#post-totbt

[desertfangs]

Through the Garden Gate [AO3] Lestat/Daniel - Explicit - 4,459

Not long after Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat and Daniel talk about Lestat's body swap and how Daniel worries his relationship with Armand is falling apart.

I wrote this in kind of a flash of inspiration but I figured I might as well post it now, since I'll be posting a lot of stuff in February for fandom events and don't know when I'll get around to it otherwise.

I really just love Lestat and Daniel having deep conversations and I think Daniel tends to ask the best questions. They are my BROTP with benefits and I know some of y'all love them as much as I do, so I hope you like this!

Brief excerpt:

“Is it true that you swapped bodies with a mortal?” Daniel had been burning to ask about it since Lestat first jumped him in Pirate Alley, and the question tumbled out almost immediately after they sat at the small bar table. 

A storm of emotion passed over Lestat’s face. “I did.” 

Daniel leaned closer, across the small bar table between them. “What was it like?” 

“What do you think? Incredible. Messy. Uncomfortable. Amazing.” Lestat shook his head. “Impossibly strange. But it had been hundreds of years since I’d known mortal urges, mortal discomfort.”

“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Daniel laughed slightly. Mortal discomfort—aches and pains and hangovers and head colds—had been the bane of his existence during his last mortal years. He’d been in his early thirties and yet already his body had changed so much. Sleeping at the wrong angle could ruin him for days. 

“Not entirely. There were good things.” Lestat smiled, but it didn’t reach his blue gray eyes, which were trained on his martini glass full of blue curaçao and vodka. “The taste of wine. The sun.” 

Daniel reached across the table and touched Lestat’s hand, which was a rich, tan color, like the rest of his skin. “And how did this happen?” 

Lestat sighed. “I had a moment of weakness and went into the Gobi desert. It’s not important now.” 

Daniel snorted. “Yeah, clearly. Are you okay?” 

Lestat waved a hand and then his magnificent, winning smile returned. “How did you hear about my last misadventure anyway? I’m still working on the book.” 

Daniel sat back against the booth and tapped his fingers on the table, keenly aware of the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. “Louis wrote a very concerned letter about the whole affair.” 

Lestat frowned. “To you?” 

Daniel flushed. “To Armand. Sent to Night Island. I stopped by to check on the house and I opened the mail.” He hadn’t thought much of it at the time—he and Armand often treated each other’s things as if they were their own, which was perhaps a bad habit, but it had always worked for them. Once he’d read it, he’d felt a bit like he’d overstepped, and he’d tucked the letter away to give to Armand next time he saw him.

“And where is that impish maker of yours, hm?” Lestat asked. “Where are you two living these days?” 

“Barcelona, for now,” Daniel said. “Assuming he’s still there when I get back.” 

Lestat smirked. “Trouble in paradise?” 

“You could say that.” Daniel thought of Armand’s hardened expression, his cold kiss against Daniel’s cheek as he’d left. The icy atmosphere of the flat they shared. Daniel fiddled with the plastic sword that held an olive and onion in his cocktail, stirring it around the drink. “He’s gotten so damn volatile. The smallest thing sets off these terrible fights. Or worse, he gets quiet and sullen and avoids me. To be honest, I prefer the fighting.” 

Armand had barely said a word when he’d left. Daniel had been pushed past all reason and needed a break, so he’d offered to go check on The Night Island, an errand they did from time to time as they traveled around in hopes that some new location might fix all their problems. 

In truth, he’d hoped Armand would come with him. Maybe being home again for a few days would rekindle something, give them some perspective. But Armand had simply wished him bon voyage, without so much as a suggestion he didn’t want him to go, and now Daniel was procrastinating going back.

“He and Louis could teach a masterclass in administering the silent treatment,” Lestat said morosely. He stabbed the cherry in his drink with his own plastic sword, a little green one, and then let it drop, blue liquid splashing out of the glass.

Read the Rest on AO3

[covenofthearticulate]

Louis/Lestat: “ after all you’ve done how can i possibly trust you? ”  

asdgfgdvjkhsbslidfj sorry this one took me a hot second, these two give me brainrot.

"How can you—?!" It's not shock, exactly, that colors Louis' voice. Merely disbelief, perhaps a shade of disdain, an overall failure to compute what feels like insurmountable audacity as he's put on the line of defense against Lestat's question.

No, not question, Louis realizes as he watches something dark and cold settle behind Lestat's eyes. An accusation. Lestat is picking a fight.

"Please be serious."

"I'm being completely serious," Lestat spits like a viper. "After all you've done, how can I trust you?"

His temper is so terrible these days. It rears it's ugly head with so little warning, consumes him completely like some dark alchemy. It’s unlike anything Louis has seen through all their years together. He can't begin to comprehend half the things that happened to him in that human body, nor the suffering he endured to claw his way back to his old self, but the one thing Louis knows for certain is that it had left Lestat with a deeper, darker rage.

Perhaps if they were someplace else— back in the jungles of Brazil, or even wandering through the city streets— it might not feel so out of place, but here in the newly polished jewel of Rue Royale, it feels jarring. Reminds him of the old wives tales of whispering at the cemetery so as not to disturb the ghosts. 

The whole room seems to quake with the magnitude of his rage— there's a trembling in the beautiful glass fixtures on the wall meant to emulate their beloved gas lamps of centuries past, a dead silence in the air save the relentless hammer of his heart. The hotter it grows, the more this whole room suddenly feels like a mockery, like a hollow doll house primped and gilded to hide the rot beneath.

(It was a foolish decision to move back here. They both knew that. Foolish to build a home seek peace atop the ashes of their old life. For one split second Louis looks down the corridor, half-expecting Claudia to come bounding down to chastise them for their loud, disruptive bickering.

She doesn't, of course.)

Nothing in the space now, except the booming voice of Lestat, ricocheting from the intricately carved crown molding with all the wretched demanding of a wounded child.

"How could I possibly trust you after you left me there— after you walked away when I needed you, begged you, for just one drop of the power that you and you alone could share! How could I possibly trust you after you watched her take the knife—"

"ENOUGH, Lestat."

For one moment, Louis' face warps into something terrible, something gnarled and twisted with anguish. Something childish and brutal, bloody red. And even as he swallows down the pain, Lestat is struck by the brief rawness of it all, the unfiltered grief from depths he has never had the privilege of knowing. It strikes a different chord of rage in him, this realization that Louis cannot trust him with the anguish, that Louis, insidious gentlemanly Louis, will not share these wounds with him.

"I won't stand for this," Louis growls as soon as the last lines of grief are smoothed from his face. "I'll leave, if you don't want me here."

Lestat scoffs at the empty threat, throws his hands up through the air.

"Oh, you infuriate me when you do that."

"I refuse to engage in a conversation when you've so clearly made up your mind."

Louis takes a step toward the door. He expects Lestat to follow, but when his path remains clear, there's a new wave of dread that grips his innards. He doesn't bother turning back to face him; he can feel Lestat's eyes on the back of his head, burning like ice.

"You were always good at running away, weren't you?"

"What would you have me say, Lestat?" He's teetering on the edge of resign, running through all the reasons in his head whether it might be worth it to dig in his heels and die valiantly on this hill or lie down and kiss the sweet earth as Lestat tramples over him.

"Would you have me apologize again? Do you want me to beg on my knees for forgiveness? What could I possibly—"

Before the next syllable leaves his mouth, Lestat is there, with icy claws digging into Louis’ jaw, pressing him up against the wall with such force, his bones seem to rattle with it as he’s knocked back. 

"Sometimes, I just want you to suffer, Louis."

And there is a look in those eyes— those splendid iridescent eyes for which Louis had traded his soul away. Evil. Predatory. I want you to suffer, he says, and Louis knows that he means it with every ounce of his rotten soul.

It ought to scare him. If he were smart, or had a single iota of self-preservation, it would scare him.

But it doesn’t. 

Of course it doesn’t. 

Lestat won’t hurt him. Not in any way that matters, not now. They’ve played this game too many times. Even with Lestat’s hand at his throat, there is a gentle melancholy in the slope of Louis’ brow, a resignation in the heaving of his chest.

"But I do suffer," he whispers. "Why else would I agree to stay here, if not to suffer?"

There’s a moment of hesitation as the words slowly make their way past Lestat’s thorns, seeping into the manic beat of his heart. With the veil between them, Louis cannot hope to understand the meaning behind the pinch between blond brows, the movement of his jaw clicking back and forth. And even when he does release him, all Louis can do is watch with that same scrutiny as he turns on his heels and rips at the curtains in a sudden fit. 

His movements are slow, clunky; not those of a vampire, but those of a frustrated child. The curtain rod crashes to the ground as soon as he pulls at the fabric, but even that is not enough— curtains in hand, he shreds the material between clenched fists, pulling and pulling and pulling through the drapes as if they’re made of the finest paper. Still, even the nest of tattered fabric isn’t enough, doesn’t satisfy the need to destroy, the ache to have something to fight back against him. And there’s a scream in the back of his throat that arrives at the very same moment he feels the warm sting of tears, and all he wants is to hurt something, to break something, to tear the beating heart out of his misery. 

But then Louis’ hands are on his hands, and Louis’ eyes are on his, and, and—

"This is madness, isn't it?" Lestat rasps.

"Yes," Louis exhales so deeply it nearly sounds like a laugh. "Madness."

There’s a pause. Lestat stares at Louis’ hands covering his own. His skin is so dark now from the sun, or perhaps Louis is just getting lighter with age. Either way, they look equally ghastly clasped together.

"The drapes were hideous. I can’t stand it."

"The pattern doesn’t suit them, it clashes with the wallpaper,” Louis replies. Naturally. 

“I need to hunt.”

“Yes, you do.”

Another pause. He lifts his head to Louis. A silent plea in those brilliant blue eyes. Come with me, come with me, come with me, please. 

With a sigh, Louis releases his hands, brings one to Lestat’s shoulder with a soft squeeze, and even that is a mercy. 

“I’m going to look into replacing the drapes.”

[ihaventcomeupwthanameforaheroyet]

Me trying to be angry at Lestat be like:

"Listen, I love you, but are you serious? Giving another chance to someone who betrayed you twice? Who says he loves you but does nothing anytime you need help? Wasting the time of your life on someone who does not care? Are you immortal or something?"

And then I remember that yes, he is immortal, he can waste centuries being in a lousy relationship and still have plenty of time left. Also yes, he is very resilient and will always find a way to survive despite having a partner who never cares when he is in trouble.

But I am still angry, because a terrible choice is a terrible choice even if it won't take away the precious years of your mortal timeline. I mean, I am so angry at this immortal 200-something year old boy because he does not take better care of himself and chooses things that are bad for him! As a partner, Louis is less than a pet - a pet can't help you when you are in trouble, but won't abandon you either. As a partner, Louis is less than a house plant because a plant remains where you left it. I can't understand. I literally can't understand.

Can I blame Louis for this? No! It's not his fault he doesn't care! He doesn't owe Lestat anything! He doesn't owe him love. He shouldn't have said he loves him if he doesn't care, but well. Maybe he believes in the words he says. Maybe he truly supposes that walking away whenever your loved one is in trouble is the most natural urge. Maybe he knows nothing of love - actually, it seems very likely - and everything he says is an honest mistake.

You see, I don't really hate Louis. He did nothing to deserve hatred. But he did nothing to deserve love or sympathy, either. That's literally all Louis does in the books: he does nothing! How am I supposed to love him? What am I supposed to love about him?

However, I don't hate him and I am not angry at him. I am angry at Lestat for choosing Louis over and over again, for choosing him over those who really care. Like, I know this must be his choice and his alone, and my opinion doesn't matter, but how can I approve him doing something that self-destructive? On the other hand... whatever makes him happy, I guess. It's not my choice to make, and I have to learn to tolerate this somehow.

(Wow. Talking about it really helps. Therapy! 😆)

[lestatmorelikeletsnot]

I’ve been trying and failing to articulate my thoughts about how early-series Louis could be so avoidant of Lestat if he supposedly loves him so deeply. And then today I saw this post about how it’s more of a burden to your loved ones when you try so hard to be independent that you end up imploding than if you were just consistently vulnerable with them and. Yeah :/

[loelett]

what if i read the later vc books... is there enough louis content to sustain me

[butchybats]

CONSIDERING THAT TOTBT WAS PUBLISHED IN ‘92 AND THE LOST BOYS WAS RELEASED IN ‘87 AND IT’S CANONICAL THAT LOUSTAT WATCH MOVIES TOGETHER IT IS ENTIRELY PLAUSIBLE THAT THEY WOULD’VE WATCHED THE LOST BOYS

[colinrobinsonscardigan]

I really don’t want to read TOTBT, but I do really want to read about Mojo and Lestat hitting his funny bone.

[squirrellypoo]

Currently, what are some of your favorite iwtv fics? I’m pretty caught up on a lot of mine and need some recs

Sure! I’ll try to categorise and keep most to recent/currently updating ones just to narrow down my list. These are in no particular order! (And I am terrible at connecting AO3 and tumblr usernames so forgive me if I’m an idiot and missed some)

Vampire ones (mostly Loustat)

“Love like an ache in the jaw” Post-Dubai interview Louis POV where Lestat awakes and comes back to him, with all the pain, turmoil, and love that entails.

“Assignment” Modern AU with an anxious and stressed Louis requesting professional services to lose his virginity. Alternating POV between Louis and Lestat. (ongoing) by @riley-beautrelle

“In the White Room (L’homme Lestat)” Modern vampire story where Lestat is kidnapped by a mysterious organisation and forced to become their assassin while Loumand try to help/rescue him with help from Villanelle (ongoing) by @angstosaur

“Get him back” Romcom with show!vampire Loustat kinda in that weird post-QOTD/TOTBT stage where they’re friends but not together but still inseparable. And there’s Mojo! (Series ongoing)

“Making It Work” Modern show-based Loustat are alternating POV diary entries as they try to forge new ties with Louis’s family’s descendants… (ongoing)

“Half Past Dead” Modern post-Dubai interview with Daniel interviewing (& fucking) a down & out addict vampire Lestat in New Orleans

“The Vampire Detective Agency and the case of the Mozart Murderer” Modern alternate-canon thriller with Loustat solving a murder together in NOLA (ongoing) by @angstosaur

“A favor” PL-era Louis arranges the perfect birthday celebration for Lestat - a massacre at a mobster’s decadent party by @riley-beautrelle

“Epitaph” Each daily chapter is day in the life of Daniel Molloy in Sept 1973 as his life is changed forever when he meets a man who claims to be a vampire… (ongoing, daily updates in March)

Not-quite-human AUs (just trust me)

“Come (Back) to Me” Modern painter Louis is drawn to a painting an an old chateau and time travels back to the 18th century to meet the young marquis in the portrait… by @suikamelon6

“None of them your true nature” modern AU where casino boss Louis starts an affair with the owner Lestat, despite his troubled marriage to Antoinette…

Human AU

“Did you get enough love, my little dove?” Modern human AU with single dad Lestat raising Claudia after her mother Alicia died, and anxiety-ridden Louis finds a loving home at theirs while lusting after Lestat (ongoing)

“Against All Odds” modern human AU with French exchange teen Loustat in first love then complications with Nicki at uni (ongoing) by @moderndaylestat

“I hate you but I love you more” Human AU with teacher Louis and rockstar Lestat, divorced 11 years but crashing back into each others’ lives when they’re locked in a house together. Meanwhile, Armand comes to terms with the demons of his past while he navigates his relationship with Daniel. (ongoing, nearly completed)

“Memory is a monster” Modern human AU with rockstar Lestat losing his memory after a head injury and Louis, Armand, and Daniel vying to heal/have him (ongoing) by @angstosaur

“Bubble Wrap” Modern human AU with actor uni student Louis falling for clumsy writing student Lestat as he deals with his abusive upbringing and they navigate growing up and starting their careers… (ongoing)

“Like You Mean It” Romcom modern human AU with Loustat fake dating their way through 6 weddings and denying their attraction (ongoing)

[murfpersonalblog]

Fire & Sunlight: AMC vs Books on Vampire Powers

"if lestat's blood and louis' blood are the same, and lestat drank from akasha before meeting louis, and therefore cannot be burned, why louis can? because he was willing in that scene in the seventies? or just because blood does not transfer that way?"

I just saw this great question posted by @notfeelingthyaster, and I've been wanting to rant about this for awhile, cuz AMC is very inconsistent with Anne RIce lore wrt vampire powers.

This line is valid...kinda, cuz fear IS the mind-killer, and vampires who give up on life & stop fighting DO have a tendency to just wither away and expire. But Imma still call him out: As of S2, Lestat can 100% be burned--he was bragging/showing off/exaggerating/calling Loumand's bluff.

Magnus was old AF, and had powerful blood in him--his bloodline is descended from Rhoshamandes (the Big Bad of the final Prince Lestat trilogy), one of the First Brood made directly by Akasha. But Magnus himself never drank from Akasha, so he's not sun/fireproof, and having his blood is nothing to brag about. Lestat is strong for his age cuz Magnus was old/strong--Les got the preorder bonus--but that's about it.

What determines vampires being sun/fireproof is HOW MUCH of Akasha's blood they have in them.

And even then, the First Brood can still burn up because of the sun, as we see in the books during the Great Burnings, when TWMBK was left out in the sun. SHE got a tan, but every vampire on the planet went up in flames. Only the strongest/oldest survived, but they were still EFFED UP for centuries. Which is why Marius was created--to get TWMBK to safety.

Marius drank occasionally from Akasha, the most out of anyone for 2000 years. And even HE burned when the Children of Satan/Darkness jumped him & kidnapped Armand.

Marius was effed up for decades/centuries, even with the blood Akasha let him drink to quicken his healing. Fire is no joke for vampires (which is why the Fire Gift is like hax mode).

Lestat drank Akasha's blood ONCE before he met Louis (& Enkil nearly killed him for it). That gave him a significant boost in powers, way too much for a fledgling not even 100 years old. But he wasn't sun/fireproof yet--which is why Pyromaniac du Lac was able to do what he does best and set Lestat on fire in the book/movie:

Even on the show, where Lestat is 100 years older/stronger, he's STILL not sun/fireproof, as we see in 1x2:

Unless AMC's changed the rules & this is part of Lestat's ACT/ruse, deliberately hiding his REAL powers from Louis 👀 👀):

Cuz that whole scene in 1x2 with Louis even walking OUTSIDE should NOT be a thing for AR vamps, who can't be out in daytime PERIOD. (Only OOOOLD AF vamps like TWMBK, the Twins Mekare & Maharet, Khayman, Nebamun, etc. can get tans.) But for AMC, they just apparently can't be in DIRECT sunlight. So AMC's vamps are ALL daywalkers, technically.

But whatever--back to Lestat: IF the rules haven't changed, and Lestat was being HONEST in 1x2, hiding from the sun under his cloak, then no, he's not sun/fireproof yet in S1/S2.

What he says in the S3 promo/teaser is BS; "but then again, they might not." (No, they TOTALLY WILL, boy, stop, lol. XD )

He's showing off, and still calling vampires' bluff; cuz he's going on tour to distract everyone from killing Mr. I Own the Night Louis. Les wants vampires to be afraid of him, and THINK he's unkillable/unstoppable, and that not even the sun/fire can get rid of him. But that's just not true--YET. Les's an unreliable narrator par excellence.

BEFORE the tour, he CAN be set on fire. Les doesn't become truly sun/fireproof until Qotd, AFTER Akasha wakes up & stops his tour & they become lovers/partners-in-crime, & he feeds on her regularly.

In TotBT, he realizes just how much more powerful he is, when he tries to commit suicide but just gets a (painful) tan.

So what about Louis (& Claudia)?

Louis & Claudia are stronger than they should be for their ages (so is Lestat), because Les drank Akasha's blood ONCE before he met them.

But Lou's weak cuz he starves himself & doesn't sustain his powers; and Claudia's weak cuz she's "built like a bird" in a too-small body with too-little blood to even make her own fledglings.

AMC!Louis's been given a significant boost in power with the Fire Gift, which he should NOT have yet, but AMC!Les is 100+ years older, and apparently he's already gone to ground (his dates during the Trial are obvs a LIE--he didn't sleep for all 100+ years, cuz he met Marius & AKASHA, but he doesn't want the coven to know about TWMBK--again: Les is an unreliable narrator, too). In the books, going to ground in a torpor also gives vamps power upgrades when they wake up., which would explain why Les, Lou & Claud are stronger than their book counterparts.

But beyond the Fire Gift, Louis isn't sun/fireproof, cuz HE didn't drink from Akasha, and he's just way too young, and way too underfed.

Likewise, Armand being fire/sunproof ticks me off to no end cuz it effs up his character plot in MtD/TVA; so I have no idea wtf AMC's doing with him, cuz he never even knew Akasha EXISTED.

514 years is nowhere NEAR old enough for a vampire to be ok walking in the sun--Marius was 2000 years old and still burned.

TL;DR: It's a numbers game; but the math ain't mathin, AMC. Vamps being fire/sunproof isn't not about AGE, it's about ACCESS--to AKASHA.

[leslutdepointedulac]

For the OTP ask: Louis/Lestat - 10 Describe their first date (but like... the first one AFTER the Akasha stuff, either in Sonoma or Night Island)

Yay, okay! I feel like a first date post-Akasha would take a while to get to, Lestat's still so shaken up by everything that Louis doesn't want to scare him off by jumping into anything too quickly.

I feel like after they go and visit David in London, they go back to the Night Island, and maybe a night or two later is when they go on this date. Now I know that technically the flight to London could be classed as their first date after Akasha, but Louis was so stressed out with the whole David situation, and spent more time lecturing Lestat afterwards than anything else, that they decide not to count that and do it again but properly this time.

I think that Louis would be slightly afraid of Lestat hiding away again, so in an attempt to reconnect and stop him from retreating, he goes to Lestat and asks if he wants to take a walk.

They probably start off by just going around the Night Island and taking in the nightlife there, maybe going on the beach for a bit. Lestat buys Louis a new coat, like he thought about doing in London. Louis protests a bit, saying he doesn't need one and he's fine, but it's very half-hearted and he lets Lestat help him into it. He won't admit that he feels warmer for it, but whenever there's a slight sea breeze, Lestat notices how he hugs it tighter to himself. (It soon becomes Louis' favourite coat that he wears almost everytime he goes out. I also headcanon that the coat it mentions him wearing in TOTBT for like two seconds is that same coat.)

Anyway, after a walk around the Night Island, and Louis has his new coat, Lestat convinces him to go to the mainland. They go back to the villa and Lestat 'borrows' one of Armand's cars. When they get there, they take a walk for a bit and then Louis slips off to go hunting. Lestat totally just stalks him and watches him from a distance and most certainly gets turned on by watching him feed. He knows that Louis likes to have a moment to himself after hunting, so he goes off to hunt for himself in the meantime.

Then they meet up somewhere and Lestat drags Louis around Miami for a while, going into various places for the 'experience'. In more secluded areas, Lestat manages to hold Louis' hand without him pulling away, and steals a small kiss or two.

When it's a couple of hours or so before sunrise, they drive back to the Night Island and Lestat keeps one hand on Louis' thigh while he drives one handed. Louis does complain a little when Lestat goes just a bit too fast and tells him to at least have both hands on the wheel, but he shuts up and puts his hand over his when Lestat rubs his thigh.

Once they're back at the villa Lestat goes to retreat back to his own room, but Louis stops him and asks him to stay, just for the day. Lestat is a bit hesitant but ultimately he can't resist Louis' big wet eyes and stays after all.

[crazykuroneko]

IWTV Fanfiction Recommendations 🫶

I think I have read enough IWTV fics now, so I will list the ones I've bookmarked. All Loustat unless stated otherwise. And since I limit the number of on-going fics I read, you will find mostly completed, one shots, or serialized one-shot fics here. ❤️ means personal favorite. (Also, I don't always remember the author's Tumblr username, so if you know the ones I didn't link, please tell me)

AMC IWTV-verse fics

on brûlera toutes les deux en enfer, mon ange by Tash_ka ❤️

An Episode 5 divergent AU where Lestat's protective side kicked in when he looked at Claudia when she came back. Perfect serotonin and great resolution. Read the sequel as well

outcast of all this night by @puentera

Armand/Daniel, after Daniel came home from Dubai. A must read for Devil's Minion enthusiasts imo. Love the travelling and Daniel's daughters. Check other titles under the series as well.

fear death by water (what the thunder said) by @lgbtiwtv

In which Louis decided not to go with Claudia after Ep 7 and tended to Lestat instead. Or "Louis Phantom Thread-ing Lestat" as I affectionately call it. Love the language and Louis' internal conflict.

The Unreleased Interviews of Louis de Pointe du Lac by @fablesdelightme

Aka "extra" interviews Louis did to accompany his interview in the show. Personally, it's hard for me to read first person POV, but author captures Louis' voice well. Nice to challenge your interpretation of the show. My personal favorite of the series is Light of My Life, or The Lullaby ❤️. I love the romanticism in the words. But overall, a very beautiful series. Not all is Loustat, so mind the tags.

Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same (modern loustat series) by @thefairylights ❤️

The modern rock star!Lestat AU we all need where Loustat (finally) see a therapist! A mix between show and book-verse' canon. A fun light read with the perfect amount of fluff and angst. My personal favorites from the series are There is an indentation in the shape of you, made your mark on me, a golden tattoo and Here lies a heart that feels touched by fire, howling at the moon for you.

The Right Regrets by @dreamofme9 ❤️

You want to cry while reading the longest most romantic sex scene ever? This is it. I mean, fr the internal conflict Louis is having and all the love he feels for both Lestat and Claudia is 🤌

Basically, all fics written by @amc-iwtv

She has my favorite "voice" for both Louis and Lestat it's insane. My favorites are Valentine Medley ❤️, Bed Death (Loumand, with Loustat in the shadow), Familiar Taste of Poison (this fic is basically half canon for me idc), Written In The Stars Above (a very hot '80s rock star Lestat AU) ❤️, God Complex (Crazy In Love) (that Ep 6 scene from Lestat's POV).

Is It Too Much? by @thatgothicgay ❤️

aka what if Louis didn't say yes at the church and Loustat somehow found a way to communicate better. Love how the series handle the show's conflicts. Has a lot of de Pointe du Lacs feels. The sequel is on-going and worth the wait.

My Companion Heart by @mythicaltzu ❤️

Vampiric modern AU with satisfying murder mystery. Love the ending and Louis' characterization here.

Let the Tale Seduce You by (again) @mythicaltzu

Very different and intriguing take on the "unreliable narrator".

All the Ashes in My Wake by jeremystollemyheart

In the spirit of erasing Talbot from the show 🫡, what if it's Louis who's there with Lestat during the TOTBT suicide attempt? Short, but beautiful

Whispers in my mind by @nalyra-dreaming

It's written for me but idc lol. Beautiful fic of Louis' internal conflict in trying to free himself from Lestat's shadow post-Rue Royale until he realizes everything crumbling down again

These devils of yours, they need love too by (again) @thefairylights

In which Louis finally asked Lestat to kill Antoinette for him when Claudia was still away but somehow found it didn't change anything for him. The angst towards the end 🤌

your mouth and madness by @brightfelon ❤️

A non-vampiric modern AU of four-way Lestat/Louis/Armand/Daniel polycule aka Thee Polycule fic. Idk how to describe it except (insert that Lady Gaga's talented, incredible, amazing etc etc gif here). I think we should pitch this fic to Rolin so he would produce a spin-off series based on this fr. Light read, fun, right amount of angst, yet still tackling the conflicts the characters face in the show

Book-verse fics

Begin Again by @licncourt

My first loustat fic I read. Good for show-audience who haven't read the books but want to know loustat's relationship in the book-verse. Set after QotD (3rd book)

Experimental Methods by @zisurru

Loustat experimenting with Fareed's invention and everything that comes with it 😏

A Collected History of The Vampire Lestat (1968-1978) by @mutantmouse

it's rare for me to read epistolary fic, but I enjoyed this. very unique, and Loustat is all over the place. A glam rock and non-vampiric, but not really human either AU

Questions at Midnight by @sofipitch

A canon compliant AU from Prince Lestat era. I have to admit I like the idea of Rose, and this explores that in relation to Loustat.

L' Interversion by @calipsan

An AU where Louis went to Paris after being turned into vampire by other, found Lestat, and turned him instead. You don't really need to know the book canon for this.

[ihaventcomeupwthanameforaheroyet]

Alright. If I ever post my opinion on loustat again, I am going to tag it as "me and my post-totbt crisis". Please feel free to block this tag; alternatively, please feel free to block me. Because I might need to take some things out of my system, but if loustat is your thing, of course you might be unwilling to read this. Peace, everyone.

[canonicallysoulmates]

I was writing a post about the addition of Raglan James and how his inclusion contributed to my conflicted feelings about the newest episode when my brain kickstarted.

What if he's lying- cause think about how this show is for a minute - what if he said his name is Raglan James but in reality he's David Talbot and he's just using Raglan's name as a cover? We know this show loves character reveals...

I'm just trying to figure out the writers vision and right now I've landed on three possibilities: either this, it is Raglan and they're introducing him now so he'll be an even bigger adversary when they tackle TOTBT, or the dreaded (to me) third option that they'll do the body swapping next season.

[desertfangs]

I finally tracked down a 20th Anniversary Edition of The Tale of the Body Thief, which I'd been trying to get my hands on since the editions came out. I found the first three pretty much immediately but ToBT always eluded me until now! I finally have it! It's on my shelf! Which is great because it's always been one of my absolute favorite Vampire Chronicles. Sometimes even more than Queen of the Damned.

Why? Because it's awesome. It's insightful. It's about regret and loss and grief and coping with the things you've done and the life you've lived. It's about how being a person is messy and complicated. It's about accepting yourself for who you are, not the person you think you should be.

I'm actually working on a whole post about TotBT and Lestat at the moment, but for now, I just wanted to share my excitement to finally have my hands on the legendary Mojo cover!

[kaelio]

This isn't remotely canon but I think maybe I'm going with (for my own brain purposes):

1. IWTV: published in canon by Daniel under a pseudonym (we do know it was not published under his name)

2. TVL: published in canon (and mostly viewed as a tie-in with a forgettable musician's gimmick)

3. QotD: published in canon (and mostly viewed as a tie-in with a forgettable musician's gimmick)

4: TotBT: published in canon but at this point publishers lose interest and/or readers have lost interest because they assume it's ghostwritten, because the author/musician is nowhere to be found and there are no album releases scheduled. Maybe viewed as a cynical retooling of another novel by a sleazy publisher.

5: MtD: in my mind (NOT true in the real canon) this is something David ensured was catalogued with the Talamasca but it isn't published

6. Pandora: in my mind this is something David ensured was catalogued with the Talamasca but isn't published

7: TVA: in my mind this is yet again something David catalogued with the Talamasca with the understanding it would eventually be given to Sybelle and Benjamin but it is not published

8. Merrick: unsure

9. Vittorio: unsure

10. B&G: in my mind this is simply not written down or published and it still strains my mind to think of how it could have been in canon but whatever

11: Blackwood Farm: in my mind this is a long winded post on Lestat's virtually unread livejournal which most people assume is a weird RP blog

12: Blood Canticle: in my mind this is a long winded post on Lestat's virtually unread livejournal which most people assume is a weird RP blog

PL trilogy: this is a narrativized record of a LARP they're doing, like the early Dragonlance novels

[covenofthearticulate]

⏳ favorite canon era/time period + why

🎤 if you could ask anne rice any three questions about tvc, what would they be?

⏳ ok I went a little crazy trying to find an ask where I previously talked about this but my tagging system is a mess and tumblr's search function is garbage so ANYWAY it's fine I'll just go off the rails again because my absolute favorite time period is always post-qotd/pre-totbt! It's the late 80s! Everyone is dealing with the fallout from Akasha in totally different ways! Everyone is more connected AND more isolated than ever before!! There's a chilling coldness that sets in once the dust settles, and everyone begins to go their separate ways from the Night Island.

It's like this razor-thin balance of finding hope in the dawning of a new era, and being absolutely petrified realizing that the abyss of infinite time is once again open, and everyone is free to do anything they want.

For Louis and Lestat I just find this period especially captivating because like, we go from having this tender moment at the end of qotd where Louis is so terrified that Lestat is going to leave him, but then when we pick up the next book five years later, they're living separately and just kind of drifting on their own. I think that gap between the books is so interesting and has so much potential for delicious angst LMAO like they're trying so hard to find a way to be together, but they just can't seem to figure it out (and this goes beyond loustat!! I just read your NYE devil's minion fic and it ripped my heart out a little bit LOL I swear I'll write up a proper comment on ao3 but the way daniel feels them drifting is so beautifully written and it just fills the whole piece with a beautiful tragedy).

🎤 asdgfchsvdkchjg I was hoping I wouldn't get this one LMAO I'm not necessarily one of those fans who pours over all of Anne's q&a's. Not that I'm not interested, I just feel like I'm more excited with what's on the page, and also the way people squabble about speculative things she has said in interviews and stuff just makes me uncomfy, so I don't engage in that level of fandom a whole lot. Also I don't think any of my questions would be that smart and have probably been asked of her before but ANYWAY here's my attempt lol!!

please tell me more about Mojo LMAO please I need to know his favorite chew toys, his favorite position to fall asleep on Lestat, did he ever tear up the courtyard garden, did they make any other dog friends???

Are you satisfied with Lestat's overall arc, from the very beginning of iwtv through to the last book? When you sit down to write him, how often do you have a general arc set, and how often does he surprise you when you're in the middle of writing? Is there anything you would change about his specific narrative, looking back?

What do you see as each character's biggest hope/goal and biggest challenge, post-blood communion?