#cw: dv

[arlerts-angel]

REMEMBERING SUNDAY — k. hanemiya

determined to show kazutora what love really is, the two of you become surprisingly close... but one day, kazutora disappears without a word.

💛 note: heed the warnings. it is not my intention to romanticize dv in any way, shape, or form. if this is triggering for you - skip this one and i'll see you next time <3 this fic is my first contribution to the fics for gaza initiative! thank you @reiners-milkbiddies for the donation and i hope you love it. 🫶 @ficsforgaza

⚠️ warnings: dark content. allusions to dv (kazutora's dad) | brief mention of murder x2 | hurt no comfort | canon-adjacent | gender neutral + physically ambiguous reader

if you asked kazutora what love was a couple of years ago, his answer would've been his fist in your face.

that's what he learned from his father.

you were determined to show his broken soul what real, true love was.

every day.

you pissed him off every day in the first year. so much so, that you learned how to take a punch.

slowly, but surely, kazutora started feeling remorse for his actions. he realized he didn't like hurting you when all you did was show him compassion.

it was a hard realization for him; that you were a lot like his mother, who only ever loved him, and his father, even when it hurt her.

you quickly became his solace. kazutora would start using different coping mechanisms until he learned not to be violent in the name of love.

some days were harder for kazutora, and he'd need some time alone. "healing isn't linear," you told him, "i'm here when you're ready."

he started going to your house instead of his every day - it became his home away from hell.

he'd tell you all about this new gang he founded with a few of his buddies. he knew you didn't like it, but always assured you that it was good, and it was good for him.

a couple years passed and the two of you grew together, as did your feelings. you never addressed it. the way your relationship was, there was no need to. you were happy. he was happy. "if it's not broke, don't fix it" type of thing.

he held your hand every day to and from school. he'd walk you home even if he had a meeting with the gang.

he'd go over to your house and stay as long as he could on sunday's until your parents said it was time for him to go home. he'd kiss your forehead in secret and say "i'll see you in the morning".

but one monday morning, kazutora didn't show up to your house.

he didn't walk you to school and he didn't walk you home.

you heard through the grapevine all day that he went to juvie for third degree murder.

your parents explained to you what they saw on the news. kazutora had, in fact, been sent to juvenile detention for killing his friend's brother.

kazutora...? no... not my 'tora.

the only people allowed to call or visit were his immediate family.

you didn't see him for two years.

you didn't hear from him for two years.

two agonizing years.

at your locker, you heard a jingle. soft, yet loud enough to grab your attention. it came from someone's earring. he had a thousand-yard stare, as if he'd been through the trenches. his face seemed familiar.

kazutora?

he looked at you only for a second, and in that second you swore the life returned to his eyes.

maybe he didn't forget...

he blinked, and his eyes were lifeless again. he muttered to himself and carried on - he never looked back.

kazutora wanted nothing more than to hold you and cry. it pained him to walk away from you, deep down.

i don't have time... must kill mikey...

banner + dividers by cafekitsune

taglist: @milky-aeons @lees-chaotic-brain @katkusuo @tetta-kissaki @priv-rose

@toji-girl-main @blueberrisdove @darkstarlight82 @kodzukein @trevengersprincess

@little-miss-chaoss @i-literally-cant-with-this @ravereina

[beulahsapphire]

This is my wife’s childhood friend, Talia Petoia.

On the night of March 10, 2023, Talia was shot in the chest by her abusive boyfriend, Tyler Laughter, who claims the incident happened while he was cleaning his gun. Talia was rushed to the hospital, but the doctors couldn’t save her; she died that night.

One week later, before the autopsy was even completed, Tyler was charged - with involuntary manslaughter. He was put in jail on a $20k bond, only 10% of which needed to be paid to bail him out. He was free within hours, having not spent a single night in jail.

There’s been very little media about this case, despite the best efforts of Talia’s friends and family. In fact, when Talia’s mother contacted a reporter at a local news station several days after the shooting to ask why there had been no coverage yet, she was informed that the station had reached out to the sheriff’s office about Talia’s death only to be told that it was an accident and that there was “nothing to report.”

We’ve been calling the DA to encourage him to escalate this case to the SBI, given the seeming lack of care given to it by local authorities and the fact that the chief deputy is related to the shooter, but so far, no progress has been made.

There’s a lot of other fucked up shit going on with this case - more than I can type in one post - but suffice to say that Tyler Laughter is a dangerous man. Talia was not the first woman he abused - more have come forward in the last few weeks - and I’m afraid that that she won’t be that last.

Ways to help, for those who are interested:

Talia’s family started a fundraiser to higher private investigators and cover legal fees. Any leftover after meeting those goals will go to a scholarship in her name.

Contact the DA. Voicemails left after hours and emails are good too, if you don’t want to actually talk.

Even just reblogging this post and/or interacting with the other social media pages and hashtags we’ve created for this helps. We’re still asking the authorities to do the right thing and give this case the attention it deserves, but if they won’t do what we ask, we want to embarrass them into acting. Make this case such a big deal and so widely known that they are shamed into doing their jobs.

Linktree with the fundraiser, contact info/scripts for the DA, and other social media HERE.

[wastheheart]

EEAAO Starters

@feltferal asked: ❛ you didn’t have to. it’s the way you look at me. ❜ (thank you!)

The door is behind Jasper. A stupid, rookie mistake on her part, but it had been years since she had to remember. Instead she examines the grains of the oak-made table, unable to meet Jasper's gaze. She does not want him to see her guilt, but more importantly she does not want to see him.

His words are familiar, too. It reminds her of the days she would come home and smell alcohol on Charles' breath. She would suggest that perhaps he bathe and he would accuse her of branding him a drunkard. Of course it was something she vehemently denied, but the damage had already been done. She could still hear him counting down now, see that smile curling the corners of his lips—

Her eyes fall tightly shut and a hand comes to grip around the edge of the table. She does not mean to damage furniture, but fingers splinter through wood to curl into her palm instead.

"I'm sorry," she manages to eventually choke out... "I know it must seem the case, but it truly isn't you." Esme can't help the way her voice trembles. "I swear it."

[mundaneandmagicalcreature]

[CW: mentions of domestic violence and infidelity]

I've been thinking about what Jacob Anderson said in the Interview with the vampire podcast. He said that he tried to bring the bickering between Louis and Lestat to domestic, real life scenarios and Sam Reid would say to him "but we're vampires". And I agree with Reid, I don't think we can judge vampires under the same moral code we judge humans.

The last scene of the fifth episode is horrifying. I believe real life victims of domestic violence should break up with their partners and seek justice. But Lestat is not a real person, he hasn't hurt anyone who actually exist, so I'll give him more grace.

In real life a person subjected to that level of violence probably would die or become disabled for life. But Lestat knows that Louis can't die and that he'll recover from whatever injury. And I'm not saying what Lestat did isn't bad, I'm sure it caused trauma and a loss of trust in Louis. I just think it's not as bad as if they were humans. They're circumstances are different.

And then there's the whole Antoinette thing. Lestat goes about opening the marriage the worst possible way (because he's a fucking psycho). Still, an open relationship doesn't sound like a bad idea to me, considering their circumstances: they can't get people pregnant; if they catch an std they'll heal eventually; they immortal, so they have more than enough time to spend with each other; and they have plenty of money, so their finances won't suffer if they spend a little bit on other people. The only reason I can think for them to be monogamous is possessiveness. Which is a terrible reason.

But then again, I must remember myself that they are vampires. I try (whether I succeed or not is a different question) to avoid my most harmful and toxic traits because I'm mortal. Because I know life is brief, I try to allow people to be as happy as possible while they can. Louis and Lestat will live forever, so they can hurt each other knowing that future happiness is always a possibility.

Anyways, I'm happy that fiction exist so I can think about these subjects with a certain level of detachment.

[blitzwhore]

I'm certain this has been pointed out before, but...

“Lust shouldn't be about force.”

“Oh! No! Never. NEVER that.”

When Stolas said he would never do that to Blitz, he really meant it. After all, he knows intimately well what it's like to be forced.

[psyche-reads]

WHY are people saying Smelly Gabe was Disneyified by the show? WHY are they saying he shouldn’t die in the show??? WHY are they saying him fighting with Sally was CUTE???!?

Did y’all not see Sally CRYING over the fact that she’s never known a kind man like Poseidon? Did y’all not see Sally talking to little Percy about how monsters aren’t always monsters, and heroes aren’t always heroes, while looking at a statue of Perseus killing Medusa? When Medusa is a VERY FAMOUS symbol for survivors of abuse? Especially when the actress playing Medusa in the show has said that they’re leaning into that portrayal of Medusa in the show???

Y’all. Y’ALL. Percy didn’t KNOW what Gabe was doing to Sally until the END OF THE BOOK. It’s not surprising they’re not showing it immediately. Sure, Book Sally didn’t fight back as overtly as she does in the show, but I don’t think that means they’re not telling her story at all!

[imembarressedsohere]

Claudia (+Louis and Lestat) Angst Edit.

[iamgodsoopsie]

Astarion Headcanons (that you probably won't like) Pt. 1:

Part 2 link

BG3 does an excellent job at depicting SA trauma and the beginning of the healing process/journey. Many of the headcanons I've seen floating around (intentionally or unintentionally) gloss over the uglier side of healing from (prolonged) trauma. I'm not judging anyone for magically healing him, he's fictional after all, but I'd like to make some more ...realistic... headcanons.

Disclaimer: Everyone's healing process looks different, but they tend share commonalities. These headcanons are based on my own experiences. Not everyone who is healing from their trauma will experience what I have or have experienced it like I have.

[Please don't message me with explicit details about your trauma. I am at the point in my healing journey where I can share my experiences, and commiserate with other's similar experiences, but I am unable to support others in a more personal manner at this time. I wish you the best of luck in your healing process/ journey.]

Spoiler warning

Mental illness, SA, & DV Trigger Warnings

These headcanons are based on an Astarion who is still a spawn and romantically involved with a Tav who honestly loves him and isn't abusive or manipulative. Also Cazador is dead and Astarion got to stab him. They also assume that he himself does not turn into Cazador 2.0 or Wish.com Cazador.

He needs a LOT of love and patience. Which, frankly, many people don't have.

He's messy af. If "Damn bitch, you live like this?" was a person it'd be him. C-PTSD is a hell of a drug. I think he wants to be more organized and clean than he is, it's just going to be a looong process for his inside appearance to match his outside appearance. (His appearance may stay mostly the same or drastically change).

---Don't believe me? Just look at the outside of his tent: it's mostly organized and sophisticated, but the inside is messy and he sleeps on a plank of wood with a threadbare stained blanket.

He'll struggle with control issues rooted in his anxiety until he finds a way to channel that energy in to something productive and/or healthy.

---He'll veer between controlling micromanager (aggressive) and door mat (people pleasing/ passive) until he finds his (assertive) middle ground.

Anger issues ahoy! He went through "200 years of shit. PURE SHIT!" and had to dissociate/repress his feelings to 'survive'.

---Stabbing Cazador was cathartic, but it only released the surface level of his repressed rage.

-----An interesting line from the game that I haven't seen enough people talk about: When you tell Astarion to keep his cool when Cazador is goading him, Cazador scoffs and sarcastically asks Tav if they've witnessed his "fits of rage". (Of course a "fit of rage" to Cazador is probably Astaion having a slight frown when Cazador wants him to smile and be a pretty toy to show off.)

He will try to push you away and 'test' you to see if you stay consistent in respecting him and his boundaries. He needs to make sure you don't turn into a Cazador when you two are in an argument. He needs to be sure that his "No" is respected when in a steamy moment after a dry spell.

---This probably won't be as intense as it otherwise would've been because of what you two went through together, but he'll still do it.

-----He probably doesn't realize what he's doing, and when he does he'll shame spiral.

I hope you are prepared to patiently give lots of reassurance and affirmation about the same things over and over again.

---It'll sometimes seem as though he is seeking permission, but if you ever act as though you are giving him permission instead of affirmation/ reassurance he will become very defensive.

He's indecisive but unwilling to listen to your input.

---He went from 200 years of having no control or ability to make his own decisions to suddenly being free, he's going to feel overwhelmed.

-----He'll eventually realize that you have his best interest at heart and that you are not telling him what to do, you're offering suggestions to help him make an informed decision.

There's so much more but I'm tired. He'll eventually heal and live a happy and healthy life, but it'll be a bumpy road to get there.

[enbycrip]

I am pro-kid because I am pro-human, and kids are people. No matter how much social bullshit tries to say they are not.

No one asked to be here. Everyone deserves a loving, gentle, safe childhood; and the world is actively a much worse place because that idea is somehow controversial.

Active hostility towards kids also *massively* entrenches the inequality birthing and feeding parents experience. If you really hate kids but you don’t hate women and people read as women, sell treating kids like people to yourself on fighting misogyny. And consider that hating any group of marginalised people for their marginalisation is bigotry.

You don’t have to like kids en masse. You *certainly* don’t need to have them if you don’t want to, or to babysit kids if you don’t feel comfortable doing so.

But you *do* have a responsibility to treat kids like people, including accommodating their needs. Don’t be a dick to kids you meet in the wild, and don’t be a dick to parents because their kids are acting like kids.

And be aware of the intersections of privilege when you are considering kids in public. Kids who are getting in your way in public spaces are likely to be doing that because of poverty, frankly. Very few parents *want* to take their young kids on a long ride on public transport, especially if said kids are clearly either tired and cranky or full of energy that public transport is a shitty environment to release it on. If they are doing this, it is likely because they have no other options.

And please don’t make the disingenuous “they chose to have kids” argument; horribly, bodily autonomy is not a given for birthing parents. About a third of births in “western countries” are unplanned. There is lack of access to birth control and reproductive healthcare and there are controlling partners (manipulation through sex and reproduction is a favoured tactic for far too many abusers).

A 3 year old having a meltdown is doing it because of their developmental stage and because their basic needs aren’t being met. It’s not deliberate and it’s not under their control. Being a dick about that as exactly as bigoted as behaving that way towards a disabled person who isn’t being accommodated either.

I’m physically disabled and neurodivergent. My adult brother is neurodivergent and learning disabled. I’ve seen a lifetime of people who hate kids hating disabled people too. Including too many privileged disabled people, frankly. There is absolutely such a thing as a clash of accessibility needs, but vocal hatred of other marginalised people, or being a dick to them, because their needs clash with yours is Not Okay.

I am also pro-old people for the exact same reasons I am pro-kid. Because they are all people, and marginalised people at that.

Childhood and old age are the times people living in economically-exploited classes experience the most poverty, because age, and the lack of capacity for economic exploitation that accompanies both old age and childhood, is a characteristic that people are marginalised for.

We live in a society here. We are communal creatures. We have a basic responsibility to be decent to other people, including people who are marginalised and dehumanised, and that includes kids and old people.

If you are organising, including kids and providing childcare is as essential as accessibility. If you don’t, you are literally entrenching the same power dynamics you claim to be organising against. This is a huge fucking problem on the left, and it’s one thing the second wave feminists got entirely right, despite all their other issues.

[princelylove]

A young Joseph's physique is intended for running, jumping, and pulling heavy objects.

As he matures, he gets a little heavier, and therefore a bit slower. Nothing pisses him off more than thinking of his glory days when he could chase his darling as much as he pleased- literally.

He's a chaser emotionally, sure, but he's better at it physically. It's a bit unfair, Joseph was lazy with his hamon training, but excels in most athletics. He's well rounded, so he could've done a lot with his body back then, but didn't.

He just couldn't be assed to help out most of the time, and why would he? Whatever anybody else is doing has nothing to do with him, why's it his responsibility to help out just 'cause he's more athletically inclined? Jeeeez.

He's gotten a bit more empathetic in his 'old' age- but not by a lot. Joseph's still very obsession-oriented. He'd do anything you wanted. He'll carry your bags, move your sofa up five flights of stairs, run to the other side of the city to buy you something you need right this instant and don't have time to retrieve yourself- anything's fair game. His body's yours! As long as, you know. You give yourself entirely to Joseph and don't complain about how touchy and needy he is.

It's such a shame that time in his life has passed. He's not the young, energetic man he used to be. He gets tired after a few rounds of chase when he could previously do dozens, he groans at the idea of getting up after he's already sat down, he's an old man. An old man that just can't keep his hands off of you, even if you swat him away.

Joseph loves to make himself physically younger with hamon- it's kinda cheating, but it also kinda isn't. He can chase you around without pulling something this way! Hey, come on, it's a joke, he isn't THAT old. He can chase you just fine when he's older! Joseph's just a bit hung up on how easy it was when he was younger when he could just jump over whatever desk you knocked over to get in his way.

Now that he can't just clear whatever poor furniture you decided needed to die, Joseph is forced to use his brain, which is a thousand times less fun for both parties. Joseph doesn't wanna thiiiink, he wants to chase! He wants to catch! He wants to see his darling underneath him on the ground, whining and kicking and screaming and possibly crying- but that's off topic. He doesn't want to have to figure out what to do to get his prey, he wants his darling to get worn out and "admit" they want to stop playing and just cuddle already.

He's always thought of himself as pretty smart, so it kind of drives him up the wall when he can't find his darling. No, he's not using Hermit Purple just yet. It's not fun if he knows exactly where you are from the beginning! It's fun when he gets the satisfaction of finding you allll by himself, when he can pull you out by your ankles and pretend he's going to punish you.... oh, I'm kidding. He's absolutely going to punish you for trying to pull a fast one on him. Hide and seek is only fun when both parties are aware they're playing.

There are circumstances where Joseph will use Hermit Purple from the beginning. He's not stupid, he can tell when you're genuinely trying to escape and aren't just running from him. If you manage to get out of his sight, and Joseph has finally calmed down from the panic of not seeing you right next to him first thing in the morning, all you can really do is pray you look good while you're running.

Joseph's punishments are pretty bad. He's fine with breaking your legs because he can afford any and all medical care you'll need after he snaps them. Most of his punishments are physical and directly hinder your chances of escaping.

With Joseph, if you don't escape the first time you try, any attempts after just become more and more futile.

He's still got morals though. He isn't a spouse-beater. He won't give you a shiner or any visible bruises. He just knows that sometimes, spanking works best. You know, spanking as in breaking something, or actually spanking. If whatever you did isn't that bad, you'll get away with only thirty spanks or so. If you almost got out... pray you get a nice nurse this time, and not Suzi Q wearing a nurse costume.

[defilerwyrm]

Read the article on cnn.com

Gun-control advocates praised the court’s ruling. “This is a huge victory for survivors and it WILL save lives,” March for Our Lives posted on X. Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, said the case shouldn’t have been heard by the high court in the first place and its decision to take it up “shows just how extreme this court has become.” Advocates for domestic violence survivors have pointed to research that shows the risk of homicide increases by 500% if a gun is present in a domestic violence situation. Amy Sánchez, CEO of the Battered Women’s Justice Project, said in a statement that the group was “encouraged by the court’s decision. “Upholding the restriction on firearm access for abusers ensures that these protective measures remain effective and that survivors are not placed at greater risk,” she said. Ruth Glenn, the president of Survivor Justice Action, an organization that advocates for survivors of domestic violence, told CNN Friday that “today’s ruling only really solidifies that we have more work to do.”

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

there are a lot of reasons i'm really, really impressed by how well sdmi portrayed the dynamic of an abusive relationship with pericles and ricky, and one of the big ones is how accurately they show what it looks like when abuse starts to escalate.

the extent of that is yet another thing that'll take a longpost of its own to go into, because it spans like.... the entire arc of their relationship in the show. but one thing that stands out to me in particular is their portrayal of the massive red flag that is a partner trotting out bigoted behavior against a group you're in. especially insults, and especially directed right at you.

this show has a LOT of fatphobia, jesus christ does it ever, and there are certainly some fatphobic tropes going on with ricky; but i've always been surprised and impressed by how many of the nastier ones they avoided, especially considering his role in the story and what his arc is about.

he is a major, nuanced character whose trauma is treated with full weight and sincerity. it's implied that his body type changed the way it did due to the trauma he went through when he was younger, and the ensuing mental illness, which is a pretty realistic experience for a lot of people. the things that happen to him are played for full tragedy and horror, when it would have been so, so easy for them to make light of it because Tee Hee Fat Guy and Tee Hee Male Abuse Victims Funnee. despite how his whole thing involves corporate greed, they don't go the route of portraying him as Gluttonous and Hedonistic; if anything he is very obviously not using all that money for even basic physical self-care, and the only time we ever see him eating anything it's when he's drinking wine grape juice with pericles. which, like, there's issues to be unpacked with that too, but jesus christ it's an improvement over what usually happens with characters like him.

he's a fat queer man who isn't degendered or made feminine in a mocking and/or predatory way. (there's nothing wrong with feminine fat queer men and they need more non-shitty rep, please and thank you god, but there is a lot of nastiness in the tropes they're often used for in mainstream media, and one of those tropes is when people consider 'fat queer man' and 'masc' to be oxymorons.) no one ever once calls him ugly; if anything multiple people in his life think he's attractive and desirable, for better or for worse. no one body-shames him. and no one ever mentions his weight.

except pericles.

'The Horrible Herd' and 'The Devouring' are two halves of a whole here, re: escalation of abuse. 'Devouring' is when the abuser goes full mask off and shit hits the fan; 'Horrible Herd' is the wind-up before the punch. HH is when ricky realizes things are getting Bad and he needs to put a stop to this now, and Devouring shows what happens when he tries, because by the point where it's gotten bad enough to give him a wakeup call it's already too late. it's how abusive relationships tend to go, and it's chillingly accurate.

and what's one of the things pericles says during Horrible Herd when that punch is winding up? something no one's ever said before now, including him? 'you pudding-faced dummkopf.'

he body-shames him. he insults his weight, and that's a major turning point. bigotry is something that's often there to some degree from the start, but not always, because some abusers are good at hiding things like that until they're confident they've got you where they want you. the message with ricky and pericles is loud and clear: when this happens, the walls are dripping blood. get out.

(if you can. and be careful when you try.)

when this show is good, it is really, truly good. god damn.

[cirqueduroyale]

Is Penny on the a-spec? I feel like that would be an adorable way for her and Charlie to bond

(Plus it could have been another thing for her ex-jerkwad-partner to have been upset about, her not "giving" him what he """deserved""")

I feel like Penny having the "Oh? OH!! THAT EXPLAINS SO MUCH?!?" moment would be really sweet

Perhaps 👀

She might be in if we get some pinks on that flag >.>

[wishing-stones]

I saw that one answer to how your R&R boys would react to children in general, and Nightmares section got me curious. ("Nightmare, shockingly, is absolutely phenomenal with children. He’s played “monster under the bed” for a fair handful of humans before… and that has sometimes turned into “monster under the bed that protects kid from outside horrors” if their home life is… less than ideal.") That made me wonder. How would they react to anybody with "less than ideal" home lives? Kid or not?

Have some meta on Nightmare for free regarding this:

Having had his ripped from him at the tender age of fucking eight, Nightmare places a high value on protecting innocence. He tried to be indifferent to suffering while exploring the multiverse, but injustice and suffering to children has always been something he had a hair-trigger about.

He's also not a huge fan of adults in similar circumstance, but that's... less protecting innocence and more culling the problematic. Even he has standards.

No one else much cares for abusers for varying reasons. If they had a good reason to intervene, they'd get involved immediately in a domestic dispute, either with their magic or with their fists. Killer and Axe have no problems introducing themselves to people with their fists. The others might prefer magic, or their swords, in Cross' case.

Age doesn't really matter, but Nightmare's creed of "protect the innocent" has rubbed off on the guys. Kids in danger take priority. ...And whoever is on the offending party better pray the guys feel merciful that day.

To a victim, they're very gentle and patient. They don't want to spook the person they saved, so they speak softly, move slowly, and touch gently.

...They'll also clean up any signs of a struggle and set up and air-tight alibi for the person they saved while disposing of the body somewhere very far away. Foul play could be called, but no one will be able to pin it on the victim. They're free to cash out life insurance and claim whatever is in a will.

.... Children might get relocated if it's bad enough. Nightmare knows a couple of places where they'll be safe.

[pynkhues]

It's not talked about enough that Louis remembers Lestat much better than he looked in truth. Case in point: Lestat in the revisit of the loustat fight. He was all bloodied and beaten up but Louis initially remembered otherwise. Or the trial, Lestat looked very good. But in the revisit (banishment scene) he looked pale and unhealthy.

I think the tower scene is the same. Lestat looked much worse in truth.

Funny thing is I don't think it's Armand's doing, Louis's lovestruck brain just remembers Lestat better lol.

I don't think it's Armand's doing either, anon, but I do think there are different things at play in terms of how Louis remembered Lestat differently at various points. In a lot of ways the trial is the easiest one to talk about, because I think it was very much so informed by the complex feelings Louis was experiencing in their reunion and the realisation, deep down, that he'd succeeded in saving him the night of the murder, but also the fact that he's believed Lestat to be not just complicit in the trial, but a key orchestrator, so he's not going to be seeing Lestat as in a weakened state, particularly when he, Claudia and Madeleine are in such a dire situation.

The night of the fight is more complicated because I think it does play more into Louis' self-denialism of his own nature and what he inflicted on Lestat prior to Lestat's terrible act of violence. It's the positioning of himself as the absolute victim and Lestat as the absolute perpetrator, when the reality is something more complex, as it often is. That's not to say that Louis isn't the victim and Lestat isn't the perpetrator, but victims are rarely without fault and those faults are often weaponised against them, and Louis - consciously or unconsciously - is probably aware of that. Domestic violence can be a lot more complicated than people want it to be, and I think the show's always been interested in exploring that.

So yeah, I do think it's coloured by love, but also by the fact that those moments are pretty extreme points of trauma for Louis that he feels the need to curate the memories of.

Funnily enough, I was actually reading the book reunion scene last night as I was working on my fic and obviously it's very different from the show's reunion scene, but one of the things that struck me in it was Louis' really looking for the scars on him and the fact that he doesn't immediately see them. It's not until he holds him at the end that he realises he can see the scars he and Claudia put on him, they're just faint, and it's a really interesting beat in the scene. I'm curious if the show plays around with that going into the new season too - they've obviously leant in a little with the choker in the teaser, and it'll be interesting to see how they document the histories of these characters on or in their bodies, especially given the note of the rocks in Louis' ankles, which is a detail I really love.