#'louis is going to get to experience what he put lestat through'

[thelioncourts]

+

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hey nalyra!

I was hoping you could sort of help put some thoughts in order.

So, what I keep seeing often is the discourse of lestat deserving the murder night vs lestat did not deserve it and that's why paris happens.

On one hand I agree murder night "needed" to happen bc the household had turned too toxic for all of them and something had to give ( and lestat did not seem about to relent on anything tbh ).

And then we have lestat himself saying he would have done the same thing and in a way its his fault things ended up the way they did. ( and we have sam saying lestat needs to be humbled to start a character journey in the next seasons)

On the other hand, there is the argument that paris happened because lestat did not deserve what happened in murder night and murder night was a mistake that claudia and louis paid for with the trial.

I find it hard to agree with the latter (it sounds too punitive and I don't think the trial had anything to do with actual rules it was all armand getting back at lestat and getting louis to himself) but as a lestat fan it was hard to watch murder night and say lestat deserved it as well!!

What are your thoughts on this whole mess? 🤔 😅

Okay, so... I personally think it is not that clear cut.

Because there are a lot of things involved in all of this.

For one - I keep saying - the abuse itself is in the book, so Louis did experience it as abuse, at least at times.

Now, Jacob has said that Louis "presents Lestat as a monster", because he is hurt by what happened. So Louis exaggerates (at the very least a little bit) - for reasons.

However, a tale is also always built on truth.

The Lestat in the book was very young still, and had a temper (well, he does not lose that, lol). Louis remarks on not saying something because he feared Lestat would destroy the parlor in a rage. They fight. And so on. Canon. The Lestat in the show is older, and jaded through loneliness - I personally think that is a great way to introduce the more bitter parts of the relationship, because it lends towards possessiveness and a certain remoteness, because he just sees it very, very differently to Louis, and sometimes cannot really empathize with Louis' actual problems. (Sam notes on that in the podcast, too.)

Now. When Lestat says in TVL that Claudia attacking him was "something he might have done himself"... then that refers to him trapping her in a too small, too fragile, too weak body - for eternity.

He knows he should not have made her. He is aware of that. That is what he refers to there:

From TVL:

But what had I done to Claudia? And when would I have to pay for that? How long was she content to be the mystery that bound Louis and me so tightly together, the muse of our moonlit hours, the one object of devotion common to us both? Was it inevitable that she who would never have a woman's form would strike out at the demon father who condemned her to the body of a little china doll? [...] And on a warm sultry night in the spring of the year 1860, she rose up to settle the score. She enticed me, she trapped me, and she plunged a knife over and over again into my drugged and poisoned body, until almost every drop of the vampiric blood gushed out of me before my wounds had the precious few seconds in which to heal. I don't blame her. It was the sort of thing I might have done myself. And those delirious moments will never be forgotten by me, never consigned to some unexplored compartment of the mind. It was her cunning and her will that laid me low as surely as the blade that slashed my throat and divided my heart. I will think on those moments every night for as long as I go on, and of the chasm that opened under me, the plunge into mortal death that was nearly mine. Claudia gave me that.

From Merrick:

Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young. I winced at the recollection. Lestat had been condemning himself when he'd spoken those words to her, he'd been offering himself up to her rage. She'd known it.

And here is the crux of it all: "murder night" does need to happen in the grand scheme of things in order to bring both Louis and Lestat onto their journey... they both need to get a reality check, both need to be hauled low so to speak to be able to ultimately heal and the justification is what was done to Claudia (not Louis). And to find peace with themselves.

However, and here is the "problem", if you will - this crime against nature, against Claudia was not only done by Lestat. And that is what her diary entry from "Merrick" is about, and what I believe we already saw hints for in the trial scene when she turns to Louis... Claudia blamed both. "It was never about me." And we saw that already in the show when Claudia argues with Louis before leaving in episode 5, too.

She decided to go and try to kill Lestat, because she thought she could handle Louis more easily.

From Merrick:

To do away with Louis would be foolish, as he is without question the more malleable of the pair. [...] Louis will do as I wish, even unto the very destruction of Lestat, which I plan in every detail. Whereas Lestat would never cooperate with my designs upon Louis. So there my loyalty lies, under the guise of love even in my own heart.

Now, don't get me wrong, I concur with Bailey and Delainey in that Claudia is very justified in her rage, imho :) And... both Lestat and Louis feel the same way, they carry the guilt of what they did to her until the very end.

Now, Paris.

Paris... did happen because Louis and (mostly) Claudia factoring things in) did make a mistake.

They thought (mostly Claudia, and the show hints at that in that episode 6 sex scene when she says to Louis that they "cannot be all like him") that Lestat was the worst.

Like the big bad vampire™, the worst of the worst™, and him (certainly) making mistakes or having a temper or even physically fighting with Louis was the absolute worst that could possibly happen to them.

And that... is the (big, fatal) mistake that is being made.

The show gave us Lestat already brushing Paris off, so I believe show Louis will be a bit more... careful when they get there. A bit more reluctant. Nonetheless, neither Claudia nor Louis are prepared for the old world covens. Or their rules.

Lestat kept them mostly human, a family, because Marius had advised him to do so.

Claudia and Louis, despite their run-ins with the revenants, have no concept of the rules, the viciousness, nor the strength to defend themselves.

They kill off their only protection (so to speak) - and will pay for it.

I believe in one of the interviews it was called "out of the frying pan and into the fire", and that is, unfortunately, very fitting.

That is why "murder night" was a mistake... in Claudia's calculation.

Louis will come to the realization that he "hated Lestat for the wrong reasons" in the second half of IWTV. He will come to a lot of realizations, painful realizations, unfortunately.

Ultimately, it boils down to this, I think (very simplified):

No, Lestat (probably) did not deserve "murder night" for what Louis tries to argue for in s1. Because those reasons will turn out to be the wrong reasons, unfortunately, and likely for a variety of reasons (cue "tinkering" and "suppressed memories")

Yes, Lestat (probably) deserved "murder night" for not heeding Marius' warning. For not trying hard enough, too, maybe. For condemning someone that young. For trapping Claudia (and, by extension Louis) like that.

"I should have listened to Marius's warning. I should have stopped for one moment to reflect on it as I stood on the edge of that grand and intoxicating experiment: to make a vampire of "the least of these. " I should have taken a deep breath."

But he did not.

And the tragedy unfolds.

[rosesocietyy]

Brilliant people have said everything that needs to be said about this much much better and I don't got anything substantial to add but I just have to get this off my chest cause y'all I'm still in disbelief

like this is a grown ass person btw oh I simply have to laugh😭

this perfectly exemplifies literally everything cringe af and wrong with these "assigned welcomers". this is just my scapegoat but there are way worse I've seen

First of all, get a job. how, at your fossil age, do you have time to spend all day scrolling through every single iwtv related post and arguing with people who say anything even slightly damning about lestat (which mind you, is literally just objective facts about things he did). I'll dm you a McDonald's application hell I'll even put in a referral for you out of the goodness of my heart.

Second, Lestat is not a real person. he's fake, a made up character, the figment of someone's imagine, non-existent, people hating him will not affect your life in anyway shape or form. He didn't assign you as his PR agent I promise you'll live. "They'll never accept him" ok and?!?

Question, and I'm genuinely asking, is this their first time in a fandom? why is someone having a different opinion about a character they love enough to send them into hysterics like?? 13 year olds on anime twitter have a better grasp on reality that y'all do get a grip!

And like the above posts have talked extensively about, I most definitely noticed whose posts a specific bunch of them love to go under to share their dog shit "explanation" that nobody asked for. When a black person sees Louis being brutalized by his white lover what do you expect their reaction to be? oaur wow this white french slut is so pussy cunt slay period queen? "but louis is flawed too" do you hear yourself? do you listen to yourself when you speak? can you activate the barest hint of brain activity to understand why we would react differently to what we're watching than you would and that knowledge of the source material has nothing to do with it? Just because you read those shitty books and posses no empathy for black people in media doesn't mean you gain some higher understanding of "gothic romance ".

"No but the thing is you don't understand this is a gothic romance and they're supposed to be monsters and lestat has suffered saur much and he's also the real main character so you must love him" so now how exactly does that negate their point about him being an abuser? quickly! sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up when black people are sharing their thoughts on the show cause who the fuck are you fr and what convinced you that you have the right to argue with them about THEIR experiences. that tweet that said white people act like God left them in charge, yeah.

Funny enough, half the people that are so gung ho about him now didn't even fw him at all when they only read the first book. wow it's almost like you were allowed to sort out your feelings about him on your own without insects disguised as people in your mentions calling you slow for not licking his feet.

I despise so much in this fandom. From the bottom of my heart I really truly do. I don't know what I was expecting, I guess more common sense and maturity because the average age in the fandom is quite high compared to other fandoms I've been in but nah, just mfs screaming and crying bc ppl don't jump up and down and scream yipee! everytime their white fav commits abhorrent, disgusting crimes.

I was so caught up in the euphoria of an anne rice property finally being given to skilled creators who'll pick it apart and say something poignant with it that for a moment, I forgot I lived in a world where majority of its audience would sadly be the anne rice crowd.

[blueiight]

IWTV E4 “A Ruthless Pursuit of Blood with All a Child’s Demanding.” Claudia discussing how it feels to escape poverty to being adopted into wealth, struggling in her existence without peers even during her second childhood and how she does not even care to have the veneer of mortal manners around Louis’s family, what Charlie as her last peer meant to her, and her mortal upbringing prior to Lestat + Louis.

And I realized, what I thought was Heaven was just some nice room. And what I thought were angels were really hell demons.

Uncle Les and Daddy Louis were rich. They had nice clothes and a nice auto carriage and a funny way of being nice to each other.

I gotta go to bed when the rest of the world wakes up, so there's less kids to play with...

Daddy Lou said I had been away from people too long. I didn't know how to behave right anymore. But Uncle Les said, I behaved just fine.

Diary, his name is Charlie. He's got veins like rivers. They flow right down his arms. …Charlie's death ushered in one of the darkest eras in our lives. The oh-so-delicate balance of our oh-so-delicate household was shattered. For Claudia, all humans died with Charlie.

And, diary, you'd think a girl whose mama died in childbirth... whose daddy gave her away to a mean old auntie who beat her 'cause no one said she couldn't, who died in a fire but came back by the blood magic of two demons, well, you'd think that girl wouldn't know what funny was. But you'd be wrong, diary. And if I told you, dumb diary, that that same girl was being raised to kill like her demon parents did, to take two souls a day so she could stay in the same flat-chested, hairless-crotched 14-year-old baby doll body as her mind and spirit turn 19, 20, 25, 63, 358, you dumb, dumb diary, I bet you'd say to anyone who'd listen, "Fun? Fun? How does she even get up in the morning?" Well, let me tell you something, you stuck-up, flower-covered, three-dollar fancy fսcking paper diary, I'm doin' just fine. (diary pages read aloud as Claudia self harms at the end of e4)

IWTV E5 “A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart”. Claudia discussing her life/reckoning with the fate of her premature existence.

"Dear Diary, am I gonna be a virgin every single time I do it? Won't my skin down there grow back like my hair does when I cut it?"

Who am I supposed to love? You two have each other. Who's my Lestat? Who's my Louis? I’m not human. What human would want me? Perverts? Like the uncle at the roomin' house who used to watch me pee? Or little boys? And 40 years from now... still little boys? How are you gonna fix it, huh?… (turns to Louis) [Lestat] treats us like shit and you just take it! And you, [turns to Lestat] cruel as the devil ever made, to deny me one love when you’ve got two.

[Talking to Louis in her room after the confrontation at the dinner table] I remember the night I was made, the fire chokin' me, you carryin' me out through the flame and the smokes. But then why'd you take me home? Why not a hospital? …. But I was breathin'! Maybe I'd have a handsome husband by now. Or maybe he'd be plain but with a good disposition. That'd be fine, too. I'd be sweepin' floors, makin' dinners, nursin' babies. Maybe I'd go to church. You think on that some.

How does Claudia react after her rape? She exhibits textbook behaviors.

Co-dependency.

I spend time following Louis and Lestat now that I am my own woman... with no obvious sense of why I follow them, other than meaning slowly disintegrates without them...My companions in immortality.

but wait.. u might ask: doesn’t this contradict what she said years earlier in this same episode about wanting ‘her own Lestat and Louis’? is this Louis or Armand somehow forging Claudia’s diary? or is this a rape victim shortly after the actual experience struggling with her emotional+ mental state and in that frame of mind going back to the immortal family she finds to be a more familiar sort of ‘evil’ than the unknown vampire that raped her, especially after witnessing Louis weep over the grave Grace made of him? to Claudia here, being Louis’s ‘sister’ is balm put onto a bleeding wound.

Hypervigilance over her wider situation ad an Enmeshment with Louis, as they both have endured incredibly traumatizing events (with Claudia being raped + shortly after, witnessing Louis being beaten) and are without Lestat for six years following the end of E5 picking up the pieces. it is Claudia who tends to Louis in his most vulnerable here, and Louis struggles with that, wanting to be ‘her knight in vengeful black’ in return.

She's grown very protective of me. That's what this is. It's why it's hard. She came back altered when she left us. There's a darkness in her that wasn't there before. Give her a little time. [Louis is trying to appease Lestat here in their ‘compromise’, but there is a key bit of truth in his observations here.]

Claudia learned very early on, as early as E4 when Louis asked her mentally about Charlie, how to block her mind off from Louis. and with her traumatic experiences, its all but said that hypervigilance protects her mind further (as shown in the S2 trailer when Armand comments on it). When Lestat steals her from off the train, he also threatens her:

Because if you try this again, Claudia, I won't snap your leg, defile your pocket, and zoom off on a motorbike. I'll turn your bones to dust.

Is it any wonder Claudia draws the comparison to Bruce when she talks to Louis, especially when Louis in the season finale plays the role of a honey trap to the very same lover who almost ‘killed Louis’, as Claudia [and Daniel alike] frame the ending of E5 as abuse + attempted murder, as Claudia seethes , is ‘done enduring?’ and just before she creates her own murder plan:

Or did you kill him, like you did Antoinette, and how you tried to do with Louis?

I have to wonder why, over a year from airing, blogs and reviews claiming to be dedicated to the series rehash the most juvenile questions that the episodes themselves directly answer? How can S2 spec or complex discussion occur, if callout PSAs shutting down any sort of canon-compliant discussion is the way to go? If people constantly exhibit their refusal to meet the show where its at and engage the material for what it is, where can we go from here? AMC IWTV is very didactic. ‘The absence of metaphor is striking’. Yet for all the waxing about loving ‘fucked-up gothic romance’, there is a willful ignorance in understanding where & what makes the situation fucked up to begin with. Or even an interest in understanding the basics of the setting!

[ashes-in-a-meadow]

SPOILERS

YALL IM OUT OKAY? I CANT WITH THESE MFS HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE UNTIL SEASON 2??? LESTAT A WHOLE BITCH, CONSPIRING WITH ANTOINETTE?? CLAUDIA ONE UPPED HIM AGAIN😌GO QUEEN CLAUDIA

full rant here ⬇️

Daniel was right about Louis purposefully not burning Lestat’s body, he did that shit with all intentions and hopes that Lestat might’ve survived.

Something I do wonder about, “Meet the vampire Armand. The love of my life.” UMMM so he don’t know Armand the one that orchestrated Claudia’s death…yikes rip Armand’s relationship😭😭😭 guess Armand/Rashid finna be out of a job when Louis finds out💀

The way Louis started panicking when Daniel said that he did what he did on purpose and that even after all these Louis was still lying to save face…yeah Louis got enough fucking money to go to therapy instead of paying Daniel to be his knockoff therapist. Why aren’t there vampire therapists??? They could make a whole fucking lot of money just off of Louis and Lestat alone never mind all the other hundreds of fucked up and traumatized vampires.

Also I now see why Daniel pointed out Louis taking out pages from before, because he wasn’t taking out those pages to be respectful towards Claudia(if he was even the one that took them out cause Rashmand actin kinda controlling😬) he took them out because HE didn’t want to remember them. Like he did with the pages that talked of them getting to Europe. Claudia had clearly wrote some mean shit about him and probably even worse stuff on the four other pages that got removed. He couldn’t accept reality THEN and still can’t accept it NOW. That little sanctuary area is for him when he���s having meltdowns and needs a calm place cause he’s still, after all these years, suffering.

And ngl but Rashmand turning out to be exactly who we thought he was kinda starts raising more red flags his way. Cause if he loves Louis as much as Louis apparently loves him then why won’t he let Louis experience emotions/memories like he wants to?? Him coming in at every moment when Louis starts getting overwhelmed creates this unhealthy codependency that will eventually(if it hasn’t already) cause Louis to feel like he can’t control himself without Rashmand. There are multiple times where he speaks for Louis or speaks over him, and then him trying to shut Daniel down when he was making Louis confront the truth of his actions/story…(wait and Daniel saying that Louis needs sessions of EMDR, what they put soldiers through after seeing one of their partners get killed…he’s not wrong cause the way Louis had reacted to Lestat’s “death”…)yeah so season 2 is gonna be A LOT.

[blaqueswanzaghouliishiilikeda]

bare with me bc im fatigued but unable to sleep so i’m just here thinking and need to get my thoughts out, but i think much of louis’ passivity stems from his relationship with his mother and family. we don’t really see him become passive until claudia arrives. please correct me if i’m wrong but i believe that side of him is awakened once that traditional family structure is solidified in his home and i think the du lac family has a lot to do with why he’s like that and not just that he’s incapable of acting or choosing.

i see him and i see the child/mother that doesn’t want to repeat his mother’s failings on his own family but takes it so far to the extreme that it means he refuses to confront anything ever bc he feels he’s communicating the unconditional love he never received. he really is someone who wants the ones in his life to know they can be loved through anything. whether or not people receive it in the way he gives it i don’t think should be put on his shoulders as much it is.

he doesn’t have healthy understanding of discipline/consequences bc he was punished for things he couldn’t help like his queer identity. it doesn’t really seem like growing up he got into much trouble, again correct me if im wrong. other than paul his pimping isn’t really admonished by the du lacs bc it affords them their lifestyle. they are willing to distance themselves from it bc they get the house and the staff and the honeymoon trips etc. but they won’t overlook who he is. and it outweighs anything else. and that’s a weird thing to process being punished for bc the only thing you can do is deny yourself. but they know. so you hiding it and they know and they show you they disapprove even if you’re trying to play by their rules. it creates a complex.

then there’s paul. he’s the only one who really took it on to take care of paul and establish a relationship with him. i think florence probably didn’t push back against his institutionalization and grace seems to agree he belonged there. louis was the only one who saw how it negatively impacted paul. he loved paul that was his favorite person and then he killed himself and florence blames him for simply being there. this is where he starts to go from the favored son to the scapegoat which is a fucked transition to experience and i think its super underestimated how badly louis is impacted by it. it also happens when he starts to openly entertain lestat so it’ll never matter that his last moments with paul were expressions of love bc his all florence sees is that he’s been acting in sin and so of course he must of done and said something to kill her baby who he was raising and caring for in her place btw. when paul was upset he went to louis not florence. the last thing he ever said to paul was he loved him and he still died and florence blames him for it. he’s always punished for loving as far as he’s concerned.

then he does make “a choice” to become an immortal monster/companion/wife, which given all the circumstances is very much not much of a choice on his part, but he decides to go with what he wants and that choice is at the center of the unraveling of almost all the things he cares about and links to his human identity. and he clings to his human identity so i believe that fucks with his ability to trust his own decision making for sure. it’s the loss of his role in his family slowly but surely and everything he did he did for them. he always struggles with his decisions about how he supports his family and how he copes w the impact it has on his community. so if in choosing his own desire to love and be loved for once strips him of his family and his community what does that say about the decisions he made along the way? what was it all for? and then on top of that he didn’t even know what he was choosing in choosing immortality with lestat. he’s rocked by being faced with the reality of his choice so much so that he forgot his brother died for a moment. he’s probably developed an inability to take a step in any direction bc every step leads to a new rock bottom and he doesn’t trust himself anymore. that’s a very real thing that happens.

so how does that manifest when he has his own lil nuclear family?? well

with claudia he doesn’t ever want her to feel like she could ever lose his love for her for any reasons. like his family showed him. so bc his own punishments were correlated with who he was and not things he did really i don’t think he’s able to see disciplining claudia as guiding her towards better actions i think he sees it as punishing her for being as she is which he blames himself for and also for loving (where charlie is concerned but i’ll get to that…). it was his choice to bring her into this life so how can he trust himself beyond loving her unconditionally. that’s what he wants so that’s what he gives. claudia does what she does bc she’s a vampire and she didn’t choose that. he did. so he retreats when the consequences of that crop up and becomes passive. he doesn’t want to take a step in any direction on top of the patriarchal structure that the father is the law of the house, but then charlie happens.

claudia didnt kill charlie out of maliciousness. it was young love with all the demanding of the insatiable hunger of a vampire. even lestat recognizes that she got carried away so to louis punishing her or even makeing her feel bad for the action was too deeply entwined with punishing her for loving at all and that is a sensitive thing for him. he doesn’t handle it better than lestat that’s not what i’m saying what i’m saying is he doesn’t have the tools to guide her through this. what he has is the desperation to not repeat what harmed him growing up. it’s after this that he decides lestat cannot be the law of the household where claudia is concerned until he realizes his approach seriously blinded him to the fact that claudia ,yes is a doomed child vampire, but she’s a doomed child vampire making decisions and her actions have serious consequences for all of them and he doesn’t have the tools to guide. he can love her through anything, but how can he of all people really guide her. this isn’t as simple as no running in the house and listen to your elders. the mother is learning her daughter is her own person (and vampire) not an extension of her and with character traits like her father too. (plus the mother has to realize that she can’t heal herself through her daughter) whew. so louis decides to step back and to let lestat be the law again and then claudia LEAVES and on her way out she challenges his decision to turn her at all (with good reason. these two vampires should not be raising a baby!!) louis is literally so distraught he wants her to come home but he can’t bring himself to go after her and bring her home. he doesn’t want to take a step!! he doesn’t want to decide. it never leads to what he thinks it will. i don’t think he believes he can trust himself to make good choices. so he loves her unconditionally on broadcast for every vampire within radio earshot to hear because that’s what he can do. thennnn she’s harmed while she’s gone and i’m sure he’s feels in a way responsible. he wanted to be her protector so badly (when actually she’s his but i’ll get to that in a bit) and wasn’t able to. and of course there’s that scene™️ in ep5 with being put in a position where he was pressured to choose between lestat and claudia and because it LOOKED like he MIGHT choose claudia and because he didn’t IMMEDIATELY choose lestat disaster ensued. that’s a lot. fuck.

and when the nature of his relationship with claudia shifts more to siblings because she’s getting older, wants more agency and claudia realizes she is also a replacement for grace, this is where the passiveness that is the result of his relationship with grace developed. bc while its true claudia takes over for grace, she is the sister to louis that grace never ever was. on top of the fact that her solution for their issues was “you’re dead to me,” grace never actually accepted and supported his queer identity truly like claudia and she definitely never protected him like claudia either (defending mama du lac in regards to paul comes to mind and also her husband being the replacement son). and louis needs and wants both those things as well as someone who won’t abandon him like grace did and he let’s claudia be them but takes it to the extreme where the last two are concerned. Louis doesn’t think he can save himself from his situation and claudia believes she can save herself and him. she isn’t gonna leave him behind. he leans into that heavily. it’s not just that he can’t and won’t make choices to get them out of their situation it’s also that he’s traumatized by his past choices and also he’s also loving lestat unconditionally as well on top of that (in the way he’s able to). i don’t think louis could see a way out like at all. he was shrouded in darkness. the best he could do was compartmentalize his love for lestat to protect himself when things were at their worst that was his flashlight in that darkness. but like when it was necessary for the success of the plan that he allow himself to love lestat fully he said if i feel it there’s no way out of this fr fr. he knew he wouldn’t make good choices. choosing lestat is the decision he will always make for better or worse. but that’s at the expense of claudia on top of choking her.

like idk we joke about his inability to make decisions but that trait in him is drenched with trauma. and his family is a huge part of why imo. i just get so upset when i think about them. i really rambled on and on here. not sure how much sense this makes but i guess this ties into my feelings about this as well. but yeah not choosing as a trauma response and not just as a way to get out of confronting his problems even tho that is a symptom. if that makes sense. idk. my brain is mash potatoes right now.

[desertfangs]

Lestat/Daniel

First sentence: Hey! Where is that hand going?!

This went in a direction I didn't expect but I had fun with it and I hope you'll have fun with it, too! I don't usually write this way, either, so it's a bit of an experiment and I hope it works.

“Hey, where is that hand going?” Lestat smiles teasingly at Daniel as he reaches for his jeans, to pull the little box of cigarettes from his front pocket. 

Daniel gives him an exasperated look but it’s temperated by the elation in him, the joy from the concert they’ve just left. Lestat can smell the blood and sweat on him from jumping and dancing around to the music. 

He puts the cigarette to his lips and flicks the lighter until a tiny flame dances on the top. He touches the cigarette to his lips and inhales, his dead lungs expanding in his chest. Lestat can hear the breath move into them and the way his heart speeds up almost imperceptibility. He offers Lestat the box.

Lestat holds up a hand in refusal. Daniel shrugs and puts the box back in his pocket, creating a small bulge over his hip. Lestat’s eyes trail to the other bulge beneath his jeans and he smiles to himself. Such a mortal thing to notice. Such mortal desires. But then he’s not immune to the pleasures of the flesh. They’re no longer the same as when he was a human boy, but no less intense. 

He watches Daniel smoke, the cigarette held between two long fingers that bring it to his soft lips. His blond hair is damp with blood sweat near the roots and the aroma is intoxicating. Lestat moves closer without realizing and Daniel looks at him.

The look stops his heart. It’s so open with the hint of a soft smile on his youthful face. Lestat can see plainly how this boy captivated Armand so quickly. With his tenacity and boldness, surely, but no doubt his beauty played a part. He’s a captivating creature. And yet there’s a casualness to his movements, an almost unawareness of just how alluring it is when he sucks on the cigarette, his lips puckering around it. 

“Did you like the band?” Daniel asks, shifting nervously under Lestat’s gaze. Lestat turns away, watching the rest of the crowd exiting the building, their hearts hammering at frenetic tempos. They smell of sweat, beer, and hairspray, the faint smell of marijuana lingering in the air. 

“They had a good energy, though I was tempted to go up there and show the lead singer how it’s done.” 

Daniel laughs, a puff of smoke coming out of his mouth as he does. “Yeah, well, not everyone can be The Vampire Lestat.” The cigarettes make his voice rougher and give it a texture that sets Lestat’s hair on end. 

“I’ve been thinking it’s time for a reunion tour,” Lestat says. He doesn’t really mean it. Yes, he longs to do it, to be on stage again, but as much as teases Marius, he knows it’s not realistic. His new role is the role of a lifetime: the prince of all vampire kind. He works that stage brilliantly, plays the part with fervor and zeal. But sometimes when he posts videos of himself singing a few bars on the internet and the comments go wild, he wants to be on the stage again like he used to.

“Yeah, well, sign me up,” Daniel says. “I’ll work your merchandise table.” 

Lestat laughs. This is what he loves about Daniel. When he says things like that, Armand will frown trying to work out how serious he is and Louis gets that familiar little wrinkle in his forehead that marks his concern. Marius will jump into a long lecture of why he can’t ever be on stage again. But Daniel simply jumps on board.

Lestat moves closer and snatches the cigarette from his fingers. Again, Daniel gives him that exasperated look, the one perfected over years with Armand. There’s no real rancor in it, though. Lestat touches the cigarette to his lips, slightly moist from Daniel’s mouth, and inhales. The smoke is hot, filling his lungs with dry, crackling air. Daniel takes it back, putting it right to his own mouth and leaving it there hanging on his lip as he runs his fingers through his blond hair.

“You can be my tour manager,” Lestat says.

“I know you’re joking but if you want, we could make it happen,” Daniel says. 

Lestat’s pulse quickens. He imagines the heat of the lights, the microphone in his hand, the crowd in front of him going berserk like they did for this mediocre local rock band. 

“Armand has connections in the music scene here, he could secure a venue. Maybe even this one.” Daniel gestures behind him. “We could sell you as a cover artist. Get you a back up band for one night. No one would think it was really you but…” He shrugs. “Could be fun.”

It could be fun. Lestat can imagine it clearly enough. He can wear a costume similar to one of his more famous ones and go wild with the hair and makeup. He’ll be an impersonator to the audience, playing a role. 

“The role I was born to play,” he mumbles.

“Yourself?” Daniel snorts.  He drops the cigarette to the ground and grinds it out with his shoe. “Yeah, man, it’d be cool.”

Lestat considers. Puts his arm around Daniel’s shoulders and pulls him into a hug right there on the street. No one cares. That’s the best thing about this modern age in the big city. No one really pays attention to anyone else. Everyone is too busy stumbling out of the venue, heading for the subway or a taxi, or a bar.

“Let’s get a drink,” Lestat says. 

Daniel gives him a sidelong look, and his thoughts are easy enough to read. But he vocalizes his question anyway: “What kind of drink?” 

Daniel is young and he’s fed. He has no need of blood right now, though Lestat is tempted to take him somewhere dark and quiet and offer him some regardless. 

“In a bar! Let’s follow the crowd.” 

“Sure. I actually know a good place three blocks down,” Daniel says. 

Lestat grins. He lowers his arm so it’s around Daniel’s waist and Daniel puts his arm around Lestat’s waist in turn. They walk together, milling through the crowd. “If were to do this show—a one night only engagement you understand—“ 

Daniel nods. “Obviously.” 

“Do you really think Armand would help?” 

“Of course! He’ll love the idea. Getting to dress you up in 80s rockstar regalia and watch you perform? He’ll be first in line.” 

“I suppose you and your maker get up to plenty of trouble in this town,” Lestat says. 

Daniel snorts. “You can say that.”

The idea is stuck in his head now, and he can’t stop thinking of which songs he’ll want to do, how many rehearsals it’ll take with a new band, how much time they’ll need. “What about the others?” Lestat asks, as they stop at the curb and wait to cross. 

Daniel considers, worrying his lip. It’s an extremely human gesture. Louis might be the most human of them all but Daniel has retained so much of his humanity, and Lestat enjoys that about him, too. “I think Louis will come around once we explain the whole impersonator part.” 

“Hm.” Lestat can picture Louis’ elegant face shifting into disapproval, but then he remembers their reunion in the 80s, and how delicious it was. How delicious it always is to see him worried and perturbed and to prove him wrong. Besides, he’ll love it, too. Perhaps even more than rest, not that he’ll ever admit it. “Good. Then we should start making plans immediately.” 

The light changes for them to cross, and Daniel hesitates. Lestat can hear the uncertainty in his thoughts, not for this crazed concert venture, but whether it’d be best to go back to Trinity Gate and enlist Armand’s help immediately, or whether they can do some basic planning at the bar. Lestat is  still buzzing from the energy of the show and his new plan for a show of his own and he wants to be in a lively setting, surrounded by people. 

“To the bar, Danny,” Lestat says, giving him a hard pat on his ass. “You can call your maker and have him join us there. He can bring a computer.” 

Daniel laughs and shakes his head and they head across the street. 

[monstersinthecosmos]

I think what makes this whole situation even worse for Armand is that he only has one (1) fledging. There is literally no point of reference about anything when it comes to him and Daniel except for Armand’s past experiences with Marius which in SOME ways are similar to what Armand and Daniel went through but in other ways they’re completely different experiences. Lestat, Marius and pretty much all of the other main vampires in the series (even Louis even though RIP to both those cuties) have a whole roaster of fledglings to develop different types of relationships with and over the series, they allow them to grow and change and feed off each other, but Armand *only* has Daniel, so it must be legitimately maddening because all the good and the bad and the crazy is just… one relationship for Armand. And it’s obviously a position he put himself in by obsessing over and falling in love with Daniel so hopelessly to the point where he couldn’t even consider continuing existing without him. And then he cursed them both. But I think that in finding himself and regaining his will to live and to have meaningful connections in late canon, he was also able to accept Daniel’s love again, and maybe to start having important conversations about the trauma they both went through when Daniel was turned and after they separated. I’d like to think they didn’t just reunite in PL and immediately jumped right back into a relationship like two stupid teenagers but actually had Important Conversations about what they’d gone through before Daniel moved into Trinity Gate and they decided to give it another go. NYC has great therapists and they’re rich so, please? 🙏

[ dgajksdg I waited too long to answer this bc I was too sad but just for reference icymi I got this ask after posting this devastating shit ]

fuck man!!!!!!

yes! YES.

(I feel like I don’t have a lot to add except that I’m bawling my fuckin eyes out so hear me out for a sec)

It’s just like, man Armand is so fuckin tragic you know? There’s so much nature/nurture to think about when you look at the others but it’s like, he was SO deeply traumatized for his early years I’m not surprised he couldn’t even try. I bring this up from time to time but it’s like, his time with Marius was so brief in the scheme of things, and even if his turning itself or the small amount of time he had with Marius wasn’t traumatic, the fallout was ENOUGH. And like, to relapse back into a cult after being with Marius makes me wonder if he convinced himself that those years were like, an abomination or a mistake, even if his actual turning itself wasn’t awful.

Then you look at someone like Lestat, who was also super traumatized by the way he was turned, and simply will not fucking stop making fledglings because he’s so lonely and has no impulse control and can’t cope with the concept of losing people. I think the two of them are both so desperate for companionship and still approach it so differently because of their personalities. And even without turning people I just think like, Armand has dealt with so much rejection? It's hard enough to get people to stick around when they're already vampires, like, why would he invest in a human at this point.

So yeah it’s just, it fucks me up every day of my life that Daniel is the only one for him.

I think a lot about the “Remember then that it was love” convo with Marius and how like, Armand seems to have made steady progress in his relationships over the years. Like, acting like less of an animal, being more present with people, etc. And it finally settles on Daniel and repeats some of the Venice stuff.

The irony too of how he GOT Daniel there by being a fucking predator at first; same with how Marius chose Armand because he had no innate value anymore as a person, no one would miss him, every day Marius gave him was a bonus and he was living on borrowed time. Daniel’s life sort of ends the night he meets Louis and Armand harasses him to the point of completely isolating him and fucking up his whole life. In that way he’s at rock bottom with nothing else to lose, also on borrowed time, nowhere to go but up.

Anyway sdhgkjlasg boy yeah they have so much to talk about and like. I think there’s enough anecdotes about vampires who go mad and don’t recover, and it’s promising to me that Daniel DOES recover. And I want them to speak and heal and I hope they both respect how fucking special it is that Daniel is The One.

[poorlittlevampirebaby]

AU game:

• money laundering au

• mortician au

okay i don't know enough about money laundering to even attempt something there like i'm not even sure i actually even know what money laundering is

BUT BESTIE I LOVE MORTICIANS I LOVE CORONERS I LOVE MEDICAL EXAMINERS LIKE IDK WHAT'S UP WITH THEM BUT I THINK THEY'RE NEAT.

so imagine armand as the weirdest fanciest most theatrical funeral director on the block he's like i'll inter your loved one and put on a good show and for a good deal too !!! anyway the whole mortician thing really intrigues claudia and ykno armand is a Friend of the Family (read: lestat's frenemy and guy louis is trying really hard not to fuck bc he's married cheating is baaaaad — he fails), so anyway claudia becomes armand's apprentice because i think you have to have experience in a funeral home before you can get licensed and stuff (i looked this up once because i was interested in becoming a mortician for like two weeks but of course this information was only for ontario and i'm sure it varies in the US and state to state), so he's preparing her for whenever she goes to funeral college. but lol wtf why are girls from claudia's high school dying that's crazy and they're all going through armand's funeral home

it's like if @diasdelfuego's overlords was like extra goth and influences by those two weeks i became obsessed with using my makeup training to become a mortician 🙃

[nalyra-dreaming]

Do you still see lestat on the show as being as emotionally distant as in the books? In the books it’s so drastic and obvious he’s purposely putting up an act of indifference, a coldness, withdrawing affection from Louis if Louis sometimes acknowledges it, right? But in the show he doesn’t hide his light as much so to speak, especially in episode 2 and when he tells Louis much he cherishes him for being himself no matter how challenging. He’s so much more transparent about wanting Louis to return his love. And as for the secret keeping, yes he keeps the Paris coven, Marius, and TTMBK a secret but mysteriously so much is implied by Louis knowing a little about Nicky, it suggests some intimacy about what he was able to share.

How do you think the show might show a difference in lestat when he’s able to have more closeness with Louis?

Okay, so - I do not actually see Lestat as emotionally distant in the books. He's been hurt, abused. He's... dealing. He's also protecting himself and his wounded heart. (I'm thinking of Antoine's report here, for example.) If you refer to IWTV, I mean then it is clear, right, how did Jacob put it? (yes, even in the show:) "it’s clear that Louis is somebody hugely angry with a man he loved deeply and now presents them as a monster…"

If you refer to TtotBT then I have to argue that there is a LOT more going on there, than just "withdrawing". If you mean this in relation to his fear for his light to hurt the ones he loves again, then that... while it certainly has repercussions I don't think that really(*) outlasts the reunion in TVL.

(*) Obviously a lot happens after that reunion, and that in turn has repercussions. But these repercussions, and even the phases where Lestat withdraws later on are not based in him shielding his light from Louis, imho.

As per the show:

Jacob called it "Lestat having more pathos" and I think that fits very well. Lestat has been alone longer. He has been back to Paris at least twice (and we will yet see what happened in-between?! It could very well be for example that he and Armand engaged in a proper relationship too for a while, but that just as a thought). And this pathos, this need permeates every interaction, he focuses it on Louis (which leads to good and to bad repercussions!) and Louis cannot hide it in this second interview. (The contrast to the first interview that we only hear parts of is very stark in this respect, imho. Like Louis definitely sounds harsh there.)

We only see Lestat through Louis right now. There is no way to judge how Lestat's views all that's been told (or even a more neutral view through Daniel might be).

There is no way to tell how much of his "light" Lestat let shine through either - there is no way to tell how much he hinted at, or how much Louis surmised. I don't think Louis missed half the clues he was supposed to, because he tells Claudia very early on that Lestat has secrets. So there is awareness of that fact at the very least. And he knows Paris is a red flag, too. Louis knows that vampires can be raped into vampirism.

Right now, with what already has been hinted at wrt certain manipulations, there is no way to judge Louis' and Lestat's life together outside the most basic facts. How much "light" Lestat might have let Louis see in the beginning at least. Given how deeply Louis fell? I would argue he didn't hold back much.

And with regards to the closeness...

We will get other POVs. Armand's and Louis' in s2, with a bit of Daniel's, I bet. Lestat's in s3 and then we'll see what other POVs might pop up. But the experience of what happens is always in the eyes of the beholder, that won't change.

I believe it will be very intense when we will get to see Louis and Lestat in a more neutral POV (i.e. in Dubai). The Lestat in the books is usually overcome by Louis, sometimes so much he cannot express (t)his love, but he always draws near, touches, pulls him in, kisses. Needs, fatally. What did Sam say? "He cannot take his hands off Louis." :)

Since the show elevated the supposed subtext there is no need to pull back on touches, or kisses, or generally physical closeness. Of course it will depend on the adventures the show will choose to depict what their relationship status will be, but I don't see him hiding anything from Louis as soon as the truth is out (once more^^).

I bet Lestat will go full in :)

PS: If I misinterpreted or if you want to talk about details in the books re emotional distance, please hmu again. I'll happily explain my view^^

[vampire-sugar]

This is a blog created to keep track of my experience reading The Queen of the Damned, but I wanted to write about some of my thoughts on the first two books of the Vampire Chronicles. So here's some stuff I wanna share about Interview With The Vampire!!

(Spoilers ahead)

Interview With The Vampire (1976)

I just know if I had read this book in high school I would have been so annoying lol.

The show is definitely my favorite version of IWTV, especially when it comes to Louis' character. Book Louis is hard to sympathize with, him being a slaveowner and all. I was aware of that before going in, but it was hard to read how matter-of-factly Louis talks about running a plantation, even in the present day. For all of Louis' philosophizing about the evil of drinking human blood as a vampire, he has nothing to say of the evil he committed as a mortal man. So glad the show changed that! And not only that, they made Louis a Black, gay man and added so, so much depth to his character and his story without taking away any of what makes Louis Louis. Anyway, I was expecting to not like book Louis as much because I was aware of all that going in.

What I was not prepared for, however, was the exact nature of the relationship between Louis and Claudia in the later half of the book. How did no one warn me about the incest hello?? Again, love that the show changed it to Claudia being more of a sister to both Louis and Lestat as she matures because, sure, Claudia is a grown woman in age/mind but she is and will unfortunately always be 5 years old in body and Louis that is your daughter.

Other than all that (which is a lot), I liked it. I was worried I wouldn't because of how much I already knew of the plot (from the show, the movie, and lurking on twitter lol), but I was hooked! The writing is gorgeous and evocative (loved seeing all the lines they included in the show). The scene where Louis and Claudia find a revenant? I was shaking! So scary.

Loved the Paris scenes with the Théâtre des Vampires. Loved the scene where Claudia's begging for Louis to turn Madeleine.

"Your evil is that you cannot be evil, and I must suffer for it."

Fire. She says it in the movie, and I'm sure they'll put it in the show too!

Armand is everything.

"I want you. I want you more than anything in the world."

??? I'm in love. And so is Louis!

"Who else, knowing us as we know each other, could do anything but destroy us? Yet we can love each other."

I just know they're going to use that line in season 2. Which brings me back to the show. I adore the show, obviously, but after reading the book I appreciate it even more for how it chose to adapt it, what it chose to keep vs change/leave out.

Some other things I liked:

Lestat not being able to kill his own father. Very human of him, loved reading that whole bit.

Any time Louis talks about Armand. I liked this line especially:

"Knowledge would never be withheld by Armand, I knew it. It would pass through him as through a pane of glass so that I might bask in it and absorb it and grow."

So warm. Makes me even more excited to see their relationship in season 2.

That's all I can think of. I wish I had documented my thoughts as I was reading the book, but oh well. (Also RIP Claudia, light of my life, I am not ready to see her go).

I will post about what I thought of The Vampire Lestat next, and then get into posting about The Queen of the Damned!

[loumands]

This ended up being longer than i intended for it to be. I think the fact that there's a racial divide between pro breed louis and anti breed louis is also something worth thinking about. a lot of the breed louis fics are by black writers. a lot of the anti feminisation of louis and breeding of louis complaints are by white writers. why is that?

jacob is allowed to be wrong about louis. he was very clear about how in the begining he approached the scenes where louis faces racism in a certain way that rolin had to tell him i know you hate this degradation but i need your character to capitulate to these racist characters. in the same way jacob might hate louis' submission to lestat but louis does submit. in their first sex scene lestat makes him submit. why does louis do it? we can say maybe because he doesn't have a choice or because he sees it as freedom to not have to put on a hypermasculine dominant hat like he does outside.

now back to the racial divide in the breeding kink and feminisation thing. louis being a queer black man means his queerness interpreted through blackness is different that when interpreted through whiteness. that's a cultural thing and not necessarily racist on white people's part. it is common to use words like mother and girls to refer to queer black men and refer to their pussy or coochie when talking about their asshole in black male queer cultures. that doesn't make it homophobic. that doesn't mean all black male queer people do it or like it.

i mean the fandom keeps calling lestat mother which is actually stolen from African American queer communities. the motherisation of lestat is a whole other conversation (his limp wrist and cinched waist are doing a lot of heavy lifting). but the interpretation of his queerness and the ensuing feminisation (which is a misread because the show and sam's interpretation have him as a masculine, dominant patriarch) tends to come at the cost of louis' queerness which is almost made invisible. i think it's cultural and not necessarily racist how the broader white fandom interprets louis' queerness.

I don't know if you want to post this ask. i understand if you don't. i also don't know if you're black. you might already know everything i said. regardless, if you don't know the things I've talked about maybe you can research a bit to see what I'm trying to say. that is if you're interested. i can imagine you're tired of this particular conversation.

No this is really interesting and well-written, thank you for sending this!

I'm not black so i don't want to overstep (though we romani are also often seen as aggressive and unfeminine by white people so i relate to that experience), but it does seem to me that many black fans like or at least don't have anything against feminizing Louis, and majority of the fans who actively dislike it are white. I think you're right that white and black fans look at Louis' (and also Lestat's) queerness through different lens because of cultural differences. The show is also rather ambiguous sometimes and filtered through several layers of narrative, and what happened, how different characters experienced it, how they are remembering it now, what they are narrating, and how the actors are interpreting it can all be different things.

I don't want to start going around policing people on what kind of stuff they're allowed to like reading or writing, and like i said in the original post people have such complex reasons for liking what they like, not necessarily racist ones, and we can't really generalize any group of fans. Like for example i think some people who prefer top!louis and bottom!lestat do it simply because they just want to see Lestat get railed and it's not deeper than that lol. At the same time fiction doesn't exist in a vacuum separate from reality, and i think it's good for white fans, and also for non-black poc fans like me, to sometimes pay attention to how we're viewing black characters and where our ideas and preferences are coming from.

I may be a bit tired of this conversation because it never seems to go anywhere since people don't change their opinions, but you'll probably catch me tomorrow coming here to complain again about some tweet calling Lestat a mother when he's doing something blatantly patriarchal lmaoo

[psychopersonified]

Paris Theatre des Vampires

Just a thought about the Paris theatre. Lestat never relinquishes the title to it does he? The producers hinted that our puppies get to experience coven life for a bit. I wonder if they’ll put Louis’ business acumen and Claudia’s writing skills to work there.

Why else would Armand have the playbills? I don’t see him being the sentimentalist, but I can see Claudia documenting their time there, an extension of her diaries. I wonder too, if they know the history of the theatre upfront? Or if it’s something they discover after a while?

Can you imagine them working in Lestat and Nicki’s old dressing room/now Armand’s office? Going through boxes of old papers and trinkets. What if there’s still letters that Lestat wrote to Eleni or Nicki in those boxes. The familiar handwriting!

I can also see Louis coming across legal documents when he’s dealing with lawyers on behalf of the theatre. Or even Claudia researching the history of the place and coming across newspaper articles, gossip society publications etc. Maybe reviews of performances describing a handsome blonde actor that’s the talk of society; or a talented violinist performing a piece that she subsequently finds the music sheets to. She then tries playing it, only to find it sounds hauntingly familiar- like the tune from the music box her maker had. Louis overhears the melody and is triggered, maybe a panic attack, causing Armand to suspect and enquire what secrets they are keeping? Maybe others in the coven notice the outburst too - portending the end of their stint with coven life.

PS: Can someone who reads French translate the playbills? Google tells me it’s “Horror in Baby’s room” and ”Workshop of the smooth skin” ?? Is there context to this aside from Google’s direct translation?

[graygiantess]

Just out of curiosity, what about Loustat makes you not a fan? What is appealing about Devil's minion?

Hey Nonny!

Thanks for your questions!

My answers turned out longer than even I expected them to be so I put them below the break so people don’t have to scroll for a full minute if it comes across their dash and they're not interested in reading it. ���

Loustat

I'm just kind of burned out on them as a ship and on cannon-compliant Loustat fics. I wrote some more about why here with regards to fics. I might get back into them as the show and their story progresses.

I love the intricacies of their relationship and how solidly married they are in the show and how the way Louis views Lestat is in part influenced by how he views himself and his own relationship to his own vampirism.

I'd love to see more of their happy times together and them being a relatively happy family with Claudia, and those are the kind of fics I'm still interested in. The show is so rich and saturated and I really think it elevates everything from the books to a higher level, including Loustat.

But at the point in the story where we are now - at the end of S1 ep7/halfway through IWTV book - they just have no business being together, and I'm in no rush to see them get back together on the show.

They got violently divorced for a reason.

I'm convinced the show will make the reunion everything everyone has ever wanted (because the writers and actors are that good), but they need some time apart for both their sakes.

It's the whole 'right person at the wrong time' thing either Sam or Jacob mentioned, though I think a more complete description is that they're both not yet the people they need to be in order for things to be able to work out between them.

Louis needs to figure out who he would be if there was no Claudia and there was no Him (and no Armand), and Lestat needs to be in the dump for a while and think real hard about what he did to end up there.

I love Lestat as a character but I don't particularly like him as a person in S1 (which in this fandom is somehow a controversial stance, when it really shouldn't be). He did some really terrible things and even Lestat agrees that he deserved to get patricided.

And they kill him much harder in the book than they did on the show despite arguably having a much more solid 'case' against him in the show than they did in the book.

Which might also be part of the 'problem'. The writers will have to work really hard to get me to root for Louis taking Lestat back after all the shit he pulled.

Right now, my top 3 ships involving Louis are: Louis/therapy, Louis/Hot Girl Era and Louis/A Nice Boring Man.

But that’s not the type of story this is and Nice Boring Men are not Louis's type, and would make for a much less interesting viewing experience.

(Though I suppose the interview is some variation on Louis/therapy and I haven’t forgotten that casting call for brave homosexual men in the park.)

For now I'm just going to be in my little Armandaniel corner and even smaller Armandiago corner and come May 12th I'll be ready with my popcorn and my screaming crying throwing up gifs to let the tale emotionally destroy seduce me.

Devil’s Minion

Devil’s Minion/Armandaniel are toxic as fuck. Make no mistake. I'm fully prepared for them to be 'worse' than Loustat on the show because their chase didn't start off as a courtship. Armand is going to do some absolutely heinous things to that boy (not to mention the crimes he's about to commit in Paris) and Daniel is going to say a lot more out of pocket shit than he's already done in S1.

It's going to be nowhere near as fluffy as I write them.

They're stalker/victim to lovers, which is a dynamic I would never fuck with in any other genre, because ew (especially in straight ships where the patriarchy gives you an extra layer of power imbalance for free).

And I absolutely hate to be that bitch, but it's gothic horror and they're peak fucked-up gothic romance. 😭

And they're at least semi-self aware of the fact that their relationship is a fucked-up co-dependent hot mess, which somehow makes it more palatable to me. Because I think that's something that Loustat - and Louis in particular - are still struggling to come to terms with about their own relationship, and I don't know if they ever fully get there.

The powerful immortal x just some guy dynamic that I wrote about in my answer to an earlier ask is really what does it for me in terms of making this my favorite TVC ship.

Because Armandaniel also have absolutely no business being together and they're so bad for each other but also so perfect.

This is a very nuance-free, reductive summary, but Armand grows up to people seeing him and thinking "Wow, so pretty, I must possess him". Daniel sees Armand and thinks "Wow, so scary and off-putting, I must be possessed by him". And that's (part of) why Armand likes him back!

Armand has had such a shitty life and he's so done after Louis leaves him. And then he meets this weird little human who sees the darkness in him and wants him despite/because of that and isn't afraid to sometimes call him an immortal idiot, and he reminds Armand that there is beauty in the mundane and it makes Armand want to go on living.

Meanwhile Daniel doesn’t see human life as worth living, doesn’t understand that immortality is a curse and wants that.

And Armand will never be human again and once Daniel becomes a vampire it does actually fuck up what they had, just like Armand always feared.

How beautiful and tragic and doomed can it get?

There's a lot of similarities and parallels between Loustat and Armandaniel and Lestat-Armand and Louis-Daniel are widely understood to be each other’s respective foils. They're all navigating the same themes and issues in their own flawed ways.

I just like how Armandaniel do it slightly better. And because we don't know what we're getting from them in the show yet, it's easier for me to put my own spin on it when I'm writing fic or making feral screeching noises at Armand gifs.

Because right now my perception is based off the The Devil’s Minion chapter in QotD, filtered through my fangirly pink glasses.

In the show we've only seen Armand as Armand for about 5 minutes, 3 of which were in the S2 previews and trailers. And their interactions in S1 are 95% Daniel talking down to Armand because he thinks the power imbalance is skewed in his (Daniel’s) favor.

Which brings me back to likeabilty as a character vs. likeability as a person.

Show Daniel is not likeable. He is a miserable old cunt coming at both Louis and Armand (and Claudia!) from a position of white privilege.

But that doesn’t stop him from being absolutely fascinating as a character.

And, unlike in real life, being fascinating is much more important in a fictional character than being likeable is. Which brings me back to Lestat. 😊

Plus, the The Devil’s Minion chapter is just such a fever dream and an absolute treasure trove for fic writers.

They travel all over the world so DM Era fics can set in literally any location.

I wrote about Armand getting hyperfixated on toothpaste and that works because he gets fixated on much weirder things in canon. You can throw basically any special interest and niche hobby at him and it'll still be plausible.

Human AU where Armand is a billionaire who wears designer suits and only eats organic homemade food? Yes, of course! Human AU where Armand wears the exact same outfit every day and only eats Poptarts and one very specific kind of pizza from one specific restaurant? I buy it!

So much to write about.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. 🙈

[0junemeatcleaver0]

☕ Anne's biggest ball drop

There are two major ones that are coming immediately to mind:

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but: giving up on Daniel so quickly. Like, if Daniel had been some random dude, I'd still be kinda upset. Especially if the Devil's Minion ended up being just as good if he were a random mortal as it is in canon. But like, he's the whole reason we have the Chronicles. Louis might never have told his story at all if it weren't for Daniel. Could have possibly gone the rest of eternity never sharing his experiences with the world. And who knows if/when/how Lestat would blab if Louis never put his side out first.

And (again, don't need to tell you this--BoD is up to chapter a million now for damn good reason) there's so much potential there character wise?? He's an interesting guy cursed to live in interesting times and then was turned in the middle of a vampire apocalypse?? To a Maker who was woefully unprepared to have a fledgling?? And he was loosing him damn mind by the end of all that?? That's all so interesting and would have been fascinating to unpack. And then she just?? Didn't?? ANNE, PLEASE!

(Honorable mention goes to the whole Benji and Sybelle situation. I know people by and large don't care for them. idgaf, those are my babies and I love them. I don't think they needed to become vampires, though. And I think allowing them to remain mortal would probably been better for everyone involved but I'm not gonna get too stuck in on that here because we'll be here all day.)

And this one might be surprising because I don't even go here but: Louis. As both a character and a vehicle.

Louis started out as a vessel for Anne's grief. He was Anne in Interview. And like, he served his purpose I suppose. Not to say that's the kind of grief that can be dealt with via writing a modern gothic masterpiece and then you never feel that pain again. Obviously not. But she explored that as much as she wanted and then had fun playing with Lestat's character and backstory in the sequel. Great!

And then Lestat became aspirational to her and uh...my feelings are a bit mixed about that but whatever, do you, Anne.

But at the end of the day, I can't pretend as though I didn't wish we lived in the timeline where she continued the exploration of who she was and who she wanted to be and blended the two into a more complete and nuanced narrative.

Like, what would the trajectory of that relationship look like if Anne continued to give a shit about Louis as a character who can experience growth and Lestat's paramour? As a reflection of who she was paired forever through fate to who she wanted to become? If she gave enough of a shit to continue to give him agency instead of just kinda mashing the Louis doll against the Lestat doll in a way that didn't feel totally earned or organic by the end of the series? There's a lot of really cool shit there that could have been explored and just...wasn't.

Like, I get why she'd want to abandon Louis for a while. If I wrote a character as a way of coping with the worst grief of my life I'd want to abandon him too, for a little while. But it still would have been nice to see a more fleshed out version of Louis who didn't only turn up when Lestat needs to feel like the Most Special Boy in the Universe. I dunno. Feels bad, man.