#the point is that even when Lestat is being honest he is difficult to trust due to how he always has his hands on the scales

[jaggedjot]

The tale Lestat told of his turning was met justifiably by open suspicion from Claudia (“Magnus could be a sous chef in Switzerland for all we know.”) and unspoken doubt from Louis. It speaks to the unnavigable depths of mistrust created by Lestat’s actions that the pair have to question even the horrific violence he describes receiving (“One sob story about his birth”) or the complicated trauma caused by Magnus’ suicide (“I think he killed Magnus.”). The only person who could possibly verify the truthfulness of this story is Armand; he met Lestat shortly after the latter became a vampire, he knew Magnus and what he was capable of longer than Lestat did (“[...] one of my deserters”), and he has a penchant for perusing the minds of others. Armand sharing this knowledge could provide Daniel with a better understanding of the events and subjects of the interview, as well as help Louis parse his complicated feelings for Lestat. It is striking then that when recounting his shared past with Lestat to Daniel, which is presumably the same story he had previously given to Louis, Armand is careful to never say anything that could fully corroborate or dispel those suspicions. When Daniel calls attention to this (“To hear Louis tell it, Lestat becoming a vampire was a horror show.”), Armand gracefully deflects (“That may be.”) and heavily insinuates that Lestat is not someone who can be trusted; calling into question the extent of the trauma that Lestat expressed over a century later (“But he made a remarkable recovery shortly thereafter.”), before describing Lestat as a skilled manipulator (“[...] his hand feeding the audience”), using imagery that paints Lestat’s words as equally captivating as they are fantastical (“How words came out like canaries, summer fruit in the dead of winter.”). The quickness in which Armand concludes that Magnus must be dead (“He’s died, hasn’t he?”) suggests that Lestat could only be free if he was, but still leaves it ambiguous whether Lestat played a role in his demise. While Armand confirms that there is truth to Lestat’s claim that he was not given any guidance by Magnus (“I can teach you what he didn’t.”), the subsequent accusation that Lestat pretended to reciprocate Armand’s love in order to learn that knowledge means that Lestat is still positioned as dishonest. By maintaining and reinforcing this uncertainty about Lestat through opening up about his own past, Armand is looking to gain a degree of sympathy and trust from Daniel, as well as reinforce the image that he would not deceive others.

[unstableairsign]

 thinking about the line where Louis says Clauida’s acting ugly because of her hostility towards Lestat, and claudia responds “better ugly than blind”, and it got me thinking. Because Lestat is manipulative and calculated, yet alluring and charismatic, and therefore a lot of his actions either go unnoticed or get smoothed over by his ability to charm you. But because Claudia is no longer (was never?) charmed by Lestat, she only sees his temperament and his mind games, his need for control, and this renders him insincere and deceitful in her eyes. This then frustrates Lestat, because the entirety of his persona and personality is based in his ability to be an asshole but in a way that ultimately leaves you disarmed, bewitched, and quick to forgive. So when he cannot sway Claudia in his favor he grows more and more bitter towawrds her, which only proves her point that he is not a good person. (not to say that Lestat deserves no sympathy, but when you cannot find it in yourself to extend compassion to others, you can’t be surprised when people find it difficult to offer that kindness to you.) but it is very fascinating to watch him try to adjust to the situation he’s in, where he’s trying to be vulnerable and syrupy sweet to win Louis over, and Claudia will not allow him the privilege of faux sincerity for his own benefit. This isn’t me saying that Lestat is lying about his backstory, but he is telling it now, and telling it this way, in an attempt to rebuild trust and gain sympathy from people who are justifiably angry with him. But without Claudia’s grace, without her forgiveness and approval, he will never have that dynamic he once did with Louis (which is for the best), but Lestat’s response was to call her insolent and spoiled, as if her actions were done out of frivolity or pettiness. She was already the reason he couldn’t have Louis’s love all to himself and now she’s making it her goal to cast him in such a harsh light (even if an honest one); to destroy him? He doesn’t understand her need to be free, her need to show him as he truly is so she can free Louis as well. they were both playing mind games, both trying to win Louis’s love, both of them being just as ugly as the other, and both willing to to go to extremes to get what they want. 

[denfant]

let’s  talk  about     :     how  easy  is  it  to  gain  claudia’s  trust ?     once  her  trust  is  broken ,  how  might  one  go  about  mending  it ?

to  gain  trust .           this  depends  entirely  on  the  point  in  her  arc  when  she’s  met ,  and  the  behavior  of  the  person  she  meets .     in  her  early  years  with  lestat  and  louis ,  before  she  learns  to  be  dissasisfied ,  her  trust  may  be  easily  gained  if  the  other  has  the  trust  of  her  fathers .     as  she  grows  older  and  angrier  and  harder  to  keep  tamed ,  it  would  presumably  get  harder  to  get  on  her  good  side  at  all  ( not  impossible ,  depending  on  if  she’s  sweet  talked  a  little  bit  or  ego  buffed ,  but  definitely  difficult )  .     after  what  happens  in  paris ,  aka  in  either  of  my  80s  verses  because  i  have  two  for  some  reason ,  she  is  very  difficult  to  get  deep  trust  from .     she’ll  give  cursory  trust  because  she  has  to  to  survive  --  she  is  a  social  creature ,  and  far  from  fully  independent  because  she’s  never  had  to  be  --  but  getting  her  to  open  up ,  discuss  what’s  happened  to  her ,  to  divulge  the  truths  of  her  state  and  her  history  ( from  her  perspective ,  anyway  --  there  are  published  books  about  it  all  from  her  fathers’  points  of  view ,  after  all )  will  take  a  lot  of  time ,  patience ,  and  continued  and  persistent  care  and  examples  of  positive  intent .     even  so ,  claudia  has  no  plans  on  getting  as  close  to  anyone  as  she  was  to  lestat  and  louis  ever  again  --  even  though  plans  do  not  always  equal  the  expected  result .

bonus  :  response  to  broken  trust .

          to  start  off :  she  will  forgive  louis  for  any  slight  he’s  ever  done ,  because  she  really  can’t  help  herself .     but  for  anyone  else  ( including  her  other  father ,  if  we’re  being  honest  here )  ,  she’s  exceptionally  prickly  and  easy  to  reoffend .     even  as  she  lets  someone  attempt  to  climb  back  into  her  good  graces ,  she  has  a  sharp  eye  out  for  any  perceived  slight ,  and  will ,  quite  frankly ,  lose  her  shit .     she’s  willing  to  pick  a  fight  with  nearly  anyone  on  a  good  day . . . and  if  you’ve  broken  her  trust ,  it’s  definitely  far  from  a  good  day .     if  she’s  in  a  situation  where  trusting  the  person  is  a  necessity  ( for  safety ,  as  an  example )  ,  she’ll  probably  skirt  the  edges  of  their  presence ,  keeping  a  purposeful  distance  and  coldness  for  as  long  as  she  can  --  at  least ,  in  part ,  hoping  to  be  chased  after  with  apologies .

to  mend  trust .

          regaining  claudia’s  trust  is  another  subject  altogether ,  and  a  far  slipperier  one .     there’s  a  powerful  part  of  claudia  that  desires  to  punish  those  that  have  ‘ wronged ’  her ,  but  an  occasionally  more  powerful  part  of  her  that  needs  love  and  acceptance  and  a  measure  of  respect .     given  time ,  continual  effort ,  proximity ,  and  the  trust  breaker  genuinely  apologizing  for  their  actions ,  it  is . . . possible .     getting  a  truce  from  her  will  be  far  easier  and  quicker  than  her  trust  a  second  time  around . . . and ,  depending  on  the  person  and  the  situation ,  it  may  be  as  far  as  you  can  get .