you say? When?"

"Well...I dreamt of him...but soon realized it was an actual memory. It was Halloween. I was 15 and you had just become sick. I saw him outside on my way to the neighbor girl's. He told me time is short and he would see me soon. I...I must have blocked it out, or he made me forget? Why...why would he want anything to do with me?"

"For he too has desired ashmole 782 just as Caroline. He knows the great power it holds for our kind. Neither should ever get their hands on it or doom will fall on all of middle earth. The book of shadows is not meant for evil. Jareth knows I have concealed it. He may be possibly trying to use you against me."

"But I...I do not know where it is??? I never even knew it existed until Raven told me about it, which also makes no sense. My mother was furious when she found out Raven had revealed it to me."

Raven is another who must never have possession of it. Her motives of showing it to you could only be to make you aware and want to search for it and then try to steal it from you. The book will only appear to the good witches."

"Oh my god....then end of my dream....Thranduil?? Remember I told you I saw Leann? The book had appeared to her."

"Yes...I do. And it is time to end the two of them so that they can never have the chance of locating it. Haldir, Legolas, let us go and gear up. I have had enough of this attire and waste of time." Thranduil was ready to take care of business and you knew you could not stop him, but you sure as hell had to try.

You grabbed his arm as he was turning to leave. "Thranduil no! You cannot go after her! You know she has it out for you. You heard her about midnight which is only a mere 45 minutes away...and all my dreams of your doom, you know they mean something! You cannot just take off and leave me here! I am going with you!"

"You will not! You are safe under your father's wing, and you also have your grandmother. Have you forgotten who I am? I do not hide from any enemy nor do I sit idly by and allow a fire to burn....I extinguish it." he snarled through his teeth. He marched off and you panicked. Chasing after him, you spun him around and kissed him deeply and intensely. His arms wrapped around you tightly and lifted you off the ground as he passionately kissed you back. As your mouths disengaged, the back of his hand glided down your cheek. You cried as you held his face in your hands and stood nose to nose with him. "I cannot lose you. Come back to me. Promise me you will."

"My sweet girl. I will never leave you. More than nin own cuil. Im mel cin nin rís. An all -o uir. Mín mel na- i onlui naur i tur- never n- extinguished." (More than my own life. I love you my Queen. For all of eternity. Our love is the only fire that can never be extinguished.) He kissed your tears and then your lips once more. His eyes filled with his own tears as he resumed his departure, leaving you standing there to watch him, Haldir and Legolas disappear. Julian came to your side and you broke down in his arms.

"Daddy, I cannot just sit here and do nothing!" you cried, gasped and sniffled. "I love him so much....we have to help. I do not care what he has ordered me to do. He knows damn well I will not abide by his wishes as I never have when it comes to his safety. ALL of you...we need to do something....now! I am going to find my mother....are you all just going to let her get away?"

Maharet, Armand, Pandora and Marius all vowed they will not.

Julian looked down at you. "I will not...."

Aragorn stepped forward. "I will not."

"I will not." Narcisse followed suit.

The last was Lestat who stood quietly while all of you stared at him. He lightly grinned at you and stepped forward. "I....will not."

You grinned back at him. "It is settled then. It is time for a witch hunt......and one more dealer."

Lestat's clan kept up their dancing regardless of the brief interruption. On your way out of the ballroom, you had to do a double take. There was Jareth. He removed his devil like mask and fixated his stare on you.

You froze, caught between his blue and brown eyed gaze. As the vampires danced, one moved in front of him and then he was just gone.

You gasped as Julian took your arm. "My Jo...what is it?"

"I...I...nothing...I think...I thought I saw...." You glanced around the crowd and saw nothing more of him.

"You saw him again didn't you? Jareth. I feel him...Nothing good ever comes of his presence." Julian scoured the room with wide open eyes. "Go....keep moving."

When Selene and Garrett had went after Caroline, they split up. Garrett entered the dungeons as it wasn't a far fetched idea that Caroline would hide out in an unforeseen obscure place. He went in through an old unused area and proceeded through the cob web filled dark halls. The perfect hideout for bottom dwellers such as Caroline and her fire crazed Clover.

Garrett was extremely intuitive like you. Very well perceived and usually spot on. Probably another reason Craven chose him to join his clan. King Garrett Lee aka Roman Lee Bryson, his given name, had instincts like a lion that kept him focused on what needed to be done to survive and the heart of a lamb that countered that beast within him. When you first met him, his mortal side still lingered in him as you would get glimpses here and there of his very soul but it was always overridden by what he had become and he would turn on you like the flip of a switch. The human that existed inside of him though was kept alive all because of you. After everything he had done to you, you still saw an opening of humanity, a side of him no one ever saw and you gave a shit enough to break through his brick walls in which you found a simple man...beat down, battered and bruised.... and because of that, you came to care for him.....and because of that, he came to trust you with his deepest darkest secrets. What he was embarking on at this very moment was all for you, so you could be happy. He loved you...truly, madly, deeply.....but he would never tell you for he knew you would never love him. This was now a do or die mission in his eyes......

Selene had went straight to the armory and began packing heat.

Selene had came to Chateau de Lioncourt to take Caroline out and that was what she still intended to do. She had taken Craven and her father from her. Although Selene had fell in love with Michael at a latter point, she, unlike Lestat, didn't harbor but handled past misdeeds against her. She sometimes wasn't sure as to why she cared to take vengeance for her father though as he would have killed her eventually. Not for solely loving Michael, but for the one thing she did harbor....a daughter with him they share that she has kept hidden. Eve Corvin. Did that make her a hypocrite for wanting to kill Caroline for her half breed child that Viktor saw as an abomination? Not in her eyes in didn't. Her daughter was nothing like Raven. But to Viktor, it did not matter. He had already killed his other daughter, Sonja, Selene's twin sister, for the same thing while she was pregnant with a lycan's child.

As Selene was heading back into the castle, she ran into you and Julian. Lestat, Marius, Armand, Pandora and Maharet went their own way as did Narcisse with Aragorn while the Lothlorien and Dorwinion guard secured the outside grounds. Thranduil, Haldir and Legolas' whereabouts were unknown.

"Selene! Where's Garrett?"

"He went his own way as he knows Caroline and Raven very well. But I have a feeling where he was headed. We mustn't stay here in the open. Richard still lurks. We must go now! He is near, I smell him!"

You and Julian ran off with Selene as you captured a whiff of the smell. It was of rotten eggs....

The fact that Garrett knew your mother and sister as well as he did was a plus in locating them, but it didn't make you feel good about him finding them all by himself. As you all descended down the cellar passage, Julian grabbed you. "Stop!....I smell Caroline."

You smelled the musty air and panicked. "And I smell Garrett!"

Selene took off and you bolted after her with Julian close on your heels. Selene burst into a room and there was the most disturbing sight. You couldn't see the man's face lying there on the table at her mercy but you recognized the clothing and the maple scent in the air.

"30 years old. the perfect age." Caroline said as she reveled over a glass full of blood....Garrett's blood.

"Garrett!! NO!!" you screamed and ran to him as Caroline went straight for Selene.

"Would you like a taste? I have always wanted a piece of that magnificent eye candy. I just knew he would be as sweet as his succulent aroma, but he was never interested. But guess what? I was right. Sweet to the last drop."

"Garrett!! Wake up! Talk to me!" you frantically yelled and shook him. He had 2 huge holes in his neck with blood oozing out. You whipped around to Caroline. "You bitch! You killed him! And for that I will kill you!" you cried as Julian held onto you.

Caroline cackled. "Oh no my dear girl. You can't kill what's already dead. Besides, he is only weakened. You know I cannot take in his last drop or it would kill me. Garrett just couldn't stay out of my way so I had to handle him. It was quite easy really. I just appeared to him as you and reeled him right in. He fell for it too... hook, line and sinker. You should have seen the poor love sick puppy. Probably why it was so easy to outsmart his keen senses and sharp intelligence. Would you like a taste? Oh that's right, you have already had him so you know how delicious he is."

Selene tried to distract her from you so you could help Garrett. "Oh come now Caroline, I am right here. You have wanted to kill me for many years. So, come and get me!" Selene ran to the door hoping Caroline would chase after her and leave you alone but she didn't. There she was on the other side of the door.

"Oh Selene, let me just end your heart right here yes?"

"I believe it will be I to end yours when I shove a knife through your it." Selene went to grab it and Caroline belted her right out the window.

Then the wicked witch turned back to you. "Julian...my dear...would you be so kind as to die now so I can have a moment alone with my daughter?" Caroline slowly advanced towards you both with ice blue glowing eyes.

You suddenly felt Garrett's hand on yours. "S...silver...bane...." he weakly whispered.

You hadn't a clue what he meant but Julian did. "Josephine..." he whispered into your ear with his hands on your shoulders from behind you. "Think it and it will happen."

You glanced down into Garrett's barely open eyes and he formed a trembling smile. Rage consumed you as you spun back to her. Your eyes glowed of the moon as you stretched your arm out. "How about a little silverbane bitch!" Suddenly a small blue dust appeared in your palm and you instinctively blew it at her.

The dust turned silver as it hit the air.

A gut wrenching scream burst out of Caroline as it hit her in the face.

She went straight for the window that she knocked Selene out of and took off into the air.

You began gasping. "Daddy, wh...what did I just do?"

"Silverbane my love, it is an evil repellent. Witches hate it. But it has many many more powers. It will only deter her temporarily which gives us time to tend to your friend."

You grabbed Garrett's face tenderly. "Thank you....Now let me help you. Look what I have!" You pulled out the emerald of Eden and dangled it before him.

"Josephine...." Garret began coughing. "It only works on the dying or dead and even then, it cannot restore the blood she has taken. I will die. You have to let me go...."

Your eyes swelled fiercely with tears. "NO! I will not let you go! Daddy, do something!! You have such great power....help him....please!!"

Julian could see it in your tear glazed eyes how much he meant to you. "My Jo...I do have many powers, but....so do you now. Embrace them." he smiled.

You then remembered how you had healed Selene although that was different. She had been poisoned with dead man's blood. Your power sucked it right out of her....and then it hit you. Suck...Garrett needed blood. Your magical blood. But how were you going to do that without him biting you, which would turn you because of the venom in his teeth? The light bulb finally turned on in your mind. You yanked your knife out and held it over your wrist as your hand shook profusely.

"Josephine...no...." Garrett murmured.

You ignored him and pursed your eyes shut, then screamed out in pain as you slit your own wrist. "Here! Drink it!" You shoved your wrist over his mouth and he gently began to consume your blood. His eyes peered up into yours with shame and tears rolled out of them as he did so. Garrett remembered the taste of your blood when he had sliced your finger in the Lorien realm. The taste that drew him right back to you because, like Lestat, it was blood of a human he didn't crave and it had drove them both crazy not knowing why.

You began to feel lightheaded and Julian pulled your wrist away. "He has had enough." Then with his own power, he healed your wound by wrapping his hand around your wrist. Just like that, the cut was gone and you felt revived again.

Garrett's slate grey color dissolved and his skin tone returned to a peachy porcelain as the wound on his neck slowly dissipated right before your eyes. He then sat up so fast, it made you jump. His smile traveled from ear to ear as his blackened eyes returned to a gleaming blue. "You...you healed me....you...saved me. Thank you...I...I have no words."

"Then just shut up." you snarked and hugged him so tight. Garrett released a hearty chuckle as he squeezed you back.

"Julian...I must thank you as well."

Julian formed a scowl. "Do not thank me, for I know all of what you have done to my daughter. It is only her forgiveness of you that I did not let you die or even kill you myself. Remember who you are. Vampires have no place in her life. Thranduil, her husband, can attest to that and I as a warlock can do so as well. With that said, it is time we all focus on the big picture. Caroline. Let us go now and finish her." Julian then turned and began heading to the door.

"Athair!" you snapped.

Julian froze and turned back to you. He hadn't heard you call him that since you were a small child.

"I will not take up time to go into explanations, but I can assure you...Garrett is not a monster. Do you think I could forgive him if he was? I do not expect you...or Thranduil to ever understand. But I ask of you to trust me and please.....never harm him. There is a human still inside him...just as Selene...just as Lestat...not all vampires are wicked like my mo...Caroline and Raven."

Julian's eyes softened at you. "The empath in you is remarkable. It certainly was not passed down from your mother. I am of peace, love and light. I will respect your feelings even if I do not understand them. But do not misunderstand...I too have a dark side that you nor anyone else wants to witness." He gave Garrett a sinister look and proceeded out the door.

You were taken aback by his assertiveness. "Garrett...do not worry. He just does not know you like I...."

"Josephine...your father has every right and reason to feel as he does. So does Thranduil. I know what I have done to you. I live with it every single day. No more of this...we must go and take care of business." Garrett swooped off the table and swiftly walked out the door, shutting down on you again. You huffed and then followed him.

Once Caroline had flown out, she easily found Selene and dropped down in front of her. "I have a small surprise for you darling." She then flew up to the roof of the castle's backside that had been unoccupied for sometime. Selene knew this was a trick but it didn't matter. She went after her anyways, determined to put an end to her wretched existence.

Selene then followed Caroline off into the forest. Caroline was leading her on a wild goose chase as it was all a game to her. She liked to play with her prey before killing them, just like a cat does. Selene slowly scoped out the area but as she turned, Caroline appeared and plowed her head first against a large rock. The redhead may have been a newborn in the vampiric sense, but she had been a witch for many years prior and combining the two made her insanely powerful, even more so than a fully blooded vampire. Selene knew this but overlooked it, for she would not submit to any witch.

You, Julian and Garrett had just came upon them and Garrett ran to help Selene.

But Caroline swooped Selene up into the trees and then took off with her.

Caroline had a surprise in store as she said and was leading you all to it. Into a murky wet end of the dungeons Caroline dropped Selene. Caroline taunted her for a bit, then popped up and knocked her on her ass again before leaving her to something much more deadly...

When Selene jumped up, Caroline was gone. But a very distinguished smell consumed the air. Selene began walking about cautiously and soon knew she was being watched...or stalked for a better term. As she turned a corner, her eyes could not believe the image she took in...footprints.....none other than that of a Lycan.....

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