#and the complete lack of discussion of Louis

[camellia-thea]

so @coprinellus-cluster sent me an ask about daniel and armand and why i find them so compelling. that turned into a 2000 word essay. this is very armand focused, but i promise i love daniel too.

anne rice initially wrote armand as an antagonist, and even went into writing qotd with him intended to be part of the antagonistic force, however she found while writing the devil's minion chapter that armand had become someone completely different. i love that. i love that a lot. i have sources for this somewhere but they're buried. i'll add 'em if i find them again.

i love how the chapter takes two characters who had very little identity beyond their interaction with louis and lestat. daniel was functionally exclusively a framing device in the first book. he didn't really have a character, and he literally was not named. armand was defined almost entirely by his relationships, and while his sections have always been my favourite parts of iwtv and tvl, i think there was a lack of depth there that gets discussed so much more in the devil's minion chapter.

armand is a character who has always defined himself by the people around him. from marius, to santino, to the children of darkness, to lestat, to the théâtre des vampires, to louis. each link ushers in a different aspect of himself, and the show deals with the amazingly well. the arun/amadeo/armand, the good nurse or the gremlin, it's phenomenal. daniel in the books is meant to be the next part of the transition. armand goes to both lestat and louis, show me how to live in this modern era.

"We cannot be Marius for you," I said, "or the dark lord, Santino[…]" "You have to suffer through this emptiness," I said, "and find what impels you to continue. If you come with us we will fail you and you will destroy us." "How suffer through it?" [Armand] looked up at me and his eyebrows came together in the most poignant frown. "How do I begin? You move like the right hand of God! But for me the world, the real world in which Marius lived, is beyond reach. I never lived in it. I push against the glass. But how do I get in?" "I can't tell you that," I said. "You have to study this age, " Gabrielle interrupted. Her voice was calm but commanding. He looked towards her as she spoke. "You have to understand the age, " she continued, "through its literature and its music and its art. You have come up out of the earth, as you yourself put it. Now live in the world. " [...] "And what better place is there than the center of things, the boulevard and the theater? " Gabrielle asked. He frowned, his head turning dismissively, but she pressed on. "Your gift is for leading the coven, and your coven is still there."

from the vampire lestat

this conversation you can see is what leads him to approach louis for the same thing.

["]It is through you that I can save myself from the despair which I’ve described to you as our death. It is through you that I must make my link with this nineteenth century and come to understand it in a way that will revitalize me, which I so desperately need. It is for you that I’ve been waiting at the Théâtre des Vampires. If I knew a mortal of that sensitivity, that pain, that focus, I would make him a vampire in an instant. But such can rarely be done. No, I’ve had to wait and watch for you. And now I’ll fight for you. Do you see how ruthless I am in love? Is this what you meant by love?["]

from interview with the vampire

(i do think the little "if i found a mortal with that sensitivity, that pain, that focus, i would make him a vampire in an instant", but that's not the point of this)

armand is a creature of habit, of cycles, and daniel is meant to be the next member of the loop. he uses daniel in the exact same fashion, to usher himself into the new era;

"You are my teacher," Armand told him. "You will tell me everything about this century. I am learning secrets already that have eluded me since the beginning. You'll sleep when the sun rises, if you wish, but the nights are mine."

from queen of the damned

but, something changes with daniel. and i think it is what is missing from louis; daniel has a passion for life and living that louis lacks. he's interviewing people to reveal their lives!

suddenly armand is not being ushered into the new era, he's living it. you get his excitement, his delight, his engagement. he is no longer detached from the world in the way that he is in the first two novels. he is bright and full of life.

daniel remarks a few times about how armand's laughter and delight makes him suddenly look mortal. i find it enthralling. how this one mortal, who's life purpose initially is revealing the lives of people around him to the world, brings the 500 year old vampire joy and delight and that joy stays.

i love that this mortal man could bring anne rice to completely change her perception of armand.

and on daniel's part, he is utterly fascinating. he falls in love with the monster chasing him, for his monstrosity.

Daniel stared hard at the creature before him, this thing that looked human and sounded human but was not. There was a horrid shift in his consciousness; he saw this being like a great insect, a monstrous evil predator who had devoured a million human lives. And yet he loved this thing. He loved its smooth white skin, its great dark brown eyes. He loved it not because it looked like a gentle, thoughtful young man, but because it was ghastly and awful and loathsome, and beautiful all at the same time. He loved it the way people love evil, because it thrills them to the core of their souls. Imagine, killing like that, just taking life any time you want it, just doing it, sinking your teeth into another and taking all that that person can possibly give. Look at the garments he wore. Blue cotton shirt, brass-buttoned denim jacket. Where had he gotten them? Off a victim, yes, like taking out his knife and skinning the kill while it was still warm? No wonder they reeked of salt and blood, though none was visible. And the hair trimmed just as if it weren't going to grow out within twenty-four hours to its regular shoulder length. This is evil. This is illusion. This is what I want to be, which is why I cannot stand to look at him. Armand's lips had moved in a soft, slightly concealed smile. And then his eyes had misted and closed. He had bent close to Daniel, pressed his lips to Daniel's neck.

from queen of the damned

this passage has lived in my mind since i first read queen of the damned. daniel loves armand in spite of his beauty, not because of it. it is the monstrosity that he loves. and it's exactly what armand needs. their relationship has such a push-pull dynamic as well. daniel up and leaving when they have fights, armand waiting him out before reappearing. armand and daniel’s relationship is a direct link to addiction, which i think is really interesting. daniel is quite literally addicted to armand and that’s something i think is really interesting when it comes to mortal relationships with vampires.

there’s also something in the power dynamics between them with armand exerting control over daniel through finances, but it’s really interesting because daniel is rich. he got a lot of money from publishing interview. armand gets him so many things, buys him houses and clothes and a fucking island, and daniel lets him. and i don’t necessarily think daniel has the capacity to really say no here, but it really does make their dynamic super interesting.

i think daniel gives armand the potential to be more than who he was made to be, the roles he was put into. the muse, the protégé, the cult leader, the coven member, he lingers in his own victimhood, and i think it’s a very interesting thing. daniel is an escape from that. daniel loves the vampire, loves the monster, and doesn’t necessarily want something from armand beyond being pulled into vampirism with him. and that is something that armand very distinctly has control to say no to. and i think that’s very important to armand.

"Tell me what you want, Daniel, and I'll get it for you. Why do you keep running away?" "Lies, you bastard. Say that you wanted me. You'll torment me forever, won't you, and then you'll watch me die, and you'll find I that interesting, won't you? It was true what Louis said. You watch them die, your mortal slaves, they mean nothing to you. You'll watch the colors change in my face as I die." "That's Louis's language," Armand said patiently. "Please don't quote that book to me. I'd rather die than see you die, Daniel." "Then give it to me! Damn you! Immortality that close, as close as your arms." "No, Daniel, because I'd rather die than do that, too."

from queen of the damned

this is another moment that lives in my head, i’d rather die than do that too. there is something so electric between them. how willing daniel is to give in to armand, and yet how willing he is to fight for it, for them. i don’t read daniel’s obsession with vampirism being entirely for himself by the end of the era. i truly think that there is an element of it so that he can remain with armand.

but there’s something else there too, that i don’t think the other relationships we see in the vampire chronicles really capture, and that is the mundanity that they relish in together. they go out together, to clubs, to performances, to museums and art galleries, to bars and to rock concerts, but they also experience life together in a way that lestat and louis don’t really convey when narrating their novels. daniel and armand have made a life together, and it’s weird and unconventional but it works. they have houses together, the little villa on night island, it’s just. genuine. it has all the trappings of the unhealthy, awful nature that a mortal and vampire relationship can be, and simultaneously they’ve managed to create something that is domestic. and i don’t think daniel leaving armand, and often the country they were in, necessarily negates it. they’re not good people, it’s not a good relationship, but it’s enough.

and armand does love daniel enough to turn him. that’s a significant part of it. when he is legitimately faced with daniel’s death, he cannot bear the idea of losing him.

and. there’s a bigger part too. daniel is what stops armand from wanting to die.

"Years ago," Armand interrupted, "it wouldn't have mattered to me, all this." "What do you mean?" "But I don't want it to end now. I don't want to continue unless you-" His face changed slightly. Faint look of surprise. "I don't want you to die."

from queen of the damned

daniel has fundamentally changed armand. armand does not want to die. and he does not want to live without daniel.

and it’s awful, and yet it’s enthralling. there was never going to be an outcome in which daniel did not die. it is the fate of any mortal, and most immortals as well. and i think they both knew that. and that’s the tragedy of it too, the beautiful, horrific nature of them both is that armand was always going to be the one who killed daniel, and the only question was whether daniel would remain afterwards.

and i think that armand was never going to let daniel go.

daniel and armand love each other, and i think rice did a disservice to them both by setting them aside in later books, but i won't go into that here.

[bosbas]

Chapter 14: honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy

series masterlist previous part || epilogue

pairing: colin bridgerton x enemy!fem!reader WC: 2.7k words

Warnings: period-typical gender roles, healthy amounts of pining, idiots in love!!, slow burn burning a little quicker now, some smooching

Summary: It took precisely two days in England for you to utterly despise Colin Bridgerton. It took him approximately twelve hours after that to hate you right back. But he doesn't care that you're the only person in the ton who doesn't like him. You're set to marry someone else anyway, right?

A/N: soooo bittersweet nearing the end of their story </3 sorry for my absence!! but i hope these two getting their lives together is worth it

August 6, 1816 – And finally, this author would have been remiss not to notice a certain Bridgerton’s lovesick behavior at the Worthington ball yesterday evening. And though I’m certain no one who attended the ball would be remotely surprised by this information, the members of the ton who did not can rest knowing that Colin Bridgerton seems to remain utterly captivated by Y/N Montclair.

The pair danced together twice despite not officially courting. This would be highly unusual if the look in Mr. Bridgerton’s eyes whenever he was near Lady Y/N was not a very familiar one. It seems that this season might not be a complete disaster for Lady Y/N after all, given that one man is still fighting for her hand. Whether or not she knows that Mr. Bridgerton feels this way remains to be seen.

“On y va,” said Louis, grabbing you by the arm and dragging you out the front door (Let’s go).

You blinked, surprised that the rest of your family was already piling into a carriage headed toward Bridgerton house. Heavens, you really needed to start paying attention.

The past few days– ever since your father told you Colin would be a suitable match, to be exact– you had been so deep in thought you’d barely managed to function. The possibility of marrying Colin Bridgerton, if he even wanted you, was a daunting one, and you had opted to devote hours of thought to this very notion.

In fact, your pondering had been so extensive that you hadn’t even managed to read Lady Whistledown. After a summer of religiously reading the gossip sheet, you had somehow missed the last two installments without even remembering to look for it at the breakfast table.

Hopping into the carriage alongside Louis, you mulled over the previous night’s ball. Colin had asked you to dance twice, which was highly unusual for two people in polite society who weren't courting. However, you reasoned that he probably was trying to compensate for all the time he spent being a nuisance. Besides, he was a great dancer, and you really didn’t mind.

Especially now that you were friends, it was exceedingly easy to spend time with him.

But did you love him?

The question lingered in your mind, unmoving and unrelenting.

Wouldn’t you know for sure if you did? Was your uncertainty indicative of something deeper? A fundamental lack of romantic feelings for Colin, perhaps? Your sister, Isabelle, and her husband were completely in love with one another, and you weren’t quite sure you felt the same way about the third Bridgerton.

---

As soon as you stepped through the garden door, your eyes immediately scanned the garden, searching for Colin. Finding him engaged in some sort of competition with Gregory and Benedict involving three Pall Mall balls and a fencing sword, you giggled to yourself as you started toward them.

“Y/N,” a hand on your arm interrupted your purposeful walk.

You turned to see Eloise’s excited face, and you couldn’t help but return the smile.

“Hello!” you greeted, kissing both of her cheeks as she dragged you toward a shadier spot.

As she launched into a lengthy explanation about her latest read, you listened to your friend intently. Of course, it had only been a few days since you’d last seen her, but the two of you always found something or other to discuss, and you found yourself in deep conversation with Eloise before you knew it.

What felt like a few minutes later, but was probably closer to an hour, you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“I didn’t know you were here,” said Colin, not sounding entirely happy with you. “I thought you would have come by and said hello by now,” he mumbled, eyes downcast.

You smiled fondly at his pouting face, unable to help yourself as you looked at this grown man completely worked up over the fact that Eloise had gotten to you first.

“That would be my fault,” laughed Eloise. “You don’t have a monopoly over Y/N, you know. But I fear I’ve talked her ear off already, so I’ll leave you to it.”

Colin rolled his eyes but bent down to kiss both of your cheeks anyway.

“It’s lovely to see you,” you said softly, eyes fixated on his long eyelashes fanning over his face. He really was very handsome, when you thought about it.

You had to physically clasp your hands together to keep from reaching out to him once he pulled back, and you scolded yourself for forgetting your manners. This was certainly not an appropriate way to act as an unmarried lady!

“You’re not upset with me, then?” asked Colin, looking you up and down.

You laughed. “Why would I be?”

“I dunno,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I suppose I was just used to it after so long, I don’t know what came over me.”

“Well, we’re friends now,” you reassured him. “So there’s no need to worry.”

“Right, friends,” Colin repeated after you, not entirely pleased with the way the words felt coming out of his mouth.

Suddenly, you heard a scream from across the garden, and a bright blue ball shooting in your direction. Turning around just in time to see Gregory’s horrified expression, you came face to face with what was certain to be a Pall Mall ball directly to the face.

But a strong pair of arms grabbed your waist and pulled you away. For a moment you couldn’t even comprehend what had just happened, and you were simply enjoying the feel of Colin’s arms around you as he hugged you tight to him.

Realizing that he had saved you from what would have most certainly been a black eye, you turned your head up to look at Colin. But he was already looking down at you, his grip still tight as he held you to his chest.

“Are you alright?” he asked, eyes not letting go of yours.

You nodded slowly, not trusting yourself to speak because you were so mesmerized by his eyes. He let out a sigh of relief, loosening his grip on you ever so slightly.

Hearing Gregory’s footsteps approaching, Colin quickly let go of you and cleared his throat awkwardly. But he couldn’t find it in himself to let you go completely, so he settled for leaving a hand on your waist, thumb rubbing up and down comfortingly.

Needing to keep feeling his touch, you raised one of your hands and reached across your waist, placing your hand softly over his and loosely interlocking your fingers.

“I’m so sorry!” yelled Gregory once he reached you. “I wasn’t looking and I swear I would have never hit you on purpose and-”

You laughed, cutting him off. “It’s quite alright, Gregory. Though I’m not certain your mother would agree,” you teased, nodding to where Violet was sitting, clearly furious at her son.

“Oh, no,” he groaned. “I’ve got to go save myself,” he said seriously, immediately taking off running across the garden and away from his mother.

You heard Colin laughing at Gregory’s antics next to you, and as you turned around to watch him with his head thrown back and a roguish smile on his face, you took in a sharp breath.

It might have been the sun shining through his hair, the mirth in his eyes, or the fact that he had just saved you from a very painful fate, but you felt like you were seeing him for the first time. You felt a tidal wave of realization so strong come over you that you had to take a step back.

“Oh,” you said softly, barely audible. Oh.

You loved Colin Bridgerton.

That’s what this feeling was. Feeling completely safe around him, so comfortable being yourself, and wanting more of him in any way possible. The need to feel his touch, the pull you felt toward him every time he was near you, and the desire to keep speaking with him for hours– it all made sense now.

You loved Colin Bridgerton.

Of course you did. It was frankly astounding that you hadn’t realized it sooner. But you couldn’t ruin the friendship you’d built with him over some silly feelings, could you?

Despite wanting to run into Colin’s arms, you knew you needed to get as far away from him as possible right then. So, you excused yourself to sit on a more secluded bench where you could think freely about the consequences of your realization.

---

It had been two hours since you had last spoken to Colin, and he was getting antsy.

Everything had been fine. Or at least that’s what he thought. Gregory had catapulted a ball directly at your head, and he had grabbed you and pulled you out of the way. And then refused to let go of you. All because he was too taken with you to remember how to act properly as a member of polite society.

Colin started pacing. You had probably figured out that he loved you. His behavior today had been a dead giveaway. There was simply no possibility of you still not knowing of his feelings for you, and Colin was three seconds away from losing his mind.

You had found out and now you were probably avoiding him, how dreadfully embarrassing. He needed to fix this now. Before your family went home and you never let him see you again.

Wringing his hands behind his back as he approached the bench you had been sitting on for the past two hours, Colin cleared his throat softly.

“Do you have a moment to speak?” he asked, overly formal as he navigated uncharted waters.

You nodded in response, gesturing toward the empty seat next to you. “I suppose we should,” you assented, the past few hours of nerves completely soothed by Colin’s presence.

“I very much appreciate our friendship as it is,” stated Colin. “And I really can’t apologize enough for my conduct earlier in the season.”

“Oh, Colin, that’s not-”

“No, no just let me finish. Otherwise, I won’t have the courage to get it out.”

Colin swallowed before continuing.

“I… I know that you want to marry a titled man and I know I don’t have a fortune. I am a third son with no talents and… and yet, I love you anyway. And I am so sorry. I promise I never meant for this to happen, but I love you. I do.”

You stared dumbly at him, butterflies erupting in your stomach as you realized that he had the same feelings for you as you did for him.

Admittedly, it was a bit entertaining watching him get all worked up over nothing, you mused. But it seemed like he was determined to keep speaking, so you only nodded as he continued.

“Y/N, you are all I think about, and all I picture as my future,” Colin said, eyes not quite reaching yours. “And I’ve never come across someone quite like you, who makes me feel the way you do. I know it’s horrible timing and it’s not at all my place to feel this way or to tell you. You must understand that I am so sorry, but I love you anyway.”

Then, lifting his worried eyes to meet yours, he started reaching for your hand, stopping himself before his fingers touched yours. “I hope you can forgive me because I would be more than happy to attend your wedding and see your dreams realized. But, believe me. I’ve tried, and I can’t help it. Not with you.”

“Colin,” you whispered, hand reaching out to touch his cheek.

He shook his head in response and closed his eyes, clearly pained by the thought of seeing you with anyone else.

“You can send me away if you like,” Colin assured you. “If you tell me to never speak to you again, I will. I’m so sorry. I just needed you to hear it from me.”

“Colin,” you repeated this time a bit more forcefully.

His eyes shot open, and he furrowed his brows at your smiling face. “Yes?”

You giggled. “I think I’d like to kiss you now.”

“What?” he said, dumbfounded.

“I’d like to kiss you now if that’s alright with you,” you said, biting your lip as you held back a laugh.

Colin took a second to process what you had just said. You nodded at him, confirming that you did, in fact, want to kiss him, and his face broke out into the biggest smile you’d ever seen on his face.

Placing a hand on your cheek, he fluttered his eyes closed and put his lips on yours. You brought a hand behind his neck and pulled him in closer, amazed at the feeling of finally kissing someone.

You rather suspected you had wanted this for a while, you thought, your lips moving in sync with Colin’s. How on earth you had managed to keep your hands to yourself before this you had no idea, but as the kiss deepened, you brought your hands to his shoulders and pulled Colin in, wanting to be as close to him as humanly possible.

Suddenly remembering why you were kissing in the first place, you pulled away from Colin, who whined softly as you leaned away from him, chasing your lips with his.

“I love you, too, you know,” you said, pecking Colin as he stared at you like you had personally hung every star in the sky.

Colin groaned under his breath, breathing deeply as he once again placed his lips on yours. “I love you,” he said between kisses, not ready to let you go long enough to say it properly. “So much.”

You smiled into the kiss, slipping your tongue into Colin’s mouth and tentatively exploring the new feeling. How you had ever lived without this was beyond you, but you supposed you had never really wanted this before you met him. Even at the beginning of the season, when you supposedly hated him, you could recall more than a few times you had felt this exact desire.

“I hope you don’t plan on defiling my daughter if you don’t intend to marry her,” came your father’s deep voice from behind you two.

Instantly separating from one another, you both coughed awkwardly and tried to disentangle yourselves.

“Marry her?” sputtered Colin, momentarily forgetting that your father had walked in on the two of you kissing a mere ten seconds ago. “I could do that? You would let me marry her?”

Your father laughed. “Even after that," he said, gesturing in Colin's general direction, "it would still be an honor to have you join our family.”

As you watched him walk away, Colin squeezed your hand, laughing gleefully. “Did you hear that? I get to marry you!”

“Were you not planning on marrying me after kissing me?” you scolded, tone only half accusatory.

“No, I mean– Well, I was just–” he rushed out, eyes searching yours frantically.

“It’s alright,” you laughed. “I was only joking.”

Colin let out a sigh of relief, kissing you firmly on the lips. “You never cease to vex me, woman.”

“Isn’t that what you like most about me?” you teased, biting down on his lip softly.

He groaned, unable to contain his desire for you. “We’d better get married tomorrow if you’re going to keep doing that.”

Then, separating himself from you slightly, Colin turned serious again. “You do want to marry me, don’t you? I know I obviously do, and your father said I have his permission, but do you want to?”

You bit your lip, full of affection for the boy who stole your heart. Even after kissing him and telling him you loved him, he still wanted to ensure that you wanted to marry him.

“I think we’d make a good pair, don’t you?” you said, nodding at him.

“I’ve thought that since the moment I saw you.”

“Well, we got there in the end didn’t we?”

“And I’d do it all again just to be able to marry you,” Colin assured you, kissing you on the nose.

—

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[donnapalude]

i understand the need to treat discussions about louis's faults towards claudia with care, as he is also a victim of domestic abuse and there is a risk of vilifying him by misplacing blame. at the same time, i find the insistence to frame him as a completely constricted individual, deprived of all agency at all times, with no motives driving him apart from terror, quite reductive, as well as a misguided (although maybe well-meaning) attempt to create the image of a perfect victim whose choices need not and cannot be examined as all leading back to complete coercion and lack of options. i take issue with this for two main reasons. first, stating that finding any moral failure or mixed motivations in a victim of domestic abuse would be wrong because it equates to blaming them for the abuse is actually stating that, well, you somehow hold the underlying idea that if they ever behaved less than perfectly they would be less of a victim. second, there is a strong implication that claudia has no real reason to resent him for his behaviour during the years they spent with lestat. which i think is simply not what the narrative is trying to tell us.

i will not even scratch the surface of this discussion, but just as a start. louis has no fault for his own abuse, nor for not being able to magically manage lestat's behaviour towards claudia. lestat's actions are his own responsibility. turning her while knowing she would be subjected to the inarguable difficulties presented by vampirism, her frozen body, and lestat is also not something he is exactly culpable of: the alternative was to let her die. it is however something he became responsible for. simply in the sense that choosing to give birth (or adopt, if you want to follow that analogy) brings a child under your care. which means that, from that moment on, you have power over them and you are responsible for their emotional and physical well-being. you are not in an equal position, not even as co-victims under the same abuser. duties of protections are not erased by abuse, they are just constricted to the options reasonably available.

what does this mean with regard to his actual treatment of claudia? that he could have protected her better from lestat? i think the answer is we actually don't know and neither does he. and this is often true even for victims/parents of victims in real life. it is impossible to reconstruct a retrospective of what choices would have/could have posed a better result. i don't think establishing this serves any point as an unprovable hypothetical. i rather think the point and the crux of his struggles with himself are the movitations that led to his actual choices (or lack thereof). what we know is the following: lestat was abusive and violent towards both louis and claudia, generating a sensible fear towards his reactions and reasonable hesitance to move against or away from him in any way; louis was however also genuinely in love with him, longed for him, and did not want him truly harmed until the very end; and he was also trying to fullfill his own journey of redemption and dreams of a family through claudia; he was extremely reliant on claudia for his mental-stability (another post needed to fully expound on this, which at some point i hope to write); he was genuinely happy that she chose to stick around the family after 105 and encouraged her to help manage lestat's moods to keep the family stable; however, he was also ready to sacrifice that stability for her when she wanted to escape; due to his love, he could not take an active role in the murder of lestat until the last moments and then stopped the burning that would have ensured his death as definitive.

as always, the picture painted is quite complicated. on one hand, the abuse could explain most of louis's actions, if we were to read them summarised on paper. and yet the show goes to the trouble of reconstructing the personal and at times selfish desires that were intertwined with simple fear in leading his choices. what emerges for me is a very normal human truth, which is that it is simply quite rare that we take decisions based on only one motive: our choices are most often the sum of a number of different interests that converge towards a same center. in this case, maintaining a relationship with lestat and keeping the peace by bending and asking claudia to bend around the management of lestat's anger, were reasonable choices to the end of avoiding further violence. and i am sure he had this in mind. but they also happened to fullfill his desire to be close to lestat and to have a full family of his own, as well as the need to find meaning in his vampiric life, which he textually is not able (at this point) to locate in himself. there were moments of actual sacrifice (eg staying behind with lestat when claudia wants to go away to maximise her chances at escaping), that still don't erase he was in love with lestat and to some extent desired his presence throughout. and there were moments where he blatantly choose other interests over claudia (eg impeding her from finishing lestat), that still don't erase he overall ended up siding with her against his own husband/maker.

the question we and louis are left with is: would he have chosen differently if his own wants and needs were not part of the equation or they were pulling him in a different direction? would he have envisioned other solutions? would those solutions have been better? and most importantly: does it matter? well, i think it does and it doesn't. from a perspective of objective causation, we have no way of knowing if louis deciding to, es. idk, stage a murder attempt as soon as claudia was made could have turned out better: maybe lestat would have killed them both immediately! but from a perspective of subjective intention, it's simply evident to me that louis's loyalties and priorities were not really always fixed on claudia as their only center, they were often divided in multiple directions. claudia was in many ways created for him and lestat, and not viceversa. she was loved and important and he made very loving attempts at prioritising her, but that did not always happen. there were moments of generous self-sacrifice and protection. and there were moments where other factors clearly won out. and then there were more moments where all reasonings merged together. and to be able to hold genuine love for and desire a relationship with your child's abuser, is already a betrayal in itself for the child. claudia never had a full ally in that house and everything in her behaviour shows she knew it. which does not mean louis's decisions also amounted to parental abuse. but i see no sense in denying they were still harmful. there are many ways parents harm children without abusing them.

i really don't see the scandal. this is all terribly human to me, there is nothing i find strange in a victim of domestic abuse having personal wants and aspirations informing choices made in response to the abuse or unrelated but taken under it. what makes a victim a victim is not that they have no secondary motivations to stay with, return, or cater to the abuser apart from practical considerations on how to manage the abuse. it is that, regardless of the motivations behind those behaviours, the abuser chooses to utilise his power to control and terrorise and hurt them. the "label" of abuse is assigned to categorize a pattern of behaviours from the abuser, not the victim. if we believe that to be true, there is then no moral threshold that excludes someone from victimisation. and when there are co-victims, even when they are parent and child, nothing displaces the responsibility of the abuse on them. but i don't believe all moral considerations about how we treat each other are eliminated. victims are still people making choices, as limited at they may be. as long as that is true, to consider only motives we deem morally sound as worthy of recognition is both dehumanising and condemning. moreover, to forget that children are still subjected to their parent's choices, even if said parents are being abused, and that they can be harmed by them, is a misconstruction of the power dynamics of the relationship and an erasure of the experiences of child victims in an attempt to salvage those of the parents from judgment.

this discussion is not about generalisations of harmful victim-blaming stereotypes. it's about analysing one single fictional person whose story of parenthood and victimhood is laid out for us. and my bottom line is: louis was not a perfect parent. to recognise that, does not turn him into claudia's abuser and it does not make him any less of a victim. he is just not a "perfect victim". but we know those dont't exist anyway.

[nalyra-dreaming]

I enjoy your blog and I’m not trying to be argumentative; just some friendly debate, but I notice you and Virginia both frequently reduce the entire Antoinette ordeal to Louis’ feeding habits and Lestat’s need for attention and adoration. Don’t you think Lestat had to have at least a little love for Antoinette? He had to love her on some level not to kill her right off the bat. This is apparent in the scene before Louis is playing cards before Doris tells him Jonah is there, Lestat is standing up close to the stage, completely entranced watching Antoinette perform like there is no one else in the room. Louis isn’t even present to make jealous. He slept with her and didn't kill her before Loustat was having serious problems like lack of intimacy. He stayed with her just as long as he stayed with Louis. I’m sorry, but I don’t think that man ever had any intention of being in a monogamous relationship.

Hey nonny!

(All good, you can be argumentative, as long as you're kind it's all fine, I just won't accept hate or insults anymore^^, hope that makes sense! Also, I really don't see that as argumentative^^)

I think @virginiaisforvampires and I just ... shorten the Antoinette discussion at times (by now) because it's been... a theme.

Like, the fandom latched onto the jealousy angle so massively, the asks wrt her were so numerous, the human cheating AUs on Ao3 so prevalent... the vampiric aspect seems to be often overlooked.

I think you're referring to my ask with the open relationship?

Because of course Antoinette was more.

(this is long, so the rest under the cut:)

She became more when he did not kill her as a feeding fling. (And I still stand by the fact that they must have had a lot of feeding flings, for example Louis is not really taken aback by soldiers in their bedroom - the same bedroom he gets so sharp about with Antoinette, which is another detail.)

So yes, Lestat apparently slept with her and didn't kill her. We don't get to see it, but it is insinuated.

But there is a lot more to Antoinette, and that is why some think she might show up again later. I am not sure if you're familiar with "the musician" from IWTV, "Antoine" from the later books?

Let me recap:

In IWTV we have the unnamed "musician". Louis never bothers to find out his name, even though it is clear that Lestat turns him. That unnamed musician then gets into the crossfire of Claudia's attempt on Lestat's life, and Louis... forgets about him. But he did know about him from the beginning:

"Lestat had a musician friend in the Rue Dumaine. We had seen him at a recital in the home of a Madame LeClair, who lived there also, which was at that time an extremely fashionable street; and this Madame LeClair, with whom Lestat was also occasionally amusing himself, had found the musician a room in another mansion nearby, where Lestat visited him often. I told you he played with his victims, made friends with them, seduced them into trusting and liking him, even loving him, before he killed. So he apparently played with this young boy, though it had gone on longer than any other such friendship I had ever observed." [..] "I could not tell whether he had actually become fond of a mortal in spite of himself or was simply moving towards a particularly grand betrayal and cruelty. Several times he’d indicated to Claudia and me that he was headed out to kill the boy directly, but he had not. And, of course, I never asked him what he felt because it wasn’t worth the great uproar my question would have produced. Lestat entranced with a mortal! He probably would have destroyed the parlor furniture in a rage."

(Interesting tidbit about the rage, which they picked up for the show!)

Louis even encounters Antoine, has a bit of a discussion with him after the initial attack on Lestat:

‘What is it?’ I asked him. ‘What did you need from him? I’m sure he would want me to...’ “ ‘He was my friend!’ He turned on me suddenly, his voice dropping with repressed outrage.

This last bit is important, for the later books, most importantly for "Prince Lestat", which we know Rolin takes from. Because in that book, in chapter 7, we find out what happened to "the musician", Antoine, after that fateful night, when Rue Royale burned (in the book).

Because Antoine did not burn to death (in the show, likely: Louis and Claudia did not know to scatter the ashes), and he survives, hideously burned, needing decades to heal. Lestat reunites with him before he chases after Louis and Claudia (to Europe).

When Antoine later tells of his own story, he says this:

“He was my friend, Lestat,” Antoine confessed. “He told me about his lover, Nicolas, who had been a violinist. He said he couldn’t speak his heart to his little family, to Louis or Claudia, that they would laugh at him. So he spoke his heart only to me.”

There is a LOT in that little paragraph. A lot that fits with what we know from the show, too.

Louis (in the show) tells of Lestat saying that "Antoinette fortifies him against them". Antoinette became more than a passing interest, a passing feeding fling, true, because Lestat can confide in her, can be himself with her, especially later, when things between him and Louis take on a strain. But he never leaves Louis, and I think that is often overlooked - (s)he was never a real threat to Louis, nor Claudia. Lestat left Antoine behind when he goes after them, to try to save them.

Louis on the show makes it seem as if Antoinette was that major threat. And the show (of course^^), sharpened that threat by making Antoine a woman, a white woman, whose very presence represented what Louis could not be in their relationship at the time, namely an official partner.

Louis uses the focus on Antoinette and what she represents to overshadow other things that coincide with the affair. He does the same later, when they are threatened, to shift the focus to Lestat's paranoia. It's clever, because it's built on truth, a "look at my right hand, not at my left" approach. But the real story is much more difficult than that.

And I think that goes for Antoine(tte) as well.

Since Rolin is specifically taking from "Prince Lestat" as well there is no way in hell he has somehow missed reading chapter 7, or has missed Antoine in the later books/chapters.

I for one wouldn't be surprised if she shows up at the trial - or in Dubai. Maybe she's that interior designer, who knows that Louis is missing the natural world....

I don't know. We'll see. But I doubt that the jealousy angle is all there is to it. There are too many discrepancies, even down to the make-up they used for her (which is its own meta). Lestat may have very well loved her, albeit differently than he loves Louis.

As for the monogamous relationship(s)...

Nonny, forgive me, but these are not humans. They are vampires.

They hunt, and kill humans, for food and pleasure. They play with their food, like other predators in our world do, too. They are also inherently hedonistic, looking for pleasure. (Maybe) Especially Lestat is trying to drown himself in the pleasurable things at times, for reasons that the show will still get to. Since the show explicitly added sex to the mix that desire is of course expressed in the hunt for pleasure, too.

But totally apart from "food", and sex... these vampires are a mess, relationship-wise.

When Lestat and Louis are "married" in the later books as Jacob calls it (I bet they'll make that literal in the show^^), that doesn't mean that they don't still love others. Have loved others. Will love others. They are beyond the need to narrow down their love though. And they are "official partners" then.

But it's... a knot of relationships and history.

Some of these people are truly immortal. Like, can not be killed anymore.

Imagine living with that fact (it maybe most famously sends Lestat reeling in "The tale of the Body Thief", for example).

Imagine loving with that fact. Imagine having the time.

[cerullos]

not sure how exactly to articulate this but i do find it interesting that there are so many posts about how it shouldn't register as weird that claudia and madeleine are romantically involved because claudia is fully and completely an adult, and at points yes, i do get the sense that S2 of the show wants you to believe this but i would argue that, at the very least from rice's perspective, the tragedy of claudia is more complicated than this concept of an adult in a child's body. like, the reality is that we can't fully understand the extent to which claudia will or can develop toward "adulthood" (itself a malleable and culturally dependent concept) and that's the true horror of it, that's what makes siring a child vampire taboo among so many vampires, that's what louis so selfishly took from her!

and it does feel like S2 overextends itself in its desperation to convince the viewer claudia is in fact 100% developmentally matured and simply & only frustrated with her appearance and the limitations of her body. like...she is permanently pubescent!

not necessarily suggesting one approach or the other is "wrong" and obviously the show can reinterpret the text in any way it chooses, but i think the latter not only makes for a more compelling claudia arc but also asks some more interesting questions about the nature of human development, which is something rice has always been heavily concerned with.

the similarities between lestat and claudia are always a huge topic of discussion on here, and i think you do also feel that loss in light of the fully and "successfully" matured claudia of S2, who lacks the childish impulses, temper tantrums and mercurial nature of S1 claudia almost entirely. she endures louis's neglect and abuse with a level of grace that makes it kind of hard to suspend disbelief at points imo!

[pretty-weird-ideas]

Trauma Porn vs Representing Black Struggle in IWTV

TW: Domestic Violence (Focus) Rape (mentioned 1x)

Spoilers for the IWTV AMC Series

I think a lot of the distraught or incredibly positive reactions to Episode 5 of IWTV’s ending from black fans is because of the noticeable lack of genuine representation of black IPV let alone black queer people facing IPV at all. So not only was the scene without a trigger warning and absolutely out of nowhere (with of course the obvious foreshadowing and Lestat’s abusive behavior setting it up) but it was something that has barely been done for mainstream genre TV.

So as a black fan, seeing violence towards black people (trauma porn) is certainly not new to me... but seeing black queer people’s stories focus on IPV is something that I haven’t seen. It leaves me incredibly conflicted in ways that cannot be transcribed.

Genre TV, media in general, and even reality has an obsession with whitewashing (pun unintended) IPV towards black people unless it’s specifically meant to degrade us and utilize racist stereotypes. Rarely ever does IPV towards queer black people get spoken about in real life, let alone in fiction. So for a story to just be for real for a hot minute about that topic is both disturbing and jaw dropping.

I oscillate between “I can’t believe they would ever put this on TV” and “I’m so glad that they made this a plotline because nobody talks about this,”. IPV perpetrated by white people towards their black partners especially from a historical context is not talked about. And it certainly is not the focus of period pieces or literature as often as it should be.

This is even being taken away from us TODAY in history books; centuries of rape and domestic violence from the slave trade to Jim Crow is being censored RIGHT NOW. This is not isolated behavior.

And to see white IWTV fans sidestep this entirely back during the final stretch of season one to complain that having Lestat (who canonically abused Louis in other ways) assault Louis somehow ruined LESTAT’S character and THEIR SHIP. While completely sidestepping what themes they were intending and got across (you know like genuine media literacy) and the onscreen brutalization that happened without warning is disgusting.

Being able to cherry pick quotes and argue about whether or not slapping is “DV” is not only gross but it’s just not media literacy. That’s literacy... like good job bestie you can read! But it’s certainly doesn’t mean you have the range or comprehension to understand the intended themes of Episode 5 at all. And until white people begin to understand the nuances of being a black person being abused by a white person who holds power over you, it’s going to continue being out of reach.

It’s one thing to dislike it’s inclusion, because I also agree. But I’ve noticed that The Great Lestat Discourse TM has become the discussion rather than the perspective of how white supremacy aided in perpetuating domestic violence and the choice to show gory and unflinching physical abuse without a trigger warning.

White fans being disingenuous and asking Louis to fade into the background until Lestat (the white character) becomes the focus for TVL. While constantly mocking and ignoring the concept of IPV towards black people makes the point for me as to why this was an interesting and purposeful direction to head in. IPV is so ignored that when IWTV includes it, fans went out of their way to argue whether or not their favorite white boy would DARE TO DO THIS, and not why the writers did this and what they were attempting to say. IPV and queer victims of abuse are so ignored that after this happened people started making posts talking about APOLOGIZING TO A FICTIONAL LESTAT for writers “slandering” him! Discussions about abuse in interracial relationships during Jim Crow are so far ignored that people started to publicly doubt that actual domestic violence in interracial relationships existed at all! So badly that the writers had to come out and say that they wouldn’t make Louis “not the victim” when recontextualizing episode 5.

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

The Touring Data account on Twitter has posted updated numbers for Louis’ shows in Latin America, and it has caused a bit of fandom drama because the attendance was lower than expected. Some fans claim that the figures for the Mexico City show are wrong and the concert was attended by 67,000 people and that this has been confirmed by Louis’ team. I’m pretty sceptical about this claim because I haven’t seen any evidence of this apart from a few newspaper articles, and they seem to have relied on info from Louis fan update accounts. The Touring Data account itself also tends to be reliable because it just reports numbers from Pollstar.

Do you have any thoughts on this or about the figures in general? I’m no expert on touring but it seems to me like Louis’ team might have overestimated the size of the venues needed for some of the shows. But maybe it just makes more sense economically to play one show in a big venue rather than two shows in a smaller venue?

https://x.com/touringdata/status/1831090091294617979

I'm very glad that this sort of fandom drama only gets to me through anons. I really appreciate that you've explained so fully what's going on and linked to sources, because otherwise I'd be super lost.

My main thought is that current fandom treats worrying about this sort of thing as standard fandom practice. And it's not, or it doesn't have to be. I think its main function is to make fandom a more anxious experience - and I would strongly advocate for people turning their fandom towards the bits that bring them joy.

What that means is not talking about the data directly, but instead talking about the meta question of the meaning people are giving to the data. (If I was going to talk about the data directly it would be giving it meaning by comparing to what we knew about ticket sales at his last Latin American tour, but I don't care enough to try and do that).

I can come up with two explanations for why fans might give the questions of how many tickets are sold at a local venue so much weight - one is basically economics and the other is very fucked up ideas about validity.

There are two reason that you might be concerned about economics - one is concern for the artist (which I think it's good practice to try and not being too concerned about artist's financial position. They're wealthy and they're making money off other people's labour. If you want to be concerned about the finances of anyone involved, be concerned about the finances of people who make merch), and other is concern for whether or not they'll come back.

The problem is that fandom discussion is based on a complete lack of curiosity (that crosses over into willful ignorance) about how touring works. From the way fandom talked about it, you'd think an artist and their team selected and booked the venues in each case - took on all of the risk and got all of the reward. But that's only true of independent tours and most tours aren't independent. Promoters often offer a guarantee (that's the minimum an artist is paid) and a bonus for a sell-out - and what happens to the amounts in between is up for negotiation. The artist meets all of their touring expenses out of their cut (so that's transport and people and equipment that travels). So the economics of a tour can really vary. Some tours are budgeted around selling-out - others aren't. What will make a tour work for both an artist and a promoter is mostly completely opaque to the public.

It's possible that the promoter pitched larger venues than was wise - there have been indications that that's been happening since the first wave of post-pandemic concert enthusiasm. But it's just as possible that the promoter owned these venues and it was better to have an act in them than not. We certainly don't know from these figures that Louis' tour underperformed expectations, or who is carrying the cost of it is unknown.

According to that data, Louis sold around 130,000 tickets in South America (back of the envelope adding to the near 1000 - may be a bit off). If he'd sold double that it would have made him more likely to come back, or play more venues. But I don't think there's any reason to panic. Lots of artists come to New Zealand, don't sell out their venue and come back. And currency strength has a lot to do with who does and doesn't come here.

There could be a lot of good conversation on the levels venues sell at where fans talked about their own experiences. Not just the question of will they come to me (although that's very pertinent to me). But what sort of venues would you like to see an artist in? Might ticket prices go down? But that's never the tone of the conversation.

Instead an assumption in all this is that validity is scarce and measurable. I think it's really important to say that this is not true. It matters to some business people whether an artist sold 60,000 tickets or 30,000. But it doesn't really matter to anyone else.

And buying into a worldview that it does matter, will only harm fans mental health.

[monstersinthecosmos]

So I'm a newbie in the VC universe that discovered the books only a few months ago through the series and I have a question regarding Louis character so I came here because I believe it's a safe space for that. Well, to begin with, I'm not really into the vampire lore before so the show was okay to me and since I'm more of the reading type, I plan on reading the books after watching the movie too because I kinda like the aesthetic of that century. And oh gosh, that was the best decision I ever made because I am madly in love with it especially with Louis whom I find so relatable, but then that's when I realised that though I find myself relatable in Book Louis, that never came across me with Show Louis and I wonder what could be the main reason for it. Is it my lack of understanding the story in the show or the show doesn't show me the side of that Louis? I suppressed this thought for a long time because of the constant fandom war going around regarding the book vs movie vs show on Twitter and I only upload Tumblr not long ago so I really got no one to ask at that time. Sorry if my question is hard to understand/lacking in any sense, I'm not really good in voicing out my thoughts.

Hi! So like, TLDR; they are two completely different stories and two completely different sets of characters that happen to share names. I don't think it's a big mystery that one resonates with you and the other doesn't, that's just how it goes! And I hesitate to compare & contrast the two canons too deeply because I don't need any drama lol. But I'll try to parse some of this: I don't think you're missing something in the show. Unless I missed it too. 😅 But truly the show has a completely new character, and while I think they have some things in common, and I definitely really SAW LOUIS a couple times, they really aren't the same. And even in moments where I think I see Louis (ie: thoughtful, brooding, spiritually tortured) I think some of the decisions the show made to change the story just really narratively don't work for the book character. I really think these two pieces are best enjoyed as completely unrelated series, because we can tie ourselves in knots trying to make the book fit what we're watching, and vice versa, and every character on the show is essentially an OC. Of all the characters we've met on the show, I don't think ANY of them feel like the book counterparts. (Lestat is the worst offender for me personally LOL.)

The book I think also is about grief and Anne Rice often discussed using "the vampire as the other" as a means to write stories about feeling isolated. I think that's a huge reason why the books are so successful and why they reach so many people! It's such a broad theme and using vampires as a symbolic conversation means that we can make it about anything when we're reading. And especially like IWTV being written IN GRIEF I think makes that theme so so powerful like not just the pain but like, how disorienting it is, how lost you feel, how small and powerless. And feelings of grief come up over and over in the series, and not just literally about people, but about the sun, about life, about things we lose when we're forced to go on without. And I don't think the show really got into that topic; even using vampirism as a conversation the timeline of the canon is so short it doesn't really stick the landing. We get some brief glimpses of the life Louis had before, but by the end of the season his family is still alive. Barely any time has gone by. If this will be sort of an overarching theme over the longevity of the whole series we shall see, but tbh S1 was so absolutely unrecognizable to me as a book fan that I'm not super interested in following up lol. You'll have to get back to me in a few years and let me know how it went. 😂

ANYWAY. I outsourced this ask to a couple friends because admittedly I've never been a huge Louis fucker so some of the show changes were lost on me and I hesitate to speak deeply on either version of him for that reason but!

@somevagrantchild says: [...] the tv show created a whole new character in Louis’s place, in a different century with different values and a different background that gave him his own unique personality and struggles that are very different from book Louis. Which means the decisions and choices he makes are also very different as well as the way he relates to Lestat.

An example is show Louis using his vampire powers to get revenge on people from his mortal life vs book vampires becoming detached and not caring about those things anymore Also show Louis being selective about who he kills (coming up with the evildoer idea on his own) vs book Louis just never wanting to know, so being the most indiscriminate killer of them all @covenofthearticulate says: i mean god the whole goddamn point of louis' character is that he only really values humanity after losing it, so after being turned he's like desperately grappling to find some sense of humanity and identity and goodness and i think that's something that resonated with a lot of readers who feel Othered………whereas the show gave him vampire powers that were basically an excuse for gore porn and weird revenge power fantasy @covenofthearticulate also wrote this post (in her @sangcreole blog) about the decision to have Louis kill Lestat rather than Claudia and I think it sums up a lot of the dissonance as well.

Anyway yeah the fandom can be a nightmare about this topic because I think people can be very defensive and emotional, and unfortunately there's a lot of cult behavior and bullying when people step out of the party line, and it makes it difficult to discuss these as two pieces of media which are different from each other, without saying that one or the other is bad. And we all relate to characters differently, and for random reasons, and we often DO NOT PICK OUR BLORBOS LOL, so like it makes sense that a book character might resonate with you when the TV character didn't, because they aren't the same character, and they are acting from different backgrounds, they are being used for completely different narrative functions, and their relationships to the people & places & centuries around them are totally different stories.

[ranposbabe]

Delightful | William James Moriarty x Reader

Chapter Seven

“Moran was right.” You state, staring down at him, contemplating walking right back out just like how you walked straight in.

The man sat before you was none other than the head of the manor.

Albert James Moriarty.

Yeah. You were definitely going to regret this.

He sat with complete composure with a stare filled with confidence yet you couldn’t recognise any arrogance from him. His emerald eyes instantly meet yours that were filled with sudden anxiousness as you remain still.

He could ask or even accuse you of anything. He looks calculated and rather focused and it’s starting to throw you off.

Whatever it is that he’ll say it must be planned and prepared.

Moran knew he was here.

Bastard was setting you up to fail.

“Do you like wine ?” He politely nods towards the bottle on the small table before him.

What ?

Truthfully, you failed to notice it due to being under the strict stare by the man.

His hand reaches out offering the seat across from him.

“I like anything in a bottle really.”

You stumble over your own feet in somewhat excitement, close to falling over but you don’t. He doesn’t notice…you think.

“Miss y/n.” He starts. “Just y/n.” You shake your head. “Are you settled ?” He asks, a genuine kindness in his nod.

“As in life ? No not really.” You shrug, not a single drop of comprehension in your answer.

At the lack of response it was only then did you realise your embarrassing mistake.

“Oh ! You meant here ?” You pause.

“No.”

“Your bruise is just about gone ?” He asks, smoothly and rather quickly changing the topic of discussion. At the mention of it you almost feel a shiver go down your spine, your hand almost reaches to touch where the bruise once was on your forehead yet you stop yourself. You completely forgot about that. You can’t help but wonder maybe it could’ve been why you suffered with the sudden headache just moments ago.

“I hope that you don’t feel obliged to share the details of how you got your bruise or what happened before your encounter with Moran and Fred. But I assure you that that no harm will come your way.”

It was in that moment that you genuinely took Albert’s words serious.

How could you not when he spoke with such care and delicately in his voice ?

Or maybe the lack of drink was starting to make you delirious.

“You’re a very kind and also kinda intimidating man, Albert.” You awkwardly shift in your seat, your legs practically begging you to stand up and run out the door. If only there was someone-

“Am I interrupting something ?”

You hear from the doorway behind you.

“William.” Albert acknowledges him, something you struggle to find yourself doing. “For fuck sake.” You groan to yourself. William takes his top hat off and places his cane by the door before walking over to sit by his older brother’s side on a close chair.

You raise a brow at the action.

What was the cane for ?

You couldn’t help but think was this in fashion for them ?

It sounds childish but you can’t help but wonder was this happening on purpose ?

Was it their doing ? Why now when you’re trapped with one Moriarty brother, another suddenly returns home from a long day ?

Would he not return to his bedroom or study first ? You’re not going to stay to find out. It was in an instant that you rise from your seat.

It was only then did William look your way.

“I need to rest for a while.” You sigh, raising a hand towards the pair turning around and taking a step to the door when suddenly and what you thought was unexpectedly, you grab the bottle and dash out the door making a run for the stairs, the two men remain seated and amused as you hurriedly ran out the room.

It was a brief second yet you’ve already caught these men slightly off guard.

Your impression is growing everyday but not that you’re aware.

Louis enters as you make your way up the stairs, not evening looking back as he soon stands before his elder brothers.

“I’ve come to the same conclusion as you, dear William.” Albert smiles, his eyes glance down at the empty spot the expensive bottle once was with a chuckle escaping past his lips.

“So the newly made plan is worth the while then ?” William asks, nodding his thanks towards his brother as a saucer and tea cup is placed down before him.

“What exactly is the plan, brother ?” Louis asks, unsure if he even wants to hear the answer. For his brothers, Louis will go to any lengths to help with their plans. Yet the brief mentioning of Williams new plan makes him slightly reluctant but he doesn’t voice that. Since it is William’s plan he will stick by it for him.

Despite the plan revolving around you.

“To see if our new guest is worth the stay.” William spoke with that clear and determination tone that he always used when voicing various plans to the others.

His brothers notice the lack of doubt in his voice.

“She’s gonna be a handful.” Moran states, his arms crossed as he casually joins the group of men with Fred following behind.

“A challenge.” He sighs.

The two dark haired men don’t attempt to hide the fact that they were listening to the brothers conversation.

Louis’ catious glance is aimed at everyone. He’s certain that you’re not worth the try and yet everyone here is discussing the matter further.

One thing for sure is that William’s eyes now had a certain glow and look in his scarlet eyes as he gives Moran that polite smile that he wears most days.

He raises his cup to his smirking lips, the others present fail to notice such a sly change.

“I’ve always been intrigued by a challenge.”

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[someone-will-remember-us]

A government-ordered review has dismissed claims that suicide rates in young people with gender dysphoria have risen sharply since the NHS restricted access to puberty-blocking drugs.

A report by the government’s adviser on suicide prevention also found that the claims – made by the campaign group the Good Law Project – were not supported by data and could prompt children under the age of 18 to take their own life.

The health secretary, Wes Streeting, last week asked Prof Louis Appleby, a leading authority on mental health at Manchester University, to look at suicide rates among current and former patients of the now-discontinued gender identity development service (Gids) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS trust.

And in his paper, published on Friday, Appleby said he had found no evidence to back up the claims.

“The data do not support the claim that there has been a large rise in suicide by young patients attending the gender services at the Tavistock since the High Court ruling in 2020 or after any other recent date,” his analysis concluded. It covered the care received by and outcomes seen among patients of the London-based specialist mental heath trust.

The Good Law Project’s executive director, Jo Maugham, said in response: “I was not contacted in advance of the statement being released and will obviously need time to respond. I do have difficulties with the figures and analysis and will respond in due course.”

Appleby also advised patients, NHS staff and campaign groups to not see the provision of puberty blockers “as the touchstone issue, the difference between acceptance and non-acceptance [of gender dysphoria]. We need to move away from this perception.”

He was asked to examine the evidential base for claims that the NHS’s decision to limit access to puberty-blocking drugs after the high court’s ruling in the Keira Bell case in December 2020 had led to a “surge” or “explosion” in suicides among young people with gender dysphoria. Three judges ruled that those under 16 lacked the capacity to decide whether or not to give informed consent to take the drugs.

As well as finding no evidence to support the suicide claims, Appleby also highlighted “the way that this issue has been discussed on social media has been insensitive, distressing and dangerous, and goes against [Samaritans] guidance on safe reporting of suicide”.

“The claims that have been placed in the public domain do not meet basic standards for statistical evidence,” he added.

He flagged up the possibility of “already-distressed adolescents hearing the message that ‘people like you, facing similar problems, are killing themselves’, leading to imitative suicide or self-harm”.

Appleby, an expert in mental health statistics, found evidence of 12 suicides among current and former Gids patients in the six years between 2018-19 and 2023-24. Six of them were among under-18s.

Five suicides occurred in the three years before 2020-21 and seven in the three afterwards. “This is essentially no difference, taking account of expected fluctuations in small numbers”, he said.

Kate Barker, chief executive of the LGB Alliance, said: “It’s distressing that the completely unevidenced claims of increased suicidality were allowed to take root, and given credence by people in public life who should have known better than to play politics with such an emotive issue.

“Now the whole world can see these claims for what they are: a cynical attempt to spread misinformation to serve a dangerous and homophobic ideology.”

[desertfangs]

“His love for him isn’t based on the superficial but on the reality of who Armand is” EXACTLY. Daniel has been keeping it real from day 1 re:who/what Armand is and is still head over heels in love with him in spite of it (or more precisely, because of it). That’s why, your honor, they’re just meant to be. And I imagine Daniel continues clowning him at every opportunity to this day :’)

Yes, entirely. From the moment Daniel first sees him in Lestat's house, he knows what Armand is. He knows what Louis has told him about Armand, which frankly is pretty captivating on its own: that he's curious and ruthless and desires a companion who can show him the world.

I wonder how often in those 3 days he was in the cellar he replayed that part of the interview in his head, thinking over everything Louis said about Armand. Did it excite him? Probably. Terrify him? No doubt. I mean, he didn't know what Armand would do. For all he knew, he'd just die in the cellar. But I bet he also thought a lot about how when he'd listened to Louis talk, he wanted to shake him and make him see that he could have had all of the love and enchantment in the world with Armand if he'd let himself. That that kind of love was still possible. That they had eternity to sort it out!

And then as Daniel gets to know Armand--as they get to know each other--he starts to really see for himself who Armand is. What things fascinate him, what interests him, what things seem to make him melancholy and distant. The more they delve into long discussions, the more Daniel learns how his mind works, how he thinks. His curiosity and desire to be part of the world again are so much stronger than Daniel could ever have imagined. Armand is ruthless, sure, and eager, and demanding, but he's also intelligent and fascinating and funny.

He's beautiful, but in a strange and preternatural way. And even though he's a vicious killer, to Daniel he's also just a young man who wants to understand how things work and won't stop asking him inane questions with sincere interest. He makes Daniel see the world in ways he never imagined because he sees it through Armand's eyes, and Armand makes him really consider things that he never would have. They dive in life together and learn and experiment together. Sure, sometimes they hurt each other. They fumble and fight, but there's never any lack of love between them.

And Daniel has never been afraid to call a spade a spade. We see it in QotD, we see it in PL, we even get a brief little glimpse of it in B&G when he's half out of his mind. For all the love he has for Armand, he's not afraid draw a line or say exactly what he's thinking or how he sees things, which I think is great for Armand to have someone who just treats him like a person, complete with occasional exasperation and yet still affection. And I have no doubt he still does that to this day.

So yes, I agree, they're meant to be! They work so well together. They bring out the fun, playful side of each other. Daniel allows Armand to indulge in his more ridiculous impulses and curiosities. Armand allows Daniel to look at things differently and be himself, even if that means sometimes he's sarcastic or exasperated. They might bicker and argue, and they might even fight sometimes, but at the end of the day, they love each other for all that the other is, with no delusions. ✨ Soulmates ✨

[sweetfirebird]

AITA

AITA If I try to Set Up My Brother?

goddessofmfdeathandspring:

This is a throwaway account because even though he never comes on here, my brother just knows things, so I am taking precautions.

My adopted older brother is kind of my best friend. When I say adopted, I mean that he adopted me. He found me shortly after I’d run away from the bio mom’s for the millionth time and even though he was just a teenager, he brought me back to his home and his family, where I was welcomed. Honestly, I’d love him just for that but we really are close. Which is why I want to do something for him about how lonely he is.

Oh, he’s not lonely in the sense that he’s alone. Our family is big and he is loved, and he has friends outside the family that he visits a few times a year. No, this is the romantic sort of lonely. We tell each other a lot, but he never volunteers anything about anything like that. –And before anyone says anything, look, he might be ace and that would be fine, but I truly don’t think he’s aro. Why? Little things. The way he looks whenever someone in the family brings their new boyfriend or girlfriend or lover to meet him. (It’s sort of a complicated family dynamic but for this, you might think of him as like the family patriarch? Or something along those lines. Although he’s not even thirty.) Things like that which tell me that my brother, let’s call him Louis, doesn’t want to be alone in the way that he is.

And ok, it’s not just romantic loneliness. There is really no one around on his level. For some background, Louis is a polymath. He’s very smart, and he, for lack of a better way to explain it here, knows things before other people do. Added to that, he has some disabilities as well as some facial scarring from an incident when he was like 19. Personally, I think the scarring makes him look like a wizard or something from a fantasy game, and honestly, the people in town don’t seem put off by it—the opposite in fact—but he’s sensitive about it. He’s also very tall and, as I have overheard more than once in the shop where I work in our small town, to most people, he’s hot. I’m not sure if people are too intimidated to ask him out, or if they do ask him, but then realize midway through their first conversation that he might be a little awkward, but he is also just… on a completely different level than they are.  

He’s not rude about it. If anything, he’s too nice to people who don’t like finding out how much he knows.

Anyway. What I wanted to do is ask someone for help finding someone for him. It’s just that the person I want to ask is maybe not Louis’ favorite person in the world? So… Louis is not straight, and our town is very… accepting in some ways, but tricky about this one issue. (A big name in our town is gay and for some reason this gets a lot of wannabe small town royalty heated.) The person I want to ask is I think gay.(I’ve never asked his preferred label but he has off-handedly discussed men with me from time to time. But even if he’s not gay, he still knows people and isn’t a bigot. He is also well… if one person in the world could intimidate my brother right back, it would be this person.

I’ll call him Robert. Robert is the opposite of my brother which might be why Louis gets weird around him, tense and stiff and more awkward than I knew he could be. Robert is bossy, and, opinionated and feels things out loud, if that makes sense? And he can see more about people than even my brother can. So I want to ask him if he knows of anyone who might do for Louis, in town or anywhere close by. I don’t think he will be angry, but my brother might be. From the way he frets before any encounters with Robert, you’d think Robert had kicked his ass once or something. As if tiny little Robert would. He’s just busy all the time, and distracted, and if he snips at Louis, it’s over silly things like how he thinks Louis works too hard or lets people in town demand too much of him.

Which is rich, coming from Robert, who is constantly working, and really needs someone to take care of him according to my mother, but when I ask who would do that, she just makes a funny face and asks if I’ve seen Louis recently. All the same, Robert will fuss over Louis, and peck at him for being overworked, and chide him for wearing store brought scarves and things (Robert is a highly sought after fabric artist) all of which usually makes my brother frown in return and then go off and mope for a while.

He doesn’t explain when I ask, and only ever says nice things about Robert. But, as just one example, the last time Louis had to go over to see Robert, he paced in our kitchen for ten minutes before finally girding his loins to drive over to Robert’s house. I have no idea what happened once he got there, but when he came home, he only stayed for about an hour before he packed his things and went off camping in the woods for a while, which is how he broods.

But I really can’t take the way he watches when the kids in the family do silly fortune-telling games to find their true loves, or the way he avoids the subject when one of our brothers who has decided he is a matchmaker tries to discuss it with him, or how quiet he gets when I suggest he go out to the one bar in town that caters to the younger crowd so he can find someone. Once when I suggested it, he just smiled sadly and didn’t say anything except that he was, “Waiting.”

Ugh right? It’s terrible. He’s a little different than most, yeah, but he should have someone who isn’t afraid of him and can look out for him. Because Robert is right. Louis does let people in town demand too much of him.

So. Even knowing about his discomfort around Robert, WIBTA if I snuck behind my brother’s back and asked Robert to help me find him someone?

Edit: A lot of you in the comments are convinced Louis has feelings for Robert for some reason. I don’t even know how to tell you how ridiculous that is.  

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 11

We're getting into the conspiracy thriller of this arc.

Last chapter, I went over the general timeline of events that have happened since chapter 8 and showed roughly 3 weeks have passed since then, with a little over two weeks being spent in chapter 10.

The main reason I did that is because this chapter opens with a followup to the fight between Scar and Gluttony. Roy's squad is inspecting the rubble and found Scar's bloodied jacket. Meanwhile, Lust and Gluttony confirm they failed to kill Scar and Lust is going back to Central.

This scene would have to have taken place about two weeks before everything else in the chapter. This would also mean Lust has been in Central for about as long. As long as no other major events happen in East City, we can assume Roy's group has been dealing with the rubble over those two weeks and the next time we see Roy, the timeline will have reconverged.

Maria and Danny were constantly whispering to each other last chapter and it's nice to see someone call them out on it.

Ed and Al seem ready to give up their journey after finding out what is required to make a Philosopher's Stone. They wouldn't willingly condemn someone in order to fix their own mistakes. Ed was about to ask Al something but they're interrupted by Alex Louis Armstrong. With a little inspiration from Armstrong, they're back on their feet to try finding the truth within the truth Dr. Marcoh mentioned.

We got a map, this time of Central, and once again, it's not useful for gleaning any information about the city layout. At least there's a park.

Once again, Maria Ross and Danny Brosh are getting sucked into things way above what they signed up for. They were assigned to be bodyguards and now they're privy to a potential conspiracy that the research department was performing human experiments.

Brigadier General Basque Grand, who Scar killed, was in charge of the Research Department. Armstrong mentions he was killed a few days ago. "A few" is a highly subjective unit but I'd say greater than three weeks is more than a few days.

A couple moments throughout the last section of the chapter show there are some conveniences to the Elrics' bodies. They can handle barbwire without issue, Ed can take otherwise lethal hits if they strike his automail, and being short lets you crawl through vents easier. Ed almost admits to that last one.

And then we find out there's enough evidence the condemned research lab is still in use, including two guards who are former prisoners whose souls were bound to armor like Al. The seal Slicer has is different from Al's. Not sure if that means there was a different ritual involved or if the symbols are dependent on something to do with the material the soul is bound to or not. I don't know enough about Alchemy and occult symbology to comment further.

"Edward. I'm respecting your privacy by knocking but as your self-appointed guardian figure I'm coming in anyway!" - Alex Louis Armstrong

back

Spoiler Discussion

I'm honestly disappointed in the lack of detail in the map. I was hoping we'd see all five labs in relation to one another cause it turns out they're laid out in a pentagram formation which is used late in the series to capture the Human Sacrifices.

Also, I wonder if Brigadier General Grand was part of the conspiracy or not. The one time we see him in the Ishbalan War, he seemed eager to end it ASAP. Since the bloodshed was necessary for Father's plan, trying to stop the war goes counter to it. There is always a possibility he was aware of the Philosopher's Stone research without knowing the grand conspiracy at large or maybe he was completely in the dark. We'll never know.

Ed wanted to ask Al if Al blames him for being trapped in that armor. Maybe if Armstrong hadn't barged in at that moment, and Ed got to ask, and Al said no; then maybe Ed would have asked if they should just give up on their journey then and there.

[fayevalcntine]

Any time I think about how some fans insist on Claudia's rape being important and how other fans just go against it because Bruce is used as a comparison to Lestat (in a scene that blatantly hints at Louis also being sexually assaulted by him) I get so angry.

None of these discussions take into consideration how the placement of Claudia's rape also makes it seem as if the assault itself "fixes" her. Bruce found her because she was careless with her kills and didn't hide the bodies well. She objects to his advances just as he hands her a book on how ladies should "behave" properly, and in return gets her leg twisted before being raped. After that scene, it's so clearly visible how she tries to hide more. She stores a victim's body in the wall of a university library where she reads, as opposed to previously having left them on the desks where they would be found. Even her wardrobe is completely changed by the time she comes back into Louis' life: she wears a longer coat and hat which are presumably from a male victim. The final scene is the only time we ever see her with overalls that aren't in a more feminine color, not to mention the oversized coat again.

Even her first lines towards Lestat? "I wasn't right in my head. I am now." Again, coming directly after being raped which likely jump-started her codependency towards Louis at this point, because she tried to roam about on her own and ended up getting hurt in the process. One could technically say that it's a brutally honest portrayal of how Black girls will always be punished for displaying any kind of behavior that isn't approved of, except for one blatant difference: the fact that her emotional instability/outbursts seem to be completely gone by the time she comes back to Rue Royale. The next episode is where we see Claudia in almost complete polarity as to how she behaved before Bruce: she's only ever loving, nurturing, and seemingly wiser even beyond her human years. She has apparently fully put her issues with Louis behind her and doesn't even judge him for bringing their abuser back into the house.

The way that the previous episode is structured, with the utter lack of information on what Claudia was reading or researching before her assault, how she may have viewed her parents as some time went on, makes it appear as though her being raped is what "fixes" her emotional instability that we saw when she left Rue Royale. Even if you have seemingly no issue with the insertion of her being raped, that doesn't make the narrative timeline any better in its apparent message that all Claudia "needed" in order to mature from her rightful hatred towards both of her parents is being assaulted and made aware of how she, as a teenage vampire, can never go around the world on her own. It's also even more offensive in how the only time we ever see it being discussed again in length, is in a scene where Lestat belittles her being raped. It further makes the assault itself look like a neat little plot-point that was put in last minute without considering how Claudia would be affected by it in the long run. I don't need Claudia to talk extensively about her experience, but the way the writers and narrative in turn handles it isn't any better for me.

[cuntylouis]

I’m so curious about how they are gonna adapt the present between loumandstat, specially after Claudia’s death, I know it’s never discussed in the books but I doubt Lestat and even less Louis are gonna see Armand in the same light they did in the books, her death has to have some weight in their relationship and some consequences, at least I hope so. Also,as much as I love Armand I hope they don’t forget he gaslighted Louis and abused him for 70 years, I wonder what would Lestat think of that even if he did the same thing… all super messy but I hope they take it seriously, I live for the drama.

I've been wondering the same. Like in the books it's not really addressed and Louis and Lestat don't appear to blame Armand for killing their daughter. They deeply grieve her and Louis is dead inside and his relationship with Armand is destroyed, but they don't hate Armand and don't even seem to be angry with him. Already as a young teen reading the books i thought their reactions or the lack of them thereof felt weird. I'd guess the authorial intent was to portray how vampire relationships and emotions are completely alien from our human experience, and depict Louis' passivity and how it may make him see others too as passive spectators and events just something that inevitably happen without reason or active participants.

Since the story and Claudia's character are originally based on Rice dealing with her child's death of cancer it could maybe also be seen as a reflection of her feelings about that. Vampires represent death, sometimes literally called 'death' in the books and Louis as a character who's based on Rice herself couldn't blame or be angry at Armand more than she could blame or be angry at cancer or the abstract concept of death. There's a strong feeling of inevitability in how Claudia's death is written about, like 'she's been dead from the beginning and it could've never gone in any other way'.

However, like you say the show is a different thing. I think the vampires in the show come across much more human in their emotions and reactions and the characters are different, especially Louis who isn't really passive and apathetic in the way his book counterpart is. It's hard for me to imagine how in the show version Louis and Lestat are going to reconcile with Armand and have a loving relationship with him, whether platonic or romantic, after he participated in lynching their daughter. Purely from the outside writing perspective i do think they are somehow going to reconcile, because i think it's unlikely that the writers would choose to keep popular main characters apart with nothing but hostility or indifference between them for 5-7 seasons or however long the show is going to run. But it's certainly going to require a lot from the writers to make any reconciliation and forgiveness to feel emotionally coherent and sound for the characters, especially for Louis.

I think with Lestat what we see in the finale might actually hint that his feelings toward Armand could be something similar to his book counterpart. He's bitter but doesn't really seem to be that angry with Armand in the tower or loustat reunion scene. There are so many open questions and what we don't know yet but Lestat came across as much more active participant in the trial than he was in the book. My guess is that he sees himself and Armand as equally guilty for Claudias death, maybe even himself as more guilty, and so he doesn't hate Armand any more than he hates himself

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

A lot of the fan anxiety around Louis is because he isn't 'easily read as gay' anymore. Those are words you used about him and they don't apply in 2022. In this round of promo he's drummed home the macho stereotype - focused on getting drunk and big nights out, plays unpleasant pranks on those who don't want to party (even Corden was shocked), no exercise or skin care routine, when travelling rejects local food in favor of Macdonald's. None of this lines up with what Harry does either which creates more anxiety.

Added to this there is no Only the Brave or Habit on FitF, or any love song they can relate to Harry. So people are confused.

Oh anon - there's a lot here and I don't know how much of it is what you think and how much is summarising what you've picked up. I think there may be some truth in what you say, but this is treating some completely ridiculous fans are making as reasonable and I am going to unpack that.

The first thing I want to say is that anyone who suggests that the fact that Louis is talking about drinking and nights out creates either suggests that he's straight or suggests any disconnect between him and queerness is showing a staggering lack of understanding or interest in queer people

It is completely disconnected with queer culture and queer lives to present getting drunk and big nights out as either macho or straight. There are many ways I could emphasise this point - queer history, research into queer lives. But I think to go into a lot of detail concedes too much. Drinking is a really big part of queer culture and queer lives - and anyone who suggests otherwise is showing that they're not interested in how the world is, just the stories they want to tell.

I also don't agree that Louis has presented himself as particularly macho in this promo round. It would never occur to me to use the word 'macho' when it comes to Louis. One of the core elements of being macho is both aggression and projecting your masculinity in a way that fights for dominance. I'm keen to talk about the details of how Louis engages with masculinity with those who are interested. But using the term 'macho' shows a lack of real analysis of what he's doing.

You suggest that Louis is no longer read as gay an then you provide a list of things that you think are part of that. As I've said some items on that list are genuinely absurd, but more than that - none of this is new. Apart from the fact that he hid a lot of drinking in 1D - nothing has changed about his pranks, food preferences, exercise or skin care routine - or how he's talked about them. (As an aside - the idea that there is something wrong with not having or not sharing your 'skincare routine' is one of my beserker buttons and so I'm just going to say that it is so fucked up to suggest that people owe you details about how they engage with their bodies. And also the idea of a 'skincare routine' is a relatively recent invention by beauty companies to sell you stuff. Stop doing their fucking work for them).

If Louis is less likely to be read as gay, it's got nothing to do to with the things you listed, none of which have changed. I think it's largely to do with him dressing in a way that gives people less opportunity to closely observe his physicality. I think it probably is true that he's less easily read as gay than he used to be. But I can't emphasise how bizarre that is to make it about the fact that he talks about drinking.

There is fan anxiety, but it's not about Louis behaving in ways that he has always done. Instead fans have attached it to really odd things as a ways of avoiding discussing their anxiety directly.