Daniel is definitely NOT an artist. ... But sometimes, he tries.

(Puts on his most innocent expression.) Nah. You know me and Lestat. We're all talk!

Oh, they're gonna hate that... HELL YEAH.

He's taking that as a compliment. Björn is great.

Daniel is Björn in human form. DANGER.

"Damn. Really was hoping to keep my job." Pure sarcasm. "Y'know, I think we only ever put /you/ not chopping /my/ head off in the contract. Shortsighted on your part."

One can only hope. That'd be hilarious. "Yeah, yeah. Another thing you can get revenge on me for. Keep a list!"

"There — We didn't just jump to head slicing, man!" Really, he's defending Armand more than himself. He didn't do that work, make those chess moves, his maker did. "If he's wrong, I'll be the /first/ to push back." Daniel might be Armand's 'minion,' but he's not his doormat.

. . . He'll take what he can get right now.

Bending down, he scooped up Headstat. The nickname is a work in progress. Setting him on the table, trying to prop him up. "How's that? Better?"

Can't blame a fledgling for admiring his maker!

On the bright side, Armand looked /really/ good while he — Too soon?

Did he actually think Armand could shield him? Or is that just what he's been telling Armand so he doesn't lose his shit? It's hard to tell most days. "It's either die trying to do something or die 'cause nobody stopped him." There's the bright young reporter, showing himself.

His minion 🥰

"Man..." Deep sigh. "Do you want me to put you on a table, at least?"

"I don't feel invincible." He feels far, far from it. Hence the puffing of his chest. The bravado. "Staying out of it stopped being an option when Lestat hired me. Fuck, when /Louis/ hired me. I'm in it. I've /been/ in it."

Doesn't Lestat still feed nightly? Why isn't /he/ worried about it?

Yeah. That thing. It's probably /that thing/ that has Armand so uptight.

Shoves his hands in his pockets and shrugs. "Do you have a /better/ idea?"

Or it could be, y'know, the Great Conversation. (That's not what it's called. Daniel still hasn't gotten it down.)

. . . Even if /Daniel/ doesn't see /Armand/, Armand'll still be there. That's kind of their whole thing.

Armand's not really in a partying mood lately. Wonder why.

HE IS A SEVENTY-THREE YEAR OLD MAN.

Just for that, Louis' getting the comfy fridge.

"Fucker!" Resists the urge to kick him. Somebody give him a medal. (... Armand would probably be mad if he kicked him.)

. . . Dammit. He gave Louis a new business idea. And he's definitely not getting a share.

Right. Well. ". . . Hey, look on the bright side. I can finally take you bowling! You'd fit in the bag."

"Yeah, I know. Don't say that around Armand, though."

Siri, play Cell Block Tango from Chicago.

"Right now, that's probably fair."

EXACTLY! Chin up! ... Oh, wait.

Is married now.

"You're gonna be fine, man."

"Don't make rash decisions while you're angry."

Finger guns.

Gonna be hiding behind Armand for the foreseeable future.

//What a bad day to have a flare because I KNOW my heart is gonna be pounding when I finally watch this episode 😭

Not even if it's just, like, his sleeve?

It's just a prank. It'll be funny.

Hell yeah. As soon as possible, please. Y'know. In between all of the apocalypse preventing adventures.

The first thing he's going to set on fire is Lestat. He'll be fine. Blood of whatever and all that.

Promise?

Update on vampire powers: Still not good at them. He hasn't set ANYTHING on fire. Don't remind him that he's only a few years in the blood. He's really bad at being patient.

Daniel felt a sense of unexplained nostalgia. Especially when he saw Armand's smile. (Oh! Another t-shirt idea! 'Unexplained nostalgia' is a cool slogan.) "Yeah, well... Once the biblical angel starts talking to you about tape recorders and art, he starts to seem like a person. Not as terrifying."

"Innocent..." And then he's laughing again. Nobody has ever made him laugh quite like Armand. It's the dry humor paired with the Kubrick stare. Not many people can pull that off. "You're an angel, alright!" He said between wheezes. "The kind that greets people with 'be not afraid.'"

That made him laugh. "I've yet to meet a vampire who doesn't have mountains of bullshit." It's the age. He's only in his seventies, but he'd gathered a lot of baggage over the years. Relationships ruined, bridges burned, children who hate him... He tries not to think about what that would look ━

//Young Daniel 🤝 Old Daniel Losing their minds because of Armand

That made Daniel laugh in turn. It's funny, to think that he could have such an effect on Armand. But he couldn't deny it. For centuries, his maker never turned anyone. And now look. That must feel pretty reckless to him. "What? So /I'm/ the bad influence?"