#but what if they suck and then people associate iwtv with them

[cuntylouis]

I have an increasing feeling that AMC's Immortal Universe is going to end up like Universal's Dark Universe. If you remember the Dark Universe, a franchise hopeful for the Universal classic monsters that never quite came into being, you may be entitled to compensation

[murfpersonalblog]

Thinking about Loustat in Dark!AUs

So I just finished Chapter 7 of lesfleursrouges' Dark!AU The Splendour Of Us, and OOF! Emotional Damage! 😭 After I recovered a bit from the TRAUMA, I got to thinking about Loustat in general.

Louis' problem's that he's fundamentally a spoiled princess who's been so sheltered/closeted that he never really grew up--he reacts best when people gaslight him into giving him exactly what he wants. And Lestat's problem's that he's fundamentally a spoiled prince who's been so deprived/starved of affection that he grew up too fast--he reacts best when he can lovebomb people into liking/loving him. Loustat was best when Lestat was wooing & courting Louis. It's manipulation, sure, but Loustat really can't handle honesty either, so it is what it is: TOXIC AF. ☠️ Eff the AU, Loustat is inherently Dark. We're just fortunate enough that AR lived long enough to give them a happy ending together in canon.

But Loustat also needed friends, and momentary distractions, and periods of separation, cuz they're both vampires who suck each other dry, and that's when the big blowups happen. The Chateau Era worked for them cuz they had already lived through those necessary growing pains without hovering around to pick at each other's wounds.

Louis had Armand (an old little boy), and Lestat had David (a young old man), who were reflections of themselves, revealing just how hollow Louis & Lestat were without each other. Armand was there to support/nurse/spoil Louis during his 2nd depression era (the gaslighting of it all...), before he got tired of Louis and dumped him for Daniel. David was there to give Lestat some much-needed adult supervision (the daddy/mommy issues...) during his cockeyed adventures, and when he got fed up with Lestat's mess David settled into giving other vampires a shoulder to cry on (ie: writing their memoirs as Daniel 2.0).

But during the final trilogy, we see Louis and Lestat finally matured. In Merrick, Louis has come to grips with losing Claudia and accepting his part/fault in why she hated Loustat; that Lestat is NOT the only villain/devil Louis painted him as in IWTV. Louis finds a new family in adopting Rose (and Viktor by association), cuz really what he wants is a FAMILY. He's at peace with his newfound powers, and has found it in him to forgive Lestat, proposing to him this time around in RoA. For Lestat, he has to learn some harsh lessons about thinking before he acts, and what it means to be responsible and held accountable, as he takes in the Core/Amel, and takes charge of the Chateau & restores the village--cuz really what he wants is a FAMILY.

Louis & Lestat are polar opposites, but opposites attract, and the reason they're so passionately compatible is cuz they're two sides of the same coin. They complete each other--I'm reminded of a line in another Dark!AU fic, bluebloodbruise's Go Fetch God, where Louis says: "I need you to put your fists down and look at me. Not like some object you created, but like an equal, your husband." That really sums up Loustat perfectly. They needed to learn how to stop fighting, and start communicating, and working together, cuz in the end they both want the same thing, they just didn't know how to ask.