#Sam said Lestat thinks Louis is dead

[edytheelizabethcullen]

Lestat: Tell Louis I love him

Armand:

[alwaysalir]

I just saw an article where Sam Reid said Lestat thought Louis was dead after Armand’s call and now I can’t stop thinking about it. That call was truly diabolical on Armand’s part and in retrospect it makes Lestat’s reaction make a lot of sense.

After Louis asks “Did you save me in Paris?” Lestat has this look of immense sadness. And I have to wonder if this is regret bc he thought for years that Armand hurt Louis the same way he hurt Nicky (we see Lestat blaming Armand for Nicky on stage at the play). His immediate response to Louis’s question is “I gave you to Armand. You tell me if that was saving.”

[lizardkingeliot]

The thing is tho... okay.

Here's the thing.

AMC’s Interview with the Vampire has so effectively driven home the point that Lestat loves Louis without condition and will continue loving him to the same degree forever regardless of the passage of time and regardless of what Louis has done that sometimes it's easy to forget that, like... Louis doesn't actually know that. Sometimes I'm really just like what do you MEAN Louis de Pointe du Lac doesn't know he's Lestat de Lioncourt's heartbeat now and forever Louis de Pointe du Lac do you even watch the SHOW.

Anyway. I don't know what I'm trying to say here but I think it's something about the romantic angst of it all. The way Lestat is going to be forced to betray Claudia and Louis in Paris during the trial leaving Louis with the belief that Lestat doesn't want him. He will view this as a rejection and this is the reason why he is going to spend the next 77 years of his life with Armand. This is why he couldn't just reach out to Lestat post-Paris and try to work things out. I’m not saying anything new here, I know. Most of us have worked this out already. It took me a while to get there yesterday when I was digesting the episode because, like I said, Lestat’s love is so obvious it’s easy to forget Louis really doesn’t know. But listen….

Louis is deeply unwell in 1973 San Francisco. When Lestat asks him why he’s ill all I can think right now is… well. Because he doesn’t have you. Even before he walked into the sun he was ill because he doesn’t have you. Ill in New Orleans after the deed was done. Ill in Paris and sustaining himself with memories so vivid it was like Lestat was there in the room. Ill in San Francisco when Armand could have ended it all by relaying Lestat's words to Louis, and didn't. Ill in Dubai searching the well of memory trying to find his way back to something like sanity again...

But listen. Sam Reid said Lestat very much thinks Louis is dead after 1973. This tracks. It fits very neatly with the ~theme. With what this season is trying to do wrt the romantic angst of it all. Maybe Lestat is still locked up in a dungeon or underground somewhere sleeping, maybe he isn't. Maybe he's rotting away in New Orleans, wrecked with grief, thinking about walking out and greeting the sun every morning when it rises and he's reminded Louis is gone. I guess we'll find out soon enough…

But listen. There's not some great conclusion I'm trying to arrive at with this post. I'm just spinning my wheels thinking about how delicious the tropes on this show truly are. To separate a love like that, to have Louis believe Lestat doesn't want him and have Lestat believe that Louis is dead. Well, friends... that sounds like a recipe for a grand reunion to me. And maybe what I'm trying to do with this post is toss another coin in the wishing well of a potential season 3. Because you can't have a love story like this that is destined to end in a reunion only to come back the next season to pretend it doesn't matter. I don't know. Maybe you can. But I really hope they don't. I really hope when they come back together at the end of this nightmare, when Lestat is finally permitted to have a voice of his own, that voice will be echoing through the halls of their home, because he'll be telling his story to Louis.

[isycamor]

i do kind of have mixed feelings about the armand reveal i will not lie. but at the same time, I think we forget that we still do not have all the information (lestat’s pov, and armand’s unfiltered pov of the trial, maybe even sam’s pov loool). also i don’t think this was particularly ooc nor do i think that it flattens armand’s character.

one,i think him doing this is completely in line with what we have seen from his character thus far. at this point (ep4/6 in paris) imo it is clear that he is feeling unloved/rejected on some level by louis [dreamstat haunting their relationship was the proverbial shoe waiting to drop; there was always a lingering feeling of inadequacy armand was feeling in his relationship with louis and considering his history (his trauma) we know how deeply this would affect him]. madeleine semi-confirms that there’s a sort of wall in the vulnerability of the loumand relationship when she asks louis why he doesn’t tell armand he loves him. armand is a character that desperately wants to be wanted, is desperately insecure, and on top of that, like assad said in an interview, very forward thinking. i think he really did not think his relationship with louis would survive — not with the burden of lestat, the burden of claudia/madeleine, and honestly i think it was coupled with a lot of self-hatred. the coven was a far more reliable decision for him. louis, throughout their relationship, was not a very consistent partner if we’re being honest (and i say this as a ldpdl apologist every tongue that rises against louis shall fall unless in defense of claudia). he refused to join the coven, he was constantly haunted by lestat in vital moments of loumand relationship development, he and armand were on verryyy different wavelengths about the labeling of their relationship, madeleine’s turning in itself i think also put a major strain in their relationship, etc. i don’t say this to excuse armand, but to contextualize his feeling of isolation within the relationship.

and thinking about his history, his trauma, i really do think that he would latch onto whatever seems to be the most consistent. he yearns for that commitment, and to feel wanted; and if he was not feeling that with louis, he would make the decision to stay with the coven. years upon years of abuse, and having that abuse be tied with a twisted sense of worship with marius, I believe has stunted armand significantly. armand is cunning, manipulative, whatever, but he really does not like being a leader. he leans into subservient positions constantly, and i think this is a pattern of learned helplessness that would explain why he perhaps may have felt as though he “could not prevent it” wrt the trial. i think him honestly believing he could not prevent it and also directing the whole thing are not really mutually exclusive here.

i don’t think this diminishes his love for louis at all either, he loved louis before during and after the trial, and the trial’s preparation. this was done in response to feeling unloved by him, not in response to not loving him. and i think, at least within the show’s presented narrative thus far, witnessing the actual trial along with lestat’s action versus his own inaction at its conclusion perhaps really put his guilt and regret into perspective which led to him saving louis from the wet room. and after finding a way to be with louis again (claiming to have saved him), and having louis speak to his commitment to him (even if it was done as a way to torture lestat), made armand solely focused on preserving his relationship with louis in any way possible - and unfortunately that meant also preserving this big lie. armand isn’t some supervillain that secretly wants louis dead - he did genuinely spend his life trying to make up for it. he is desperately desperately lonely and he has lived centuries feeling inadequate and unloved. this deep deep insecurity and attachment to preserve feeling loved/wanted drives his actions in paris, in san francisco, and in dubai.

so no! i don’t think it reverses any development of his character at all! honestly, apart from delainey’s claudia, armand was my shining star of season 2. assad played him brilliantly, and i don’t think this finale diminished the complexity assad (and the writers) gave to this character at all.

(i also think having this revealed and what this will do to armand’s psyche (as a character who i think is really really afraid to look inward) is such fun setup for season 3)

[the-quiet-youve-been-longing-for]

Okay time for another small (I hope) analysis on IWTV, mainly the way it's written and its place on current television. I'll try my best to format this so it's not ramblings all over, I promise.

IWTV and plot points

I watched a good amount of television in my time, and one thing I noticed here is the fact that it doesn't hold your hand. It doesn't tell you "hey, this thing x is important, now we will tell again why x is important, now here see x being used, the important thing we talked about so far, did you remember, audience?".

Let's take as an example the "don't drink the blood of the living" thing. It's said to a young Louis (telling also to the audience in the 2nd episode how vampirism in this setting works) and then every time it's brought up it's indirectly (Lestat spitting out the sick man's blood, we see Claudia buying Laudanum and we know what it will be used for, but they don't tell us "Hey, Claudia is planning to poison someone so that Lestat drinks it, because remember audience, dead blood kills them"). Sometimes not only it doesn't hold your hand, but shoves you in a different direction, especially in S2. It contradicts himself, backtracks and then it's up to you to spot it.

For example, attentive viewers may have noticed that Sam was in 2 places at once in the trial, one episode before the actual reveal. It isn't a gotcha they came up with in the finale to give more gravitas to the revelation. When they tell us Lestat mass manipulated the audience, it makes sense for the storyline too because we already saw him do that with the soldiers, we have a previous example to refer to, Armand never used that particular power.

In a time where we see so many social media adopt the "short videos" gimmick, like reels and shorts etc, having a piece of media that references back in this way is super refreshing.

2. Character complexity

Complex characters are the backbone of this show. It's easy to place a character in a box and leave them there. You see it with the stereotype of the villain, the best friend, the hero. Some tv shows may have the character shift into a different box, but it's almost never permanent (think of the times where a hero gets corrupted by the Evil Power, but then reverts back to their hero status after Defeating the Evil Power because they remembered the Power of Friendship).

We have Louis, well meaning vampire who is capable of horrible deeds when pushed to the brink. Lestat, who feels so much to the point it hurts the people around him. Armand, whose trauma and fear bring out the need to control, but at the same time he needs to do that without actually controlling. They are all these things at the same time, and it's impossible to see them in a black and white perspective.

3. Details

A line almost always has its parallels to another line in the show, gazes always mean something, props are detailed and shown (I made a post looking at Daniel's notes in 2x05, which were shown for a second only, but you can also think about Claudia's diaries, all handwritten, or the astonishing amount of folders that were in Daniels computer from the Talamasca. That is all prop work done to be shown for a few seconds at most).

4. Analysis

This is more of a fandom thing than the show itself, but I was suprised by the amount of deep analysis that people here on Tumblr did (but also on other social media). Long essays on the meaning of a scene, or on the many many topics the show brings to light (the fallacy of memory, the impact of trauma, the meaning of free will and agency).

Similarly lots of people said that the show brought them back the urge to start creating, whether it's gifs, video essays, edits, fanart, fics, what have you. I started going back to Tumblr after years (last time I was here was during S4 of Sherlock).

And I feel like this is only possible if you give your audience something to work with, something to talk about and to dissect, rather than simple "entertainment".

5. Final thoughts

Of course, this isn't to say IWTV is error free, all perfect, without flaws. Nor is it the only one that has had this amount of labor and impact. But it's still miles ahead from most media we have available at the moment in my opinion, and I really hope its success brings other showrunners or directors to want to try and dare, to trust in their audience, to avoid shortcuts and to pour love in their creation.

If you got this far, I just want to thank you for taking the time to read my ramblings again! Have a cute Louis as a reward, and see you next time :)

[mybelladonicbeauty]

Don't mind me just quietly thinking about the fact that Sam Reid said Lestat basically thought Louis was dead in 1973 after he didn't give any response and Armand stopped replying

[elislulii]

Episode 7 Rent ! spoilers!

So I don't know if somebody else already talked about this, but in the last episode of interview with the vampire, EP 7. I saw this post on Twitter and thought it's my time to be Sherlock Holmes and find out what really it could be.

What really is that, tho? Well, I really think Lestat is being starved by Armand or the cavern members, but I don't think the Cavern MEMBERS could EVER stop Lestat and starve him. I meann, c'mon, he's one of the most powerful vampires on the planet, has ancestry blood and u think u can stop him? The only person who could stop him, imo, and immobilize him and starve him, is Armand.

Did we forget he can make fire with his hands, freeze time, hypnotize and erase memory?

We can see it's a bruise, But dark, and shallow, almost rotting u could say... You can see it from another photo.

So, my point is that Armand is starving Lestat, Half to death but not quite. I mean, he could clearly stand and walk. U also can clearly see that he has this half-rotting bruise on each wrist. So, either way, he's half alive, maintained by Armand. And manipulated by him to perform the trial.

OR

It's just a shadow on his hand bc of the lights reflecting, and suit, or just a bruise Sam has on his hands. But I doubt he would get hurt like that.

ANDD in the next preview of the last episode, we see Armand say that he LIED to Louis and that he basically did this on his OWN.

---

He said he didn't have a choice, HE LIED.

He did have a choice!! He manipulated the cavern members and LESTAT, so therefore this was his OWN plan. He starved Lestat to death, almost rotting(I mean He is) SO that means maybe he revived Lestat. We know Lestat wasn't really dead, but Armand "revived" him possibly and used him for the trial, starving him and rotting him for his own use.

AND THIS IS NOT OVER!! This is from Episode 6, I believe. He was going through the trial pages!! If you think Armand didn't have a choice and didn't manipulate anyone, then what is this??? The master manipulator is at work, honey!! He was checking Sam’s work!!

I HAVE CONNECTED THE DOTSS!!!

What do u guys think???

THE WRITERS WILL PAYY FOR THISS!😭😭

[nalyra-dreaming]

Idk why this didn't occur to me before but if Rashid had access to the missing diary pages then the Talamasca also presumably did. There's even a chance Daniel has seen them by the finale (I'd loooove to have full access to the trove of information they gave him!!) though exactly how illuminating the pages are in themselves I can't guess. On a (kinda) related note, what do you think led Daniel to the realization that it was Lestat who saved Louis at the trial, and that Armand planned to let him die? Was it just intuition? Because it didn't seem like a random hunch, he was very certain about it. Was there maybe something in the annotated script and/or Vampire Sam's account that tipped him off? I guess from an outsider's perspective it was pretty clear that Lestat wasn't there for revenge, and of course Daniel knew Lestat had a powerful enough Mind Gift to manage it, but it still seems like a bit of a leap. I feel like there had to be something in the Talamasca's files that informed his opinion?

Well, I mean the script that Daniel got there had a few annotations.

Annotations that made it clear that it was Armand who planned it all, Armand who directed the trial, Armand who... wanted them dead.

I am not sure if there might be more in it pertaining to Lestat saving Louis, but I can very well imagine it. Or maybe it is in a file Daniel got somewhere else (from/in the Talamasca files), because I agree, he seemed very sure of it.

In any case the trial script made clear that is was not Armand though. So maybe conjecture, maybe more.

As per Claudia's diaries... I... don't think the Talamasca have them. I mean, I could be wrong there, but I always took Armand's comment of having Rashid get them as deflection. The next evening Louis is a whole different person again (reprogrammed), and I don't think the offer to get those pages was actually genuine.

The Talamasca might have knowledge about what they contain though.

... given that the writers said in NOVEMBER 2022(!!!) that they would revisit murder night - and that hasn't happened yet - I do expect that revisit to happen in s3.

And... the cut out pages of Claudia's diaries might play an important role there, as said before.

Because her entries in the book "Merrick" were a shift, to put it that way.

We'll see, but I don't think the show, or the characters, are all done with the missing pages.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - Loumand (Spoilers)

This was so effed up, wow; I'm FURIOUS with Armand, even though I've been expecting this from him since Season 1. Cuz the ish he said just never lined up right; the most unreliable narrator's been Armand the whole time! Louis' brain is scrambled, but at least he's SINCERE. But THIS mofo has been deliberately LYING since JUMP.

Longest divorce proceedings ever--took 77 years, dang. Armand said it was the night Madeleine was turned--Mr. They Gave Me A Choice. I Chose. But that's a effing lie, too!

Cuz in Ep6, BEFORE Louis even told Armand he was gonna turn Madz, Santiago was busy committing all those "strange crimes reported;" climbing the Eiffel Tower to wake up Lestat, and breaking into cinemas to steal their color film reels for the Trial's projector.

They threw Sam under the bus as if HE wrote effed up Trial script--but THIS was when they actually started writing it--with ARMAND's input & direction.

But I'm jumping ahead.

WTF is going on here?! O_O Is this a human the Theatre keeps around for the plays, zoned out so they stay alive until they're on stage? So Armand's punishment is the shame of having to feed the "cattle"? And HOW MANY nights was Lou in there? :(

Louis was locked up for over a MONTH!? 😨 While Armand just SAT THERE?!

Lou's not screaming from starvation, MORON--he starved himself for YEARS. His DAUGHTER is DEAD.

The frame of Paul is wild--Louis was ready to end it all. U_U He didn't want to be "rescued"--he wanted his baby girl back. "What was left to endure for?"

Man's a consummate actor--everything you're about to see is FAKE.

A "sacrifice" for the "god" Armand serves, eh? (AMC got my guy out here sucking on rocks, omg. XD I hope they taste like chips or popcorn or something.)

Louis CONSTANTLY shushing people on this show, I love it!

LIES. Lou's WAY too good for Armand; I'd've been like SURPRISE! 🔥 "My rage and madness were asleep--" chile. You loved Armand, and thought he'd cared enough to save you, which is why you were able to swallow that weak AF I Could Not Prevent It excuse from a 500 yr old vamp.

Daniel is on the hunt! I LOVE how they're introducing Raglan like he's just some kindly ole assistant/researcher/editor. Honey, you've got a big storm coming! "Reciprocation"--Daniel's a vampire now, so you KNOW Raglan's gonna start cashing in them I-O-Us from Dan! 💀

77 years later.... 😬

200 years is a mighty long time to maintain a relationship built on death threats, power imbalances, and lies.

Lestat was right--even 77 years was a effing miracle--extra time bought at the price of Louis' memories being oh-so-conveniently erased.

THEY rehearsed it--LIE. There Armand goes, deflecting culpability.

Louis sleeping in Claudia's coffin, stop, my feels. U_U

Omfg Armand; of COURSE you don't remember the last thing y'all said to e/o in Paris b4 y'all left Lestat to travel Egypt--but you can "remember" alllll this other bullcrap, eh?

So they've already done Trinity Gate?

BY ALL MEANS. EXPOSE THEM.

Not Sam being in Daftpunk, y'all need to stop IMMEDIATELY. (But now I know wtf was going on in the Season 3 announcement--I was so confused why they were mentioning Sam!)

ARMAND told the coven to let the audience read Claudia's diaries and VIOLATE her body (of work), omfg 😱

Mr Frankenstein disrespected her at EVERY turn!

I could forgive spitting over "Come to Me" and how Loustat met in NOLA, but I draw the line at spitting at adding the animation of Lestat killing that dear sweet racoon! XD

Armand had the NERVE to look away when they bum-rushed Claudia & Louis with the Mind Gift.

"It's their turn to hurt--" ARMAND said he didn't think Louis would love him for 200 years, so he SOLD THEM TF OUT--to DIE.

They were HOBBLING AROUND WITH GASHED ANKLES, LAUGHED at, and stuffed in RAT BOXES! And ARMAND was in on the whole thing!

This is WILD, AMC, y'all are sick for this, but I love it!

Is DANIEL using Armand's "slave name" and abusing him, y'all? HUH? It's all BULLCRAP--Armand's BEEN in control, with all the real power the WHOLE. EFFING. TIME.

EFF what you call him, or whatever kinky ROLES he PLAYS.

ARMAND decides who lives and dies, as THE coven master--eff who's called Maitre!

Armand was gonna let Lou DIE. "He just took credit for it when the opportunity presented itself." Wow.

He let Louis suffer in that crypt for over a MONTH before he FINALLY had a change of hear/conscience and pulled him out!

And even then he wasn't gonna go WITH Louis--he expected Louis to flee Paris! ALONE.

He stayed with Louis cuz Louis destroyed his whole effing coven! Who else did Armand HAVE but Louis after that? HE CHOSE THE COVEN.

Poor dear; he wasn't held enough between ritualistic fledgling executions. 🙄😒 "We are teachers of one another! Louis, everything that gives you happiness gives me...." WHAT? What does it give you, Armand? (I cannot WAIT for S3 to do more DM, cuz I've been HATING Armand connected in any way to Louis & Claudia. I don't like not liking Armand; he's my fave book character! But AMC's bound & determined to make me spit every time he starts talking.)

Excellent grounds to get the house, the dog, the Farm, Damek, AND Rashid in the divorce! XD

And this gremlin's got the audacity to STILL be lying, even when caught LITERALLY red-handed with his notes to Santiago in the effing margins--meanwhile CLAUDIA was CONDEMNED TO DEATH for premeditating Lestat's death in HER written diaries--which ARMAND had passed around like candy at his carnival of horrors!

"An insignificant detail delivered by an insignificant mortal"--Rolin must hate Armand, he's not giving this dude an INCH. XD And SAM delivered it, not Daniel. SAM snitched on the coven. (WHEN?! And WHY?)

I don't like the whole "you should fear the other one--" only for Raglan to be like SOS GET OUT OF THERE NOW. Didn't Raglan know Armand was lying his arse off? Or was it misdirection--fear Louis' retribution when he busts a cap in Armand's lying arse?

DanLou nation RISE! ^0^

This was beautiful; I'm so happy for them. They started off TERRIBLY, but look at that bond just blossom like a magnolia tree Armand tried to clip and prune and graft and manipulate--only for it to flourish wild and free!

[scarlethero]

Lestat did not think Louis was dead after the 70s call. Armand said that Louis was there, but that he injured himself and could not hear Lestat through Armand’s mind. Lestat also would have felt it through the maker-fledgling bond (presumably) if he had died.

Edit: From what the show has shown/told us alone, it doesn’t seem like Lestat would have reason to think Louis was dead. Now, from the books and interviews with Sam/Rolin- apparently this could have been something Lestat thought. I guess we’ll see when Lestat tells it from his perspective. 🙂

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

do u have any horror recs for other mediums? tv, podcasts, books, youtube shorts, etc

I'm really gonna show my ass in this regard because most of my recommendations are going to be TV shows or short stories because I haven't branched out much beyond that if I'm honest.

I love The Haunting of Hill House (Nell Crain is my favourite horror character full stop) and The Fall of the House of Usher from Mike Flanagan (most of his shows are incredible but these two are my favourite).

THOHH: Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.

TFOTHOU: To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.

The Exorcist (2016) was great!

The Exorcist follows two very different priests tackling one family's case of horrifying demonic possession. Father Tomas Ortega is the new face of the Catholic Church: progressive, ambitious and compassionate. He runs a small, but loyal, parish in the suburbs of Chicago. Father Marcus Keane is an orphan raised since childhood by the Vatican to wage war against its enemies. He is everything Father Tomas is not: relentless, abrasive and utterly consumed by his mission.

I really liked American Horror Story: Asylum, can't say the same for the other seasons.

AHS: Asylum takes place in 1964 and follows the stories of the staff and inmates who occupy the fictional mental institution Briarcliff Manor, and intercuts with events in the past and present.

I also liked a few South Korean shows I saw on Netflix.

Kingdom (2019): While strange rumors about their ill King grip a kingdom, the crown prince becomes their only hope against a mysterious plague overtaking the land.

All of Us Are Dead (2022): A high school becomes ground zero for a zombie virus outbreak. Trapped students must fight their way out or turn into one of the rabid infected.

Hellbound (2021): People hear predictions on when they will die. When that time comes, a death angel appears in front of them and kills them.

I loved Interview with a Vampire (especially because it does everything the movie didn't, which is why I didn't like the movie). it's very gay, it plays heavily into the themes of vampirism and sexuality, and I love Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson as Lestat and Louis.

In terms of other media, I really like the Dead Meat channel (if I haven't said it enough already), I also like the Scream Dreams Podcast with Catherine Corcoran (from Terrifier), James A. Janisse (from Dead Meat) and Barbara Crampton (prolific and stunning horror actor).

I know it's a little over done now, but that original series of 'The Backrooms' by KanePixels was great.

Some other horror channels/channels that explore horror as well as other topics are SpookyRice, MistaGG, Wendigoon, ElvisTheAlien, BionicPIG, Trin Lovell, KennieJD, MertKayKay, and AmandaTheJedi.

With books, I'm such a basic bitch, so I've really only read Stephen King's horror books. I'm not sure of this is horror or just very bleak and depressing but I'm Thinking of Ending Things was an incredible reading experience. And at this point it goes without saying House of Leaves is so fucking mindblowing!

H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe were terrible people, but their short stories are truly so dark and well-written, the cosmic horror Lovecraft is known translates best in his writing. Ambrose Bierce is the father of psychological horror as we know it, his short stories are great. My favourite short horror story is The Yellow Wallpaper. If you are interested in an audio version of it, listen to Chelsea from the Dead Meat channel with headphones (headphones are vital to that experience).

That's all I can think of off the top of my head for now! I'm sure others will give their own recommendations.

[nukeyyy]

finished interview with the vampire season 2 last night and wow what an amazing show 😭 i cried at least once per episode lmao. thoughts BELOW (warning: long post + major spoilers for the show -obvs-)

the actors are phenomenal and i'm always blown away by sam and jacob's chemistry on-screen. i also can't get over how eric bogosian and luke brandon field not only look so much alike but also manage to act very similarly (like the mannerisms, speech patterns etc.)??? like i know it's their jobs as actors but every time i saw young daniel i was just so impressed lol. amazing casting, amazing talent, amazing actors

i had been spoiled for so many things for s2 (i never read the books), like claudia dying, lestat being alive, armand having erased louis's memory and daniel becoming a vampire. yeah that's a lot... i didn't know how it'd be executed in the show at all but i just knew those facts because i wasn't careful enough online whoops 🥲 i was still gagged seeing all those moments on-screen though so i don't mind haha

also i relate to louis character so much it's actually ridiculous. i'm him and he's me. ME AND HIM, HIM AND ME (ok i'll stop)

i could relate to lestat a lot too (i'm somewhat of an expert at loneliness/depression/fear of abandonment and self-sabotage, rip i need help 😎).

armand was fascinating (and intimidating) to me just knowing how he's an ancient vampire who can just fuck you up if he wants to.

daniel's sarcastic comments were probably the funniest thing for me lolll and his facial expressions at certain things being told. like he's lowkey done with this gay vampire drama and it cracks me up. i still think about the "are you a schizophrenic, louis? 🤨" line because it's such a valid question lol and i always wonder why characters in shows/movies don't freak out whenever i see that trope of a character seeing a dead person qsdqs i'd be contacting a doctor asap. real talk i usually don't like that trope much (it usually feels like fanservice more than anything and like the writers are too scared to let the dead character go) but with lestat i actually liked it. probably because i knew he was actually alive. but still i'd feel so emotional when his "ghost" would be around because i knew it was louis imagining what would lestat do or say if he was here (or at least that's how i interpreted it). which... that's how you know you miss someone BAD 'cause the last/only time i felt that way about someone....... yeah.......

now, claudia... sigh. i feel bad for saying that but i really had a hard time liking her character. i WANTED to like her. i did at some points (loooved her at the beginning, in s1), and i always understood her motives and why she felt the way she did. at the same time, i'd feel annoyed with the way she'd always interject into louis and lestat's conversations/arguments, trying to sway louis in the direction she wanted whenever lestat was showing kindness or hints of remorse. she was never willing to give lestat a chance no matter what he did or said and it irked me a bit. it bothered me most at the trial actually, because lestat was apologizing to LOUIS, and claudia was in louis's ear telling him "it's too little too late" like girl pleaseee respectfully, the apology isn't for you to accept or reject. let louis make up his own mind.

louis is a grown man and it's his relationship, so i felt like claudia should've stayed out of it (at least in the moment, i don't mind if she expresses her opinion to louis later). i felt bad for louis because he made so many sacrifices for her but she never really seemed to reciprocate much (or maybe armand erased my memory). i hated how she called louis "dead weight" in her journal in 2x01. again i understand why she was angry at him, but after everything he's done for her, and considering the fact he was grieving the "death" of lestat (which was brutal), his lover of 30+ years iirc, and he basically couldn't talk about it with her (or anyone for that matter), it just felt unfair to him.

idk maybe i'm being way too harsh on her character, i know she's a character that the fandom likes, so really i feel like i'm missing something? i want to like her i really do but i don't vibe with her character. maybe i'll like her more after rewatching the show (not that it matters anymore since she's dead 😬 but still). i did feel for her though when louis didn't believe her about armand threatening her 'cause that was such bullshit lol like as if claudia would make that up... anyway i did enjoy her relationship with madeleine, too bad it ended the way it did. felt bad for madeleine but when claudia came back to her i kinda knew that madeleine would get murdered by the coven eventually 😅 i actually had a theory that the coven would use madeleine as one of their human sacrifices for the théâtre to punish claudia for having a "forbidden friend", and i wasn't too far off!

when lestat saved louis from getting the death sentence ... i remember thinking in the moment of the trial "is it armand or lestat doing that?" then when it "showed" it was armand, i accepted that but i was confused since lestat claims to love louis. then when it was revealed that it was LESTAT that saved louis but armand took credit for it all and lestat let him??? DUDE!

like i had the same reaction as present louis 'cause ... DANIEL? YOUR QUESTIONS MAKE TOO MUCH SENSE. lol. speaking of louis and daniel, i absolutely loved the way louis comforted him in 1973 after all the trauma they'd both gone through. louis has this empathetic side to him that shines through at times and i love it (kinda reminds me of will graham)

i absolutely LIVED for louis burning down the théâtre des vampires, it was absolutely badass and deserved. santiago's death made me go "now THAT'S a vampire show!!!". i enjoyed santiago as a villain, very entertaining to watch he was. also i love that those two fans of the théâtre (the guy and girl with the black and white makeup always sitting in the front row) attended EVERY show lol

something that's more of season 1, but, i love lestat's french. if you don't know, i'm french myself, but i watched the show its original language with english subtitles (as i like to do with every game/show/movie). so when lestat spoke french i loved it i mean. lestat's my favorite and i love the actor who plays him so not gonna lie it'd make me fangirl a bit everytime LMAO like ooo he's speaking MY language!!!

(i'm still a teenage girl at heart i guess sometimes lol)

that argument that lestat and louis had in french in season 1 over claudia (when claudia was in louis' coffin writing in her journal) ... will always make me laugh... just the conclusion of lestat going "putain de merde, bonne nuit" and shutting his coffin and then louis saying bonne nuit back XD it just feels so real you know. when you argue with someone but you still love them enough to say the nice little things.

speaking of arguments, i was so surprised at lestat's recollection of things during the trial, and how it differed from louis' retelling of events to daniel. many times i was like "is lestat lying? orrr" 'cause it's wild how different the versions are. particularly that massive fight in season 1 when lestat dropped him from the sky (if anyone who hasn't watched the show is reading this post, they're probably like "wtf" lmao). if lestat was saying the truth about how it went down, then damn, i feel bad for lestat :/ JUSTICE FOR LESTAT (i feel so toxic for saying that lol). like louis was NASTY in that scene, downright cruel. they both love each other so much yet they both hurt each other just as much it seems. i just want them to be happy 🥲 if that's even possible.

oh and TW: suicide for this section because i want to talk about THAT louis scene in 1973. hell that whole fight he had with armand. first of all, i felt so sad for armand that he was being called boring and dull etc. by louis, even though louis had drugs in his system and was clearly having a mental breakdown. if i'd been armand i would've cried on the spot ngl 😭 i'm surprised armand stayed with louis after that, probably to just spite lestat? but then when louis went on the roof to try to kill himself by burning under the sun ... i was sobbing and even just thinking about it now it makes me want to cry, as someone who's considered suicide many times since i'm like 19, it hit close to home. i wouldn't wish that shit on anybody and it hurts so much seeing a character i love go through that even though it's all just fictional. and when armand contacted lestat and lestat was asking louis (through armand) "why are you ill? what's happened to you?" and later "i love you, louis" and he said it so softly like ... DAMN MY FEELINGS.

i ALMOST forgot to talk about lestat and louis' reunion in new orleans in the last episode (bruh how could i). i CRIED. i loved seeing them take accountability for their past mistakes and just seeing how far the both of them have come, seeing them ACTUALLY be vulnerable and talk to each other and both of them listening to each other and be there for each other. it was such a touching scene. and lestat's voice cracking when he asked louis if he hurt himself back in 1973? it wasn't just his voice that cracked in that moment it was also my HEART wtf

and how sweet and heartfelt that hug was. i was kinda glad they didn't kiss/get back together in that moment. it made the moment more meaningful, and i think it's good for them to be on good terms yet still be apart for some time to process things (not forever of course hehe). i'm just glad they're not against each other anymore and that they seemed to have made peace.

of course at the end louis is basically ready to fight any vampire who wants to kill him over the publishing of the book. i'm not too worried. lestat will probably show up to help louis kick their asses or escape (don't spoil me). i do wonder what happened with armand and where he is now!

oh and i gotta say, about the show overall but again mainly season 1, i absolutely LOVE how they portrayed lestat and louis's relationship in general. i'm so glad they seemed like just a "normal" couple and they weren't written as a GAY couple ... idk if that makes sense. they ARE a gay couple but it's not the defining trait of their relationship, it's a part of it of course, but the writers didn't make it all about their sexuality and they didn't make it a stereotype like some shows & movies treat their gay characters/couples, and it was so refreshing. like i'm not even a dude and i felt SEEN. and then i thought to myself "shit, is this how straight people feel when they see a m/f relationship on-screen???" 'cause 99% of the time i feel nothing when watching m/f relationships, but i get really emotionally invested and i feel a connection with m/m and f/f relationships. kinda sucks to realize though 'cause it just reminds me of how little high quality gay content we get in the media but thankfully times are changing. i mean just thinking of how it was like 10 years ago? back then i always had gay ships that never ended up canon lol it was rough. i'm happy i get to have interesting gay ships that ARE canon these days. hope it keeps going that way 🥹 i don't even bother with anything that involves queerbaiting these days, i only go for stuff with CANON gay/lesbian ships & main characters or i'll pass (with some exceptions), i no longer have the patience i had as a teenager, fuck that. it's 2024 we can have more now >:)

well, that went into a tangent. i'll keep it in though 'cause it's a discussion i'd love to have if anyone wants to talk about that further!

one thing i wonder about is what was up with those feral vampires (that's what i call them) early in season 2? claudia ripped the eyes off from one in the forest. these vampires looked ... uh ... i don't even how to describe it lol. but was it because they kept drinking the blood of people traumatized by the war? or was it something else?

anyway. conclusion is i enjoyed the show so so much and i can't wait for season 3!!! i've heard lestat will be in a rock band in season 3 and i'm hyped haha

i probably missed stuff to talk about but the post is already so long. feel free to send me a message/ask if you want my thoughts on certain plot points/characters or just to discuss them! i'd love to :D as long as you're nice ('cause trust me i'm aware of how hypocritical i am by disliking claudia and yet loving louis and lestat's characters dqdsq i'm sorry for that)

now i can freely check out the fandom weee 💃

[devilsminion-armandaniel]

apologies if you've been asked this already, but im curious what your hopes are for dm in the show (in terms of happened in the past/will happen in the future/both/secret fourth option(?) and what you think is most likely to actually happen, if those arent the same thing

(it turned into a pretty long post when I had it all typed out, sorry.) I think my hopes are pretty much in line with what I expect the show to do. I definitely think we're getting Past Devil's Minion. it's been hinted at in promo too much for us not to see Luke again. Luke did a lot of promo to begin with for a one episode character, especially if we wouldn't see him again for the rest of the series. Compared to Madeline who was in more episodes. Now, you could argue Luke is better know, but I don't think Luke is anywhere near a household name. We have seen all three them of them talk about Young Daniel. Eric wants to see Luke do a scene with his ex wife/ex-wives, Assad wants a threesome scene where Daniel and Luke merge into each other. And Luke would like it if Alice was Armand. I think if Young Daniel was a closed chapter the actors would be discouraged from talking about it, as to not raise fandom expectations the show had zero plans on filling. Not to mention we had Vampire Sam at the big opening of the season 2 and we had Luke there as well. No other TdV actor was there, only the 'big' characters and actors. And where we haven't seen much of Vampire Sam yet, we will be seeing him again in S3. So, I think Luke being there and pairing him up with Assad for promo was a deliberate choice. There are some things in the show itself that also make me more sure that Young Daniel will return. We know old Daniel has a faulty memory and that he is still missing pieces. And that he also doesn't remember everything properly from how thinks it went. His own auto-biography isn't a correct story, as highlighted by Louis being the stranger he once met. Memory is the monster. Daniel feeling freer in Paris to hold 'Alice' hands, Armand triggering Daniel's memories. Raglan knowing Armand wouldn't harm Daniel. Armand caring about Daniel enough to stop Louis from hurting him, from crossing lines, offering comfort and apologies. None of that makes a lot of sense if they weren't something at some point in the past. Especially because Jacob said in an interview that after San Francisco Armand and Louis kind of went their own way, where they didn't always check up on each other. Armand, according to Daniel, would disappear for long stretches of time in the book, which could easily be during the chase. Armand going from Daniel to Louis and back. We also don't really know much about Louis' past and if Armand was always there. Nor do we know when Armand discovered he could walk in the sun. We have a good 50 years of 'nothing' that we still need to see. We still have to learn when and why Louis believed Lestat was dead and murdered by him and Claudia. Or when Louis found out Claudia hated him. And when he forgot about that. Why did Louis stop killing in 2000. What happened that made him want to change. Who did he kill? If we still have to get all that knowledge I have to assume, there is knowledge in those years that we also need about Armand, Lestat and Daniel. So, I guess, I always simply look at the book as being slightly altered but not much. Past DM is still the QoTD chapter bare the turning which is now their separation. And instead of Daniel going mad and being with Marius, the show aged him, gave him wives and daughters. The present is the show's version of the Prince Lestat trilogy. When they reunite. Anne never wrote those scenes out, so the show has a lot of freedom to decide how to go about this. And I think with this set up, Devil's Minion can be the best couple on tv in a very long time. With all the drama, love, lust, longing, fighting, toxicity and warmth, that only they can have. With the whirlwind rollarcoaster romance and the heartbreaking separation of the past, to the challenging, yearned for, longed for, painful, healing and hopeful reunion. I'm not psychic though, but i do really hope this is the direction they are going in, it's the one I would pick and I think it's the one that will have the highest success rate storywise.

[bayoubodycount]

Something is niggling at me and I can't easily let it go.

"I couldn't pursuade him to return my affections. I couldn't force him to love me and so I broke him."

*Forcefully bites him (vampire equivalent of r*pe) Hell, Armand even says in TVL(?)something <like>("The r*pre of an equal is so delicious).

*Throws him from a height which leaves him broken for sometimes afterwards...

Admittedly, I might be dead wrong. But it sounds to me like Armand is confessing what happened between him and Lestat in Paris, THROUGH Lestat. I said it once before, but I would be exceedingly happy to learn later that Armand put his own memories of what he felt towards Lestat and did to Lestat, in his head so poor Les THINKS he really did do that to Louis. And Louis thinks it really happened too.

Also, on my rewatch I noticed something else:

As much as they used Claudia'a diaries to condemn her and Louis, I don't believe they used any diary of hers to corroborate that THE DROP ITSELF actually happened. Not once has she mentioned the fall herself. And in Dubai, she's not around and can neither question the event nor verify it. Louis was tremendously wounded from Lestat's infidelity and other abuse, absolutely. And Claudia was sick of him for her own justified reasons. But she is also no longer here, as the only other witness to relay what actually happened...and since we haven't seen those missing diary pages, in which she detailed so so so very much, you'd THINK a drop like that would have been mentioned by now.

Book Armand and Claudia got into some gruesome interactions, and it's logical to see WHY Admand said those pages mention him. But what if he's also keeping them separated because within them there's NO MENTION of a drop/fall? And that lack of entry would certainly make Louis suspicious.

It just feels sus to me!

I confess to not wanting that drop with Louis to be true and I know Sam struggled with it and the rest of the DV in that episode. But if he still trusts Rolin so much with Lestat, PERHAPS, RJ has his trust because this is a truth we'll learn later when Lestat tells his own side and learns his mind was tinkered with too. Which would drive home even further the lengths Armand will go to for his own desires.

If not, I'll 100% deal and suck it up🤷‍♀️

[nalyra-dreaming]

Let me use this opportunity of getting weird Loumand anons once more to say something that's been on my mind:

All the bad faith, passive aggressive anon asks (especially those wanting to make the "ships" about the fandom "shipping them" (or not) because of "color" and "racism") I see around piss me off sooooo much.

Lets look at the "ships" we have so far:

Loustat: difficult, at times toxic, later not so much, endgame

Loumand: difficult, at first infatuated, then dead, later healing

Lesmand: difficult, at times insane, obsessive in parts

Devil's Minion: difficult, intense, at times insane, obsessive in parts, endgame

What have all these "ships" in common?

They are canon relationships. And they are difficult.

Two of those are endgame.

Let's dive in (a bit).

Loustat:

At this point not much has to be said about why Loustat are toxic in parts, but that changes - their character journeys are inverted, and they are endgame. Two sides of the same coin. They are "petty and in love" as Jacob called it, and they are "it" for each other, for better or for worse.

Loumand:

Born from Lesmand actually, because Lestat goes to Armand to make him care for Louis (and for Armand's blood), which... works. But the initial infatuation phase, while honest on Louis' side, is based on Armand's fascination with him because of Lestat. He gaslights Louis into loving him. I bet they will be very much shown to be in love, and then the shit will hit the fan and then... Louis will be destroyed, for a long, long time. Qualifies as toxic for me, too, btw. The Loumand in later years, in Trinity Gate (or Dubai?) is a more healing one, one where Louis comes to terms with who he is and what he wants in safe, stable, loving surroundings. And I bet they are freaks in the sheets :P

Lesmand:

Obsessive, and while loving definitely more so from Armand's side than Lestat's. He "imprints" on Lestat when he sees him because Lestat reminds him of Marius, and a lot of Armand's actions are informed by his need for Lestat, and the fact that Lestat upends his world. That said, the fascination itself is mutual, and I bet the show will have them engage in a proper affair.

Devil's Minion:

Wohooo, Daniel, a gift from Louis for Armand!!! Armand shifts full on obsessive and love on Daniel, Daniel, who will become his only fledgling. (And who goes mad for a while, too!) The show has obviously expanded the journey, but I don't think it will change too much - Daniel is the only one Armand could not let die. Talk about love beyond reason or endurance.

ALL OF THESE SHIPS ARE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE VC.

YOU CANNOT PUT A VALIDATION BASED ON SKIN COLOR ON THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL VALID.

And they are canon.

Saying the fandom doesn't "ship" Loumand because of them being POC is just ludicrous.

If you think Louis in Dubai in season 1 is "happy" I don't know what to tell you. We haven't really seen "happy" Loumand yet, and, depending on how they spin it(!) we might not even see it in season 2, though I think they will make it seem as if it is happy and "pure" at first.

But they might throw in the horror of Claudia knowing (and she does, canonically, she tries to warn Louis!) and being ignored by Louis (failing her again) in - in fact, I take the little info of the scenes we have of Sam and Armand filming as precisely that, namely that they make it clear that there is a relationship there as well... and how that relationship enables Loumand.

And then Armand will kill Claudia. And Madeleine.

And Louis will stay with him.

Personally I found later Loumand always very healing, as said. (But, personally(!!!!!!), also a bit boring. I love them, but... writing them (i.e.) does not hold much appeal right now.

But that might change with the upcoming seasons!) But the Loumand in Paris?? Hell, that's not even real, Armand gaslights Louis into loving him, uses his spell gift and mind gift as influence, poor Louis. And it will hurt Louis, incredibly so.

Making it seem as if people, especially people with a background in the books, do not "ship" them because of the actors' skin color... is just...

There's many, many reasons to ship them.

There's many, many reasons not to.

I OBVIOUSLY cannot speak for everyone. But these simplified takes are becoming so tiresome, when there are so many other reasons that need to be considered.

And honestly, as said before, I fully expect parts of this fandom to turn on Armand when he is being himself, when his relationship to Lestat is becoming clear, when his meddling and role in Claudia's death are clear and... can you imagine the outcry when they actually kill off the black (likely) lesbian character and her lover. -.-

If they actually chop of Claudia's head on stage.

Mayhem.

Which brings me to the next part:

My predictions for season 2:

Louis hurting, seeing Lestat everywhere (outcry)

Loumand in love, oh so sweet, look at them

Claudia gets a girlfriend!! (Sweet!)

What is Lestat doing there? (outcry)

What, Armand is interested in Louis because of Lestat?? (outcry)

What, Louis is yearning for Lestat?? (outcry)

What, Armand is doing what to Claudia (and Madeleine)? "ThEy KiLl tHe gAys!!" ((outcry)

Armand throws Lestat off a tower (Meh, he deserved it, should have been much worse)

What, Louis stays with Armand?? (outcry)

Whatever will go on with Louis and Lestat (outcry)

At some point people will turn on Assad, I agree here with what has been said by others on this.

They could not separate Sam from Lestat, they will not do so for Assad, in fact THERE I can easily see it be much worse, because of the racial implications.

I can also see them turn on Jacob btw, because Louis stays with Armand. "How could he". -.-

So: Even if you are only a "show fan", if you have no idea of what the books might bring... the hiatus is still very long, and going and hating on people, accusing them of racism, because people who know the books go a bit bonkers when they see certain bts photos... is on you - not them.

These ships are all canon relationships.

And valid.

End of rant.

[cromearts]

so i watched interview with the vampire.

and you're gonna be like "laila, i thought you like to watch things after the hype has died down" well i thought so too but they put it on netflix and the brainworms got to me. i watched both seasons in a weekend. i'm gonna read the books next. usually i really don't like shows where the characters you follow are just "so complex!!!1!!!!1" and "hard to understand!!!1!!!!1" because a lot of the time this is just a cheap copout for people who want to fuck very surface level villains with very surface level writing (a lot of you have let fanon make you think some characters are deeper than they actually are but thats a story for another day) but i am SO happy to report that this is NOT the case for interview with the vampire. you have so many conflicting feelings for all of these characters (except claudia. i do in fact support her every decision. love that queen. my princess.) and it's just so good. this is the true drama people are looking for on tv. kind of wish it was on during the era of cable cuz you KNOW it would've been craycray. going into this, i really was expecting to completely dislike lestat but honestly i can't even say that. i love him and i hate him. the same way i love and hate louis and i love and hate armand. claudia and daniel are really the only characters that i love unconditionally. but there are so many scenes that just really pull on my heart strings. the finale where lestat says "armand called me, did you hurt yourself?" with those SAD ASS EYES. i don't know if people have already said this but whenever lestat is really sad sam reid puts on these puppy eyes that practically FORCE you to feel bad its insane. and louis.......... the man who is fumbled over and over again constantly. my favorite unreliable narrator. seeing how the "turning of claudia REALLY went down lowkey rewired some neurons. "please ill do anything ill be anything please please please." the guilt was literally eating him alive to the point of no return. that had me really gagged. jacob anderson lowkey best actor ever? like where are the awards we need them right now. and armand......... oh armand. biggest fumbler ive ever seen. its okay though cuz he's gonna fuck that old man. i know he is. but him lying over and over again to louis is actually so crazy. like bro is a pathological liar AND a gaslighter. you've been alive for over five hundred years and i can tell you havent gone to therapy not one time in your entire life. like for him to take the credit for lestat saving louis is what REALLY got me. like lowkey that's worse than the betrayal itself. like 70 years of mending back together our relationship after you killed my daughter and almost me only for me to find out MY EX SAVED ME? AND NOT YOU? like oh i would've really crashed out. and my dear claudia.... my favorite. it's so crazy like i will absolutely not allow any claudia slander because i can defend her from anything. like i genuinely do not think any "bad" thing claudia does is her fault because she literally did not ask for this. like you can argue that it made her life WORSE! instead of simply dying in that moment, she had to die later after suffering so much and THEN proceeding to experience happiness for one moment (insert the have you ever gotten everything you ever wanted? no. but i once got very close quote here). claudia did nothing but suffer, was treated seriously by NO ONE in her life, and the one time someone picks her, they both proceed to die immediately after. that genuinely upset me so much i wanted to turn the tv off. and the crazy thing is we ALL knew claudia was going to die because they talked about her in past tense THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW! LIKE I KNEW SHE WAS DEAD THE ENTIRE TIME! AND I STILL WANTED TO SMASH THE TV! it's actually insane. at least in her final moments madeleine chose her. which was done very beautifully in my opinion. "my coven is claudia." goosebumps man. because a lot of people probably would've chosen the other option but no not madeleine. she loved claudia more than she wanted to live. i love this show man.