#about Louis’ character because I LOVE his character

[summertimesadnessirl]

I once read this story about Vladimir Nabokov.

About how he was obsessed with collecting butterflies, and all the weird shit in Lolita started because he realized one day he was literally murdering these little creatures.

And how fucked up that is.

I don't know if that's true or not because I never checked the sources.

But even the delusional narrator of that story eventually understands that you don't love someone if your idea of love is to suffocate someone in a jar.

Armand got 77 years in a jar with no air in it, and he knows it. But he didn't love Louis so much as he'd been in jars with no air in them his whole life and I think putting someone else in one might have allowed him to realize none of the people in his childhood, or Marius, or the other people in his life ever cared about him. That the fact that he loved them because he had never known anything other than starvation and little enclosures wasn't because they deserved it.

Lestat has a lot of problems. A big one is that he just plays the role people he likes want him to play without thinking. This is the thing he and armand have in common. They both reflexively do this in different ways and for different reasons so they can only kind of pay attention to one another by proxy, in a crowd. It's not that they don't have personalities, it's just their primary way of dealing with people. Lestat defaults to being a rebel or a villain in every story he's in, when he meets a new person he defaults to being in love with them but he also argues with them all the time. This works really well with Louis because Louis hates himself most of the time, so as long as Louis hates himself it's easy for Lestat to be kind to him. If he starts to improve, though, the focus shifts. It's on some level true that lestat is "waiting until you are happy." It's not on purpose, but if there is too much harmony, that's difficult for him. He literally needs the drama of some kind of high stakes story to be happening around him all the time. In the books he walks blithely into traps all the time, and on one level it's because he's kind of a himbo, but on another level it's because he kinda can't resist seeing what the trap will do. There's a whole part in The Tale of the Body Thief where he knows the body thief is going to try to keep his body and also he is very likely to die as a random mortal human and Louis is like "we both know this is a trap and we both know you're going to do it anyway." The only times Lestat really gets to love people is the times when he's killing them, and he constantly rhapshodizes about how beautiful all his victims are and how wonderful it is to be near them and follow them and stuff, even the ones who aren't pretty or anything, like elderly people and so on. The only time I remember him being nice to people just to be nice to them is Quinns grandmother in Blood Canticle, but that is 100% because he's enjoying the dramatic irony of letting some old lady show him her priceless collection of cameos, and also he's in the middle of a ghost story so it doesn't matter, he's playing Sherlock Holmes.

Lestat was really good when he was doing the seduction game, he was really good at "please forgive me, I fucked up" but he kept falling into some weird role over and over that's like... patriarch. Whiny wife with no hobbies who keeps getting into trouble because his husband works too much and doesn't pay attention to him. Crashing the party because no one can match his freak and he wants to go home. Bad boy boyfriend who trolls your family when they seem homophobic and eats your priest. Lestat is emotionally immature but he also has no idea how to be a person. He's too busy being the main character, and when he meets Louis, it hasn't become blindingly obvious to everybody that Lestat is the main character. It seems like once that happens it mellows things out for him a little because people know why he's like that all the time. Armand actually seems like he's the first person to have figured out that Lestat is the main character, sometimes. Good for him.

the thing with how lestat and daniel handled louis’ depression is that they had the immediate audacity to believe they could fix him with their personalities and humors and sex whereas armand thought hey let’s make the situation more dire and throw in a daughter death and bdsm. you laugh but armand got 77 years and lestat and daniel only have regrets. see?

[dreamyluigi]

superstar saga luigi crashout thoughts

looking once again at this awesome piece by yamari-san and how it sparked a lot of thoughts in my brain about luigi's treatment throughout SS

(link to the pic, this artist is also a huge inspiration for me)

through this whole game luigi is consistently ignored/disrespected by almost every NPC who recognizes mario, always being seen as That Other Guy or The Brother Guy or Lu... Louis? What Was His Name Again? etc. i like to think for the most part luigi is so used to this already, like it's par for the course for awhile especially in the beginning of the game - like, this is the first time (by RPG standards) he's actually gotten to travel alongside his brother like this. he didn't want to, but i think as time goes on he finds himself enjoying their time together and feels useful for once. despite that, NPCs continuously disrespect him throughout the course of the game, even after he's proven himself to be just as strong and capable as mario. you'd think after awhile that starts to wear on a guy, right?

of course there are random characters who admire luigi, there always will be. and characters who genuinely acknowledge him as a superstar like mario! but... even peasley disrespects him at times, despite being one of the ones who also gives him compliments and a confidence boost. maybe he's a little airheaded and doesn't recognize some of the disrespectful things he does/says but at the end of it all luigi is still rejected.

luigi's number one goal is to help mario, and i think he'd let mario do just about anything to him in order to achieve that. but i think the culmination of multiple characters ignoring him, forgetting him, etc., and then being hammered into a surfboard just makes him boil over. like... for real, the joke's over. the name Joke's End is the perfect area and time for him to just completely lose it. he's done being just useful, he has worked so hard, done so much to help, he wants recognition for his efforts - not just from the people they help but from mario himself too.

mario of courseeee loves him so much and is probably too thickheaded to even think he did anything wrong. but when weegee finally snaps at him to take him seriously! no one ever takes him seriously! i finally get to come on an adventure with you and nobody even cares! why do i have to be the surfboard!? i think they have a long talk about it... and mario absolutely agrees that luigi deserves just as much superstardom as he does. it's something they've needed to acknowlege forever but just never did because luigi always stayed back, stayed behind, willingly, perhaps out of cowardice perhaps out of fear that he'd drag mario down. but after realizing they have perfect synergy in battle and outside of it, his confidence grows. mario gives him that strength. and he needs to be respected for it!

for as much shit as folks like to give starlow, she is not even in this game and it's the most luigi has ever been disrespected... she has her moments of course but i feel like it balances out with her being kind of the only source of grief luigi gets. in other M&L games after SS i think luigi gets a lot less BS from random NPCs so it doesn't feel as harsh to me? maybe i'm a starlow apologist. i think she's funny. i don't think luigi appreciates it but i think it affects him less than nearly everyone in SS being like Who is this guy lol. Why are you wearing mario's clothes. Are you a fanboy or something (he is but like damn!)

it makes me happy that snoutlet exists. luigi always needs a little bit of bullying as a treat, but the way snoutlet absolutely loves him, praises him, thinks he's a genius, it's what he deserves after all this time of being forgotten or disrespected. and i think mario watching the progression throughout the M&L series of folks respecting and loving luigi more and more the more adventures they take together makes him feel happy and fuzzy inside too. he's a humble guy and seeing his brother get praised makes him feel much more proud than if it was directed at himself

"M&L RPGs aren't sequential-" to me they are. if you look hard enough you will see.

[consumebubbles]

After watching Olurinatti's review on Interview With The Vampire, I fear I need to rewatch with my Black✊🏾 cap on, rather than my "lets just take this in as it is,"🫶🏾 initial viewing.

As someone who started watching because of the TikTok edits and loving my fellow queers I started watching the show, with no prior knowledge of anything except that everyone was a cunty vampire, constantly serving face.

But I fear, this rewatch will make me HATE Lestat... Because the micro/MACRO aggressions he does throughout season one we're not completely lost on me, but I did not analyze further.

Unless you're Black I do not imagine many look at the story this way, considering Louis is white in the original book but, him being a Black, Creole, gay man during Jim Crow is VERY important to the way he acts and people treat him, including Lestat.

The identity of Louis is why I attached myself to the character and love him so much. Because I understand the plight. Being Black and queer with a religious family is NOT for the faint of heart bb, let me tell you.

And I get really agro with the way some people talk about him as if he crashes out for no reason, when there is one, but it's one you wouldn't understand.

It's also why I fear people trying to BlackMan™ him with a hyper masculine approach to his character, when he's never been allowed to truly show all the facets to himself because of the way people view Black men.

EDIT: What I mean by this is people do not know how to take a Black gay man who is not acting in the 'stereotypical' way gay men usually do, like Lestat. So they assign this hyper masculine identity to his character.

When I see Louis in the way he carefully styles his clothes, the care he puts into his hair, the way he sits with his legs crossed; keeping his back straight, constantly trying to keep control of everything around him because he has to, if not things fall apart.

At least this is what he is made to believe by his family and everyone around him. That it's on him to provide, to fix and contain himself while doing so.

Not to absolve Louis of anything because my pookie did some fuck shit, (cough) choosing dudes over his daughter multiple times, throwing Armand's abuse back in his face, using woman as prostitutes for profit, etc,.

Even still, I feel he's a character many do not know how to take or analyze properly because of the disconnect they feel with his identity and his actions.

I hope this shit makes sense. 😭

TL;DL I'm rewatching IWTV with a more Black Analysis approach.

[1dfanfictionbookcovers]

This Multiplicity of Powers by HelloAmHere ( @helloamhere )

Maybe there’s a universe where he doesn’t have to keep all his secrets on the inside. But this isn’t that universe. //an X-Men AU.

covers here (to come)

[yearnerspermit]

I’ve seen people bring up the fact that at the end of 2x04 Louis and Armand are fighting and then boom, start of 2x05 they’re the most sickly sweet in love we’ve seen them yet

I could be misremembering things. But uh. We haven’t heard anything about the removed diary pages since Louis asked to see them at the end of 2x01 and Armand agreed to gather them for him, have we?

Louis definitely hasn’t been given them because we know what’s in those pages, and we know it’s something Armand is trying to protect Louis from. But Louis was pretty insistent about it. And he hasn’t followed up on that at all since.

I’ve seen the interpretation that the beginning of 2x05 lovesick storytelling is just Louis and Armand putting up a united front to make up for fighting in front of Daniel before that. But the diary page discussion doesn’t happen in front of him. They have no reason to pretend in front of him for that particular thing.

Louis asked for the diary pages, Armand agreed. Louis was never given them. And we haven’t heard anything about it since.

I could see the performative unity interpretation of the 2x05 scene if it were in isolation. But both of these happen as they’re getting ready to sleep — getting ready to rest — and then the story abruptly forgets they ever happened. They parallel each other too closely for me to think the writers don’t want us to connect those

Armand, for as loving and protective as I know he’s trying to be, as well intentioned as I know he thinks he is, has rewritten the memory and mind and intentions and feelings of the love of his life multiple times in a matter of days

[dxxtruction]

Louis' "You're boring!" Could mean so many things, but I think what's most apparent about that line is that Armand takes no initiative just for himself. He's not really anybody, because he never goes out and finds himself or gets attached to anyone but Louis. Without Louis as his guide he's literally just sitting on a couch picking lint! That's the thing.

He orbits constantly around what would make Louis happy, and never really fully going what would make me happy? Ultimately that drive to please Louis is what drives him to torturing Daniel, not so much that he'd care to just do it. Ultimately, not giving proper care to Louis is just a way to make sure Louis knows he has to orbit around him as well, with shoving Lestat onto him just that other nail on the coffin. So, even if he fails to figure out how to make Louis happy with him, he still knows what Armand is good for, and better than.

That dependency is what drives Armand's abuse. It really just comes down to that. Armand doesn't even realize how suffocated he is by his own dependency. This is just how life is to him. (It shouldn't be lost either that dependency is a theme considering this episode also deals with addiction).

Daniel's fascinating because he's just so driven to be somebody. He's largely independent, he seeks things because he wants them. It's his drug to poke and prod at all the things that he shouldn't. Daniel's exciting because he lets Louis in to something different, lets him in to all this potential in another person that he can also do the same with for himself. It's a real connection. A two way street. It's easy to tell how Armand can be smothering then because he's never introducing him to anything really new, and most the ways both of them connect are all painful and traumatic. It's never just fun because there's always that layer of that pain. Fun died with Claudia.

50 years on they've gotten to a lot better place, both of them, but it's still that same shit. No seriously, "How is this any different from last time, Louis?"

Well... Because Armand's going to be, at the very least, making one [1] decision only for himself - and that's to hold power over Daniel's life. Fucking sick foreshadowing.

They aren't driving each other to the brink anymore but "The vampire is bored" STILL. Maybe it's even worse, despite being in better places, because Louis' sort of just been defeated by it. (I mean, can he even really leave this either?). He's accepting the dependancy cause he kind of has to. He'd literally ended up letting all the enjoyment be up where he can't reach [The book shelves]. Armand so desperately wants Louis happiness but what really ends up happening is that Louis ends up having to give Armand all his own. He's got no one or anything else to get it from. But like an iPad and an over the top eating ritual. Two extremes of what's just more lint picking.

This whole relationship is one I find just tragic inside and out. You have to just pity it, really. There's ways in which you can find yourself feeling bad for both of them. But you can only really be mad at Armand for any of it. Armand, who isn't even 'free' in any sense, having so little concept of his own independence, but is at the same time so controlling over other's. It's a tragic cycle. It's an infuriating one.

Louis at least has the mind to know when enough is enough. If just needing that extra push to get there. Armand's too scared of it being over to even try.

[adamnablelittledevil]

Trying to talk to somebody about Louis outside of Lestat and making it very clear to the other person and they still keep talking about loustat. And on the very first reply. It wasn't even, like, a while later the conversation accidentally went to loustat. The person didn't even try, really. SMFH.

[green-cinnamon-stick]

Apparently the theme of the past two days has been gut wrenching apologies. Because I watched the Helluva Boss "Apology Tour" last night. And decided to follow that with what was indisputably a worse apology tour from Lestat de Lioncourt. They were both beautifully done episodes. But I was left feeling empty after both. Both about the loss of love. However while "Apology Tour" felt salvageable, "I Could Not Prevent It" did not. There is no coming back from that. There is only trying to heal. Knowing you will always have a hole in your heart for what happened. Lestat will never recover, Louis will never recover, and Armand will never recover. Their knarled triplicate of love and loneliness. With poor Claudia as the victim caught in the crosshairs once again. I knew what was coming and yet the way the show tackled that storyline was....

I usually love rewatching the episodes to analyze things said and background and lies told. But I don't know if I'll be able to watch that one again. At least not for a very long while.

[vampcine]

like, one of the most outstanding takes i get from IWTV it's that, my focus is not entirely taken by the queer relationships.

yes, ofc i like them and like to read about them I FOUND THEM FASCINATING it's true !!!

but the series is just so complete as a WHOLE, that the fact that i can ship these old man together is not the main reason i like the show

every character has so many levels and complexity that their conflict they have with themselves is so interesting that my thoughts are completely consumed by their personalities and character development

and look, ik this is completely normal and all, but the main reason i watched IWTV was to get the gay content, which i got! but oh god, i gained so many things that are just as good

[doughguts-art]

I really like that one drawing of these two so I redrew it.

Louis looks like he's at the brink of tears and I think that's funny

oh my GOSH I love this Also yes, Louis seems to be near constantly at the brink of tears (I mean this is his talk audio, mans sounds like a whimpering puppy).

It's not necessarily intentional, just the way he is. I find it very endearing, and silly.

This is a great redraw! Really enjoy your twist on it. Thank you!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

if dorian didn't show up, do you think louis would have shot minnie?

I do. I know some people think either he wouldn't have or he would've missed so that's why the writers had him shoot Dorian instead, but mmmmmm no, I don't personally think so. I like to think that if he had taken the shot, his shaky hands would've caused him to shoot her fatally.

Mostly because I'm already so normal about the fact that of the Ericson crew, Marlon and Louis are the only ones with a body count. Well, that we know of, but shown to us in the game, at least. Plus, we know it's Louis' first kill.

Like yeah, Clementine and AJ become part of the crew and they have bigger body counts, and if we're counting indirect kills caused by actions, then Tenn has a count... and I guess everyone has blood on their hands for blowing up the boat... but I'm talking about killed directly with a weapon like....... I lied, I'm not normal about that at all, Louis and Marlon are the ones who have killed someone in Louis' route. I'm also not normal about the fact that Louis kills Dorian and then even as he's clearly in shock, he tries to go with Clementine to get AJ, and then later on when they talk about it, he says it feels like bile but not quite and he's glad he has it in him to do it.... listen, listen, listen... I'm obsessed with that.

Anyway, so if Louis shot Minerva, I think he would've accidentally killed her and can you imagine? He's already enough of a mess after killing the woman who pinned him down and tried to cut his finger off [or succeeded] but he knew Minerva, they were friends before the twins were taken. Even Violet couldn't kill her even though that would've been the smarter thing to do, and we know thanks to meta knowledge that killing her would've saved lives, but Violet couldn't, and I don't think Louis would intentionally either.

Speaking of Violet, if Louis killed Minerva, I hate to think about what that would've done to Vi. I think she might've actually left at that point, like what was planned before it got changed to her being burned. I don't think she would've attacked Louis over it, though, like yeah she attacked Clementine in the cell but Louis? I don't know, but I don't think so just because it's Louis and he'd be a mess about it anyway.

Though if he did kill her, it would be a neat parallel to draw... y'know, because Louis forgave AJ for killing Marlon even though he was pissed and heartbroken, and Violet was annoyed with him the entire time... but could she ever forgive Louis for killing Minerva? Y'know? We already have a similar parallel with AJ shooting Tenn, but still.

If Clementine killed Minerva in that moment, though, then I could see Violet attacking her since in her eyes, Clem proved her right.

So yeah, I get why they added the Dorian kill to his route. It adds another compelling element to Louis as a character, but we also need Minerva alive for episode 4; Louis can't kill her, he can't miss, and he's not going to stay with her because we need Violet to stay on the boat and him to be on shore for all routes.

[thelioncourts]

+

[lewyn-martell]

.

[sukibenders]

"Cannibalism as a metaphor for love is such an interesting narrative choice!" Until you add poc into the narrative and here come the millions of "think pieces" that either 1.) dehumanize them for the same thing their yte counterparts are praised and, sometimes, even...applauded for (eg. Yellowjackets and other supernatural media), 2.) or use it inappropriately to justify harm brought on to poc communities. But that's a conversation for another time.

(tw for some of the tags as well)

[gothmods]

My actual takeaway from iwtv is that claudia was right and lestat does deserve to die alone in a ditch

[eric-the-bmo]

Neighborhood Watch S2 Ep1: Shindig

Hello!! We finished the first session of season 2! And jesus christ- a lot happens, it was a bit disjointed! But I’m here to try and make sure it’s all coherent! (my own personal comments will be in the tags) So let’s go!

A week has passed since the Season One finale; the Dome’s been dropped, and everyone in the Main Cast knows that John is a monster. Since the Dome is gone, the rest of the town had been unlocked for us to explore!

During the week, Song buys new flowers for her house at the florist- she runs into Louis, who’s been buying native wildflowers to improve his lawn. He runs into some interns who work for the mayor, who offer him some free seed packets for some newly discovered flower- They grow quick, with thick thorny vines and stems, and are ready to bloom within a week with beautiful tie-dye-esque colors. Louis declines, not trusting anyone who’s a part of the government, and the florist owner, Kathy, is wary of the flowers due to how quick they grow; they can very easily become invasive.

Song does archery practice with Amira in her backyard- Amira has not mentioned John being a monster, and Song hasn’t asked her about it. Amira does mention, however, that while hiding in Song’s house during the s1 finale she found a black book with a red gem. That’s one of Song’s spellbooks, and Song vaguely says she uses it to help protect herself. Amira shows interest in it, and Song discreetly tries to sense if Amira has the potential to become a magic-user- but Amira’s aura indicates she doesn’t have any ability for magic at all, which is odd because all humans normally have the capacity for it; the center of her soul is dead-blue.

Shelby starts her Twitch-streaming again, with the internet being back up, and when she’s not busy with that John spends time with her; Not only because she’s his friend, but as a way to make up for making her worry so much (and to avoid the rest of the Main Cast). Sometime during the week John tries to go the park, but sees Louis there and immediately turns around to go home. He also fills in Emmett about the events of taking down the Hunter, omitting the fact that he is one himself.

Markus keeps to themself for most of the week, ordering take-out (there’s only one Uber driver in Greenville, btw, his name is Kyle and he sells weed on the side) and healing from their wounds. At some point, they get rid of Emmett’s corpse with carrion beetles, and use his bones to make bonemeal for various projects- including their worm farm. Towards the end of the week, they decide it’s been long enough- They march right up to the Doe/Waters household and knock on the door. Shelby is busy streaming, and so John answers. He freezes when he sees it’s Markus, and in a cold panic he closes the door. Through the window he sees that Markus looks sad, and they walk away. John feels awful, and is still reeling from the cold panic, but he doesn’t want to make it awkward by opening the door again, and they’ll want to talk about that night, oh no, god you fucked up- And so he decides to head to the park, as part of him still finds nature to be calming/ feeling a bit like home. He people watches, observing the librarian reading a book, until it starts to get darker out, and begins his walk home.

Meanwhile, going back to Markus walking home, I feel it’s time to mention that some more neighbors have moved in during the week- Two of them being Heath and Sammy Clark. Heath, a 5′6 blonde guy, jogs up to a dejected Markus and invites to him and Sammy’s get-together (in fact, they’ve sent out invites to the entire cul-de-sac). Markus doesn’t seem too into it, and heads home.

On the topic of new neighbors, I’ll summarize them now:

The Clarks have moved in across from Phil. Heath is an outgoing trans man, and Sammy is a very quiet and hairy ginger man who’s almost 7ft tall.

Bonnie McMurry moves in next to Shelby and John. She’s a sweet older lady in her mid 60s and lives alone, though she had a bunch of odd-shaped boxes with her labeled “Lois”. Shelby had asked about it, revealing Bonnie had an adult son who passed some years ago. During the night, loud music can be heard from her basement.

William Krieger is a socially awkward and reclusive man with a pencil stache. He keeps his pet rats in his many coat pockets.

Kenneth Feinstetter lives across the street from Louis. He is a loud and boisterous man with glasses who will tell anyone willing to listen to him about his ridiculous conspiracy theories regarding Greenville.

Some moving trucks come in at midnight. Lucretius Wayne introduces himself to the neighbors, sending out gift baskets of high quality. He’s charming, and even the Pattersons like him.

Louis recognizes Lucretius as the vampire Lestat. His ex.

But the time for the Clark’s party is here, and Markus decides they’re going. They get all dressed and give themself a pep-talk about how they’re going to make friends. They head outside and see the Pattersons are heading over to the party as well, and for a moment consider heading home, but then Lucretius appears with some wine and greets the Pattersons; Karen waves at him, and Bob seems... jealous? Markus decides to go, if only to see this drama unfold.

Louis doesn’t like being left out and decides to go. As he’s walking over, William approaches him and wants to be invited to the party. Louis makes a comment about if William is really going with a jacket that has so many pockets, and William responds he’s got to bring his family with him. Louis doesn’t like William, who’s standing far too close to him, and so when Philip approaches Louis takes his chance to leave. Kenneth approaches Louis and asks if he’s seen anything weird, or out of the ordinary? Louis almost says no, but then mentions that he’s never seen Lucretius leave his house til after sundown- he might as well try and direct suspicion towards his ex.

Song decides to bring some wine over, and as she exits her home Lucretious greets her; They compare the wine they’re bringing, and he offers her his arm. She takes it, and together they walk to the Clark household. Louis sees this, and though his expression remains calm, his grip tightens. The Sampath family is going; Amira waves to Song, and she and Lu wave back.

Markus approaches the Pattersons and asks how Karen is doing (bc, yknow, The Curse), and she says she’s doing much better. Bob thanks Markus, who says that while they don’t like each other, they don’t want his wife to die, and Bob says he’ll owe Markus a favor because of their help. Markus squirms away.

John and Shelby are going as well; John prepares a snack tray to bring along. As the two of them leave they hear music coming from Bonnie’s basement; as much as John wouldn’t admit it, part of him is glad he’s away from the noise.

The Clarks are greeting people as they enter; John approaches, sees the rest of the Main Cast and seriously considers leaving, but Shelby interprets this as general social anxiety and reassures him it’ll be fine. He makes eye contact with Song as she approaches- her gaze hardens, and John looks away. Lucretius asks Song if everything is okay; she responds by saying not everyone in the neighborhood is getting along at the moment. Lucretius is invited inside by Heath.

Inside is very spacious; the archways leading to the different rooms have been altered to be taller, and even then Sammy has to bend over a little bit to avoid hitting his head. There’s snacks, drinks, etc. Sammy offers Philip some alcohol, and he turns it down. Markus is in awe of how tall Sammy is, and heads to a corner to vibe. They can hear the spiders behind the bookshelf in their corner. William shows up to stand next to them, and Markus bluntly tells him that they want him to go away (”Please go away. I can say it in four different languages if you’d like.”) William’s smile starts to fade at Markus’ insistence, and he actually starts to look angry, but then gets distracted by a snack tray and scurries away.

John and Shelby have bumped into Kenneth, who’s informing the both of them about some kind of drama going down on Twitter. John doesn’t have social media, so he doesn’t quite know what he’s talking about, but he likes listening to people talk and wants Kenneth to like him- especially since Kenneth doesn’t know about his monstrous nature. Shelby brings up the fact she’s a Twitch Streamer, upon which Kenneth looks her up on the Internet, and then awkwardly excuses himself.

Everyone starts to vote for which party game to play. John approaches Philip, who’s trying to tune his guitar to bring some extra entertainment to the party, but Phil is having a bit of trouble tuning it. Lucretius appears and offers to tune it, and plays a flamenco riff (and winking at Louis), absolutely showing up whatever Phil was planning to do (John doesn’t interpret it that way, though, and thinks it’s nice how Lucretius helped out Phil). Markus and John both notice Bob Patterson and Louis going off into one of the other rooms of the house- Bob has noticed Louis’s reactions to Lucretius, and asks if they know each other. Louis tries to play it off- not every person with a southern accent knows each other, Bob- but Mr Patterson wants to know if Lucretius is anything similar to the monster he saw the previous week, if something supernatural is going on. Louis says nothing supernatural is going on with any of the new neighbors, in response Bob whispers something to him before storming out. Louis, apparently a bit shaken by what Mr Patterson had whispered, takes a moment before leaving the room and heading back to the party.

The group has decided on Two Truths One Lie. Some highlights:

William glaring at Markus the entire time

Almost every normal neighbor hoping that Markus’s “I have over 300 bugs at my house” bit is the lie

Everyone immediately guessing Philip’s lie (divorced but on good terms)

Kenneth putting one of his truths down as him “knowing the truth about this town.” Song asks him what that means, and Kenneth invites Song over to his house to look at his charts and notes some day.

Lucretius smiling at Louis the entire time is was Louis’ turn (we find out Louis is allergic to wool)

Flirting with Song when it was her turn (He’s been flirting with her the whole party, I should add.)

And then it’s Lucretius’s turn. He grins, and gives his options: 1) He was born in Louisiana. 2) He has a skin condition that prevents him from being out in the sun 3) ...And he’s bloodthirsty monster.

Louis knew this, but Song doesn’t pick up on the danger; like almost everyone else, she’s incrediby charmed by Lucretius. John was too, actually, but as soon as that was said, John realizes that Lucretius’s charm is all part of a lure to get prey, and that he could be something similar to John. Markus realizes the danger as well, and deduces that everyone in this room could be in danger- so they summon a bunch of cockroaches to scare everyone away. Almost no one notices it was them who caused the roaches- except for William, who’s been staring at them the whole time.

People start running away in the chaos- Heath faints, Sammy tries to stomp the bugs (shaking the house with this, actually), and Louis tries to get ahold of Song, but Lucretius has taken her hand before he could do anything and has gotten her out of there. Lucretius offers to walk her home, and she accepts. Once outside, John tries to make eye contact with Markus- a “did we both notice the same thing” kind of look. Markus sees this and looks almost panicked, an “oh god not again look” (Unknown if it was fear about John or the event happening), before their gaze becomes sad. A monstrous roar appears from inside the house, and Markus races inside. John tries to head in too, but Louis calls out to him and says they need to talk. John anxiously says something about getting rid of the roaches and attempts to get away, worried Louis wants to talk about That Night, but the Crooked stops him (”John. This isn’t about you”). 

Meanwhile, inside, Markus sees Sammy angrily stomping at the roaches. Markus, not wanting to have their bugs killed, leads them out with food. Sammy corners Markus and, speaking for the first time, growls a comment about how he didn’t see what Markus did was necessary, and that he knows about their kind and would appreciate that Markus never do that again. Markus stammers an apology and runs home.

Louis leads John to his house, where he asks what John knows about Lucretius. John tells him (how the charm is a lure, how he might be like him), and Louis says that John is strong enough to take him on in a fight, but not strong enough to survive; Song is in just as much danger in Lucretius’s presence as she is in John’s. At this comment John tense and seems angry, and Louis said it wasn’t meant to offend: He needs John’s help to kill Lucretius, after all. Stakes, garlic, crosses and etc might be useful. Also, Louis tells John, Bob knows about Lucretius, the house shook when Sammy tried to kill some roaches, William has rats in his pockets- there’s a Lot more to deal with than John being a monster, or even Louis’s ex being a vampire.

Meanwhile, Lucretius has walked Song back to her house. He says it was a pleasure to hang out with her this night, and Song agrees- but the night isn’t finished yet; Would he like to come inside for some coffee?

He accepts, and is invited inside.