#if this is Louis’ way of expressing himself

[ozonegrrrl]

see no evil

hear no evil

speak no evil

thank u again @clemster for the idea !!! for reference the hands belong to Minerva, Lee, and Lilly 😓😓 original concept under the cut, i couldn't find the artist but creds to them !

[casualavocados]

Learn from who? Learn from you?

Chen Bowen as CHEN YI & Chiang Tien as AI DI KISEKI: DEAR TO ME (2023)

[lhrry]

x

[statementlou]

OH I really need your opinion about Louis being so emotionally intelligent, I think it's barely even talked about it here

ARE people not talking about it? What a funny thought! As a post-hiatus fan, I'm accustomed to thinking of myself as something of a newcomer, even though it's been years now, so it's weird to realize I've been here long enough to see patterns and trends come and go and come again. It's even weirder the way trends in fandom can be completely forgotten and erased when the boys, in contrast, eternally exist in all times at once, everything they've ever said considered to be equally valid to their current lives whether they said it 12 years ago as teens or just yesterday as whole ass adult men! Anyway my point is, there was certainly a time when Louis' emotional intelligence was discussed a lot, AS IT SHOULD BE. For sure so much when Walls came out it was... those LYRICS!! Yes, without that gift he's still gorgeous and smart and embodies a unique and bewitching gender presentation and has a beautiful and captivating singing voice… I guess there are a lot of other reasons people might like him. But to me the thought of that not being the top of anyone's "why Louis" list is bananas, it feels so absolutely central and necessary to understanding what makes him special!

It's certainly a lot of what makes his songs resonate with people- he's a skillful lyricist, he could craft clever little twists of phrase and metaphors regardless, but it's his emotional intelligence that sets him apart imo. He describes it as honesty, and yes- the willingness to be vulnerable and reveal your feelings is special, but what I don't know if he even really realizes is that for so many people it's not just an unwillingness to open up honestly like he does, it's that they are genuinely unable to identify and understand and name what's happening inside them like that. I think it comes so naturally to him that maybe it can be hard for him to recognize that that experience isn't universal.

I really appreciate that you used the words emotional intelligence specifically, I love that phrase; I think framing it as a form of intelligence is correct and important. It's a skill set that is dismissed as "feminine" and so less important or easier to access than intellectual intelligence, but it's none of those things. And it's a minority of people who, like Louis, are both intellectually and emotionally very very sharp. I'd say it's a reason he was been able to stay such a good person in the face of things that can easily ruin people (being rich and famous from a young age, trauma and loss), and it's certainly what enables him to be so good at his job. It elevates his songwriting above the ordinary, but also it gives him the tools to do the dance of giving the public something to connect with and making it feel like he's completely open and present without actually giving away too much, which would be absolutely impossible without emotional intelligence- if you don't know your own boundaries or can't intuit on the fly what people respond to, it simply falls flat and seems forced. We've been seeing him exercise those skills close up and in person over the last few days in the signings, making everyone feel special and held and like they got a personal special moment without actually telling anyone anything much or going overtime or getting sucked in to any weird interactions! Again, something that would be nearly impossible without those kind of people skills.

It's actually really funny the way the discourse recently (speaking of changing tides in fandom) has been focused on the idea of Louis presenting himself as masculine (is there a relationship between that and the lack of chat about his EI? hm), when I feel like in the past he was the most feminized by fandom, and not because of his mannerisms or look, but because of his willingness to embrace his emotional intelligence- to cry/ talk about crying openly, to share readily about his feelings and be vulnerable, all these things coded as feminine. He himself has said that he doesn't think he's anything special in this regard (or especially feminine, I think is part of the subtext to that) because Northern Brit men are just like that. I'm from the US so I'm not the one to really respond to that, but it seems to me that does contain some truth- I have seen a willingness to cry openly, to talk about vulnerabilities, etc, in other men with public personas from up there- but I think that again, what we're saying is that's he's showing more than just that, that we're talking about his emotional intelligence quotient being unusually high, which is not a regional characteristic, but a personal one.

[hungwood]

/ I can only imagine how as he grew up, Matthias began to resent the art of puppetry and all that was tied to it, the smell of acrylic paint drying, the rugged texture of papier mache, the old yet reliable saw he had to keep on sharpening to cut through wood, the texture of dusty fingers after sanding clay; truth be told, his interest in puppet-making wasn't born from thin air nor was it an intrinsical 'Czernin family' ingredient that all members were simply born with and that he happened to naturally acquire; to a young Matthias, the world of puppets was only a tool to feel closer to his parents, to receive praise and love, to get noticed. To feel like he belonged to the family, that he was one of them. This however proved to never be enough as his parents were simply too focused on the praise they could get from their craft, always aspiring for better mechanisms, livelier and more colorful puppets, whatever could sell and bring them a higher status.

Pretending, pushing that enthusiasm to a point that went beyond what it actually weighed was naturally not enough, and this hope he had of having something that could help him bond with his parents turned into bitterness as time passed. He simply could not keep up with it and in turn, it hardened his heart. It brought apathy to him, it made him withdraw more to himself, and in turn, this led to him eventually getting replaced by Louis, the livelier friendlier version of Matthias, the Matthias his parents 'knew', the better one

[hellotailor]

louis' final three costumes in S2 are so, so cleverly chosen. after the curated blandness of his interview wardrobe in dubai, this is our first glimpse of his personal taste in the present day. each outfit is full of meaning.

in the first half of S2, louis and armand’s coordinated interview outfits seemed like part of their performance as a happy couple. by the end, they have a more sinister subtext. louis has gone from having stylish, flashy fashion sense to wearing uniformly expressionless black and grey:

dubai-era louis exclusively wears the colors of depression and mourning, in a style stripped of personal expression, physically and spiritually separated from the outside world. i’ll write a separate post about armand’s costumes later, but you could interpret this as louis' taste being subsumed by armand’s nebulous 500-year-old absence of identity. at the very least, louis is blending into the chic minimalism of the apartment, presenting himself as part of the household unit.

with that in mind, his final three outfits signal a seismic change after leaving armand. his NOLA tour costume reflects the philosophy behind his 1940s wardrobe (ie. selected to blend into a human crowd) but he's also reconnecting with his home, wearing a New Orleans Saints hat with (in a potential piece of double symbolism!) a fleur-de-lis logo.

then we have the loustat reunion outfit, which is more enigmatic. he’s going for subdued colors (although not pure black and grey), with a silhouette echoing his mid-20th century wardrobe: high-waisted, wide-legged trousers and a bomber jacket - a cut he wears pretty often. IMO the reunion’s overall color palette is a major factor here, with lestat and louis' costumes and surroundings sharing a spectrum of dark brown, sepia and muted gold.

finally there's the last scene in dubai, arguably the most “pure” expression of louis' taste because he’s not wearing this outfit for an audience. coordinating with the apartment’s colorful makeover, he’s wearing a multicolored cardigan with yellow highlights, matching claudia’s dress, the yellow couches, and the gold background of his new painting. (i’ve identified this as a YMC cardigan retailing at £250; a mid-range english brand.)

this piece (paired with navy blue pants with a yellow stripe) is modern and distinctive; basically the opposite of his interview costumes, which displayed very little in the way of personality or cultural markers. you immediately understand that louis is expressing himself through fashion again, now in a more casual streetwear context than the tailored and accessorized suits of his youth.

[lordofdestructionm]

Wick Sable

The odd duck in the guilded cage

Despite this being a feral Mordecai and Viktor account I do occasionally like to dig into the others.

Wick is a character Lackadaisy fans love but don't talk about very much. He just the rich friendly geologist with a love of illicit beverages and a crush on Mitzi. Indeed he is all those things. But I want to dig a little into what may be hidden depth (geography joke haha)

Professional dissatisfaction

When we first meet Wick he is behind his desk looking very tired and beaten down. Forcing himself to keep working late into the night with excessive coffee. Attending to a large pile of paper work for tomorrow.

His expression shifts slightly when he sees the Lackadaisy pins fall out of the envelope and realises the letter is an invitation to him (and his fellow aristocrats) to the speakeasy.

This hatred of paper work and the administrative side of his business is a recurring issue for Wick. Making the reason for his reliance on the capable and attentive Lacy very obvious. Exhaustian and too much alchohol are no doubt partly to blame, but it seems to be something that puts him in a very depressed state of mind.

But when actually on the job, overseeing the hands on work of blasting a new quarry, his mood is much more positive. Indeed he has a very real and sincere love for geology and the nitty gritty work of his business. When he first went to the Lackadaisy he was spellbound by the lime caverns themselves as much by Mitzi's charm.

Its his special interest and he will go on long unprompted monologues on the topic if given the chance. Meaning it is specifically the being trapped in his office dealing with the red tape that makes him so unhappy not the industry itself.

Its almost sad that he is the one in charge of the company rather than in a role that puts him closer to the action which seems to bring him real joy. Like someone who loves cooking being in charge of a restuarant or someone that loves drawing running an animation studio.

They love the product/industry but that doesn't mean they enjoy their specific place in it.

Unimpressed Peers

Despite Wicks enthusiasm it proves not be infectious with his fellow elite, who complain about being dragged out of town to watch something, that while very important to Wick, they clearly could not care less about (even not that quietly mocking him and his love for rocks and construction)

When the evening doesn't go to plan due to the uninvited pig farmers Wick has an interesting exchange with Edmund Church, seemingly the most prominent of the St Louis upper crust in the group. Warning him about getting any more involved with an unsavoury crowd, especially Mitzi, outside of simply enjoying the occasional drink.

Wick doesn't take kindly to the snarky criticism and borderline threat to his reputation and responds with a much more direct statement on his peers sour nature

Tracy has mentioned that Church has a role yet to play in the story and it seems safe to assume from this it may well involve Wick in a less than friendly way if he continues to associate with his "lessers" as Church and the others see things.

Despite needing to remain on civil terms to keep them invested in his business, Wick clearly has little love for them, a feeling that is mutual as they have little respect for him and see him as an oddball, only tolerating him because his talent in his field can help make them a tidy profit.

But while he doesn't appreciate Church's sniping Wick IS concerned about his reputation, but not entirely for his own sake or that of his elitist associates, but for the many people who rely on him for employment, who could be hurt by extension of he gets pulled too deep into the less than repectable world of bootlegging

Romantic life

Outside of the crush he has had on Mitzi since first meeting her at the Speakeasy, we have very little information about Wicks love life before this. Being a handsome and wealthy gentleman from a good family, you would think he would he fighting women off with a stick, maybe even be a bit of a playboy.

Instead you get the impression Wick is pretty far away from being a ladies man. Mentioning to Mitzi that he doesn't even really know how to talk to women unless its about rocks, bugs or limestone.

He is clearly attracted to her and is tempted by her to risk his reputation and by extension his business to get closer to her, but so far his fear of the very real consequences are deterring him from taking that gamble.

Though there is that personal aspect to it, it seems that in a more abstract sense Mitzi's appeal to Wick is not just in her beauty and seductive personality, but in the excitement and thrill of her Speakeasy and bootlegging operations.

In that sense Mitzi represents that touch of danger and excitement that during prohibition many otherwise law abiding citizens enjoyed indulging in illegal drinking establishments. Being* just* naughty enough to give them a fun thrill while being detached from the more brutal blood soaked aspects.

Wick is a good natured person (the worst thing he has done is shoot a duck in his youth which he was forced to do) living a very "respectable" life, but that makes the superficial glamour of the world of underground drinking establishments and secret booze stashes even more appealing. Thats why despite his concerns and responsibilities he keeps going back ,not just to Mitzi, but to the Lackadaisy specifically. It has pretty geography, a pretty owner, and an open door to a more exciting avenue of life

Its for that same reason he doesn't seem to be overly uncomfortable with lovable bi disaster Zib flirting with him at the bar. He may have no intention of reciprocating, but it couldn't be a more different experience to the world he is used to

Even if he doesn't yet want to take the full plunge it all excites him enough to keep him circling the edges.

Because despite having so much going for him there are things about his life that not only bore him but make him unhappy. Whether its piles of paperwork, dealing with much stuffier "conventional" fellow aristocrats and not wanting to be like them, or just a general lack of true passion in his life, he is clearly a man looking for something more satisfying

Whether or not he remains a "tourist" or decides to take that gamble, throw his reservations to the wind, and take a more active role in the gang, is yet to be seen...

Assuming Rocky doesn't set fire to him first of course XD

[gallierhouse]

It’s fun to look at the differences between everyone’s body language, actually. Lestat’s always taking up space, shoulders back, chest puffed out, strong, structured shoulders, long strides that make him float across the room. The way he walks is so different from everyone else. He struts around, showing off his looks. Everything about him demands attention. He’s always performing. There’s no understated confidence with him, no subtlety. He wants worship. It’s the confidence of someone who’s making up for something else. It’s not false, but the excess of his taste and stature and bravado is a result of insecurity. He’s performing for applause. As he always is. Louis doesn’t make himself smaller, but he doesn’t make himself bigger, either. His clothing is fashionable — but generally unassuming, especially in Paris — and it doesn’t make him look larger or smaller than he really is. You get this sense that he’s attached to a sense of propriety with the way he dresses; his pajamas are striped, he’s all sweaters and sport coats. Casual, comfortable, not looking to impress. If he was a Brit, he’d dress like the descendants of landed gentry. Confident, not looking for approval, just existing. On the other hand, Armand’s always making himself look smaller than he really is. He’s the tallest out of all three of them, but he doesn’t make it obvious. He only ever straightens up and pushes his shoulders back when he’s making a statement (the black suit at Claudia’s initiation, in San Francisco with Daniel). He doesn’t really play at being human, but he plays at being weak. Still, it doesn’t entirely translate, because he’s not actually afraid of anyone, an apex predator pretending to be prey (low necklines, the quick expressions flitting across his face when he decides if he’s going to go along with Louis, the oversized coats). He doesn’t have Louis’ casual confidence, what he has is a lack of fear, the knowledge that no one could hurt him. He’s looking for approval, always looking to play a role, but he simultaneously knows that there isn’t anyone — or anything — that could pose a physical threat to him. It leads to contradictory body language, puppy eyes paired with stillness and effortless flight, reminding everyone that as real as the puppy eyes are, the power is real, too.

[soliloqueeer]

“I was being hunted.”

With each rewatch, I’m always struck by the look Lestat gives Louis in 1x01. As Louis tells Daniel, "I was being hunted," the camera pans to Lestat, who is staring at Louis with an expression that can only be described as love and longing.

The first time I watched, I took Louis’ story at face value, believing him as I did with most of his claims. Thus, I perceived this glance far differently than I do now. Now that we know Louis is an unreliable narrator, I see this framing as attempt for Louis way to avoid the guilt and shame he feels over being seduced by Lestat. By casting Lestat as a predator, Louis distances himself from the guilt of choosing him again and again.

While there are countless reasons why Louis might have portrayed Lestat this way, it’s worth revisiting the narrative with the knowledge we have now: that Lestat fell desperately in love with Louis and courted him for months. The look we see here is not that of a manipulator with a grand, conniving plan, but of someone patiently and desperately waiting for Louis to meet him where he is, and to love him deeply as he loves him - a dynamic that will the continue throughout the entire narrative.

[janovavalen]

Hi can you write a Percy Jackson x fem reader

The reader and Percy do not get along it’s like a love hate relationship.During episode 4 Percy sacrificing himself at St Luis arch the reader breaks down the door and sees him fall.she then jumps after him.When they get out the river they both have an argument about the whole incident.which leads to the reader admitting she cares about him.Happy ending pls.

an: OMG STOP STOP BC I ACTUALLY ACTIVELY SCREAMED AT THIS REQUEST ANONNNNN STOOOOP I LOVE THIS SM IM ABOUT TO WRITE IT RNNNNNRNRNRNRN

✧RECKLESS || percy jackson x fem!reader

summary: as the group go to their next destination they arrive at the arch, annabeth and y/n’s mom’s sanctuary for some time. just when they think they’re safe, things don’t go to plan.

word count: FUCKIN 5878 NO BC IVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR THREE HOURSSSSS AHH

warnings: y/n and percy being in a enemies or lovers trope, annabeth and grover being third and fourth wheelers, arguing, near death experiences, slight blood warnings, poisoned percy, a bit of crying? LIKE A TINY BIT, y/n is very argumentative.

as the group made their way to the st. louis arch, they weren’t doing very good. at all.

on their way, the original plan was to get straight to las vegas, but thanks to the monsters and not wanting to take a break, their train got ruined by the mother of monsters.

as they walked into the front entrance of the arch that annabeth and y/n recommended. they had stated that monsters can’t get in and it will give them more time to find some way to get to las vegas a lot quicker than on foot.

‘six-hundred and thirty feet wide’ annabeth started—‘six-hundred and thirty feet tall, both two within an inch’

as they four of them walked fast enough to cause an old lady whiplash, percy and grover listened to the two of them explain their mothers sanctuary.

‘it’s got no internal support. each side is balanced perfectly against one another’ y/n states once more as annabeth nodded along with what she said.

‘the arch is held up by symmetry, it’s held up by math!’ annabeth expressed.

‘oh and it’s earthquake proof’ y/n added to annabeth’s comment, giving annabeth a small glance before they walked down the steps of the entrance into the small museum full of kids on a field trip.

‘it’s also high enough so poseidon can’t ruin it…but i don’t think mom would appreciate his child being in here, so.’ y/n looked over to percy who gave her a tight thin lipped smile before mumbling.

‘nice…’ annabeth and percy looked at the two before giving each other a look to soon squeeze themselves through the group kids.

‘excuse me’ annabeth mumbled to the boys and girls who turned and moved out of the way for the four.

‘this is how you show athena your love, a monument to the power of perfection’ annabeth told.

‘it’s a monument to some other stuff too’ grover added as they looked around and saw other things regarding more olden times, guns, head skeletons of buffalo and other things.

‘your talking about what some humans want this place to be about. we’re talking about what it actually is’ annabeth placed her hand over her own chest while looking at percy and grover who frowned but agreed nonetheless.

y/n rolled her eyes when she saw the amount of ‘skeletons’ and other things that litterd the walls and glass casing all around them. the people seeming to be pleased enough at what they saw to take a picture.

‘it’s sad to know they don’t know what it really means. very pathetic really.’ y/n mumbled to herself as she turned to annabeth. percy looked over at her and blinked before widening his eyes and choosing not to say anything about what she said.

‘whatever…we’re safe here, right?’ grover made sure to comprehend as they walked.

‘no monsters can enter…not even echidna’ y/n reassured grover who nodded nervously.

‘we’re safe’ annabeth added on.

‘great…well since our train exploded! i’m going to see if there’s another one we can get tickets on. we can’t stay here forever.’ grover looked over at the huge plastered picture of buffalo being attacked and hunted by hunters.

looking overly slowly at the three he said once more—‘just because we’re prey doesn’t mean we need to be helpless.’ turning around to leave, annabeth nervously cleared her throat and walked up to him.

‘wait! i’m going to go with you. you two wait here, don’t leave and don’t move’ annabeth ordered y/n and percy who frowned their eyebrows.

‘where would we go?’ y/n asked her with a raised eyebrow. annabeth rolled her eyes and caught up to grover who walked rather fast.

as the two of y/n and percy watched annabeth and grover walk away, percy decided now would probably be a good time to start a bit of conversation to stop the awkward silence.

‘he doesn't like it when people mess with animals,’ he added.

y/n didn’t both turn to his side but acknowledged his voice—‘yeah. i know.’

percy turned to y/n who kept her eyes focused on annabeth and grover even though they were long past the barrier of her eyesight.

‘…why are you so quiet?’ percy mumbled, his eyes looking over y/n’s frame that was unmoving from her standing position.

‘why does it matter?’ y/n turned to his presence now. seeing he was a bit away from here

‘it doesn't it’s just…you know…kind of awkward?’ percy nervously mumbled.

sighing percy didn’t want to really give up on the conversation knowing it would probably be best. the last thing he needed and had the time for was for y/n to snap at him, but it was worth the shot.

‘so, this is your moms place?’

y/n kept quiet and turned her eyes and head another direction from percy who kept speaking. clearing his throat he spoke—

‘be right down just going to the potty’ he said in a girly squeaky voice. this gained y/n’s attention.

as childish and stupid as it was, it was definitely an uplift from the previous mood. she lightly grinned but turned her head.

‘listen…me and you don’t get along and we both know that—‘

‘is it that obvious?’

‘shut up and listen okay?’ y/n sighed as percy nodded shamefully and let her continue .

‘i know you said it all in me and annabeth’s head…mostly mine? that i tell myself that our mother cares because it’s easier that way.’

percy let his eyebrows frown once more as he shook his head—‘i didn’t say that?’ he looked at y/n who turned her head to him and gave him a small look of which spoke—‘really?’

he shrugged it off and continued to talk—‘look ive been a demigod since…’ looking off to the side to calculate he finally came with an answer—‘last saturday. you shouldn’t listen to me.’ he told her as y/n let what he said soak in.

looking off to the side a bit she came up with some idea—plan for him to take, an offer.

‘you know, this is my mothers place. but…a temple is a temple. maybe you can say hi to your dad while your here?’ she explained.

percy seemed to almost take up her offer but quickly denied it. not wanting to really contact poseidon at the moment.

‘no thanks.’ he quickly shrugged off. this came undeniably confusing to y/n.

‘what could it hurt?’ she genuinely wanted her answer but he still shook his head.

‘your think with your mother…i get it, it’s different, it works for you. but my father…i don’t want anything from him. he had his chances—honestly you’ve done more for me in the past free days than my fathers done my entire life. if i have to stick with someone i—‘

trailing off as he caught himself y/n seemed to catch his slight slip up and tilted her head to the side a bit. her eyes looking him up and down before she smirked a bit—‘careful..i think you were about to call me a friend.’

before the beginning of the quest. before all of this. they had claimed in stone, they were and would never see themselves as friends. nothing more nothing less: the two of them simply didn’t see eye to eye. their priorities were set on two different things, and they both knew that.

but, things seemed to have change a bit on one end, and a lot on the other.

percy slightly looked down at the floor below as y/n turned her own head away from his.

‘somewhere around here the Oracle is laughing at us but you know—‘

as she said this percy seemed to feel insanely dizzy and instantly fell to the floor, y/n being there to catch him—‘whoa! percy? what’s going on?’ she asked him, being careful not to bombard him with too many questions given the fact he just fell out.

her arms being slightly wrapped around his shoulders he held onto her as he let her slowly let go of him. percy slightly sat down onto the floor as he caught his balance.

‘hey! what happened?’ grover and annabeth came running immediately when they saw him fall.

‘i think…i think those stinger things were poisonous…’ percy breathed heavily, his breath seeming to shorten on supply.

y/n looked around and it seemed to click for both the athena children—‘i have an idea’ the both of them claimed.

as the two of them grabbed up on percy they found themself in the water that sat in front of the museum. with percy sitting down into it, the other three stood as they scooped and splashed percy from the head down with water.

he sat there and took it as they kept going scoop from scoop, hoping something would happen.

passers walked by and some stood to watch what they were doing and they their were kids sitting in the fountain but none took it upon themselves to stop it.

‘the water cured him back at camp! it should work with poison too!’ y/n found herself quickening her scoops of water while annabeth looked momentarily at her sister who wore a very worried expression.

if anything, she’s never seen her this worried. not for a while. not for percy.

‘you know—i think, i think this is working’ percy grabbed onto y/n’s hand who helped him stand—‘this was a great call’ he acknowledged their idea but only to end up stumbling back down into the water with even more dizziness.

‘or not.’ he breathed out.

‘maybe it needs to be naturally running water for Poseidon to heal him?’ y/n mumbled while she placed her hand comfortingly over percy’s shoulder.

grover looked to annabeth who went to speak but just then they heard crashing and sirens going down just ahead of them. they all went to look and seen a police car being flipped into another car.

‘we need to get back inside!’ annabeth went to pick up percy along with grover but y/n was quick to deny.

‘no we need to keep trying!’

‘ this isn’t working y/n—and she’s coming!’ grover sadly looked at y/n who stressed her expression of worry towards percy who looked up at her momentarily before the two of them looked ahead along with annabeth and grover to see echidna slowly strutting her way over to them with a grin.

y/n breathed out and quickly thought—‘okay look, we’ll take percy inside and we’ll go to the temples alter’ y/n went to pick up percy who grabbed onto her arm and hand as the other two helped to pick him up as well.

‘alter? where is there an alter?’ grover asked, frowning his eyebrows at the two.

‘the highest point—the best view!’

‘okay! but what good is that even going to do us?’ grover stressed once more.

y/n sighed and looked over to annabeth who looked at her and percy.

percy had his grip held tight on her as she equally had the same amount of strength being held onto him to secure him from falling.

‘we’re going to get to the top, and we’re going to ask our mom for help’ she breathed out. grover seemed to stop for a bit along with y/n who was nervous about this plan.

‘ask mom for help? annabeth are you insane?’

‘i thought we didn’t ask for help?’ percy put his two senses in making annabeth look over to him. seeing they didn’t have much time for anymore conversations, annabeth ushered the group to begin walking.

‘come on; we need to keep moving’ annabeth spoke in a hurry.

grover placed percy’s other arm over his shoulder to help balance out their walk and annabeth stayed to y/n’s side.

just as they began to walk and y/n with annabeth failed to walk a bit and happened to stumble behind. echidna began screeching to the two girl who turned and started—couldn’t help—but listen. their expressions becoming more flat, a bit worried.

percy took a heavy notice of y/n’s absence and turned to see mainly her with a saddened expression on her face.

why did she look like that? what was she seeing? what was she hearing? his thoughts raced. seeming to focus on her rather than himself being poisoned.

she let her eyes widen and she snapped out of some trance along with her sister who gripped her arm—‘guys? did you hear that?’ y/n looked over to annabeth who nodded immediately.

grover and percy however?

‘hear what?’ percy asked her with concern. grover shook his head and y/n looked at annabeth who sadly looked down.

‘come on—let’s keep walking—go help percy’ annabeth told y/n who jogged to percy’s side and grabbed only his arm once more.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

as the group hurried their way around the people who were mindlessly talking with themselves—completely unaware of the danger that was happening for the demigod children. they kept turning around to make sure their backs were clear.

some people would momentarily look at the group who carried one boy who looked like he just seen a ghost as they had their wet clothes tracing the floor as they walked.

the four of them getting into the small sitting elevator, they sat down—‘what was that back there? what did you guys hear?’ he asked the two sisters, but his main eyes trained on y/n who didn’t say a word. annabeth doing the same , she found her pinky slowly reaching over to y/n’s.

she got the hint and fully placed her hand over annabeth’s. percy looked down at their hands and came with the conclusion.

‘she spoke to you two’ percy breathed. his body was cold, and wet. the poison doing nothing more and adding onto his weakness and cold body.

‘alecto did that with me. back in the museum back in new york’ he recalled. annabeth and y/n still not speaking a word, only looking down and blinking momentarily.

percy didn’t really want to admit but he was becoming concerned for y/n’s mind. what did she hear that was bad?

‘what did she say?’ he asked once more.

just then, annabeth looked up in a hurry and squeezed y/n’s hand who looked up as well—and there she was. echidna.

she stood over the small metal balcony with her moneyed baby right behind her.

just as the doors shut they saw the two horns. y/n let her eyes widen along with the rest of the group’s.

grover gulped but began to talk—‘was that the chimera?’ he looked over to y/n who place she head in her hands and held them their in stress—percy looking over with frowned eyebrows as his wet hair dripped into his eye.

‘i—i think that was the chimera!’ grover worryingly spoke. percy let his focus set on y/n who kept nervously looking anywhere but the group.

‘how did the chimera even get inside here? how did any monster get inside here—‘

‘y/n?’ percy breathed out, his worry building up on y/n who kept quiet. annabeth looked over at her sister who didn’t even look at her either.

‘we’re in a secretary, athena would have to let her in but why would she do that?’

‘y/n!’ percy called out to her once more. seeing her eye finally set up upon his own he hoped they could keep their eyes trained on one another.

‘what did echidna say to you?’ he asked—demanded and answer.

she worryingly looked back down before shaking her head a bit, biting on the inside of her cheek.

‘she said my impertinence ruined our mother pride. and that that, would be our doom.’ she looked angrily over at percy who shook his head.

‘impertinence? what kind of—‘ finally recalling. medusa’s head.

giving y/n the look of knowing she gave him a look as well as annabeth and grover watched them talk.

‘ medusa’s head.’ he nodded while y/n shook her head, a frown setting upon her features.

‘i embarrassed my mother…’

percy shook his head while trying to clear up his running thoughts—‘but—i’m the one who sent the head to olympus? i sighed the note—‘

‘and i went along with it! it embarrassed her…now she’s angry. because of your impertinence, and because i was dumb enough to go along with it, we won’t get any help, we won’t get an answer from her!’ y/n shouted to percy who shook his head.

‘y/n—‘

‘no! annabeth, he needs to understand this isn’t some game, this isn’t camp, we can seriously die out here, and he can’t just go around sending dead body parts to the gods just because?’ y/n stressed even more as percy nervously looked at y/n who avoided his eye contact once more.

‘guys…what are we going to do?’ grover broke the silence as they seemed to be near the top of the arch.

‘she isn't going to help us when we get to the top to have percy’ annabeth expressed to grover who cut her off—‘no i mean what are we going to do about echidna and chimera? they're going to be right being us,’ he exclaimed.

as the four of them looked at each other—percy hoping to catch y/n’s eyes but failed he looked down at the floor.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

‘we’re not going to have much time’ as the group let themselves out of the elevator, y/n getting out first to leave percy with grover and annabeth to help him out.

percy took a hard notice to this but tried to shrug us off—‘they’ll be up here any minute. and if our mother isn’t going to protect us, then we’ll just have to fight it out up here’ y/n finished as they walked up the short amount of stairs to the top.

once they did was when y/n lost her confidence for a second and saw a huge crowd talking among themselves with phones taking pictures and smiles on their faces.

and when percy, grover and annabeth were behind her, they saw the extent of trouble they were in.

‘oh no…we gotta get everybody out of here’ grover expressed with worry as he held onto percy.

percy looked to y/n who seemed to smile a bit with her idea.

running to the fire alarm she pulled it, setting off a loud beep that got everybody's attention.

as everyone slightly panicked and walked their way down the hall with the others, y/n placed her hand onto annabeth’s shoulder and ushers them along the hall.

‘you guys follow the group down the steps—‘

‘what?’ percy hurried to look at y/n who momentarily look at him then back at grover who spoke.

‘no, no—we—were not spitting up’ grover expressed.

‘grover come on!’

‘y/n i’m not leaving you here!’ annabeth spoke to her sister who gave her a sad look.

‘no… no no no no we’re all getting out of here together’ percy breathed out, hoping to get y/n’s attention. once he did he kept their eyes focused on one another.

‘we won’t make it! the chimera is a demigod killer! someone has to stay back to slow her down and buy everyone some time’ y/n walked with her hand on annabeth’s back while they walked to the steps with everyone going down in a hurry.

once they got to them, grover, annabeth and percy turned to y/n who stood at the door to make sure she shut it before they left.

‘okay—once you get downstairs you need get him to the river. and don’t stop. not till you get to hades. not till you have the bolt, do you understand?’ y/n looked at the three before looking at percy, he shook his head in denial.

‘y/n you can’t just stay here and say that and expect me to listen—‘

‘do what i say annabeth! just this once, okay?’ she pleaded. annabeth shook her head with a frown upon her lips, forever going the same.

‘okay go!’ she heard the footsteps of the two right behind and went to shut the door only for percy to speak.

not wanting to let her go he quickly came with a plan.

‘wait!—‘ taking the pen that formed into a sword out of his pocket he held it to y/n who looked at it.

flipping it around to make sure the handle would be in her touch, he held it out to her and spoke once more—‘take this’ he held out to her.

as she went to reach slowly, he waited for her grip to hold tightly onto it—only then did he switch sides, pushing her into the room and closing the door.

‘percy!’ y/n yelled out to percy who made sure the door was locked.

‘percy!?’ grover yelled. the three of them baging on the door as percy breathed heavily, his body weak and pale.

‘percy no! don’t do this! they’ll kill you!’ y/n yelled her voice becoming louder but more weak.

‘posiden never helped me before. he wasn’t gonna start now. i would’ve never made it to hades. but you can. and now you will.’ percy talked to them before he walked away from the foot. their banding never stopping.

‘percy! please?! you can’t do this!’ y/n cried out.

walking towards echidna and the chimera who walked their way to percy who’s eyesight blur more and more. causing him to stumble and his weakened grip on his sword.

‘this is the end sweetheart.’ echidna spoke softly, her motherly tone never wavered. ‘don’t fight it. you’ll only make her angry.’ she warned.

as the chimera walked over to percy he held his sword up higher with determination in his eyes. the chimera began to growl as she went to open her mouth, inside a small orange and red glow becoming prominent, percy swung his sword at the leg of the chimera, making it rawr out in anger and slight pain.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

behind the door y/n banged harder and harder, hoping somehow he would come back and change his mind.

annabeth couldn’t watch her sister be like this—hurt, confused, mainly disappointed. turning sound as she reached into her pocket to grab her own sword that extended, she let it change its form into a smaller pick pocket knife.

‘you two! go now, go to the bottom of the steps and wait outside, police are bound to show up, so stay with them and don’t move! i’ll meet you down there with percy!’ y/n demanded her sister and best friend who shook their head.

‘y/n please—‘

‘annabeth! listen to me! okay? i’ll be okay, i’ll see you guys down there, go!’ she pushed them slightly as they looked at y/n once more who nodded to the two, giving them a slight smile.

annabeth gave one back as she nodded and grabbed along of grover, the two of them making their way down the stairs.

as y/n turned around the let her knife be placed into the middle of the lock, letting it extend, it did just enough to to break the lock and break the metal of the door.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

pulling and pushing its paw up, she pushed percy far into the metal railing of the side of the wall, making him fall and yell out in pain. the chimera snarling at percy. as she walked over to percy once more he laid onto the floor with weak arms and body to see it open its mouth and their in the pit of her throat, fire. being bubbled and arousing through the back of her throat.

‘percy!’ y/n yelled. he turned around immediately to see y/n run towards him and pull him out of the way of the chimera’s fire that erupted through its throat and mouth, spreading and melting the floor below. y/n grabbed ahold of y/n as she pulled him away form the fire.

his grip holding onto her to make sure she was safe and unharmed, y/n quickly checked over percy as he nodded slightly.

in the distance, echidna raised her hand and flexed it towards the floor before them, a huge gaping hole being torn open into the carpet and metal floor. the wind from the highness of the arch blowing into the faces of y/n and percy who held each other.

the chimera roared loudly as y/n went to help percy stand up the two for them made their way over to the chimera with their swords in hand, y/n made her way in front of percy who noticed this and tired to quicken his pace so that he was in front of her.

swinging her sword the chimera dodged it and hit y/n so hard she passed out right onto the other side of the hole.

‘y/n! percy yelled—‘ soon percy tried his turn only to be hit with the chimera’s horns. throwing him back in the walk and down the gaping hole.

the chimera seeming pleased, it walked its way along with echidna to see percy still holding on.

‘y/n! wake up—‘ he grunted.

y/n paid along the side of the carpet ground with her head pounding.

‘so unfair. you never had a chance did you?’ echidna looked down at percy who was praying to whoever that y/n woke up right now.

‘if only someone cared enough about you to provide you with one’ she tilted her head as percy grunted and held onto the metal plate that was the only thing supporting him right now.

‘y/n?!’ he called out once more.

just afar, she grunted and let herself slowly wake up. just as she looked over and grabbed ahold of her sword. seeing echidna shake her head down into the hole she stumbled her way up, the blood on the head running down her eyebrow and down the side of her eye.

‘percy?’ she looked and saw he was nowhere to be found.

putting up all her strength, she stood up and hit echidna across the back of her head with her sword making echidna help out, the chimera turning around to her mother to her y/n had yelled out—

‘percy!’ she yelled seeing him reaching out to her as he fell, she took her jump and went right after him.

the two of them falling down further and further, y/n stretched her hand far enough for the two of them to be holding each other's hand.

as y/n felt herself lose consciousness once more from her injury, percy gripped her hand even tighter, and just as he turned a bit from the air around them, he saw a huge water thing, coming right towards them.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

when percy came to. he was under the green water. the small fish and thing around him, he hurried his eyes and head to turn and see y/n not too far from him. her eyes still closed and her hair clouding around her.

swimming out and going to pull her up to the surface, percy felt himself and her go back down a bit—looking to see her foot caught and stuck around something that held her in place.

swimming down a bit to held her foot get unstuck he grunted and strained as the bubbles from his mouth started to flow and go up to the surface. pulling and pulling he suddenly saw something.

something glowing in the green water—‘you are frightened.’ it claimed.

blinking his eyes to see what it was he frowned, but kept pulling at y/n’s foot, his only priority was to get her out.

‘it’s alright percy. your father sent me to tell you, it’s alright.’ he paused a bit at this and looked over at the flowing glow.

‘just breath.’ she instructed. going to do so—he abruptly stopped and went back to pull at y/n’s foot. her head still bleeding and her body still unconscious.

‘your father is here, he’s always been here’ she continued to talk as percy pulled at y/n’s foot.

‘it’s so hard for him to stand back, to see you struggle. it is so hard for us all. but he’s here, and he’s so very proud. trust him. trust yourself. stopping his movements and looking over at the flowing glow, he held onto y/n’s leg who started to shake awake.

her eyes slowly opened and focused to see her and percy and somehow ended up into the water. she looked to see percy looking over at something, following his gaze she saw what he was seeing and frowned.

‘just breath.’ she told once more and when y/n turned down to percy, he breathed in and seemed to be breathing just fine under the water.

looking up at y/n he saw her holding her breath and went right back to pulling her foot with all his might, this time she was there to help. pulling up her foot, percy came with an idea, one that she definitely wouldn’t like.

going up to her, face to face, he placed his hand on her shoulder then soon her neck—if y/n couldn’t speak with her words, she definitely would with her expressions. with one that woke—‘what are you doing?’

he looked down with his eyes at her mouth and she immediately shook her head knowing exactly what he was implying. he looked at her and grabbed ahold of her cheek while she looked down to pull at her foot, her lungs burning and screaming for air.

percy gaining her attention, she blinked the water going in and out of her eyes and she held his eyes with her own. frowning she nodded her head slightly and let percy lean in under the water—his lips setting upon hers he breathed in his air to buy her more time. once they retracted, y/n and percy held eye contact before he kept his hand held on her own.

once he was down to her foot, he tugged as she pulled and soon she was free.

grabbing only y/n, the two of them hurried and swam to the top.

ㆍ୨୧ㆍ

when they got to the surface, they swam to the concrete surface and pulled themselves along the metal rails. y/n got the helping hand of percy who pulled her with the two of his hands.

‘your okay, are you okay? your okay, right!?’ percy rushed to ask y/n who caught her breath and immediately reached up to touch the blood and wound that happened to close up.

looking at percy who half his hand on y/n’s arm and neck he checked her body and she took note of how he was healed as well.

‘percy! i’m okay…im okay’ she soothed him as he slowled his movements and looked into her eyes.

‘you jumped after me…you followed me down not knowing what would happen—‘

‘how could i not percy! how could i not? you are so careless, reckless and so selfish to think nobody would think of you and how you could have died! you left me— us, behind in the staircase to go off on our own and save your mom from the underworld!? how messed up is that percy! she would want to see her son! not two kids who she doesn’t know!’ y/n percy in his chest who stumbles back.

he looked nervously up at y/n trying to grab her hand only for her to slap it away—‘your selfish, greedy, reckless and so so stupid percy jackson! and i’m stupid enough…’ when he heard this he looked at her from the ground to see her slowly shaking her head at percy who looked up at her with hope.

‘i’m stupid enough to be the idiot one as well and jump after you. and i’m stupid enough to have cared so much. too much about you. percy…you can’t do things like that…not now, not even. not as long as i’m alive.’ she felt her eyes water a bit with the amount of worry he put her through when she was behind that door and out of his reach.

percy took note to this and hurried to grab her up and hug her tightly. she arms immediately finding their way around his body and his wrapped along her body as well. the two of them held each other so tightly they forgot about the world around them.

when they let go from the hug that seemed to have lasted forever, sorry nervously laughed. y/n looked confusingly at him with a small grin on her face.

‘so…what happened underwater—‘

‘don’t!’ y/n placed her hands over percy’s mouth who smiled at her as she shook her head in a hurry, her cheeks seeming to redden.

‘y/n!’

‘percy!’ two voices yelled from behind them. the two of them turned around to see grover and annabeth running to them.

‘annabeth!’ y/n happily yelled. as they embraced each other, percy hugged grover who hugged him tightly.

‘your safe’ annabeth breathed out’—but how—‘

‘doesn't matter! what matters…is that we’re together, safe.’ y/n smiled as she turned around to grover and percy. her eyes lingering on percy a bit more which seemed to not go unnoticed by grover and annabeth.

‘come on! we need to get moving’ annabeth held her hand along y/n’s back who walked with her.

as they walked, annabeth and y/n talked amongst themselves while grover and percy walked.

grover noticed how percy’s eyes never left y/n’s form and his focus never left her.

‘so..’ he started. percy let his eyes linger but his head turn to grover before his eyes focused on him.

‘what happened under water?’ grover finished making percy abruptly stopped, pulling grover with him laughed.

‘what—how do you—‘

‘my ears hear many things dude’ he smiled at percy whose face was grew redder by the second.

turning to see y/n and annabeth still walking and talking he turned to grover, turning him around so their backs were friend to the girls.

‘under the water…i found out i can breath. but y/n was stuck so…to give her more air— i had to share my air—‘

‘so you kissed?’ grover interrupted making percy grow red all over—‘don’t say it like that and don’t let her you know! she’ll kill me…she also. happened to tell me she actually cares about me, a lot’ percy smiled at the recalling of what she said.

‘so…she basically confessed she likes you?’ grover added once more. percy looked to the side as he nodded slowly.

‘dude!’

‘grover please! don’t tell her—‘

‘i won’t i won’t!’

percy nervously breathed out before letting go of grover who straightened his jacket.

as the two turned around to see the girl waiting but still taking, grover turned it percy and yelled with a smile—‘so y/n what happened!?’ he ran over to y/n making percy run after him

‘grover!’ percy yelled.

[salethe2]

I’ve seen a lot of takes on this scene, and honestly they’re all so interesting, so I decided to give my perspective.

Okay, starting with Armand’s costume, which Carol Cutshall absolutely nailed. Here’s what she said about Armand’s costume design:

—“One of the things about Armand is he is so ancient and so powerful that he always presents himself as very open. Whereas some of the other characters are very covered up, he’s always very open because he really doesn’t see anyone as a threat to himself. He didn’t have any predators or any reason to be on guard, or be armoured.”

Personally, I find this design choice fascinating because, despite being a predator at the top of the food chain, vampires like Armand, especially as a coven leader, would normally need to remain vigilant. Yet, he’s completely at ease, even surrounded by other vampires.

I mean, look at him here. Sure, it’s not the deep, open V-neck shirts he wears in the interview scenes, but his outfit is still loose and open. And he’s literally surrounded by a group of vampires he knows are plotting against him. He even has his back to said vampires and yet, he’s not the least bit nervous in either situation!

Even with Daniel, he’s not nervous or afraid because he doesn’t initially see him as a threat.

So, if Armand isn’t scared of his own coven—a bunch of vampires ready to kill him at the first opportunity—or Daniel, who could potentially expose all his manipulations, then why on earth does he go into full armor mode to meet a seemingly inconsequential human he’s never encountered before? He’s literally in a turtleneck, shielding his most vulnerable area for crying at loud!

A for body language—honestly, Assad Zaman deserved an Emmy for this scene. We see Armand being aloof, a little suave and condescending, employing the whole, “I’m a four-century-old vampire; you’re just a lowly human” tactic. It’s like he’s sizing her up, wanting to understand who she is while simultaneously aiming to provoke her, curious to see how she will react.

As for his questions, he frames them in the way you might expect a coven leader to interrogate a human he’s about to turn. Questions like, “How will you survive? Are you okay with killing people and being a monster?” It almost seems like he’s trying to make her reconsider her decision to turn, but it’s all a facade.

Because the question he really wants to ask is the last one, and when he finally approaches it, his entire demeanor shifts.

He sheds the suave demeanor and shifts to a more serious tone, embodying what Louis describes as his "post-apocalyptic look." He towers over Madeleine, gazing down at her in an attempt to intimidate. At this point, Madeleine's expression turns genuinely nervous, perhaps even frightened—and understandably so. Yet, she holds her ground. It's then that Armand poses the crucial question he had come specifically to ask.

“And what will you do in a few decades when she throws herself into the fire? Because she will.”

Now, why does this question seem familiar? It’s because Armand has previously made a similar statement to Louis. He had forewarned Louis that Claudia’s mind was bound to deteriorate over time. Now, Louis tearfully countered that Armand couldn’t be sure of this, yet part of him probably recognized the truth in Armand’s words, which likely contributed to his emotional plea for Armand to look after her.

Armand realized then that Louis, despite his deep love for Claudia, lacked the resolve to keep her grounded, effectively sealing her fate, which seemed all but inevitable by that point. He even assigns Claudia the role of Lulu as a way to infantilize her and further break her spirit—almost as a test to gauge Louis’ reaction. Unfortunately, Louis does nothing about it, while Madeleine clearly recognizes it for the manipulation it is.

And what does she do next? Madeleine quickly gets Claudia out of that outfit and into one more fitting for her. By doing this, she threatens Armand’s plans without even realizing it.

It’s also interesting to note that the only time Armand is ever truly angry with Claudia is when he sees her with Madeleine. This reaction underscores the threat he perceives in their bond, disrupting his control of the situation, and here is why.

When Armand posed the question to Madeleine about what she would do when Claudia throws herself into the fire, her response was:

“Or maybe she won’t. You don’t know. Maybe I’m what she needs to survive.”

And the way she meets his gaze as she says this marks a shift in their conversation. Throughout their entire conversation, Madeleine often looks away and breaks eye contact, but not in this moment. Here, she meets his gaze head-on. Even though she is clearly nervous, and likely a bit scared, she holds his gaze because she is sure of her words. This is a powerful moment where Madeleine not only asserts her belief but also turns the tables—now, it’s Armand’s turn to feel uneasy.

Of course, you don’t see it in his face, but it’s evident in his body language. The way he becomes closed off, his hand fidgeting, and his gaze fixed ahead as if deep in thought. He doesn’t even refute her.

Even with Lestat, when he warns him about Nicky, Armand doesn’t stay silent; he confidently affirms his insights, and Lestat—of all people—clearly believes him. But with Madeleine, it’s a different story. He goes silent, not uttering a word in response. He doesn’t attempt to persuade her because he recognizes that her mind is made up, her resolve unshakable. But perhaps the words that really hit home for him were “You don’t know.” This was probably the words that sealed Madeleine’s fate because the last thing you want to say to a master manipulator and control freak like Armand is that they don’t know something. Because now, all of a sudden Claudia’s death isn’t a certainty anymore and he can’t just sit back and wait for her to lose her sanity. He must take matters into his own hands now.

Anyway, one might think that Madeleine and Claudia leaving, thereby leaving Louis all to Armand, would satisfy him. After all, one of the first things he asks Claudia and Madeleine is if they’re considering returning to Paris, and you might assume Madeleine’s answer pleased him. However, her answer doesn’t satisfy him, not after what Madeleine says soon after.

Madeleine’s words confirm that Claudia indeed loves Louis, and because Madeleine loves Claudia, she persuades her to return to Paris despite her obvious and valid disdain for the city. This revelation proves to Armand, even if they leave Louis, Madeleine and Claudia will always remain a significant part of Louis’s life. For Armand, this is intolerable. To him, Claudia is a dangerous manipulator and a competitor of Louis’s attention.

So even if they all lived happy, separate lives, Armand’s nature is such that he cannot live with the doubt and fear that Claudia might draw Louis away from him. Having been abandoned too many times in his life, deeply wounded by those closest to him, and left behind for others, he cannot risk experiencing that pain again.

Thus, in that moment when he speaks to Madeleine in the apartment, he decides that both she and Claudia need to be eliminated. I believe this was the real reason Armand was there under the pretense of turning her. He needed to evaluate how much of a threat Madeleine posed to his plans, and upon realizing she was basically a live grenade, he knew he needed to act swiftly to get rid of her. Because as long as Madeleine is present, so will Claudia, and as long as Claudia exists, Louis will never truly belong to Armand.

[danlous]

Months of reading how Armand is the Big Bad man behind the curtain manipulating and mindcontrolling everyone with his godlike powers, and now suddenly in one day it switched to cruel Pimp Louis manipulating and enslaving Armand and Armand being his poor victim. I'm begging you to look at these characters and their relationships with some nuance. I'm not denying that Louis is trying to manipulate Armand in some moments (Jacob said it himself in the post-episode bit) but seeing that park scene as Louis intentionally evoking Armand's trauma and a pimp and slave assuming their old roles is in my opinion a stretch and i didn't read it that way. Tbh i also find it pretty offensive that some people are acting like when Louis was a pimp he was doing something similar to people who subjected Armand to literal sexual slavery because they're vastly different situations.

Arun isn't Armand's 'slave name' or 'prostitute name', it was his actual birth name before he was sold and abused, and he lost that name due to abuse. If Louis had actually wanted to push a master-slave dynamic he would've probably called Armand Amadeo, because that was the name Armand's abuser, who Armand served and in some way still loves, gave to him. When Louis was a pimp he notably also didn't actually act particularly domineering with sex workers, on the contrary he was usually friendly to them, because he felt guilty for exploiting women and tried to convince himself he was just helping and working with them and that they were equals. He made sex workers like Bricktop Williams minority owners of his business and they felt comfortable with criticizing him. If Louis had actually 'treated Armand like one of his prostitutes' in this episode he would've acted completely differently. Remember also that Armand has a remarkable mind gift and that Louis is bad at hiding his thoughts: if Louis had actually been trying to manipulate Armand in this specific way, Armand would very likely know it.

In the beginning of the episode Armand is frustrated that Louis doesn't acknowledge that they're companions, and Louis expresses that they don't really know each other. Later at the restaurant Armand gets angry and uses his powers dramatically which upsets Louis. He also talks to Louis rather harshly, saying that he and Santiago are acting like fledglings (children) and angrily tells Louis to come back when he leaves. Later Armand comes to apologize bringing flowers. All this reminds Louis of Lestat, and reveals how apprehensive he still is about Armand. Armand deciding to tell Louis his story is a conscious effort to show vulnerability and convince Louis of what he promised: that Armand isn't like Lestat and he isn't going to hurt him. Jacob said that dreamstat represents not only Lestat but Louis' doubts about Armand. In the museum scene this is particularly obvious when Louis feels deep sympathy for Armand, but at the same time dreamstat - a part of Louis - looks angry and distrustful. According to Jacob in the park scene as Louis lets go of Lestat he's also letting go of those doubts and accepting Armand as he is and for who he is.

So when Louis calls Armand by his birth name that could be considered his 'real' name even though no one has called him that for centuries, i see it as him saying 'Do we see each other now? Are we honest about things now? Can i trust that you are who you say you are?' When Armand calls Louis maitre he's trying to establish an impression of equality, because as they both know Armand is the maitre and the leader of the coven and the one with much more power. For Armand the ideal of love is the one of mutual worship and servitude. Like many things with Armand, his actions in this episode are both sincere and manipulative, and his seeming submissiveness is also certain kind of domination that helps him to get what he wants.

I just don't think their relationship is anything like Louis being a master and Armand being a slave at all. It's a very, very complicated and mercurial relationship that is not easily defined and where the dynamics are constantly shifting. As Jacob said, they're constantly flip-flopping between who's the dominant one and who's the submissive one, and who needs what out of the other. He also said that at the end of this episode their relationship takes on this almost BDSM kind of role playing where their roles switch, which implies that a) it's a play and not what their relationship is actually like and b) there was earlier a different dynamic where Armand was more dominant. Their Rashid role play in Dubai was also that, a role play.

When talking about those Louis' 'manipulative instincts' as Jacob called them, it needs to be considered they're something that Louis developed having to live in a racist society for all his life ("using his weakness to rise") and being in an abusive relationship for decades. For Louis that kind of soft power has often been the only power he has, and of course he's resorting to it when in a relationship with much older and much more powerful person he doesn't fully trust. The way i perceive Louis and Armand's relationship, it's a fragile, carefully crafted design built on contradictions, performances and illusions, where they both seek to maintain a fantasy where they both feel sufficiently in control and the relief of releasing that control at the same time

[rebelliousstories]

Family

25 Days of Ficmas

Relationship: Louis Pointe du Lac x Reader, Lestat de Lioncourt x Reader

Fandom: Interview With The Vampire

Request: No

Warnings: Fluff, Light Angst

Word Count: 910

Masterlist: Here

Summary: Claudia has requested that everyone get along for one night. Hopefully, they can make her Christmas wish come true.

Every Christmas, Claudia was given any and every present she desired. New dresses, dolls, fabulous art; you name it she had it. And since being gifted a mother figure, she only had one wish for Christmas. Well, one main wish. She wanted everyone to play night and have a family night in for Christmas. Her two papas and mama bickered constantly. Louis tended to isolate himself from the other two, but she never went without love from them.

Oh, they would pretend in front of her, but she knew that they would argue when she retreated into her coffin for the evening. They would try to keep their voices down in the beginning but inevitably, they would start shouting at some point. One night, Claudia hit her breaking point. Her papas and mama had been arguing for hours. The sun had almost risen, and they still were not done. Crawling out of her bed, she held her doll tight as she made her way to the living room where the adults stood.

“All he is asking is that you don’t bring Claudia along with you to hunt all the time, Les. Please, she’s an impressionable young lady and it’s Christmas. Will you please calm down for an evening?” Her mama pleaded, grasping Lestat’s hands in hers. He tugged them away sharply.

“Well, I think she should be going out. Experiencing life as a creature of the night. Why shouldn’t we when it’s Christmas? It’s not like god has forsaken us or anything.” He lamented, as dramatic as ever. Louis remained silent, which gave the young girl the perfect time to slip in.

“Will you all stop fighting?” Claudia demanded, standing firm in her place.

“Claudia, what are you doing up?” Louis finally spoke after a moment, coming to scoop her up. She let her papa hold her to his chest, while she continued to speak.

“I couldn’t sleep because of the arguing. It’s not right for you all to be this unhappy at Christmas.” She cried, tucking her face into Louis’ shoulder.

“Oh dear,” her mama came near, “we’re not unhappy. Just sometimes adults sound that way when they are passionate about something.” Stroking her daughter’s head, Claudia’s eyes became wide and filled with tears as she looked around.

“Will you please get along for one night? No arguments or anything. Just one night, please?” Her tears flowed down her face, and even Lestat seemed moved by the display. No one said anything as they looked at each other.

“Let’s get you to bed, little one.” Mama and Louis walked with her still in his grasp to her coffin. They laid her down, and with a final goodnight kiss to her perfectly curled head, the lid was shut. Walking out of the room, the couple stopped for a moment and stood in silence as they took in the gravity of Claudia’s words.

“Have you finally decided to join me once more, or am I too much trouble for you?” Lestat growled as they re-entered the room. She made her way across the floor, skirts flowing behind her to hold the blonde vampire.

“Les, we only want what is best for Claudia. But you heard her tonight. All out arguing is doing her no favors. Let’s just try to be more understanding for the season?” He stopped, and just stood there with an indignant expression on his face. Looking over, Louis seemed to straighten up under his gaze, with hopeful green eyes. Lestat held out a hand to his other lover, and brought him into the mix. Everyone was holding each other and standing still in the moment.

“I suppose we can put the debate on the back burner for now. I’d like to spend the night surrounded by my people, if that’s alright.” His tone was teasing,but the other two vampires were content to being there with him. It was a tight fit, but they made all three of the sleeping in the same coffin together work.

They spent the evening together, loving the ability to get back to how they used to be as younger vampires. Kisses were shared, as well as words of love that seemed to envelope the vampires in the coffin. No one called attention to the fact that this was the most Louis had spoken to Lestat in months.

The next evening, after the sun had fallen and the moon had replaced it, everyone began to stir from their resting places. However, Claudia noticed she heard no voices. No one was talking, or arguing, or shouting. It was silent. Tentatively, she opened the lid of her coffin and went to check the others. Louis’ was empty, as was her mama’s. Maybe they had taken off to go do some shopping before the shops closed for the evening.

But her ears caught something, that her eyes found next. Lestat’s larger coffin was emitting noise and was slightly cracked open. Tip toeing over, Claudia peaked her eyes in and found a sweet scene. Her two papas were wrapped around her mama in a sleepy embrace. No one had quite made the effort to get up, but all of their eyes were still closed. She smiled as she beheld them, happy to see them get along for once. Closing the lid back to where it was cracked, Claudia went back to her own coffin and figured she could use some more rest on this cold winter’s night.

[allywthsr]

FIRST SNOW | (l.norris)

summary: your toddlers first snow

wordcount: 1.9k words

pairing: dad!landonorris x fem!reader

warnings: kids

notes: I need dad Lando 🥹, what do you think about this?

advent calendar

It was the beginning of December and by some miracle, it snowed. Almost two years ago, you gave birth to your son, Louis, with Lando by your side. He was holding your hand, feeding you ice cubes when you wanted to eat and supported you in the best way possible during the long hours of Labour. Last year Louis was not even a year old and he was mostly sitting somewhere, playing with his toy cars that daddy had gifted him, from his last gp, so he didn’t really notice the white landscape last year, but this year was different.

This year, he woke you up with his hands banging on the big floor to ceiling window and blabbering the word: ’snow‘ continuously. He was a little rascal and knew how to focus the attention on him, but just like his father, he liked to be in the background and figure out stuff for himself.

So when Lando woke up and saw his son being fascinated by the snow, he knew he had to make it memorable. He shook you awake and you woke up, startled, ”Lando, what’s up?“

”It snowed! Louis is up and all excited, look at him.“

You propped yourself up on your elbow and looked at your little brown curly haired boy. From the beginning he was a Lando copy, there was no denying that he was his child. For a second you wondered if you he had anything from you, because he seemed like Lando, but as the time was running, he turned more into a mini you. He may look like Lando, but his personality was all you. When he didn’t get something he wanted, he had the same facial expression as you have, Lando knew that all to well, when he forgot your chocolate again or he didn’t take the trash out, as he promised.

”I can’t wait to clean the window again, just like last week. Why does your son always have to touch the windows like that?“

”My son?“

”When he‘s of doing mischievous things, he‘s yours“, you smiled at Lando. That obviously wasn’t true, you loved Louis no matter what he did.

”Louis, do you want to join mummy and me on the bed?“

With his naked little feet he waddled towards the bed and held his arms up, he wasn’t tall enough yet to climb up the bed, but he was trying. Lando quickly grabbed him under his arms and hoisted him on the mattress, he immediately laid down between you two.

”Can you believe he‘s almost two?“

”He grew up so fast.“

Louis was cuddling with Lando while everyone enjoyed the silence, he was laying on top of his daddy and snuggled closer to his chest, he was super clingy during the mornings, it was your favorite sight to see.

After a few minutes, Louis had enough and tried to get off of Lando, he carefully sat him down on the ground and he ran back to the window. With his fingers he pointed to the snow and kept saying ’go‘. With a sigh you both peeled out of the warm, comforting bed, you loved having a child, but sometimes you wished you could stay in bed until noon again.

”Let’s get you ready, shall we? Mummy can change into her winter clothes already“, he looked at you and waited for you to confirm that with a nod. You quickly did so and kissed Lando’s lips and Louis head, they disappeared in the hallway and you went to the en-suite bathroom to at least wash your face before you changed into some warm clothes. You could hear the giggles from your two boys even in the bedroom, you loved how happy Louis was, especially with Lando. He was his hero. Whenever you couldn’t join a race and stayed home, you were watching every session with Louis and he blabbered ’da da da da da da‘ on repeat. His words were still limited but he learned something new every day, just yesterday he learned how to fist-bump Lando, something both of them were proud of.

His first word, to no surprise, was ’car‘ but once he said it, the c turned into a d and now it was ’dar‘, no matter how hard you tried to get him to say it correctly again, it was no use. Lando was super happy his first word was car and he told it everyone, whether they wanted to hear it, or not. Everyone loved Louis, you had taken him to a few races, but only ones that were near to home and he was never put in the direct spotlight. It wasn’t like you hid him from the world, but he didn’t need to be photographed and put on the internet. He loved sitting in Lando’s ’dar‘ and playing around with Jon or Oscar, McLaren had organized an extra room only for Louis, so when stuff got too much and he needed time to calm down, he was able to do so, in his room. In there was a comfy couch, blankets, pillows and a lot of toys. They even put up a small ball-pit in the corner and Louis loved it, the balls were thrown around the room and smashed against each other. The whole grid was hypnotized whenever Louis was around, drivers came around just to see the little Lando and play with him for a while, giving you and Lando a small time out.

But back to where we were.

Lando came in to the bedroom with Louis on his hip, when you pulled your hoodie over your head.

”Can you put his jacket and stuff on? I want to get ready too.“

With a nod you opened your arms and Louis did the same, signaling he wants to be held by you. You two went to the entrance hall, where his jacket and his shoes were waiting for him, he wasn’t the biggest fan of getting dressed, but he endured it, probably too excited for the snow.

”Do you have your winter jacket?“, Lando screamed from your closet.

”Yes, baby!“

You pulled a hat on Louis's head and wrapped a scarf around his neck, before putting on gloves on his little hands. You did the same for yourself, so you were prepared for the cold that was about to hit you when you opened the door.

Lando came running down the stairs and stared at the sight in front of him, you sitting on the floor while your son is excitingly ’jumping‘ around, it wasn’t jumping, more like stomping his shoe-covered feet on the ground.

”Family, you ready?“, he said after putting on his jacket and shoes.

Louis was blabbering the word ’yes‘ over and over again, before lifting his arms towards Lando, indicating he wanted to be picked up.

”Do we want to just go out in the backyard or should we walk to my parents and ask for a sleigh? Maybe we can have breakfast with them.“

”Let’s go to your parents, baby, good idea. Louis, you ready to see nana and pops?“

He clapped his hands and put his head on Lando’s shoulder, Lando kissed him on his cheek and you opened the door. A wave of cold air blew you in the face, and you looked at Louis, who was looking confused.

”Is that cold sweetheart?“

Louis nodded and pointed to the ground where everything was white. Lando walked with him to the front yard, ”Do you want to go down?“, Louis clung to his daddy, ”I‘ll take that as a no.“

With a quiet giggle, Lando kissed his cheek once more, Louis was just as shy as Lando was as a kid, it was adorable.

”But Louis, look, it’s snow!“, you bend down and picked up some snow to show it to Louis, his small fingers slowly touched it. With his gloves on, he couldn’t notice the coldness, so Lando pulled off one of his gloves and he touched it again. Quickly he pulled his hand away, when he noticed how cold it was, he started blabbering with Lando, probably complaining about how cold it is.

Lando put on his glove again and put him down, Louis was walking around the front yard and Lando held out his hand, which Louis took.

Slowly you three made the way to Lando’s parents, who were living just a five-minute walk away from your house. You loved Lando with Louis, how gentle he was, how patient, was the five-minute walk, ten minutes longer because Louis couldn’t walk as fast? Yes. Did Lando annoy that? Absolutely not. Normally Lando was impatient, but he learned with Louis that he had to take things slow.

When you arrived at the house, Cisca opened the door and was excited to see you three, Louis was walking towards her, he was excited to see his grandma again. She lifted him on her hip and kissed both of you on the cheek as a greeting, together with Louis she walked to the living room, where Adam was sitting.

”The future Formula One racer!“, Adam opened his arms and Cisca was giving Louis to him. Louis was happy about that and kept talking to Adam, sure it sounded more like gibberish but he was getting better with the talking every day.

”We wanted to ask if we could borrow the sleigh and pull him across the backyard?“

”Of course honey, it’s in the shed somewhere.“

”I‘ll go look“, Lando got up and walked to the backyard.

Cisca started to talk with you about everything, when Louis ran to the window, ”da da!“.

”Yes, Daddy is outside, should we join him?“

He nodded and you opened the glass door, and he ran to Lando. Lando crouched down and opened his arms, in which Louis ran, lifting him up and holding him on his hip.

”That’s a sleigh, if you sit on it, we can pull you across here, what do you think?“

”Sleigh!“

”I think he likes the idea, Lando“, you giggled at your son's antics of pointing to different things that were covered in snow.

Lando put him on the sleigh, grabbed the handles, and carefully towed him through the white backyard. It was the sweetest thing, how Louis's face lit up when he felt the movements of the sleigh and saw it gliding over the snow, you couldn’t resist taking a few pictures and videos.

After two big rounds, Lando stopped to see if he had enough, but the shouts out of Louis‘ mouth with the word: ’more‘ showed that he definitely had not enough, so Lando kept pulling him through the snow, and with every round he grew more tired. He may be a high performance athlete, but pulling your almost two-year-old son on a sleigh through thick snow is still tiring.

So after three more rounds, Lando tried to distract Louis by building a snowman, which worked. At first, he was skeptical about why daddy was rolling around a ball of snow, but once Lando put the second ball on top of the first, Louis was sold. He helped rolling the third ball around and couldn’t stop laughing when Lando placed sticks as his arms, and little rock’s as his face, when Cisca brought a carrot outside, he was almost falling over how hard he was laughing and soon all of you were laughing at how much fun Louis had during his first snow. Oh, how you couldn’t wait for next year.

[iwtvdramacd18]

Much of the discussions around ep 11 are weird but the assertion that Louis had no emotional response to Armand telling him his backstory is very weird. It's all about micro expressions until Louis has them I suppose, but moreover I feel there's emerging this flattening of Louis' character and an unwillingness to acknowledge he often experiences emotions in ways that conflict with each other. I think Dreamstat being there to visually cue at some of the worst thoughts/reactions while he expresses something else on screen is effective in that regard. And then of course there's this rush in to tie every action Louis has regarding that back to him being a pimp in the past, 99% of that just based in racism and stereotypes of how a pimp acts/looks and none of it actually thinking about how we saw Louis when he was working as a pimp and how he interacted with the women working the Azalea. Nor taking into account his confession in the literal pilot where it's clear he knows he's doing wrong and empathizes and feels guilt but continues anyway-- something vastly important to understanding his character but why have contradiction and conflict within a character when you can have a piece of scary black cardboard right? Louis also has a tendency to freeze/ redirect when Claudia brings up her trauma but that doesn't mean he has no emotional response to it. Once again guilt and shame and vulnerability (and Louis' difficulty with reacting to it within himself AND with others expressing it.) And then to make things more complex with Armand we have the literal ghost of Lestat's actions hanging over the scene, another immensely powerful vampire that showed vulnerability to Louis to help usher him back into his life and continued to terrorize him and Claudia. There's so much going on in that scene why make the worst surface level racist takes out of it?

[gallierhouse]

Thinking about Louis bleeding himself out. There are a couple layers to it.

He’s suicidal. He’s been suicidal since the day we’ve met him. And I don’t think he was necessarily trying to die, but he was hurting himself, and I don’t think he cared if he lived or died as a result of that. The blood’s drenched the floorboards, Louis staring at the wall with a vacant expression, totally numb. He doesn’t even seem like he’s really thinking about Claudia at that moment, only that his obligations are finally complete. He’s given Claudia a companion — the one thing she’s always wanted — and now there’s no real need for him to be her companion. Louis, the father, the older brother, has done his duty. It’s sort of like when a daughter gets married off; her father is finally freed of his familial duty to her. There’s no more use for him in Claudia’s life, which is both a relief and something totally crushing. She’s grown up. She doesn’t need him anymore. He resents caring for her. He resents that she doesn’t need him. He resents that they’ll never go back to being a family in New Orleans. He’s happy she’s happy. He misses her. He wishes she missed him more. He’s finally done his duty, and now that he’s done his duty there’s nothing left. Louis cared for his human family by providing for them at the expense of himself. He made Madeleine to provide for Claudia at the expense of himself. His task is finally done. It’s a relief, and it’s horrible, all at once. His daughter-sister-substitute for his human family-last remnant of his family with Lestat is gone. She’s grown up. It’s all gone. Louis structures his identity around fulfilling the needs of others. Now there’s no place for him left. I know there’s Armand, and he loves Armand, but he has no obligation to protect or provide for Armand the way he does with Claudia. Armand’s not his family the way she was. I think, for Louis, turning Madeleine isn’t expanding his family, it’s ending it, which is why he immediately falls into depressive self-harm. It’s loss. Grief for his human life grief for his life with Lestat, grief for their family.

He didn’t want Madeleine to be connected to him. He tells Armand he’s trying to bleed her out. The blood that runs in his veins is Lestat’s blood. It’s his only remaining connection to Lestat, and he doesn’t want it to be tainted by a stranger. Even though Louis’ turning was traumatic, violent, and coercive, it was love (“I love you, Louis. You are loved.”) and it was freedom. Freedom from his self-hatred, freedom from the rules of the Church that made him deny his sexuality, freedom from the demands of his family that exhausted him. Lestat turned him because he loved him. Lestat gave him his blood and gave him a home and gave him a new life because he loved him. I don’t think he wants Madeleine to be a part of that. She’s a stranger. He doesn’t even know or like her on a personal level. She’s Claudia’s creature. She’s not a part of the Lioncourt family, she’s an outsider Claudia is leaving the family for. By bleeding himself out, he’s trying to preserve the last connection he has with Lestat. It almost disgusts him when he says he can feel her. He’s experiencing how Lestat felt him. I think he’s seeing his relationship with Lestat in a new light, and he can’t help but contrast it with his relationship with Madeleine. Lestat turned him out of love, out of their love, and he turned Madeleine out of obligation to Claudia. It couldn’t be more different. He doesn’t want to experience how Lestat felt him through this obligation that connects him to a stranger. He’s bitter. He’s tired. He misses Lestat. He regrets it all. He regrets not trying to see it through Lestat’s eyes sooner.

Turning Madeleine, for Louis, even though it was beautiful and consensual and an act of love and creation, is a reminder of everything he’s lost and is losing. He lost his human family. He lost Lestat. He lost the family he had with Lestat and Claudia. He even lost New Orleans. Now he’s losing Claudia. Of course he’s sitting alone, hurting himself, while Claudia galavants with her new companion. He’s an empty nester. He’s alone. Everything that he used to be, everything that used to define him, is gone.