[ashstfu]

moodboard

[excretal]

you’re telling me a guy who tried to kill himself when claudia left nola and then again when she left paris and when armand told him claudia didn’t love him and who spent this whole season sick with grief for her. you’re telling me this guy sat through that seance heard what claudia said to him and he just chuckled and shrugged all that shit off like it was nothing. in what fucking world

[kookiedeadbutterflies]

I think I speak for everyone in this fandom when I say that we need Black writers back in the writer’s room.

The Black writers for seasons 1-2 of IWTV were Ben Philippe, David B Harris, and A. Zell Williams.

These are the men responsible for providing substance and depth to the Black characters in the first two seasons, mainly Louis and Claudia. They knew how to tackle struggle, injustices, history, rage, pain, and the ugly truth of American and European Black history. They didn’t pull punches with the hard stuff and they knew how to work with the soft stuff.

Season 3 tried to create edgy content and humor without these men and absolutely failed at it in every way possible. And they have failed both Louis and Claudia.

The Black jokes about Louis being “Louisiana Fried Chicken”, Louis continuing to be the pimp and needing his White savior that is Lestat, Claudia’s entire monologue about Louis being a literal slave to Lestat in that old Louisiana accent. And not to mention the complete erasure of Lemuel after only a couple episodes.

It’s not working.

If there’s gonna be Black actors on screen, there needs to be Black writers in the writer’s room.

[lilacs-in-the-wind]

The showrunners chose to make Louis and Claudia black and experience life in the Jim crow era. They chose to do the full race swap in season 1, not just making the characters but also the story black. They chose to racialize the violence that both Louis and Claudia face throughout the first season. No one was forcing their hands and they got praised for the stuff they did in the first two seasons, for bringing in the added nuance of systemic racism. So why should I as an audience member of colour give them any grace when they choose to write dialogues containing numerous racialized and gendered micro aggressions not just towards Louis or Claudia but also towards minor characters like Dee or Lemuel who weren't supposed to exist as they are (black) in the show?? Why is Daniel (a white man) who is supposed to be a Pulitzer prize winning investigative journalist who was lecturing Louis on his own story about the racism he faced referring to him as a "bucket of Louisiana fried chicken"?? Why is Armand textually belittled for being a CSA victim while Lestat is endlessly provided with grace and understanding in the text of the show for his victimhood?? Who thought it was alright to adapt a scene from the books involving white characters talking about parental betrayal and insert racially charged dialogues (that too old school racist shit not even the n word) when it was unnecessary to preserve the nuance of the scene?? Why is this show denying the racialized nature of domestic violence that they chose to portray in S1 ??? (Lestat getting mildly annoyed that Louis didn't enjoy going to the operas in nola when he had to act as Lestat's servant to be allowed in tf??) Why is Gabriella like that??

I cannot help but look at this season of the show as a sign of the times tbh. IWTV aired during a very liberal era of entertainment and now that fascism and white supremacy are on the rise everywhere white entertainers have become comfortable enough to fall back into old habits. Never thought this show in particular would have this problem when I watched the first season but it is what it is I guess

[jeunesseoubliee]

This Fandom and Selective Empathy

The same people who spent years insisting that Louis should not be sanitized because it would erase his complexity, arguing that he is a monster just like the rest of them, are now asking people to see Lestat's actions through the lens of his trauma. Suddenly, Lestat's suffering becomes essential context. His anger is understandable. His cruelty is a product of abuse. His actions are examined with empathy. Meanwhile, that same grace is rarely extended to Louis. That's double standard.

Louis was never afforded the benefit of the doubt by large portions of the fandom. If he described abuse, he was lying. If he remembered events differently, he was an unreliable narrator, Armand must have manipulated him. Every flaw, every mistake, every harmful action became proof of how monstrous he was. Yet when it comes to Lestat, his worst actions are endlessly contextualized, justified, minimized, or explained away through trauma. To be clear, I have no problem with people criticizing Louis. I've criticized Louis myself especially during season one (which put me on many block lists). My issue is the lack of consistency. If we're going to hold Louis accountable, then we should keep that same energy for Lestat. For example, Louis being a pimp in 1910 has become one of the defining traits of his character in fandom discussions. It is constantly brought up as evidence of his exploitation of women. Fair enough. But Lestat was emptying coffers to buy women in that same time period. He killed Miss Lily. Yet people rarely frame him as someone who exploits women. They never call him a john. Instead, the discussion quickly shifts back to how abused and tragic he is. Similarly, some fans write essays about how others have exploited Lestat's body while refusing to acknowledge the ways he has exploited others.

The abuse Louis and Claudia suffered at the hands of Lestat is endlessly debated or denied. People claim Louis lied. They claim Armand altered the narrative. They argue it wasn't really Lestat. They search for every possible explanation except the obvious one: that Lestat was capable of being abusive. The same pattern appears elsewhere. Lestat's affair (and abuse) with Antoinette is recontexualized or ignored. His affair with Armand while involved with Nicki is denied by the fandom. His admission that he let Louis leave with Armand despite knowing Armand orchestrated the trial gets interpreted as a lie from him. Even Lestat dropping Louis from the sky is attributed to an external influence rather than his own agency. Fans criticize Louis for reading Claudia's diaries, yet conveniently forget that Lestat did the exact same thing in season one. Or was that a lie too? Another fabrication? At some point, the excuses become more revealing than the actions themselves. Lestat is a predator in every sense of the word. He is also a victim of abuse , sexual, physical. and emotional. Those two truths can coexist. Being abused does not erase the harm he causes, just as Louis' suffering does not erase the harm he causes. Interview with the Vampire is a story about monsters. Complex, tragic, fascinating monsters. The problem is that some fans seem unwilling to let Lestat be one. They watch a show about monsters but want their monster to be a saint. They want him to be a monster one the surface while being virtous at his core. They want plausible deniability for every wrongdoing and an explanation for every cruelty. But complexity does not require innocence. If trauma can be used to understand Lestat, then it should also be used to understand Louis. If Louis can be held accountable despite his suffering, then Lestat should be held accountable despite his.

[roadside--picnic]

[immigrant]

this was tumblr in 2013

[allegedly-human]

This is tumblr in 2026

[trubadui]

I killed a dog. I put him down, I watched him go. I was looking him straight in the eyes. He didn't know what was happening, he didn't know why. He was just scared

[amazingeurus]

There are two types of parents in this world

[sweetlambeyed]

listen. To me. I am the owner of the one and only 24k gold lajesse. Me. Me alone

[angujasblog]

[fagknowledge]

Walter wide was many things but it is extremely funny how he neglected his own flesh and blood teenage son in order to be an even worse father to a wholly different guy

[gaysaulgoodman]

[hiranyaksha-deactivated20220613]

The moon comes down from the sky and falls in love with a woman 

[faithfel]

arkco studying together

[nomohmoss]

heavy is the crown

[sviteer]

I finally found you..

[ohmyjulai]