#that from the beginning he was captivated by lestat and that all these

[lizardkingeliot]

I took a ton of notes during my rewatch of 2x07 just now but the thing I kept coming back to again and again was Armand's framing of the entire narrative and how it plays with truth vs lies in such an insidious way it's honestly brilliant in its cruelty. Truth being used as a cudgel not only against Louis, but against Lestat as well. And against, us, the viewers at home.

We obviously all know Armand is a very powerful 500 year old vampire who is not going to be held back by an infant of a vampire like Santiago. Like… Armand. Babe. Let’s get real. But that’s the narrative set-up. The coven, now being led by Santiago, has Armand captive behind his little rickety baby gate with Sam and his prop weapon not letting the puppy come out to play. He cannot prevent it! Poor baby. Someone get him a juice box and a snack.

Enter Lestat. The vengeful lover come to make Louis and Claudia pay for what they did to him. What's interesting here is that everyone—Daniel, Louis, Armand—acknowledges in Dubai that the trial IS a sham from the beginning. A tool to allow Lestat his revenge. But the truth of why it's actually a sham is being hidden behind a thousand layers of gaslighting and deceit by Armand. Lestat is merely another prop on the stage. Being forced to use the TRUTH of his love story with Louis—and to twist essential elements of their beginning as a couple—as a weapon to drive the final wedge between them so that Armand might have Louis all to himself. That's what this is about. A farce so that Armand might have what he wants more than anything in the world. Someone who will be with him always. Without Claudia, without Lestat... who else is there for Louis to run to?

The trial as we see it is told mostly through Louis' POV. It seems to be a true picture of how it all happened but the cognitive dissonance watching him try to reconcile what Lestat was doing on the stage with the framing provided by Armand (who cuts in frequently to assure us that Lestat shapes things to suit HIS narrative) is painful. Louis sees and feels and hears the sincerity of Lestat. A Lestat who is defiant from the jump and refuses to paint the story as butchery. It's about LOVE. It is always always always about the love. An entire sham trial about vengeance and murder framed around... love.

Everyone who's familiar with the books already knows Lestat didn't want to be there. I won't go into that too much but the show did a good job of showing us just how unwell Lestat was during the entire process. But there are also some really interesting moments where we are TOLD explicitly through Louis' recounting of the events that Lestat was not actually there for revenge. Namely, the moment when Lestat says HE deserves to be punished alongside them. These are not the words of someone who is seeking vengeance. These are the words of someone desperately rattling the bars of his own cage trying everything he can to prevent what's happening. Because unlike a certain someone, in that moment Lestat is quite literally unable to prevent it!

The entire episode is Louis trying to reconcile the conflicting truths that exist inside him: that Lestat was there for revenge, that Armand couldn't prevent the coven from exacting their cruelty, and that the Lestat who was on stage WAS sincere and emotional and fighting with everything he had to let the truth ring as true as it was when he was able. He refused to refer to Louis as the accused every time Santiago insisted on it. He would only refer to Louis by name. He would NOT allow the narrative to frame him as someone who didn't also do monstrous things to his lover. He was weeping and flooded with shame. Sincerely, genuinely remorseful for the awful thing he had done to Louis.

There's also something else here about Lestat acknowledging he tried to crush what he could not own vs Armand deceiving Louis into the false sense of control that is the entire basis for their relationship. Owning something he does not crush, merely confines. He's not crushing Louis with insanity, he's locking him inside his prison of empathy. He quite literally has Louis locked in a cage while allowing him to believe he's truly free. Free from the insanity of Lestat. Evil, vengeful, gaslighting Lestat who only uses the truth to shape the narrative for himself.

There's a lot more going on here. I can't possibly get it all out of my brain right now and I imagine I'm going to be picking apart the nuances for a while. There are so many layers. The truth vs lies vs intentional reshaping of the truth of it all. But if you rewatch, pay attention to Armand's face, the score that accompanies his recounting of events, the passive way in which he holds his body in both Paris and Dubai. He's locking Louis in a dream world where the truth is present in such a way it only serves to amplify its own distortion. I don't even think he's fucking with Louis' memory all that much, just framing it in such a way that Louis cannot see past what is right there in front of him. What he already knows. If only he had just a few more tiny pieces of the puzzle...

But he's trying to get there. He is getting there. The truth of Lestat is breaking though. Lestat is still present there with him in Dubai, as real as if he were really in the room. After 74 years, Louis can still recall every detail of his face, still smile at him recalling the truth of his memories. The truth he wouldn't allow himself to look at all the way. The truth he himself had to distort for his own sake because it hurt too much. He's allowing himself to see not only the truth of himself and his own actions, but the truth of Lestat. All the complicated, sincere truth of him. The truth of the one who truly could not prevent it.

[heliza24]

A few Armand thoughts that currently have me in a chokehold:

1. The building in Dubai only “groans” when Armand is around, and specifically when Armand is mad. Some of my favorite times I’ve noticed it include when Louis tells him to go take care of Daniel’s room in ep 1, after Daniel slaps Louis in episode 5, when Daniel tries to put Dr Fareed “on the record” in episode 6, and when he declares “this session is over” after Daniel starts pressing Louis about the rats in episode 7.

2. This, along with the fact that Armand is literally controlling the windows and balcony doors with his iPad, really adds to the feeling that he’s holding both Louis and Daniel hostage in a trap of his own design. When he mentions the interior designer that pitied Louis and his separation from the natural world and added the tree to compensate? That was definitely Armand’s idea, to make the captivity a little more bearable.

3. I’ve always wondered why I find the Beethoven Sonata 14 to be such effective scoring at the end of episode 7. There are a lot of contributing factors I think— it’s dramatic, it’s recognizable and therefore builds suspense, it’s used in the beginning and end of the episode as bookends. But it feels so *right*— even though I LOVE all of Daniel Hart’s original score. But here’s the thing. Armand controls the diegetic music being played in the penthouse. That’s established in ep 2 when he turns it on before Daniel and Louis have dinner. And when the sonata is first playing at the beginning of episode 7, Daniel and Louis are back in the dining room (being served by Armand/Rashid). So we can assume that the music is diegetic in that scene, and that Armand is controlling it. When it comes back in the moment of conflict and reveal at the end of the episode 7, the music is nondiagetic. It’s not playing literally in the room for the characters, but is part of the score. But we’ve already established that Armand is controlling it. It’s like his control has suddenly spread to the entire narrative that we’re witnessing. He’s in control of the whole show.

4. This is kind of a separate thought and more oriented towards season 2, but Armand is always styled— costume but also especially hair— to match whoever he’s romancing at the time.

I kind of assume the Dubai aesthetic is what he has chosen, and Louis is more matching him (see above points for my reasoning on that I guess).

But when Louis meets him in Paris, he’s perfectly positioned aesthetically to be attractive to Louis (especially coming off his experience with Lestat). He looks mature, capable of leading the coven. He’s suave, with his well fitted suits and slicked back hair.

In the 18th century flashbacks (god I can’t believe we are getting to go back to the 18th century, my favorite of all historical eras) he is matching Lestat like, down to the color palette.

But in San Francisco (and forgive the bad quality screen grab for these, I don’t think we have any high quality stills of this yet) his hair is light and curly, and he looks a fully 5-10 years younger than the Paris or Dubai scenes.

Because he’s matching a 20-something Daniel.

*proceeds to internally combust*

[sqream-queen]

Can you write a lestat x reader where he notices he's in love with reader?

The low hum of the city barely registered for Lestat as he watched you laugh. It was a bright, unrestrained sound that cut through the usual melancholic symphony of his existence. You were both in his penthouse overlooking the sprawl of the grungy city, a city he'd haunted for centuries, yet tonight, it felt different. Lighter.

You had been in his life for nearly six years – a blink in his endless lifespan, yet a significant stretch for a mortal. Initially, you were simply… fascinating. A vibrant splash of color in his existence of eternal dark and death. You possessed a fierce curiosity about the world, a sharp wit that could parry his most cynical remarks, and an unexpected empathy that saw past his carefully constructed arrogance. He’d enjoyed your company, the way your mortal, vibrant energy thrummed around him, a stark contrast to the stagnant stillness of his own being. You asked insightful questions about history, about art, about the very nature of existence, never flinching at his veiled allusions to his true nature. He found himself looking forward to your conversations, your shared evenings filled with music, and your surprisingly astute observations.

He’d told himself it was a diversion, a way to stave off the ennui that perpetually threatened to engulf him. Humans were fleeting, like the candles he burned during his long nights. He’d seen countless lives begin and end, felt the sting of loss enough times to build walls around his ancient heart. You were just another flame, he’d reasoned, destined to fade

But lately… lately, the thought of that fading brought a new kind of ache, a hollow resonance he hadn't felt in centuries. It started subtly. A flicker of protectiveness when a careless driver nearly clipped you on a sidewalk. A surge of something akin to jealousy when you spoke animatedly of a friend. He found himself memorizing the way the lamplight caught your eyes, so full of life and potential, the way your brow furrowed in concentration when you read, the soft curve of your smile when he told a particularly wicked anecdote.

Tonight, as you recounted a funny mishap at the bookstore, your eyes sparkling with amusement, something shifted within him. It wasn’t just the amusement reflected in your gaze that held him captive. It was the warmth that radiated from your very being, the genuine joy that seemed to illuminate the very air around him. He saw not just a fleeting human life, but a vibrant soul, a unique constellation of thoughts and feelings that had somehow, inexplicably, become precious to him.

A pang, sharp and unfamiliar, pierced through the layers of his undead existence. It felt… vulnerable. Terrifying. He, Lestat de Lioncourt, the self-proclaimed immortal rock star, the creature of the night who fed on the living, was feeling something akin to… need. Not the physical hunger, the familiar craving for blood, but a deeper, more profound yearning for your presence, for your laughter, for the simple act of being near him.

He observed you, saw you more than just another pulse for him to extinguish, and saw not a temporary companion but a person whose spirit had somehow intertwined with his own. He saw the quiet strength beneath your gentle demeanor, the unwavering kindness you extended to the world, the fierce intelligence that challenged his own. And in that moment, surrounded by the glittering lights of the city, a terrifying realization dawned within him.

He wasn't just amused. He wasn't just… interested.

He was falling. Falling for a mortal soul, a creature of sunlight and fleeting breath. A creature who, against all logic and all his carefully constructed defenses, had somehow managed to chip away at the cold, unyielding stone that had become his heart. The eternity that stretched before him suddenly felt both infinitely precious and terrifyingly fragile, all because of the being laughing beside him.

For the first time in centuries, Lestat de Lioncourt didn't know what to do.

[thelioncourts]

Fic: The Abstract Sense of Beauty Pairing: Lestat/Louis Rating: Explicit Summary: When Louis de Pointe du Lac, an art curator building a name for himself, uncovers a forgotten 18th-century painting while curating for a new exhibition (that he doesn't even want to put on), he is drawn into a mystery far older than he imagined. In his attempt to uncover the painting’s secrets, he awakens something...and someone. The man from the painting, a French aristocrat named Lestat de Lioncourt, steps into the modern world with no past to return to and no future to claim. Together, they search for the truth, unraveling threads of forgotten history, forbidden magic, and buried desire. But as the bond between them deepens, so does the cost of what must be undone. Some things are lost to time for a reason. Some loves are destined to be left behind. Chapter 4/22 Chapter 4 "There Was Something Tragic" Summary: The man in the painting tells Louis his story. Louis questions his sanity.

Louis let out a long breath, still staring at the floor.

After a beat, his voice came again, thinner now, quieter.  “If I look at you again…will you still be moving?”

“Yes.”

“Will you…keep talking?”

“If you want me to.”

Louis closed his eyes.  Rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then finally, with a shaky exhale, he looked up.

And Lestat was still there.  Waiting.  Watching.  Framed like a portrait.  Alive like a man.

Lestat watched him for a moment, the painted light of the torch seeming to move now too, casting shadows across the stone floor beneath his bare feet.  Then, softly — so softly Louis almost didn’t hear it — he asked, “Shall I tell you a story?”

Louis didn’t answer at first.  He sat motionless, his heartbeat still thudding in his ears like distant thunder.  But his breathing, though shallow, was beginning to even out.  The electric panic that had held him captive began to loosen its grip.

Lestat’s voice came again, low like Louis was a skittish animal.  “The story of how I ended up here.  The story of how a man becomes a myth, much like how a boy becomes a monster.  A desperate choice at the wrong hour.”

Louis sat up slowly.  The man inside had not blurred or vanished.  He was still there, impossibly vivid.  And something in his voice — not the words but the rhythm, the intimacy — stilled the chaos inside Louis' chest.

He gave a small nod.  Just once.

“I was born in France.  A small village in the Auvergne,” Lestat said, voice smooth as candlelight.  “Stone houses, slate roofs, and winters so cruel the wolves came down from the hills.”

Louis' fingertips twitched against the arms of the chair.  The smell of aged oil paint clung to the studio air, mingling with the faint iron scent of a radiator kicking back to life.  His senses, dulled by adrenaline, slowly returned to him — the faint hum of street noise beyond the window, the creak of his chair under shifting weight.

“I was born the seventh son of a ruined marquis.  Winter-bred and unwanted.”  Lestat’s gaze drifted, like he was peering through the layers of paint into another life.  “My brothers were indifferent or cruel.  My father worse.  But someone had to hold the house together.   Someone had to hold the village together.  I became the one who did.”

Louis exhaled slowly, soundless.  He leaned forward without realizing, elbows braced on his knees, drawn in.

“I tended to the fields.  I mended roofs after storms.  I learned to break horses and break people who had done wrong, all before I had stubble on my face.”  Lestat gave a faint, humorless smile.  “I became a man far too young.  And it hollowed me out.”

Louis' breath was steadier now, even though the studio still felt colder than before.  He could hear the blood in his ears, but no longer the pounding panic.

“Just beyond our village,” Lestat continued, “was a place we called l’endroit des sorcières. The witches’ place.  No birds flew there.  No paths led there.  Even the air near it felt wrong.”

His voice lowered, quieter still.

“It terrified me.”

[Read on AO3] Full Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65238781/chapters/169335601

[monstersinthecosmos]

ARRIGHT SO the context here was me and @madshelley having a deep ass conversation about how Marius must hate that there are people who knew him when he was alive and remember him being a fucking loser. ((Aided by he’s a scrawny weirdo, my child LMAO)).

(here’s a small 2x sample of how I paced back and forth in my kitchen talking with my hands about it)

And like this goes back to the several hundred times we’ve discussed Marius being a person  who has sculpted an ideal personality for himself that he is not always capable of living by. ie: A patient scholar who wants to be challenged, when in fact he’s quite petty and holds grudges like everyone else and often loses his temper when he’s challenged.

So like I mean, I often wish that I could erase everyone’s perception of me from before I was 30 years old LOL, I’m sure this isn’t an uncommon feeling as we all grow and change. And taking Marius as an example it’s like, there are 3 people alive (that we know of) who knew him as a human and it must bother him so much to know that these three people have seen him at his lowest and most foolish.

It’s not even JUST the “he’s a scrawny weirdo”-ness of it, either, like that Pandora knew him as a wifeless drifter, but someone like Marius who tries so desperately to codify every single one of his emotions and who might feel shamed by his own vulnerably would hate that Teskhamen and Mael saw it, as well. 

Like, Teskhamen has a huge asterisk here because ~turning the Dark Trick~ is such a unique spiritual experience, and it’s not necessarily “Teskhamen saw deeply into my soul in a way others didn’t, and felt all of my secrets and knew I was a wifeless drifter”; I don’t think those are issues here, and Marius in turn would’ve been able to feel the lack of judgment. Still, Marius is one of the characters who was turned against his will, and it’s a massive source of trauma, and he goes on for two thousand years without any closure about it. Mael fills that spot for him as the person to resent and blame for his turning because he doesn’t have a maker.

(I’m thinking also about how Lestat’s and Marius’s turnings were so extremely similar and yet Lestat bounces off into the world without needing to pin his resentment on anybody and Marius refers to his irrepressible optimism in QOTD and it says this in BCtu:

So let me begin the narrative on a night when Marius, the ancient Roman Child of the Millennia, in a fit of pique became impatient with what he referred to as my “nauseating buoyancy and optimism” about the world in general.

Ahjsdklg. Anyway like, without getting into a side tangent about it and bringing their respective mommy issues into the fold to compare & contrast it’s just really interesting that Marius isn’t capable of finding that buoyant optimism in himself.) 

Sorry, back to the point about Teskhamen: It’s not necessarily about what Teskhamen might have seen of Marius’s soul in that exact moment, but also Marius knowing that this was like, the most frightened he’d ever been in his life, him at his weakest, and I just wonder how that balances out against the like Vampire Big Brain, you know? Did the vampire enlightenment kick in fast enough for him to forgive himself for being so powerless? Idk. Anyway, put a pin in this, I’m just saying, his turning was extremely traumatic and came after a year of being powerless, and on a night that his entire worldview was shattered.

The point with Mael, though, in the end, is like. They really did spend so much time together, and VC has a way of yada yada’ing huge swaths of time. Marius saying “and then I was captive for a year while my hair grew out and Mael came to me all the time and I tried to bargain with him to free me” doesn’t really fucking say it, does it? Like a year is a fucking long time for a mortal. A year is a long time.

And so like, how desperate did the bargaining get? How badly was he worn down? How many times did it devolve into piteous begging? 

We already have the other reasons Marius resented Mael afterwards (abducting him in the first place, becoming his maker by proxy) but a person like Marius, who hates feeling weakened by emotion, who wants to always be seen as someone very in control of his feelings, must hate it so much that Mael saw him like that, that Mael has this knowledge of him. 

So often trauma comes down to “I wasn’t in control” and we talk about Big T and little t trauma when it comes to pinpointing it to an event. I mean I think the entire year of captivity (plus the cherry on top of his MURDER) is a Big T, but there’s a whole year of little t in there, too, a whole year of mundane bullshit, passing the time, drinking mead, learning Mael’s stupid songs, where Marius wasn’t in control. And often like thinking down to the barest bones of trauma, no matter what the Big T or the little t is, the most basic conclusion is often “I wasn’t in control.”

Marius is a person who needs control. The way he was turned and the year leading up to it and his immediate burden with the Parents taught him that he needs to be in control. And even as his life smooths out, as he gets older, as he starts building seasons for himself and trying to sculpt the person he wants to be, he so badly wants to be in control of his emotions too. (“I have lived lies,” etc.). 

Exactly how desperate and pathetic did he get!!! Enough that Mael bought into it at some point. 

It’s so hard because for Mael, he knew that the God of the Grove was real. It wasn’t a question of faith for him, he’d experienced Teskhamen and knew. And it makes me wonder like, when we see in Blood & Gold that Mael was just as hurt and resentful that Marius damaged his own worldview and his commitment to his own people, that he took the Naples stuff to heart—was he going to let Teskhamen turn him anyway? Would he have wanted to free Marius after he’d become the new god? Did he want to escape with his deity boyfriend???

SOMETHING HAPPENED BETWEEN THEM AND MARIUS HATES THAT PEOPLE EXIST WHO HAVE SEEN HIM AT HIS WORST 

[pynkhues]

I think TVL will need to answer: If Lestat just wanted to see Louis and Claudia again, why did he not try to escape and warn them about the truth? He looked healthy at the rehearsal. Why did he not flee through the tunnels after the coven's curfew? And so forth.

If Armand was keeping him prisoner, that explains it. If that is true, I also wonder how long Armand was keeping him prisoner. It would be so Gothic if Lestat went to Armand for help soon after murder night and Armand had him already when Louis and Claudia arrived in Paris.

The rehearsal scene is actually kind of an interesting one to unpack, and I've talked about it a bit on here before, but I don't tend to read that as a memory? After all, it would have to be Armand's if it was, given Louis wasn't there.

Rolin and Sam have both been pretty specific in saying that the only time we've seen the real Lestat so far is in the reunion scene, and the way they flash to the rehearsal as Louis' reading Armand's script notes makes me think that's more Louis' imagining of something that happened based on a note Armand's made, most likely about Lestat saying something about Claudia's strength that the Coven needs to consider in restraining her. Louis' as in the dark there as we are about the state Lestat's been kept in, so it makes sense to me that he'd see him as more put together than he perhaps was. In other words, I don't really see that rehearsal scene as a reveal of anything beyond Armand having directed from the beginning, and Lestat having defended Claudia.

Given the bruises on him during the trial and the way they kept showing glimpses of him looking a lot sicker than he seemed in Louis' memory, I feel like the show's been pretty clear that he's not well and has been held captive already, honestly, which again, is in line with what it is in the book. In that, Armand's been feeding him dead blood to keep him weaker too, so if they keep that, I don't think Lestat would have the strength to escape, especially when he likely doesn't know where in Paris Louis and Claudia are, and he'd still have to outrun an angry Coven and an Armand at full strength.

I think the real question is ultimately more when did Lestat arrive in Paris, because you're right that it'd be intensely gothic if he's been there the whole time! I also think it opens up for some pretty delicious Lestat and Claudia moments if he's being trapped in the theatre itself. Watching your child get pulled deeper into a community you created with your dead ex-lover, knowing it's now run by a man who enabled the death of said ex-lover and would enable (at best) your daughter's death too, and not being able to do anything about it, is top-tier, capital-g Gothic, haha.

[llycaons]

okay and here's p2. imagine me walking around going HELLO? HELLO? HELLO? HELLO???

armand isn't in a forgiving mood, which I can understand, but louis IS in excruciating pain so making him apologize NOW, and partially for TRYING TO DIE feels really petty

and now he's talking about selling...dude that's cold

HELLO?

armand. dude. what the fuck. stop torturing daniel to get back at a guy who's like half-dead. I wish this dl had subs bc armand going THIS IS FINE WE'RE ALL FINE is insane

we talk a lot about louis's trauma since the story IS about him but daniel recalling details like what products were being advertised on tv while staring at the cellophane-wrapped neighbor is like extremely horrifying and I don't like his unwarranted hostility and cruelty towards louis but given that experience I can understand his wariness the beginning of s1 better

the off-tune kazoos in the background. really fucky. im so scared

armand torturing someone louis likes in front of him to 'understand'...I guess the gloves are off. at the end of s1 everyone was claiming freaking out and claiming armand was WORSE than lestat which i think is pretty patently untrue but this man. this is real fucked up. I don't understand why louis stayed after this except...what, to make claudia's death not a waste? to have something to do to stave off his suicidiality?

I mean something they do have in common is being really obsessive and controlling over louis's affections/attention

'BARTERING WITH DESIRE IS THAT WHAT MAKES YOU FASCINATING' SAYS THE FORMER SEX SLAVE

daniel says he's good at getting people to open up which is funny because we have rarely seen this skill in the interview here

but ALSO. armand asks this and daniel actually engages, doesn't just yes-man to stay alive

well. a little

*physically and mentally torturing a guy who you're holding captive* DO YOU THINK I'M BORING????

armand's from delhi

'eager black hole' to contrast louis's tearful confusion

daniel's not hunting for the truth, in this moment. what's the point to his question? no point. fuck your boyfriend

oh shit, instead of armand and louis vs. daniel now it's louis and daniel vs. armand. hurry, he's almost back!

the feet in the sand!

one of the podcast groups I listen to is CONVINCED louis and armand want daniel to reveal some secret he apparently has, and that's the entire purpose of this interview and that's what 'we can have him saying what happened next in no time' means. I really don't understand that assumption. it just sounds like they're trying to control the narrative. but the interview structure is upended now. louis is asking daniel - try to remember! try! go back to the chair. what was happening? what was he saying?

it's also so disturbing hearing louis periodically beg for armand to help him from the bedroom. he can't even move on his own! it hurts! and he doesn't have claudia anymore :(

based on what I know about the novel it sounds like they ramped up armand's malice in this episode. oh wait no he goes and does it

you can see his big vampire fang wounds right there too

*leaning over your grievously wounded boyfriend* so why are you still so obsessed with your ex?

ahhh so louis's description of lestat WAS exaggerated compared to what he shared privately with armand. and armand theorizes this is because...he wants lestat to chase after him again? unhinged, but both of them have made poor decisions when it comes to lestat so I'm not surprised by the suggestion

🙄 over armand being like 'ohh im trapping you in ~empathy~ so I guess I'll selflessly leave you to the man you really want as an act of service' as if louis wasn't HALF-DEAD and lestat wasn't his abusive ex OUT FOR BLOOD. more like acts of DISSERVICE amiright

FUCK HE CONTACTED LESTAT????

okay I SQUEALED 'YES IM HERE'!!!!!!!!! BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOUIS IS SAYING NO!!!! WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!!

'oh hon hon hon louis louis whet hes heppened why hev you injured yerselfff mon cher mon cher' omggggg and armand CANT SAY I LOVE YOU SCREAM

'you left me for death' way to make his suicide attempt about YOU

this is such an insane comment to make and I apologize in advance but this would never happen with wangxian because lwj knows the importance of being selfless and supportive and doesn't take suicide personally. wow such a strong couple 💪actually how funny is it that I'm watching this messy complicated show about toxic relationships between awful immortals and going 'hmm NOT getting a lot of fanfic wangxian vibes from this' like yeah I should read more romance but I simply do not like it! so many of the tropes are boring and played out!!! what's a girl to do!!!

REST

REST

REST

SUDDEN TENDERNESS??? ARMAND?????

ah no. the softness of murder

this speech he gives must be close to what they said to their prey in the theater. he's very good at it. your future is bleak and will be full of regrets. living is hard. do the easy thing instead and die here instead. and I'll take care of you. I'll hold you. rest now. rest

and we know that obviously daniel doesn't die here so it's not so much tension as the somberness and weight of the moment. it's a beautiful scene, and terribly tragic. a murderer - a predator - is convincing his victim - his prey - to give up. to simply stop resisting, and allow himself to be consumed

but daniel has two daughters and a successful career in the current day so we know that's not how this ends. louis again! not asking. maitre and arun. the script is flipped once again. who's really in power in this relationship for long? daniel must live as a testament to our companionship. let him go. so armand does

and what DOES louis see in daniel? is his long-neglected humanity returning? what is he saying to him, in his excruciating pain?

oh my god. reading his own book. he remembered every word. he gave him a lifeline. he gave him a lifeline. because there are stories out there and they need to be told, and daniel is passionate about telling them, his life matters, and he isn't inconsequential. and no matter how his marriages crumbled or his daughters stopped talking to him or his career stalled or his health faltered that was always going to be true. daniel's life mattered, and it mattered that louis saved him that night.

and louis taking on the voice of a god or angel...wow. wow. damn

the precise edit on daniel and louis's memories. of course it's armand. just like the ruler, slicing away the pages of claudia's journal so neatly.

louis's feetsies 🥺 so sweet

louis and daniel vs. armand....louis easy and calm, and armand slightly nervous - what have they been talking about while I was gone? san francisco?

HELLO. I PRESERVE YOUR HAPPINESS WHEN YOU CAN'T???

WHY DOES THAT SOUND SO FAMILIAR?????!!!! HMMMM ARMAND????

[bloody-wonder]

Until now, have you found any couple (canon or non canon) from any media (books, tv series, movies, anime/manga, etc) that the dynamics remind you of Neil/Andrew and Damen/Laurent?

if you're looking for dynamics specifically (as opposed to a full romance arc) the lymond chronicles, the queen's thief and empire of the vampire will scratch that damen/laurent itch.

it's common knowledge, at least in my niche circles, that cs pacat is a big fan of dorothy dunnett's work, that laurent is based on lymond and that his relationship with damen (down to specific scenes) was inspired by lymond's numerous boytoys. so reading the lymond chronicles after captive prince is constantly going aha! *leonardo dicaprio pointing meme*. what these books however don't have is a full romance arc with any of those men which is why you could say capri is, in a sense, a slash fic of the lymond chronicles. it's my favorite series of all time and i can't recommend it enough but it's also rather inaccessible in the beginning and has a steep learning curve - quite a commintment of your time and brain energy but so SO worth it!

the queen's thief is another series heavily inspired by the lymond chronicles and it has multiple ships that reminded me of damen/laurent: gen's love interest is very much a cast iron bitch and they do engage in an intense enemies to lovers romance, with some casualties. costis and kamet's story in thick as thieves is basically if the side quests laurent and damen went on were a whole separate book. and while not a canon romance like the previous two, whatever gen and costis have going on in the king of attolia is very reminiscent of the laurent/damen dynamic in book one (minus the slavery). two things to keep in mind if you decide to pick up the queen's thief: it's sort of ya (??) so the brutality and sexiness, while present, will not be on the same level as capri. and book one doesn't feature any of the above ships so, again, you gotta commit to the whole thing :)

now, while these two recs seem like no-brainers to me, i'm very excited to take this opportunity to yell about empire of the vampire from the rooftops AGAIN!! eotv is basically a story about epic quests and valiant deeds told by a jaded captive vampire hunter to his cunty vampire captor (who is blonde bc yes). jean françois is definitely inspired by anne rice's lestat (as the narrative format as a whole is inspired by interview with the vampire) but his dynamic with gabriel is just Peak Laurent/Damen Banter. "i speak your language better than you speak mine, sweetheart" and "hello, lover" galore! in fact, after i found out that pacat and jay kristoff know each other personally i became convinced that he had either read capri and borrowed the vibe OR *starts rambling about her conspiracy theory about how all australian fantasy authors drink secret australian magic juice that makes them write fun depraved sff, gets smacked on the head, passes out* where was i... ah yes, nasty gay vampires. eotv is very fun and very tropey, also very queer and sexy (esp book two) and it had my toxic yaoi needs covered however comma. jean françois/gabriel is basically them sitting in a room in the frame narrative and exchanging homoerotic barbs, while the story itself is about gabriel's past adventures (also very interesting but less homoerotic). it's unlikely that they're gonna have any sort of romance arc - unless someone reads the books and writes a fic of them. please.

alas, i still can't rec anything that comes close to what nora achieved with andreil. to me, the defining characteristics of their dynamic are two feral cats circling and sniffing each other, intricate rituals, overdramatic dialogue, aspec attraction (on neil's part). while one can attempt to find some of these elements in other stories, you cannot find all of them at once (aspec pov on relationships being particularly rare in fiction). there's just no other couple that manages to strike a perfect balance between the anime levels of drama and chaos on the one hand and the serious themes of trauma, acceptance, consent etc on the other hand. sorry, anon, ig we'll have to keep re-reading aftg until one of the aspiring authors i bet this fandom has a lot of writes their own book inspired by andreil🤷‍♀️

[faerywhimsy]

Vamptember Day 12 - "Love never dies a natural death"

Today I'm back to my nonsense about my beloved Bianca Solderini.

Here is a chronology of our girl Bianca: Marius' briefly human companion after Santino abducts Amadeo, burning down the Palazzo and leaving Marius a blackened shadow of his former self. Marius brings Bianca into the blood. They occasionally argue to the point where Marius cloud gifts her to a place she can't return to him again, before he feels really bad about it and brings her back again—

While there's an argument to be made that—just as The Vampire Armand was Armand's burn book—Blood and Gold was Marius' maudlin self pity after seeing Armand in Queen of the Damned, I'm still sore about that.

Bianca accepts his temper is just a part of Marius and stands loyal by him for centuries. But they come to a permanent separation after Bianca overhears the way Marius throws her aside for the possibility of being with Pandora again. Like, does Bianca comfort him on the night Pandora rejects, bringing Marius to her cold grave. "It is early for you, but I must go and I can't leave you this way." <3

Less than a page later, as soon as Marius is himself again, my girl, like a boss, informs him in no uncertain terms that she's finally put up with enough and is leaving.

"I heard the things you said to her. And I'm leaving you."

This is around the mid-17th century.

So it's not impossible Bianca goes immediately from Marius in Dresden to Armand in Paris in that brief, possible interaction in TVA before Armand comes across Louis for the first time. Likely she's licking her wounds and building her courage. But then Armand scares her away.

This actually does make a great deal of sense from Bianca's PoV. Marius had regularly been utilising the Telamasca to keep tabs not just on Pandora, but also on Amadeo (now of course Armand). Through Marius, Bianca understands Armand has spent the last hundred years making himself coven master to the Children of Darkness. At his worst, he has completely eschewed any softer feelings or the lessons Marius left him with over only killing the evil doer. In fact, the more innocent the mortal, the more pleasure Armand seems to take in the killing.

Secondhand knowledge is confirmed by reality at the dawn of the 20th century: Armand has changed from the Amadeo she loved into a man Bianca has no ability to recognise.

And then... We don't see Bianca chronologically in canon until Lestat finds her and Allesandra in Paris in Prince Lestat.

It's the century between that visitation at the turn of the 20th century and the end of it that captivates me. Bianca isn't at all present or mentioned by the time we have Queen of the Damned in 1988. Other characters that she's later seen with in Prince Lestat are present for Akasha's Burnings.

And so my investigation begins.

Maybe Bianca had not forgiven Marius by the time Pandora and Santino (🙃) were searching for Marius at the beginning of Akasha's reign of terror. And that's why Bianca did not come to his aid. (It's not like Armand pulled himself away from Daniel either.)

That explanation suffices, or else more simply: The first burning passed over Bianca and her still relatively new fledgling. They were grateful and saw no need to involve themselves in happenings that were by majority occurring on the other side of the world. It's just... they were not so lucky when it came to the second Burning.

"But I'll tell you that, why I am suffering," Bianca said, drawing near but talking in a normal and not a confidential voice, her arm slipping around me [Lestat]. "I lost one I loved in the attack in Paris, a young one, one I'd made and lived with for decades. But this was the Voice at work, not the one he'd brought out of the earth to do his bidding."

This moment where Bianca is just... comfortable enough to slip her arm around Lestat? It's so incredibly maddening to me because the two of them have never before had an interaction on the page before Paris.

How does this moment between Lestat and Bianca come about? There are two obvious options that immediately come to mind for an explanation, then, of the affection evident between Bianca and Lestat (outside of the love every vampire in this universe has for Lestat).

1) more happened between Armand and Bianca directly in the years between 1998 (TVA) and 2013 (PL) when Lestat and Armand were on better terms (??)

2) Armand told Lestat of his beloved Bianca Solderini before Lestat went into the ground

Picture this: Lestat is weakened from Louis' and Claudia's attack on him. He asks and is refused healing blood from Armand. Fair enough. Maybe Armand makes a throwaway line, "I wouldn't give my healing blood to even my beloved Bianca Solderini if she had treated me as you have!"

It's entirely possible Armand would have mentioned her here, after all. Remember he thinks he sighted Bianca in Paris earlier in the decade.

And so Lestat, hurting and humbled, wanders back towards New Orleans. But it just so happens that Bianca has also found herself in this part of the world at the same time. She has come across the occasional immortal on her travels up till now but, with them, a quick scan of the mind always shows little more than whether or not there is an intention to harm.

Lestat's mind is different in two ways: He is clearly far from his best but, also, there are familiar figures in this immortal's mind. Marius, and Armand.

They stare at each other in shock, hardly able to parse that they have two such influential figures on each of their lives in common - yet they have never before met. Bianca immediately offers him aid, and Lestat's mind throws up the memory of the words Armand threw at him.

She doesn't completely recoil. Bianca's used to Marius' temper. She knows how unkind men can be and does not jump to assume either Lestat or Armand must be the right. She's just tired, so tired of being alone. So she asks Lestat to give her stories of Armand and, in exchange, she will offer him a little of her blood that is almost as powerful as Armand's.

Lestat accepts this deal, and Bianca hears about Armand from someone other than Marius for the first time in almost 400 years. She ends up in tears with it. Lestat cannot stand the idea of yet another blood drinker flying into a rage over what is only truth to him. He knows he will not survive it, even with the small amount of blood she has granted him.

That will be just enough to get him safely the rest of the way back to New Orleans.

And so, while Bianca mourns, Lestat takes his leave from her, apologising, thanking her for her kindness, but asking her not to follow him.

She doesn't. Bianca wishes Lestat well and thinks on him often while he sleeps.

Because he is the last blood drinker she holds company with for several decades. By the 1950s, she finds herself in California, at which point the mind of a human girl captivates her. She is strong, this girl, recently sent away from her family to give birth to a baby she was forced to then give up for adoption.

But this girl refuses to fall down to depression despite the current isolation from her family, her younger brother, her old friends. She's getting her diploma in night classes, and Bianca finds herself quietly stalking her, curious at her thoughts and her resilience.

She's not as subtle as she thinks she is, and the girl confronts her one night, telling her that if she's going to be appearing out of nowhere every night, the very least she can do is buy her a soda.

The first time Bianca reaches for her hand, the girl pulls it away, before realising she doesn't need to worry anymore about what others might think of her holding another woman's hand. Bianca asks her where she would like to go in the world if she could go anywhere. Her eyes light up at the idea of being able to leave California behind her.

And this is the fledgling Bianca mentions in passing. The reason Bianca does not appear in Queen of the Damned is explained: Bbecause her fledgling refused to go back to California, and Bianca wouldn't make her. Lestat gave her the highlights after it was all over. He even visited the two of them on one of his visits to France.

The hug Bianca gives to Lestat in that moment of Prince Lestat, then, gets to be a quiet moment of recognition between them. Bianca is glad to know Lestat is okay because she can't help but think of their first meeting, and this time it is Bianca who's the one that's utterly bereft, while Lestat is as fit and healthy as Bianca was on their first meeting.

Their roles have quite reversed.

@vamptember

[thanklessindubai]

Armand laughed a sad, mirthless laugh. "It was wrong from the beginning. I should've either killed him or fled with him! It was my weakness and greed to think I could keep my family and my beloved and they would not destroy one another.

"I was a constant victim of my own folly. And now with my humiliations piling up, I could no longer keep the coven obedient. I was in a constant state of fright that they would turn on me and destroy Louis. For all I loved my coven, I was miserable and frightened as a leader. Too small inside, spread too thin.

"For two years, I kept Louis' crimes a secret and let him run wild. But he refused to call me his companion. He kept me at arms-length and framed any sign of my resolve as Lestat coming back from the grave. And he'd begun a bitter feud that would become catastrophic, with the vampire who most envied his independence.

"The youngest but the strongest of our troup, Santiago, had been made in violation of the Great Laws. So of course, I put his maker to death. I tried to make it up to him. I gave him all my love, and he loved me, but he could never forgive me. And to learn that I had hidden Louis and Claudia's crimes out of love for Louis infuriated him.

"He detested Louis and began to plot his demise, 'befriending' Claudia and teasing out all her secrets. He read her mind. She let him read her diaries right in front of her! She had a blind spot for him. His power, his pride. She wanted to be him. And he used her hero worship shamelessly to become her executioner."

Armand became thoughtful. The subject at hand was too tragic. He wanted to race through it but he couldn't.

"Louis and Santiago began to fight in public and even showed their powers to mortals. I used my gifts to stop them and insisted on their discretion. So Louis, repulsed by my power -- afraid I might break him as Lestat had broken him -- threatened to turn his back on me.

"In desperation -- and I think also, my desire to be known -- I told him my origins, the story I'd told no one else. He saw that I was... very vulnerable. It won him. In time, he sought to become my master, so that he could love me without fear.

"He called to me. Offered his whip. And I bowed to him. The darkest secret of my heart was that it was all I wanted, to be his completely. His slave, his possession. To selfishly cast off my burdens and return to a state of captivity. But I was still so frightened. He had none of the power to match his ambitions..."

This was a twisted story, Mina listened though with her attention fully on him. She'd read the reviews. People were divided on Louis as a narrator. Some thought him too passive, it certianly wasn't like the wicked smiling man that Armand was presenting to her.

But armand was also a man in love, a man that had found a purpose again after so long without a companion.

would this be you? Will you be the evil smile wtih the penetrating stare if he moves on from you?

Both things could be true. He could be passive, he could be in control, he could be traumatized....and Armand had enough layers to him, to be bewitched and confused and a leader.

"So two years into it is when it went wrong," she continued to show him she was listening

[hollowpit]

– 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒; ( iwtv verse ft. @sonofmikael )

after   a   brutal   battle,   elijah   shows   up   in   full   bloodlust   mode   and   tries   to   attack   rebekah   only   to   disappear   into   the   night.   she   can’t   get   what   she   saw   out   of   her   head.   days   go   by,   and   she   can’t   even   bring   herself   to   eat,   stuck   worrying   about   her   brother.   desperate   for   answers,   she   convinces   klaus   to   help   her   return   to   the   battlefield,   thinking   elijah   might   be   lost   and   broken. but   things   go   sideways.   on   the   way,   rebekah   gets   kidnapped   by   a   random   vampire   who   ends   up   turning   her   later   on.   klaus   panics   and   bolts   back   to   the   village,   leaving   rebekah   behind. when   she   wakes   up   as   a   vampire,   she’s   a   complete   mess:   confused,   scared,   and   overwhelmed   by   her   new   supernatural   existence.   her   emotions   are   all   over   the   place. her   maker   turns   out   to   be   an   ancient   roman   vampire   who   collected   beautiful   women   and   kept   them   captive.   rebekah   remembers   living   somewhere   in   modern-day   ireland,   trapped   in   an   old,   abandoned   castle   with   a   few   other   women   for   several   years.   but   her   memories   are   fuzzy,   full   of   blanks.   one   night,   her   maker   turns   most   of   the   girls   (possibly   wanting   help   against   some   unknown   threat)   but   he   never   comes   back.   the   girls   eventually   find   him   beheaded   nearby,   but   no   one   knows   who   did   it. that   was   her   chance   to   run.   she   left   everything   behind   and   escaped   to   america,   trying   to   put   as   much   distance   as   possible   between   herself   and   her   past.   she   stayed   close   to   the   other   women   from   the   castle. once   a   vampire,   rebekah   begins   to   suspect   she   knows   what   elijah   had   become   back   when   he   attacked   her   and   vanished.   she   searches   for   him   throughout   her   1,000   years   of   existence.   at   some   point,   she   loses   faith   in   ever   finding   him—considering   how   many   centuries   have   passed,   how   few   vampires   exist,   and   how   unlikely   it   is   for   one   to   survive   as   long   as   she   has.   but   then   she   gets   a   hint   about   elijah’s   location:   supposedly,   he   was   seen   in   france.   afraid   it’s   a   false   lead,   she   decides   to   go   alone,   not   wanting   to   risk   her   sisters’   lives. when   she   finally   runs   into   elijah   again,   she   barely   recognizes   him.   she   can’t   believe   it’s   really   him.

POWERS:

as   an   ancient   vampire,   rebekah   possesses   incredible   strength   and   can   fly   effortlessly.   she   has   pyrokinesis—control   over   fire—due   to   her   age.   she   also   has   telepathy   and   mind-reading   abilities,   like   lestat’s   manipulation   of   louis   during   the   poker   game.   she   can   influence   dreams,   and   being   one   of   the   oldest   vampires   around,   she   can   even   tolerate   brief   moments   in   sunlight.

PERSONALITY:

rebekah   was   a   sweet   girl   when   she   was   human,   but   being   locked   up   by   her   maker   for   so   long   left   her   emotionally   unstable.   after   living   for   centuries,   she   struggles   to   connect   with   humans   and   can   come   off   as   cold   and   distant.   still,   people   deeply   respect   her   due   to   her   age   and   power.   at   the   théâtre   des   vampires,   she   dresses   with   elegant   flair,   perfectly   fitting   the   era.   these   days,   her   style   blends   victorian   elegance   with   modern   sophistication—a   timeless   look   with   a   fresh   edge.  

[canonicallysoulmates]

I love every unhinged thing about Lestat's courtship of Louis. I love that for Lestat it was love at first sight. I love his fucked up way of flirting with Louis when they first meet, especially when remembering that at this point he could still hear Louis's thoughts so he knew Louis wanted to both kill him and fuck him. I love that he got himself invited to the poker game so he could see Louis. I love that he let Louis update his wardrobe and that he went making his house into a home for the two of them to live in. I love that to vampires human food tastes like paste but he still went out to eat with Louis and even sucked it up for the sake of going to the family dinner. I love the layered meaning behind him saying that Louis has a beautiful head, that he isn't just talking about the things Louis has shared with him, or the smarts that he has shown but also the innermost thoughts that his powers allow him to know. I love that from their first meeting he refers to Louis as his St. Louis. I love that this self-centered, attention-seeking bastard was happy to spend his nights listening to Louis talk about anything and everything. I love that moment where he reaches for Louis over the back of the couch before he moves away. I love the tenderness when he heals the bite marks on Louis neck. I love the way he looks at him, heart eyes full force even when others are around.

[zkaus]

Why do you think this interview is happening?

As the entire Dubai storyline is new, we just don't know where it's all heading, but I'm utterly fascinated!!

There are so many amazing theories! I've summarised my favs below:

THEORY 1: - The interview is for Armand/Daniel

This theory argues that Armand and Daniel's relationship will mirror the books. In the books, Armand was obsessed with Daniel (stalked him for years), then they were a couple for 8 years before Armand turned him. Armand desperately didn't want to, but Daniel was dying (substance abuse) - it was turn him or lose him.

This theory suggests that in the show Armand wiped Daniel's memories years ago, but still loves him. He has been tracking him closely, and upon finding out that he's dying, he freaks out.

He can't stand losing him, so, he has Louis repeat the interview (to reproduce the process that originally brought Daniel to him). He pretended to be human so Daniel had the opportunity to connect with him as an equal, a proper companion (like how Lestat hid his Cloud Gift from Louis).

THEORY 2: - General Vampire Unrest

This theory argues that there is unrest in the Vampire world and that the interview is about provoking Lestat into finding them. This suggests that Dubai storyline takes place either before 'Prince Lestat' or 'The Vampire Lestat', and that they are trying to get him to come to Dubai to help them sort out the unrest (as in the beginning of 'Prince Lestat'). Basically, Daniel's book is like Benji's radio station, begging Lestat to come to them.

THEORY 3: - 'The Groan' is Those Who Must Be Kept

This theory argues that 'The Groan' we hear many times throughout the Dubai scenes is Those Who Must Be Kept waking up. That's a HUGE problem because they would enslave the human and vampire races. (Possibly, the apartment in Dubai is Marius's house - It is his painting is on the wall).

They need Lestat's help to pacify/deal with them, so the interview is a way to get his attention. Also, we know Lestat has already met them before (he mentions this in episode 6) so it's canon that he knows them.

THEORY 4 :- 'The Groan' is Lestat

This theory argues that the show takes place after Memnoch and that it's Lestat groaning in despair. This supposes that (some of) the events of TVL, QOTD and ToTBT have already happened. At this point in the books, Lestat is semi-catatonic, but wakes up to save Louis when he attempts suicide. Earlier, he also helps Armand by culling a huge amount of vampires which were threatening the safety of the city. As Armand says in the show, the interview is basically a suicide note. So, this interview could be about getting Lestat to wake up by provoking the rest of the Vampires to try killing Louis.

THEORY 5a:- The Interview is for Louis

This theory supposes that Louis is a captive/prisoner of Armand, and that he is pretending to love him, but actually wants to escape. It argues that Louis is planning to publish IWTV to provoke Lestat into action and save him from Armand (and the vampires who would try to kill him). This one suggests that Armand loves Louis and is controlling/passifying him to 'protect' him from himself.

This theory also suggests that Armand is behaving like a caregiver, and allowing Louis to do the interview as a form of therapy. But that he has no intention of allowing Daniel to actually publish it (as he knows it's a death sentence for Louis).

THEORY 5b:- The interview is for Lestat

This theory is similar to the one above, except that it proposes that Armand will allow the book to be published. This is to provoke Lestat to come to them (either so Armand can kill him or because he is in love with Lestat too). And that he is pretending to be human both to avoid being mentioned in the book Daniel will publish, and to manipulate/control what Daniel will write about his past (the Theatre of the Vampires etc).

And that's just the start! There are so, so, so many more. And so many unanswered questions. I can't wait till season 2, to find out!

Personally, I think it's a combination of several (1, 3 and 5b).

Which do you think is most likely?

Do you have a different theory?

Anything to add?

.

[hekateinhell]

NSFW prompt: A/L hate sex that turns into love making, kissing bruises (hurt/comfort sounds like a good idea rn)

For the NSFW prompts. Armand/Lestat, post-canon, rated E (bruising, implied impact play, PTSD, me RUDELY referencing both Armand and Lestat's awful pasts).

“Armand, say something.” It’s a command, even though it comes out of Lestat’s mouth like a plea. Mon chèri, please.

He’s gone too far this time. Much too far.

But Armand didn’t exactly… stop him either. He was supposed to enforce the limits, let Lestat know when he was crossing that line — the point of no return.

Hard to trust one such as Armand. Harder still to trust himself around Armand.

And now here they were.

Armand tucking his face into a pillow, unmoving. His body is painted with bruises, bruises that are suspiciously shaped like Lestat’s handprints.

Dark blood blooming beneath his skin in blushes of purple, green, and blue; a stark contrast to his marble white complexion. From his rounded cheeks that are hidden, all the way down his spine and pelvis, finishing off at his thighs and calves. A mortal would’ve been killed from the sheer force after the second blow, snapped clean in half.

Don’t hold back with me, you coward! I am not a doll to break! Armand had snarled.

So Lestat hadn’t held back.

And Armand had broken.

Vampiric healing certainly speeds up the process, the earlier marks already beginning to fade in front of Lestat’s very eyes.

Doesn’t change the facts though.

That Armand kept goading him on (surely he must’ve known he was playing with fire?) until Lestat’s darker instincts took hold. How exquisite, how freeing, how absolutely liberating!

The notion of being desired even as his darkest self almost too delectable to bear. Whatever Lestat had to offer, Armand matched him with feverish enthusiasm. Hardly a surprise, really — that such a vicious, impassioned, obsessive creature would make such a bewitching playmate.

Armand’s mind echoed his own sentiments back to him — how beautiful he found Lestat in his abandon, how ruthless he could be, how he appreciated the animalistic predator in him.

Ever the performer, Armand knew just what to say and more importantly, how to say it; in honeyed words and obscene moans. And this is where the mistake had been made.

Infamous for never learning his lesson, Lestat had permitted this ardor (blood and otherwise) to govern his decisions and he’d taken Armand at his word. That Armand wanted to be treated this way, that he could handle it. A lie at worst and a miscalculation at best.

He'd heard a bone break at the same time a child's anguished cry rang out in his mind through the dim lustful haze, Armand's entire body going rigid without ever actually uttering a sound; his thoughts closing off to Lestat as soon as he realized what he had done.

Lestat's not a complete fool; he can piece together the recollection Armand's envisioning. Darkness, grease, the hull of a ship, too many men's hands on places they shouldn't be...

In a different way, Lestat's no stranger to having his autonomy violated as well. He shakes his head rapidly to dismiss the thought; now is blatantly not the time!

There's a slow wave of anger working its way through his gut as well; how remarkably unpleasant. Anger at himself for overplaying his hand, anger at Armand for encouraging it, for leading Lestat to believe this was a release he could pursue.

“Leave then.” The coven master has spoken, just cold and detached as the specter that lived in Lestat's memory.

He wants to, every bit as desperately as he doesn't. “Like hell.” What do you take me for? he wants to ask, knowing full well what Armand does take him for.

If Armand hears the question Lestat isn't bothering to hide, he does not acknowledge it. The bones have mended now, and only the freshest of the bruises remain. Plum fading out to burgundy fading out to nothingness.

Quite captivating actually, and under more usual circumstances, Lestat would take a moment or two to appraise his handiwork as an artist appraises a masterpiece. But for now, he simply curls besides his old friend, tentatively fitting his hand right over the handprint he'd left in the middle of Armand's lower back.

Let me make it better, he thinks. Polish you up with kisses the way I've always wanted to.

“I don't suppose I would fetch a pretty penny looking like this,” Armand replies. Lestat winces at the implication; however, it's not a refusal. Good enough.

He presses an open-mouthed kiss to Armand's shoulder blade — that mark has almost faded. He did the same to the other shoulder and worked his way down the sides of Armand's ribcage, pausing to include the slight indentations just above the enticing curves of his buttocks.

At some point, Armand's breathing has returned; the defensive tension starting to ebb from his muscles as he arches up against Lestat's face like an animal in heat. His hole, still open and loose from before, flutters in anticipation.

It's clear what Armand wants, what he thinks he needs to establish his equilibrium again.

And Lestat will give it to him. This, he can make better.

*somehow more plot(??) than porn, idk what happened I'm sorry. Starting a bingo chart for myself because I really tend to overuse phrases like “open-mouthed kiss” and “fluttering hole” and whathaveyou. It is what it is. 🥹

[bitacrytic]

YOU ARE WATCHING INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE!! OH MY GOD TELL ME YOUR TAKES!

I just finished it last night.

Where do I start from?

1. Louis must serve million-dollar-dick because the men around him are obsessed. Even the angry, bitter writer can't seem to hide his boner long enough to deliver his sass, completely.

2. Lestat? Oh Lestat. I had, maybe two seconds of pitying him when he was trying to grovel but then Claudia exposed him and I was like, "Yup. Sounds right." Words cannot express how much I do not like this man. And the fact that he lulls Louis into a false sense of security and equality??? Over and over and over? He lied. Every single time they gave him a chance, he held something back. And yet, he wanted a "family". At least he was honest with Claudia as to why he wanted to keep her around.

3. Can I just say that I LOVE that the show outrightly stated that Louis and Claudia were his slaves? None of that subtext, maker-in-place-of-slave-master bull shit. Because the show did that, in the beginning. I was worried that they'd leave it at that. That they'd just use the word "maker" as an excuse for how he treats them. But then, BAM, Claudia calls them his slaves and I was in HEAVEN about it.

4. I love that Daniel is so astute. Yeah, he was horny in every interview but Louis' sultry eyes or EVERYTHING ABOUT RASHID, wasn't enough to pull the curtain over Daniel. He was like, "Eh, you're hot, but was it raining or not?"🤣 what the fuck did Louis expect? Didn't he do his research before he hired Daniel? Didn't he know that this man was intrepid and so, so mean? Whenever he called Louis back to review a plot hole or expand on something Louis wanted to gloss over, I loved that.

Also, that scene where Louis was feeding on Rashid and Daniel couldn't concentrate because he kept thinking about what Rashid would taste like????????👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀 (there was a threesome in the flashback that Daniel has forgotten. I won't believe otherwise)

5. Claudia! Iconic! Brilliant! Mind-blowing! Best girl! Queen! I heard spoilers about her but I am going to choose to believe that the show will not do what the books did. That girl is life. She was the perfect foil for Lestat. And I love that Louis didn't and couldn't turn her. So they had their little mind corner to hide from Lestat. That chess game where she walked away??? That was the best performance from anyone on the show. I was screaming along with Lestat, but unlike him, I was screaming in joy. A boss! His powerless rage was the best thing. Especially since we know he's not actually powerless. So we know that what's holding him back is his affection for Louis. It was all she had against lestat and she weilded that weapon to perfection.

Her plan to get rid of him? Chef's kiss. I just wish... *sigh* Daniel said her diary, after they left New Orleans, showed resentment towards Louis and rightly so. They had a plan and he flaked out. Just like he did when he told her to go alone. Fucking Louis. Lestat was right. Louis sucks at choosing.

6. Rashid? He is the most beautiful person on the planet. I will not debate this anyone. When he was a fragile twink who was willingly offering his blood, pumping himself full of honey for days just to be sweet for Louis, he was perfect. When he watched the exchange between Daniel and Louis from the sidelines like a helpless lover, eager to defend Louis at every turn, he was perfect. But when he (spoilers) became the old, powerful vampire who was impervious to the sun???????? My coochie fell out. I'm sorry. I had to take a moment. I think I stopped breathing.

I have found a new actor to obsess over. Thank you, AMC.

I've seen spoilers on the Internet that he's going to be worse than Lestat. 😭 Louis was already giving captive-in-a-cage when he introduced Armand. I can't even imagine what season 2 will do to my sexy baby, Louis. 😭😭😭

7. I HATED LOUIS' FAMILY.

His mother was the worst. The fact that they were living in a house paid for by Louis' whore houses, and still had the mind to be sanctimonious was so frustrating. The brother-in-law... oh god. I wanted to slap him. And his sister? She grew irritating everytime I saw her.

The fact that she called him to judge AND BURY HIM, because she wanted to move on was so annoying. She could have done what she wanted and left. But she needed him to hear, one last time, that he was dead to her and that the new him was fake and wicked. Just, why? What was the reason? She lowkey became her mother.

All in all, I loved this show. I'm glad I waited till it was done or I would have been frustrated, waiting for new episodes. I loved every moment of it. I will rewatch it. I will re-rewatch. I will hate every moment of waiting for the next season. Fucking AMC, who wants your fucking 7 episode bullshit???? Why did you make it so fucking short????

[the-marius-de-romanus]

Alphebettery- Marius Entry

Marius de Romanus was born in 30BC, the illegitimate son of a Roman nobleman and a Celtic slave-woman, in the city of Massilia (modern-day Marseille, France), in the Roman Empire along the Mediterranean Sea between Spain and Italy. As he matures into manhood, Marius becomes a scholar and a traveler throughout the Roman Empire. In his mid-twenties, he meets his future fledgling Pandora (then named Lydia), and he desires to marry her, although his proposal is ultimately rejected by her father because she is too young. Almost two decades later, Marius is kidnapped by Mael and other Druids, who take him to the ancient vampire Teskhamen, whom they refer to as the God of the Grove. Badly burned and weakened by the Great Burning of 4 CE, Teskhamen turns Marius into a vampire through a very long process of blood exchanges, with the expectation that Marius will travel to Egypt to discover the fate of Akasha and Enkil, the first to be made.

Marius escapes the Druids and flees through the woodlands of the Celts. He travels to Egypt, where he finds the Elder who cares for Akasha and Enkil, now called Those Who Must Be Kept, since their great age has transformed them into unresponsive statues. The Elder lies when, in response to Marius’s questions, states he does not know the cause of the Great Burning, but Akasha speaks to Marius telepathically and informs him the Elder set them in the sun and that he is planning to sink them to the bottom of the ocean. Akasha then kills the Elder, and Marius takes her and Enkil out of Egypt to Antioch, where he reencounters his mortal beloved, Lydia, whose family was murdered, and as a result she is living in exile under the name Pandora.

Also in Antioch appears the ancient vampire Akbar, who, like Marius’s maker, Teskhamen, is badly burned. Seeking to drink from the Mother and the Father, Akbar learns that Marius is their caretaker and that he loves the mortal Pandora. Akbar drains Pandora to the point of death and threatens to kill her if Marius does not let him drink Akasha’s blood. Marius acquiesces and saves Pandora by turning her into a vampire, but when Marius brings Akbar to Akasha, the Queen destroys Akbar. Marius and Pandora remain together for the net two hundred years, caring for Those Who Must Be Kept.

When Pandora begins living with her maker, she brings her one-legged Athenian slave, Flavius, to serve them. Marius grows to deeply love Flavius. When Flavius becomes deathly ill, Pandora thinks they should turn him into a vampire. Marius refuses, but Pandora does so anyway. Marius is greatly angered and exiles Flavius from his house and from the Roman Empire itself. Her disobedience plants a seed of bitterness between Marius and Pandora. He has a great desire to teach her, but she refuses to learn from him. When he can no longer live with that or their arguing, he takes Akasha and Enkil from Pandora and will not see his fledgling beloved for many centuries.

Marius returns to Rome, where he encounters the ancient vampire Avicus, who is—like Teskhamen—a God of the Grove, but in ancient England. Marius is greatly amazed to also encounter Avicus’s fledgling Mael, the former Druid who held Marius captive for Teskhamen and was sent to Avicus to take Marius’s place as the new God of the Grove, Teskhamen’s successor. Despite the fact that Marius begrudges Mael for forcing him to become a vampire, Marius and Avicus become friends. As the three of them begin living together in a small coven, Avicus and Mael soon learn Marius’s secret, that he is the caretaker of Those Who Must Be Kept, and they willingly help him fulfill his duties.

At the fall of Rome, Marius, Avicus, and Mael move to Constantinople, where they continue their duties for the Mother and the Father. They discover another coven dwells in the city, led by Eudoxia, the fledgling of the ancient Egyptian vampire, Cyril, who is the fledgling of Marius’s predecessor, the Elder. Referring to herself as “the Vampire Empress,” Eudoxia demands to see Akasha and Enkil, but Marius refuses. With her coven of Rashid, Asphar, and Zenobia, Eudoxia attacks Marius, at which point Marius discovers that, because he has been drinking Akasha’s powerful blood, he is stronger than Eudoxia, even though she is much older. He also discovers that he has the Fire Gift when he burns Rashid to ashes. Eudoxia returns later, showing greater humility and imploring Marius to let her see Akasha. Marius reluctantly agrees, but when she stands before the Queen, she is so enraptured that she offers herself as a sacrifice. Akasha arises and drinks from Eudoxia to the point of death. Although Marius saves her, Eudoxia is greatly embittered. In a plot against Marius and Those Who Must Be Kept, Eudoxia kills a nobleman and leaves the body exposed in such a way that the mortal citizens of Constantinople blame Marius for the death. The mortals ransack Marius’s house and nearly destroy the shrine. Enraged by this, Marius goes to Eudoxia’s house, destroys her coven, sparing only Zenobia, and then drags Eudoxia before Akasha, who immolates Eudoxia to ashes.

Marius leaves Avicus and Mael and takes Akasha and Enkil back to Italy. He creates a secluded shrine for Akasha and Enkil in the Italian Alps, unreachable by any mortal at that time, where the vampires can rest safely while he makes a home in Venice.

He becomes a painter and a patron of the arts. He invites many young boys to live in his house to learn the artistic crafts.

Marius soon encounters the mortal courtesan Bianca Solderini. While feeling a deep attraction to her physical beauty, he marvels how her mortal mental ability prevents him from reading her thoughts. His attraction to her sours when he learns that she is a murderer. But when he uncovers that a merciless relative is extorting her to assassinate his enemies, Marius’s attraction is rekindled and he resolves to give her his powerful aid.

Marius also encounters the mortal Raymond Gallant, a member of the Talamasca Order, who provides him with news about Pandora and how the vampire from India is manipulating her, yet their whereabouts are still a mystery. Raymond promises to keep Marius informed if the Talamasca discovers any new information.

During that time, the vampire Santino, leader of the Children of Satan, introduces himself to Marius. He reads Marius’s mind, learns of Akasha and Enkil, and requests a meeting with Those Who Must Be Kept. Marius denies him, finding his Satan-worshipping coven abhorrent. When Santino insists, Marius threatens to destroy him; Santino withdraws but watches from a distance the keeper of Those Who Must Be Kept.

Marius eventually finds a mortal child from Russia, Andrei, who will later become the Vampire Armand. Andrei was abducted by Tartars and is now locked in the dungeon of a brothel. Marius buys the young Andrei, renames him Amadeo, and brings him to live in his palazzo. Marius and Amadeo develop a deep relationship. Amadeo doesn’t learn that Marius is a vampire until the night Marius saves Bianca from her extorting relative and his malicious family. Amadeo begs Marius to turn him into a vampire, but Marius refuses. In an attempt to incite Marius’s jealousy, Amadeo begins a brief affair with the Englishman Lord Harlech. When Amadeo ends the relationship, Lord Harlech storms into Marius’s palazzo in a jealous rage, armed with a poison blade, and duels with Amadeo. Amadeo slays him, but Lord Harlech mortally wounds the boy. Bianca nurses Amadeo until Marius arrives. When Bianca leaves, Marius turns him into a vampire.

Marius and Amadeo live happily together as maker and fledgling, both developing deep feelings for Bianca, until Santino and his Satanic coven invade Marius’s home, kill most of the boys, set Marius on fire, and kidnap Amadeo. Severely wounded, Marius mentally summons Bianca and receives her permission to turn her into a vampire. She takes him to Akasha and Enkil’s shrine in the Alps, where Marius drinks Akasha’s blood.

While his health is restored, Bianca, like Pandora before her, helps Marius care for Those Who Must Be Kept. When his wounds more fully heal and he can walk about among mortals, he goes to Raymond Gallant, who is now an old man and who informs Marius that the Talamasca have learned that the mysterious Indian vampire is still controlling Pandora and that they are likely living near Dresden.

Marius takes Bianca, Akasha, and Enkil to Dresden, where he finally reunites with Pandora and discovers that her companion and fledgling, Arjun, is not keeping her against her will after all. Marius begs Pandora to return to him, vowing that he will leave Bianca if she will leave Arjun, but Pandora rejects him and leaves. Bianca overhears Marius and leaves him also.

Nearly fifty years later, when Marius is packing up his belongings to take Akasha and Enkil to another region, he uncovers a note left by Pandora on the night they separated, asking him to find her in Moscow and help her leave Arjun. Marius immediately goes to Moscow, but by then she has already left. He can find no trace of either her or her fledgling lover.

Marius brings Those Who Must Be Kept to an island in the Aegean Sea, somewhere between Greece and Turkey. He remains there for years, caring for the people living on the island, until one night he begins hearing the voice of a young vampire searching for him, calling to him— the vampire Lestat. Hearing Lestat’s persistence, Marius leaves his island and finds that Lestat has buried himself underground after his fledgling Nicolas committed suicide and his fledgling mother, Gabrielle, abandoned him. Marius exhumes Lestat, revives him with his own ancient vampire blood, and then takes him back to his island sanctuary. After Lestat awakens, Marius shares some of his history with him, tells him about Those Who Must Be Kept, and swears him to absolute secrecy. When Marius briefly leaves, Lestat goes to the shrine and plays the violin for Akasha. Moved by his bravado, Akasha awakens, drinks his blood, and lets him drink hers also. Full of jealousy and anger, Enkil awakens and attempts to destroy Lestat. Fortunately, Marius saves him, but warns Lestat to leave to let Enkil’s anger diminish. Before Lestat can return, Marius takes Akasha and Enkil to a new hidden location in the frozen lands of northern Canada.

He fills their shrine with every new technology, partly to show them human development but also partly in the hope that they will awaken for him. By the time of the late twentieth century, Akasha and Enkil watch on television how Lestat has returned with new rock music in a successful band that is revealing secrets of vampires and challenging Those Who Must Be Kept to arise. Impressed once again, Akasha rises from her throne for a final time. She kills Enkil and buries Marius deep beneath several tons of ice. He projects out mental warnings to the other vampires that the Queen has arisen, but she is already flying throughout the world, immolating most of her vampire children. When he is finally freed from the ice by Pandora and Santino, he rendezvouses with many other vampires, including his fledglings Pandora and Armand, at the compound in the Sonoma Mountains belonging to Akasha’s mortal enemy, the ancient vampire Maharet. After Maharet informs Marius and the others of her version of the story of the Queen of the Damned and the Legend of the Twins, Akasha appears and offers them a choice of joining her cause for global domination as her servants, or perishing. Marius stands with Maharet and refuses to serve. So do all the others, including Lestat. They all fight against Akasha, but she is indomitable. In the end, Maharet’s twin, Mekare, suddenly appears, beheads Akasha, consumes her brain and heart, and takes into herself the spirit of Amel, to become the new Queen of the Damned.

Now that Marius is no longer the caretaker of Those Who Must Be Kept, he keeps closer contact with other vampires, especially Armand’s fledgling Daniel Molloy, who sinks into madness and bitterness towards Armand. Marius welcomes Daniel into his home, takes care of him, and helps restore his sanity; and in doing so, Marius finds a wonderful companion who also helps him make contact with the modern world.

Marius mourns when, after Lestat returns from his journey with Memnoch the Devil, Armand appears to commit suicide, but Marius’s mourning turns to joy when Armand reappears a few months later, having been saved with the help of two mortals, Sybelle and Benji. Marius decides to do Armand a favor and turn Sybelle and Benji into vampires to give Armand excellent immortal companions and also to protect them from mortals seeking to destroy Armand or any vampire. In the beginning, this greatly angers Armand, but Marius and Daniel both convince him that if Armand had turned them into vampires, they would have been weaker than him, the telepathic connection between them would have been lost, and they would have ended up hating him, the way Daniel had; but when Marius’s powerful blood in them, Benji and Sybelle are Armand’s equals.

Following this, when Marius is alone one night, he hears another vampire whom he has never encountered using the Mind Gift to send out a telepathic invitation to any vampire for friendship. Marius responds and meets Thorne, an eighth-century Viking made vampire by Maharet.

Marius and Thorne tell each other their histories. Marius is surprised to learn how Maharet abandoned Thorne for Mael, and Thorne is enraged at how Santino’s injustice towards Marius has gone unpunished. Marius advises Thorne against Thorne against seeking revenge against Maharet for rejecting him, but sensing that Thorne will not be dissuaded, Marius sends Maharet a telepathic warning. Marius and Thorne go to sleep that morning in Marius’s home but awaken the next night at Maharet’s Java compound. Much to their mutual surprise, Santino, is also there as Maharet’s guest. Out of a sense of honor and duty, Marius begs Maharet for vengeance for the wrongs that Santino did against him and Armand, but Maharet does not allow it. Knowing that Marius will not act without Maharet’s permission, Thorne does Marius a favor and exacts an old Viking custom of wergild—or exacting a “man’s price,” often taking a life for a life—and blasts Santino with his powerful Mind Gift until Santino is a bloody pulp. Thorne then uses the Fire Gift to burn Santino’s remains to a charred scorch on the ground. Everyone is equally surprised at Thorne’s behavior, especially Marius, who, although he would never be so bold as to disobey Maharet, smiles and nods at Thorne, showing his inexpressible gratitude.

Marius relocates to the Chateau de Lioncourt, where Lestat becomes the Prince of the vampire race. The Court of the Prince forms, and Marius is one of the most prominent figures. Arjun challenges Marius’s authority by attacking him, but he easily destroys Arjun. Prompted by this event, Marius creates new laws for vampires in the new millennium and helps guide the formation of this new Court, inspiring Prince Lestat to dub him the “Prime Minister” of all vampires.

Marius is the noble heart of the vampire clans. His sense of honor and duty guides him through every age. He is the caretaker of Those Who Must Be Kept and the sharer of vampire secrets with Lestat, who reveals those secrets in the twentieth-century, causing Akasha to rise for the last time and incite the Great Burning of 1985.

________

Please give credit to @mariusderomanus-rp-help