caravaggios | Open Post

Vampires? No. Not even a little.

You, though? Honestly, yeah.

[His head is tilted, his expression curious. Daniel's still trying to decide what he thinks of Armand, an entirely separate task then when the man had been Rashid. There's a lot to piece together yet, but there is some shape coalescing, something that might at one point solidify.]

If nothing else, you run the penthouse and anyone who works in in it like a well-oiled machine.

[Armand smiles. And it’s genuine enough that there’s almost a sweetness to it.]

I will take that as a compliment.

[Then he glances out the window, taking a mental note of how far they are from their destination.]

You could say I value efficiency. Enjoy it. I don’t know that it is the same as practicality.

[There's -- something, something he can't name, exactly, in his reaction to seeing Armand -- pleased? Flattered? He's not sure what. Daniel has always tried to be no-nonsense, and that meant being truthful about things that were complimentary and not just what was bullshit. Still, it's odd to see Armand smile sincerely all the same.]

So what makes you impractical, then? Besides the bookshelves on the ceiling and the flair for the dramatic.

[He raises his eyebrows, more amused than insulted.]

Is that not enough?

[When Daniel puts it bluntly like that, it seems like it should be enough. He could defend his choice of decor, but honestly he can understand why it might seem impractical to a human.

But Armand offers a shrug and glances out the window again.]

I once watched three seasons of the television show Friends in one sitting. I believe that to be impractical given the number of times Netflix asked if I was still watching.

Edited 2023-01-06 07:24 (UTC)

That's...

[After the initial surprise of considering Armand, of all the beings in the universe, sitting down to watch Joey fucking Tribbiano, he starts doing math. There is a piece of his brain, one that has been honed by years of research and critical analysis, that immediately starts to calculate the exact time count in spite of himself.

Friends was a half-hour sitcom, twenty minutes without commercials, it ran on network TV in the 90s, so it presumably had 24-episode orders. Multiply it all together by three and you get...]

You watched Friends for twenty-four straight hours?

[Armand isn’t listening in to Daniel’s thoughts specifically, but he is aware of the gears turning in his head, the calculations he’s making. And when Daniel asks his question Armand sighs deeply, glancing at him with a slight quirk to his lips.]

Yes, something like that. Impractical, as I said, and not something I would recommend.

[Not that he thinks Daniel really needs this particular advice.]

Did you even like it?

[For some reason, this sticks to him more than a lot of other shit he's learned in the past few days. The human man named Rashid actually being a vampire named Armand? A wild twist, but, you know what, he was in vampire territory. The guy who owned original Francis Bacon paintings watching Jennifer Aniston have a will-they-won't-they with Ross? Somehow that was more surprising.]

I enjoyed the blonde woman. Phoebe. She was amusing. The rest…grew tedious.

[Which is why he never binge watched the rest of the seasons. Armand isn’t surprised that Daniel is surprised, though. Shocking him was, perhaps, the main reason he decided to share that bit of information. To see his reaction. Armand does enjoy getting reactions out of people.

But it’s also easier to talk to him now. As himself, rather than a facade.]

[Somehow, that eases him back. He's pretty sure he'd have been far more rattled if it turned out Armand was really, deeply invested in Ross Geller. It'd really set back the mystique on the whole 'vampire' thing.

Still, there's something oddly -- humanizing about the idea of the guy sitting down to watch a sitcom and deciding he didn't like it, even if 'human' was something he hadn't been for half a millennia. Daniel's not sure what to make of that.]

Does seem kind of low-brow compared to Rembrandt and Basquiat, but then again, I have no idea what kind of TV wouldn't be.

[Armand tilts his head thoughtfully and then glances out the car window to determine how much longer before they get to their destination. Perhaps 5 more minutes.]

That is not a fair comparison. It’s—what’s the saying?—apples to oranges? Painting is a different form of art than theater. Or acting.

[He's not really trying to defend Friends, exactly, but as someone who has both painted and acted, as well as a fan of television in general, he has opinions.]

In his day, Shakespeare was considered low-brow. Popular theater for the masses, full of bawdy humor. His work is art to people now because it has withstood the test of time.

[He turns his gaze back to Daniel.]

Besides, it is Louis who has the fondness for Basquiat. I fear I may be too old to fully appreciate him. Modern art is sometimes lost on me.

[It's odd -- this is maybe the most Armand has talked about himself since Daniel has met him. The words he says aren't really about him, granted, but he's explaining his tastes and point of view, and it's a contrast to the secrecy that's surrounded everything else about him since Daniel's arrival.

But Daniel's content to let him talk, to let him become less of a cipher. It's weird, but something about getting him outside of the penthouse seems to have made him less of an enigma. Maybe fresh air'll do that. Or just Joey Tribbiani. Hard to say.]

Mm, I don't disagree. I mean, I'm not someone with particularly fancy tastes, exactly. I guess I assumed your sense for aesthetic wasn't just limited to penthouse decor.

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