bamboozy

[bamboozy]

"HALLUCINATION" 1/4

[bamboozy]

HAN CHK CHK BOOM, 2024

[bamboozy]

listen I know it's heartbreaking that Claudia dies and it's understandable to wish she didn't, but let's please not accuse the writers of fridging her. to do so is a fundamental misunderstanding of the story and is frankly insulting to the intelligence and skill of the writers of the show.

Claudia's death, and the overwhelming grief and regret her parents experience because of it, is quite literally the point of the entire story. she dies because Anne's daughter Michele died of leukemia when she was five years old and there was nothing she or her husband could do to prevent it.

writing IWTV was how Anne coped with the unimaginable loss of a parent losing her child. she created a story about a little girl that could not die and then killed her anyway. Claudia's death is a senseless, unavoidable tragedy, just like Michele's was. the grief that haunts Louis and Lestat for the rest of their lives is the same grief that haunted Anne and her husband.

so when you're accusing people of killing Claudia off to benefit a story about two men, please remember that in real life sometimes parents lose their children. please remember Michele Rice.

she's the reason Claudia exists.

she's also the reason Claudia cannot be saved.

[bamboozy]

He didn't know for certain, which is probably why, at first, he was encouraging Louis to just get out of Paris. It wasn't until Louis asked if Armand was the one who saved him that he switched gears. I think in that moment he realized he could still spin things to his advantage and possibly salvage his relationship with Louis.

The only wild card was Lestat, who could have revealed what actually happened, which is probably why Armand looked terrified when he took Louis to see Lestat.

It ended up working out for Armand since Louis, at that time, was more inclined to think the worst of Lestat than Armand. And once Lestat realized that Louis didn't know he was the one who saved him, he let Louis go.

What confuses me is why Armand released Louis if he was planning on having him die on stage. Why not just leave him to die? And why try to be with him after it all? In the novel Armand actively saved Louis because he wanted to be with him. But if show Armand wanted him to die, then why would he want to be with him? Thoughts?

[bamboozy]

I don't think Armand wanted Louis to die. He simply thought it was inevitable and gave up.

Armand's #1 character flaw isn't really that he lies and manipulates. It's that he's passive and fatalistic. His lying and manipulating is just an extension of that because he's constantly in survival mode. This might seem ridiculous given that he is 500 years old and extremely powerful, but Armand has one of the most traumatic backstories in the whole series. All his coping mechanisms are trash.

Lestat himself said the worst thing a vampire can experience is being alone. Armand is well aware of that and chose the coven over Louis because it seemed to him that it was the safer option.

He loved Louis, but he didn't believe in Louis.

What confuses me is why Armand released Louis if he was planning on having him die on stage. Why not just leave him to die? And why try to be with him after it all? In the novel Armand actively saved Louis because he wanted to be with him. But if show Armand wanted him to die, then why would he want to be with him? Thoughts?

[bamboozy]

This is the money Marge. Reblog for good fortune

[bamboozy]

SKZ Toy World ✿ Felix 💛

[bamboozy]

[bamboozy]

I saw someone on goodreads shouting about how Olivie Blake says if you only ship two of her characters together you're doing it wrong. But look, I'm going to be so real with you right now:

After how she fumbled the ball in the Atlas Complex I could not care less what she considers "doing it wrong." I'm keeping my OTPs out of spite.

[bamboozy]

I love ("love") when people come into a post or an edit about an adaptation of something to nitpick about how ACTUALLY in the OG things were DIFFERENT.

"BUT IN THE BOOK THEY--"

"BUT IN THE MANGA HE--"

Bro, I don't care. I do not give a single shit. This is about the adaptation, not the source material, leave me alone.

[bamboozy]

Cat bag

[bamboozy]

blocking isn’t enough i need to physically beat the next person who complains abt assad zaman being cast as armand

[bamboozy]

can we please not constantly pit iwtv and mayfair witches against each other and put down mw in favour of iwtv when it’s entirely in each show’s favour that the other show does well? to see so many iwtv fans immediately resort to making it into a competition and nearly constantly insulting mw, turning other people off from watching it (and somehow acting like that is supportive to iwtv) is counterproductive if you want a more secure future for iwtv.

iwtv did well enough commercially but not THAT well, and having it be the only relatively successful show in a larger universe they want to build does not fare well if everything else in that universe they try flops. having the other shows flop would likely not funnel more resources into iwtv, it would just make them think it’s not worth the investment as a whole if they aren’t getting the return they are looking for, especially considering how fragile amc is these days as a whole and how expensive these shows are. this could result in budget cuts and/or an earlier cancellation than it would have gotten had the universe as a whole thrived. multiple relatively successful shows that can build off of each other’s fanbases IS a good thing for both shows because neither will be the walking dead levels of successful, so it would be hard to sell on their own. were some of the marketing/social media choices made not particularly well thought through and clunky? of course, but it’s normal to be promoting the show currently on air and their marketing choices shouldn’t be held against the show itself.

even if you have no interest in mayfair witches and do not intend to watch it (or tried to watch it and decided it was not for you), if you are an interview with the vampire fan, you should still be rooting for it to do well. and the constant shit-talking from some people (some of which have not even watched mw at all??) is not helpful at all.

[bamboozy]

Did you ever thought about how simply amazing the end of QotD is?

You have a bunch of perfect vampires, old, powerful, rich, beautiful. They could do anything they want, the world is their, but in the end they're a bunch of tumblr users.

They could go see anything in the world, have any kind of fun. They just saved the world, they're almost the only survivors...

"yeah, but tonight there's a new episode of the show I like, I think I'll stay in"

"anyone in for a board game?"

"thanks but I'll pass, I need some time alone in my head just looking at the star"

"guess I'll read something"

"I'll go for some fast food and then I've this new tape I want to listen to"

And then there's him, Lestat, the real Tumblr user. He closes in his room, depressed, in the dark and writes. Have no doubt, it's the 80s but a few decades later and QotD would have been a self-insert fic on AO3, with angst, whump, no happy ending as tags. Creator choose not to use archive warnings. Probably he'd also reload the page every five minutes to check hits and kudos. Every now and then a friend would get in, check he's still alive, plots a little with him and then leave.

Yes, I absolutely love this end, it feels like being with people I know, it's somehow real and intimate.

[bamboozy]

Customer Service Wolf.

[bamboozy]

Do you like David? I always thought he was boring but it was funny when AR would try to subtly push him and Lestat as an ‘otp’ onto the fans and get annoyed over the majority being like ‘no thanks’ lol

*Drake and Josh Megan meme* DAVID

I hate David and everything he represents. David Talbot is everything wrong with post-trilogy VC perfectly encapsulated in one Fuckin Guy. I'm so angry I need bullet points

QotD David: a perfectly sufficient character

Totally fine, mildly enjoyable even. I thought maybe he was going to be a good mentor/father figure and mediating influence for Lestat. He seemed capable and stable if a little dry, but nbd.

Body Thief David: REEE HISS. Very bad in many ways

First of all, given the history we learn later about David (pin in that) the fact that he only expresses sexual interest in Lestat once he's been swapped into a young, brown body reads as VERY gross. Ew.

Honestly, the fact that he gets involved with Lestat at all is gross and shitty. Lestat is much older in years, but he's operating with the brain of a traumatized, mentally ill twenty year old who clearly sees David as a trusted authority figure (whether he admits it or not). Lestat strikes me as the type who feels he needs to "earn" love with sexual or romantic behavior or that it's all he's good for, so honestly I just feel sad for him here as this idea gets reinforced by David

Secondly, I can't even begin to explain how wildly offensive his body swap is. AR had an old white British dude literally steal (COLONIZE) an Indian man's body. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was an allegorical critique of Britain's imperialist exploitation of Southeast Asia, but it's framed as a good thing. A sexy upgrade for David, who has no problem with this.

Merrick: Peak Form David (derogatory)

Surprise! David Talbot is a pedophile and admits this without hesitation. Not only has he clearly groomed Merrick from a very young age, but I believe it's in this book that we find out about his involvement with underage boys in South America. With Merrick as a biracial WOC plus the Latino boys, David only becoming interested in Lestat once he's in a brown body feels extra fetishistic

We also find out that he was almost expelled from the Talamasca for his involvement with a young member (not explicitly underage, but MUCH younger and far below him in authority/rank). More predatory bullshit

All of that aside, he's also just a fuckin jerk. Unlike the rest of the characters like Lestat, Louis, or Armand, he doesn't seem to think he's done/is doing anything wrong. Like, ever. He trots around like he's a galaxy brain genius and a moral authority when he's...very much not.

It doesn't help that he's AR's mouthpiece for shitty mental health opinions and his narration of Merrick (the book) is full of jabs at Louis for his mental illness and painting him as some pathetic loser for being suicidal. I'll find it if anyone wants, but there's literally a bit where he talks about how he wishes Louis would just kill himself already.

Even so though, when David can't have Merrick he directs that desire at Louis and pounces on him as soon as they're alone. (Fortunately, this leads to an extremely funny scene where Louis friendzones the absolute fuck out of him and is clearly done with his shit. 10/10)

I truly do not understand why AR was so enamored with this guy. He has the personality of wet sawdust and not nearly enough complexity to even make his flaws interesting. Merrick should have been a Louis book, narrated by him and exploring his mental health issues, but AR is incapable of not shoehorning David into absolutely everything. Even Loustat separately and together.

Clearly she wanted to him to be a replacement for Louis once she decided she hates him for no reason, but smart + introspective + character flaws =/= Louis. She tried to make it a formula and failed to capture any of what draws readers to Louis or makes us want to see him with Lestat. The dynamic she wrote for them in Interview was masterful and emotional and compelling.

Louis is the quiet horror of grief and mental illness personified and David is just Some Guy but shitty. He can barely stand on his own as a character, let alone carry the role of primary love interest, especially when he's trying to fill Louis' shoes. It was never, ever going to work and it's absurd she tried for so long. Literal decades.

David, like I said, represents everything wrong with what VC became. The racism, the abuse of power/privilege, the pedophilia, a lack of empathy for mental illness, and even just the smug, tone deaf certainty that AR self-sabatoged with. He's almost meta in how he well he encapsulates what's wrong with AR as a person and an author. She thought Lestat was her self-insert, but it's really David.

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@sweetazathioprine has some great thoughts about David (and Marius) and what they represent as far as power and privilege in VC, but I couldn't find the post about it. (Sencha, hopefully you wouldn't mind adding that on or linking the post? I don't want to put words in your mouth but I don't remember exactly what you said!)

[bamboozy]

"armand is a villain"

actually he's not or else he wouldn't have an ipad 🙄