#and the fact that sooo much of this comes from armand’s use of the mind gift too

[mothmage]

you like daniel molloy bc he’s weird and a monsterfucker, i like him bc he’s an addict and has trouble distinguishing reality from unreality. we are not the same

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi there! First of all, thank you very-very much for giving us polite and insightful answers all the time. It's always great to have people like you in the fandom :) Sooo this is yet another question from a confused fan who didn't read the books :D I know that Louis will encounter weakened Lestat in Paris at some point. But in the show we see Louis being very insistent on telling Daniel that Lestat is dead...does it mean that he&Armand originally had no intention to tell Daniel about the encounter? And what could be the specific reason for this?

Hey nonny!

Awww thank you, glad you like my ramblings :))) 💕

Hope I make sense *laughs*

I think that Louis had indeed not meant to tell Daniel much about Paris. It's in episode 6 as well, when he repeats the "we wanted to kill Lestat" to make sure Daniel has heard (only Daniel was asleep then). And then continues to detail their clever little plan in episode 7.

I think... I've just said it in the other ask re Loumand, too, but I think it all, the whole interview, boils down to the episode 1 comment "truth and reconciliation". Only he is spinning a tale for Daniel of their past as he wishes to remember some things (or Armand helps him stomach some things a bit better) while actually trying to provide the stage for Armand and Daniel to hook up again. Obviously this would mean the Devil's Minion happened to a large part already, and I personally think that is likely. Only Armand decided differently back then, for whatever reason, and wiped Daniel's memory. And Louis is trying to fix that, by making Daniel remember the truth. And then reconcile him with Armand.

Lestat... Lestat, his "death" and everything pertaining to him is much too personal for Louis. Too painful. He would have preferred not to go there I think (of course Daniel will now force him to, and, despite the fact that Louis so cleverly made Daniel delete the old interview... I bet Daniel has his iCloud and/or TimeMachine properly set up.^^ He will tear the narrative apart^^)

Also, the whole scene with Lestat and Claudia in Paris... will force some of Armand's actions into focus (The little Frankenstein moment and the tower comes to mind, which will in turn make Daniel question the narrative again). And I bet that was something Louis actually hadn't wanted to do, because reconciling with someone who did that? Not the best premises. :))

All in all it's a multi-layered game Louis is playing, imho. Some of Armand's reactions were too... honest, to be "in" on everything. He was surprised by some of the things Louis did and said. I bet Louis told him that he wanted to redo the interview and Armand reluctantly went along with it, and the little play (eternity can be dull). But I also bet he didn't really know of Louis trying to reconcile him with Daniel.

Also, if Lestat "were dead" in the tale Louis is telling... Daniel would be forced to concentrate on other things - and lets be real, Lestat is too interesting a character to just lose sight of for a journalist like Daniel, so in order to make Daniel lose interest in Lestat... he would need to be dead.

[matrixwhore]

this tit for tat lmao 😂 😂

dan: you the most dangerous man in the world (interesting that the two men assumed were a billionaire and a leader who incited a war)

lou: well you’re old and you don’t remember me

dan: well if i did write about you they gonna think it’s bullshit

lou: i see your sick. Parkinson’s?

dan: yeah and you the secret sickness of the world you over-rich bastard. shouldn’t you be in a coffin?

lou: imma over-rich bastard remember 🤑.

like damnnnnn y’all good?? 😅 the way it’s all in polite conversation too. too fucking funny. they not good tho louis bit danny (presumed) and left a mark like a kiss. 💋😔

interesting the way that moment he attacks dan is framed at the start where louis found him disrespectful and daniel counters he was high and at first its like yeah what did you expect louis?? but then when we get deeper into it (more nuance) we find out that daniel asked to be turned after hearing about the train scene with claudia and lestat (i’ll confirm when we get there) with like zero empathy at all (which he still kinda approaches her story with even sober so that says a lot). so it really was disrespectful. yeah he was high and louis didn’t that really have a grasp on the story he was telling, but if danny heard that situation with claudia and was like turn me bc you’re wasting your vampiric power thats sooo….then he goes “maybe your story wasn’t worth telling” keeping in mind they were on that bit about claudia���hmmm daniel, daniel, daniel.

love that louis calling danny out on his bullshit, about whether the story is worth telling (given his earlier question about why get closer to the bug? what is worth the risk?) and that he [daniel] doesn’t do puff portraiture, by asking danny why he’s here gets him to admit that his demeanor is a response to knowing he’s in the recording but having no memory of it. which is a sensitive thing for older people as they age and face mortality. one of the things that goes is memory and a life after heavy drug use he probably feels strongly about his ability to remember. he’s probably angry about why he doesn’t remember the interview, was it the drugs, the trauma or did they fuck with his mind and cover up attacking him? he came in on the defensive with good reason. plus it gets him to admit that no he wasn’t worthy of the story then because he wasn’t ready.

that opens danny to the truth about himself then in the same way he does louis in ep 7 and throughout the interview.

louis: i too find the tapes lacking [yeah i too find the previous entries into this world lacking, looking at you 94’ film. idc idc.]

Armand obviously has a hand in the way this is playing out. i think less brainwashing theory more controlling the narrative as much as possible in order to protect more than anything. that’s where i stand on that theory in case you wanted to know. Like he becomes increasingly more annoyed as things veer from what he pre-approved. I like to think that little bloodletting exhibitionist scene was a little treat for him taking all this on so well. he’s being wound up tho i can’t wait to see to what end tho. i can’t wait to see what goes through his mind when he is excused or he excuses himself. i swear he’s back their counting to ten while killing a random staff.

Daniel: I’m an old man with all the triggers that come with it

turns out so is Louis. in fact he is an even older man practically made up of triggers.

Daniel: So Mr. Du Lac. How long have you been dead

imma keep it a buck Danny it don’t seem like he knows for sure….

iwtv ep 1 rewatch thoughts

[i am eating Popeyes right now and i promise didn’t plan it this way, but seeds were planted so here we are.]

first things first we [the viewers] are introduced to our two time Pulitzer Prize winning professor Daniel Malloy. We all come to this course with a variety of understandings of the topic just like in any other course. Right off the bat he’s telling us of his expertise in a pervious recording and at the same time we witness his visible skepticism of his own claims in the more nuanced present setting. if you think he’s the only reliable character it’s very much being challenged in the first few moments, which i’m sure has been pointed out many, many times.

he flips the channel there’s a war happening (clue about where we’re at in terms of timeline?? idk. i’ve only engaged with AMCverse so maybe?) and flips it again and the fantastical is going to become a reality. he just has to put the pieces he doesn’t have together so he sits down to do a puzzle (a devils minion easter egg apparently) and he’ll get those pieces by accepting the extended invitation sent to him by none other than Louis de Pointe du Lac, which picks up from his mail box after trying to fit missing pieces together. very solid intro.

Daniel: Why get any closer to the bug than i need to?

he says before he gets on an international flight and exposes himself to countless risks. It’s what he does tho right? i’ve seen a couple sc of the books where he describes Armand as looking like an insect. he is not put off by getting close to perceived bugs. Its funny tho as he’s asking the question, he’s unboxing the answer—louis’ handwritten invitation—as to what would be worth risking your life for right above the devils minion easter egg.

-bc the bug has been following your career (like the way armand followed him yes?) and you like that

-bc the bug wants you and has invited you and you are a risk taker in the ways an investigative journalist has to be to get to the story/truth. in a way a man who refused to face his mortality chooses to be as pointed out by the lovely tumblr user blueiight here (hope it’s okay that i linked you. lmk)

Louis definitely clinging to threads of the past. in 2020 he’s sending hand written letters (on papers with Lestat’s initials) instead of emails and original cassette recordings instead of digital recordings. A lot if not all of his threads to humanity are threads to the past (“in my day” old headass) since right now he seemingly doesn’t really have any connection to humanity in the modern time. being an out of touch billionaire will do that to you, on top of being a century old vampire.

I think thats another evil that gets overlooked when some of y’all are looking for “he’s just as bad” reasons to pin on him. Instead of the imaginary he bit claudia before bringing her to Lestat…like…in addition to his pimping he’s literally a billionaire. like its right there. that encapsulates the worst ways to exist in this world. he the manpire of humanity as well like…

which i guess is goes into the many faces of violence that fade to the background and don’t get called out enough. violence isn’t alway brutality and i noticed just this past couple of days people only see violence when it’s in tandem with brutality, but im not about to sit here and lecture y’all cause that’s not at all fun. and thats why im doing this. bc its fun. i just think this show does a wonderful job of showing the spectrum of violence and evil and i think you do a great disservice to what they have done here if you’re only seeing those things from one angle. and i think thats one of the reasons why so many people struggle with Lestat and don’t appreciate how masterfully (no pun intended) he’s been crafted bc you don’t recognize those things [violence and evil] anywhere else in the story as being as bad.

if thats Daniels box of the past he doesn’t have much kids stuff, just a pink stuffed animal and a bike helmet, so i wonder how much of his kids lives he’s really missed. Like it doesn’t even seem like there was a joint custody situation where they spent a great deal of time at his home as well. idk maybe he has things in storage. but i’m curious about that and how that parallels with how louis let his own child down as has been pointed out.

ngl he look tf good while he listening back to this tape 😩😅 someone zoomed in on his muscle flexing when he pressed play and i just want to say to you i agree wholeheartedly with you whoever you are.

he mad tho. snatched that letter up quick after pausing the tape. 😂

He dives into the (possible) eternal sunset on a highway that looks like water.

If this is a way to get Lestat’s attention, which I think it can be said is a part of why this second interview is happening given the papers Louis chose to write the invitation on, I think its very pointed that Louis is introducing himself as a keeper of knowledge considering one of his (possible*) final moments with lestat as pointed out here.

one of the last things Lestat ever did before he was poisoned, had his neck sliced, and was dumped in a garbage yard to feed on rats, was humiliate Louis about his love of books and claim the role of the knowledge keeper in their family. I think its a very pointed message that this is a book (especially with all the mediums available in 2020), of course Louis loves books, but also Lestat has beef with books lol (Between Gabrielle and Louis). If there’s anyway to get a rise out him (hehe) its a book where Louis is identified as the knowledge keeper of the immortal life Lestat gave to him. and it’s written by a savory inferior as well. louis could have written the book himself. God knows he has the skill, time and the access to do it so that was intentional. Lestat gone drop through the ceiling of the dubai penthouse in a rage.

*possible final moments bc we don’t know yet if Louis has seen Lestat since Paris etc. etc. which i think he will see him in paris bc of Rolins “can’t burn him twice” comment, but i’m open to being wrong.

i haven’t pointed out anything that hasn’t been discussed extensively, but this is a verrryy solid opening introduction to the show. right off jump they established this to be a well crafted episode.

i need yall to know right now that as we go forward in this episode i cannot be held accountable for who i become when faced with brown eyed louis’ fine self. you’ve seen it yourselves please don’t hold this against me!!!! i am not god’s strongest soldier! i am weak at the knees! i will buckle! i will fold!