Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
Series Metadata
Listing Series
-
Tags
Summary
Daniel can tell right away that something is deeply, unsettlingly wrong. And that’s when he realizes that Armand hasn’t moved his legs once in Daniel’s sight, which has been trained on him nearly the entire time. How long had it taken Louis to recover from his spinal injury?
“He had a lot more going on,” Armand wheezes. “But, to answer your question without consulting your abysmal recordings? Months.”
“Uh, they’re not so easily consulted at the moment,” Daniel says, trying to maintain his balance. It’s going to be a fucking miracle if he can get himself back on his feet, let alone haul a temporarily paralyzed Armand along with him. “I’m gonna let the head thing slide for the time being.”
“The head thing?”
“You. In mine.”
“How generous.”
“The way I see it,” Daniel says, “I’m your only ticket out of here if you’re in as bad a shape as I think you are. Tell me I’m wrong.”
Series
- Part 1 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Tags
Summary
Armand sets both hands against the back of his neck, fingernails digging into his own flesh as he approaches the bed. He crawls onto it face down, his neck already bleeding. “I need you to keep me from doing something unproductive right now,” he mumbles into the duvet.
Daniel doesn’t need to hear it twice. He rushes to Armand’s side on the mattress, prying Armand’s hands away from his neck. He bends and laps away the traces of blood there, and then rests his cheek against the spot where those lacerations have already healed.
“Thank you, beloved,” Armand whispers, sounding lost, and it makes Daniel glad he got turned with some age and experience under his belt. “You’re the only human thing about me that’s left. I envy Louis’s and Lestat’s shared humanity, I hate—”
“I’m not enabling this,” Daniel says, rubbing the small Armand’s back. “You don’t get to be a glutton for punishment anymore. You get to talk through your shit with me like a fucking adult, because that’s one of the things I’m here for.”
Series
- Part 2 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Still Life With Sunken Treasure by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
09 Aug 2024
Tags
Summary
“I don’t like writing,” Armand says contemplatively, and Daniel can see out of the corner of his eye that he’s playing Pokémon GO. “I enjoy describing things, though. I get lost in it. I’d only be able to write a book if someone took live dictation.”
“Good thing it’s my job and not yours,” Daniel replies. “FYI, my ghostwriting skills aren’t currently for hire. That was worse than selling myself.”
“I don’t want to be the subject of a book,” Armand says, staring for a moment as if mesmerized by the series of nearby PokéStops he’s just spun. “It’s enough for me to come to grips with how prominently I feature in the current one,” he adds reluctantly. “I’m the villain of the piece.”
Daniel stops typing and turns to him. He catches Armand’s free hand as it dangles from the armrest. “Have a little more faith in me than that.”
“I’d have far less faith in you if you hadn’t told it exactly like it is,” Armand replies, emphatic. He squeezes Daniel’s hand, lacing their fingers.
“Okay, so you’re a monster,” Daniel reassures him. “There’s no way around it given the point of view. But to your credit, you’re a sexy monster.”
Series
- Part 3 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
It’s Not the Louvre, But It’ll Do by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
10 Aug 2024
Tags
Summary
“Was that honey and pineapple line just Louis pulling my leg?” Daniel asks, fighting the desire to sit Armand down to re-listen to the recordings and ask him to point out all the places they’re saying silly, untrue shit just to see what they can get away with. “I haven’t seen you eat regular food like I saw Louis make an effort to do that one time with dessert. Honey and pineapple? You don’t strike me as a fan of sticky stuff.”
“While it doesn’t harm me, consuming human food is a chore. Louis can, in fact, associate his mortal memories of food tastes with blood. Unfortunately, I cannot. But differences in blood type and contaminants present—alcohol, drugs, and other substances, for example—I tend to be able to detect.” Armand takes another drink, thoughtful. “You always tasted wonderful to me with brandy in your system. You still do.”
“Not so much with the other crap I used to ingest, I’m guessing.”
“Regretfully, Daniel, no. I never developed a taste for cocaine.”
Series
- Part 4 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Time Has Opened Back Up to Us by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
11 Aug 2024
Tags
Summary
Daniel has to admit that [Armand not being able to drive anything more complex than a motorbike] washes, what with how Armand had always shown up in a hired car with someone else driving the times that he’d swooped in to save Daniel from his own reckless behavior. Daniel shushes him, petting his hair. Yeah, babe, of course I’ll drive.
Navigation, though—Armand was made for it. Daniel drives five hours the first night with Armand poring over several browser windows’ worth of maps in the passenger seat. Most of this trip, Daniel knows by heart. But whenever Armand compares and contrasts potential routes to take, Daniel lets him call the shots (bonus: he has a nicer voice than Siri). They drain a pair of state troopers at a truck stop.
Night after night, they check into windowless hotel rooms with only two or three hours of darkness to spare. They fuck like runaway teenagers before falling asleep in each other’s arms until the next sunset. Drive, hunt cops, repeat. Best honeymoon Daniel’s ever had.
Series
- Part 5 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Tags
Summary
When the driver drops them off, Armand beats Daniel to tipping him. That wad of hundred-dollar bills from his pocket trick is still shocking. Once the driver is gone, they stow their luggage in Daniel’s apartment and head right back out to feed.
The hunt is uneventful. There’s no lack of riff-raff out at this hour; they share a dirty cop, a soulless landlord, and a pedophile for dessert.
They’re both flushed, filled to the brim with warmth when they return to Daniel’s apartment. Daniel turns on all the lights with his mind, no hesitation or burning out the bulb. When Armand realizes he’s done it by flipping all the lightswitches simultaneously, he kisses him.
“You prodigy,” Armand murmurs against Daniel’s lips. “What a masterpiece.”
“Hey, you made me,” Daniel reminds him. “Not to kill the mood, but I’ve gotta go get the mail. It’s just a lockbox in the lobby. I’ll be back in five.”
Series
- Part 6 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Calamity Comes to Your Door by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
17 Aug 2024
Tags
Summary
Marius seats himself in the armchair without asking. “I never met you the first time around.”
“I’m guessing that’s because Armand was seeing me on the sly,” Daniel replies. “And didn’t know you were alive.” He makes no move to sit down himself, because he sort of needs to be looking down on this guy right now.
Marius looks amused, but he doesn’t laugh. “I’d hardly call a decade and change on the sly, at least not in human terms. Twelve years. That was the longest relationship you’ve ever held down, if I’m not mistaken?”
“Damn right it is,” Daniel says, wondering if Marius achieves his hair color by bleaching it. “And counting.”
Marius smiles at him, strained but courteous. “How are you adjusting to life without the sun?”
“Fuck the sun. I’m fine.”
“Such a sensible outlook.”
Series
- Part 7 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Tags
Summary
“Marius didn’t even bother to tell me he survived. With luck, we won’t see him for another century unless there’s trouble.”
“Listen, if there’s the kind of trouble on the horizon that the Talamasca keeps hinting at, will he and the other ancient fuckers help us?”
“I would hope so. My abilities are formidable, but what’s five hundred years to someone who has two thousand, or maybe even three?”
Daniel turns pensive as they descend the subway stairs. “Is Marius the oldest we know of?”
Armand hesitates, removing his shades as they dash onto the train. “I’m not sure,” he says.
“What do you mean?” Daniel asks, sensing that some important information is looming.
Series
- Part 8 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Death to Welcome With Open Arms by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
22 Aug 2024
Tags
Summary
The front door opens. Louis strides into the room with Lestat a couple of steps behind him. They look flushed and well fed, and it only takes a couple of seconds’ worth of snooping in both of their blood-hazy heads to see how they’ve hunted the busy Cambridge Street bars.
“Not a single casualty between the two of us, I assure you,” Louis says, and it takes Daniel a few seconds to realize he’s saying this to placate Armand, who must likewise have been snooping. “We know that Daniel and the fledglings will need to feed and likely kill before dawn.”
Meanwhile, Lestat is staring at Daniel with a perplexing mix of alarm and admiration. He approaches Daniel with one hand outstretched, and he doesn’t stop until he’s close enough to tap Daniel’s temple hard enough to draw pinpricks of blood. He licks his fingertips.
“So I did hear what I heard. You successfully hacked Marius’s mind while the gremlin twirled his hair and giggled as a distraction,” Lestat says with a grudging smile. “It hadn’t occurred to me that the two of you might prove a formidable team, but now I believe it.”
Series
- Part 9 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Tags
Summary
“You miss wrecking me on this sofa that’s got a ratty old plaid blanket draped over the back?” Daniel asks, his voice already too breathy to fool anyone he’s playing it cool, let alone Armand. “That thing should be an affront to your interior decorating sensibilities.”
“It smells like you,” Armand says, nuzzling Daniel’s ear before sinking the tips of his fangs shallowly into the shell of it. “Like you did when you were alive,” he adds, dipping to kiss the old scars on Daniel’s neck from their first encounter. “I find it comforting.”
“Do I smell different now?” Daniel replies, petting Armand’s tousled hair while Armand licks his earlobe and breathes hotly against the damp skin. He shivers, clutching the small of Armand’s back with his free hand, pushing up against Armand on his next grind down. “You fed?”
“I took the fledglings out,” Armand says, resting his head against Daniel’s shoulder for a moment as they continue their easy rhythm, barely moving now. “I wanted to make sure they were taken care of before I woke you, and…” He shivers. “Wanted to be warm for you.”
Series
- Part 10 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Tags
Summary
The scene that awaits [Daniel and Sam] is chaos. There are three piles of grease and ash on the ground amidst the dust and broken glass, and Armand—
Armand, his face covered in blood and blackened gore, his eyes lava-bright with mindless fury, is locked in hand-to-hand combat with a vampire who has at least several inches in height and two hundred pounds in weight on him. There must be some reason he hasn’t incinerated this fucker. Maybe this is the one that has harmed the fledglings such that they’ve ended up covered in blood. Fire would be a fate too kind.
Daniel acts on sheer instinct, sending a blast of psychic interference. Hey, over here!
Snarling, Armand finds enough of an opening to rip out the other vampire’s throat.
Series
- Part 11 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
The Walls of This Villa Remember by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
08 Sep 2024
Tags
Summary
“I guess we did that the first time we were here, didn’t we?” Daniel asks. “You might’ve played tour guide, but I wasn’t paying attention.”
“What were you paying attention to, then?”
“How hot you looked in those stolen clothes.”
Armand lets Daniel help him to his feet, his expression fond. “I did notice,” he says softly, “and it pleases me that you can’t keep your eyes off me when I’m dressed in your sweaters.” He scratches at the dried blood on his belly, making a face, and then starts to get dressed.
“Those jeans of yours don’t hurt, either,” Daniel says, putting on his boxers. He pauses to watch Armand finish putting on the jeans in question, and then smacks his ass. “You look just like the kind of Millennial hipster boy toy that a guy my age would be banging in a mid-life crisis.”
Armand finishes putting on his socks, rolling his eyes. He shoves his feet back in his shoes, and then waits until Daniel has fastened his own jeans to give Daniel’s ass a brutally hard pinch. “You’re just the right age for a bored, half-millennia-old vampire to have a fling with.”
Series
- Part 12 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
As Only My Hands Can Deliver by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
15 Sep 2024
Tags
Summary
Armand turns off the flashlight, tucking it back inside his coat. Instead of letting his eyes linger on the painting, he turns them on Daniel, luminous even in the dark. “Among other things, San Beneto is also the patron of those who have suffered by poison,” he says.
“Shit,” Daniel sighs. “That’s how you would’ve died had you not been turned, huh? You implied as much en route from Dubai to Miami.”
Armand takes both of Daniel’s hands, staring down at them there in his own as if seeking strength. “When we were together the first time around, I didn’t tell you I was turned because I was dying. I couldn’t bring myself to share some details of that event. Even now, I’m not sure why. I know now that you never judged me for any of it, that you will never judge me, but…” He shakes his head. “For this? I judged myself.”
Daniel leans forward, pressing a kiss against Armand’s neck. “Easier if I drink?”
“Yes,” Armand replies, “but telling you this should not be easy. Let me speak.”
Series
- Part 13 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Vampire Family, Human Family by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
19 Sep 2024
Tags
Summary
Daniel should know something’s off when they find the lights on, but he’s left them like that while he’s out of town many times before. Maybe he just can’t remember having done so. He drops his bag on the floor as soon as Armand drops his, tugging Armand into his arms.
“Welcome home, my love,” Armand murmurs between kisses, unzipping Daniel’s jacket. “Can’t wait to get you under the covers, start a film…”
“Hot,” Daniel teases, nuzzling Armand’s earlobe, biting his neck with a hint of fangs. “Your dirty talk never fails to…” He feels Armand freeze.
“Daniel,” Armand says, the tremor in his body suggesting that it’s taking an inordinate amount of control not to give in to his attack instincts.
“Jesus Christ,” Ellie says, strolling in from the dining room with her arms folded as Daniel lifts his head, mouth clamped shut to hide the retraction of his fangs. “What an entrance. Might get you a third Pulitzer if you write this scene in your next book. Hey, Paige, get in here!”
Series
- Part 14 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Full House, But It Could Be Fun by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
23 Sep 2024
Tags
Summary
“Shhh, shhh,” Armand whispers, stroking [Daniel’s] hair. “Beloved, none of this is easy. You know that, right? Give yourself some credit.”
“My kid might as well have one foot in the grave because of me,” Daniel manages, pressing closer to Armand’s heated skin. “Fuck, I didn’t even tell Joaquín to bring food up for her. We sat around and talked about our feelings instead, and then she went to shower.”
Armand pulls up the covers, holding him closer. “The fledglings know how to reach Joaquín. They will see to it that Paige eats.”
“Okay,” Daniel quavers, closing his eyes, comforted as Armand rubs his back. “Okay.”
“Coven life is complex on any scale,” Armand tells him. “So is family life, I’ve gathered.”
“Yeah, it’s all a bitch,” Daniel replies darkly. “And you wonder why I ran from it twice.”
Series
- Part 15 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Tags
Summary
“That’s why you called me out here as if it’s a parent-teacher conference?” Daniel asks, annoyed. “To tell me [Armand’s] volatility makes him weak?”
“He’s unbalanced,” Petronia clarifies. “He’s worried about the fledglings and your mortal daughter. But Marius’s connection to this—”
“Is a big fucking problem, yeah,” Daniel says. “It’s the most likely thing to mess him up on top of the wider implications. I’ve got his back.”
Petronia nods, striding off the steps and into the shadows. “That’s all Sam needs to hear,” they say, rising toward the sky. “Thank you, Daniel.”
“What, that I’ll prevent him from having a meltdown so he can be the ruthless soldier?” Daniel calls after them. “Tell Sam to fuck off!”
Series
- Part 16 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
It’s a Slippery Slope to Stand-Up Comedy by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
02 Oct 2024
Tags
Summary
Daniel tucks the glasses in his pocket. He joins Armand next to the body, impressed at the tightly-controlled burn he’s directing out toward its extremities. He extends his hands, warming them as if he’s in front of a campfire. He bumps Armand’s shoulder.
Armand leans into Daniel. “Not the kind of date I had in mind,” he admits, rueful, but there’s a smile on his lips. “Memorable, though.”
“I’ll almost miss his weird-ass texts,” Daniel says.
“The way he’d react to your TMI,” Armand agrees.
Series
- Part 17 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Tags
Summary
Daniel? Louis interjects hazily, on the edge of sleep himself. I can hear you the whole way across town. The fuck’s [Armand] done to keep you up?
Something he never would’ve done by choice, Daniel replies, carding his fingers through Armand’s hair. That Talamasca fuck shot Paige, so—
Louis reels at the barrage of images Daniel sends instead of more words, their entire exhausting night as a short-form existential horror film.
Series
- Part 18 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
Don’t Include This in Your Next Backup by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
16 Nov 2024
Tags
Summary
The silence is so deafening that, for about five minutes, Daniel is afraid Louis has hung up on him. Just when he doesn’t blame Louis for not believing him, just when he’s sure he must deserve it, his mind floods with Louis’s messy, inarticulate astonishment.
Daniel, I find your comparison of my life to a telenovela awfully disingenuous at this point.
“Cool. I’ll turn that right back on myself in perpetuity if you’ll hear me out on this next part.”
Series
- Part 19 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)
-
From This World into Another by irisbleufic
Fandoms: Interview with the Vampire (TV 2022)
03 Dec 2024
Tags
Summary
Armand’s hand cups [Daniel’s] cheek a little while later, somewhere near dawn. “Beloved.”
Daniel nuzzles into the touch, reaching for the rest of him. “Gotta sleep, babe. What.”
“There’s a box,” Armand says, quiet panic in his voice dragging Daniel into alertness.
“Wait,” Daniel says, blinking up at Armand’s alarmed, lovely face. “A box…where?”
“Kitchen,” Armand responds, letting his hand fall away as Daniel sits up. “The table.”
“Well, that’s some bullshit,” Daniel says, pulling Armand into his arms. “I know the drill. It’s unmarked, right? Just a plain, brown box.”
Armand nods readily in agreement.
“Okie-doke. A housewarming gift.”
“That’s an ominous delivery method.”
“Do you even realize the irony here?”
“Don’t rub salt in the wound, Daniel.”
Series
- Part 20 of Caldera: Mise-en-Abîme (Vol. 1)