#not a lestat apologist

[ikpwecanfly]

I believe Louis is an unreliable narrator in he projected foresight and malice into some of lestat's rather impulsive actions, I do NOT believe he is an unreliable narrator in he made up or exaggerated the severity of the dv he received or the bullying his daughter received under Lestat's hand.

Lestat is the villain, as it stands. Can he pull off a redemption arc if he really works hard on himself? Yes I believe in restorative justice so I say yes. But as it stands, he's the villain and had what he got coming for him.

[lafamilledelioncourt]

The heartbreaking thing about a lot of viewers who haven't consumed the books is they don't completely see is WHY Lestat is near sobbing when he asks "Did you hurt yourself?"

Yes, for general reasons like he loves him and what not. But, don't forget, he also said, "I gave you to Armand. You tell me if that is saving."

In TVL, you get ALOT more of the Lestat/Nicky relationship. You see them bond, fall in love, and then Lestat have to contend with that love once he's kidnapped and turned.

Nicky does not take the vampirism very well. Nicky is a very desolate sort of character. Religious trauma to the max, and then throw in family trauma, gay repression, and then vampirism.

When Lestat leaves Paris with Gabrielle in TVL, he essentially leaves Nicky with Armand. He entrusts him into his care in a way, and Nicky chooses the fire. He can't endure as they call it. Naturally, it breaks Lestat's heart.

One of Armand's jobs as coven leader was to cull weak vampires who can't survive on their own or endure. So there is definitely room for S3 for them to show Armand pushing for Nicky to accept the flame.

With Louis, Lestat doesn't fight back in Paris and lets Louis go with Armand. Once again, he's entrusting someone he loves to Armand. Even if it's very much unwilling, but I'll give it to him for once for respecting a choice.

When Armand calls out to him in San Francisco, it's Lestat's worst nightmare. Louis is hurt, Lestat can't get to him. Armand either has allowed him to be hurt, hurt him himself, or did not protect him as Lestat wants him protected.

It is heavily implied Lestat thinks Louis died in San Francisco. In the books, Armand tells both of them the other died to keep them apart. Once again, the person Lestat loves is dead because of Armand.

Lestat, in his mind, has ultimately failed Louis, and so he falls apart as we see him do in 2x08. When Louis shows up, he cannot believe he's there initially. It's very clear he's only half there mentally. He has to ask him if it was all real and if he'd really been hurt because he has to know if it is really Louis. It's a question you'd ask the ghost of the person you love, but Louis CAN answer him.

Needless to say, please read the books if you're up for it. They are a riot.

[stvolanis]

the taste of metal traced his tongue that danced between your thighs. The graze of his sharpened teeth pricking at the flesh of your skin. The fanning of his breath sending a chill down your spine as he drew closer to your core, where you needed him most. A desperate craving to feel any part of him, in fear you might never again. His fangs that sank into your thighs, marking you for anyone else who dared get close enough to see.

“No one will ever have you like I do.” He whispered, his voice eerily calm considering the vile things he was doing to you. Your panties pushed to the side, a wet tongue pressed to your clit, making you jolt from the sudden pressure. Your hand found his hair, gripping it rather harshly. Any mortal would have wept, but Armand was no mortal. No silly boy playing around with a lack of experience. No, he was a man who had been alive 514 exhausting years, the least he could do is learn how to properly please a woman.

It was a game he played. He always won. You liked to tell yourself it’s because you let him, but you knew better. Like prey being hunted, every time you grasped your freedom, Armand would find you. Claw you back in, and leave you little room to escape. A game of cat and mouse, that usually ended with you in the same coffin as him. You couldn’t think straight, not with his voice filling your head even as he ate you out like blood was nothing compared to your juices.

“Foolish girl. Ungrateful for the dark gift given to you. Eating mice and goats, rather than humans. Have you any idea how hard of a task it was to not drain you dry when I turned you?” His voice echoed in your head like an unwanted siren. “Get out. Out of my head, maitre.” You shook your head back and forth at the overwhelming pleasure as his fingers prodded your entrance. “I made you. Don’t forget that. So silence, so I can do as I please with you, fledgling.”

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[alia-atreideez]

The most valid iwtv take I’ve seen thus far

[darnmand]

I think one of the craziest and most interesting things about Lestat as a character (in the books at least) is that he pretty much never lies. We know that Louis and Armand for instance lie all the time to themselves and everyone around them. But not Lestat. That boy tells the truth to a fault. He stays away from Nicki for the first half of TVL because he knows he can’t lie to him about being a vampire. Even when he’s asked to lie to his fledglings about Those Who Must Be Kept, he struggles to do so and prefers to just “lie” by omission. And even then he ends up telling the truth about that to the entire world because he just can’t help himself. Lestat needs to tell the truth.

Louis tries really hard to represent Lestat as a liar but he just isn’t. The only time that Lestat does “lie” is by omission, or by subtly misrepresenting the truth which often manifests as him making himself appear more evil and vicious than he actually is. But even when he tries to lie he cannot help but tell the truth. Like he just cannot hold it in. And he gets himself into Situations because he is basically incapable of keeping up a lie.

Anyway thanks for coming to my Ted Talk or whatever.

[pro-sipper]

Whyyy why why on earth, if you are making a comment about a blogger being a huge terf, do you feel the need to tack "and they're also a Lestat apologist" onto the end???

Do you think liking a fictional character is equally as telling as spouting a bunch of literal terf rhetoric?

Do you think liking a fictional character is equally as bad as being a terf??

Do you think someone might be on the fence about blocking a terf but will have no qualms about blocking someone who likes a controversial fictional character?

It's absolutely and completely pointless!! The point was made when you said they were a vile person. Their opinions on fictional characters does not matter when there's something actually shitty and toxic about them!!!

[hyohaehyuk]

Source: Entertainment Weekly - Interview With the Vampire stars talk bringing Louis and Lestat's 'toxic' relationship to life

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

[briar--rising]

It is so funny to me when people try to argue about who's 'worse', Lestat or Armand. First of all, worse by what metric? By the way they treat humans? The way they treat Claudia? Or (as it seems most people are focused on) only the way they treat Louis? And if it's by the way they treat Louis, are you judging based on what you would find worse in a partner, or by what Louis does (bc I would argue he pretty clearly has an opinion on that based on the end of season 2).

And most importantly of all, who cares??? They are both TERRIBLE. Everyone in this show is terrible! You can like morally reprehensible characters. Armand is my personal blorbo, and what he does is horrific. I can feel bad for him, and enjoy watching him, and think that his actions are heinous, and reblog art and read fanfiction of him, and analyze him without excusing him, all at the same time! And so can you with whoever you like!

Pitting these characters against one another is absurd. "Which one is less abusive" is a question I guess you can ask, but it's not a very interesting one. Much more interesting is "Why are they abusive in these specific ways? What about their trauma and personality informs their actions? Why does Louis react the way he does to each of them? What does that say about Louis? What does this show say about domestic violence in general? Are the rules different for vampires? Or is abuse abuse? Do the victims determine who should get forgiveness? Or are certain actions inherently unforgivable? Can you forgive someone when their victim hasn't? Is any of this different in fiction rather than reality? etc etc etc." There are so many interesting questions posed by the juxtaposition between Lestat and Armand and the way they treat Louis, and none of them are "but which one is worse so I can forever villify that one and hold up the other one as the paragon of what's good and right and perfect for Louis"

[brsb4hls]

Maybe the 'humanization' of iwtv's amc version threw people off a bit.

I know I felt a certain kind of disconnect due to a horror show looking like a gay hipster drama.

But the show is still about monsters.

In the actual sense.

As in 'not human'.

And monsters act differently and have a different 'moral codex' if you can call it that.

So constantly pitting them against each other in a way where one party is measured by human standards makes no sense.

They are all equally horrible and by vampire standards that makes sense.

I get everyone is rooting for their fave and has therefore more compassion for one specific set of trauma, I know I do, but the discourse about who is the evil one is still extremely off.

Like, we should be looking from a human perspective, so everyone is evil, since they would all kill us.

[crazykuroneko]

(Louis) "She asked if I was an angel. Me!"

(Claudia, in her diary) "They're hell demons."

- Interview with the Vampire Ep 6 and Ep 14

[vampbarbiex]

I’m a Lestat apologist you cannot talk bad about him to me 🤭

LOOK AT HIM, HES INNOCENT

[midnightgh0ul]

*anyone does anything bad in iwtv*

Me: I can’t hate them they’re my pookie!!!

[stvolanis]

my daughter was my sister was my throw pillow

[queernyra]

JUST DONT LEAVE ME ALONE WONDERING WHERE YOU ARE!!

watch on tiktok here!

[ourchunkysalsa]

(although it’s through the filter of memory) isn’t it interesting that the most authentic portrayal we have of lestat in this series is when armand spoke directly to him and said verbatim what lestat wanted to say to louis? and even then, some of what lestat said was purposely omitted? honestly, in the entire show, that is probably the most truthful retelling of anyone’s emotions and experiences between the interviewing, memory being faulty, manipulation, etc etc. and it’s from the characters that— we as the audience— know to be the most manipulative to louis and have the most to lose to one another.

[strqng3r]

Lestat istg you owe me and the rest of the Lestat defenders out here, I was fighting in the trenches in a Lestat hate edit 😭😭😭