#but it's not as though lestat wouldn't have gone through with it if he could have

[cypheragent]

can I be honest I think it's kind of crazy how much lestans go on and on about lestat's trauma because I honestly think louis, claudia AND armand all had it worse. sorry.

[that-one-malereader-enthusiast]

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞 • 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞

╰┈➤ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐭

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𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭 𝐱 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 || inspo: @nickgoesinsane the post !!!

⟩ » Part One « | Part Two ⟨

cw : MDNI - S1 Lestat, flirting, suggestive content, top male reader, goofy male reader, bagged the baddie by being autistic aesthetic, mentions of sexual interactions, slight Louis jealousy, one-shot.

Thinking of how Lestat would so leisurely find his way onto your leg, his body pressed against yours almost similar to how a feline would greet another. How he would lean his head over as you'd whisper to him what others only wish they could hear.

Ears perking up at the melodic laughter from the blonde beauty himself. His hand having to cover his lips as to stifle his own joy, afraid he wouldn't be able to stop himself. Your mere words brought him joy, a rare feeling when it didn't come from either spiting others or showing off his many 'talents'.

You spoiled the man rotten from your presence alone.

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Lestat had become absolutely enthralled with you.

Beforehand, he'd peered his way into your mind and saw you as nothing more than a simpleton who genuinely happened to stumble into a bar. Like a lost puppy, you seemed almost shy, scrambling for help in your mind as the bustling room seemed like a cry out of your comfort zone.

Oh how absolutely wrong he was.

By the time he'd occupied a seat next to you, the blonde man barely had enough time to introduce himself before you perked up and did so first. You were a bit of a motor-mouth, but a smooth one at that. Lestat seemed only partially annoyed as he practically got your life's story before saying a measly five words.

You were the perfect target for a good night, to sate both his needs of hunger. A gluttonous lust he'd have sprung on Louis if the man wasn't so tied up in his own family affairs at the moment. It couldn't have been laid out any better. You were alone, having moved from further down south to try and set up business, but you were lost and passing by.

You had no family or friends worried about you, you weren't of a high enough status to be searched for if gone for more than a day, and better yet, all your belongings were currently on you as you'd been trying to find a place to stay for the night.

Lestat did have to silence you for the moment as you rambled about your current situation. His nimble fingers seemed to caress your jaw, thumb place against your lips. "For such a handsome face, you speak more than you can breathe. Though I can't blame you, having to go through such a harrowing journey with no one willing to help you?"

You seemed to smirk behind his finger, a laugh leaving your slightly chapped lips. "Well, what can I say pretty boy? You simply took my breath away the moment you sat next to lil' ol' me."

Lestat was a bit surprised to say the least as you seemed openly okay with complimenting him in such a way. Many men, caucasian or colored, seemed to keep to themselves or explore behind closed doors. You? Your mind was open and unafraid, bold to say the least—though there wasn't a single degrading thought to behold at that moment, even as the conversation continued.

"Perhaps I could provide you a place for the night? I highly doubt you'd be willing to march to your destination after such a strenuous journey here, pauvre chiot..." Lestat removed his hand, one now tapping against the bar while the other lingered against your open thigh.

"That's mighty sweet of you! So, how could this poor country boy ever repay you for such a kind gesture mista..." You droned on, hoping he'd fill the space in order to finally introduce himself.

"Lestat, Lestat de Lioncourt," he practically purred out.

"Pretty name for an even prettier face. Ya' don't sound like you're from here yourself mister Lestat. Got a story of your own to tell?" You'd now seem almost infatuated with this man who'd barely begin to speak to you, much less offer a place to stay. In the back of your mind, you knew that it was a ploy to sleep with you, maybe even take some of your belongings, but the man seemed much too proper and seemed to hold himself to a higher standing than to be a petty thief.

"Oh, but would you rather I bother you with something more than a story, mon cher?"

"Maybe, but only if you explain what you just said. Sounded somthin' like you were callin' me a cherry. Not to disappoint you, but ain't the first time I've been called a fruit, I'll tell ya that." That seemed to get a genuine chuckle from Lestat, making the smile on your lips widen.

The blonde individual shook his head as his laughter died down. "It seems you are not familiar with the tongue I speak in. Just as it seems you are just as unfamiliar with the French quarter as well."

"I wouldn't mind becoming familiar, whether it be with your tongue or otherwise," you quipped. "I can do much more than yappin' yer ear off, but I do enjoy your voice much more than hearing my own. Wanna get out of this joint? Doesn't seem much like your style Lestat."

If it was an excuse to finally get you alone, he'd take it. As if you were already mesmerized by the devil in disguise, the two of you left the establishment and into the darkness of the night.

Even though you spoke to an extent that would annoy any congressman who'd have told debate against you, Lestat seemed to grow fond of the conversation, as well as the praises you seemed to give. You followed him willingly, though it wasn't much of a surprise to Lestat. There were people that simply swooned over him via their first meeting, but you were different.

Yes, you were charismatic, a bit awkward, and yes, a chatterbox, but your sudden infatuation with Lestat was odd to him. He couldn't see any current thoughts that were of the sexual variety, just genuine curiosity.

So he amused you with a short tale of his own travels, walking side by side in no direction in particular. He was simply biding time before eventually giving your life an end. Though he couldn't have imagined that an hour later, he would be settled in an empty field laying in the grass with you, laughing his heart.

"Chéri, how would he have even gotten his head stuck in such a place?"

"Beats me! Believe me, I called him shithead plenty of times, I just didn't think he'd take it in such a literal sense. Look, and that cow? I felt even worse for her." You ended as you recounted a story from your hometown. "You also keep calling me chair? Are you being funny? Look, you can sit on me, all you had to do was ask honestly—"

"Mon Dieu, you will be the end of me," Lestat wheezed out before sitting up. "I have not laughed like this in a very long time." Rubbing his jaw, he could barely feel an ebbing of aching in his cheeks from how hard he'd smiled before, his stomach tending from how tickled he'd become. "And no, I am not poking fun at you mon cher. Your humor isn't the least bit boring unlike some unruly men I've come into contact with. I assumed you simply had lines to try and...take off with me."

Your face flushed at the idea. "Well, you were also laying it on thick yourself Lestat. Didn't know if you wanted to help me or...somethin' else. I mean, I'm flattered, surprised too. What's a pretty thing like yourself doin without someone on your hip. I mean—you're proper as hell, a real gentleman if anything. A flirt too, charming, handsome, cute, radiant even. You're a diamond compared to the dull coin I am."

Lestat seemed even more surprised at the compliments he was getting, yet you seemed to neglect your own self worth. "Even coins are valuable, dull, dirty, or not. Why do you put yourself down so?"

There was a cloud of despair in your mind for a moment before a sad smile appeared upon your face. "Today could be my last for all I know. I haven't made a name for myself here, and if I were to disappear tonight well...what mark would I have made? You know me as this country bumpkin ya met at the bar? You'll forget about me tomorrow as if I never existed."

You weren't wrong, Lestat had planned to simply get rid of you then and there, but now you'd peaked his interest. "If...you were given the opportunity, to achieve what you'd like, would you take it?"

"No questions asked."

"Even if you had to make a deal with the devil himself?"

"I'd ask him to throw in beaut like yourself, I'd be all in."

Lestat felt a grin appear on his lips at your mere words. "You don't have much hesitation do you?"

"I've got nothing to lose. Go big or go home, right?"

"Indeed Mon cher."

Suddenly Lestat pounced, smashing his lips against yours in an almost bruising strength. You took it as a sign, knowing that tonight would mostly likely end in the two of you sleeping together. His tongue slipped into your mouth, now fighting for control as your own hands came to hold his waist. The kiss was heated, abit sloppy, and by the time Lestat pulled away, you were breathless and flushed down the neck. The moonlight gave way to his silhouette as he stayed hovered above your face.

"Are ya sure you want this Lestat? I've been told I'm a lot to handle."

"You've been so bold and quite forward all night, don't tell me you're getting shy now," a grin appeared on Lestats' face, his fangs peeking from behind his slightly swollen lips.

"Don't say I didn't warn you.."

♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

Lestat seemed to stare at the headboard of the bed, almost lost in thought as just as he felt breathless. He only snapped back to reality as he felt a warm breath and kiss against his bare shoulder.

"You still with me Lestat?" Your voice was much softer, tender as you nuzzled against the nape of the others neck, the sheets covering both of your lower halves as your body hovered above his.

Blinking, the blonde seemingly loosened his grip on both the pillow and the sheet beneath him. He'd slept with others who also seemed full of themselves, but now the tables had turned. He was practically filled to the brim with your sheer girth alone, pressing against his more sensitive places. His tongue ran over his lips, lapping up the leftover drops of blood that filled his throat mere moments ago.

"I told you we could have gone slow...you're not hurtn' are you?"

Lestat was taken aback by your demeanor. Not many people seemed to care for his well-being, especially during sexual escapades such as these. "Mon cher, do you often become this worried about those you sleep with?"

"Couldn't say. You're...the first," your face completely bloomed at the sudden confession.

Lestat however was completely dumbfounded. You did not act like a virgin in bed. He would have never assumed it was your first time, not with the way you completely ravished his body by the time the two of you made it through the front door. Your touch like silk, finding every weak spot and milking it for all its worth.

A groan left the blonde's lips as you'd shifted, though he knew you'd be slightly dazed and possibly inebriated as you were unaware that he'd fed from you tonight. "Dieux, you must be humoring me again, no?" Even peering into your mind once again, he had seen the truth, and knew that you spoke of no jokes.

You made a small noise, but shook your head as you buried your face within Lestats' neck, kissing his warm skin and even up to his jaw. "I hope I'm not disappointin' ya..."

"Merde..."

Lestat didn't expect you to be a literal bucking bronco, but he couldn't deny how you made him feel. Physically, it was as if you were bringing heaven up on his flesh, every touch, flick, lick, almost other worldly. Emotionally...he didn't understand. By daylight you'd be dead, he was sure of it, that he'd have his fun and dispose of you before morning.

Though at the moment it didn't seem as if you were out of energy. A bit sluggish yes, but a certain part of you was ready for more. "Lestat..'" Muttering against his skin, your hips rutted upwards, making a heavenly noise leave the man below you. "You can be on top this time if you want..."

♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

Three months ago, Lestat questioned his morality, though it wasn't the first time he did so. He always entertained Louis and even then, the humans around him weren't much worth the time or space when it came down to their needs or wants— whether it was self loathing, craving of sex, the need for food, or the wanting of home to go back to. They were all the same. It was the same with everyone he'd stumbled upon.

"Another round of drinks for the booth Chéri!"

Lestat found himself sitting on your leg, practically draped over you like a coat, his head tilted against yours. The spoils of laughter and joy you'd brought him within such little time was uncalled for, but granted, he never imagined someone like you would stumble into his life alongside Louis.

He saw no need to change you, though his eyes were set on someone else for such an event. You knew of his secret, and kept it to yourself. The nights where he'd come to see you, having dealt with racist snobs or uninteresting people, you were there to cleanse his boredom.

Though the two of you slept with each other quite often, you would never let him leave without pampering him after. And Lestat enjoyed every minute of it. Your sweet words, the true sincerity that you felt for him, that you loved him. Though it was hard to tell with Lestat if he felt that same way, or if he just adored you like any other human he might keep for entertainment.

Within the last few months the two of you had become business partners, having made a nightclub out of an old townhouse set to be demolished. Many strings had been pulled to get things up and running, but even then it happened to be a successful mission for both men. There was music, dancers, singers, all sorts of entertainers that came in to perform, and many people paid top dollar to come in.

Even Lestat had days where he'd perform on stage. To say he loved to peacock was an understatement.

This nightly job was as thrilling and fun as your nights in the town. Unfortunately, you were a horrible driver. Lestat had never been so unnerved about someone driving, and you? "A better lover than a driver I suppose?"

"I believe so ma chérie, I believe so..." It's safe to say that Lestat would be driving you around while you'd stay being his passenger princess.

Louis watched on from the other side of the half circle booth he sat in, his eyes narrowing at you as you practically wore Lestat, and the man let you. He couldn't understand what was so special about you. In his eyes, you were the same as him, maybe a little less.

Even as you'd been introduced to Louis, the two of you had never met eye to eye. Maybe it was because Lestat seemed to visit him just slightly less often than he did before you showed up. Maybe it was because he barely went out with Louis anymore because he was too busy riding you. With a glass in hand, Louis stared you down as you whispered something with Lestats' ear. He couldn't help but to wonder, seriously, what do you see in that guy?

Lestat stifled a laugh as he pressed the back of his own hand against his mouth. His piercing gaze seemed to shift over to Louis as his thoughts spoke much louder than others. The blonde couldn't help but to grin, pulling you in closer.

"He makes me laugh!"

"Hm?"

"Nothing ma très chère."

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more fics from interview with the vampire » IWTV Masterlist

more from @that-one-malereader-enthusiast » Masterlist

Like, Comment, Or Reblog. || A/N: Thank you for reading! Any comments or notes help motivate me to post more often like this! Unfortunately I tend to overthink lots of my writings, which lead to me not posting or becoming unmotivated. This was written out as an imagine but I got carried away! Hope you all enjoyed! Will maybe edit and clean it up later!

[lesbians4armand]

on the technical side of things, maybe armand is intersex. he was often described as being beautiful like a girl! he couldve been born with a boys body but as he got older and hit puberty, perhaps he had a hormone disorder he didn't know about/coupled with sexual trauma/being turned he never really got to go through a full hrt puberty.

i know armand slept with numerous vampires in his coven, but he DOES have a tendency to not fuck human beings. maybe vampires CAN get pregnant, but they need a living counter part to make it work. immortal children are banned under vampire law, so i can see why female vampires aren't having children of their own (for fear of their child/them dying/the child being unable to progress physically or mentally) but wouldn't it just be like armand to be pregnant and not know until it's too late to do anything with?

or he gets pregnant and daniels the first to recognize the symptoms? the eating, the mood swings, how feral he's gotten during sex. i assume it would be jarring to wake up and find your vampire boyfriend projectile vomiting the 70 units of blood he gorged on 3 hours prior.

INTERSEX ARMAND!! YES!! The vampires of the vampire chronicles have always defied gender in its social ways but to have it completely blur binaries of biological sex is so so good, they already have so many differences to their biology and anatomy its not too much of a stretch.

And you’re right, armand is always described as being very androgynous, and bringing that along with his limited memories of his youth and the trauma that he went through, he could very well be intersex and not even realise it, though lack of memory or some other factor. I love exploration of Armand’s gender identity a lot due to his lack of self identity in general, I’ve considered genderfluid armand before and even transgender armand (t4t devils minion… real) but intersex is a new concept to me that’s super fascinating.

(shout out to that one fic where armand IS alice because he can literally change his gender and sex at will btw been thinking about that since i read it… very good very delicious very gender)

On logistics of vampire specific pregnancy, i also agree that one participant must be a living human, i doubt that vampires can get one another pregnant (both being dead things, as well as the law to not create vampire children). I think male vampires who do sleep with human women (cough cough, lestat) would be able to get them pregnant, and that human men can get vampires pregnant too. Someone has to be alive to create life in this scenario.

Who knows if these pregnancies would be entirely viable without specific requirements. Would the fetus need blood in-utero if half-vampire?? or is the baby just human as its created with living dna regardless? how does the vampire reproductive system work?? if their hearts still pump blood and their lungs still breathe, and their brains are still alive, their reproductive system may still be functioning even if other processes shut down? Iirc the VC universe later established that vampirism is kind of like a ghost-alien parasite infecting a dead human body but keeping some parts of it living. maybe this does include reproduction, I think all grounds of logic went out when we first got to aliens.

In the tv-show universe (in which im basing this crazy au), the vampires can have sex (though they could not in the books), so this implies a working reproductive system.

Anyway yeah! I think intersex Armand COULD be getting pregnant here. Admittedly I’m not super familiar with intersex people and how this would work but I’d love to learn more and it’s definitely a way of getting mpreg to work here. I think im too scared to commit to omegaverse so this is a very fun dynamic and solution.

On to the other parts of this ask as I have gone on a bit, Armand does seem the type to neglect his own wellbeing to the point he doesn’t realise he’s pregnant until months along when there is little to be done, but I also think he wouldn’t want anything to be done. He might not have very good experience or track record with children or kid-vampires (see claudia), but he would love the evidence of love from daniel. It’s a part of daniel and a part of him, I think he’d be obsessed with that, that they can bring something that is alive and good and both of them to the world.

The idea of daniel realising like “oh my vampire boyfriend is actually very strangely, almost like he’s ill, but vampires can’t get ill! It’s weird it’s like when Alice was pregnant with… Oh! oh that’s it. okay.”

thank you for the ask this was very interesting.

[leslutdepointedulac]

hellooo 2/3/10 for lestat/louis 💓

2. What their love letters look like

Lestat tries to be super poetic and romantic, but it gets to a point where he's trying just a bit too hard. Louis can tell this when he reads them, but he doesn't think that makes it any less romantic. If anything that makes it more so, because he knows that Lestat really tried to say something sweet. Lestat's best love letters though, are the ones he writes to Louis with absolutely no intention of him ever seeing them. It's in these ones that Lestat doesn't try hard at all, in the sense that he doesn't overthink it and try to make it sound all flowery. It's when his most true and deepest feelings for Louis come out and he finds himself too embarrassed, and like it's too raw and vulnerable to ever show Louis. This is why he hides them away. Little does he know however, that Louis has come across these from time to time and read them. These are the letters from Lestat that make him the most emotional, often bringing tears to his eyes. But he always puts them back and doesn't say a word about having found and read them. Lestat will never know that Louis knows, and that's okay.

Louis' love letters to Lestat on the other hand, are seemingly effortless in their romance. They're not over the top, or underwhelming in any way, they're just the perfect amount of romantic and soppy. Louis used to be afraid to show his true feelings for Lestat, and would keep things brief and simple. But now that he's far more comfortable in himself and his relationship with Lestat, he doesn't hold back. He feels as though he's been much too hard on Lestat in the past, especially in regards to withholding his love and affection. Louis doesn't want Lestat to ever feel like he's not enough for him, or like there's any doubt that he loves him wholeheartedly. So now Louis lets it all out. Depending on how open he is in his letters, Louis will either give Lestat his letter to him directly and be there when he reads it. Or he will put it somewhere he'll see it and allow him to read it alone. In these instances the letters are especially honest, and Lestat will have a good cry over it before going to Louis afterwards so they can spend their time hugging and generally enjoying each other's company. Or they'll have the most tender, loving sex which usually results in both of them crying at the end. Sometimes, Lestat can also convince Louis to read his letter to him out loud for him, but that's only on some occasions.

3. Which one outlives the other, and how they cope

I-

So the short and simple answer is if either of them died, doesn't matter who, then the other one of them wouldn't cope at all and that's a fact. But ikyk that and that's not the answer you're looking for, so here's the full answer.

Let's look at both options:

If Lestat outlived Louis, he would be a complete and utter wreck. He would simply shut down and move through life on auto-pilot. Nothing and no-one would be able to get him out of it. He would be a shell of himself. His smile would disappear, his laughter would no longer ring out through the halls, he would lock himself away and allow no-one to enter for any reason. Everyone would be sick with worry for him, but there wouldn't be a single thing they could do to ease his suffering. Only Louis could ever bring him that, and now he's gone. Eventually, the grief would become all too much for Lestat, he'd be sick with it. He would be overwhelmed in the end. And knowing that he couldn't go on another day without his Louis, he would set out to end his own life. Being too powerful for the sun though, I can imagine he'd go as far as to ask for the others to kill him like Benedict had done. They would refuse at first, tell him he wasn't in his right mind, but Lestat would insist. He would scream and cry and beg for them to end his pain, until they would have no choice but to listen.

As for Louis, it would be more or less the same. If he outlived Lestat, he would go mute, never speak again. He would haunt the hallways like a ghost. Not even Armand would be able to bring him any comfort. Louis wouldn't read anymore, he wouldn't sit by the fire and listen to Sybelle's playing. He too would become a husk, a shell of the man he once was. Without Lestat, Louis wouldn't function anymore. Not only would he no longer be truly living, he wouldn't even be surviving. Just merely existing. Everybody would try so hard to bring Louis back to himself, but to no avail. He would be utterly lost. He would do nothing but sit and stare mutely at nothing; not moving, not blinking. And like Lestat, Louis would come to a point where he would no longer even exist without his Lestat, and he too would go out to die. Being less powerful than Lestat, he wouldn't need to go through the theatrics of begging for release by the hands of others. He would simply go out, without a word to anyone, and let the sun take him.

Only in death, could Louis and Lestat have their peace if the other died. Only when they were together again, could they ever regain their happiness.

The long and short of it is, if either one of them died, the other would too in the end.

Louis would perish if Lestat perished.

"I can't bear the thought of existence now without you."

10. What TV shows they watch together, and which ones they hide from the other

I think they would watch reality tv together ngl 😂 Lestat would love it, and very openly. Louis would also love it but he would rather go back to eating rats than admit it. I think Lestat watches teen dramas but hides that he watches them because Louis would never let him live it down if he found out. And I think Louis would probably watch really extreme horror films and/or true crime documentaries. The only reason I think he would hide that he watches them, is because Lestat would be like "Oh so humans being hacked to pieces is fine, but vampirism is too far?!"

[hekateinhell]

🗝 Give me a reverse AU scenario for lesmand!

✏️If you could change one thing from canon, what would it be and why?

🗝 Give me a reverse AU scenario for lesmand!

I had to percolate on this one for a bit! Okay, imagine a newborn vampire Armand meeting three hundred year old, charismatic cult leader Lestat. 🫢 Ngl, I think cult!Lestat would have been far more successful at drawing Armand into his dark little netherworld than canon Armand was with Lestat in TVL.

I just wonder how deep we go with this one in the reverse AU? Do we swap their makers as well? Their entire backgrounds? I think it would take a lot for Lestat to be broken down enough to where he would believe he had no other option. So I think we'd have to go all the way back and put him through the same or equivalent trauma Armand went through in TVA. This would require some hybrid of TotBT-Lestat, IWTV-Lestat, and a third worse thing I have not yet conceived of.

They would hook up almost immediately though. Armand wouldn't have had to wait 200+ years just to get the tip. 😔

✏️If you could change one thing from canon, what would it be and why?

Buddy, I've been in a state ever since remembering that there could've been a world where David died in MtD and Armand lived. So that. I want Armand and Lestat walking together in Central Park! I want another book from Armand's point of view! Although, I don't know if we would have gotten a TVA if Anne had gone this route with MtD. 🫠

BUT YEAH.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Oh Nalyra, I really want to emphasize with show Lestat, I really really do, but I can't help but strongly dislike him. Or maybe I just don't understand him. Especially after reading the last update of Laden (not that your writing made me dislike Lestat, you captured the complexity of situation wonderfully). Your writing is impeccable by the way. I am really enjoying Laden. But I digress. Even after reading numerous analyses from several blogs regarding the Antoinette relationship, I just don't understand why Lestat stays and puts himself and Louis through heartbreak repeatedly. Honestly, Louis is an absolute pain in the butt and I'm sure it is difficult to have a partner that is always the martyr, neglectful of your needs, critical of you, and a pessimist except when willing to overlook his daughter's bad deeds. Lestat is not perfect, but I can empathize for him seeking out an affair or even deciding to end the relationship with Louis. But if you need to rely on someone outside of the relationship that badly, why did Lestat stay? I think I'd respect him more for leaving with all the reasons of needing adoration, companionship, fun, or even variety. But was it not peak selfishness to stay knowing you are causing irreparable damage to your partner you love? Especially when he knows at this point Antoinette is no longer a game to Louis and she is causing some real problems like his disassociation and further depression? If Lestat needs her that badly, why not just be with her even if he doesn't love her? I don't understand him not letting go of Louis and choosing pain of the entire family. Even after Louis takes him back, he still argues to keep her. I don't think Antoinette is the true problem, she just makes me realize how selfish Lestat really is. And as a person that self admittedly was Lestat's biggest excuser the first time around, i'm admittedly struggling upon my rewatch to understand why he stays. He knows Louis won't leave him and he takes advantage of that fact as well with continuing to see her. Why wouldn't he just be the bigger person and go. Then when he is gone in episode 6, why not stay gone? When he does come back, why not change? I'm not understanding that part. Sorry for the incoherent rant!

No, it's okay, I do get it.:)

It's... difficult.

They are both fatally in love.

Fatally.

Such a heavy word for something that should be joyous? But it isn't for them, for long periods of time, because they cannot escape this feeling though they both try (in the books, too, and it takes a long while for them to get "there")

But they cannot. They simply cannot leave each other. Louis cannot leave even though Lestat isn't there. Lestat cannot leave though he is not welcome in his own house. (For example)

Antoinette is not the problem, not really, Antoinette is the symptom. She is a piece on the board of their games. (How apt, the chess games...) She is who Lestat wants Louis to kill, and who Louis refuses to kill. She is what Louis cannot be and what Lestat does not really want to have. She is what Louis would never want, and Lestat should want.

The Antoinette situation is not just about infidelity, it is about feeding, and killing, and jealousy, and possession. It's about being petty and stubborn, and bratty, and withholding, defiant and depressed.

It's a mess.

It's a mess they both cannot escape. And ... they don't really want to either.

Because, as you said - if they really wanted to leave the other - they just could have. They both could have.

PS: I am going to address that in the next chapters, too, so... maybe that will make more sense then there!! (I hope so! :))) Glad you like!!

[the-brat-prince-1760]

Lestat, I love you, but you have to be honest with yourself. I think you loved Nicki more, but just don't want to admit it because it would hurt Louis' feelings and Nicki is already gone.

-You never cheated on Nicki.

- you never expressed desire to have multiple lovers with Nicki.

-You made a song for Nicki, but only made a song for Louis to manipulate him and did it for the wrong reasons.

- You let Nicki have the autonomy to leave but you wouldn't let Louis leave in peace and kept manipulating him to take you back.

- you never beat up Nicki.

I know you have changed but don't you think your actions would suggest you loved Nicki more back then?

Lestat here.

I would have to disagree with you there, dear anonymous. You have brought certain things to my attention, but I can see why you might think that. The main thing that restricted my relationship was the mortal component of it; because way back when I met Nicki it was heavily frowned upon to have more than one love and especially given his state of mind it would not have been helpful to him. I was always curious on such matters, I just never fully vocalized them for the simple fact that Nicki had enough on his plate already.

I'm sure you yourself are a mortal, anonymous, and I must say that you understand the fleeting nature of a life, no? Picture me, as a mortal with my first love. I doubt that when you were with your first love (if that is your thing) you thought about leaving them. Living forever gives you more knowledge of the world around you, and the interconnectedness of relationships. After I became a vampire though, even though I didn't want it and I have consistently endured time, and time again, the immortality aspect can wear at you; knowing you cannot change, you cannot get any older and that you'll never see the sunlight again.

I don't actually think I gave Nicki much more autonomy, in fact, I abandoned him for a period of time and only communicated through gifts and other things of like, which means that I was being quite a miserable excuse for a partner. I gave Nicki too much silence and too much room for both his mind and heart to deal with; I would not call that autonomy. Louis is able to whatever he needs to, and we have discussed this before time and time again, he is his own beautiful self, and I can trust him to do things that I may not have some 100 odd years ago. I deeply regret many things from that era.

The song was meant to be an endearing manifestation of my love for Louis, admittedly adding Antoinette was very very regrettable, and the misguided actions of my youth heavily weight upon me even to this day.

I don't believe that I have shown a preference for Nicki, despite what many may think; I was legitimately a scared young adult who became a monster at the wrong time in my life under quite a traumatic circumstance. My first instinct was to protect myself and it backfired. I love Louis more than I ever could Nicki due to the simple fact that Louis wants to change, and wants to actually get better when he is upset, whereas Nicki resented the happiest points in my lifetime when I was with him. In Paris, he was absolutely miserable, which I had revealed when looking back in retrospect, whereas I was beaming.

Nicki couldn't change no matter how hard I tried to help him, and after a while it felt like a Sisyphean task.

So to answer your question: No, it does not appear as though I loved Nicki more than I do Louis, because context is dreadfully important when it comes to these accusations such as the one that you have simply made.

Lestat out. xoxo

[crazykuroneko]

Actually Lestat says in the books that all the threats he made to Louis over the years were just empty words cause he could never ever hurt him (let alone rape him or dropping him from the sky) and he says so even when he is absolutely furious like when Louis refused to turn him.

asgshsjsl my notifications blew up because of the Gabi and Madi video even though I have muted them, so sorry for missed this out anon.

But anyway, there are two important points there, first "Lestat says" and "in the books" as in in books after IWTV. the thing is the show is still adapting the first book, so using what Lestat says in later books, Lestat who has gone through his whole IWTV arc and character development (unless you want to say he never has gone through a character development?) for a show that's still on the first half of IWTV is moot. And whatever Lestat says in later book doesn't take the fact he threatened Louis and Claudia until they're too scared to sleep in their coffins.

I have been thinking about this, and I have found the root of the problem. The thing is, Anon, you approach this with the idea you know these characters as if they're your friends. Meanwhile, I, since we're talking about the writer and the writing, approach them as "pawns" in a story. Because that's what a character is, a narrative tool writers use to tell their story. That's why I said thing like "It's basically like math" in regards to the difference between the show and the book (no plural here), cos writing is very calculating, almost like a game of chess; you put a character (pawn) in certain position (situation) and you figure out what's the next hand and the next etc. And this is a big fundamental difference in our perspectives. So, I think if you can't see where I come from here you wouldn't ever understand. And that's okay, we can agree to disagree. I just explained my POV because you asked 🤷‍♀️

[oficariian]

He felt almost juvenile excitement at the small smile Daniel so graciously offered him, and if he wasn't so eager to hear Daniel talk again, to see his features move and adapt, to witness a small quirk of his brow or a nervous blink of his eye, he might have just frozen the entire café, the city for all he cared, just to stare at that smile a little longer. Instead, Armand consoled himself with the fact that, provided he played his cards right, he'd be presented with many more opportunities to witness Daniel's joy. And his sadness, his pain, every emotion the human specturm had to offer, Armand would gladly take it. A dismissive, casual wave of his hand, Armand gave a shrug, pretending to appear only half-interested. "I haven't gone by my full name in lifetimes. In fact, if you were to ask me now, I can't say with absolute certainty that I would even recall my surname." De Romanus, yes - or so he'd styled himself while with Marius. But before that ? There are significant gaps in Armand's memory - the irony of having caused the gaps in Daniel's memory was not lost on him - that not even half a millenia of immortality has not been able to bring back. Perhaps it was for the better, shielding himself from becoming consumed with what he has had to endure. Had he even had a last name ?

With all the delight of a natural predator Armand took notice of the shift in Daniel's posture, how he leaned forward, came closer. Perhaps this really was a gift, perhaps the person decades had shaped Armand into was one that could entice Daniel with allure and attraction rather than the threat of death looming over him. Even if, thus far, no paramour of his had ever given in to Armand's pull just because of his charm. Marius had seen a lost cause, something to save and eventually own. Lestat had barely so much as glanced his way, abandoning Armand the theatre seemingly the very second Armand had lost power over his coven, rendering him somewhat less dangerous. And Louis - even though they had danced around each other for weeks, months, he had only inivited him up to his flat mere moments after it had seemed like Armand was about to kill him. He lost focus for a short moment, looking at a spot behind Daniel, the expression in his eyes far, far away. But was an ordinary love really what he craved? Wasn't his very nature standing in the way of that? Armand might have been a formidable actor and director but could he truly pull this off, would he be able to put on the pretense of being a mortal looking to engage in courtship?

'Because I wanna hear from the outsiders'. And there it was again, that cursed smile, more confident now, more self-assured and Armand suddenly thought that, for Daniel, he was willing to try. Give it his all - pull away, leave him in the middle of the street if the urge to drain him overcame him, if need be. And, perhaps, in time, when trust had been established, he'd tell him. Restore his memories, if he was even still able to do that. That was if Daniel hadn't figured it out himself way before that. Armand wouldn't put it past him.

"Hm.", he hummed, content, clearly satisfied with Daniel's answer, and leaned back in his chair, draping an arm over the backrest. Adding a muttered: "You really are a bright young reporter with a point of view, aren't you.", more to himself. Sensing that Daniel was more eager now he stopped at that, allowing him the feeling of being in charge a litle longer. Though in a way Daniel had always been in charge, perhaps not in San Francisco but every minute of every day after, all the way through the tiresome chase, even if he hadn't been aware of it. The hold he had on Armand, the positively magnetic pull he felt towards the mortal was frightening. Exhilerating. "A theatre background ... yes, you could say that, I suppose.", and Armand had to work hard to stifle a chuckle, not succeeding in stopping it entirely. "I have always held a fondness for the arts - though, I have to admit it wasn't until a certain opinionated young man waltzed into my life that I put my focus on the performing arts." Fingers drummed on the table in quick staccato and he tilted his head to either side, stretching the muscles, giving him another sensation to focus on. "But, as so often in life, our ... acquaintance was unfortunately short-lived. The passion for the stage, however, endured."

Armand straightened up, lifted his hand from the table to examine his nails for a second. "Have you had the chance to attend one of our performances, Daniel?" Only looking up to meet the other's eye at his name. "If not, allow me to correct that and invite you to our midnight performance tonight."

And to get all lingering formality out of the way. Jeez, who spoke like that? Daniel looked up sharply from his notepad, and met Armand's gaze. "Yeah, I noticed your surname doesn't appear on any of the theatre's posters," he said. "What's that about? Don't get me wrong, man, I love the whole Cher thing, it just struck me as kind of an... interesting choice." He smiled, but underneath the joke there was a genuine curiosity. It was intriguing, and it had been one of the first things he'd noticed when he'd gone to the theatre to arrange this interview, and seen posters for their past and forthcoming plays on the walls, with his name at the bottom.

Then Armand started talking, and his voice was like a song — no, wait, that wasn't it. It was like a spoken word poem. Rhythmic, melodic, repetitive. Like honey. Like a warm bath. Daniel felt himself lean forward automatically. He forgot about the pen, now loose in his hands. He forgot about the cafe. He forgot about his mug of coffee. It all melted away. The mainstream — the musicals — time and time again — rewritten into oblivion — Man, who spoke like this? His poetic words, his soft voice, his lilting accent, his dark eyes — it was a trip without the stimulants. Daniel had once been high as a kite, lying on his back on the floor of his apartment and staring at the swirls on the ceiling, listening to 'Somebody to Love' by Jefferson Airplane on repeat for hours. Listening to Armand felt like that. The world fading away. Just words, just sensations.

He registered, dimly, he'd been writing blind the whole time, scribbling notes without looking away from his gaze. Then Armand finally broke eye contact, and the sound and bustle and commotion of the cafe flooded in again. People chatting on other tables, orders being called, cell phones trilling — it all rushed back, and Daniel blinked and looked down at his notepad. Thank God he'd written some of it down, though his writing was even messier than usual. He was about to reply, when Armand spoke again, and there it was — Tell me, Daniel. He almost didn't want to look up, because he knew that he looked have to look into this guy's eyes again, and whatever the fuck had just happened might happen again. But he wanted to tell him, to explain his point of view. He knew that wasn't the point of the interview, and he distantly knew he should be staying on topic, but he didn't care.

"Because I wanna hear from the outsiders," he said. "Anyone with a tape recorder can interview some big shot director on Broadway, but I wanna hear what someone like you has to say, someone who doesn't care what the masses want. You're doing avant-garde plays man, you're really saying something. The fringes of society — the independent theatre companies, the seedy bars, the underground clubs — that's where the real shit is happening." He smiled now, feeling way more in control than he had a few seconds ago. "It's all that stuff you were saying, about rejecting the mainstream and going with the counterculture. I feel you. That's why I wanted to interview you. I'm all about that." He realised he'd rambled, so he picked up his coffee and took a sip. He registered that he'd drunk a quarter of his, but Armand's was untouched. His gaze flickered back to Armand's.

"Okay, next question," he said, desperate to ride the wave of control he felt for as long as he could. "How did you get into this? I mean, d'you have a theatre background?" He hoped that was more subtle than it felt, because it felt like a very obviously probing question. Tell me about you.

[toscrollperchancetomeme]

Lestat de Lioncourt - A playlist

So, guess who made a Lestat Playlist (like there aren't enough already) and decided to sit down for 4-6 hours to find some excerpt corresponding with each song? Featuring 80s and 90s music (clearly showing my age...) as well as many european songs and showtunes. Enjoy!

1. Cathedrals – Ramin Karimloo (Original by Jump, Little Children)

In the cathedrals of New York and Rome There is a feeling that you should just go home And spend the lifetime finding out just where that is

And that was not a good year for me. I was wandering aimlessly. I was sick of things. I was furious with myself that the „beauty“ of life wasn't sustaining me, wasn't making my loneliness bearable.

I wanted to join them. Always do want to join them and never do. „Go home,“ he whispered. - Prince Lestat

(I actually feel like there are quotes that would correspond to this song in every one of the books and indeed have not yet found any other song that captures the general spirit of The Vampire Chronicles as perfectly.)

2. Edge of Seventeen – Stevie Nicks

Well, I went today Maybe I will go again tomorrow Yeah yeah, well, the music there Well, it was hauntingly familiar Well, I see you doing what I try to do for me With the words from a poet and a voice from a choir And a melody, and nothing else mattered

He sat next to me, hugging me and asking me why I was crying, and though I couldn't tell him, I could see that he was overwhelmed that his music had produced this effect. There was no sarcasm or bitterness in him now. I think he carried me home that night. And the next morning I was standing in the crooked stone street in front of his father's shop, tossing pebbles up at his window. When he stuck his head out, I said: „Do you want to come down and go on with our conversation?“ - The Vampire Lestat

3. I ain't scared of lightning – Tom McRae

No I ain't scared of lightning And thunder never killed I was born in a summer storm and I live there still

I wasn't part of the world that cringed at such things. And with a smile, I realized that I was of that dark ilk that makes others cringe. Slowly and with great pleasure, I laughed.

And the labor that brought it forth was rapture such as I have never known. - The Vampire Lestat

4. Junge Roemer – Falco (Young Romans – Full Translation)

Don't ask for new old values See white light, see only feeling The night is ours till morning We play every game Don't ever let this journey end The doing comes only from the being Only from dimensions, that Are worth illusions and sensations Give me more, give me more, give me more...

... and again she laughed. „Ah, but we are splendid devils, aren't we?“ „Hunters of the Savage Garden,“ I said. „Then let's go into Paris,“ she said. - The Vampire Lestat

5. Running up that hill – Candy Says (Original by Kate Bush

If I only could, I'd make a deal with God, And I'd get him to swap our places, Be running up that road, Be running up that hill, Be running up that building,

„Not even with Nicolas?“ „No, god, no!“ I looked at her. She nodded slightly as if she approved of this answer. „Why not with Nicolas?“ she asked. I wanted this to stop. „Because he's young,“ I said, „and he has life before him.“ - The Vampire Lestat

6. Florence – Notre Dame de Paris (Full Translation)

The little things always triumph over the large And literature will kill architecture The school books will kill the cathedrals The Bible will kill the Church, and man will kill God This will kill that

„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.“ No answer from him. Flash of Nicki's ravaged flat with all its books on the floor. Western civilization in heaps. - The Vampire Lestat

7. Go your own way – Fleetwood Mac

Loving you isn't the right thing to do How can I ever change things that I feel

If I could maybe I'd give you my world How can I when you won't take it from me

You can go your own way You can call it another lonely day

„Keep your promise,“ she said. And quite suddenly I knew this was our last moment. I knew it and I could do nothing to change it. „Gabrielle!“ I whispered. But she was already gone. - The Vampire Lestat

8. Désenchantée – Olympe (Original by Myléne Farmer - Full Translation)

If death is a mystery Life isn't exactly tender If heaven has a hell Then heaven can still wait for me Tell me how to handle this headwind Nothing makes sense anymore, nothing's fine

Laughter. That insane music. That din, that dissonance, that never ending shrill articulation of the meaninglessness... Am I awake? Am I asleep? I am sure of one thing. I am a monster. And because I lie in torment in the earth, certain human beings move on through the narrow pass of life unmolested. - The Vampire Lestat

9. A kind of magic – Queen

The bell that rings inside your mind Is challenging the doors of time It's a kind of magic The waiting seems eternity The day will dawn of sanity

And quite completely I understood that it was looking for me, this sound, it was seeking me out.

Blood like light itself, liquid fire.

It seemed beneath the roar of the flow he spoke. He said again: „Drink, my young one, my wounded one.“ I felt his heart swell, his body undulate, and we were sealed against each other. I think I heard myself say: „Marius.“ And he answered: „Yes.“ - The Vampire Lestat

10. La quête – Bruno Pelletier (French version of „The Impossible Dream“ from Man of La Mancha)

To try when your arms are too weary To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest To follow that star Ooh, no matter how hopeless No matter how far

I would remain in New Orleans if New Orleans could only manage to remain. Whatever I suffered should be lessened in this lawless place, whatever I craved should give me more pleasure once I had it in my grasp. And there were moments on that first night in this fetid little paradise when I prayed that in spite of all my secret power, I was somehow kin to every mortal man. - The Vampire Lestat

11. Wicked Game – Chris Isaak

What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you

Yet Louis gained a hold over me far more powerful than Nicolas had ever had. Even in his cruelest moments, Louis touched the tenderness in me, seducing me with his staggering dependence, his infatuation with my every gesture and every spoken word. - The Vampire Lestat

12. Do I disappoint you – Rufus Wainwright

Do I disappoint you, in just being human? And not one of the elements that you can light your cigar on Why does it always have to be fire? Why does it always have to be brimstone?

„And suppose the vampire who made you knew nothing, and the vampire before him knew nothing, and so it goes back and back, nothing proceeding from nothing, until there is nothing! And we must live with the knowledge that there is no knowledge!“ „Yes!“ he cried out suddenly, his hands out, his voice tinged with something other than anger.

And then I sensed it. He was afraid. Lestat afraid. - Interview with the Vampire

13. Ordinary World – Duran Duran

What has happened to it all? Crazy, some'd say Where is the life that I recognize? Gone away

But I won't cry for yesterday There's an ordinary world Somehow I have to find And as I try to make my way To the ordinary world I will learn to survive

I do not remember when it became the twentieth century, only that everything was uglier and darker, and the beauty I'd known in the old eighteenth-century days seemed more than ever some kind of fanciful idea. - The Vampire Lestat

14. I'm still standing – Taron Egerton (Original by Elton John)

And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use And did you think this fool could never win? Well look at me, I'm coming back again

But after the third night up, I was roaring around New Orleans on a big black Harley-Davidson motorcycle making plenty of noise myself. […] I was the vampire Lestat again. I was back in action. New Orleans was once again my hunting ground. - The Vampire Lestat

15. Catch my fall – Billy Idol

I have the time so I will sing, yeah I'm just a boy but I will win, yeah Lost song of lovers, fellow travelers, yeah Leave me sad and hollow out of words

It could happen to you so think for yourself If I should stumble, catch my fall, yeah

I've survived, obviously. I wouldn't be talking to you if I hadn't. And the cosmic dust has finally settled; and the small rift in the world's fabric of rational beliefs has been mended, or at least closed. I'm a little sadder for all of it, and a little meaner and a little more conscientious as well. - The Queen of the Damned

16. I want it all – Queen

I'm a man with a one track mind So much to do in one lifetime (people do you hear me) Not a man for compromise and where's and why's and living lies So I'm living it all, yes I'm living it all And I'm giving it all, and I'm giving it all

It is not enough any longer that my little rock band be successful. We must create a fame that will carry my name and my voice to the remotest parts of the world. - The Vampire Lestat

17. Let me entertain you – Robbie Williams

Hell is gone and heaven's here There's nothing left for you to fear Shake your arse come over here Now scream

I'm a burning effigy Of everything I used to be You're my rock of empathy, my dear

So come on let me entertain you

"I AM THE VAMPIRE LESTAT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I stepped way back from the microphone, and the sound was almost visible as it arched over the length of the oval theater, and the voice of the crowd rose even higher, louder, as if to devour the ringing sound. - The Vampire Lestat

18. La bien qui fait mal – Mozart l'Opera Rock (Full translation)

I can feel a violent urge I feel like I'm sliding towards the ground If I don't find out where this plague is coming from I adore having it under my skin Bewitched by mad ideas Suddenly all my cravings take off The desire becomes my prison Until I loose my mind

Yet I was in her arms in this chilling darkness, in the familiar scent of winter, and her blood was mine again, and it was enslaving me. When she drew away, I felt agony. - The Queen of the Damned

19. Tainted Love – Soft Cell

And you think love is to pray But I'm sorry I don't pray that way Once I ran to you Now I'll run from you This tainted love you've given I give you all a boy could give you Take my tears and that's not living, oh

„What do you think I am that I am so easily swayed? I was born a Queen. I have always ruled; even from the shrine I ruled." Her eyes were glazed suddenly. I heard the voices, a dull hum rising. "I ruled if only in legend; if only in the minds of those who came to me and paid me tribute. Princes who played music for me; who brought me offerings and prayers. What do you want of me now? That for you, I renounce my throne, my destiny!" What answer could I make? - The Queen of the Damned

20. Dancing in the Dark – Ruth Moody (Original by Bruce Springsteen)

They say you gotta stay hungry Hey baby, I'm just about starvin' tonight I'm dyin' for some action I'm sick of sittin' 'round here tryin' to write this book I need a love reaction Come on now, baby, gimme just one look

"I want you to put the book aside and come join us," he said. "You've been locked in here for over a month." "I go out now and then," I said. I liked looking at him, at the neon blue of his eyes.

"Do you love me now?" I asked. He smiled; oh, it was excruciating to see his face soften and brighten simultaneously when he smiled. "Yes," he said. "Want to go on a little adventure?" My heart was thudding suddenly. It would be so grand if- "Want to break the new rules?" "What in the world do you mean?" he whispered. - The Queen of the Damned

21. I want you – Savage Garden

Oh, I want you, I don't know if I need you But oh, I would die to find out

"You don't think you'll be back?" he asked. "I think you will, whether I call or not." Another little surprise. A little stab of humiliation. I smiled at him in spite of myself. He was a very interesting man. "You silver-tongued British bastard," I said. "How dare you say that to me with such condescension? Maybe I should kill you right now."

I thought of David Talbot's face, and that moment when he'd challenged me. Well, maybe he was right. I'd be back. Who said I couldn't come back and talk to him if I wanted to? - The Queen of the Damned

22. Lay your hands on me – Bon Jovi

I'm a fighter, I'm a poet, I'm a preacher I've been to school, oh baby, I've been the teacher If you show me how to get up off the ground I can show you how to fly and never ever come back down

I sat down on the bed beside him. And then I bent down and kissed his face again gently, as I had in New Orleans, liking the feel of his roughly shaven beard, just as I liked that sort of thing when I was really Lestat and I would soon have that strong masculine blood inside. I moved closer to him, when suddenly he grasped my hand, and I felt him gently push me away. „Why, David?“ I asked him. He didn't answer. He lifted his right hand and brushed my hair back out of my eyes. „I don't know,“ he whispered. „I can't. I simply can't.“ - The Tale of the Body Thief

23. 20th Century Boy – Placebo (Original by T-Rex)

I move like a cat, charge like a ram Sting like a bee, babe, I wanna be your man, hey!

He drew back with a speed that astonished me, cleaving to the wall. „Don't do this, Lestat.“ „Don't fight me, old friend. You waste your effort. You have a long night of discovery ahead.“ - The Tale of the Body Thief

24. Way down we go – KALEO

Oh, Father tell me, do we get what we deserve? Whoa, we get what we deserve And way down we go

„In chains, to my friend and my scribe, I dictated these words. Come with me. Just listen to me. Don't leave me alone.“ - Memnoch the Devil

25. Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode

Reach out, touch faith

"Don't tell me," Gabrielle said slurringly, "that it's a matter of faith." She sneered and shook her head. "You come like doubting Thomas to thrust your bloody fangs in the very wound." "Oh, stop, please, I beg you," I whispered. I put up my hands. "Let me try, and let him hurt me, and then be satisfied, and turn away." - The Vampire Armand

26. Papillon – Editors

Darling Just don't put down your guns yet If there really was a God here He'd have raised a hand by now Now darling You're born, get old, then die here Well that's quite enough for me We'll find our own way home somehow

"And if I spill my blood down into this coffin now," Lestat asked her, "what do you think will come back? Do you think it will be our Louis that will rise in these burnt rags? What if it's not, chérie, what if it's some wounded revenant that we must destroy?" "Choose life, Lestat," she said. - Merrick

27. Sunday Light – Choir Boy

Why, why, why, are you silent on the ride home? I'd love to see the temple with you Heavenly and bright, golden angel twisted scathing You were one of us, one of us, one of us, you were one of us

"Then come, Little Brother, take me to where you want to talk," he said, and I felt the soft squeeze of his fingers on my arm. "Why are you so kind to me?" I asked him. "You're used to people being paid to do it, aren't you?" he asked. - Blackwood Farm

28. Für mich solls rote Rosen regnen – Hildegard Knef (It should rain red roses for me - Full translation)

It should rain red roses for me All wonders should encounter me The world should rearrange itself And keep its worries to itself

I want to be a saint. I want to save souls by the millions. I want to do good far and wide. I want to fight evil! I want my life-sized statue in every church. I'm talking six feet tall, blond hair, blue eyes- Wait a second. Do you know who I am? - Blood Canticle

29. Constant Craving – K. D. Lang

Even through the darkest phase Be it thick or thin Always someone marches brave Here beneath my skin And constant craving Has always been

I was hunting, thirsting though I didn't need to drink, at the mercy of the craving, the deep agonizing lust for heated pumping human blood. - Prince Lestat

30. Kalte Sterne – Jan Ammann (Cold Stars from the musical Ludwig² - Full translation)

Get up, ride home, on your horse, through your land Across the morning with your reins trailing behind you Build a castle like a dream, build it with mighty hands And it shall be named „future“

Build a castle like a dream Up from the ashes and close to the heavens Build a castle like a dream And realise the future as king

If we wanted to survive, if we wanted to inherit the millenia […] then we had to meet the future with respect as well as courage and count fear and selfishness to be small things. - Prince Lestat and the realms of Atlantis

31. C'est une belle journée – Mylene Farmer (Full translation)

I'm going to bed To bite eternity With my mouth wide open It's a beautiful day

And I felt the cold numbing shell of alienation and despair which had imprisoned me all of my life among the Undead – I felt that shell cracked, broken, and dissolved utterly into infinitesimal fragments. - Blood Communion

32. Princes of the Universe – Queen

Fly the moon and reach for the stars With my sword and head held high Got to pass the test first time, yeah I know that people talk about me, I hear it every day But I can prove them wrong 'cause I'm right first time

„I know that you meant full well to bring Rhoshamandes down, of course you did. But you had no way of knowing that you could. And no one would have predicted that you could. And with the willingness to die, you gave yourself over into his hands... and you disarmed him and destroyed him.“ – Blood Communion

And finally, because I can, a bonus track:

33. Primadonna – MARINA

And I'm sad to the core, core, core Every day is a chore, chore, chore When you give, I want more, more, more I wanna be adored

[hekateinhell]

TW: suicide mention below

One extra thought on the Devil's Plaything AU that wouldn't fit in the replies. What if Lestat ran away from home with his boyfriend Nicki to the US, but lost him after he just disappeared in a suspected suicide, and that's why he becomes so obsessed with finding Louis again after their encounter since they look so alike and Lestat is losing his mind with grief.

When Armand finds Lestat he is in this extremely rough,lost, impulsive and self-destructive place and being with Armand helps give him some focus and structure again and helps him refocus on his goals (not to say that it's the healthiest thing all the time). For extra drama, what if it turns out that Nicki answered one of Armand's calls for those no longer interested in continuing with life one night.

What if that's an additional reason Armand feels so much towards Lestat when they first meet, he'd first seen Lestat through the eyes of someone who loved him during the very same act that practically ruined Lestat's life and sent him off the rails. So he feels extra responsibility to make things right and make Lestat happy, though as we see with Daniel he doesn't always know how best to moderate that with the health and wellbeing of his human lovers/pets.

Then of course there is the drama of what happens if Lestat finds out. Maybe Armand kept something he found in Nicki's pocket that was a gift from Lestat, and Lestat finds it and puts 2 and 2 together.

It's all getting very soap opera, this is what happens when I think about these guys first thing in the morning haha

Part I of the mortal!Lestat/Armand AU is here, for context.

Besides myself at you for introducing this much angst into the AU... Like, of course, that's what initially caught his eye when he saw Louis.

Suppose Lestat even managed to snap a photo of Louis in the bar where they met and he's so blindly fixated on tracking him down that he's taking out a page in the newspapers (it was the '70s, people got away with a lot back then), phoning in radio stations during the "missing connection" segments, the whole nine—he's totally losing it. He's in a new country and the only person he had left in the world to rely on is dead and gone.

So Armand is in his flop post-Louis phase, aimlessly prowling around when he happens to see a discarded newspaper on a park bench one night and randomly picks it up to see Louis's photograph alongside Lestat's contact information. How could Louis be so careless? Why was a mortal seeking out one of their kind? Did he have any idea the nature of the creature he sought? And Lestat... the name of the beautiful, golden-haired young man that had all but glowed like the long-forgotten warm summer sunshine in the dark, tortured mind of his victim a couple weeks prior. Could it be?

Of course, Armand needs to gather himself and it takes him approximately three days and nights to do so. He wakes up on the fourth night, having decided to let things lie, and perhaps move on to another city, when he hears Lestat's voice for the first time coming through the radio of a car stopped at a red light. Doesn't realize it's the same person from the paper until he gives his name and it matches the one Armand read... it's such a unique name too, it can only be him. And his heavily accented voice is so young and pleading and desperate.

He's begging someone, anyone to reach out to him if they know the person he's describing.

So someone, anyone does.

It's not hard for Armand to track Lestat down to his crappy little studio apartment where he's drinking heavily and enters through Lestat's open kitchen window like the wraith from the netherworld that he is.

Lestat promptly has one of those cartoon moments where he holds up the liquor bottle and considers that perhaps he's had a little too much to drink. That passes quickly and he's understandably terrified; Armand is more viciously curious and not caring at all about the shock to a human being that revealing himself as a fucking vampire would trigger. He's thinking he'd figure out how a mortal had been allowed to survive an encounter with Louis (and furthermore, run his mouth about it). And he's also more than a little angry and resentful at having had all his repressed memories of Marius come bubbling to the surface ever since he saw Lestat in Nicki's final moments.

But then he takes in Lestat's appearance and it's a knife through the heart and suddenly, without Lestat ever knowing it, Armand's at his complete and utter mercy by virtue of Lestat looking like the veritable son of Marius. Armand thought he was prepared but to see it right in front of him... He frantically catalogs Lestat's features and pries through the turmoil and confusion in his mind to see into his soul, and instantly decides he wants this human for himself.

Lestat's in a proper state though; this isn't Daniel looking for a fun story and being charmed by a gentleman vampire to be eased into accepting the supernatural as part of the reality. This was feral Armand climbing through a six-story window and standing over Lestat like the Angel of Death. It's nothing a simple illusion can't fix (Armand doesn't want him hysterical) and within moments Lestat's docile and sweet and silent while Armand recalibrates, tucking Lestat's curls behind his ears and cleaning him up on autopilot.

It's terrifying—the fierce and abrupt protective instinct that over takes him—knowing right then and there this one would be different than all the other pets.

He talks to Lestat softly, as though he were soothing an infant, as he gradually lessens the illusion bit-by-bit. Tells him Louis is no ordinary man, reminds Lestat that he put out a call for "somebody, anybody" and Armand's answered it. No need to think any further on Louis, however, he's lost to himself. Armand's here, and he wants him. Says he'll give Lestat everything he's ever wanted in this life and more—he's already looked into his heart and seen his wildest hopes and dreams, and he'll give him whatever he desires but Lestat has to do something for him first.

At this point, Lestat's come back into himself and sobered up as much as he's going to under the circumstances, and he's convinced the devil himself has come to offer him a deal.

"And what could you possibly want?" Lestat counters, because he's got a touch of attitude even when talking to the devil. And Armand offers, "You will be my teacher in this new era. You will teach me the ways of the century. You will belong to me. Then you have my word that I will grant you whatever your heart has ever desired, tenfold."

Lestat can't resist, "And if I refuse?" That's when Armand smiles his beautiful, fanged smile and shakes his head, saying, "We both know that you won't."

Then everything I mentioned in Part I takes place, etc etc. It's fairly smooth sailing, like I said—they have no reason to argue. I love what you said in the comments of the other post about Lestat having his own aspirations and ambitions separate from Armand, because yes he would! He's not simply living in Armand's world and going along with his whims, it's a mutual intertwining.

Daniel was all swept up in wanting to be a vampire and wanting a vampire, human life in itself held no interest to him.

Canon!Lestat loved humanity. When Magus told him to ask for the Dark Gift, he said 'no' repeatedly. So yes, I think in this AU, he would definitely insist that Armand provide X in exchange for Y, Armand would love the challenge and enjoy seeing him happy and satisfied with mortal pleasures and achievements.

Like an indulgent owner giving their most favorite cat a treat.

Now for that final nugget of drama you mentioned... let's presume Armand took a ring off Nicki that caught his eye that fateful night. A ring that Lestat had given him, and something Armand had kept with his few trinkets in his coffin until he'd made a permanent home with Lestat on their West Coast island. Armand hadn't realized the significance of it, hadn't counted on Lestat recognizing it since his memories pre-Armand were largely muddled due to his lifestyle and gorging on vamp blood nightly, and so he was careless in placing it in the jewelry box in the massive bedroom they shared for a few hour precious every night.

Understandably, Lestat falls to pieces at the realization and the horror of it all, full on existential crisis a la TVL, everything. This would their first real fight, in which Lestat calls Armand all kinds of names like "you monstrous, repulsive, demon from hell!" and at least several others. Armand breaks down and cries and tells Lestat that at least Nicki died a quick, merciful, painless death; by far the kindest option from anything he would have done to himself. Lestat cusses him out yet again and insists that he doesn't believe him, so Armand offers to let him see it in his blood if it would bring him any closure (Armand doesn't know that much about humans, remember... this is hardly the best idea).

Lestat accepts Armand's offer and is horrified to see in stark clarity Nicki's final moments, and also overwhelmed by the outpour of love he feels from Armand and Armand's own pain underlying it all. He pulls off and falls into a fitful sleep before waking up the next day close to dusk. Yet Armand is nowhere to be found. He's never missed a night with Lestat since he'd climbed through that window in the old apartment and it never occurred to him that Armand just wouldn't appear one day. Every single one of his childhood abandonment issues comes surging to the surface, compounded with the renewed grief of losing Nicki.

By the second night and no sign of Armand, Lestat's pacing the mansion and the beach outside their front door, screaming Armand's name at the top of his lungs like a crazy person, willing him to appear like the apparition that he is.

And he does, silent and repentant. Lestat's not sure that he forgives him yet, that he can forgive him, but nonetheless he clings to him and bends down to bury his face against the cold, dead skin of Armand's throat and swears up and down that he does. Tries to say something about predestiny, that he always knew deep down Nicki wasn't going to be okay, so on.

Eventually, he believes it (because what choice does he have?) and life goes on (for now).