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howheenduresUser Name/Nick: Sy
User DW: N/A
Plurk/Discord/PM to a character journal:anstaar on plurk, anstaar on discord, you can hit me up with PM to character journals
Other Characters Currently In-Game: Xie Lian, Fitz Kreiner, Allen Walker, Erskine Ravel, (switch Nico out)
Character Name: Armand
Series: AMC Interview With The Vampire
Age: ~ 541 (turned at 27, has been a vampire for 514 years)
From When?: last episode in season 2, Daniel dies while Armand is trying to turn him into a vampire, poisoning Armand
Inmate Justification:
The through line of Armand’s crimes might be best summoned up with ‘I could not prevent it’, and the fact that that’s a lie. He doesn’t feel much of a sense of self, and wants other people to define him, which isn’t to their benefit or his. He wants to give up all control and he’s incredibly controlling, which plays out in violence against those he feels he should have some sort of power over (and that he does have power over them isn’t something he really accepts). He’s responsible for countless deaths of both humans and other vampires, based on rules he doesn’t believe in. He’s extremely manipulative and uses people while pretending he doesn’t. He makes choices but acts (and sometimes believes) that he didn’t really have a choice.
He needs to learn to take responsibility, what healthy relationships look like, and how to care about other people. He doesn’t have to be who he is (and who he is doesn’t make him happy), but he doesn’t know how to be someone else. The Barge can give him a chance to free himself from the patterns he’s stuck in.
Arrival: Against his will
Abilities/Powers:
- Basics that come with being a vampire in his universe: he’s incredibly strong, incredibly fast, and heals extremely quickly (Restrictions: slightly stronger and faster than most normal humans but at ‘extremely talented athlete level’, heals at a slower rate)
- Armand can read people’s thoughts, talk to them mind-to-mind, and get a sense of emotions even when the specific thoughts are hidden. He can control people physically but tends to use it more to screw with people’s emotions/perceptions. He can also suppress memories in both humans and vampires (Restrictions: he can’t erase memories, or enter people’s minds at all unless they agree to it)
- He can freeze an entire room full of people with his mind (Restrictions: removed)
- He can fly (Restrictions: only an inch or so off the ground, and it takes effort)
- He’s very good at setting stuff on fire (Restrictions: can’t light anything more than a candle)
- Note: because of his age, he can go out into the sun
CW: CSA, slavery, prostitution, cults, control through violence, abusive relationships, gaslighting
Inmate Information:
Armand’s past shapes him deeply, in what he can’t remember as well as what he can. He can only remember fragments. He remembers being sold into slavery to a ship’s captain, and then to a brothel. He credits the abuse he suffered there as why he can remember so little, including not being certain of even something like his birthname. He was at most a young teenager during his time there as he was ‘saved’ when he was fifteen.
When he was fifteen, he was bought from the brothel by the vampire who would become his Maker – the painter Marius De Romanus – who renamed him Amadeo. Amadeo served him with all his heart. He basked in his mercy. He considers him his salvation. At the same time, Armand implies that Marius continued to sexually abuse the teenager (and then young man) who he’d bought and speaks more directly of being ‘donated’ if one of Marius’ friends came to town, beyond being used as a model for their paintings. Marius refused to give him ‘the Dark Gift’, because of what it would do to his ‘beloved Amadeo’, but finally turned him when he grew deeply ill.
At some point (likely not long after) the coven of vampires in Rome set fire to the studio, killing Marius. They took ‘Amadeo’ and renamed him again as ‘Armand’. He was then sent to ‘lead’ the Paris coven (called ‘the Children of Darkness’), which was already a mess. Armand had never led anything before in his life, before being thrust into a position of ‘authority’ of basically a cult, where he maintained discipline and humility to ancient laws by killing anyone who disobeyed. He was in this position for over two hundred years, enforcing the rules and telling ‘his children’ that they wouldn’t survive (and weren’t capable) of living a different life.
Given all this, it’s not surprising that Armand’s grasp on both relationships and power are deeply messed up. He spent his life powerless, and as a vampire he didn’t feel as if that had changed (even as he was in a position of leadership). By the end of his time with the Children of Darkness, Armand didn’t believe most of what he said. Instead of telling them that and trying to enact some sort of change, he used the arrival of Lestat, and his rejection of the laws Armand said couldn’t be broken, to destroy the coven.
It's part of a long pattern of both claiming that a situation was out of control and manipulating things to get what he wants. His use of Lestat is also part of a pattern where he falls in love with someone and tries to control them and get them to tell him what to do at the same time. He repeats this when he meets Louis, more successfully.
The coven was remade, but Armand simply went back to the old ways just in a new setting and stripped of religion. He stuck to the old rules, and to controlling the coven by destroying anyone who broke them. It’s his purpose, and that’s what he is, even though he doesn’t like it. He’s the one who could make a change, but he can’t because this is what he knows. He doesn’t know how to lead that’s not based on violence. He can’t see change that doesn’t involve a lot of destruction, as happens again here where Louis burns down the coven after the death of his daughter/sister Claudia – a death Armand helped orchestrate, even as he claims it was out of his control.
Armand genuinely loves Louis and wants to make him happy. He claims that whatever makes Louis happy is all he wants. On some level, that’s true. But Armand’s definition of love is being able to give up control to someone else, even as he holds firmly on to control. He plays the servant. He wants a ‘God’ to serve. And he’s not going to let someone stop him (including Louis). He’s there to protect Louis, even from himself. He swears that he’s never hurt Louis, which is definitely not true by a definition that goes beyond ‘physical’. It’s an incredibly unhealthy and abusive relationship built on a devesting lie. One that Armand’s fully aware will make Louis leave if he finds out about it, so it’s better that he doesn’t.
Armand knows that Louis is deeply unhappy. He knows that Louis is with him to purposefully spite Lestat (as he was literally standing right there when Louis said it). He knows that it’s questionable that Louis has ‘forgiven’ him for his (what Louis believes was a much more limited) part in Claudia’s death. None of this stops him from seeing Louis as the love of his life, and a person he can make happy. He wants this to be true, which is clear in what he doesn’t do. He could control Lousi (with his mental abilities). He could erase his memories. He could disobey various orders. He could fight back in the fight that happens after Louis learns the truth, but he doesn’t. He wants Louis in his right mind (Armand doesn’t consider this status threatened by the lies and manipulation he has employed) to play the role of his master/the person who tells him who he is. If Louis chooses to leave, he can't not let him (he just doesn't want him to make that choice).
He’ll obey Louis… and in the next scene control someone else through physical means or by threats of blackmail.
Armand has also killed a lot of humans, and does enjoy it a good deal.
Path to Redemption:
Perhaps the most important milestone is creating connections with other people. Armand considers humans as prey, but he also doesn’t really connect with other vampires (except the ones he falls in love with). The path to treating people better in general is to learn how to care for people at all. That giving up total control isn’t necessarily love, even if that was what he did, and work on a sense of self.
Armand has to admit that he has more agency in his life than he frequently believes, and that a lot of what he claims is ‘out of his control’ isn’t. It’s possible for things to change without manipulating someone into destroying everything. This is also tied to admitting to the ways he’s actually hurt people, instead of simply pretending (and frequently lying about what ‘crime’ he’s atoning for).
A good warden for Armand would probably have to tread a narrow line, given his long history with power dynamics. He plays up sympathy and vulnerability but doesn’t really have a way to cope with a genuine response to the fact that he has been extremely fucked up by stuff outside of his control, and it’s not just pretense to manipulate people. He has his pride (even if his self-respect can be questionable). He’s set in specific patterns, and he doesn’t have a map of how to escape them.
Armand’s not against the concept of redemption, even as he doesn’t want to confront what he’s actually done wrong, so there are ways to appeal to that even if it starts as a way to get a second chance at forgiveness instead of changing. He lies, manipulates, and blames other people for stuff like revealing he’s been lying instead of considering that the problem might be the lying. He’s also deeply unhappy, and the concept of not being that holds power.
He'll dislike being on the Barge, but simply being in a completely different environment (no matter how much stuff like lack of power will mess with him) is a good start.
History: here
Sample Network Entry: comment
Sample RP: comment
Special Notes:
User DW: N/A
Plurk/Discord/PM to a character journal:
anstaar on plurk, anstaar on discord, you can hit me up with PM to character journalsOther Characters Currently In-Game: Xie Lian, Fitz Kreiner, Allen Walker, Erskine Ravel, (switch Nico out)
Character Name: Armand
Series: AMC Interview With The Vampire
Age: ~ 541 (turned at 27, has been a vampire for 514 years)
From When?: last episode in season 2, Daniel dies while Armand is trying to turn him into a vampire, poisoning Armand
Inmate Justification:
The through line of Armand’s crimes might be best summoned up with ‘I could not prevent it’, and the fact that that’s a lie. He doesn’t feel much of a sense of self, and wants other people to define him, which isn’t to their benefit or his. He wants to give up all control and he’s incredibly controlling, which plays out in violence against those he feels he should have some sort of power over (and that he does have power over them isn’t something he really accepts). He’s responsible for countless deaths of both humans and other vampires, based on rules he doesn’t believe in. He’s extremely manipulative and uses people while pretending he doesn’t. He makes choices but acts (and sometimes believes) that he didn’t really have a choice.
He needs to learn to take responsibility, what healthy relationships look like, and how to care about other people. He doesn’t have to be who he is (and who he is doesn’t make him happy), but he doesn’t know how to be someone else. The Barge can give him a chance to free himself from the patterns he’s stuck in.
Arrival: Against his will
Abilities/Powers:
- Basics that come with being a vampire in his universe: he’s incredibly strong, incredibly fast, and heals extremely quickly (Restrictions: slightly stronger and faster than most normal humans but at ‘extremely talented athlete level’, heals at a slower rate)
- Armand can read people’s thoughts, talk to them mind-to-mind, and get a sense of emotions even when the specific thoughts are hidden. He can control people physically but tends to use it more to screw with people’s emotions/perceptions. He can also suppress memories in both humans and vampires (Restrictions: he can’t erase memories, or enter people’s minds at all unless they agree to it)
- He can freeze an entire room full of people with his mind (Restrictions: removed)
- He can fly (Restrictions: only an inch or so off the ground, and it takes effort)
- He’s very good at setting stuff on fire (Restrictions: can’t light anything more than a candle)
- Note: because of his age, he can go out into the sun
CW: CSA, slavery, prostitution, cults, control through violence, abusive relationships, gaslighting
Inmate Information:
Armand’s past shapes him deeply, in what he can’t remember as well as what he can. He can only remember fragments. He remembers being sold into slavery to a ship’s captain, and then to a brothel. He credits the abuse he suffered there as why he can remember so little, including not being certain of even something like his birthname. He was at most a young teenager during his time there as he was ‘saved’ when he was fifteen.
When he was fifteen, he was bought from the brothel by the vampire who would become his Maker – the painter Marius De Romanus – who renamed him Amadeo. Amadeo served him with all his heart. He basked in his mercy. He considers him his salvation. At the same time, Armand implies that Marius continued to sexually abuse the teenager (and then young man) who he’d bought and speaks more directly of being ‘donated’ if one of Marius’ friends came to town, beyond being used as a model for their paintings. Marius refused to give him ‘the Dark Gift’, because of what it would do to his ‘beloved Amadeo’, but finally turned him when he grew deeply ill.
At some point (likely not long after) the coven of vampires in Rome set fire to the studio, killing Marius. They took ‘Amadeo’ and renamed him again as ‘Armand’. He was then sent to ‘lead’ the Paris coven (called ‘the Children of Darkness’), which was already a mess. Armand had never led anything before in his life, before being thrust into a position of ‘authority’ of basically a cult, where he maintained discipline and humility to ancient laws by killing anyone who disobeyed. He was in this position for over two hundred years, enforcing the rules and telling ‘his children’ that they wouldn’t survive (and weren’t capable) of living a different life.
Given all this, it’s not surprising that Armand’s grasp on both relationships and power are deeply messed up. He spent his life powerless, and as a vampire he didn’t feel as if that had changed (even as he was in a position of leadership). By the end of his time with the Children of Darkness, Armand didn’t believe most of what he said. Instead of telling them that and trying to enact some sort of change, he used the arrival of Lestat, and his rejection of the laws Armand said couldn’t be broken, to destroy the coven.
It's part of a long pattern of both claiming that a situation was out of control and manipulating things to get what he wants. His use of Lestat is also part of a pattern where he falls in love with someone and tries to control them and get them to tell him what to do at the same time. He repeats this when he meets Louis, more successfully.
The coven was remade, but Armand simply went back to the old ways just in a new setting and stripped of religion. He stuck to the old rules, and to controlling the coven by destroying anyone who broke them. It’s his purpose, and that’s what he is, even though he doesn’t like it. He’s the one who could make a change, but he can’t because this is what he knows. He doesn’t know how to lead that’s not based on violence. He can’t see change that doesn’t involve a lot of destruction, as happens again here where Louis burns down the coven after the death of his daughter/sister Claudia – a death Armand helped orchestrate, even as he claims it was out of his control.
Armand genuinely loves Louis and wants to make him happy. He claims that whatever makes Louis happy is all he wants. On some level, that’s true. But Armand’s definition of love is being able to give up control to someone else, even as he holds firmly on to control. He plays the servant. He wants a ‘God’ to serve. And he’s not going to let someone stop him (including Louis). He’s there to protect Louis, even from himself. He swears that he’s never hurt Louis, which is definitely not true by a definition that goes beyond ‘physical’. It’s an incredibly unhealthy and abusive relationship built on a devesting lie. One that Armand’s fully aware will make Louis leave if he finds out about it, so it’s better that he doesn’t.
Armand knows that Louis is deeply unhappy. He knows that Louis is with him to purposefully spite Lestat (as he was literally standing right there when Louis said it). He knows that it’s questionable that Louis has ‘forgiven’ him for his (what Louis believes was a much more limited) part in Claudia’s death. None of this stops him from seeing Louis as the love of his life, and a person he can make happy. He wants this to be true, which is clear in what he doesn’t do. He could control Lousi (with his mental abilities). He could erase his memories. He could disobey various orders. He could fight back in the fight that happens after Louis learns the truth, but he doesn’t. He wants Louis in his right mind (Armand doesn’t consider this status threatened by the lies and manipulation he has employed) to play the role of his master/the person who tells him who he is. If Louis chooses to leave, he can't not let him (he just doesn't want him to make that choice).
He’ll obey Louis… and in the next scene control someone else through physical means or by threats of blackmail.
Armand has also killed a lot of humans, and does enjoy it a good deal.
Path to Redemption:
Perhaps the most important milestone is creating connections with other people. Armand considers humans as prey, but he also doesn’t really connect with other vampires (except the ones he falls in love with). The path to treating people better in general is to learn how to care for people at all. That giving up total control isn’t necessarily love, even if that was what he did, and work on a sense of self.
Armand has to admit that he has more agency in his life than he frequently believes, and that a lot of what he claims is ‘out of his control’ isn’t. It’s possible for things to change without manipulating someone into destroying everything. This is also tied to admitting to the ways he’s actually hurt people, instead of simply pretending (and frequently lying about what ‘crime’ he’s atoning for).
A good warden for Armand would probably have to tread a narrow line, given his long history with power dynamics. He plays up sympathy and vulnerability but doesn’t really have a way to cope with a genuine response to the fact that he has been extremely fucked up by stuff outside of his control, and it’s not just pretense to manipulate people. He has his pride (even if his self-respect can be questionable). He’s set in specific patterns, and he doesn’t have a map of how to escape them.
Armand’s not against the concept of redemption, even as he doesn’t want to confront what he’s actually done wrong, so there are ways to appeal to that even if it starts as a way to get a second chance at forgiveness instead of changing. He lies, manipulates, and blames other people for stuff like revealing he’s been lying instead of considering that the problem might be the lying. He’s also deeply unhappy, and the concept of not being that holds power.
He'll dislike being on the Barge, but simply being in a completely different environment (no matter how much stuff like lack of power will mess with him) is a good start.
History: here
Sample Network Entry: comment
Sample RP: comment
Special Notes:
