#but for him to think he was in a safe place and tell Louis

[thegirloffans]

Not enough people are talking about the scene in s2ep5 when Armand is telling Louis everything Lestat is telepathically telling him to tell Louis but when he starts BEGGING Armand to tell Louis he loves him and that little gremlin DIDNT??!!!?!

ONLY to turn around in the final epsiode and finally tell Louis that Lestat told him he loved him all those years ago because he thought the interview was over and he was SAFE?!?!???

AND HE WAS NOT????!!!!!???

[tobethemselves]

As a queer person, I’m appalled by the flags at Louis’ shows. No, I wouldn’t care if someone, for some reason, brought a flag just for them because it was, for some reason, one of the only places they felt safe to do so. But when there is a sea of tiny pride flags at every single show, that’s not the case. That’s not the case for all those fans. Those flags are being brought “for him,” to “show support for him.” “Support” he hasn’t asked for. “Support” he’s not showing any sign of appreciating or accepting on a personal level. And “support” that implies that whole sea of people reject his child and girlfriend’s existence. It makes me sad for him. And it makes me embarrassed for the queer “fans” that use him to project their fantasies, instead of actually appreciating him as an artist. And it enrages me to see these so-called fans bragging about it online. Bragging about denying Louis’ right to tell us his own identity. Bragging about thinking his entire existence is a lie. Bragging about blatantly disrespecting him every chance they get. The flags do not make me, a queer person, feel more comfortable and accepted at his shows. They make me feel like I’m in a room full of people that do NOT respect peoples’ rights to claim their own identities without judgment.

As a queer person, I have a very different opinion than you.

[cbrownjc]

Theory: Why this second 'Interview' is happening

So a few weeks ago, Rolin Jones said that there was a reason the second interview had to happen, which will be revealed this season. And we would learn the reason why one character needed it to happen in ep 2x05; then we would learn why another character needed it to happen in 2x08 (the season finale).

Now the person we will learn needs the second interview to happen in episode 2x05 will, IMO, be Louis. For now, he seems the most clear as being one of the two people IMO. For, as we saw in ep 2x01 Louis knows he hasn't been remembering everything correctly, but that he really wants to. At the moment, Louis has been (deliberately) sidetracked from thinking/wondering if anything else he remembers might not be fully correct but, by ep 2x05, he'll start questioning that again IMO.

Plus, for some reason, Louis is very insistent on this interview taking place and happening no matter what. Because just thinking over everything that has happened storywise up to this point? I actually don't think Louis is in any way fully aware of just how off his memories are. I think he knows something feels off or wrong but he can't quite fully place what that is.

So yes, IMO, Louis is the first character who needed the second interview to happen.

But who is the second character who needed the second interview to happen? Well, this theory very much includes book spoilers (that IMO the show is very much hinting at) to talk about, so I'm giving fair warning right now: this theory very deeply goes into something from the books, as well as tying into another theory I have for what might happen at the end of the season. So, just to be safe, I'm going to place this next part under a spoiler cut:

The character who, IMO, will be revealed as needing this second interview to happen, which we will learn in ep 2x08, will be Claudia.

Yep. IMO Claudia is the one who needed the second interview to happen. Or, more importantly, her spirit/ghost does.

And what clicked this for me is remembering something Delainey herself noted in an interview before the season started which was -- yes, Claudia's journals are there but even they can't give you a full and accurate picture of Claudia and her story. So how can Claudia speak and tell her story?

And that is where this second interview comes in. Because, if you know the book, Merrick, then you know that book contained what was thought to be an appearance of Claudia's ghost/spirit. But that wasn't the only book where we see Claudia's ghost/spirit. We also see her in Tale of the Body Theif . . . or, at least Lestat sees her.

And who was the main antagonist of TotBT? Raglan James. Who, hell, even if Justin Kirk really isn't Raglan James (and is actually Marius or someone else) still works IMO -- in the context of hinting toward that storyline that had Lestat haunted by memories of Claudia and dealing with seeing her "spirit" talking to him.

Because yes, I do think very much that Louis is seeing Claudia's spirit right now, in some way. Just like he did in the book Merrick.

And it's from seeing her spirit and just feeling that something is wrong wrt all of what's going on about it, that has Louis so insistent that this second interview has to happen.

And it's why four other people have come to do this same thing Daniel is doing and either ended up dead . . . or undead.

Hell because again, if you know the story in Merrick then you know Merrick Mayfair herself is the one Louis enlisted to help him summon and speak to Claudia's spirit in the first place; and she ended up putting Louis under a spell to make him turn her into a vampire.

Maybe that comment from Raglan James was a hint about that having already happened to the show's version of Merrick Mayfair. Who's maybe already been there to help summon Claudia's spirit in the first place?

Anyway . . .

IMO, Claudia's ghost/spirit is not only around, but IMO she wants what really happened to her to be known; the truth of not only why Louis and Lestat created her, but how she was failed by them and, most of all, the full truth of not only how she felt about both of them about it all, but also the truth surrounding her death (The Frankenstein Experiment) to not just be revealed but understood . . . mainly understood by Louis and Lestat.

And no, the reason Claudia's spirit wants this isn't benevolent. Just as the spirit of Claudia in the books wasn't benevolent when Lestat and Louis encountered her in them. What she wants, I think most of all, is for them both to face the truth of their actions and what that makes them (in her eyes).

I don't think Louis knows all this of course. I think he just knows Claudia's spirit is still around for some reason and that he thinks going over everything that happened wrt his life will help him figure that reason out.

And after four previously failed attempts Daniel was brought in for the simple reason that, unlike maybe three of the first four, Armand won't kill Daniel to stop this whole thing. (And, you know, if Merrick Mayfair was the first of those four, Daniel can't steal either of their blood to try and make himself a vampire.)

And can I just say, if this theory is correct, then I don't think Claudia's spirit is going to rest after she convinces Louis to do in the show what her spirit in the book convinced him to do. Because again, Lestat also got haunted by the spirit of Claudia in TotBT. And while I'm not sure he'd see her spirit in Season 3 when he begins to tell his story and POV of things (and so when we see Claudia it will be when she's alive during flashback sequences) I do think the show would be setting up for her spirit to do so going forward after that.

Because spirit entities do play a major role in what is to come in the overall story I think the show is heading to (which I and others think will be a combination of the Akasha and Amel threats in Queen of the Damned and Prince Lestat). Starting off by showing Claudia as a spirit entity can be used to begin to ease non-book readers into this concept IMO.

And all of this fits very much with why Armand not only doesn't want this interview to happen but still reluctantly let it happen. Because, if you know his backstory, Armand very much can see spirits and ghosts unaided. That is how strong his Mind Gift abilities are. So if Claudia's spirit/ghost is around in the Dubai penthouse, Armand would very well know that. And so would very much not want her spirit hanging around anymore if at all possible. Because of what Claudia's spirit could, at some point, communicate about him. ("My name is in some of those pages.")

Because I do think that while Louis does know about the role Armand played in Claudia's death, IMO Louis doesn't know about The Frankenstein Experiment. Because, in the books, nobody knew about that -- least of all Louis and Lestat -- until Armand himself revealed it over a century later in The Vampire Armand.

And the show is very much not cutting that moment out but, instead, has been hinting and foreshadowing about it.

I said in another post that I think Armand is, for lack of a better metaphor, like a little kid who wet the bed and now is trying to hide the sheets when it specifically comes to this. This is why he's against the interview happening because it being revealed will crumble the contented life he feels he's built with Louis in Dubai. Because Armand just craves love and being loved so much and not being alone . . . and is fearful he very much will be if this all goes in the direction it could.

One of Armand's major faults is that, when he loves someone, he tends to go way, way, WAY overboard in trying to either secure that person's love . . . or to keep it. If you know the book TVL, Armand did that with Lestat, (forcing himself into Lestat's mind and drinking Lestat's blood without permission), and that is the reason Lestat, in the end, could never trust Armand enough to be companions with him.

And Armand repeated that same pattern with Louis in Paris in allowing Claudia to be killed when, as coven master, he very well could have prevented it.

And now Armand is doing something way overboard, once again, in Dubai, in trying to hide the one thing regarding Claudia in Paris that Louis doesn't know about -- as well as keep Louis safe from doing something extreme if Louis remembers everything the real way it happened . . . as well as hiding the one thing about it all -- regarding Armand's own role in Claudia's fate that Louis still doesn't know about (and in the book Armand says he kept closely hidden until this moment).

Many book readers have always wondered about that Frankenstein reveal because, once Armand reveals it, it's never brought up again. We never hear how Louis and Lestat felt about learning about it. However, I think the show is very much going to give Louis and Lestat both a reaction to and about it when they learn of it. (And no, they are not going to kill Armand for it. But Armand might just be right to worry that Louis learning about it very well might cause his life with Louis in Dubai to be destroyed.)

So yeah, IMO, the second character that Rolin said would be revealed to be wanting this second interview in ep 2x08 is Claudia. And, IMO, this theory also fits with what Jacob said about this being Claudia's season more than anyone else's.

[joanquill]

S/O Wearing Glasses Headcanons

William James Moriarty, Sebastian Moran, Fred Porlock, and Von Herder

William James Moriarty

The first time he saw you wearing them, he thought you looked adorable.

He likes shopping for frames with you but is unhelpful when picking one since he thinks all of them suit you.

He buys you extra pairs just in case you break or lose yours.

He would be the one to remind you for check-ups if you would always forget or only go when you need a new pair.

When he sees your glasses covered in smudges, he always cleans them for you and puts them back in your case in secret.

However, you always figure out it was him with how neatly folded the cloth was and how your glasses looked brand new.

If you're spending time in the library, William would steal more glances at you while you're both reading.

He has definitely hidden your glasses from you or held them high enough for you not to reach them and asks for a kiss.

One time, you lost your glasses and used his cane to walk around to look for them, thinking you would only use it for a short while.

When he was looking for his cane and found you, he helped you find your glasses and had a special punishment in mind, saying how dangerous it is to use his cane without his permission and just ask him for help next time.

Sebastian Moran

He has definitely called you, Moneypenny, and Paterson the three blind mice at one point.

If you don't wear your glasses outside, he'll be confused and encourage you to wear them, wanting you to be careful.

If you still refuse to wear them, he'll try not to show it, but he'll be more protective of you.

Make sure you stay on the safe side of the sidewalk, always holding your hand and reading things for you if you don't see them.

If you ever feel insecure about them, he reassures you that you look beautiful with them on or not.

He doesn't want to admit it, but seeing you wear glasses does something to him.

He has also held your glasses hostage, holding them up as you try to reach them while teasing you for a kiss or attention.

He has also stolen your glasses at one point and tried them on.

Once, you broke your glasses by accident and could barely tell who's who, resorting to you getting as close as possible to identify them. William and Louis were the hardest ones to recognize from afar.

Sebastian got annoyed with how close you got while squinting your eyes that he made sure he always had a backup pair ready for you.

Fred Porlock

He thinks you look cute in them.

He tries not to stare when you wear them.

When you're shopping for frames, he likes watching you try them on.

Sometimes, he'll shyly recommend you one that he thinks would suit you.

He'll also wipe your glasses when he sees them covered in smudges or you're having a hard time seeing through them.

When he notices your eyes starting to strain, he'll ask when was the last time you had a check-up and join you for one if you want.

If he sees you leave your glasses somewhere, he always takes them with him and gives them to you when you remember.

Whenever you lose your glasses, Fred already has three guesses on where it is.

His favorite memory was when you were looking for your glasses, and he saw that it's on your head, so Fred just placed them down and watched you turn red.

He promised not to tell anyone about it, but he smiles to himself whenever he remembers it.

Von Herder

Whenever you break your glasses or lose them, he'll make you a new pair with a specially designed frame and accessories.

If you want a new glass style or have a design in mind you want to try, Herder will happily make it for you.

He has definitely teased you by pushing the temple tips up and down to get your attention.

Whenever you go for a check-up and buy new glasses, Herder will act dramatically and accuse you of cheating.

He makes you a better-looking pair with your new prescription and makes the one you bought your backup.

When you lose your glasses, Herder always helps you out since he can navigate just fine, even without vision.

If you tend to misplace your glasses or accidentally fall asleep with them on, he takes them and places them somewhere safe and within your reach.

However, one day, he was feeling playful. When you left your glasses at his work, he diligently cleaned them while you were looking for them around.

He patiently waited until you asked for his help, and he just put them on you and asked what you were doing so close to the firearms.

Whether you tell him Sebastian asked for your help in taking some guns or lie your way out is up to you.

A/N: Sherlock, Watson, and Billy's version here!

[allwaswell16]

A fic rec of One Direction fics where at least one of the main characters is a pirate as requested in this ask. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! You can find my other fic recs here. Happy reading!

- Louis/Harry -

🏴‍☠️ Swim In The Smoke by whoknows *

(E, 101k, captain Harry) “What about this, Captain?” Liam asks, nudging the boy kneeling between their feet with the toe of his boot. The boy hisses and swipes at him, slurring out something unintelligible around the makeshift gag Niall had to stuff in his mouth.

🏴‍☠️ Resist Everything Except Temptation by Lis *

(E, 100k, captain Harry) The one where Louis is the commodore's son who is forced to become a part of Harry's crew when he is captured.

🏴‍☠️ Ace of Spades (series) by @allwaswell16 *

(E, 90k, omegaverse) Living as a sheltered omega in a farming village has not prepared Harry for life aboard the most notorious pirate ship to sail the Atlantic. Or Louis is a pirate, Harry is his captive, and no one is who they say they are.

🏴‍☠️ A Sea Without Water, A Compass Without Direction. by loveraging *

(T, 84k, omegaverse) ”Tell me, Louis,” Captain Styles said, leaning forward a little. ”D’you think I’m an idiot?”

🏴‍☠️ Sodalite & Aventurine by @forreveries

(E, 80k, secret identity) The one where, in his travels to find Swan’s elusive treasure, Captain Louis Tomlinson of the Black Dagger discovers he has a stowaway onboard - a stowaway who is rather tall and pretty and pouty and can spout off Shakespearean poetry as though he had written it.

🏴‍☠️ Si Pudiera Volar by @softfonds

(E, 69k, based on Corazon Salvaje) When Harry’s fiancé leaves him for his cousin, he looks the other way for the sake of his happiness. It isn’t until his cousin’s former lover, a pirate, appears that he realizes everything is not as it appears, and an honest pirate might be the only person worthy of his heart.

🏴‍☠️ Into The Mist by babyhoneyhslt / @babyhoneyheslt

(M, 63k, captain Louis) Sneaking on board the famous pirate ship Compass Arrow to get a story for his journalist father, Harry must do everything to keep a low profile. But when one of the crew discovers him, hiding from the ruthless Captain Tommo becomes almost impossible.

🏴‍☠️ The Pirate and The Piper by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom *

(E, 38k, Peter Pan au) the one where Harry is Hook, Louis is Pan, and nothing is what it seems.

🏴‍☠️ I Sail With You by AFangirlFantasy / @afangirlfantasy *

(T, 35k, pirate Louis) Against his wishes, Omega Prince Harry Styles is arranged to mate with someone he doesn’t love, much less knows. Though he pleaded to his parents incessantly, they not only refuse to comply but force him to depart on a ship days later. 

🏴‍☠️ In Your Black Heart (Is Where You'll Find Me) by graceling_in_a_suit

(E, 35k, omegaverse) Louis Tomlinson has been lying for five years. His crew sees him as a pirate, a Captain, and an alpha; only two of those are the truth.

🏴‍☠️ Lead Butterfly by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(M, 32k, secret identity) When the ship Harry lives on is boarded and overtaken by the crew of The Lady Charlotte, he thinks it’s going to be the end of the line. What he’s not expecting is to be brought onto the ship and provided safe passage.

🏴‍☠️ I Don't Have a Choice (But I'd Still Choose You) by Wishingforloushair / @wishingforloushair

(E, 31k, captain Louis) The men discover a stowaway on the ship, and to Louis' utter shock the man is Lord Styles, the man who broke Louis' heart years earlier and drove him out to sea in the first place.

🏴‍☠️ Sail Across Me by iwillpaintasongforlou / @canonlarry

(E, 21k, royal au) Harry is a prince that is about to be forced into marriage against his will and running away to sea seems like a much better option. Louis is the captain of the infamous pirate ship The Rogue and he has a thing for helping defenseless creatures.

🏴‍☠️ why take your life when you give it so willingly by we_are_the_same / @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed

(M, 19k, enemies to lovers) When Louis Tomlinson, Captain of The Rogue, ends up adrift at sea after Captain Cowell attacks his ship, he is surprised to find his enemy, Captain Styles, coming to his rescue.

🏴‍☠️ Gentle Rogue by @juliusschmidt

(E, 15k, captain Louis) Harry bets Nick a hundred pounds he can get Louis to sleep with him. He wins the wager and a thorough fucking.

🏴‍☠️ I Gave Up Hope and Found You Instead by Cyantific / @beyondxmeasure

(T, 13k, crossover) Where the Adore You music video ends and the Our Flag Means Death story begins.

🏴‍☠️ come my love be one with the sea by CuckooTrooke / @larrydoinglaundry

(M, 6k, mermaid Harry) Pirate captain Louis gets saved from the storm by mermaid Harry, and grows particularly fond of this mysterious creature.

🏴‍☠️ Tide's Deathless Death by Jennifer_Kaid / @poetsreprieve

(E, 4k, captain Harry) He was certainly going to relieve all the navies of their plight by taking down the captain. At least then, in his relatively newfound life of piracy, he would have done one good deed.

🏴‍☠️ Set Sail With No Compass by @zarah5

(M, 4k, captain Harry) Pirate AU. That's it; that's the summary.

🏴‍☠️ She's Never Been One to Stay At Home by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird

(G, 2k, girl direction) Harry Styles is the daughter of the governor in Port Royal, and a mysterious band of pirates is terrorizing the town.

🏴‍☠️ Tied Up Like Two Ships by @enchantedlandcoffee

(T, 2k, rivals) Captain Styles wakes up to find his rival and old friend, Captain Tomlinson, aboard his ship.

- Rare Pairs -

🏴‍☠️ I was a king under your control by frenchkiss

(M, 8k, Zayn/Liam) Liam Payne, co-captain of The Rogue and notoriously fierce pirate of the Seven Seas, meets runaway Zayn Malik. This is their love story.

🏴‍☠️ I've Never Painted Daisies on a Big Red Rubber Ball by tomlinsunshine*

(NR, 6k, Harry/Nick Grimshaw) It's a Pirate AU. Guns, puns, and tons of fun.

[ladyodium]

I Could Not Prevent It

S2x7

TW: I am going to be discussing some very heavy topics. I will ask that yall respect these topics. I will be going into Domestic Violence, Lynching, Racism, R/pe, and Gore. (SPOILERS IF YOU CONTINUE TO READ!)

So, as a Black Woman this was a hard watch. From the beginning of the lynching Louis, Claudia and Madeline were bagged and dragged off into an unknown place. Louis was being beaten on the floor while Claudia was thrown in the rat box and had people on top of it so she wouldn’t get out.

I want y’all to notice how only Madeleine is not harmed, Santiago is messing with her mind, but Claudia and Louis are being physical harmed. They all had their achilles tendons cut to the bone to prevent them from walking, they weren’t allowed to speak and if they did the coven vampires would punish them. Claudia and Louis lose their names, they are now “The accused”, Madeleine is the only one whose name is said.

The bagging, dragging, the torture, the beatings, and the mock trial all hit a little too close to home. You have two Black people and a Jewish person on stage and I can’t help but think how traumatizing this must be for Madeline. Who was dragged from her shop by an angry mob, forced on her knees and had her head shaved. Then she continued to have constant harassment on her shop and person, let’s not forget she was almost graped, and no one was going to save her. 

The film that shows in the back ground as Lestat is telling his “story” is such an important detail. “A white man who just came to New Orleans and is being Hunted by a Black male.” We the viewers know that this isn’t true. Lestat pursued Louis, Lestat wanted Louis, Lestat was obsessed with Louis. But Louis can’t convey that, he’s not allowed to speak, to defend himself. Claudia, Louis and Madeline have to sit and watch a Butch of white people laugh and mock them. They have to sit and suffer for something that was really their last option. 

Diction is very important. When Santiago is questioning Lestat he uses words like “you were forced to…you were manipulated….you were sad, and lonely….you had no choice.”

Lestat is the victim in this lynching, he was the one who was hurt, not Louis, not Claudia. He was a victim of love and passion! Of loneliness! Louis was the one who pursued him, manipulated him, made him lonely.

“I..,a vampire, was being hunted…”

“Louis was saying “come to me”…

“Speaking your own unspeakable desires…in hopes that I would come to you”

“Louis was deceptively agile with words”

“He abandoned me in our town house”

Lestat is not the victim in his relationship with Louis. Is Lestat a victim and an abuser? Yes, these two things can be true at the same time, but he was not the victim for what he did to Louis.

Claudia and Louis are described to be these two black vampires who killed their loving Maker (master). The flashback to the fight that happened really messed with me, so I’m just gonna believe that Louis, Lestat and Claudia’s versions of the fights some of them were true. The portrayal of trying to make Louis this monster who rejected Lestat and was an animal himself because he consumed animal blood is telling.

Often Black people are seen as monsters, they are the aggressors even when we are victims. I want people to understand how Louis and Claudia being Black played into their vampirism. They are immortal creatures of the night, but they are still BLACK. New Orleans was notorious for its lynching and Louis was not safe from that, no Black person was. People will say Louis was a pimp and he’s manipulating Armand and Lestat, but I feel like yall fail to understand that Louis didn’t have options. A black man in 1960 New Orleans didn’t have the options to become anything greater than what white people allowed him to be. We see that when he plays the poker game, when he helps Anderson and gets called a Nigger, and when the race riots happen and they burned down his business. 

“She called me an angel…..they burned her building because of me….”

(Context: Claudia thought Louis was God’s angel coming to save her and Louis feels guilty because she was going to die just because Louis was a black man dominating the market. )

Santiago has humiliated Claudia by making her this minstrel act. To have her sing, dance, and parade around like a fool in front of a white audience. He hates that Louis doesn’t want to join them, and that Louis is fine by himself. Louis grimacing as he watches Claudia was my face throughout that episode. He then displays her private diaries to an audience, he tells them to pass it around! Mocks her accent, makes fun at her pain and sorrows. I’m pretty sure he read what happened to her with that vampire who graped her.

She’s not a victim anymore but a prop they can laugh at and mock for their own amusement. She was right when she said “this isn’t a trial, it’s a stoning.” It’s a lynching happening in real time. Notice how Madeleine is the only one allowed the option of redemption, she’s allowed to choose her fate. She chooses death with her companion, and she had my heart for that. She really was a ride or die.

Claudia’s last act is to perform her song to the masses one more time because that’s what she was, entertainment. The way Santiago picks up her yellow dress as some kind of token really made me think of how millions of white people would have picnics and bring their children to watch the burning, lynching of black people and then they would take tokens of the kill.

To conclude, this was a hard episode and Lestat was pissing me off. Also, ARMAND IN HIS LITTLE ASS PLAYPEN?! BFFR! Shout out to the actors! They really made this episode.

[nightcolorz]

let your thoughts on the finale run WILD god knows i want to hear them 🙏🙏

OOOO YES OK!!! I’m going to start with my Armand twist thoughts bcus ik that is a point of contention among my fellow Armand apologists and ik y’all have been waiting to hear how I feel about it haha. Then I’m gonna yap about Daniels turning for similar reasons, and cuz I have theories!!!

I can’t say I’m surprised that Lestat saved Louis instead of Armand, I honestly thought when I was first watching ep7 that it was Lestat saving Louis until it cut to Armand doing the mass mind control and I was like oh ok, that makes sense ig. But I was very much willing to accept that Armand was planning to let Louis die, and so I’m def not having much trouble accepting it now lol.

I think amc made Armand just the right amount of devious when it comes to his involvement in the trial without bordering into out of character territory. I imagine directing the trial was elating for him after his panic about loosing his place in the coven. It makes perfect sense to me why he would want Louis dead 😭‼️. He basically explains it himself lol, when he says to Louis that his choice was between his coven of 200 years or his boyfriend who is actively putting him in danger and severing his sense of security. As Armand says lol, he couldn’t rely on Louis’s devotion to him to last as long as his coven has, and his priority is always going to be preserving that safety rather then being loyal to ppl he loves. Armand sees love as extremely transactional and entirely based in how secure he feels in it, how long it lasts, how much it does for him, etc (bcus hes Never been actually loved b4 oops). So once he realizes that Louis is doing nothing but putting him in jeopardy, and is actually pretty uncaring towards him, and he is given that choice, then of course he chooses the coven so thoroughly that he’s willing to let Louis die.He’s not wrong about Louis being an unreliable person to bet all his cards on💀 Louis only stayed with Armand for so long out of spite against Lestat, not out of any real love for him. And for Armand love is only worthwhile if it’s also protection and security, and Louis is not gonna give him that.

what I find interesting is how despite Armand’s plan being to kill Louis, he made the choice to stay with him even tho he wanted him dead. And I think Armand decided to stay with Louis purely because Louis burned down the theater, and without Louis Armand had nothing else. He always needs that security, that thing to devote himself to so he isn’t alone or aimless, bcus Armand doesn’t know how to live if he is not given a purpose. The learned helplessness was rlly getting me, the way he knows Louis is going to destroy the thing he just put sm effort into preserving and he doesn’t do anything to stop him. He doesn’t even act to try and preserve his relationship with Louis, he sits there limply with his head down and blankly admits that Louis will never forgive him and their relationship is ruined 💀. I think he only makes the choice to attach himself to Louis when Louis tells Lestat (and Armand) that he is going to stay with Armand. The way he’s staring at him like a wide eyed dog waiting for master to pull his leash during the scene in Magnus’s chambers, his needy little glances after he kisses him, he’s waiting for commands 😭😭 he’s waiting for Louis to give him a purpose after he destroyed the thing he was desperately clinging to

With all this being said tho, I don’t think that Armand doesn’t love Louis. As I said he has a very warped view of how love works, and even tho I’m sure it would hurt Armand to see Louis die, he both considers loosing Louis an inevitability that will be less painful if he has control of the circumstances, and he considers the loss of loved ones who are not safe/secure/useful a necessity. Armand is very used to loosing the ppl he loves in cold and painful ways 😭 for him this is the way life for a vampire is, and it doesn’t matter how he feels about it, it has to be done. When Armand says “i could not prevent it” it’s goofy asf cuz, um yes you could have sweetie ❤️🙏. But I think part of him means that, he rlly does feel like the cruelty he puts ppl through is all he can do, it’s not a choice it’s an inevitability, it’s just how he is.

i stand by with all my heart my analysis that Armand is not a manipulative or calculated person. He is clearly not so good at being manipulative lol, and his lies r only rlly affective bcus of Louis’s willingness to believe them. He lies out of fumbling desperation and fear, not out of any sort of deviousness or evil spite, lmao. He’s lived a life where he has to fight to survive, and he’s willing to do anything it takes to ensure his own safety. Armand is out for himself basically, lol. And if Louis has to die for Armand’s well-being, welp, sucks to suck 💀. If Armand has to lie to Louis so that Louis will stay with him, oop! Well he’s gonna try his best 🙏 lmaoo

When it comes to daniels turning, ahhhh!!! Omg ok, was very excited about this. My theory: cuz I’ve seen a lot of ppl upset about this and confused now that “devils minion can’t happen”. Babes I am so certain devils minion did happen ‼️ especially after this.

So after the reveal Armand is begging Louis to forgive him and trying to desperately convince him that they can still be together after this, the way he’s stuttering honestly broke my heart 😭 he may be a devious little bitch but he is my little princess and I love him. But anyways, Armand is coming to terms with (when he’s thrown out of the house, and then thrown into the wall) that the person he has been betting everything on for 77 yrs, the person he has been depending on for his purpose and his security, is gone and he has nothing else. “Without Louis I am nothing.” ‼️‼️ so as he’s lying in that rubble Armand’s thinking, I’m nothing. And knowing him, probably trying to desperately find smth else to fill the black hole.

and daniels there, and knowing Daniel, he’s not leaving. He’s getting sos messages from Raglan telling him to get the fuck out of there 😭 but raglan was the person who told Daniel that Louis is the dangerous one, not Armand, and well Louis’s left. And Daniel isn’t going to leave a fascinating story in the rubble just to go back to his shitty old man home, no sir.

So here we have it, Armand is more desperate and alone than he’s been in 77 years, and Daniel is staying with him. I imagine he helps him leave Louis’s house while he’s injured, probably drops him at a hotel or smth. And Armand has just lost his life line, and is looking for a new one, and here’s Daniel, helping him back on his feet, not leaving. I think that Daniel ends up fascinated by Armand and by some pull unable to leave him, and he stays with Armand for a while while he’s recovering from the divorce. And in my mind devils minion in the past still happened, and Armand knows this, maybe Daniel does, maybe not. Either way Daniel feels the connection. And through the power of desperation and nurse maid style rebounding, Armand turns Daniel bcus he can’t stand to be alone. And oh boy, the Armand apparently fucks all the way off right after, probably out of guilt for breaking his ultimate rule to not ever make another vampire, which aligns with book canon, where Armand and Daniel separate partly bcus of Armand’s guilt. And so here we r

I am completely certain that Louis’s claim that Armand turned Daniel out of spite is wrong, and based in Louis’s bitter post divorce bias. Especially considering how Daniel does nottt have the attitude of a man who was just turned into a vampire against his will out of anger 💀 that is youthful gay boy silly Billy lusting for life 70s Daniel in the flesh right there, that is the face of a man who’s minion has been deviled, yknow yknow. And Armand would never do that, turn someone (let alone Daniel), out of spite. If that was the case that would be an unforgivable character assassination, which I don’t think is likely to be true based on everything they get right about Armand. Armand turned Daniel out of desperation, bcus he needs Someone so that he won’t “be nothing”, not spite.

thank u sm for the ask beloved mutual ❤️❤️ I hope u enjoy this!!! I am going to be posting and answering a lot of asks today lol, and I have a lot more thoughts so stay tuned!!

[justmeinatree]

Feeling It The Most

Summary : your first time in subspace with louis

TW : smut, subspace

Word Count : 2k

you had warned him that this would happen eventually. your ability to slip into a subspace type fogginess, was a conversation you eventually had to have with all of your long term partners. louis was no different. 

once you started really getting comfortable with him, feeling safe tearing down your walls, really trusting him, you knew you had to bring it up. especially after the time you were right on the edge. your post sex haze had lasted hours that time. louis could feel something was different. you were functioning normally, as you hadn’t quite gotten to where your mind was totally gone, but everything was slow, laboured. you had a soft fuzziness to you, and you were absolutely glowing. so the next time you both got together at his place, you told him.

sat on his couch, you had your legs over his, your back propped up against a few cushions, leaned against the armrest. his hands were rubbing over your legs, as you both chatted.

you caught him a little off guard when you blurted out “lets have a sex talk, is that okay ?” but he chuckled and shook his head in a playful way, “i know you’re not faking orgasms, so i can rest assured the sex has been pretty good so far. what is it you want to talk about love ?”

you giggle, blushing a bit, because no the sex has been fucking fantastic really. you vividly remember the words “i can’t stop cumming,” slipping out of your lips the last time. and it was true, it felt like your orgasm lasted a good 5 minutes the way he kept fucking you through it. “need to tell you about something that happens to me sometimes.”

and well that gets his full attention, his hand giving your thigh a reassuring squeeze as you go on, “i can go into subspace. have you ever hear of that ?” you ask, rambling a bit out of nervousness. “either way, last time i was really close. i need you to know what to do when it’ll inevitably happen.”

“i have heard of it,” he hums quietly, hands massaging your thighs soothingly. he hasn’t known you exponentially long, you’d only been dating 6 months. but he doesn’t think he’s seen something make you this nervous. 

“s’that what was going on last time ?” he recounts the kind of lost puppy vibe he got from you. “didn’t know i could do that to someone,” he giggles a bit, shaking his head.

louis’ lighthearted attitude definitely takes the edge off, as you bite your lip, nodding, “you absolutely can. christ, i was so close,” you hum breathily, almost as if you were lost in the memory. 

“what do i need to know, love ?” he asks quietly, his hand leaving your thigh, finger hooking under your chin, making you look at him.

“i’m not going to know my own limits,” you whisper, eyes locked on his. you see a moment of nervousness swipe through his eyes. 

“s’okay, i trust you,” you add, just as quietly. “wouldn’t be able to fall into it if i didn’t. but i’ll need you to look out for me. you’ll know when to stop.”

so tonight, while you were both sat on the couch again, this time at your place, all the lights turned off, an absurd amount of candles spread out to create the warmest glow, you climbed into his lap.

the kiss became heavy very quick, your hands gripped into his hair like your life depended on it. his hands holding the swell of your ass, fingertips sure to leave bruises, as your entire body rolls into his. needing to feel every bit of him that you could.

you were sinking down on his cock in no time, hands digging into the couch as you moan out breathily. just as you sit on him fully, you feel the sharp smack of louis’ palm collide with your ass cheek, making you groan loudly. your fingers curl into the plushy material of the couch, your forehead dropping to louis’ shoulder. a few more smacks are heard through the room and you can feel the numbness in your body as your mind starts to float.

louis’ quick dominance tonight made you lose yourself faster than you ever remember. he starts to buck his hips up into you as you raise your head from his shoulder, your elbows quick to rest on them, your hands in his hair.

“ahh-fuck,” you breathe out as the head of his cock crashes into your sweet spot roughly, his hips stilling completely. your thighs tremble as your eyes lock with his, and he can see it. the moment your gaze seems to completely glass over. he remembers your talk and he’s thankful it’s happened, because if he’s being honest, it would have been a little freaky without context. 

“again,” your breathe so quietly, he only heard it because you’re so close. 

he sees it in your eyes, the need pouring out of you. the need for him to take care of you right now. he’s entirely in charge, can do whatever he wants with you and you’ll go with it. but he needs to be able to read you, needs to know when you need to stop, because you won’t know it yourself. it feels like a big responsibility, and he’s a bit nervous now that he’s into it. but he also remembers your reassuring words. that you’re only able to do this with people that you know will take good care of you. it’s an honour of sorts.

so he grips onto your hips, eyes still locked on yours, pulling out of you almost all the way, before roughly slamming back into you, his cock angled right for your sweet spot, hips stilling once he’s completely seethed. you moan out again, louder this time, your eyes rolling back and fluttering shut.

“fuck, that’s it yeah ?” louis grits against your mouth, sucking your lip into his mouth to nibble on it. “that’s the spot love ?” he asks, your head nodding slowly. and for tonight, he accepts that. knows he probably shouldn’t be expecting too many words from you right now. 

so louis keeps fucking you right into that spot, slowly picking up the pace as his fingers slide down your body to flick at your swollen button. as soon as his fingers make contact, you tremble through your first orgasm of the night. 

both you and louis had lost count, he’s fucked you through so many orgasms, your body was a trembling mess. your cunt was clenching on his member so tightly, fingers flicking quickly over your clit. another high takes over your body, face buried in his shoulder, gasping for air, as you can feel yourself squirting on him, soaking the couch.

louis could feel your juices drench his cock and his thighs, a loud whine working its way through his chest, “fuckin wish i could see you squirting love, soaked me cock real good. christ, you’re such a good girl aren’t you,” he groans against your ear as you whimper out, your body feeling so overstimulated, and yet so so good. you never wanted this to stop. if this killed you, you were absolutely going to die happy.

he grips into your hair, tugging your face out of his neck. “look at me,” louis groans into your mouth, eyes fixated on yours that you can’t seem to open. he loves how intense this has become, but he can feel that you’re getting tired and he really doesn’t want to push you too far. his hand makes its way onto your neck, just under your jaw, tightening his grip when you dont respond, “open your eyes love.”

the demanding tone made your eyes snap open, staring straight at louis. he loosens the grip on your neck as he sees just how far gone you seem to be for him. the look in your eyes is making his chest heavy as you look at him like he’s the only thing in the world. in this moment, for you, nothing else exists but this connection you both have. and for a moment, louis wishes he could go to this place that you can escape to. 

but this moment needs to come to an end, he can feel it. just like you had told him he would. so he lays your back against the couch, gripping the underside of both your knees, pressing them up into your chest, as his cock delves right back into you, “last one, c’mon i know you can do it. be my good girl and cum with me.”

you groan loudly, a slight whine to your tone, the new angle now pushing louis’ cock deeper than ever before. you could feel him in the pit of your stomach, your head absolutely swimming as his prick rolls against your most sensitive spots.

your pussy was so overstimulated, you felt tears roll down your cheeks, as you gripped the back of louis’ head, bringing his forehead to yours, in an effort to ground yourself. 

“you can do it sweet girl, i know you can,” he whispers, looking down between your bodies to watch his cock thrusting in and out of you. “taking my prick so well, like your fuckin cunt was cut out for me, christ,” he adds quietly, more to himself, but you caught the words. and they shot straight down to your pussy, a loud moan echoing through the room as you cum again, louis getting the perfect view of your squirting cunt.

watching what he’s been capable of doing to you, the tightness of your heat on his cock, it all became too much. louis was cumming hard, head buried in your neck, as your pussy was milking him completely dry.

neither of you really know how long you’d been laying there, louis’ weight on your body being the perfect way to keep you tethered to the earth as you’re slowly getting your brain back.

you hadn’t told him about the intimate part of the aftercare. only that you needed him close, needed him to care for you. but he was nailing this part, just as you knew he would. 

his fingertips were gliding up and down your arm, calling you back to him. his lips pecking little soft kisses along your neck, whispering the sweetest of nothings, just rolling off his tongue without really having to think, reminding you that you were safe.

you were lifted from the fog so comfortably, you almost didn’t notice you were totally back. but you managed a soft “you’re fucking perfect, honey,” making louis hum, his eyes meeting yours for the first time in a while. he smiles as he notices that your irises aren’t all that glossy anymore, your pupils are back to normal size and your breathing seems to be regulated. 

“well hello beautiful,” louis pecks your lips softly over and over again as you breathe out a giggle, blushing, feeling shy all of a sudden. it’s all very overwhelming for you, and this being your first time with louis, it’s still something to get used to.

once you give him the okay to slip out of you, he lays you down more comfortably on the couch, even fluffing the pillows for you, making you giggle and blush at how amazing he’s being. 

he quickly runs off to get a warm washcloth, gently helping you clean up. you hiss a bit, out of pure sensitivity, and louis’ quick to apologize. but you’re quicker to shake your head, feeling much too blissed out to care.

“are you comfortable ?” he asks quietly. “s’it okay if i step away to get you some water and a snack ?”

you smile wide at him, nodding, “you’re so fuckin perfect louis. thank you.”

……

Masterlist

[nalyra-dreaming]

Do you think that, at the beginning of the episode, Armand kept Louis asleep so he could spin his little yarn about Lestat without the latter there with the express hope of selling Daniel on the telenovela? As well as maybe making peace/having some quiet time with the Daniel (read: his boy from SF) he kind of tried to protect from Louis' cruel Alice-rant last episode? Daniel has been continuously mocking Louis with the notion of Loumand being "a story that is being sold to him" so maybe this way, Lestat appears to be the bad guy yet again and further Lestat discussions are tabled except explaining how Louis got his groove back (and learned to forget about the 'ever-thinking-about-himself' Lestat)?

I'm a Loustater who was ready to live with Loumand because we have to, and thought I was willing to give Armand some trust that he's trying to protect Louis from doing something terrible in Dubai, but it seems that, with that fiction about Lestat, he's been withholding more than Louis ever did. And whether that's to save Louis or himself and likely both, I can't tell. I can't even imagine how we're going to have a walk-down-memory-lane discussion about the trial if Armand can't be remotely honest, even now, about Lestat.

Lastly, all that talk in theatre about the coven wanting Louis dead if he's not joining etc. Is all that telepathic murder plotting being freely discussed in Dubai?

Need help! Want to understand!!!!!!!!

Oh, I think Louis being asleep when the interview continues is a massive red flag, indeed. He was up during the day before, so why will he rise at sundown now? And why does Armand launch into a little fanfic version of Lestat while Daniel asks him a very different question?

And why did the Mac not record that one sentence?

The thing is... I think Armand is doing precisely what he was doing with Louis at the end of the IWTV book, namely a) lie to him about a few specific things, b) keep a kind of veil over Louis and c) protect him (from others and himself).

It's Armand! He's the coven master. He does what he thinks is best.

And of course he loves Louis, too, but... you know. At this point it should be very clear that Louis did not love him back as much as he seemed to do (before). Louis invited Armand in (and into a relationship with him) to not get killed. And to keep Claudia safe, too. THAT is their actual relationship start and fuck how bitter is that?????

The Louis in Dubai... has lived decades with whatever happened after that event in San Francisco. And whatever happened with the Devil's Minion arc there. And Armand... is still lying to him.

I said it in another ask, but by now I'm leaning towards Louis going to NOLA at the end of the season - and either finding Lestat there ... or NOT. And if he does not find him I can see him go and do the Merrick ending in the Merrick ending place.

I think episode 7 and 8 will shift a LOT of things, and no matter how the trial is narrated we already know it likely won't be how it went. It will be interesting to see if they break the narrative once more - or let Daniel read them to filth.

Because I can see Daniel do that. Because allll the little things, all the Talamasca files, all that background information he has now will click into place for him. Because he is very good at his job.

[metaphorwritings]

Do you have any headcanons for Strohl with a very physically affectionate partner?? Bro's so pretty I just want to kiss his hand like the pretty princess he is

Metaphor Headcanons #2

-. Oh, I was waiting for this one!!!

-. Okay, so lemme just say that Strohl is a man who can do both when it comes to affection.

-. Allow me to explain.

-. When you and Strohl first started seeing each other officially, he was a MESS!!!

-. In private, like, hand holding and little kisses, and he'd blush, he'd stutter, y'know cute shit!

-. But in public, this boy is bright red!!!

-. If you take his hand in public, he will freeze up and just allow you to drag him wherever you'd like.

-. If you kissed his cheek or any part of him for that matter, he would try and kind the growing blush on his cheeks with the collar of his jacket

-. But it's not to say he doesn't like it!

-. Hell no!

-. In fact, he likes when you show off your affection towards him.

-. He always felt comfort in your little touches, because he hasn't had anything so tender like that since his parents passed.

-. Oh, and he LOVES it when you gently caress his clemar horns!!!

-. And if you start playing with his long fingers, or kissing the knuckles of his calloused hands, looking into his eyes?

-. K.O.!

-. This man will be weak in the knees for the rest of the day with butterflies in his stomach!

-. Safe to say, he's a touch starved baby.

-. He also has no idea what he's doing when it comes to affection.

-. Like, he has no idea what he's doing the first couple of times you two would cuddle or anything like that.

-. He's so used to just doing friendly touches like handshakes and shoulder punches that he's a moron when it comes to the romantic stuff.

-. He's so nervous to make it awkward and shit.

[Spoilers ahead!!!]

-. Now, I've listed all of the bashfulness that is Leon Strohl da Haliaetus, and I know what you're thinking

-. "Didn't you say he can do both?"

-. Yeah, this man is POSSESSIVE!!!

-. I think Strohl being the stubborn, hard-headed guy he is...

-. The guy who literally wanted to square up with Louis when they were trying to act like his best buddies in front of ALLLLL OF HIS SUBORDINATES...

-. Oh, he would definitely get jealous easily if he caught someone looking at you funny

-. If he catches some random drunkard trying to flirt and get cozy with you? He puts his arm around you and pulls you in closer to him.

-. If someone is staring at you in a way he doesn't like? Expect two kinds of kisses depending on the situation :

-. Kisses on the back of your hands at formal events...

-. And super, steamy, passionate ones on the lips in front of people he REEEEAAALLY doesn't like.

-. One minute you are chatting with Hulkenberg about the food at this event, or Heismay is telling you an old story of his and then BAM!

-. Strohl turns you around and is kissing you, with tongue, one hand on your cheek, the other groping your ass.

-. He wants that person he hates so much to look at what he's doing to you in public and he LOVES it when you kiss back and hold him close.

-. Hulkenberg and Heismay be like : 😶

-. Then, to reassure Strohl everything is alright, you always cup his face with both of hands, get him to lean down to your height...

-. Or look up if you're tall!

-. And you nuzzle your nose against his

-. And this man's heart is about to explode

-. Speaking of comfort, Strohl likes to have you close to him if he starts having nightmares about his home town being burnt to the ground.

-. He just wants you to keep holding him close and running your fingers through his hair, whispering words of affirmation to him.

-. Strohl is a big fan of tiny kisses.

-. His favourite places are his nose, his neck and his cheek.

-. And when Strohl is away from you for a long time, this man will kick the door and rush at you and pick you up and spin you around and later just let you play with his horns while his head is on your lap.

[toriangeli]

I get the impression that the writers didn’t expect people to be that invested in Armand which is odd bc he’s a popular book character but. It almost seems to me like they thought everyone would be invested in Lestat and Louis only and they can do whatever with Armand. I still think he was well-written for the most part don’t get me wrong. However.

I think his motivations are muddled in this version of the story and it’s weird that he had no strong relationships to anyone all season. The Louis thing didn’t matter to either of them that much bc he was willing to let him die (weird), nothing with Daniel yet, didn’t seem very upset with the coven members dying and didn’t even seem to hate Claudia all that much?

I feel like they didn't think we'd love him if he was as much of a maniac as he was in the books? Crazy time to start worrying about what their audience thinks. ffs, Rolin talked about how bad they felt for Armand upon rereading the second half of book 1 and then didn't even quote the line that made them feel so bad for him in the first place (the thing about how he's done everything for Louis and Louis doesn't love him and seems totally dead to him).

He was definitely very attached to Louis, but Louis' lack of attachment to him and Daniel's utter contempt guided the audience's opinion a lot more than the softening of his terribleness. Even if it's not their intent, he comes across as the least favorite child. Lestat dropped Louis from the sky and gets a pass, but Armand did...what, exactly? Louis forgave him for playing a part with Claudia's death, but being willing to let Louis die was unforgivable, even after he pulled Louis out of the sun? And Rolin talked about how these were genuine attempts from Armand to be better, to be good to Louis, only to be met in 2.05 with the bleak understanding that none of it meant jack shit to Louis, it was all just a sign of Armand being a boring person who did boring things. "As empathetic as possible," says Rolin, but the actual audience is taking its cues from audience surrogate Daniel, whose opinion isn't based on Armand's experiences or even Louis' experiences, but his own. His entire take on the situation is centered around what Armand did to him, so he ignores anything that could actually make him see where Armand is coming from. He even calls his tragic backstory into question. And don't tell me Armand lied so much he deserved that. Nobody deserves it. Anyway, according to Rolin, Armand lied about two things: who saved Louis at the trial, and how involved he was in the trial itself, and all subsequent lies were covering up those two. Do you ever see Armand bringing up his tragic backstory when he isn't asked to do so? He plays victim about other things, sure, but never about that.

And frankly, some of the things he plays victim about, he has the right to be pissed about. It feels like nobody really grasps 2.05 with any sense of compassion for both Louis and Armand--it's always one or the other of them in total wrong. Either Louis is emotionally abusive during their fight, or Armand tortured and neglected him and made the whole situation about himself.

What if both things can be true, but we understand where they're both coming from? That's the thing about dark fiction: we can actually look critically at relationships like these and see nuance. It's not safe to do that in real life unless you're the therapist involved, but in fiction? We can actually look and see and think. Don't do that if you're in a toxic relationship irl, just get out.

Louis is using drugs to run away from something Armand could have prevented. There's kind of a karma in Armand being forced to be his caretaker. At the same time, I know what being the codependent in a relationship feels like, so...yes, Armand making the situation about himself makes a lot of sense because no situation is ever about himself. He drags Louis out of the sun, and we never talk about how traumatic that is for both of them. Rightly, the focus is on Louis, because Louis is the primary victim in the situation, but he's not the only one traumatized by his own suicide attempt. We, the audience, have the capacity to have empathy for them both, but we seldom do. Instead, we see Armand doing something wrong--the secondary victim demanding understanding from the primary one--and focus way too much on that instead of why.

People feel sorry for themselves because they're overcompensating for the fact that only they ever seem to validate their own experiences. Judging by some of Sam's attitude, I suspect the last person who told Armand "you went through something fucked up and it's okay to not be okay about it" was Marius. Right before the attempt, Louis actively invalidated some of the worst shit Armand ever went through, so sure. I obviously don't agree with Armand's actions in the aftermath, but the important thing is, I'd consider it shitty, shitty writing if the writers decided everyone should immediately be able to act rationally about this. That's not how people work. It's the opposite of how Armand should work. Armand is so poorly socialized, he doesn't know the unwritten social codes, or even why he does what he does. And any time someone calls him out, they can't seem to do so without invalidating completely unrelated traumas he's had.

You can say, "Oh, well, this season was Louis' story, so of course they focused on Louis' perspective," but here's the problem with that: we are not getting a The Vampire Armand season. It wouldn't make sense. The only two main characters who are in those flashbacks are Armand and Marius. That means sidelining almost every series regular for an entire season if they did a TVA season. If every POV character (Daniel, Louis, and Lestat) has total contempt for Armand, exactly when is the audience supposed to have things cleared up for them?

[faithandfairies]

Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Rant

It's so interesting how season 2 is like watching a train wreck happening in slow motion.

Let me start by saying that Claudia tells Louis that he's once again choosing another vampire over her. But I feel like Louis is trying to do the opposite of that. Or at least he really doesn't start out trying to choose Armand.

The entirety of season 2 involves Louis trying to help Claudia make her dreams come true by following her lead, doing what she wants to do. For once he's choosing her.

None of what they end up doing is anything he cares about. He's a homebody who likes to read a good book by the fire while knowing his loved ones are safe and near. I mean, he asks Claudia early on whether they can go home now, when they don't find what they were looking for after 5 years of searching, right before Paris.

He doesn't know what home will entail, whether it will just be going home to New Orleans with Lestat dead or if Lestat will be there waiting for him, murderous or loving, but he doesn't care. Both options will do.

Him seeing Lestat is him trying to desperately reconnect with something he cares about, even if it is within his own memories, especially when his attempts at connecting with Claudia fall flat.

Claudia initially wants to leave Paris when they first arrive there but Paris is the first time Louis feels at home because Paris is the closest he's been to Lestat in years. So Louis wants to give it a chance.

I think on some level Louis expected Lestat to follow them, to come looking for them, so Louis could say he tried to pick Claudia over Lestat and Lestat wouldn't let him. The way he tends to place blame anywhere else than with himself. Even him going to Roger and Albert is about inquiring whether Lestat is truly dead, sure, but is also a siren song meant for Lestat in case he's alive I think. That if Lestat is alive he will hear from Roger that Louis is in Paris and show up. But then none of that happens.

Season 2 also involves a lot of everyone lying to themselves. Even Louis' relationship with Armand is him trying and failing to fix the mistakes he made in his relationship with Lestat with Armand as a stand-in for Lestat.

Armand is very obviously dangerous from the start. Even while he's crushing a bit on Louis he does not make it a secret that he wants Louis and Claudia dead.

Initially Louis makes the right call, he wants to leave Paris the moment he realizes Armand is a danger to them. But it would mean uprooting Claudia, forcing her to start over from a point of misery again. So then he approaches Armand the way he did Lestat.

He tries to solve the problem of Armand being a danger to them by trying to love him, love him into safety. He tries to go one step further than he ever did with Lestat, he tries to say it, say "I love you" but it doesn't ring true even to his own ears.

He forgets that loving Lestat was always his truth, incapable of being a manipulation, impossible to replicate as a lie.

Even Armand tries to love Louis, because the only thing better than killing Louis would be for Louis to fall in love with him more than he ever was with Lestat. To the point that if given the choice Louis would choose Armand because he loves him more than he ever did Lestat.

But Armand is not Lestat. Which means a lot of things. It means Louis and Claudia will never truly be safe with Armand simply because Louis and Claudia are not his. Lestat considered Louis and Claudia his, his family, his to take care of, his to protect. Armand does not feel the same way. But Armand not being Lestat also means Louis will never love Armand. Which only underlines that they will never be safe with Armand. Because aside from running or killing the coven, actually loving Armand more than Lestat was the one way Louis might have gotten Armand to not kill them.

And Louis can't do that. He shows Armand this too when he can't commit to Armand in the one essential way he did do to Lestat. He can't accept Armand as his companion. Because in his mind Lestat never stopped being his companion and to accept Armand as such would mean to give the role Lestat filled to Armand. At this point Armand is an affair. He cannot be Louis' companion because even considered dead, in Louis' heart of hearts, that position belongs to Lestat.

And yet when it turns out he and Claudia are still in danger from Armand and the coven Louis tries to do that anyway. He tries to banish Lestat's memory. He tries to force companionship with Armand even though he doesn't feel it. And that scene is so interesting because it's Louis lying to himself in its entirety. It seeming to be initially about him breaking up with Armand but instead it's him trying to let go of the memory of Lestat.

But what it's really about is him trying to let go of his humanity and once again becoming the cold and calculated pimp he used to be before he met Lestat, that needed to do what he needed to do to protect his family. It's funny to realize that by loving him Lestat unknowingly unearthed some of Louis' humanity that had previously been hidden away. Because in choosing to love Lestat Louis became more human. Lestat chose Louis in part because of the hardened pimp façade he threw up in order to cope with the work he had to do to take care of his family. But in loving Louis Lestat laid bare all of who Louis really was and while he thought he knew what he was doing I don't think he truly knew until after he had turned Louis and saw the true effects of him taking a wrecking ball to all of Louis' walls at the same time.

When Louis realizes that once again his family is in danger he does what he did all those years ago. He dusts off the pimp persona. He's about to give the performance of his life trying to make Armand believe he's in love with him so Armand doesn't kill them, all while locking his heart away with the memory of Lestat for safekeeping so that he can actually give a convincing performance.

But here's the thing, Lestat was the actor. Louis was never good at lying about how he really felt. It's also why distracting Lestat before he killed him was so effective. It was as easy as breathing because Louis didn't have to act. The love he felt for Lestat was the absolute truth and anything less than that would have been a lie Lestat would have seen straight through. Lestat may not have realized Louis loved him but unbeknownst to him he did know how it felt to be loved by Louis.

Louis can't deceive Armand the same way precisely because he doesn't have those particular feelings for Armand and up to then he was trying to use Armand as a Lestat stand-in, a do-over in which he tells Armand what Lestat needed to hear, in the hopes this time the outcome will be different. Which almost worked because he had Dreamstat to bring those real feelings to the surface. But then Louis locks Dreamstat away thinking that's the answer and no longer even has a whisper of the feeling he previously had to back up his words and actions. And by then it's already too late anyway.

[dwreader]

Hello, I'd love to have your perspective cause I'm a bit confused. What happened on the bench, why did Louis act like that with Armand? To keep him and Claudia safe? If it was just that why did he refuse to leave Paris when Armand suggested it? Does he have feelings for Armand or not?

He clearly loves Armand and made the decision to move forward with him after saying goodbye to ghost Lestat? It's pretty obvious he was deeply affected by Armand sharing his backstory with him to the point where he takes his side when Claudia tells him what he threatened her with. Then he doesn't go through with burning the photograph, which represents the vulnerability that Louis accidentally captured (and he refused to believe was even there before Armand told him his past), so in that moment Louis chooses to believe Armand when he had been skeptical throughout the whole episode thinking he was manipulating him like Lestat often did. This is all finally confirmed to him when he meets Armand on the bench and tests the waters, cause Lestat simply would never have behaved like that in a million years. Armand submitting proves to Louis now that maybe this is different, that maybe Armand wouldn't hurt him the way Lestat did and that he can have more control over this relationship than he ever did with Lestat who dominated every aspect of his life and refused to give a single inch. I truly don't think Louis could've entered a serious companionship with Armand if he hadn't shown the willingness to be weak for him. As Jacob said it's meant to be a response to his relationship with Lestat.

You also have Armand in the museum saying he's stuck in a job he didn't want, that the name Armand itself was thrust upon him by the coven who forced him into another role that he had no choice over and currently feels he has no way out of. So Louis offers him a chance for something else. I don't think Armand can even conceive of life without the coven yet and still hesitates in letting it go, but by calling him by his "true" name, the first one he remembers, Louis's basically signaling to him that he can be a blank slate again if he wants and that they can have a life together without the coven. Also at this point Claudia has fallen out of favor with the coven as well, so everything is in a very precarious place with their secret on the verge of being discovered..

[pikachicachan]

I saw that you like CaliTex/TexaCali, so I was wondering if I could request some Texas-centered (he’s my fav if you can’t tell-) TexaCali hc’s? :D

*completely fine if not, have a great day/night!! (ggGRAHHHH TIMEZONES-)*

omg hi!! YES, I'D LOVE TO TELL U MY HEADCANONS

I know I've been only drawing Cali, but Texas is actually my fav too with Cali being in second, Alaska in third, Louis in fourth, and Gov in fifth!

I feel like Texas is my fav because I am a born and raised Texan tho... but I can't help it! I love him sm.

Anyway, I had to organize my thoughts about my Texas and TexaCali headcanons, so be prepared to read!

Texas headcanons (and some Austin ones too cuz I couldn't help it ^^;;)

I think my version of Texas is kind of unconventional but I love it and it has me giggling with glee, kicking my feet, and twirling my hair, so by the God I don't believe in, I'm going to continue thinking this way!

First, I love to think of Texas as a secret softie. I think of him more as a cat person because he likes that they're independent animals and he can't help but pet them when he sees them around the Statehouse or one of his other Texan homes (he keeps cat food on hand just in case) but keeps his cool when the other states are near by.

I think a funny headcanon of mine is: because of the incoming Californians coming to his state, I feel like that's subconsciously influencing his attitude and preferences a bit and it drives him kinda crazy cuz he'll catch himself thinking or acting a certain way and then curse California under his breath when he realizes why he's being weird. He'll deny it to anyone, but he'll somehow find himself going to more art centered festivals, listening to indie music, eyeing eco-friendly alternatives (cars, clothing, materials, etc.), has urges to go to the beach, and most annoying of all - somehow finds himself scrolling through Disney and Pixar movies to watch (to Austin's amusement).

He built a cute artsy home in Austin for Austin and he let him decorate the place because he wanted Austin to have a "safe space" and a place for himself. So Austin would go there to wind down, paint, do DIY projects (and give some of his creations to Texas and Cali), and go thrift shopping. Austin would totally help Texas pick out some outfits and make him participate in painting something while listening to local, indie, and underground music. Texas would deny it, but he likes that someone is looking out for him and he doesn't mind the painting because it's feels very traditional/cultural and meditative.

Texas also definitely has a beach house at South Padre Island! SpaceX has set up Starbase near there and now it's become a hotspot for rocket launches, so he goes there to watch the launches, hang out at restaurants and bars near the pier, and goes fishing. (I mention this because I feel like no one ever mentions Texas beaches and I feel like going to the beach is another place Texas goes to hang out or wind down.)

Gardening is another hobby I can picture Texas doing. Like for Austin's house, he mowed the front lawn, planted some flowers, and created a garden with low maintenance plants and a mini greenhouse for his backyard.

ALSO, I love thinking of him as a secret geek/nerd! I feel like because he has NASA, SpaceX, and a lot of tech companies are moving to Texas, he's becoming a lot more tech-savvy and very invested in technology development (which is super cool to me) but this also means he's getting into building computers and geeking out about computer parts and stuff which - somehow makes sense in my brain but not really logically - gets him into the MCU! I could totally imagine him watching Captain America or The Avengers and being invested in the lore and keeping up with the movies with Austin. I mean, he's not a die-hard fan that'll read all the comics, but he (or actually more so Austin) would prob look up extra context for scenes that need more explaining and discuss it with each other!

Which ties into -

My TexaCali headcanons (Texas-centered)

I'd like to think that Cali finds out about Texas' geek side on accident in the most unexpected way. Like, Cali could be on the phone in the Statehouse living room, loudly debating with Florida on the phone about Deadpool & Wolverine — talking about the potential connections to the MCU future, and Texas would overhear their discussion about Loki and mumbles under his breath to Austin (a bit more louder than he thinks) in disbelief: "Pfft, of course Loki is coming back!" which makes Cali drop his phone in shock, stumble over to Texas, and demands to know how much he knows and how and when did this happen???

It's cute to imagine that Tex and Cali would hang out or have picnics at their beaches. They would watch rocket launches and go volunteer at the Sea Turtle Inc together at South Padre Island and Cali would take him on strolls on his beaches, teach him how to surf, and watch the sunrises or sunsets there (or back in Texas) on the back of Texas' truck with a cooler between them that has [insert alcoholic drinks here], sandwiches, and ice cream (idk any specific drinks, but ik they would be drinking some lol).

omg, and that when Cali realizes Tex is very deprived of validation and praise, he showers Tex in them which makes Tex feel insecure/unsure at first because he thinks Cali is only saying those things to be nice and not because he actually means it. After much reassurance though, Tex begins to love the praise and melts every time Cali says something endearing and positive about him! <3

annnnnnd, that's all I can think of atm! I did my best to make the TexaCali hc's Texas centered but I love em together so muchh lol

Hope you enjoyed reading this! ^^

P.S. if this somehow inspired someone with some ideas for fanfics, pls write some! I need more TexaCali fics in my life plsss TT.TT

[1dcommunityficrecs]

Space Fic Rec

As we sit upon a rock spinning at 1000km/hr, and hurtling through the cold, empty universe at 100,000km/hr, illuminated only by a giant ball of gas and nuclear fusion 150,000,000km away from us that keeps us gravitationally locked in its orbit... I bring you six space fics! Cause space is cool as heck! Even if it's a little terrifying!

Take a look through, and if any catch your fancy then drop a kudos or a comment or a reblog -- your friendly neighbourhood fic writer appreciates it!

The Stars Look Very Different Today by kingsofeverything (43032, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post

For Harry Styles, child genius turned glorified spaceship mechanic, rescuing lost or broken down ships is a fairly common occurrence. There’s nothing common about his latest mission, the ship, or that ship’s captain. The last thing he expects to find in a distant galaxy is the one thing he’s been missing on Earth.

Reccer says: I think the future world-building is incredible!

ghost of you by beckywritesthings (109111, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence

a Star Wars AU where Harry is Obi-Wan, Louis is Satine, and somehow there’s a love story between the cracks where there shouldn’t be

Reccer says: An incredibly written, epic royal space fic! Even if you've never seen Star Wars, you'll fall in love with these characters. And if you have seen Star Wars, you'll be amazed by how this writer plotted this story!

foothold by turnyourankle (18358, Mature, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post

Louis has crossed the galaxy with a ship full of crystals; they’re the only thing he has to offer in exchange for safe harbor. He thought getting to his destination would be the hardest part, hoping that once he got his family to safety everything would fall back into place; Louis struggles to adapt while his sisters thrive.

Reccer says: Such atmospheric, visual writing that was used to create such an interesting world! The characters are so complex and have inner demons that eventually reveal themselves.

Don't bring the Starbucks by LadyLondonderry (4814, Teen, Niall Horan/Rory McIlroy) – fic post Warnings: Minor character death (but as the author says, it's no one you like)

The one where Niall is a perfectly normal university student, until he finds himself an ocean away in the middle of Ohio with a strange man telling him to stop wandering off. Then he’s in space. It’s a whole thing.

Reccer says: Emmu's fics are always their own special brand of charming and this fic is no exception. It's so delightful and odd and it makes me so happy.

in other words by sarcangel (3758, General, Niall Horan/Louis Tomlinson) Warnings: mentions of past injuries leading to prosthetics

Niall works on a space cruise line, dancing with passengers, but the person he most wants to dance with is the captain.

Reccer says: A really fascinating worldbuilding (is it still called worldbuilding if it's in space? XD) I feel like we know so much about the background of these characters and this universe, even in only a few thousand words.

Breaking Through the Atmosphere by dinosaursmate (40416, Explicit, Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson) – fic post

Louis is recruiting folks to colonize a new planet; Harry is the sweet, homesick painter/veterinarian he recruits.

Reccer says: Brilliant descriptions of what their life is like on another planet! And such a gentle, slow burn into realizing that you’ve fallen in love.

[marshthemarsh]

A pjo x dc crossover that takes place before the lighting thief.

Starting with Percy Jackson who was 11 at the time when he catches the attention of the teen titans, who have started to notice that Percy was the target for almost all the recent monster attacks, because Percy keeps getting caught up in all these monster attacks the titans do a background check on Percy.

Of course the background check leaves them more concerned (what do you mean Percy attended 6 schools and got expelled from all 6 schools?) so they decide the next time Percy gets caught up in a monster attack they'll interrogate him to try and find some answers as to why Percy is a target for these monsters.

When Percy gets caught up in another monster attack he does what he always do and that's running from the monsters and to somewhere safe but this time his paths of escaping are blocked, the monster cornered him and Percy does try fighting back and during the fight the teen titans do come to his rescue and Percy who never stuck around to see the fights is immediately star struck by Robin(the only one who doesn't have powers yet was able to take a monster down by himself?!). Percy not wanting to stick around but staying because his path was still blocked ends up being walked home by Robin and Percy asks robin how he's able to fight and if he could maybe please teach him how to fight because he keeps getting attacked and he's tired of running he wants to fight back. Robin, seeing this as an opportunity to investigate Percy more, agrees to teach Percy how to fight.

Percy usually trained with robin over the weekends during summer break and thinks Robin is the coolest person ever and Robin isn't any closer to figuring out why Percy keeps being attacked but he meets Sally who asks Robin if he could protect/keep an eye on Percy (he agrees but is suspicious of Sally because he knows that she knows more than she's letting on) he does grow fond of them and ends up giving them a device that'll alert him immediately if either Sally or Percy need his or the titans help.

When Percy is sent to Yancy Academy Robin reminds him to take the device with him to Yancy just in case he needs help. While the school year started Robin did keep tabs on Percy (the mini robin as the titans jokingly referred to Percy as) and there's really nothing note worthy about Percy's school year except one of his teachers being replaced in the middle of the school year but that was all that happened. At the end of the school year Sally does ask if robin could be the one to pick Percy up from the subway station( Sally and Robin stayed in touch during the summer just in case Sally needed a quick get away from Gabe) Robin agreed and picked up Percy from the train station and sees Percy was upset about something, Percy tells him it's because he isn't welcomed back the next school year but robin knew it had to be more than just that.

Now on to the events of the lighting thief

While Percy was on his quest Robin was freaking out because what do you mean Sally and Percy went missing and then Percy reappeared causing a 10 car pile up and then disappeared again only to reappear again and blow up the st Louis Arch?? The titans are all trying to find Percy, they don't know what's happening but whatever it is it's big and Robin won't stop stressing over trying to find Percy and Sally.

After the fight with Ares on the beach Percy calls Robin for help instead of flying home ( the titans were already on their way, they saw the news of Percy in a knife/gun fight with his captor) after returning to new York (and Percy returning the bolt) and seeing Sally also returned home Robin tries to get answers but before he could he had some problems in Gotham he needed to deal with.

This is currently a brain worm I have and I might actually turn it into a full on fic later, I have a vague outline for the sea of monsters and the titans curse that I'll post about later but here's this for now.