#PRIMARY SOURCES I BEG 😭

[cassmouse]

Current history project research progress: Hitting my head on the desk, tearing my hair out, and yelling 'WHY MUST HISTORY BE SO ELUSIVE??????' to no-one in particular

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 - Three spicy/spoilery reviews

The reviewers are just saying whatever they want, I guess! O_O

Here's my favorite bits from TheWrap, ComicBook, and IGN.

I've decided to mix and match them, comparing what they each say about similar themes/topics/reveals.

ELEVATING THE SOURCE MATERIAL

TELL IT! It's about adding DEPTH, y'all, not just a 1:1 page-to-screen.

Intellectual horror, instead of psychological horror--fascinating.

An "even more authentic adaptation" -- WE BEEN KNEW!!! I roll my eyes at book stans who hate on the show, acting like the movie was more accurate just cuz it was set during slavery times with white actors. 🙄 Like PLEASE, there's so much missing from the movie, or glossed over, or straight up changed, that the show-antis just demonstrate how shallow they are when their every attack hinges on the timeline/race/age changes. Cry harder.

MORE elevated than Season 1--you love to see it.

Yaaas, bring on the petty melodramatic mess, and fierce performances! 👏

CLAUDIA & MADELEINE

Because Bailey used profanity to convey her agony being a woman trapped in an adolescent's body in S1 too, I'm assuming Delainey will just cuss more? But cussing is all over the show, so I don't get it.

Everyone keeps raving about Roxane as Madeleine, but they've been SO CLOSE-LIPPED about her scenes, and it's KILLING me. 😭

"Deeply willful around Louis"--yeah, we saw a glimpse of that in the trailer; it's what he deserves. Give 'em hell, Claudia!

And yeah, she's PISSED that they cast her as Baby LouLou--imagine, being infantalized, and given the name of the father you've already gone through so much to emancipate yourself from as a "Brother" instead of "Daddy Lou." 😒 Eff Louis--where's Claudia's scythe at!?

LOUIS / LOUMAND

"Nonsense--" TheWrap isn't holding back a single punch huh?

"dating show contestants feigning authenticity to clumsily present themselves in the best light--" oof. 💀

Holy god; "begging the question...if Louis has just traded one abuser for another" GO AWF! 🚩🚩🚩

DANIEL / DEVIL'S MINION

Wow, so this must refer to Episode 5 from the episode titles list released recently. "Genuine horror".... 😈

RIP. 💀 Youngmaniel might see some action, but Oldmaniel's "utterly allergic and adversarial;" OOF. 💀💀

ARMAND

They keep saying petty. 😅 These messy queens are a trip!

"Far more powerful" -- I am SEATED~! I wanna see THE coven master!

Yaaas, come through Children of Satan/Darkness acolyte! 😈

"Scarred and transformed by the same man" -- they sound like war veterans. U_U

LESTAT / LOUSTAT

"the show's primary villain--" say it louder. Book stans need to stop projecting post-IWTV Lestat the hero/protagonist/MC into the narrative that LOUIS is telling, as a guy struggling to get over his ex.

"There to berate him for his poor choices--" this tracks with the trailer released today, too, where the producers said Dream-Stat would "pass judgement" on Louis' pisspoor actions.

PRODUCTION (Sets, Costumes, etc)

Yes, IWTV S1 was absolutely gorgeous; their attention to detail was immaculate. And so far it looks like S2 is gonna be just as nice. I REALLY like what I've seen of the Threatre's aesthetic.

THEATRE DES VAMPIRES & SANTIAGO

I freaking love this. XD

Agreeing with him about WHAT though? 🤨 That Louis & Claudia are hiding things? Or that they deserve to die because of it? (Especially since Lestat is OBVIOUSLY not actually dead, so what "crime/rules" are they actually breaking, Lord Kangaroo Court?)

TALAMASCA & CRITIQUES

Thank you lord god kamisama flying spaghetti monster he's a Talamascan, not another secret vampire.

But now I'm nervous, thanks to the ComicBook review:

Uh oh. The Talamasca feels forced & out of place. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

The AVENGERS INITIATIVE. 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

But they say it feels like "Daniel's being recruited--" YES PLEASE. 🙏 If Daniel's not gonna be a vampire, at least let him be a Talamascan. Ain't no way he can return to the mundane world after all this.

My BIGGEST complaint about IWTV as a franchise is its tenuous connection to the Immortals Universe. AMC is dropping the ball hard on creating an ARCU--Anne Rice's Cinematic Universe. There are SO MANY immortals & supernaturals we should've BEEN seen in S1, walking the streets of NOLA. I will say this every time: Oncle Vervain Mayfair should've been brought in from the OG pilot script. We should've seen Louis go to him for gris-gris before the poker game, and introduce Lestat to Vervain as a practitioner of what Louis thought was "European voodoo." Also: we should've seen Lasher. There should've been a scene where the Mayfairs told the vampires to GTFO their territory, and keep their hunting grounds on the other side of town. Like, the Mayfair Witches show sucks like you wouldn't believe, it's so stupid (looks gorgeous though), but the WORLDBUILDING is ripe for the taking! And AMC did squat with it!

Like, tbh, I don't see the point of a whole Talamasca show, and if it's handled by Esta & the gang from MW, then I don't wanna see it--I WILL, ofc, but I won't WANT to. Especially since we haven't seen any ghosts. ISTG, PLEASE have Merrick Mayfair in Ep7 or Ep8--not only will that bridge IWTV with MW, but it can perfectly lead to Blackwood Farm., while keeping the threads between vampires, ghosts, AND the Taltos (if they're determined to do a Lestat/Rowan crossover from Blood Canticle 🤢🤮).

I was wondering why so many reviews were giving it 4/5 or 9/10, like wtf are y'all being so stingy for!? But if this is the problem, then I'm not surprised, I've been complaining about it the whole time.

[cfr749]

Beneath your Beautiful is one of my favorite Chenford fics ever! 

😭😭😭

This is so sweet anon, and such a compliment given the absurd amount of talent in this fandom. I'm honored that you still have love for the story despite my less than stellar track record on getting this thing done.

For whatever it's worth, here's a silly little outtake / deleted scene from an earlier draft. Sorry to say, there is not going to be a boudoir photo shoot in the actual fic 😂, but I promise to try and make up for it with some other bits of sexiness... ❤️

***

“Oh hell no,” Tim curses, tossing the folder of information onto the table as if it’s burned him. Production had couriered the package over earlier that afternoon, but Lucy hadn’t found time to open it in her haste to get as much of her to do list done as possible before Tim arrived home. 

Kojo hops around him in a final excited attempt to hold his attention before flopping to the floor by his feet, begrudgingly accepting that he’s no longer Tim’s primary focus. Tim bends to give the dog’s head a final loving scruff.

Lucy glances up from where she’s sauteeing some vegetables on the stove. “Dare I even ask?” she teases, raising an eyebrow in response to Tim’s dramatics.

But he just shakes his head, muttering under his breath. “What is wrong with these people?”

“Tim,” she whines, her curiosity getting the best of her. “Come on… tell me. What is it?”

He huffs a frustrated breath of air, finally meeting her gaze. “We have to do a — a —” And it’s so awful he apparently can’t even get the words out.

She rolls her eyes, turning the burner off and wiping her hands before moving to retrieve the packet from the table. Her eyes go wide when she spots the source of Tim’s distress. They are scheduled for… drumroll, please… a boudoir photo shoot Thursday evening.

“What is their obsession with getting us naked?” Tim grouses.

Lucy smirks, allowing her eyes to roam over him, “I mean… I can’t say I totally blame them. You do look pretty damn amazing without a shirt on, Bradford.” 

He grins wolfishly, allowing his eyes to wander down to her chest. “I could say the same thing about you.”

Her lips twist as she attempts to hold back a laugh, choosing to ignore the jolt of heat one suggestive look manages to ignite. She pauses, tilting her head and thoughtfully tapping her bottom lip with her finger, “What if… we aren’t actually a match, and this whole thing was just a grand ploy by a lovestruck PA to get you take your clothes off?”

He rolls his eyes, even as his cheeks tinge the slightest bit pink in response to her ribbing. “Uh huh. Last time I checked, I wasn’t the one with a PA groping my ass.” His frown deepens, clearly following the thread until arriving at yet another reason to despise the idea of the photo shoot. “We’re getting you a very oversized pair of flannel pajamas.”

“Mmm… this from the man that was practically begging me to do a striptease for the whole damn world not even a month ago? Have I told you how much I love it when you’re a giant sexist caveman?”

She closes the remaining distance between them, using his shirt to playfully tug him closer before arching up on her toes to give him a proper hello. His lips are pliant and welcoming against her own. She slips a hand around his neck to deepen the kiss while his hands settle on her hips before creeping the slightest bit upward underneath her blouse to caress the bare skin just above the waistband of her jeans.

“Hi,” she breathes softly as she reluctantly pulls back, dropping back down to her heels and tilting her head back to look up at him, her arms still linked around his neck.

He smiles down at her, and it’s one of those smiles that reaches his eyes and makes her feel all warm and fuzzy and melty inside. “Hi.”

He slips his hands into the back pockets of her skintight jeans and pulls her so that her hips are flush against his body. “How are you so damn pretty?”

“Mmm… I could say the same thing about you,” she teases.

He frowns, “I think you mean ‘ruggedly handsome.’”

“Do I?”

He shakes his head in mock irritation as he reaches up to tuck a strand of hair that’s escaped her low ponytail back behind her ear, before shifting his hold to keep her in place as he dips his head to kiss her again, a little more roughly this time. 

“You are literally the only reason I haven’t quit this dumb fiasco.”

She laughs against his mouth, nipping his bottom lip before pulling back enough to meet his eyes. “Right… I’m sure it has nothing to do with that long, complicated contract you signed promising financial ruin if you refuse to get naked on demand.”

***

Thank you for the wonderfully kind ask, anon!