But can we please talk about Armand’s
(actually Andrei’s) Monastery of the Caves because it’s a real place!
Kiev Pechersk Lavra also
known as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kiev. It was created in the early 11th century by an Orthodoxmonk named Anthony. He chose a cave at the Berestov Mount that
overlooked the Dnieper River. The Kiev Pechersk Lavra caverns are a very
complex system of narrow underground corridors (about 1-1½ metres wide and 2-2½ metres high), along with
numerous living quarters and underground chapels.
Even
found a small interview with one of the actual modern monks, who said “The monk is actually a person who,
ideally, should not face the world for he is constantly talking to God. Therefore, he goes underground, he buries himself
alive by digging his own grave – that is, his cell. And when the real death comes, the
cave takes his body for perpetual storage. Therefore,
every cave monastery is a kind of an underground necropolis”.
I honestly have no idea how I’ve never researched this, but I finally have a visual and detailed reference and I’m SO happy.
My hat is off to you. This post is a brilliant, evocative piece of fandom research. The funny thing is that when I came to my dash and saw the photos I was thinking, OMG, SOMEONE FOUND SEVRAINE’S CAVES OF GOLD! and then… well, I’m floored!
It shows something that I hadn’t understood when I read Armand’s story: how the caves could seem safe, reassuring, even. How they could echo the womb in some way to one’s lizard brain, particularly for a kid who’s torn between two different ways of life and is told that this place will mean peace of a kind, rightness with God. Somehow I doubt there would’ve been so many candles back then, but any candlelight at all on walls of stone… I’d forgotten how it looks and feels, and somehow I’d always visualised the caves as having earthen walls, which of course makes no sense because they wouldn’t have stayed up!
That is bizarre! Anyway, there IS a Denis in the book. Also I think Denis was too young to be Armand? Armand was supposed to be around 17, and Denis looks more like 13-14 to me.
Not sure exactly whose theory it was (mine? whiningforcenturies? Both probably), but someone suggested that Antonio was actually Santino posing as Armand. Hence the not-teenage, not-red-head, not-cherubic appearance.
I have a whole pile of theories about Antonio’s casting here: #Defending Antonio.
^Lookit this loyal cutie omg ❤ This is kind of an Armand expression, the lack of surprise in an under-pressure situation, the stiff upper-lip.
That carriage is really rockin’. Don’t come a’knockin’. GDI Armand it’s wildly unfair to take advantage of a man who is turned on by the arson he’s just committed!
There were some comments on my post about Denis and basically, my feeling is that Denis was treated very well. He had a nice normal bed (looks like queen sized!), yes, he was locked in there, but who’s to say that the bars holding him in weren’t really meant to keep the other vampires in the Theatre OUT? It would be easy enough to get to Armand by torturing his pet; he needed protection.
We don’t know Denis’ backstory. Maybe Armand rescued him from a worse life, as Armand had been rescued by Marius. Maybe Armand was “paying it forward.”
We know Armand didn’t really click with any of the vampires in the Theatre. So why not have a little mortal companion who might love him unconditionally? We keep cats and dogs for similar reasons. We keep chickens and rabbits as pets knowing that we’re well some of us are capable of eating them someday. A human is another level of domesticated pet for a vampire!
Now the fact that Armand killed Denis does seem cruel at first glance, but it was probably because Armand had found what he longed for in Louis, a vampire companion. Hanging out with vampires for too long can distort your reality (just ask Daniel Molloy, lol) so Armand killing Denis was probably a mercy. What would have happened with that kid otherwise? Would he have tried to find Armand? Would he have killed himself anyway? If Armand didn’t want to turn or keep him, maybe Denis asked for death.
These things are worth considering before you judge Armand as being cruel to Denis.
Can someone please tell me what this cover is supposed to represent?
Looks like the tips of two gondolas about to crash? But there’s blood so like, fang-related?
Armand did spend a good chunk of happy times in Italy but like this makes no frickin’ sense and we can’t even hold AR responsible bc I don’t think she has any say in these cover designs.
Mother hen! More like mother swaaaan. They are prettier and seriously badass. I was bitten by one when I was little. They don’t f*ck around.
Did Armand and Daniel ever love each other??!! omg what kind of an unfair question! Yes they did! YES, YES, YES THEY DID. AND MAYBE STILL DO. DEPENDING ON THE HOUR AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CRANKY LEVELS.
Initially yes, Daniel just wanted to vampire. He went looking for Lestat for that, and found Armand instead. Sparks flew, and he became fascinated by Armand, probably more than he was with Louis. And Armand seemed equally fascinated by Daniel. There was a macabre kind of chemistry there, a mutual attraction.
[Hit the jump for more, but really, go ask an Armand and a Daniel! I ship them, but admittedly, they are not my main ship.]
What even is a relationship? Every relationship is built and defined by the people who are in it. Armand could have hired a personal assistant if all he wanted was a tutor/travel agent. Armand wanted DANIEL. Daniel’s wit, his rebelliousness, his charm, his inquisitive nature, all these things made Daniel more appealing as a companion.
On his deathbed, Daniel wanted immortality to be with Armand, not just for eternity alone. The fact that they may or may not be “together” in canon right now doesn’t mean they didn’t share something very loving and special, and it doesn’t mean they don’t still consider each other fondly. Some breakups can be mended, some can’t. Some exes can be friends. Some can’t. That’s life.
That’s Denis. He’s Armand’s pet. We don’t know much about him.
3 things about this bite:
1. After watching the gruesome performance at the Theatre, Louis and Claudia are both pretty hungry. Seems like a courtesy offering to a vampire, like you might offer someone water or soda or whatever when they’re a guest in your house. In the book, Claudia gets a bite of Denis, too.
2. Seems like a trust-building exercise. All the vampires in the Theatre are watching him, and we’ve seen how easy it is to poison a vampire. Louis accepting this offering is a show of good faith, trusting them that they’re not poisoning him right then.
3. Killing/drinking blood is a very sensual experience for vampires, Louis describes sex as “the pale shadow of killing.” Makes sense then, that Louis does not like to be watched doing it. Also, he’s usually unable to stop himself from killing his victims. Armand’s mind gift is very strong, and he’s enjoying this whole moment on a deeper level.
We know that Denis is fiercely devoted to Armand, he even drives the getaway carriage for him and Louis after Louis serves his revenge at the Theatre des Vampires, en flambé, of course.
Imagine Armand showing Lestat that screamer maze game
Imagine the screams, the broken screen, the cursing, the falling from the chair
Imagine the glorious horror
1. His intelligence. The way he is never content unless he has figured something out or discussed it from every aspect matches my own, and although we may both occasionally annoy each other, I would not be without our discussions for the world. Daniel has a fierce curiosity and a razor sharp wit, as well as a surprisingly large repertoire of literary and other references, which includes classical works as well as the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries. He is always able to take me off guard.
2. His fearlessness and his seemingly effortless ability to face the world head on. Though never cruel, he pulls no punches, either with himself or with others, and is not prone to the self deceptions or elaborate rationalisations which so many of our kind seem to have espoused. This more than anything gives me confidence in his ability to withstand the passing of the years without breaking under their burden.
3. His strange but indomitable sense of humour. Daniel can find something to laugh at in the very worst of situations, and even the smallest of everyday actions may be imbued with a strange kind of wit. I hope it may make his immortality easier to bear, as merely being in his company has made mine.
4. His beauty.
5. His ability to love me. As much as I’ve chided him for his morbid romanticism, I must nevertheless be grateful for his decision to run towards the monster, as it were, rather than away from it. Had he chosen otherwise, I would doubtless have remained as I was – unknown, unloved, unloveable, a drifting revenant preying on humans but hidden from them, until eventually I ceased to desire life.
I-want-my-IWTV 