Meandering Musings

ambii | he/him | 🏳️‍⚧️

[bringonthemuses]

How it feels to genuinely enjoy both Loustat and Devil's Minion and not pit the two ships against each other

[jubigiuu]

My attempts at drawing devil's minion

They drive me crazy

[hiitspussyhands]

Just watched the finale and can I just say, it is a PLEASURE to get unapplogetic gothic horror camp at this big a budget, with this level writing, acting, everything. Balls to the wall offputting anti coworker demented musical theater I'm fucking mesmerized at them saying fuck it to so many genre conventions and being this dirty and evil. I wanna deepthroat their collective boot

[ambiicarus]

For the love of Rice people! I cannot keep saying “Louis didn’t deserve that” every other sentence when discussing the Finale! Of course he fucking didn’t! Stop joining in half way through a conversation in a comment section or post getting shitty because you did not read the context of the discussion. It’s the gothic vampire monster show about evil gothic monsters, people are going to discuss why they’re doing monstrous things without tacking on “which of course is immoral and very bad.” to every sentence. If you cannot understand that get the fuck out of fandom discussion. It’s as simple as that! Look at edits, fanart, fanfics whatever, interacting with meta and analysis is entirely optional and if it’s not fun for you then don’t do it!

[armandsdefenceattorney]

I may be in the minority here, but I honestly think IWTV and TVL were adapted really well.

When I first read Interview with the Vampire, I remember thinking, wow, this is depressing, heartfelt, and deeply sentimental. Then I read The Vampire Lestat and thought, wow, this is vain, performative, and absolutely dripping with yearning without ever actually saying “I yearn.”

I think the show ended exactly where it was supposed to. It leaves us asking questions and feeling like there are pieces missing from the narrative, just like the books do. That’s part of the point.

The characters are all vicious, lonely, traumatized, and completely fucked up. They’re people, but they also aren’t anymore. The ideas of “good” and “bad” don’t really apply to them because they’ve lost their humanity. They’re dead.

The only thing I wish we’d gotten more of is Daniel and Armand, but they’re barely in The Vampire Lestat anyway. Their story really belongs to Queen of the Damned, so I can’t exactly be mad about that.

If you’re bashing a show you once claimed to love because of its nuance and layers, maybe what you actually loved was the aesthetic of New Orleans and Paris, not the story it was telling.

[ambiicarus]

I was discussing Armand with my mother and she had a kind of poignant observation about the books that I thought I would paraphrase to share:

Armand is like the eldest child in a family with too many children, perpetually overlooked and neglected, but always the one who is expected to clean up everyone else’s mess. He is the one who all responsibility defaults to, always providing the safe landing pad the younger siblings need, and he takes it on himself because he doesn’t know how to say no to the responsibility. But in being forced to grow up too fast, he never actually grows up at all, perpetually stuck lashing out and repeating petty acts of adolescent angst in a desire to be the one cared for again not the one caring.

Also all his younger siblings keep having too many children and leaving them all over the place for him to kill or take care of because they’re vampires and too many dumbass fledglings is likely to get them all killed. (Looking at you Lestat.)

[adsari]

It isn't as bad season as everyone claimed and it isn't even a bad finale.

It just pissing me off because it's clearly part one of two and it has so many untied ends and things happenning off screen.

I truly believe they will revisit some of the things that happend but again I have to wait another two years for it and it's just ridiculous.

[lioncourtz]

"Brutal Love" | The Vampire Lestat

[ambiicarus]

Gabriella’s slow turning as she realizes that this song is for Louis not her, all while Loustat maintain loving eye contact is so satisfying.

[lioncourtz]

THE VAMPIRE LESTAT | Lestat's outfits

Costume Design by Lex Wood

[ambiicarus]

I hate when I see someone has reblogged my post and then I notice a typo. No wait lemme fix it and reblog that!

[skyrigel]

[ambiicarus]

The length of Armand’s hair is directly correlated to his level of evil

[ambiicarus]

Look after the finale I really think my theory is confirmed

[interviewwiththewerepire]

"armand isn't owed an apology after all the shit he did to louis, i can't believe they made him do that"

hey guys? Do we maybe think that Armand's tit-for-tat mentality, and the way he's been tallying up his and everyone else's sins against each other is a problem? Is it maybe possible that Louis managing to find empathy for Armand in the face of the monstrosity being done to him, and that radical act of kindness and honesty (about the ways he unintentionally hurt Armand) moving Armand so much that it nearly breaks him, is idk a major theme of this whole season?

you know, sorta like how Lestat was holding onto his feelings of betrayal about the book, and all it did to serve him was make him absolutely miserable and lonely and push him into the arms of someone actively harming him. And how it was only after he let that go, and helped Louis even though he still thought that Louis didn't give a shit about him, that they were able to connect again and be happier than we've ever seen them.

Or like how Louis was able to look past his initial feelings of revulsion and betrayal about the Sophia lie, and offered comfort and a space to speak honestly, and how that granted him a deeper understanding of Lestat, and ultimately strengthened their bond.

Are we seeing the pattern here? How they're breaking the curse of loneliness when they stop seeing each other as monsters, and extend a bit of empathy, even when it's hard or not deserved? How addressing the gaping wound behind the actions might open the door to healing for both parties?

[ahighlyfunctionalfangirl]

very chaotic of Armand to be like "I'm on a healing journey and I'm dragging you with me, headless and all"

[alixirdevida]

he didnt need to be chosen, he needed to be nurtured

[ambiicarus]

It's kind of insane to claim the characters are acting out of character in a show with 22 episodes. Like you're claiming that about at least 31.8% of the show. At a certain point, I think that's just the character.

Especially in a show this twisty where new facets of their personality and motivations are constantly being revealed. It's what made the books so interesting, the twisting and turning of perspective to reveal the many faces of each character and how changing circumstances have influenced them.

[ambiicarus]

Also the ways they are acting are all in line with pre-introduced aspects of their characters. It's why the twisting works! if anything Armand did in the finale confused you then you need to rewatch s2, particularly episodes 5 and 8. If anything about Louis is confusing you, please rewatch s1+2 I promise he's still the same guy, focus in particular on early s1 New Orleans and all of Dubai. If Claudia is confusing you rewatch the last 3 episodes of s1. This has always been who they are, you're just seeing them through Lestat's eyes.

[ambiicarus]

It's kind of insane to claim the characters are acting out of character in a show with 22 episodes. Like you're claiming that about at least 31.8% of the show. At a certain point, I think that's just the character.

Especially in a show this twisty where new facets of their personality and motivations are constantly being revealed. It's what made the books so interesting, the twisting and turning of perspective to reveal the many faces of each character and how changing circumstances have influenced them.

[ambiicarus]

I also think people claiming special insight from the books are just wrong. This is the fatal flaw in any adaption. Different aspect of a character and story stick out as more or less important to different readers, and how much of the series you've read, how recently, how old you were when you read them, all influence how you interpreted the work. It's weird and disingenuous to act like you have some special insight or connection to these books that Rolin Jones and his team must not, despite vocally being long time fans of the Vampire Chronicles.

You are not personally getting Anne on the fucking ouija board to consult about this show and even if you could, I for one, would not want to. I love these books. I love her writing, but Anne was a complicated figure and in the nicest way possible, a product of her times.