#so the way louis interacts with it feels v clearly about how he feels about lestat

[pynkhues]

Hi! What do you think about Antoinette's storyline and do you think Lestat really intended to include her in the household or was this some sort of unreliable narrative?

Hi! It was pretty thin to me, but I think that made sense in the context of Louis being the one telling her story, and him pretty clearly not wanting to think about her at all and wanting to diminish Lestat's relationship with her. I'm curious if we get to see a bit more of her in Lestat flashbacks in the future, as I imagine that would paint a really different picture to the one Louis did.

As for whether Lestat really intended to include her in the household, I think you could make the argument either way. He clearly liked her enough to keep her around for as long as he did, and in a lot of ways, she's a link to his humanity in a way that Louis isn't. Music is, in Louis' own words from 1.02, where Lestat separates man from meal, and Antoinette being a singer - and a singer Lestat respects enough to perform and record with - is something we're told is real to Lestat.

It actually opens up an interesting thread to me in that sense with Louis and Claudia telling Lestat to kill Antoinette, because it's symbolic of more than just the death of a lover, but in they themselves wanting to further sever that thread to Lestat's humanity. He's done it to the two of them too, of course, but Lestat's both helped to grow Louis' ties to humanity with (i.e. through Azalea's), and twisted and perverted them (i.e. bringing the soldiers home after Louis fucks Jonah).

Music is the one grounding in humanity Lestat still has (or at least, Louis sees Lestat as having), and over the course of the season, it actually shifts from an external love to an internal one, which I think really reflects the increasing insularity of the family. It's a love and a connection that goes from the public (the opera) to a space that belongs to them (Lestat playing piano at Louis' club) to personal (Lestat recording Antoinette to provoke Louis) and finally, completely private (Lestat teaching Claudia to play at home).

Depending on how you want to look at it, you can see that arc as being about Lestat's increasingly suffocating presence in Louis' life, or you can see it as Louis staying true to his words in the finale 'I wanted him all to myself'. He's caught the end of the thread of Lestat's humanity and he's trying to wind the whole thing up and keep it. He wants to be the one to choose how Lestat shares it - at his club, with their daughter - and Lestat knows that, which is why weaponising it against him in the recording, and Louis shattering the record and stabbing Lestat with it, before seemingly fucking him and feeding on him in Antoinette's house, is such a perfect beat.

(Personally, I do see it as both.)

In that sense though, Lestat turning Antoinette could've been genuine. Maybe he did want to take her with them. He's on the backfoot with the family, he suspects his sister-daughter is trying to kill him, he doesn't trust Louis anymore. Antoinette's clearly a comfort to him, she loves him, which is important to him, they share music together, something Lestat and Louis do only as audience, she listens to him and pays attention to him, and turning her gives him more power in the family again. Antoinette can read Claudia and Louis' minds, she'll be on Lestat's side instead of Louis' like Claudia is, and, of course, she's both a tool to make Louis jealous and a balm for his own jealousy.

That said, I think it can also be read as Lestat just using her specifically to figure out what Claudia and Louis' plan is, and that he knows turning her will result in her death because there's no way either Claudia and Louis would allow her into the fold. He won't kill her himself, but it could be him baiting the other two into getting rid of her for him.

What do you think?

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Suits 9x10 One Last Con

Well, that was. A Mess.

The end of the Samantha v. Faye thing was way too anticlimatic, mostly bc it was too short (Faye’s the big bad of the season! Why does it feel like this pesky little thing they had to get out of the way!), partly bc happened too early in the ep. They should’ve wrapped it up the Faye v. Samantha thing last ep. Cut out Lily’s funeral (actually, her whole death; it was pointless and, looking at that letter, where nothing of relevance to Lily and Harvey’s rship was said, clearly nothing more than some sort of d**vey set up. Replace those last few minutes of ep 8 with Mike showing up or the suit being somehow introduced or even just foreshadowed) and all the extraneous bs - all references to Harvey grieving, the letter (they were technically already talking about marriage), getting Mike to testify (it was such a ridiculous cross I’m still trying to comprehend it - just let him and Harvey have a nice dinner and have Faye’s phone-call to tell Harvey that she wants him to testify, nevermind what Katrina said, he turns around and tells Mike the truth, take it from there) - to get to One Last Con with Faye gone (it probably wouldn’t be named one last con, would it?), Harvey having had a mysterious meeting with her where mysterious things were said. Start the ep with Louis asking Lipschitz to officiate his wedding and go from there. My mom rightly pointed out that they cut off the procedural stuff and focused on the characters, well, focus on the characters.

Following on that last one, it does not look good that an episode focusing like 70% on weddings is called “one last con”. Christ.

There’s something so sad about the fact that Harvey started out as an asshole with a heart of gold that mostly showed in his complete refusal to act unethically and ended as a guy who says he likes crossing lines. What happened to “to win fairly is more important than to win”? On that topic, Faye’s appearance could’ve been a call back to that, if not to bring him back to how he was before, then to at least acknowledge that this isn’t who he’s always been, but noooo.

I am so happy for Katrina!! Like, all in all, her arc should’ve probably ended in something suggesting she’s found more to life than work, but. That’s my baby and I’m proud of her.

It is so fucking telling that Harvey’s vows are so indicative of who he is as a character and his journey (pity they mangled the “when the chips are down” metaphor, especially with a guy who, as a self-proclaimed gambler, would know that the literal chips being down isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Like, I’m not even sure the chips can be up? They’re chips. How.) and Donna’s are so fucking generic. “We don’t know how much time we have” is that a reference to Harvey’s storyline? Or have we completely given up on pretending she’s a tool of the narrative and that she doesn’t have any reason to say something that reflects on Louis’s circumstances in the montage. Maybe she just knew! She’s Donna! “You make me laugh, you make me cry” I wanna marry you because we have interactions.

(It’s a pity I dislike d**vey and can’t stand Donna bc Sarah Rafferty killed it during the proposal.)

STOP 👏 SCAMMING👏 LOUIS👏. First, the camera spends half the minute of Stan’s speech focused on Harvey and Donna, then they steal his thunder during the reception, then his very dramatic moment of waiting to find out whether his wife and child would live or die (which came out of NOWHERE and is something else I’d either cut out or pad up with more references to Sheila’s age and other complications, also, so sorry to Rachael Harris, but she didn’t sell me on the contractions at ALL, much less on the possibility that they might be too bad, which contributed to making the crisis seem out of nowhere) was montaged with the d**vey wedding???? LET HIM HAVE ONE THING!!! 

“It’s what we want. Both of us” Why, Donna? Why do you want it, and why did you feel the need to clarify that you do? Did the writers get a lot of hate mail over Rachel getting a job in Seattle pretty much as a bribe to Mike and didn’t want to make that mistake again, but they didn’t feel like actually giving you motivations to go along with Harvey’s and so they figured that just saying that you have them would be enough? Damn, at least Rachel got a huge ass promotion in exchange for her dignity.

Well, Mike was there.

So was Samantha. And Alex. I think. Was he? 

Oh, yeah, he talked to Katrina about a matter Harvey should’ve been the one to talk to her about, except for deniability.

Did I have anything else to say? I spent so much time cringing, it feels like there should be more. Oh, the proposal. “I learned two things from my mom. To forgive her and to marry you.” (That may not be exactly what he said, but it’s exactly what he said.) Who wrote that. Babe. Focus for two seconds. The only way to make that more embarrassing would’ve been to write “1, to forgive her. B, to marry you.” Makes me wonder if maybe they’d decided that they wouldn’t have a d**vey wedding at all, but then changed their minds. Maybe they thought it would be easier to justify Donna moving to Seattle?

Oh, yeah, Mike’s questioning! What? Why? How could making him admit that he accused Samantha of fabricating evidence too be not only helpful, but so good that it might win them the case? As he said, he didn’t have proof either and, to top it off, he didn’t even know Samantha’s character well enough to justify that suspicion! He could’ve even turned it around, said he only made that comment because he was bitter, as Harvey had already made him admit he was, just like Faye, and it wouldn’t be a complete lie - if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have made the accusation at all, no matter how true. Now, if they’d asked him whether that evidence was true, then they would’ve gotten him. He’d either have to 1) perjure himself to incriminate himself or 2) admit that false evidence had been submitted by opposing counsel in that case, which would necessarily lead to the question of who had submitted it. Even pissed as he was, I don’t think Mike would’ve gone as far as to imply that it had been Harvey, which would’ve only left Samantha. You can’t argue that they were trying to skirt the issue of whether she’d done it, since they were the ones who brought it up, even if they did a bad job of proving it (and got an appropriately weak testimony out of it which should not have gotten them a win oh my god), and what they did ask would’ve still been enough to fill in the blanks - the fact that Mike accused anyone of fabricating that evidence, outside of official channels where it might have looked like an attempt to salvage the case, means that the evidence is false. If it’s false, someone has to have fabricated it. Ergo... Anyway, like I said, I would’ve cut that out to wrap that arc in Thunder Away. (Also, maybe call that episode One Last Con and not the one with the weddings coughcough yeahI’mnotlettingthatgo)

[stylessemantics]

AU Harry and you working in the same building and you bring him the mail that was mixed up with urs and he's a clumsy babbling goof who is just so desperately trying to convey he likes you but you're so oblivious and smile and leave a red face Harry in his office, one of the boys grinning cause you're the first girl Harry can't talk around

Rating: All cleanWarnings: NoneCategory: Fluff - First meetings. Request: yes sir, thank you so much! they are closed for now but I’m trying to get old ones out of the way to open them back up soon. Word Count: 2,062

NOTE: this will have a part two? Also feedback is much much much appreciated? 

18. Office Correspondence. 

You had been working here for around 4 months by now. It was fun. It was a new office and thankfully it didn’t take you long to get used to how things worked around there. Your co-workers were nice, at least the ones you’d gotten to meet, the building was big, housing different types of offices for different types of things, so you didn’t really know everyone that worked there just yet.Every morning you’d arrive bright and early and go about your day of filling papers, signing contracts and supervising work.

If he was to be honest, he had seen you before. As he also went on about his busy day, he’d spot faces here and there that he knew, some that he didn’t – which wasn’t often since he’d been working here for around 3 years by now – and it was just a random day when one of those faces he didn’t know, really caught his eye. You. He’d just see you passing and never interact with you which he never understood how suddenly he didn’t know how to speak. He didn’t know why it was so difficult to come drop a small friendly hi but he just couldn’t. All he could do was silently wish that by some sort of magic he’d get the chance and strength to do so and get to know you at last.

And Harry got that magic to work his way. That magic was called the mailman. With whom you’d made good friends with. He was just an old man doing the runs around the block and dropping letters here and there, and with a smile and lots of love you had helped him and kept him company on his rounds before, so by now you considered him somewhat of a friend. You couldn’t deny sometimes he had busy days which is why you understood perfectly when he handed you a wad of envelopes before rushing to the elevator.
“oh” you said noticing the name on a couple of them was not yours and you sped walked behind Mr. Thomas to let him know. “Hey George” the old man stopped midway entering the lift.“What is it sweetie?”
“Just… Think you got this one mixed up, but no worries” you continued quickly, pushing the button to call another elevator up instead of down where George was headed. “I’ll deliver it. Have a nice day!” You chirped and he seemed happy that you offered to help him today as well as he travelled back down and to continue his busy day of mail deliveries which was very similar to you right now. 

You rode the elevator up towards the floor marked on the envelope. Apparently this person worked on the top floors on a completely different area as you, but the name did seem familiar – you were sure you’d seen it pop up in important company notifications or heard it being called while passing through the rooms where meetings were held – but when the elevator doors opened with a ding you are welcomed with the sight of a very busy floor and not even knowing where to start your search.

As for Harry he was currently having a chat with his mates and co-workers in one of their offices. In the middle of laughing he looks out to the floor through the fancy floor to ceiling wall, immediately coughing when he spots you. He can’t believe his eyes. The girl is on his floor looking lost in between the rushing bodies that carry all types of papers and projects as the busy day gets worse.“Oh, god” he mutters while his friends have a laughter, successfully interrupting the conversation.
“What?” Liam asks upon seeing Harry become frozen in his spot resting by the wall. Soon the rest of the lads are aware of the weird situation and turn to look where Harry seems to be so fixated.“Nothing!” He rushes, trying to keep them from spotting what had caused him to freeze and zone out for a second. 

The truth is he hadn’t told anyone about this girl. Number one it’s not like he knew who you were to be able to form a sentence congruent enough to introduce her to his friends, and number two, he was so embarrassed that he liked you so much without having this basic information that he couldn’t bare to tell them and risk eternal mockery. Liam, Niall and Louis looked at the green eyed lad quizzically, was everything ok? His reaction was so weird and sudden they couldn’t help but worry there was something important that he wasn’t telling them, and he stammered over his words trying to convince them otherwise, still flustered with the thought of her and being caught – or rather have his feelings being found out like this. He tried to ease his nerves thinking about how she worked here, she probably wasn’t here for him and nothing forbade her from coming to his floor – even though you never had before – so there was nothing to be exaggerating for. But then from the corner of his eye he could see how someone pointed her in the direction of Liam’s office where he currently stood in the middle of diverting the attention of his friends from the scene at hand. Although if he thought this was a scene, then what came after was a full movie. “Harry, are you-?” Louis was interrupted when you came knocking on the slightly open door letting out a soft excuse me that had Harry’s knees about to buckle whether from lovesickness or agitation he wasn’t sure. You were greeted with three pair of eyes turning to you with calm smiles, while Harry tried to hide at the rear of their bodies so you wouldn’t catch him peeking from behind a nervous hand that covered half his face. Oh god oh god oh god, he kept thinking over and over, this couldn’t be happening. Breathe Harry, he told to himself, mostly to his erratic heart, she’s not here for you and even if she was nothing is happening. Everything is under control. 

He barely got to finish the sentence in his mind when you popped up with a “Uh… Hi, I’m looking for Harry Styles?”
As if rehearsed, all his friends turned to Harry, moving to allow him coming forth to the girl, and that’s when they noticed. His hands were in tight fists as he walked towards her with a low shy chuckle. Suddenly, the three pair of eyes turned back and forth between the two, with piqued interest.
“Y-yeah… T-tha’s me” Harry mustered however he could and your mouth broke into a cute welcoming grin. He was cute, with his bold and interesting choice of clothing that seemed to somehow suit him and the company’s aura perfectly, short brown curls atop his head and bright green eyes that seemed friendly.
“Hi! Turns out your mail got confused with mine, just here to deliver it to its rightful owner” you stretched a hand out with 3 envelopes clearly directed to him. It took Harry a second to reach out and grab them from your hands because he was stuck thinking that you had prettier eyes up close and it was unfair he never got to realize that before. “O-oh… Hahah, thanks”
“No problem! Nice office” the comment was innocent, trying to make some light conversation in the seemingly awkward air. The other three men were still silent, heads moving like fans at a tennis match between Harry and you as you each spoke, and for some reason each time with bigger smirks. 
“Oh! I-its… S’not m-mine” that was the truth, this was Liam’s office. Harry’s was down the hall and a tad bigger due to his position, and even though he knew she probably didn’t care about that information, that didn’t stop him from nervously rambling into details right after “Mine’s d-down the hall… I’m head o-of department” He looked just a bit older than you and you wondered how good he was at his job to have nailed him such a nice position. He continued “and-and we’re v-very b-busy today as… as yeh c-can see. Oh, but! That d-doesn’t… I don’t m-mean yeh hafta l-leave…  right now. I… mean…” 

It was painful to watch – to Niall at least. Liam and Louis seemed to be reeling at how much of a doofus Harry was making of himself – how Harry seemed to dig himself into a hole he was not going to easily climb out of, so he made sure to give him a gentle push, covering it up with a cough, signaling him that he should probably stop talking nonsense about how she can stay and he bet her office is super nice just like the ones in this floor and a bunch more crap that would leave him babbling on for days and regretting it for months. 
“Yeah… New client coming in soon” The blonde signals outside as if saying the chaos that is going outside Liam’s office is a clear indicator of the upcoming business. Knowing exactly what that was like, you nodded with a short giggle “Uh, so what’s yer name?” Niall continued to cover up as Harry fixed his tie and rubbed his hands on the sides of his pants discreetly, a habit that he did when he was extremely out of his comfort zone. 
“I’m y/n, I’m on the marketing team on the seventh floor” with a warm smile you put your hand out for all of them to shake, and they did with a nod, Harry with a specially tight mouth careful not to spill another word, scared it might lead to him endlessly talking about something stupid like this year’s raise in the company’s market shares. “Nice to meet ya y/n. I’m Niall, and these are Louis and Liam. Thanks for uh… bringing Harry’s mail around”
 he finished awkwardly.“Yeah, thank you!” Right after Harry chirped in, Niall pinched his bicep in a nice sign of shut the fuck up. All and all, Harry appreciated it. 
“No biggie! It was nice to get out of my desk for a bit.” Your smile was big and bright and beautiful, and Harry was feeling how his throat itched he wanted to tell you that so bad, but he held his ground and gave you a dimpled smile right back. 

Before he knew it you were saying goodbye and wishing all the men in the luxurious looking space a nice day, making sure to close the door on your way out and wave to them through the glass with their eyes following your steps as you walked to the elevator. And then Harry was left alone with three pair of eyes looking at him with big smirks and telling faces, making heat rise on his.
“So…” Liam started.
“Y/N…” Louis chirped in continuation, making Harry groan and pick up his belongings.
“‘M out if yeh lot are gonne’ start blabbering shit.” His tone was sharp but funny letting them know he wasn’t really mad – yet – at the fact that they were clearly itching to poke fun. 
“Not gonna spit more hogwash than yeh did when she was ‘ere” Louis was quick to interject making the other two burst in laughter. “First lass yeh can’t speak proper in front of… Got to make the most of it” And with that Harry was stomping down the hall with red cheeks, back to his office to try and drown himself in work and not think too much about the fact that he at least now knew your name and that was certainly going to get his mind out of focus for the rest of the day, not to mention opening the mail you brought him yourself. 
“Should we do something about this?” The one who wondered out loud as soon as Harry was out of sight was Louis, and while all of them would love to see Harry go on and try to get himself a relationship with a nice girl like that y/n, Niall quickly jumped in.
“We’re not meddling in his relationships”But Louis and Liam were already thinking up ways they could help a nice relationship bloom during the office hours.’

Smooches- Iv. x

I want to get back to finishing requests so I can open them back up sooner for you guys!! I’m going to try to get part two of this going if you guys want that for like… ASAP? This was nice to work on to get my mind of BIM since I was stuck. Will be working on that and other requests and hopefully have something more to post real soon.

Requests are still Closed for now, sorry :(

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