#these bitches referring to louis lestat and armand

[twobeesornottwobees]

claudia had to die because if she and daniel had met it would have been OVER for these bitches

[kandelia-mangrove]

Wishlist/Predictions for season 3 of interview with the vampire (add your wishes in the tags!) 

Lestat's perspective on the trial 

So much is different in the show and the motives for everyone involved in the trial are still SO unclear, I need more!

Lestat's version of what went down in Paris with Nicky and the start of the Theatre de Vampire (like I do think he and Armand fucked, but also way more stuff also happened for sure)

It would be really funny to get some Armand interjections in this portion of the tale

Lestat being haunted by Claudia's ghost in the present!! Also the Past!! He can never know peace!

Daniel and Lestat beefing

Lestat getting canceled (or truly any other social media reference) 

Louis Cameo in the present day (curious to see how they are going to keep him involved since I doubt they will spend a ton of time rehashing their relationship in New Orleans) 

I really need them to have very intense getting back together but also still kinda divorced energy

I’ll also accept cutaways from Lestat doing insane shit to Louis just chilling in Dubai, like reading a book or smth

But also I feel like Louis definitely funded the tour like no way Lestat was up to date on his finances, so Louis popping in as a producer/manager could be fun and cool too

Everyones reactions to the reveal that Marius is alive 

Like I NEED to see Armand fucking finding out Marius is alive because he is crashing set that day and has a catastrophic meltdown about the whole situation

Because the show implied he doesn’t know about it, with the whole “I have the blood of Akasha in me, he doesn’t know who that is” line. 

Also Need Daniel reacting to this information 

Also really want Louis’ reaction, because I genuinely think even during his Hating Armand Hours TM he would still hate Marius for what he did to him

Also, very unlikely, but I think should be explored: the Marius golden child Lestat racism/imperialism dynamics of it all especially with the AMC cast. Like… We gotta talk about it. 

Explicitly GNC, Nonbinary, or otherwise Trans Gabrielle

On that note, very intrigued to see if they will leave in all the incesty bits or just lean into the abandonment vibes 

Daniel has to clown on Lestat for this if they leave it in

Confirmation or Denial of 70s/80s devil’s minion (I just need to know if it happened or not!!)

Also if it did happen: I want some flashes to that era - setting up the night island of it all (just since I think that could be relevant going forward)

I think it makes sense plot and show production wise to have a little reference confirming it did or didn’t happen, but I doubt we’d see any of it if it did happen tbh. 

Great Conversion stuff just happening in the background 

Daniel Vampire phones Louis, and Louis the least curious vampire to ever exist genuinely tells him to just ignore it. Like that bitch is NOT going to help solve any mystery

Lestat telling the story of him fighting and killing a bunch of wolves as a human and Daniel just not believing him (because its genuinely wild)

Loumand Divorce Era

Lestat actually exploring the trauma of his turning (sexual assault)

Vampire Daniel being a vampire and doing vampire things!! 

The in universe reception to the book Interview with the vampire by Daniel Molloy 

Like do people believe it’s real? How has the impacted the great conversion stuff? 

Do other vamps know he is a vampire?? 

Do people think the popstar thing is an elaborate RPF/industry plant thing related to the book? 

I Gotta see some fake tweets about this please

[nalyra-dreaming]

The comment "Unworthy in San Francisco. Unworthy in Dubai. Disregard" from Armand to Daniel...who is really Armand referring to? Daniel or...himself? Cause there's so much bitterness in it right after Daniel has diminished Louis' love for Armand compared to Lestat. Iirc Assad (or Sam) has already spoken about Armand's jealousy for Lestat and his (Armand's) desperation for love. There is also this moment at the end of the episode when Armand tries to speak and Daniel cuts him off. He's obviously not pleased but is it just him being pissed off or is there something else? The way Louis kind of reassures him after that...

I'm just having THE emotional breakdown thinking about Armand and his feelings of rejection and loneliness first Marius then Lestat then 70 years with the man that won't stop hallucinating the other one that rejected him...and that's probably what happened with Daniel too then? Like seriously poor Armand I think he's already suffered more than Jesus

Welllllll...

Yes, there is that aspect to it, of course.

But especially wrt Daniel... I think there is a part of Armand which enjoys the bitching, and massively so. Oh, it's tinged with anger, and bitterness, and yes, maybe a bit jealousy.

But given how the Devil's Minion arc plays out in the books?

I think that look here:

That's grim satisfaction almost. Dark enjoyment. I mean there have to be a myriad of feelings at play there.

And it all calls back to the dynamic they had (in the book) and will likely have in the show, too, namely that Daniel challenges Armand, constantly. He doesn't just take anything.

And Armand enjoys that - immensely.

[thealogie]

Jacob Anderson on Loustat: such a complicated and difficult relationship they hurt each other in the worst ways but at the end of the day they're home to each other. ps they are best friends pps. lestat is really did see louis.

Jacob Anderson on Loumand: first of all there's no chance Louis asked Armand to erase his memories. none. Secondly if you would like to understand Louis' true feelings about Armand I ask that the court turn to s.2 ep 5 where he refers to Armand, and I quote, as "a little bitch," "dull dull dull," and "the world's softest beigest pillow."

HE TRULY IS LIKE THIS!!! good for him good for him

[ca-suffit]

Hi! Have you watched Jacob interview? He made very clear he dislikes Loumand and kinda make the same point Lestans do, they are all monsters so you can’t judge them. He also said Louis know he has some kind of power ove Lestat, he means Lestat loves him so much he knows how to hurt his feelings and being cruel I guess. I love him but he gave some points to the worst part of the fandom :/

Putting this ask with this too: "have you watched jacob’s interview with autumn? he hates loumand so. much. and he does not seem to like armand much either lol maybe no jassad interviews was for the better"

I watched and took extensive notes and bitched on twitter.

To touch on Loumand first, here's the one positive thing he said that I wanted to get down word for word, cuz I knew the fandom would overlook it (not any of u, I mean in general).

"And, like, I think the fact he jumps into that relationship with Armand so quickly…which I think is, like, um….I think that it is based on something. There is an attraction, there is a pull. But, like, the fact that he jumps into that relationship in the way he does. And he has to construct this kind of dream version of Lestat. He's not able to be on his own. He's just not one of those people. He has to have a distraction and he has to have, I think, something to fight against. Like he needs…a….like a foil? He needs…he needs like…some…some passion but also somebody that he can disagree with and have a problem with. And it distracts him from all the problems he has with himself." (From the "Louis is finally living on his own" segment)

But, ya, overall...aside from saying at a point that he does feel bad for Armand (and complimenting Armand as an individual character outside of being with Louis), it is v heavy on disliking Loumand and kind of killing it all dead p instantly. He does say "Fuck Lestat" too but he also refers to them as "soulmates" and mentions the "vampire bond" and all (which I thought everyone agreed is not....rly real? Not in the way Louis is using it to excuse his pull to Lestat, anyway, but...idk w/e). But, ya, he says at a point that he feels like Loumand never rly even spent much time together. That Louis was always out eating and doing something and Armand would stay behind and "play house."

He also does later touch upon a fear of being too dismissive of them but also says he didn't understand their relationship in the book either and feels like the show is true to the book (it is and it isn't).

I mean. I think there's a lot that could be talked about more in all of this but Autumn isn't someone who...asks about much, so here we are.

Like. I fucking hated that whole "can't moralize," "they're all awful" shit too, bcuz ya I know the fandom is gonna run wild with that. I also think, sry to Jacob, that it's shit to say that? There's a lot u can still explore in a topic about a character's motivations. There's a LOT of racial motivations for things in these stories, for example, and it's v harmful to gloss over them and say they're all awful and it's just what it is. I also don't expect only the actors of color to speak on this tho, I think white actors should be talking about this more often too bcuz there's more protection there to speak about it without being seen as "a problem." I'm not trying to go too hard on Jacob for this part, just like I don't think Delainey needed to be the one asked about the trial (and still the only one who has been?).

There was a little bit of the cruelty part that I liked (this is in the "Louis's cruelty" section) where he calls threatening Lestat with "vampire loneliness" a "mutual punishment." I think there's a lot to explore there for the character of Louis, for the Loustat relationship, for what it does to Lestat too. But...not in this fandom lol. Not with the "mutual punishment" prbly leading to some bullshit about 1x5 again ffs. But there was a rly bad post in the last week about not being able to see all these "book" Louis qualities in Jacob's Louis and this is such a prime example of some real Catholic shit Louis does.

This is long. I might write separate posts later going into more stuff from my notes and having this sit in my head some more.

I want to be clear tho that this isn't meant to be any excuse for slamming Jacob or simplifying this down to shipping wars or whatever else. It's overall all connected to racism issues in this fandom and the ways that all of these conversations (or lack of them) affect these things too. All of these actors are their characters as well and all tend to speak from their perspectives and also know these stories from other angles and goals of the show instead of whatever reasons we're all here. I wish the interviews had more depth but I'm not trying to create more friction in the fandom with reducing this down to some kind of soundbite like "fuck Jacob cuz he doesn't like Loumand!" or w/e.

[weather-mood]

Sorting my fics into categories for fun 🥰

Key: Collabs 🫂 Personal favourites 💕 and wips ✍️

Canon Setting

Rue Royale Era

🫂💕 Pirouette (with @nlbv): Lily and Lestat during that night at the FairPlay.

💕seven new ways that you can eat your young: the seven times Claudia’s blood is drunk by her parents.

Lead and Mercury (multichapter): Louis, Lestat, and Claudia’s point of views as they get ready for Mardi Gras.

Reliquary: what happened to the cane knife?

and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite: Lestat ruminates in the dumpster.

🫂💕 House (group collab): haunted house inspired click-through Rue Royale.

Interlude Era

Train Tracks: 90s interlude.

Burial Rite: Louis decides to go down into the earth. (Companion piece After Burial by @iwtvdramacd18)

Dubai Era

Easement: Louis and Armand’s first week in the penthouse.

💕Rumpelstiltskin: loumand, the mind gift, and the tower.

The Princess and the Pea: a little roleplay.

Glass Coffins and Golden Roses: practices in meditation by the way of bondage.

Instruction: Rashid fills in for Armand.

Optometry: Armand watches Rashid before Daniel arrives.

Tower: Louis dreaming in Dubai.

A Little Coffin Chit-Chat: Fareed and Seth interlude after Fareed treats Daniel.

Opheiletes: a quiet moment after the interview ends in episode seven.

Canon Divergence

✍️ Is this too much (series): Louis says no to Lestat in the church.

Charlie: Charlie is still alive when Claudia brings him home.

Ostentatio Vulnerum: Louis gets into the car in episode six.

✍️ Anamnesis (multichapter): Claudia in a time loop on the night of Mardi Gras.

💕 mental topology experiments to the tune of bubblegum bitch (series): post season-one in Dubai, featuring dreamscapes, loumand weirdness, indulgent star trek references, and Daniel refusing to remember his past.

AUs

✍️💕Once Upon a Wine-Dark Sea (series): Fairytale fantasy horror series inspired by The Little Mermaid.

✍️💕🫂 teachers’ pet (with @devotiondroid, series): Human AU- university setting with College Student Louis and Professors Armand and Daniel.

✍️ Juniper (multichapter): Claudia-focused fairytale horror au of ‘The Juniper Tree.’

Equity: Findom AU with human writer Louis and The Vampire Armand.

Enamel: Human AU. Armand takes care of Louis after he gets his wisdom teeth out.

Other/Wider World

Needle & Thread and Sounding Point: Following in the footsteps of the visionary To Pluck Gently At Strings by @iwtvdramacd18, Armand and Nicki in Paris.

The Seer and the Witch (series): Modern-day envisioning of Merrick Mayfair and Jesse Reeves in AMC-verse.

✍️Made myself mythical, tried to be real (multichapter): Set post season two, experimental fic of Claudia’s ghost reforming.

[hekateinhell]

I'm always thinking about the ways other characters describe Armand vs how he describes himself. They all seem to agree on the basics (angelic, ethereal, radiant, Boticelli angel, most beautiful boy alive/among the undead, etc.), but what can I say I love nitpicking 😌My findings are as follows:

Marius: the only one who describes Armand as actually having slavic features, I believe he uses the phrase "sharp" to describe his high cheekbones ("sharp yet delicate" or something along those lines). By the time I read B&G I had already read all of the previous books in the series (up until that point) so this is what stood out to me the most and I rarely see people mentioning it! And it might be one of my favorite descriptions of Armand ever, you can actually feel just how astonishing his beauty is. Had Marius so thoroughly shook.

Lestat: Angel boy, angel mouth, cherub, so beautiful it's stupid, this is SURELY what love/desire must feel like, "I just beat the shit out of him and I should probably kill him but GOD HE'S SO FUCKING PRETTY I CAN'T". PRINCESS AT THE BALL. NOT ONE BUT TWO PRINCESSES. Also calls him a "sad(?) waif" which is fucking hilarious when you consider Armand is later like "I'm not a fucking waif" but Lestat definitely called him one in TVL AND YOU KNOW WHAT. I BELIVE HIM!!!! I do 😌

Louis: Simple yet undeniable beauty, seductive asf, got him horny and in bad parent mode in record time yet ever the gentleman, he only used the most sophisticated adjectives to describe him. I would have LOVED to have gotten more stuff from Louis POV post-IWTV, specially because Anne did a bit of a retcon when it came to Armand's looks (iirc Louis described his hair as being straight??? Though his hair was always auburn). I wanna know what Louis thinks of Armand as we all know and love him pls 🤧

Daniel: hottest bitch alive, can't even think straight because of how horny I am all the time. Even when I'm tryna talk shit about him I CAN'T because he's so fucking hot, dammit (paraphrasing but "he looked normal... if you call looking this fucking hot normal 🥵"). Props for mentioning how cute/dorky/human his laugh is and how pretty he looks when his hair falls on his face AND how effortlessly stunning he looks with long OR short hair. Daniel never recovered from this, obviously.

In summary: he's a teeny tiny pretty baybay 🥲🤏 but will also awaken kinks you didn't even know you had 🥵🥵🥵 15/10 would hit again except Lestat yk

Armand, in TVA: HOLD😠THE FUCK😠 UP😠. I'M NO WAIF. I'M STRONG AND ATHLETIC AND MARIUS' LANKY ASS LOOKED FUNNY AS HELL WHEN HE CARRIED ME UP AND DOWN THE STAIRS AT THE PALAZZO. YOU HEAR THAT LESTAT 😡 I'M NO. FUCKING. WAIF. But also wow I'm hot 🥵 even as I laid dying jfc no wonder why everyone in Venice hit it 🥲🤏

Would love to hear your thots 💭 as usual xoxo DA ❤️

DA, my love! ♥️

I was stewing on this for an entire (hectic) day because I think about it a lot — almost all of Anne's vampires appear to fall within the conventional range of attractive but she really went overboard with Armand and the sheer amount of prose dedicated to his ethereal, captivating, otherworldly appearance.

Marius really said: 'abandoned angel' while Lestat went, 'Cinderella at the ball'. And you're correct, Lestat does call Armand a waif in TVL in one of my favorite passages:

"Grotesque he seemed, among all the candles and the swimming colors of the flat, this filthy waif of the netherworld, and yet his beauty held sway. He hadn't needed the shadows of Notre Dame or the torchlight of the crypt to flatter him."

I do generally default to waif meaning skinny and unhealthy, but I looked it up and it also means 'a homeless, neglected or abandoned person, especially a child'; which ties into how Lestat thought of Armand as an orphan:

[...] this quiet and forceful one, the one who would survive, no matter how the orphan in him wept.

That's my all-time favorite Armand description btw. 🥹

Since we're talking TVL, I'll refer back to what you said about IWTV, which was published almost an entire decade earlier! Armand was in his 20s in the original IWTV short story, and therefore his appearance isn't described as having all the exceedingly youthful qualities that are later endowed to him in TVL and onwards. Here's a few examples from Louis in IWTV:

"I had a strong sense of him [Armand] then, the separate being that he was, the calm and collected creature with the straight auburn hair and the large, sometimes melancholy eyes [...]."

"I looked at Armand, at his large brown eyes in that taut, timeless face [...].

"[...] Armand was beautiful and simple, and no intimacy with him would ever have been repellent."

So I think the descriptions we're given does a paint a more mature physical image than TVL-era Armand. TVL is also the first time we're given Armand's mortal age as being 17 years old. If you've read CoSB, which Anne wrote in between IWTV and TVL, some of my friends and I have this theory that she based Armand's later physical characteristics off of the character Alexi (a young sex slave). 🫣

Marius's first impression of Armand:

And there I saw beauty, beauty which has always been my downfall, beauty as in Pandora, as in Avicus, as in Zenobia, as in Bianca, beauty in a new and celestial form. Heaven had cast down upon this stone floor an abandoned angel, of auburn curls and perfectly formed limbs, of fair and mysterious face.

I reached down to take him by the arms and I lifted him, and I looked into his halfopened eyes. His soft reddish hair was loose and tangled. His flesh was pale and the bones of his face only faintly sharpened by his Slavic blood.

In universe I attribute this distinction to Armand's Slavic features to the fact that he was a malnourished little thing when Marius saved him from the brothel. It makes sense that the bone structure in his face would be more defined versus after Armand's been living well in Venice for a couple years, becoming in his own words, 'a plump and juicy young man'. Lestat describes Armand's cheeks as going 'apple-perfect' when he smiles in MtD, meaning that they're full and rounded, Armand still has that fat in his face.

I agree with you — I would have loved to see more of Armand from Louis's POV post-IWTV, once Anne had fully settled on what his character would be like! But here's a line from Louis to Armand in TVA that tells us this much:

"And like a dream, you've come back. We all had inklings of it, wild whispers that you'd been seen in New York, as handsome and vigorous as you ever were. But I had to lay eyes on you to believe it."

'Handsome and vigorous' is how post-IWTV and pre-PL (Trinity Gate era) Louis describes Armand!

TVA is definitely not everyone's favorite VC novel, but it is mine, because it's the only one where we get to see inside Armand's head. And it's an excellent example of how differently we see ourselves, even superficially, compared to how others see us.

There's also a concept that I see play out a lot irl that basically dictates that oftentimes our brains tend to freeze people as they were when we first met them and this can be a difficult perception to break. A notion that perhaps can be applied here, for example: Marius first saw Armand as this angelic, broken child and Lestat first saw him as this being that's simultaneously horrifying and beautiful and begging him for his guidance. In contrast, Louis and Daniel meet Armand in a position of power and possibility that doesn't waver until further down the line. Armand is a different person to each one of them (just like how none of us are exactly the same nor seen exactly the same by anyone in our lives).

What is interesting too is the parallel between Lestat and Daniel using words like grotesque, awful, loathsome (in addition to the beautiful, captivating, angel, etc) in TVL and QotD re: Armand. And yet Armand is someone whom they both love and find themselves attracted to (for Lestat it's been an ongoing thing for 200 years and he can't figure out what to do about it - let us never forget 'good to embrace, good to love').

One of the key differences to me here is that Daniel romanticized vampirism and Lestat romanticized humanity and they're at opposite sides of the spectrum at these respective points in time. Lestat was a newborn vampire who was turned against his will and then almost immediately stumbled upon a cult of Satan worshippers advertising the worst that vampirism has to offer. Yes, Daniel did have to run for dear life for a good while there but in comparison he saw a much better side of Armand than Lestat ever did in Paris, no contest.

A final thing that stands out when I think about all this is how alluring all of them find Armand, and yet he spends so much of his life either alone, pinning, or losing whatever connection he might have had to those he loves. And this can be said for Marius and Lestat as well but it's just the juxtaposition of Anne making Armand this insanely bewitching, seductive creature to virtually all he encounters, but things rarely play out in his favor in that regard, and then when they do, they don't last.

(Until PL trilogy, you know what - thank fuck for those three books, it was rough being an Armand girlie back in the day and never knowing what happened to him after the events of B&G and Merrick, just absolutely horrendous).

[lou-iz-stat]

Well I got to episode 5 in my IWTV S1 rewatch…

Truthfully I probably won’t say much about this episode since there is so much of it in season 2 that I think will be revisited. On top of that I am at the end of my semester at school so I probably won’t say much because of that too. Also out of all of the episodes of s1 this the episode that I have seen the least.

But we still have 3 more weeks until season 2 where I have no doubt that s1 will be tame when compared to it. I’m getting more and more nervous each week not going to lie.

Ok… here we go!

IWTV S1 E5: A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart

The episode starts with Daniel reading Claudia’s diary and how she records the last words of the people she kills.

But then Daniel is interrupted by Louis feeding on ‘Rashid’. It is pretty nasty for Louis and Armand to do this in front of Daniel. He even reads his mind to try and throw Daniel off his game. I notice that whenever Daniel tries to talk about something negatively about Claudia, Louis will always try to do something to throw Daniel off that even holds through in the ‘Paris sucks’ clip we have in s2.

It’s funny that Armand tells Daniel he would not let him anywhere near his neck. He must still be mad at Daniel for something maybe Devil’s minion related? 👀

Then we go back to 1923 where Louis thinks that she has gone on a hunger strike because of Charlie but Lestat knows that she is just escaping when they have to go feed. Since they are so similar Lestat knows that Claudia would not skip out on meals.

Also the line “I know what I’d do, but you cut my hands off.” Like!!!!! Fucked up Nikki reference. 😭

Also Lestat reading the diary and the dairy being so graphic ugh… 🤢

Everything is just such a mess… oh boy… with all the bodies coming up

And of course Tom Anderson is trying to distract Loustat since the Police chief is there in the speakeasy.

I feel so much anxiety with all the cops in their home! And Claudia is not helping! 😬

There are still some comical bits such as the “We sell… incinerators.” Louis’s little shrug at Lestat. “To various American cities.” The delivery is actually very funny.

Also what’s funny is Claudia’s acting when the cop opens her door. Her face when she drops the blanket and the closet door opens to show the rotting man.

But all the fun and games stop when the cop is homophobic.

Yes Lestat is a jerk and treats Claudia like shit and still sees Antoinette so Claudia only feels like she has to leave.

Also establishing that Claudia is unable to turn people is a great thing to set up now.

And even though it’s heartbreaking I do love that Claudia gets mad at Louis for not just taking her to a hospital but made Lestat turn her into this monster. Bailey’s acting is just so perfect here.

We go back to Dubai and Daniel is telling Louis some harsh truths about what the public could do with Claudia. Yikes

And their home turns into a ruin after they wake up from their long nap

Man…Fuck Bruce

The part where Louis makes Daniel’s Parkinson’s go out of control as always annoyed me even if Daniel was stepping out of bounce it just never sat right to me. And of course Armand is there to ‘calm Louis down’

We go back once again and we see the scene of Louis saying his final goodbye to Grace and his makes Claudia come home after everything.

Lestat is such a bitch when she comes home. I understand what he is trying to do but it’s just all wrong.

And the fight happens. We will revisit what happened during the fight in the coffin room that we don’t get to see. But as an indication by some parts of the trailer we have already seen a glimpse of it. Hopefully the writers handle it well…

Also the during the drop scene it sounds a lot like what Armand said to Lestat before pushing him off a tower in TVL so I guess we’ll see what comes of it.

Okay good got through that one. Now I can get back to some class work lol.

I cannot believe that we are now 3 weeks away from seeing the premier for season 2 and for some of you, you will be seeing it in about a week and a half. Good luck to the NYC people that get to see it early.

[anaid-queen]

The Rolin Cut (3min) - a description of all scenes & all my thoughts

(observations as well as theories, mine and others')

as i'm dealing with every single quote and frame we see, it's under a cut - because this bitch is over 10k

Section 1: The Interview

Lestat's portrait (you know the one, the co-founder / Wolfkiller one) is completely engulfed in flames [starting off strong... Louis i see you!!]

Louis: "It is how it happened. I didn't think it at the time, but...yeah. Yeah." [would love to know what memory this refers to.... probably nothing too dramatic, if he manages to be somewhat collected about it? either that or, tbh... who knows. maybe he remembered smth correctly and then was gaslight into thinking differently?? it's not like we don't know someone who'd do that]

corresponding shot of Louis saying the above line in the present day, looking very contemplative [is he (relatively) collected, or is he barely holding it together? why can't i quite tell]

Armand: "May I make an observation?" [asking politely literally for the sake of politeness huh]

Louis: "I lost control of the interview." (AMC+ YT channel says this is Daniel but that's bullshit, doesn't sound like him & wouldn't work at all) [he's embarrassed, of course he's embarrassed, poor sweetie's immediately on the defense]

shot of Louis smoking ... at a bar ? [not sure what to make of this]

Armand: "Yes." [he's sooo fast to say this, god, he sounds almost desperate the way he hisses it... polite veneer OFF]

Louis: "He's skilled." [i know he's being defensive / trying to cover the cracks in his own armor, but i love that he's praising Daniel regardless]

Armand: "He wants you in piece for the privilege of putting them back together again as he sees fit." [ok savage accusation... and every bit of pain aside, projecting much, like HELLO]

Daniel walks into the nature room, where Armand already is, floating among the shelves reading; meanwhile a servant (Rashid?) brings Daniel his food [which begs the question... where is Louis? is Daniel really going to eat there, with his back to Armand, floating high in the room? i'm having so many thoughts y'all, and none of them are in the bible- ahem.]

Louis: "It's his job." [definitely defending Daniel now! baby ily]

Armand: "It's his drug. He's reveling in it." [god he really is soooo pissed isn't he. the harshest/meanest interpretation right off the bat.]

Armand: "You should end it." [and there lies the crux of it. he wants Louis to end the interview (because of course he does), and he's chosen to frame it as 'Daniel manipulates you / enjoys manipulating you, you shouldn't enable him'. wonder how far that's gonna get him...]

a shot of the curtain that's become as much of the trademark logo as the stylized name of the show itself

Daniel: "Session 10 - the vampire Louis and the vampire Armand." [he sounds so annoyed. sick n tired of these vampires]

shots of Daniel adjusting his glasses and the mic [trying his best to appear professional(ly detached) huh]

Louis: "You have our attention." [so generous! wonder if these lines of dialogue go together or not, they could but they could also very well not]

Louis and Armand sit next to each other on the couch; both are smiling slightly, but Louis appears to be challenging Daniel / trying to appear in-control, while Armand's smile is...indecipherable [he's sooooo obsessed <33 sorry not sorry it's all i can see]

Daniel: "Are you two going to finish each other's sentences for the whole session?" [ohhh he doesn't like it... i wonder why. probably because they annoyed him before (this conversation feels pretty cut-together at this point), but i like to think he feels weirdly jealous and doesn't know why :3]

corresponding shot of Daniel - he looks bemused / like he can't quite believe what he's seeing [question remains whether this is too much / uncalled for, or whether he even turns his discomfort down to phrase his question as politely (or unthreateningly) as he can - we really need the true context for this!]

shot of the past: Louis and Armand sitting on a bench, turning to look at each other as one - Louis smiles first, then Armand breaks out in a (happy? relieved?) smile [no freaking clue what scene this clip could be ripped from; but it's clearly supposed to emphasize how in sync they are (finishing each other's sentences, moving as one, making each other happy (?))]

Daniel: "We've been together 77 years, Daniel." [good narrative opening objectively... i'll withhold further comment for now]

shots of Louis and Armand taking a walk in the park and near some building (?) at night, still in the past [not sure if both are from the same scene (one long walk) or not, but the message is clear - they're comfortable together and have been for a long time]

still in the past, Armand kisses Louis' cheek, Louis smiles happily [out of context, a very cute moment, 50/10 no notes. in-context i've seen someone point out a possible relation to a later scene and called in a Judas kiss, and frankly i have no been the same person since]

Louis: "Shall we let the math of that settle?" [i still think this dialogue is very patched-together, but we obviously can't know at this point. he's definitely trying to convince Daniel that he and Armand are a unit, inseparable, why does he even question that. (yeah, right; he's definitely not just trying to convince Daniel.)]

Louis and Armand all but swagger into a room right after one another, Louis giving Claudia (presumably) a Look [they seem happy, and i've seen many people say "they just had sex" and attribute the Look to that as well - it's possible! but i somehow doubt Louis would be so brazen (by his standards) about to in front of Claudia (still assuming this is her); but i'm pretty sure Something just happened between them]

Claudia smiles at someone - fake? genuine? strained, in-between? - while holding a box of some kind under her arm [presuming this is indeed the same scene, it would make the most sense she's smiling at Louis in response. why is she there? are they meeting up? it looks like Louis and Armand are arriving to meet her. is whatever they're gonna talk about related to that box?]

Armand: "She's something, your Claudia." [clearly an overlayed line from the Mansion Massacre scene - but i wonder, not for the first time, how sincere he is being there. clearly he wants Louis to think he means it as a compliment, but could he? at least to a degree? would he be impressed with her, despite himself (his rules, his growing resentment)? a little like Lestat?]

Louis: "A spark in the dark." [still a line from the Mansion Massacre; and can i just say i will never ever ever get over how proud and happy he sounds (seemingly utterly unaware of how he's portraying his life as terrible and Claudia as barely making a dent in the overwhelming darkness of it all..... so typical Louis, really.)]

Claudia leans on a windowsill, raising her eyes to look at something/someone off-screen with apprehension (or disdain?) [no idea who she could be looking at, or when this is - i'll pose a totally wild guess and say either it's Armand or Santiago approaching her]

Section 2: Claudia & Louis

Claudia looking sad (and disheveled?), almost fearful, sitting in a sort of moving vehicle covered by linen (?) [hiding / travelling through Europe?]

Louis: "I wanna say somethin' to you. Our life is shit. It's been shit. It is shit. It's gon' be shit again. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. A shit life beats no life." [someone said Louis is channelling his own mother in this speech to Claudia (it can only be Claudia he's addressing). and i really don't have much to add there. something something generational trauma is a monster.]

a top-down-shot of a convoy of moving vehicles... military vehicles? [i can only guess, it's so dark i can barely see for shit, but maybe Louis and Claudia are travelling in a troop transport? it is wartime after all]

then, a shot we already know well - Claudia and Louis, in ragged-looking clothes (Claudia carrying a bag or suitcase) running away from a building, right before the back of it explodes [speaking of wartime! this is not a good time to be travelling Europe guys...]

Louis is watching a picture burn, in a room where pictures hang behind him on strings [is he burning pictures? if so, of what/who? and the flame looks strangely disconnected... does he have the Fire Gift already? while it would be cool if he discovered it here, i doubt it, because he would look much more surprised/shocked. but what IS he burning? the idea that he's trying to photograph his hallucinations of Lestat but is presented over and over with empty frames really stuck with me...]

Louis and Claudia walk through dimly lit streets, still looking ragged, paying no mind to the rain beating down on them [no idea when or where this could be, sorry]

Claudia crawls out of a hole in the ground, looking extremely ragged and soot-covered and desperate (?), a fire burning somewhere on some trash behind her [either revenants or wartorn Europe; with the fire, i'm cautiously guessing wartimes, but what is Claudia growing out of? looks more likely to be a grave than a bunker, but the fire and the soot would fit with war...]

Claudia, in fancy, all dolled-up blue outfit, ripping down a string with photographs on it and throwing it to the ground in a rage [likely connected to a later scene - she's mad at Louis, and takes it out on his pictures. this still being under the "life is shit" monologue is also very telling... ]

Louis sitting alone on a bench, the camera positioned as if someone's watching him through the bushes but we don't see anyone [what time is this? IS someone watching him? don't ask me!!]

another shot we already know, of Claudia staring at some huge fire, Louis beside her - she still looks ragged, but not despairing anymore, her face a mixture of shock and (very cautious) joy [someone said Louis just burned the revenants...? but i confess i don't know anywhere near enough about that section to make a guess myself. it would work with Claudia being both relieved and shocked (at what's Louis's capable of), though.]

Louis: "And where we're going now, can't be running away again!" [i have turned this bit over in my head again and again. what the hell does he mean? does he just crave stability this badly, or is this a dig specifically at Claudia? his tone of voice almost seems to imply that... but what happened that made him feel this way! is this really about killing Lestat...? or smth else since that we haven't seen? what he says after this implies that they already met the revenants, but surely he can't blame her for leaving them behind?? is he just desperately trying to put his foot down like 'third time's the charm come ON now'. in any case though it's terrible foreshadowing... they "can't" leave, huh?]

Louis and Claudia in rags approach the Panthéon in Paris [at a guess they just arrived in Paris, and are marvelling at the sights / are simply overwhelmed, after everything they've been through]

Louis, standing next to a big wall and a lantern, waiting for a figure from the right to approach [we can't see who it is, but a later scene that seems to be going very well with this one shows us it's likely Armand]

Section 3: The Théâtre des Vampires

Louis: "We're gonna to find others like us. We can't be the only good ones out there." [and this is the bit i said that implies they already met the revenants and that's what Louis is referring to; others "like them" aren't just vampires, but functioning, non-feral ones]

members of Armand's coven bow to Claudia and Louis [part of a clip we've already seen, i believe - this should be when Armand introduces them to the others]

in a big room with at least five coffins at it, it's bedtime - everyone's shutting their lids, but we only get a glimpse of Armand who shuts his last (behind each coffin is also a small area with what i assume are personal effects?) [of all the things i didn't expected, it was the coven having a communal sleeping room... and Armand to be right among them! but maybe i should have ?? idk, i think it's weirdly precious in any case]

a very VERY ragged-looking lady is licking something off her black fingernails [either a revenant or someone even more insane - considering the voice-over is still talking about "good ones", i'm betting on revenant for now, but once again who the hell knows - i sure as heck don't! all i know is that she could likely be the same lady who seemed to be clawing at Louis in an earlier trailer... is she licking his blood off her fingernails now? no... the scenes have totally different lighting. but maybe this is her MO?]

someone we only see a hand of operating a projector (could this be a cinema setting?), someone else looking into the same room from a window beside them [apparently the character is called Tuan Pham and he's part of the coven, but that's all we know so far]

Santiago: "Welcome! We here at Théâtre des Vampires delve into the underbelly of the human soul." [he's clearly presenting the show to the human audience, he's got his showman voice on; and it's certainly fun to hear how it's being pitched to the bewitched audience!]

a shot of a figure on stage, viewed from the back and lit from the front, slowly raising their (his?) head to the light, followed by a shot of Santiago raising his head up to an overhead light - i'm going to cautiously assume those belong together (you never know) and both are Santiago (you see part of the gear from a different trailer where he flew on his back, too) [i'm mostly stuck on why he looks so...apprehensive, you could almost say? like, he could just be bowing out after a show, i can't say for sure. but wouldn't be smile a smug smile? or look extra menacing? and not...this, this almost-afraid expression? i wonder if there's going to be a confrontation in an empty theatre.... horror movie style]

we briefly see boots lift off the stage (whose is impossible to tell) to a few shocked faces in the audience [just gonna assume this is still Santiago, because frankly why wouldn't it be]

someone with Santiago's hair (i can't quite make out his face, but it's likely him) is riding a motorcycle and being quite passionately kissed by a woman sitting on his lap [no idea who the woman is / if i'm supposed to recognize her, but i'll assume she's a vampire as well - and because i cannot assume the worst every second in my life, i will just say right here, to both of them: good for you!]

a stage production - we see a projected background, showing a meadow, a dead tree and three (apparently living) skeletons of humanoid-looking bird creatures, and in front of it are two actors, one with an axe standing in the back and one with a scythe walking towards the bird-things (?), dressed in a hood like Death (the creature closest to him seems to be shaking in fear) [once again no idea who the person in the background could be, or what this play is supposed to depict, but it reminds me of an earlier trailer - it seems to be the same scene, with the same two people and projected backdrop, just minus the skeletal creatures. and in that other trailer, the hooded Reaper was clearly visible as Santiago, and he seemed to be casting the axe out of the other guy's hand with the Mind Gift?? so he could be a victim...]

then there's a reused scene - a group of eight vampires in similar plain clothing crowding around (about to devour?) a red-haired lady who screams in terror; they quickly pull her under [is this part of a theatre performance? it looks very choreographed, and not very efficient... also the lighting? i will say stage for now. also, the woman looks suspiciously like Madeleine, but i doubt it's her. i've seen someone theorize that this is Madeleine's sister, and Madeleine comes to seek out the theatre after her mysterious disappearance...]

Santiago: "We do horror shows so we can eat people!" [skipping over how cute i somehow found this because that's for another essay, i wonder who he's talking to? he's so exasperated! who's not getting the concept / who does he think is not getting the concept? it's Louis isn't it]

corresponding shot of Santiago saying (shouting) the above line, while throwing away a script (?) he held in his hand [is he angry at a change in script, maybe? does he want to go back to the good old days when it was simple(r), and not do whatever is written on the pages he just got? all possible!!]

Section 4: Lestat (x9)

an almost black-and-white (black and warm beige) shot of Lestat strutting through a..backstage area?, taking off his coat - lit from the outside so only silhouettes are visible to us [first thought: diva! :D second thought: wait is he in a hurry or is he angry...]

Armand: "Lestat Lestat Lestat Lestat Lestat Lestat Lestat Lestat Lestat!" [100/10 meme. all i have to say. he sooo can't stand him <333 yes obv i know this is about him being annoyed with Louis constantly thinking (and at the time, as this seems to be the first interview, also talking) about him. but also. 100/10 meme.]

corresponding scene: Armand is clearly very annoyed at Louis; we don't see much of the room they're in, but the window has been taped over with newspapers to block the incoming sunlight [again, i maintain this is during the first interview; basically nothing else makes sense. also, Armand seems to be wearing the same shirt and undershirt (?) as he did at the bar, minus jacket. (his hair is super mussed though... i assume he ran his fingers through it a LOT before he had this outburst)]

Lestat eats a piece of paper... VERY enthusiastically [if this isn't a hallucination i'll eat some paper myself. it's even weird for a hallucination tbh :'D though extremely hilarious]

Armand: "There is no scripting Lestat. You cannot script a hurricane." [i've seen one person suggest this is pre-trial, but i doubt that honestly..? who would Armand be talking to then, and in so contemplative a voice, too. my best guess (which also isn't good tho tbh) is that this is during his early-ish days as an actor. and i still have less than no clue who Armand would be talking TO.]

a short frame of Armand's face, contorted in...rage? despair? he's yelling, and gesturing with his right arm (though that's not clearly visible) - his fangs are out a little. there are two guards, presumably human, in background [whatever the HELL is happening must be extremely emotional, to make him lose control in public and even bring out his fangs!]

Lestat, in his red Wolfkiller cloak, is sliding backwards on a cobblestone road - apparently thrown by the figure he glances at despairingly (who we can't see defining features of). there are humans (?) in the background paying the scene no mind, but someone with nicely done-up hair (with a bow!) is standing next to the person who (presumably) push/threw Lestat, and is watching [it's not difficult to assume the two scenes happen exactly in this order, and that Armand telekinetically yeeted Lestat (his overcoat seems to be the same) - and the other person is very likely Nicki...]

Lestat, in make-up and a very fancy outfit, is lowering a mask from his face with a pleased (?) smile - a theatre performance [i've seen multiple theories on what role he's playing here, so i'll reserve my own judgement - i have no idea :'D]

a very fancily dressed audience very excitedly claps for something... with one figure absolutely not fitting it between the pastels and the finery: Armand, in dark rags, not clapping just staring, seemingly half in shock [another two scenes very likely to belong together - Armand seeing Lestat for the first time, perhaps??]

what can i say about this shot. it's the trial, that's what it is. a big audience, Lestat swaying down the center column between them, Louis, Claudia and Madeleine (Claudia in her yellow dress) tied up behind him on the stage. Santiago in a wig (presumably presiding as judge). the film running on the stage wall behind everyone shows burning picture frames (?) [someone suggested that the pieces of paper displayed on the stage in a display case are pages from Claudia's diary, and they're being used as evidence - that would be a clever twist, though i wonder how they'll match that up with the present (remind me what was missing from her diaries again? not all/most of the patricide plot, right?). i also want to say something about Claudia's yellow dress, but i won't, because it would not really add anything here. if you know, you know.]

Lestat bites into Armand's wrist and drinks. he is dressed relatively well (is that a bow in his hair?), while Armand seems to be in rags. they are underground (catacombs?). Armand appears to be watching with fascination, while Lestat sighs and closes his eyes in bliss. [i have so many goddamn questions about this. more than about any other clip tbh. this does NOT happen like this in the books, not even remotely. and why is Armand in rags? that would indicate this is quite early in their relationship ("relationship"), right? i guess they're really changing up a LOT...]

Louis and Armand in a room with big windows, a lit desk with pictures hung beside it, and a painting on an easel - Louis is holding Armand from behind while Armand also reaches for him, clearly an erotic/blissful moment between them [two things here - theme of Louis' lovers getting over their trauma associated with their dream craft in his presence (/ for him?), and theme of That Embrace... only that Louis isn't the one being embraced this time !]

Claudia: "Let me guess, he's your companion finally. Picked another one over me!" [we can only guess what led up to this, but Louis probably tried to justify something Claudia didn't like by giving an argument a la "but Armand" - because while her rage and resentment are very understandable, i doubt they were triggered just by Louis choosing to date Armand; if everything else was going well for them, why would she mind? no, at a guess, Claudia wants to leave the theatre behind (for whatever reason), and Louis doesn't want to leave Armand. and just like that, her worst fears are realized...]

shots of Armand and Louis, sitting down (?) smoking together - the camera is zoomed so closely to their faces you can't see anything else [if my memory doesn't deceive me, this clip was already shown in an earlier trailer]

the clip belonging to Claudia's line - she's all dolled up in blue, and absolutely furious at (who we can't see but only presume to be) Louis [as i commented earlier, during the scene where Claudia ripped down a string with pictures dressed in the same outfit - these probably belong together. i assume whatever Louis responded to her here only served to make her even angrier... or did she tear down the pictures even before this? she kind of looks like she's about to storm out, though the clip cuts before it can become quite clear]

Claudia, still in the blue doll outfit, apparently posing as a living advertisement for the theatre - having a small altercation with a white man, and clearly very, VERY annoyed at the entire situation [which i 100% understand - i've seen several people call for the head of whoever put her on advertisement duty, and i've also seen theorized that that dress/look was chosen for her so that she appears more appealing; more childlike. all in all, extremely fucked, i'd be just as mad if i was her.]

Section 4: You should fear the other one

Daniel: "Paris sucks." [audio from the Alice clip we've gotten before - and CLEARLY what Claudia was thinking in the scene it's voiced-over to]

Louis: "That's not the point she was making." [still from the Alice clip, and most definitely what she meant Louis...]

Daniel: "Fuck these vampires." [he's quoting - and it should be no leap to assume he's quoting Claudia, she does not like the role (evidently) assigned to her at the theatre]

the corresponding scene where Daniel reads from an old notebook (very likely one of Claudia's diaries) [as above - he's quoting Claudia. though i have to say i don't quite know what to make of his facial expression after he reads the line aloud... provocative, or genuinely thoughtful? knowing Daniel, probably a bit of both, but mostly the former]

Daniel: "I wanna get out alive!" [alright, someone's definitely scared! more than he's ever been before, or at least, more than he's ever appeared to be before. i wonder how long he's been pretending for, or whether something very specific pushed him to this point... i strongly presume the latter]

corresponding shot of Daniel saying that with a desperate sort of expression, and a mystery man he's speaking to just out of focus - he looks like he's trying to convince the man (who only turns to look at him during the sentence), and not much can be gleaned from the surroundings (there's a yellow curtain or partition ?) [my best guess is that Daniel is seeking council on how to best proceed in the dangerous position he's gotten himself into, though who he may be speaking to is impossible to say for sure at this point]

mystery man: "You fear Armand. You should fear the other one." [two things to unpack here - firstly, it's almost obscene how much i relish the thought of Daniel being scared of Armand; i want to scream "BABY!" from the top of my lungs lol. but secondly... are we all in agreement that 'the other one' is Louis? because i've seen at least one person theorize he means Lestat... but surely not. surely not?? if Lestat suddenly showed up in Dubai, i have a feeling a lot things would happen, but not Daniel stepping out to talk about it with someone else... no, this is about Louis. who, may i just remind those doubtful, has nearly killed Daniel at one point before !]

close-up of Daniel's face, an indecipherable expression on it, but clearly some kind of deep emotion is being felt [several people apparently seem to see him having earbuds in...? on my life i swear i don't see them, but whatever he's looking at or listening to (or, of course, remembering), it seems to be very intense. if he's indeed reviewing some kind of material or another, people have put forth him watching some of the tapes he made with Armand back in the day... and ngl i would dissolve into a big puddle of tears on the spot, goodbye cruel world, so i'm rooting for that!!]

Armand gives a very meaningful Look [another bit from a trailer we already saw - i dubbed it bedroom_eyes.png then already, and i am unafraid to do so again. (i also said then how hilarious it would be if Daniel didn't catch his meaning at all... if this expression is being put in direct relation to Daniel being SCARED of Armand, honestly i would just freaking die XD what are you scared of, boy? being gay??)]

mystery man & Daniel, corresponding scene to the man saying the abovementioned line - you can now see his face and more of his clothes, he wears a suit and tie, very thick-rimmed black glasses, and cropped grey hair [it's no secret one of the most heavily debated aspects of this trailer is the identity of this mystery man played by Justin Kirk. he seems perfectly cut out to play Marius, but this look (as well as (apparently) being a human aware of the existence of vampires) made many feel he could only be playing David. however, lately there has been a post pointing out that Marius also wears a similar look at one point in the books, confining his signature color (red) to his pants... i for one know what i'll be watching for in particular when this exact scene flits across my screen!!]

shots of Louis throwing a glass of blood at a painting [people smarter than me have tried to figure out the meaning, i'll withhold my judgement here]

Louis: "You're not here, I'm just fucked in the head." [ngl, Louis, if your hallucinations try to ARGUE with you / make you feel like you have to argue with them - you're already at a bad stage of things!! (if indeed he's seeing a hallucination - i'd just about cry if he said this to the real Lestat when they finally reunite, and he just can't believe it...)]

Louis walking down a street (presumably) in the past [brief scene that at least i can glean nothing from]

hallucination!Lestat birthing a fleshy bird (?) out of his throat wound, trying but failing to speak as the creature screeches [something something the bird in Nicki's mind, the birds speaking to Paul... the bird now birthed from Lestat in Louis' hallucination cannot be a coincidence (also this is from the same scene where Louis finds ("finds") him lying crucified, right?)]

a sequence of shots - Louis snarling in anger, fangs out, flips a table with a tape recorder and some beer and other things on it, attacking young Daniel; they crash down on the floor out of focus, just after the tape recorder falls to the ground [i guess Daniel just asked for Louis to turn him into a vampire!! or rather, told him he doesn't even understand the meaning of his own story, as seen in ep 1x07 and later in this trailer as well]

Louis blowing smoke out of his mouth, possibly in a café in Paris (?) [just saying that because it reminds me of the café he sat in with Claudia talking about his new picture-taking hobby]

Claudia: "You're stronger." [she's talking to Louis as we'll soon see, and i have too many thoughts about what she could mean. what happened that made her asses him in this way? is he drinking human blood now? did he do something drastic she hadn't expected him capable of, and she wonders at what changed? there are simply too many possibilities to say]

shots Claudia and Louis sitting next to each other on two armchairs with a lamp between them, talking - corresponding to the previous and following lines between them [again no idea when this happens or why]

Louis: "Ah yeah?" [he's not looking at her as he says this, and his tone holds ever so slight of a challenge - he's not flattered, quite the opposite - it's almost like he doesn't want to hear her words at all (by their track record, presumably because they're making him uncomfortable - and *that* they presumably do because they are true...)]

Claudia: "Harder, too." [she's relentless, especially if she wants something, or wants to figure something out - she wants to know something about Louis, something she didn't get to witness anything but the result of, i'd wager]

Claudia: "But you gotta give up something to get something." [aaand there it is. at my best guess, something changed in Louis, and Claudia wants to know what it is - specifically, what he gave up for that change.]

shots of Claudia holding an umbrella, watching Madeleine through her window lighting a match (and sewing? there's a sewing machine next to her in any case) [once again re-used, but i won't grow tired of seeing them; they're lesbians your honor!!!]

Louis and Claudia drinking from Madeleine's throat from both sides as she stares at the ceiling, gasping quietly [this now (apart from the deviation from text, now apparently they're both her makers..??) makes me particularly worried in regards to the quote still overlayed on it. could Claudia be talking to Louis after he (/ they) turned Madeleine? did Armand indeed force him, and Claudia notices the change (the loss of the last of his soul, as he says in the books) now and wonders at it? that would be quite ironic... and INCREDIBLY painful]

Section 5: You and Me, Me and You

Louis: "It's you and me. Me and you. You and me. Me and you. You, and me!" [he's swearing to Claudia, as we'll soon see (and that also makes the most sense) - but the quote is obviously hijacked to portray multiple significant relationships for Louis, as per the montage it's set to]

corresponding shots of Louis and Claudia sitting across from each other in a moving vehicle, covered by a sheet of whatever linen (?) vehicle covers are made out of [judging by the way they look this is still wartimes... and judging by Claudia's expression, she's not buying Louis' fervent declaration. my personal theory is that this happens just after they escaped the revenants, but there is no way to know. it seems to be the same scene from earlier in the trailer though, where it's set to Louis "our life is shit" speech]

Armand and Louis standing across from each other (several feet apart) in the middle of a big road, not looking happy [someone suggested this could be a sort of break-up... i'll withhold judgement, but whatever it is, it sure seems serious]

Armand and Louis standing very close, Armand's hand cupping Louis' cheek - only for Louis to move sideways and walk away, seemingly disgusted or heavy frowning for some other reason, as Armand stands almost frozen [probably the same location as the previous scene (judging by a neon light visible behind them), and whatever Armand tried to say or do to salvage the situation, Louis is not having any of it. extended version of the very short clip we got in an earlier trailer, where some people feared Armand may be putting Louis to sleep - worries set aside! Louis is not falling, that's just the perspective making his evasive movement look odd]

Santiago, seemingly sitting down (he's only visible from the chest up), in a wifebeater and suspenders, muscles on display and hands offscreen, staring indecipherably at... someone. [is it Louis? the next scene, as well as the voiceover, sure seem to imply so. and no i can't even begin to theorize on the why.]

Louis staring up at something or someone, clearly conflicted in some way [it reminds me of the moment they showed as his reaction to Lestat's portrait in the first trailer, though it's clearly not the same clip - it's also very unlikely that he's looking at Santiago though, because Santiago was very well-lit (like he's on stage or smth) and Louis' clip is very dark, and people are moving blurrily behind him which wouldn't be the case in a stage setting. nonetheless, cutting these two clips together with that audio strongly implies a close connection between him and Santiago, which would be all kinds of interesting...! (especially after all the theories that the wink from an earlier trailer spawned)]

Louis in the present day, smiling very fondly (almost mischieviously?) at someone off-screen [is it Daniel? again, the next clip implies this, but i've ceased trusting almost any editing in these trailers (if i ever did to begin with). then again - who ELSE would he be smiling at this way? no one it could reasonably be would fit... he's not looked at any of his lovers like that, at least not since his early days with Lestat]

Daniel is looking at Louis, something between doubt and the beginnings of a smile on his face [or maybe the two scenes do belong together here? at least in Daniel's shot, you can see Louis in a blurry outline. i wonder what they are discussing? whatever it is, it has Louis emotional and Daniel still on the side of doubtful... so nothing new really :'D only Louis' emotional cadence being positive is very new, and therefore very interesting indeed]

a shot of Lestat, still clearly a hallucination with a throat wound and white shirt [duh, this can't be a montage of Louis' significant relationships without Lestat!]

and the quote finishes up on Louis speaking the last words in that same moving vehicle - all but spitting them in his conviction, really [one can only guess what's got him so riled up - is he trying to convince the ever-doubtful Claudia, or himself?]

Daniel: "I mean you don't understand the meaning of your own story!" [did they really take the same quote as heard in the tapes on the show (evidently, the provocation that made Louis attack Daniel), but removed a word? there's an "even" in there in ep 1x07! sorry, i notice this shit :'D]

corresponding clip of Daniel yelling this at Louis in his 'shitty apartment', newspapers covering the window still visible [3...2...1... cut to the earlier clip of Louis throwing the table before fucking launching them both to the floor (and yk, attemping to drain Daniel of every last drop of blood)]

Louis, on the floor, looking beaten, face contorted in pure agony, staring at someone just out of focus of the camera (Armand ? it's impossible to say for sure), being picked up and taken away by an older man [i'll say it this way: no idea who the old man is, or who exactly Louis is looking/pleading to, but i can really only imagine one scene that would have him come apart at the seams this badly...]

Louis: "NO!" / sobbing [even without the corresponding clip, hearing his voice drag out and then break over that one-syllable word would've been agonizing. all i have to say to that, really.]

another reused shot, this time the one of Armand leaning on a railing (in the theatre?) and crying, seemingly alone in the room [to quote someone else: 'the look of a man who couldn't prevent it'. coupled with the previous clip, that interpretation seems increasingly likely... this could well be Armand post or during Claudia's death]

Armand: "I failed Louis once in my life, it wasn't in San Francisco." [now this one is very interesting - i've seen many theories on it, but personally what i think far likeliest is the most obvious one: that Armand is trying to sugarcoat/reframe Claudia's death in front of Daniel (but also in front of Louis, of course, always) - either maintaining his claim that he could not prevent the events (but had nothing directly to do with them), or admitting his agency in it but glossing over it as "whelp, i did something i knew was going to make Louis unhappy, i was a terrible boyfriend there for a hot second, but i regret it deeply and it was only that one time!!" and trying to keep it contained in that fashion. also not to be ignored here though is the rest of the sentence... i can only presume he was asked about something in San Francisco (maybe something he regrets / something directly relating to a 'failing' in his & Louis' relationship?), and he tries to say 'nah that wasn't bad, there was only one other time that was bad'. or is this just a transition of topic after they've talked about something in San Francisco? in any case, he is talking to Daniel, and Louis (likely) isn't present, and they're mentioning San Fran. i am not vibrating with excitement, you are!!!]

another re-used clip - the one of Louis looking extremely tough and confident, blood splatters on his face [people have said he just set fire to something, which could be true... in any case, he seems to be feeling very confident, and not very haunted or devastated or overly angry... so my bet would be on the revenants for that.]

someone with white (?) hair walks through the streets of (i presume) Paris at night, carrying a big bag over their shoulder [from behind, it's impossible to say whether that is Santiago, or someone else with silver fox-y hair... could be that old man we saw pick up Louis for all we know! (and putting that together with a certain other clip... i still have the people in my air yelling that Louis has been put in a sack...)]

Louis grabs Armand to kiss him; judging by the blurry green behind them, they could be in a park ? [this could be the "leaked" (= fan-recorded) kiss that went around on twitter a bit ago... that's just about all that i have. i saw someone theorize that this is a break-up kiss, which would fit with the microsecond glimpse we get of Armand's eyes looking sorta glassy... but irdk, i'm also withholding judgement here, no idea]

Section 6: *screams*

Lestat: "Ha!" / yells [weird enough by itself... but much weirder yet with the scene it's attached to]

corresponding scene of Lestat having his little outburst... standing next to Louis, who is frowning heavily at Armand (next to the camera, just out of focus) - they all appear in a gallery that smarter people than me have interpreted as the Louvre [so Lestat is not only haunting the narrative, but Louis & Armand's dates as well! at least he is when Louis is upset... as others have pointed out plenty before, he could well be manifesting every time Louis feels he can't express / has to suppress a certain emotion, and that's why he acts so extremely when he appears. and i for one would love to see that!!]

a red-haired woman, very likely Madeleine, has her hair cut with silver scissors by an unseen person, and has her mouth open screaming in pain/terror [people say this is prep for... you know... and i'm strongly inclined to believe them. i do however have a sickening feeling on top of all the sickening feelings at play here... the way the scissors wiggle, there? together with how extremely her face is contorted? i doubt she's fully screaming in fear... it looks almost like the person holding the scissors is either intentionally, or very uncaringly, cutting into her *ear*.]

young Daniel, looking very pale/sickly (?), appears to get thrown into a concrete wall - hard enough for pieces of it to come crumbling out after the impact [now this is more than curious - is he freshly drained? did Louis yeet him? or rather, did Armand yeet him away from Louis? he is wearing the same shirt he was wearing for the interview, and while Louis first fed from him lying down (well - smushed to the floor), Armand could well have pulled them both up and then removed Daniel from the danger zone (so to speak) by force (and obv, moved to deal with Louis first, before his victim). seems plausible enough for me! (just, whatever you do, don't think about the possible brain damage he could've gotten from that, or the connection between brain damage and Parkinson's...)]

two figures we can only presume to be Louis and Lestat are walking up some very fancy stairs, with Louis holding a flashlight; meanwhile, someone we can only presume to be Armand is floating straight up in the middle of the frame, apparently taking a shortcut next to the winding stairs [Google wasn't exactly helpful in trying to figure out whether this is the Louvre or not, because no staircase i could find precisely matched this one - don't tell me this is a full-scale rebuild of what it looked like back in the day?? :'D - but for now, i will assume that this is indeed in the Louvre. and in any case, the main question is, What The Fuck Are You Doing, Armand?! are you trying to give Louis & Hallu!Stat some space? the whole night-dark place some truly creepy atmosphere?? sorry i'm more yelling than actually theorizing, but i've gone over this so many times and i have no goddamn idea why in the world Armand would just float upwards like this except for how he's an absolute and complete weirdo (affectionate; but affectionate and weary :'D)]

Armand: "I was in love." [yet another hotly debated line - who could he be referring to, many wondered? to me, it seemed obvious from the start - he can hardly be referring to anyone but Louis, not in so blasé a tone (even if he might be acting). admitting love for anyone else - Daniel, or god forbid Lestat - would be a much bigger act for him, and therefore not happening so easily in conversation (imo). also, it's pretty clear he's using that as an excuse/justification - this could very well come up as Daniel is confronting him about something he's done to or in relation to Louis!]

Daniel: "You buy that?" [while this clear provocation could be in response to almost anything (that is talked about with both vampires in attendance), let's pretend for a second it is indeed not cut together with the previous line for the fun of it - just imagine Armand trying to justify something he did by claiming he did it out of love / was crazed by love, and Daniel directing that right over to Louis so brazenly. where would we be without Daniel, truly.]

Lestat, sitting down, holding a cigarette (in what looks like the past to me), absolutely melting with laughter [ok, putting this right after Daniel's question is the clearest bait i've ever seen - by the scene backgrounds alone these two clips couldn't possibly go together. whatever is going on, this is just ("just") the signature crazed Lestat Laugh..!!]

Louis: "Back to hell with you!!!" [yes, the exclamation marks are necessary, he's all but howling it after all - the only logical conclusion to who he's addressing being, of course, our dear friend Hallu!Stat. i guess he's really had enough of him now!!]

the corresponding scene, which features a POV not previously seen (far as i remember) - Louis is angrily yelling directly at the camera, even grabbing it and throwing it to the ground, so presumably grabbing the person he's yelling at. and all that in public! at a café, or at least out in the streets (of, presumably, Paris) [the easiest/closest assumption is that he's trying to grab Hallu!Stat after he's said smth particularly provoking... but what if Louis is actually grabbing some poor uninvolved human who he's mistaking for Lestat (maybe overlayered with a hallucination)? now that would be extremely interesting, and explain the strange POV better too - because that would be the plottwist then revealed to the viewer, likely in the same moment as it hits Louis]

a continuation of a scene from earlier in the trailer - Lestat in his red Wolfkiller cloak, charging at (presumably) Armand, full of rage; while interestingly, the humans behind him appear to be frozen [did he stop time? did Armand, in order to deal with the scene better? in any case, i appreciate the frozen pedestrians, because their positioning is what makes me so sure this is Lestat getting back up from his first run-in with Armand repelling him (as opposed to the reason that Armand threw him on the cobblestones to begin with). i wish him the best of luck, he does seem to have a lot of fury going for him... unfortunately, so does Armand, from what we saw earlier]

a brief shot of Louis screaming, with his face split in a nasty wound - this too is a scene reused from an earlier trailer [people have pointed out it's the same wound he received in ep 1x05 at the hands of Lestat, which makes this very likely to be one of those revisits that have been promised to us... i will hold back on any & all theorizing on what could possibly be revealed there, really, all i want to see is what happened during the brief moment of silence where Claudia couldn't see them. anything else i'll let myself be surprised by!]

another reused clip, this time of the bloodied woman falling from the ceiling onto a prepared blanket on the wooden floor [everyone's working theory then the same as now was/is that this is a victim being tossed through the stage's trap door for later disposal]

a very close close up of a pointy-toothed mouth screaming, seemingly covered by some kind of cloth - also reused [aaand that's where the theory that Louis gets dragged away from (you know) and trapped in a sack came from... can't say i can't see what people mean ! though it would have to be some formidable cloth indeed, to hold even a weakened/"vegetarian" vampire...]

someone (Claudia? impossible to be sure, but who else would it be) sits beside a corpse (one of three visible in the frame) on the frozen ground, and rips out and tosses the corpse's heart - right towards the camera [while people who had seen the full trailer said this scene was even more gory there - with the heart impacting the 'screen' and sliding down - this is already plenty vicious... i wonder why she does it? just anger, or is there a method behind it? could it possibly be related to the revenants somehow?]

Section 7: Pieces

Louis: "Pieces of my life, gone. I knew who I was without those pieces." [started with truth & reconciliation, and now we're here... challenging every 'truth' Louis thought he knew about himself. but this, crucially, does not seem to refer to mainly altered memories (regardless if altered by denial or by outside force) - was/is he actually unable to access whole chunks of memories like Daniel? and if so, why? Armand can't beat the allegations much longer, i'm afraid..!]

Lestat puts his fingers in Armand's hair (specifically, the bow in his hair), and leans up into him for a kiss - the shot cutting barely a frame before their lips would touch [now there's a billion and one things to say about this... but one would be that i highly doubt this is their kiss from the books. for one, Lestat initiates it, for another... that bow. i pointed it out in (who-we-presume-is-)Nicki's hair earlier, and...well. if you were Armand, infinitely powerful in the Mind Gift, and your crush absolutely refused to entertain the notion of smooching you because he's already seeing someone? well, there's a solution to that...!! there's many "solutions" to that, obviously, one more horrifying than the last, so frankly if this is how they're gonna play it here, i won't complain... though i don't actually think they're going to downplay or omit *ahem* certain canon events that are severely worse than a dastardly case of impersonation could ever be - if that is indeed what we're even seeing here. because if it isn't, well, there are about a dozen more theories waiting right around the corner!! from 'he's about to dramatically reject him like in the musical' to 'he's trying to buy Louis' freedom' to 'in show'verse, they actually dated for a bit'. guess we'll just all let ourselves be surprised!!!]

a seemingly ordinary apartment (Louis' apartment in the 70s? impossible to be sure), Armand is staring at something (someone?) off-screen with an indecipherable expression, while a blurry figure in the background is levitating on a chair [so much to unpack here - the blurry figure can hardly be Louis, he doesn't have the Cloud Gift, but then who is it?? and the location, plus Armand's attention being so thoroughly occupied... several people theorized he's watching over the drained/recovering Daniel here, and possibly catching feelings in real time?? but at this point we can't possibly know more about either occupant of that apartment/frame]

two blurry figures walking along an underground tunnel, the figure closer to the camera lighting a fire in their fingers - a reused scene, we know the person ahead is Louis, and the person behind is likely Armand (as we've seen what's very likely the same scene shot from the other perspective in an earlier trailer) [the theories here range from 'Armand first meeting Louis' to 'Armand teaching Louis self-defense', to various more]

one more reused scene - this time of Louis smacking Lestat's head into a wall so hard it leaves blood, and him seeming to enjoy it greatly [as he'll always enjoy any emotion he can elict from his Louis <3 question is only whether Louis is abusing a hallucination, a real person (!) (see above), or whether this will be a flashback... or the future?]

a shot of young Daniel, red-faced and ugly crying [there is absolutely no context, and the background is way too blurry to assume anything but that he's inside a building - people have theorized that this is when Armand tells him that he'll have to / he will take his memories, and while i can't fully rule that out ofc, i've grown increasingly doubtful that Armand took his memories in any sort of a rational act or after a detailed conversation, so...i cast doubt here! no idea which other scene Daniel could be crying this badly in, though... maybe it's not because of Armand at all?]

scene corresponding to the quote - Louis in the present day, with red-rimmed eyes, shaking his head in slight confusion (refusal? upset-ness?), talking to a blurry figure who appears to be Daniel from the silver-y outline we get [he seems... no longer happy to have taken the interview, that's for sure. but not angry, nor (completely) overwhelmed... he's just cracking open, and surprising himself with how much he's leaking all over the place.]

Section 8: Memory Is The Monster

the show's signature curtain, reading "Memory"

Armand strolling up to meet an indiscernable figure in a park, wearing the same outfit (or at least hat) we saw in an earlier trailer [is he meeting Louis for their park bench date? this seems to be the same scene as the bit earlier in this trailer, where Louis waited under a streetlamp - just from the opposite perspective. not 100% sure though]

Louis, Claudia, Madeleine and Armand clinking glasses together at a restaurant or café; Claudia is wearing her yellow dress, Madeleine a jacket (?) in a tasteful dark red, and it has all the vibes of a double date [now we could focus on the absolute sweetness - or the absolute horror - of the idea of this actually being a double date. but since this post is already more than long enough, i'll only bring up the two major things i've seen people theorize are connected to this... well, mainly one thing, two scenes. one thing: the trial. two scenes: the trial scene (duh), and - the cheek kiss from early in this trailer. the trial for obvious, yellow-dress-related reasons; though Claudia could obviously just be wearing the same dress for multiple occasions, that would be a really strange production choice particularly in this matter - and Madeleine seems to be wearing a dark-red skirt on the stage of the trial earlier, and a blue blouse (and the color of the blouse peeking out under her jacket in the date clip could well be a light blue). Louis could also well be wearing the same outfit to the trial later, just minus the jacket. which brings us to the theory that that sweet cheek kiss... could be the Judas Kiss of this story. Louis' and Armand's outfits from the cheek kiss scene seem to match the ones in the date scene relatively well, and the context would work perfectly. picture it: Armand arriving just a little bit later than the others, apologizing with a charming smile, kissing his sweetheart and sitting down - and no one asks questions about where he's been...]

Claudia is blindfolded, and sitting on a chair that is being lifted by various members of the theatre coven as the rest stand around and clap and cheer - she is laughing with absolute delight [the absence of Armand and Louis from this rite (at least as far as we can see) is striking, but Claudia seems perfectly happy - like she has finally found her place to belong, where people love and accept her just as she is. (now if only that were so easy.....)]

the show's signature curtain, reading "Is"

Santiago floating (speeding? speed-floating) through a tunnel [no idea where he's going, no idea what's going on... but ngl, a bit hilarious]

very close close-up of Louis in the modern day [straight-up no idea what we're supposed to read out of this, sorry, pass]

Louis in the darkroom, rubbing his eyes [he looks like me when i'm overtired again... which a vampire shouldn't get, though!! so whatever he's developing, it's clearly really getting to him... (the theory that he's trying to capture Hallu!Stat on camera is well-known at this point, yes?)]

the show's signature curtain, reading "The"

a shot of an incredibly overly bright room (sunlight not just streaming in but flooding it), flowers in a vase in the middle and Claudia on the right side of the frame, smiling broadly and wearing her yellow dress [very VERY clearly a memory / hallucination, from the impossibility of it alone but also simply the theme of overly lit clips usually being hallucinations, often of dead or lost loved ones. and if there's any doubt remaining that this is just that... may i just point to the yellow dress again]

Louis hugging Lestat, really pressing into the crook of his neck and splaying one hand on his back like there's nowhere he'd rather be [to many, surely THE clip of the trailer - spawning untold speculations of whether or not we'll actually get to see them reunite, in the flesh, and happily within this very season. i for one... am sorry, but i cast #doubt. i just don't know how they would fit that narratively. i would love to be wrong though, i truly truly would!!!]

a shot of Lestat, his hair perfectly splayed out in little golden waves and his throat totally bloody [it could be belonging to one of the scenes we already saw, i.e. the Jesus-on-the-cross-pose one... when he comes abruptly up from that pose, he does seem to have similar wounds and hair]

the show's signature curtain, reading "Monster"

yet another scene we already know - the books (and plenty of glass splinters) coming crashing down around Daniel as he's sitting at a desk with his laptop and microphone etc. in front of him [and i still can't unsee the theory that his arms are tied in this scene... it's like Schroedinger's Rope, i can't be sure he is tied up and i can't be sure he isn't! but no matter that, the main question of all is of course what caused that extreme bookcase breakage we see there?? many people's money seems to be on Lestat, one way or another, but i really don't know. not the faintest idea.]

Santiago baring his teeth [and ngl... looking just a bit too goofy with it :'D no idea what the context could be. i just hope he's playing and that this isn't his actual attempt at being intimidating!!]

Armand: "ENOUGH!" [so that WAS what he was yelling! good to know. still wondering what the fuck got him so mad... i can't wait :33]

the scene where Armand hits the table and all the vampires sitting alongside it drop unconscious, reused but extended now - at the end of the table, off the right side, the camera captures someone pulling at Santiago's tongue, at a clearly painful angle [and who could that be but Louis? question is only what the hell happened to make him do that specifically... that is a cruel and unusual punishment..!]

the camera moving over a bridge in Dubai (?) at night [no idea who could be leaving or arriving there - anybody's guess. Daniel leaving for a short while? Louis leaving forever?? something or someone entirely else??? don't ask me!]

Daniel: "Memories just keep bubbling up." [i did not giggle at this... you don't have witnesses, you can't prove anything. i'm just so happy he's remembering!!! (on a more serious note, i have a feeling like he's talking to a friend or someone else he trusts, but not Louis (or Armand)... he sounds too thoughtful for that, i don't think he'd let his guard down like that around them. just doesn't seem the vibe. i could be wrong ofc!)]

Louis: "I want this… to remember…" [the first and likeliest guess would be that he's saying this to Daniel - affirming, almost declaring, that he chooses the pain. chooses knowing over sweet, numb oblivion. but a horrible little voice asks me... what if he's saying it to Armand? pleading with Armand to *allow* him to remember, against Armand's better ("better") advice? ('no, you don't want that...')]

scene corresponding with Louis brave declaration - he's nodding, but he's crying (we see the first blood tear spill), and looking like he's barely holding on by a thread [no matter the precise context - he is being incredibly brave, no longer hiding from his worst memories, but walking towards them with a seeing eye. he is embracing the pain, finally recognizing it's better than just letting it all fester and rot, and i for one could not be prouder of him <33]

shot of Louis smoking a cigarette leaning on a bar - likely the same scene or from the same scene as the clip where early in this trailer [i'm gonna be honest with y'all - i have no idea what might be significant about this one. it's a full circle tho! i guess :'D]

[apoptoses]

"MATE" SUPREMACY!!! 🥲

Idk I love it so much, it's so fucking evocative and it's both "yeah we definitely fucked" and also "the universe wanted it that way". otoh Spanish as a whole is a very romantic language so I'm not surprised they went with "spouse" (also a gender neutral term that indicates a strong level of commitment which is what they were going for here imo).

"I love both because mate feels fated, but spouse feels chosen and I just want them to have both, dammit", precisely. Armand doesn't refer to anyone else this way, as it's framed, like you said, as something that was a matter of choice. "I *chose* him as my spouse".

"Also there's just something hilarious about picturing David Talbot listening to this guy tell him porno stories, then satanic horror stories, and then pop in with a 'By the way my spouse-'." lmfaooo David must've been like "YOUR WHA- care to elaborate dear?" and Armand was like "nope, that's all you're getting, three paragraphs". Boss bitch move tbh.

"Have you read the other VC books in Spanish? What do these other vampires refer to their companions/fledlings/mates as?" I have! I read the first four books in both English and Spanish + TVA, B&G and Blackwood Farm (which was surprisingly more enjoyable in Spanish). Everything else I've only read in English. "Companion" was always translated literally as "compañero/compañera", which has no real romantic connotation unless you specifically want to interpret it that way. "Fledging" is a little more complicated imo because there's no literal translation in Spanish so they went with "vástago" which is a lot more like "offspring". "Maker" is always "creador" which is "creator", and I don't ever recall the word "mate" being used other than in that particular instance though I might be wrong? Usually when Anne specifically wanted to make a relationship romantic/sexual, she used "lover" which was also translated literally in Spanish as "amante". She really had Armand use "mate" for no reason other than to further traumatize us I stg 🥲 xoxo DA

She really had Armand use "mate" for no reason other than to further traumatize us I stg <- seriously!!! i don't recall any of the other characters ever choosing that particular word. thank god she had daniel and armand meet back up again and daniel move back in at trinity gate after laying that one on us, i don't think i'd have ever recovered had that been the last of them.

the other translations are so cool! the fact that she used fledgling in english in the first place has such interesting implications, like even though louis has technically been in the blood almost just as long as lestat he's forever his 'fledgling', always a baby bird in their relationship. in a lot of ways 'offspring' would make more sense and is less diminutive.

i gotta marinate in this a little more, now i need an excuse for armand to call daniel the devil's slut AND his mate in fic. or like, daniel to call out his use of 'mate' and ask him what was going on there because it makes me wonder if armand ever called him that to his face (probably not, though i can't put my finger on why just yet). or what words daniel would choose for him beyond lover and maker, had he ever submitted another chapter from his point of view with the two of them together.

anyways put all the words armand ever called daniel on my gravestone because this has taken me out this week

[blueiight]

i was reading the translation of lestat screaming after losing at chess to claudia and it surprised me how a significant number of interpretations were louis is a bad parent for coddling claudia. should've let lestat beat her. those were not the exact words but the implication.

like what. and i thought back to your posts about claudia not being seen as a child by a section of the audience.

also this outburst is triggered by losing at chess and claudia being defiant about not finishing the game. it's not like she killed people and left them at the door.

obv in that scene she's in her 30s but lestat is screaming about when she was younger.

i'm sorry but I'm forever shocked at how some audience immediately takes lestat's side even when it's like ????

i think ppl dont get how louis was a bad parent to claudia in the first place. its not 'coddling' [LOL] so much as it is the disproportionate level of emotional dependence louis has on claudia after a certain point but to an extent even in the nature of her creation.. claudia was created to assuage the losses of multiple aspects of louis's 'humanity'. the loss of his wealth, the loss of his sister, the loss of his ability to have children [which he would never be able to have as a gay black male anyways b4 the vamp shit]. shes created as a means for lestat also, to draw louis back into his life, bc remember, right before louis found claudia, lestat was like lets make this race riot our anniversary n louis told lestat the same thing nick&armand told les in tvl i think? - we wont work, u gone forever be alone. - n ran out. to be a 'bring back our love' child + also someone else's tether to the abstract meaning of 'humanity' is a pretty heavy bit of expectations to put on the shoulders of a young black girl who lost her mom at birth n spent her childhood and adolescence being abandoned by her dad & being abused by her aunt. it follows a pretty troubling pattern louis has with poor black women in his life [miss lily being louis's confidante but having no choice to refuse louis, her trick]. but fans of no color & their allies in thinking dont even see that pattern in the first place cuz they care more about exploring annie r u ok n npc honkey #45 characters than exploring the arcs of fictional bw.

lestat losing the game of chess is symbolic of his loss of influence over claudia [which is ironic cuz show wise he never wanted claudia at first lol] & the implications claudia's independence has for his relationship with louis. claudia herself no longer wants to be a child, someone else's daughter, and wants to equalize the relationship by making them all siblings, but neither lestat or louis want to be brothers to eachother [aint no fun when the rabbit got the gun lol].

lestat himself has an exceptionally brutal reference for parenting. im sure louis himself was raised off corporeal punishment too, hell i was raised off that as well, but short of his psychotic chokedown of clauds in ep7, i cant think of a time where louis actively thought or said he wanted to put hands on claudia to 'set her straight' the same way lestat was. we know in our real lives corporal punishment is a tactic of control + abuse, and this becomes even more prominent if its a white man beating his adult black child [bc claudia is in her 30s here, shes not a child anymore & doesnt want to be]. rl fans taking lestat's bitching bout louis spoiling claudia as facts & not les being pissy that his 30 year old child beat him at a chess match is funny as fuck tho no lie

[brightbeautifulthings]

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

"'Don't you see? I'm not the spirit of any age. I'm at odds with everything and always have been! I have never belonged anywhere with anyone at any time!' 'But Louis,' he said softly. 'This is the very spirit of your age. Don't you see that? Everyone else feels as you feel. Your fall from grace and faith has been the fall of a century.'"

Year Read: 2018

Rating: 3/5

Context: I vaguely remember trying to read this once when I was younger and giving up on it for the slow pace and dense descriptions. I've seen the movie many times, and despite my general dislike of Tom Cruise, I think it's a great adaptation (and possibly one of the best performances of his career). This Halloween-month, I resolved to get through it once and for all, since The Vampire Chronicles have long been some of my dad's favorite books. This year, he finally gave in and read the first Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novel after years of listening to my mom and me rave about them, so it only seems fair that I read one of his favorites. (Spoiler alert: I'm still Team Anita.) Actual spoilers will be clearly marked. Trigger warnings: blood, death, and endless brooding from the world's most reluctant vampire.

About: After more than two centuries of living (such as it is) as a vampire, Louis has consented to tell the story of his long life. At first disbelieving and then enraptured, the boy recording it listens to the gruesome tale with shock and fear. The story chronicles Louis's brief human life in the 1700's in New Orleans to his descent into immortality at the hands of the violent and erratic vampire, Lestat. Their relationship far from easy, however, Lestat soon makes a third vampire, Claudia, forever trapping her in a child's body. The three live as an uneasy but happy family for decades, but Lestat's villainy and Claudia's rage at being forever helpless constantly threaten their peace. Before long, Louis and Claudia flee to Europe in search of other vampires, but their quest may lead them into more danger than they've ever faced.

Thoughts: I empathize with my younger self, since this is not an easy novel to get through. Even before I consciously acknowledged things like "pace", I could tell that it moved at the speed of a glacier. It wallows in Louis's life before vampirism and those early days with Lestat for entirely too long, and Louis isn't the most exciting of narrators. He spends most of his time staring at things with his cool vampire eyes and hating himself for being a killer. In hindsight, maybe this is what the world of vampire fiction needed to spur it on its way to Twilight, TrueBlood, and The Vampire Diaries. Interview is the mother of all of them, and it's perhaps the first time we're given the opportunity to understand them, to see the story from their perspective. However, there's no mistaking the fact that Rice's vampires are still monsters who kill innocents every night. A vampire narrator who regrets the blood he spills might be the necessary middle-ground between remorseless monster Dracula and vampire love interest Stefan Salvatore. The story doesn't really pick up until Claudia joins them, and her love for Louis is matched only by her hatred of Lestat. Unlike the directionless Louis, Claudia has agency, and her ruthless efforts to achieve her goals (kill Lestat, find other vampires) prompt the story forward.

I like the characters more in theory than on the page. It's difficult to see how Lestat turns out to be the main character for much of the series, since he's painted mostly as a villain in this story. He's a trashcan fire with a gleeful disregard for human life, but he's not without depth or regret when it comes to his family. Claudia's situation is fascinating as she struggles to come to terms with the fact that she'll never age, and her bitterness makes her even colder and more ruthless than Lestat. Louis is more difficult. His whining, brooding, and pointless spirals of introspection (that far too frequently disrupt the narrative for no apparent reason) are difficult to get past. (Sorry, Lestat momentarily took over my keyboard?) His devotion to Claudia is probably the most interesting thing about him. I'm about 90% sure that none of the vampires in this book are sexual, otherwise it would lead to some seriously questionable moments between Louis and Claudia, as well as a young human boy later on. He keeps using the word "lover" to refer to her, and I'm like... not literally, right? ...Right? On the other hand, two gay vampire dads raising their vampire daughter is probably the cutest image in the book. I can see why LGBTQ fans latched onto the series, but Lestat and Louis's relationship is one aspect I wish we'd seen more developed. If it's there, it's almost all subtext.

While the title states plainly that there's an interview, I was expecting it as a framing story, perhaps in the first and last chapters where we see Louis with the unnamed listener. To my dismay, the entirety of the novel is the interview, with frequent interruptions from the boy and side commentary by Louis. Literally all the narrative is dialogue of him speaking. These asides add nothing to the story and contribute to its already slow pace. The world-building could also use some work, but that's in part due to Lestat's insistence on secrecy. We know very little about vampires--what can kill them, what powers they might have--because Lestat won't tell Louis or Claudia anything. Whatever we learn about them, we learn by seeing it happen rather than having it explained, and it's frustrating. I have so much sympathy for Claudia when she dumps that diva bitch into a swamp.

The last fifth of the novel gets extremely tense, and if I hadn't already seen the movie, I think I would have been more furious about the outcome. Like the boy recording the story, I can't help feeling that it doesn't/can't end like that. Louis is finally moved to action for the first time in the novel, but I have misgivings about his motivation for that. On a character level, it's utterly justified and even kind of satisfying, but I'll go into that more after the spoilers. While the ending provides closure on Louis's story, it's somewhat open-ended for the rest of the cast. I didn't totally enjoy this book (and, indeed, in the middle I despaired of getting through it), but I'm planning to read at least one or two more in the series before I make up my mind whether to finish it.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. TURN BACK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

I suspect I would have been bawling at Claudia's death if I hadn't been expecting it. Like everything else, it's more immediate and suspenseful in the film than the novel, since Louis isn't actually there for it. I dislike the fact that Louis's character development is motivated by the death of the only female character in the novel though. Women have been dying in fiction to motivate men's personal growth for centuries, and I was expecting better for Claudia, who's such a powerhouse otherwise. The idea that Armand thought Louis could eventually forgive him for her death is laughable; he clearly doesn't know his vampire companion very well or seriously underestimated the bond they had. I’m looking forward to Armand having his own book about as much as I’m looking forward to re-reading the dreaded Memnoch the Devil, assuming I get that far.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Nalyra,I would like to know if you have ''advices'' for us non book fans?

Is there things we have to keep in mind before entering the 2nd season? The writers are obviously following the books with some adaptions and there is a good probability of chances that some of the show only won't understand some directions.

I just want to be ready and open to what would happen.

Thank you.

Hey!

So... it's good to remember that while they're following the second half of the book, they are also incorporating things from other books as well. Rolin is taking from TVL, QotD, TVA and at least Prince Lestat as well. I would also say he is taking from Merrick (the adaptions you mentioned).

That means that, base-story-line-level we are following the second half of the book. BUT - and here it gets (a bit more) difficult ^^- the "Devil's Minion's" parts in both past and Dubai will be interwoven, as well as more things from the "Prince Lestat" era in modern Dubai.

For non-book fans... a lot of these references will fly over your heads. That's not necessarily a bad thing!

But... if you want to know the big whoppers that will happen? (I'm putting this under the cut, so SPOILERS AHEAD!)

Armand and Daniel bitching at each other is part of their relationship, as will likely be explained in episode 5 and (likely?) 8

Claudia and Madeleine will die, tried ostensibly for Claudia's murder attempt against Lestat and Louis making Madeleine, but actually they are simply in the way of Armand: "I could not prevent it" (yes, he could)

Louis will stay with Armand though he knows he killed her

Armand (book canonically) influences and mind-controls Louis

Claudia's diaries contain a very heavy twist, which will likely be put into the trial scene

if it's not clear by now, not all we saw in s1 was the truth (and s2 won't be either in parts at the very least), and we know they will revisit episode 5. Whatever they will do there, that will be heavy.

Armand (book canonically) chops Claudia's head off to sew it onto a grown vampire's body, and when the result is grotesque, he puts her into the sun

Louis tries to commit suicide in Merrick, I believe that will happen at the end of s2

That event will somehow be mirrored with something happen to Daniel, imho

S3 is "The Vampire Lestat" so we have to get there somehow, meaning Lestat will show up somehow

These are the main things.

There are... a lot more details, obviously. I have speculated a lot :)

This season will leave the "family" setting behind, and fully dip into the world of the VC vampires, and the old covens are not cute. Them taking from the other books opens for a LOT of possibilities.

But these... are the main events that I think will happen.

Please feel free to ask if you want more details or have further questions!

So soon now!

[nalyra-dreaming]

So I need to get this off my chest

I'm very bummed about what Rolin Jones did to Lestat's character,yes he's a monster yes he's a toxic bitch but a domestic abuser he was not in any iteration. I don't see a lot of positive feelings for him nor do I see excitement for him like "omg I can't wait for Lestat next season" don't get me wrong I love Louis and Armand too but the way I relate to Lestat (and Nicki) i've never related to any other character

And people being like we are watching the show only for Louis & Armand once when s3 happens ratings will drop. Nobody wants his POV.

And rewatching some interviews/casting calls they're def gonna make Loumand more tender/sweet and now that they've realized what makes the audience backlash they will conveniently tailor the scripts to that not only sanitizing the characters but also making loustat toxic to a maddening degree compared to loumand

And even if Lestat comes w his POV the audience will be like so we're supposed to believe an abuser?

Levan a lifetime fan of the books read the script for E5 and went like "how is lestat supposed to come back from this?" And sam mentioned "this was a change that took a lot of time to process"

And if it was IWTV lestat only i'd still get it but they've mentioned the AMC!lestat is not the Lestat we see only in IWTV but also other books that means his nature will be carried on to the next seasons which the audience utterly despises

Anyway rant over

I disagree.

The books definitely have the abuse in them, especially in the first half of IWTV. Our later perception of Lestat is of course influenced by the later books, but in the first half of IWTV he IS the antagonist.

He probably would have destroyed the parlor furniture in a rage.

‘But you don’t know him if you think he’ll let us leave,’ I said to her, alarmed at her self- confidence. ‘He will not let us go.’

To just pick out a few key moments. He and Louis also fight a lot. Physically, too.

And I don't think the show will cater to the loud Loumand criers at all. (Not referring to the shippers here, Loumand is totally valid, I'm referring to the seemingly delusional part here that I have encountered already, too.) The "people" you mention are a very loud minority on Twitter it seems, and they will be disappointed. Because all the old fans -I- know are waiting for S3... IWTV has been adapted before after all.

No-one needs to "believe" him... the tale will shift, and it will be fact - as in the books - and it won't invalidate said abuse, because the Lestat in later books himself never did that either.

Levan's comment can be read totally differently as well, especially given that he has to make it happen (with the others) - HOW are they going to do it. Not... "oh my god how am I ever going to have my poor blorbo reinstated!!11!!!" *sniffs*

Come on.

The audience does not despise Lestat. He is a fictional character, and a lot of people enjoy a good antagonist, especially if there is a long, long character arc incoming.

It's fine if you do, but I would be very careful to generalize.

Especially since they already pulled the tale apart at the end of season 1. Anyone still thinking that was the (whole) truth we saw... well - what can I say.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Rewatch thoughts episode 2

The groan is really prominent. And we must be past QotD for that art to be on the wall, like, I cannot see Armand hanging that prior to some kind of a reunion.

Also the music being Sybille‘s preferred one is interesting to say the least. (At least I think it is ?)

The guy bringing the AB negative… I wonder if that may be one of the vampires, too. The extra shot… David, maybe. (IF he hasn’t been introduced in Mayfair Witches episode 6 just now).

The spark being a reference to Memnoch is just such a nice touch.

The wine comparisons are very nice, considering how there’s always bottles/alcohol in their home (especially when laying low later).

Louis wanting to go for that guy had to seem to Lestat as if his… inclinations were closer to his re fun and sex imho. He probably should‘ve let him…

Sam had lost the nail on the right middle finger. Cannot unsee now 🙈

The broadcasting is very deliberately shot.

Lestat totally enjoyed being thrown around the room. And he also relished a lot getting to carry Louis. I wonder how often he might have done that… the carrying bridal style I mean. If Louis let that happen after. (I can totally see it in their good times).

You can be on top. Mh hmmmm. All the ash and blood in Lestat’s coffin? Did he scrub the lining after? ;))

The fact that Louis had nightmares is so… did Lestat hold him then? They are obviously discussing it. Did they continue to sleep together later for that reason, too? And when they didn’t anymore… that probably didn’t help either.

The almost sharp retort and challenge to peel back on Louis… lol.

And the bitching between Lestat and Mama Du Lac is still hilarious.

Grace calling Louis better you… 😭 So heartbreaking that it had to go wrong at some point.

The slight smile when Louis recalls the unfortunate incident with the business man… lol. You can still see the edges of that anger even in modern Dubai.

Also, on that - Lestat’s library of confusion is so on point (as is their whole argument) bc Lestat just doesn’t get that. I‘ve said it before it’s not willful imho, but… he just doesn’t get it.

And that broadcasting once more when realizing he cannot say no… (despite his better judgement).

A cigar is a cigar is a cigar… or not. 😈 (Them almost cracking up makes me crack up lol).

I still doubt he ate the baby, they would have come after them if he had. BUT I like the moral question posed. Also, knowing Lestat did in Notre Dame and NOLA while recuperating … maybe a parallel to season 2 later. I‘d love that.

The brute in Madagascar. WHO TF is that supposed to be.

Lestat telling Louis of the rite of passage (and generally being rather aware) is often overlooked for the further developments imho. Because we’re still well within a mortal lifetime… that rite of passage coincides with what is happening later.

The opera scene is still baffling to me - to know this was their first scene. The… feeling there already.

The way Louis softens to the tuxedos…. and the factual intimacy of the tenor’s death. I know he says something different, but the way they supposedly drain the man for hours?! It’s easier if you can say it’s because are under someone’s thrall. Because he just before called himself a pupil for the last 6 years… he doesn’t tell anything else about those 6 years, apart from the mountain of money. Quite the skip. But Lestat calls it finally submitting to his nature… there must have been a lot more problems in regards to… eating.

The thing with Alice‘s brow always being dyed back to brown is indeed quite interesting. It’s too prominent for this show, especially given the location of eating that dessert in Paris.