Tatl Tael

[prokopetz]

To be totally fair to Willy Wonka, at least a couple of those candy factory casualties involved kids deliberately circumventing reasonable safeguards, sometimes aided and abetted by the parents who were supposed to be supervising them. What happened is at most 60% his fault.

[thecolossalennui]

oompa loompa doopity dare

the court finds you breached your duty of care

[aka-maayan]

oompa loompa doopity disk

that’s what the courts call assumption of risk

[tipofthescepter]

oompa loompa doopity do

only a partial judgment for you

[thes3nator]

Oompa loompa doopity doubt,

The rest of the class action lawsuit is hereby…

(SLAM) (SLAM)

THROWNITY OUT!

[biglawbear]

Counterargument:

Attractive nuisance. The doctrine where you ARE liable for harm if you make something so irresistible to children that they can’t help but climb into something that would hurt them.

[reticent-vampire]

The Vampire Lestat 3.05

[luckshiptoshore]

Eileen is so clearly besotted with Sam. Bewildering! And yet truly we love who we love.

[sixth-light]

“The Death of the Discworld stood up. LORD, I ASK FOR— Three of the servants of oblivion slid into existence alongside him. One said, Do not listen. He stands accused of meddling. One said, And morticide. One said, And pride. And living with intent to survive. One said, And siding with chaos against good order. Azrael raised an eyebrow. The servants drifted away from Death, expectantly. LORD, WE KNOW THERE IS NO GOOD ORDER EXCEPT THAT WHICH WE CREATE… Azrael’s expression did not change. THERE IS NO HOPE BUT US. THERE IS NO MERCY BUT US. THERE IS NO JUSTICE. THERE IS JUST US. The dark, sad face filled the sky. ALL THINGS THAT ARE, ARE OURS. BUT WE MUST CARE. FOR IF WE DO NOT CARE, WE DO NOT EXIST. IF WE DO NOT EXIST, THEN THERE IS NOTHING BUT BLIND OBLIVION. AND EVEN OBLIVION MUST END SOME DAY. LORD, WILL YOU GRANT ME JUST A LITTLE TIME? FOR THE PROPER BALANCE OF THINGS. TO RETURN WHAT WAS GIVEN. FOR THE SAKE OF PRISONERS AND THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS. Death took a step backward. It was impossible to read expression in Azrael’s features. Death glanced sideways at the servants. LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN? He waited. LORD? said Death. In the time it took to answer, several galaxies unfolded, whirled around Azrael like paper streamers, impacted, and were gone. Then Azrael said:”

—

(via pornosophical)

Terry Pratchett, “Reaper Man”

(via twin-city-ankh-and-morpork)

[flopstat]

the vampire lestat - 3.02 | 3.03

[agoodflyting]

Thinking so hard about that, "Prove it," in the park scene and why Daniel reacts so strongly to Armand's fucked up little love confession.

Daniel Molloy has driven away everyone who ever loved him, and he knows it.

By the time we see him in S1, he's been divorced twice, he's estranged from his children, and he has no friends to speak of. All he has is his career, which he holds onto as the one thing he did right in his life. He even tells Louis: I was bad at everything else, but I was a good journalist. He has accepted this about himself. He knows he was the problem in all his relationships - the choices he made and the hurt he caused are the reason he's alone. That is a HEAVY pill to swallow, especially when you're in your 70s and staring down the barrel of a terminal illness.

Then suddenly, he's a vampire. He's not dying anymore. Now he's going to live forever. What's he gonna do with all that time? The only thing he knows how to do is be a journalist, so that's what he does. He throws himself into making his documentary because it's literally all he has. He's not like Louis, whose mortal family still loved him and wanted him around even after he turned, or Lestat, who quickly made fledglings of the people he loved so they could spend eternity with him.

Daniel tells Louis: "Vampire loneliness - I get it now."

Daniel doesn't have people who love him. He ruined all that. All he's got is his career as a journalist. So that's what he spends his eternity on - he's gonna make his documentary and wring some truth out of Lestat, because it's a distraction from facing down eternity as an immortal who is not just alone, but who has lived a long life and come out if it with the conclusion that they are fundamentally unlovable and its their own damn fault.

And now here's his maker again. Fuck this guy, right? Armand is the one who gave him this immortality, which he's now going to have to spend alone and unloved. And to top it all off, Armand left Daniel too. At least this one time, Daniel can say that it wasn't his fault, and he can pour all his anger and frustration out on the one person who left him when he didn't deserve it.

And then Armand says, "By the way, I love you."

"I've been here the whole time. You thought you pushed everyone away? You didn't. I'm here. I've always been here."

"Do you remember all the times you were a bad husband? I was there and I still love you."

"Do you remember all the times you were a bad father? I know about that. I still love you."

"Those awful, shitty things you've done? I know about those too and I'm fine with them. You aren't repulsive to me. I still love you."

"I've cared for you at your worst, and I still love you."

"I know you need your career to give your life meaning. I'll even support you in that if you let me. Because I love you."

"You're tattered, and you're broken, but I still want you to be mine."

[bratboymolloy]

thinking about the way armand was always there in the shadows of daniel’s life. always stepping in to fix things he thought he could fix. watching daniel in his lowest and even embarrassing moments—a hit and run fender bender, leaving his daughters at home while he went out to the liquor store, ODing in some dingy motel room, biting his nails, setting off a fire alarm in a burnt grilled cheese incident, fucking alice mere hours after fucking some student.

and not to overshare but it makes me think about having my biggest manic episode. i was getting into scary men’s cars and doing coke in a basement and not caring and cutting my own bangs and spending too much money and i was alone. alone in my struggling. alone in the fight to get out of it all. and nobody was watching me. nobody was lurking in the shadows like a dark guardian angel.

but if i suddenly found out that wasn’t true? that someone had been there all along? watching the very worst of me? someone was pulling the strings, never letting me go too far without stepping in? and i’m supposed to believe all that AND believe it was love? well i’d feel all kinds of complicated about that. i’d be simultaneously in love with and repulsed by that idea. i’d be thankful in a way and feel totally violated in another. i’d want to kick and scream. i’d want answers. and that’s what daniel wants. armand to fully come out of the shadows and own it all.

[bratboymolloy]

adding these tags bc EXACTLY @eab-art

[cbrownjc]

God, the roles this show offers up to black women, from Florence and Grace du Lac to Claudia to Akasha to Merrick (and God I hope Maharet and Mekare aughhh) — I feel like I’m FEASTING! 🍷 🍽️

Hey,

Listen, I am right there with you. Because one of the things I absolutely hate, and repeatedly have said that I hate, is when shows or movies take characters who were white in the books/source material, change their race to black, and then make those characters less complex and multifaceted than their white counterparts in those books/source material.

Which is what usually happens because the writers are clearly way too afraid of making those characters not "good role models" and therefore, not really flawed. Which, in the end, just makes them cyphers, not real, actual complex people.

And in a Gothic Horror setting, such as this story is? OMG, you mean we not only get to be doing horrific shit, but we get to do it without apology, too? God, yes!

And look, maybe such storytelling, and seeing black women in such stories, is a shock to some people's system. They don't know how to process it, as it accounts for too many people infantilizing Claudia as a character (just like Louis did ironically) and not wanting to see her as the ruthless, vicious killer she actually was. And always was.

But I love it. I love getting to see a black female character get to be all of that and not apologize for it.

And if some people can't handle the reality of this about Claudia's character, then so be it. I, in turn, am in heaven... before I have to go into the hell of what House of the Dragon has done with its black characters, which I have been complaining about for two seasons now.

The cutting of Nettle's and merging her with Rhaena is just basically a culmination of it all at this point. 😒

Ahem. Anyway...

If some people can't handle these reveals about Claudia, which was 100% consistant with what we saw with her character all the way back in Season 1 (and which some seem to have apparently wiped from their memories regarding her 🙄), then they are not ready for Akasha.

I mean, yes, I am already uneasy about some of the takes I'm sure we'll see regarding her and the things she will do. Such as ordering the rape of the twins. But I do not, in any way, want the show to change Akasha's character, especially her ruthlessness, just because she is black.

I've said it a million times before, but that is not how color-conscious casting works.

Plus, as I have said before, Akasha originally lived in a time period before worldwide Western colonization was even a thing. If you listen closely, it seems they've kept her, at least partly, still being from Uruk, too.

Post by @cbrownjc

💬 0  🔁 4  ❤️ 19 · Do you believe Akasha's birthplace will be changed from Uruk to Egypt? Hello, So honestly? While I don't think they'll c

So yeah, Akasha shouldn't even look at the world through that lens, and instead have the confidence and power of someone to whom that is not only an alien concept, but carry herself with the power of one of whom such ideas are beneath, and the ruthlessness of someone not afraid to use her power to do and have what she wants.

I honestly can't wait for it.

All that said, however? I would like there to be a black female on the show whose fate isn't already sealed, i.e., them being set to die. It's why I was wary of Merrick Mayfair being brought onto the show. But it looks like she might not get her book fate so far, so I hope she can stick around in at least one of the IU shows.

But the character I really hope the show eventually brings on is Rose, Louis, and Lestat's second adopted daughter, and the one in whom they actually get right with what they got wrong with Claudia. I truly feel confident that if Rose is brought into the story, the show will make her black. And she gets to grow up before she finally becomes a vampire, living quite a lovely life beforehand (for the most part, at least) before she does.

Though there is one thing I do disagree with, and that is making the twins black. Just personally, I think they should be Palestinian, since that is the area where the twins were from. And while there is no telling what people from that area looked like 6000 years ago -- just like there is no telling what people from Uruk looked like 6000 years ago -- I think casting a Palestinian to play the twins would be a good move.

[mysharona1987]

[greyhina]

Same energy as that time in college I told a girl that “the tarot” says she needs to go call her mom and start going to therapy and she fucking did.

[tiruvenkadu]

absolutely a granny weatherwax moment. “you need to move the outhouse because its presence is bothering the forest spirits and they’re cursing you” because trying to explain about bacteria from the outhouse contaminating the well wasn’t working.

[alexaloraetheris]

Sometimes you gotta ask yourself ‘Do I want to be right or do I want results?’ and then act accordingly.

[jace-targaryen]

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001) dir. peter jackson

[virginiaisforvampires]

idk if this makes sense but lestat this episode in how sweet and devoted he was to akasha despite not wanting the job and how he threw himself into caring for her, bringing her gifts, entertaining her, etc. kind of recontextualizes claudia. like in a similar vein, he Did Not, want to turn her and had a lot of valid concerns, but once it was done, she was his daughter, period.

i think a lot is there, but the lack of specific focus on their relationship from both louis and claudia’s perspectives in s1 & s2 makes sense because they were speaking from a place of deep pain and resentment. of course they wouldn’t dwell on the happy moments. and lestat also hasn’t spoken about her directly because he seems to hold his grief and remorse over claudia very close to his chest. it’s definitely him being protective, but it’s also as if he doesn’t think he fully deserves to feel that way and doesn’t want to burden louis either.

but to circle back, i do think at first lestat was resistant but once he saw the situation for what it was, that he had this vulnerable orphan girl now vampire who was now his responsibility, he threw himself into fatherhood like he threw himself into being akasha and enkil’s keeper. he’s just not going to leave someone who is defenseless and unable to care for themselves alone when he’s capable of doing it. idk if it’s a reaction to gabriella’s behavior, if it’s just how he is or both. there just isn’t any way that the same lestat we saw in episode 5 didn’t do his best to take care of, spoil and teach claudia and enjoy her company. he said so himself during the trial.

and moments like him doing impressions to make her laugh, having inside jokes with her, giving her the necklace that was his father’s then gabriella’s, teaching her to drive, buying her clothes and having Opinions on her outfits, even later on teaching her chess and piano and designing her mardi gras outfit and giving her bows on her shoes to match his??? and now him nearly a century after her death still having her gait and heart murmur, tiny details unique to her, memorized shows a level of care that does a lot of heavy lifting.

if they were human in the present he’d be the parent that has an encyclopedic knowledge of his child’s medical history, allergies, food preferences, all their teachers and friends etc. and like a very detailed nighttime schedule for the babysitter lol. i wouldn’t be surprised if lestat still knows without having to think too hard things like claudia’s shoe size, ring size, height or favorite color or book or fragrance.

and i do think that is lovely given that louis doesn’t seem to focus on or really remember those minute details, so having the only other person in the world who could know those things actually remember those details about their daughter and be able to talk to him about them is sweet.

idk i just think overall this episode did a lot to establish that even if he tries to hide it, lestat does have a big heart and a strong sense of duty towards the people he loves and/or that he’s made responsible for. he’s not equipped to properly do it for countless reasons the season has already delved into, and it usually goes very badly but he does tries to do right by others.

He does.

Lestat was always her actual parent. Louis was the buddy.

And just wait for Episode 6.

[firebatvillain]

One fun thing about learning new languages is reconsidering the structure of words and language in your mother tongue. It seems with each new language I study, I get more little insights into English, either in how it's similar or how it's different.

For example, a couple years ago, while learning Spanish, I encountered the word for a store, "la tienda." I thought "huh, that's a lot like tener (tiene) - the word for store in Spanish literally corresponds to 'to have/keep'. How interesting!"

Then I stopped for a moment, and for the first time in my life, thought about seriously about the meaning of English word for the place where you buy things, "a store."

[reticent-vampire]

The Vampire Lestat 3.05

[virginiaisforvampires]

Initial thoughts for The Vampire Lestat 1x06 (Track 6) — SPOILERS INCLUDED!

Track 6: Montreal

"Please. Turn Larry down."

"At the intersections of my many selves, the stutterer, the ape, the actor, the keeper, the tourist, the recluse, the rockstar, the nesting dulls of identity....There is a period of stasis. A hibernation in shabby robe. The Autumn of 2025 was one of these periods. At the time, I thought it a bow on the goodbye box of Lestat, but here I am. Dictating for you. Still Lestat." — What a fitting mantra for him. Still Lestat. Reminds me of what he tells Louis in Prince Lestat. ⬇️

From Prince Lestat —

“I’m Lestat,” I said in a low voice. “Your Lestat. I’m the same Lestat you’ve always known, and no matter how I’m changed, I’m still that same being.”

Memorial show for him and for the vampires. The big concert. Seeds of Prince Lestat.

"Two years to the day we formed."

Mary Rick = Merrick!

Also notice the new contact name for Louis — Lui (French for him, but also it's how Lestat pronounces his name. Loo-Wee.) 🥹♥️

This concert being a final "fuck off" gift to Gabriella. This changes things, too, because it's no longer Lestat doing the concert as a dare to start a vampire war. It's for Gabriella. Again, it's placing Lestat into more of the role of the victim when Akasha does rise, because it was to placate Gabriella in the first place.

"Obligations met. Good luck and fuck off, everyone. Everywhere."

"The future. My new distraction. Who next? How next? I was tying off loose ends. Coming out of a coma. Feeling alive. Or maybe it was him."

"OR. MAYBE. IT. WAS. HIM."

Him. Lui. The contact name. ♥️

It's like I was just pierced in the heart by a million Loustat arrows! Because Lestat is now back home, calm, more at peace. As he says, "alive." "Out of a coma." And why? BECAUSE. OF. LOUIS. He calms with Louis. He rests with Louis. He's thinking of the future. WITH. LOUIS. All of the mess has halted because of Louis. The statement resounds!

Oh, Louis wanting him to cancel the concert. Just like in the book. Protective Louis. Concerned Louis. 😭♥️ They've been in contact ever since Louis called. Lestat has been taking care of him. They've been communicating and my my! Would you look at that! Both of them are working towards getting better since they've been back in each other's lives.

Also a moment of appreciation for the beauty of Lestat's home as it was recently confirmed that Lestat designed this home with Louis in mind. Such a beautiful gesture. Just like he designed Rue Royale for Louis. 🥹

Louis saying he doesn't sleep in coffins anymore, but Lestat still spoils him with an extravagant coffin. Yeah, this is precious, but I'm gonna need a conversation about Louis' trauma with being locked in a coffin and also I need to see Lestat finding out about the stones in his ankles. That's all I want. Please.

Lestat leaving the little note on the door. Just like in Episode 1 when he bought candy for the kids. 🥹

Just look at them. Halloween Loustat. My darlings. My babies. My everythings. Full circle from Halloween Loustat FaceTime calls in Episode 1. 🎃♥️

Lestat dressing as the grim reaper. Don't ever lose your whimsy, my love. 🥹

Lestat being in a book club. This babydoll. *blissful sigh*

"Topeka!" — The callback to S1 made me tear up, but interesting that Lestat says >he< said it instead of Tom Anderson. 🤔

"Lem? Ooh, that is cozy. Lemmy. Lemmy Lemmy. Lick me Lem." — Notice this isn't a jealousy thing. This is Lestat knowing that Lem is nothing but a feeding fling. This is a reflection of how they actually behaved with each other back during the Rue Royale era. The other people were never "cheating." They were food and entertainment, and Loustat would laugh about it together. There was always a reason Louis nonchalantly asked "she burn quick?" because that was the norm.

"Fraudia" 😭😭😭😭

Fuck. The easiness of this friendship. As I said, THIS is how they've always behaved with each other. This softness and openness. No one else gets this version of either of them. Remember DreamStat? Remember Sam saying they don't "perform" with each other? Yeah. 🥹♥️

Daniel questioning about the reunion and the hurricane. Their evasive answers. Interesting. Why is he even asking?

"It was enough that he showed up."

*deep breaths* 🫠🫠🫠🫠

Another reference to the "dark monarch." Again, seeds of Prince Lestat.

Lestat has been dreaming of forests and pumpkins and birds. He wants a cabin in the woods to transcribe bird songs. Louis is entranced by this. 🥹 (I can't do this, y'all. I can't. They love each other so fucking much.)

Daniel is knowingly watching them like wtf is this? Yeah, this is real love, Dan. The real bond. Not that playhouse of horrors you witnessed in Dubai.

"What's with the tan, Dan?" ‼️‼️‼️

Loustat.

Oh, the theme from when they fed on the tenor together. 🫠🔥♥️

"He seemed off."

"Dan? Always." — THE EYEROLL! I'M CACKLING!

"He's an awkward vamp. He has that 'you think you're better than me' chip on him and we are. It is exhausting to pretend otherwise."

Louis telling him to sing for the fans! Lestat not wanting to do it, but he does it for Louis! How long have I waited to see this in full HD since the filming spoilers for this scene came out last year?! And then the fucking smile when he looks back at Louis! And Louis being proud of him! It's everything I wanted it to be! 😭😭😭

AAAAHHHH!!!!

Louis thanking him for the coffin and Lestat's expression. Be still my heart!

Oh. He's asking about DreamStat! He had a DreamLou! He must've clung to this as the evidence of Louis caring about him. 😭

"I wanted to live with you like I had been dragged out of the bayou. Gills to lungs. For you and you only." — Oh. He's a loverboy. 🥹♥️

Antoinette mention! 🤣💀

"Oh a voice I could fuck!"

"I know! I know!" — Louis always knew this was never "cheating." *ahem*

"Actually that's not fair. She was a good time, and the book's prose reveled in making her smaller than she was. Justice for Antoinette."

"You made her cut off a finger."

"Oh she did that on her own. She thought the gift would help her grow it back. She was very impulsive." — Told you he would not be that cruel to her.

"You dangled her."

"To provoke you out of a depression....and then to punish." — How many times did we have this argument that Antoinette was meant to provoke Louis into feeding? 🫢

"Why?"

"I have the blood of Akasha in me."

"No, it ain't the blood. It's what you do with the blood." — The tone of this exchange. This is something they've already discussed. Remember in the tower scene when Lestat says he has the blood of Akasha and then looks at Louis and says "he [Armand] doesn't know who that is." Yeah. I would bet money Lestat told Louis about the blood and about Akasha in the actual aftermath of S1E5 that we never got to see.

The way they laugh and mock Louis "licensing and franchising" the blood to make money. This is true unconditional love, baby! Lestat knows his little capitalist Louis. 😌

"Why?"

"Because, Louis. I'm a monster."

The sad, yet tender look Louis is giving him. The shameful, vulnerable look Lestat gives when he looks away. Lots to unpack there, but the blood and Lestat's canon self-hatred are paramount. This is something that's been discussed between them, and Louis knows this is a source of deep shame for Lestat.

Louis and Gabriella meeting, but he has no idea she is Lestat's mother. Lestat wanting Louis to meet her. Lestat having full confidence that Louis will "do fine." *shuddering breath* The love and pride, guys. The love and pride.

"Yes. He said that you said you don't think he should sing tomorrow." — Lestat telling her what Louis thinks, because Louis' thoughts are important to Lestat.

"It doesn't matter what I think. He's gonna do what he's gonna do." — Not really, Louis. He'd do whatever you said, and I think you know that, too.

Gabriella trying to convince Louis not to attend Lestat's show. Louis says if he doesn't go, it'll hurt Lestat. Gabriella tells him that Lestat would be more hurt if Louis got hurt. So yes, that's true, but I side-eye her true motive for this.

"You should stand by me. I will protect you." — Will you really, Gabs?

Lestat is literally so happy to have Louis back in his life. Look at him floating and twirling to Dancing With Myself. Look at how proud and indulgent Louis is with him. Remember when Sam confirmed about The Loneliness performance that Lestat levitates when he's happy? The callbacks to Loustat's first time in S1E1 and their special floaty sex in S1E6? ⬇️

"It’s a lovely callback to Season 1, when he’s in pure elation or feeling extreme emotion that he just kind of involuntarily levitates,” Reid says.

Yeah. 🥹☁️♥️✨

BRUTAL. LOVE.

Whoah, I can feel it. The pull on my thread from a distant restless head. Whoah, how I need it. Just to know that you're out there pulling all you can.

Show me that bitter star, I want it. Give me that brutal love, I want it all. I am the meteor above it. Writing your name in dust as I fall.

Whoah, I can feel it. Every atom like a planet on fire raging at the sun.

Show me that bitter star, I want it. Give me that brutal love, I want it all. I am the meteor above it. Writing your name in dust as I fall.

Show me that bitter star, I want it. Give me that brutal love, I want it all. I am the meteor gliding. Writing your name in dust as I fall.

*sobs*

*screams*

*falls to knees*

He's singing to Louis, and Louis is fucking mesmerized! Everything has faded! It's only those two! Louis is moved! He's fucking crying! Look at how they're looking at each other! Cannot take their eyes off each other!

My soul is ascending to another realm. I had to pause to cry and scream and pace around my living room. The urge to run through a wall was prevalent in my nervous system!!! Because WHAT DO YOU MEAN in the year 2026 that I'm watching Lestat singing to Louis as a callback and that it's BETTER than I ever dreamed it would be?!?!? 😭😭😭

In addition to Lestat describing his bond with Louis and how he can feel Louis pulling on his soul, even when they're separated, he's also saying that he wants Louis' love, ALL of it, even the brutal parts. He wants Louis unconditionally, even if it means death or violence or brutality or destruction, and Lestat will love him unconditionally, even as he falls forever writing Louis' name in the sky.

Oh shit! Gabriella is realizing it's Louis! Not her! Louis is the great love! Not her! Her fucking face as the camera focuses on Louis while she fades in the background.

LOUIS. IS. THE. GREAT. LOVE. 😭♥️

He's singing Come To Me! 😭

She's trying to mark her territory. Left her scarf on his piano. Lestat no longer wants to leave with her. He's pushing back against her and calling her out.

"Show Alex some affection. He could use his mother." — Oh. Oh oh oh. The statement! THE. STATEMENT.

And he leaves with Louis. This is what I meant about Louis taking her power. With Louis back in his life, her hold on him is no longer what it was, because Louis becomes the ultimate priority. He becomes the lighthouse for Lestat. The beacon in the darkness, and Lestat listens to him.

Bloody hell! Daniel (and Armand) releases a salacious video of Lestat and Gabs having sex as "revenge" for Lestat protecting Nicki's memory with the telepathic mind trick. In Episode 1, Lestat says "It's not much of a reveal I guess. I know it's common gossip now. The first thing one thinks about when my name comes up." This is why. 🤬‼️‼️‼️

Also note that Lemuel is the one who sent the video to Louis. 🫥

Who filmed this, btw? Yet another example of Lestat being exploited and violated to the world against his will while everyone looks down on him and judges him for the abuse. That fucking meta commentary.

Lestat being so upset and ashamed that he starts throwing up! (Anyone still want to deny the abuse?! This poor baby! 😖)

The portrait in their coffin room was, in fact, Gabriella.

The meta commentary happening here, too. Louis represents the human stance. It's a very real reaction. The repulsion. The outrage. The blaming because he doesn't understand it. The fandom stance. "Seek a professional." Yeah. How many times has the fandom said this? Meanwhile, Lestat represents the vampiric stance. Gabriella is other. The sad thing? They're both technically *correct* here, but the road the show has taken? Gabriella is a sex predator. She's the root of Lestat's problems. She's sexually abusing him. And Lestat? He knows this, and he knows it's wrong, and he's ashamed of it. He deflects and justifies, but I have to say I agree with Louis' stance (not the cruel judgement! but once he realizes!) — It's not okay! It's not "different" because she's a vampire! That argument (one that I previously entertained going into this season) went out the window ages ago!

"And what do I say?! Do I say that you're sick, Louis?! Do I say sickness?! No!" — The way his voice is breaking here. The way you can hear the love and devotion, even in the midst of this. Louis confessed his shame about Regina, and Lestat didn't judge him. Lestat just showed him love and understanding.

He's been taking care of Louis for a month and a half. He gave Louis shelter in his home. He's arranged the seance to try and help Louis. Yes. He does love Louis. To the haters: How do you want those eggs on your faces cooked?

The hyperventilating panic attack. I had to pause here. It broke me. I've thought of nothing but his stuttering wheezing for weeks. If y'all thought I was protective over Lestat, you ain't seen nothing yet! Everything flooding out of him. The years of sexual abuse. The years of emotional dependency. The years of neglect. The years of being used as her vessel. The years of being abandoned by her. The years of only feeling valuable to her for what he could do for her. I'm sick! He's so ashamed. He's so ill over this. And he can't stand it anymore, and THANK GOD! Louis is there for him. FINALLY! We see caring and protective Louis. About damn time!

THANK YOU, LOUIS! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

That hug was so needed. That comfort was so needed. *relieved sighs* Lestat needed Louis, and Louis was there. Growth. Progress. As I've stressed to the haters, Louis is trying. Louis holding Lestat and telling him it's alright over and over....it really is the one thing I've wanted out of Louis since the beginning. 😭🙌🏽

"Ridiculous night."

Oh. Louis was sexually molested, too. A cousin stuck his fingers in Louis and gave him a dollar. Ah. Yeah. The tone of this conversation. They've already discussed this, too. That tone from Lestat as if it's something hurtful that Lestat doesn't wish to dwell upon, because he doesn't like thinking of someone doing to Louis what Gabriella is doing to him. This is something just between them. Not for Daniel or anyone else. Just as Lestat confiding in Louis about Gabriella is just between them.

Lestat saying nothing happened until she came to Paris, but also not outright answering Louis if anything happened before. Oh, there's a lot there. When did it start, Lestat? The silence and the deflection imply the horrifying truth.

"Your mother called you the devil." — Confirmation that Louis did tell Lestat what happened in S1E3 when he went to visit Grace and he was shunned. Note this is Lestat pointing out how Florence traumatized Louis and that he [Lestat] recognizes that trauma.

"Never had sex with her."

"And then she blamed you for Paul's death." — Again, confirmation that Lestat was aware of Louis' issues back in NOLA.

"Which you then blamed on me."

"I let it go. I took it back. I was wrong."

"The blame. If we can find the blame, if we agree on the blame, then it's all mapped. The why we are. The why we do. I conduct the chaos. She's one of the many chainsaws I juggle." — Lestat is saying that assigning blame is only to assuage helplessness (and/or culpability) in traumatic situations. He's saying he doesn't assign blame, because he conducts the chaos in his own life i.e. he's telling himself that Gabriella is one of the many wounds he's been burdened with carrying. The double-meaning also being Lestat feels there's a part of him that has invited this chaos. The canon self-blame.

"A hill to climb. Vampire or not." — Louis is agreeing that Gabriella is a challenging situation.

Louis asking Lestat for the blood for taste and then drinking Lestat's blood while Lestat watches him in tender wonder.

"Mmmm. The suntan." 🤔

The shame and embarrassment from Lestat. Louis trying to tell him that it'll blow over.

"It matters to you?" — Fuck. The vulnerability here. The worry that Louis will be disgusted with him now. Geez. But Louis is trying. He's really really trying.

"I am my own zip code of mess right now. I'm not proud of how I just was. I'm sorry."

"We should cancel."

"We should probably cancel."

And here's the seance. Lestat arranged this to help Louis with his guilt and grief over Claudia. See? He will do anything for Louis. He only wants to take care of Louis.

"Spirits can be unruly. But those snatched out of life. A burned girl. Motherless monster. Called up by her killers."

"I didn't kill her."

"The implication, I believe, was giving Claudia the gift."

"Oh. I thought you were talking about Paris."

"And the implication there was that I killed her."

"I didn't say that."

"No. You implied it." —There's no way we're not coming back to what really happened in Paris. There's no way. ‼️‼️‼️

She has to move them apart. Says they're "jinxing it" with their connected emotions. 💀

"You back with him?" — And she's talking to Lestat.

"I'm sorry." — Louis not realizing she's talking to Lestat and inadvertently confirming he considers them "back together." ‼️‼️‼️

"You weren't even my favorite. I liked him better. He knew who he was. You're not even my maker. You're not even my blood. That's my maker! I even thought about poising you instead of him. You know why I didn't? Cause there's a little etch on your ribcage that says you're a slave. I knew I could count on you to trail me like a dumb dog anywhere I went until I could ditch your ass for something more worthy of me. Who the fuck are you? Don't even know you!" — I want her words to marinate here. That narrative of Louis and Claudia having to escape big bad abusive Lestat? It just imploded with this. She didn't kill Lestat because he was so evil and abusive. She killed him because Louis was her dumb dog who'd let her do whatever she wanted. Meanwhile, Lestat, the real parent, was her favorite.

The fact Claudia is unloading about Louis to Lestat. She's addressing Lestat with these complaints. Echoes of the reality of their dynamic. Remember Delainey saying Claudia wanted Lestat back in Paris because Lestat was always on her side? Yeah.

"I hate you to the pit of all things! Burn the diaries! Burn this dress! Stop saying my name!"

Lestat's face though. The concern and worry for how this is going to impact Louis.

"And you, Uncle Les."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Bring your malice." — He knew her.

"Some joy I know knowing is how good I humiliated you in New Orleans. How I ginned up the train for the slave here."

"Lestat said he'd do worse than rape me, Daddy Lou."

"Worked good, didn't it?" — She made up the train.

"The train. Antoinette. Tom Anderson. Slit throat. Took your black queen and ran off with him across the ocean and shitty little bitch that you are revenge swelled in your brain. How long you rehearse my death, Antoinette? Memorize your every line of that play just for fun, Mr. Anderson? And your little make-'em-ups not in the script! I'd have done the same thing if it were me. Sat on my hands watching you char up the thunderous applause. Only I wouldn't have saved his ass and waited for a hug in the hurricane." — She's basically telling Lestat he's pathetic for loving Louis and that his "revenge" was what she would've done. Yeah, we're coming back to the "revenge" angle. He's pissed at Sam. He's pissed at Armand. He's pissed at Louis *implying* he killed Claudia. Again, this is an elephant in the room. What truly happened in Paris? ADDRESS. ME. Also? Is she saying Lestat is in the same league as Antoinette and Anderson? Or is she saying Antoinette rehearsed her death for murder night while Anderson played his part well in murder night, which was also essentially a play? How much did Claudia manipulate the entire Mardi Gras fiasco? After all, she did knowingly look at Lestat when Anderson hurled his "petty slight" about Lestat being Raj, which was allegedly what signaled to her that Lestat would go after Anderson. 🤔

"Dress on the wall. Song the radio."

Yeah. First of all, the acting here. Delainey owning the moment while Jacob and Sam are just reacting in sheer brilliance. The horrified pain on both their faces. The pain and terror and rage from Claudia. Absolutely heartbreaking. They loved her. It just wasn't enough, and that's the tragedy of it all. I'm not even gonna gloat over this one. It's really a paltry victory, because Claudia deserved better. So much better. She was never going to be their priority, and that's the tragedy of it all.

"Pretty much closes the door on that."

"She spared us the ambiguity."

Two grief-stricken parents who have no choice but to live with their mistakes.

Lestat wanting Louis to know about Gabriella. That subconscious part of his heart that wanted it known because he wants Louis to be his shelter. He wants Louis to be his safe haven. He wants Louis to be his protection from the wolves. I'm fine. This is fine.

"Why do I actively, manically pursue failure?" — The canon self-blame. The bar conversation. ^^ The juggling chainsaws.

"Maybe it's just the vampire's burden. What do you replace death with? What's to live for if there's no end? Maybe it's just how you keep your nights straight." — Louis assuring him that the pursuit of "failure" is simply a way to "keep the nights straight." As in, the failure is what makes a being better. The true mantra of the season. Reminds me of Lestat's quote about suffering merely adding more resonance. ⬇️

From Queen Of The Damned —

It’s an awful truth that suffering can deepen us, give a greater luster to our colors, a richer resonance to our words. That is, if it doesn’t destroy us, if it doesn’t burn away the optimism and the spirit, the capacity for visions, and the respect for simple yet indispensable things. Please forgive me if I sound bitter. I don’t have any right to be.

"The songs are about me?"

"Most of them." ‼️‼️‼️

"You opened a restaurant three blocks from my house because?"

"Mmm. Yeah."

Just look at how Lestat looks at him. FUCK!

"If it was just the two of us again, cause yeah, who else is gonna have us? A trailer park. Nevada. Utah. The desert. A couple folding chairs. Plant some flower boxes. What blooms at night?"

"Evening primrose."

"They got birds in the desert?"

"There's birds everywhere."

"Could be nice."

"Could be."

The piano version of Loustat's love theme playing. The callback to the S1 pinky touch with Louis making the move. The way they're looking at each other. The LOVE in their eyes. FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!! Louis being the one to plan their future together!

Am I still alive? I don't know anymore. I don't care anymore. All I care about is THEM.

And then, the most insane moment because WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?!?! Alex "distracts" them while Armand and Daniel behead them?!?!?!?

WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?!?

Did Armand blame Larry's death on Lestat? Is this Armand trying to stop Lestat from taking the stage?!?! That comment from Fareed about how long Lestat could last without his head.....yeah. I knew it was interesting at the time, but what about Louis?!?!

And you know, maybe this will lead into us finally getting the proper Merrick Loustat moment of Lestat reviving Louis? If that be the case, I'll accept this monstrosity.

Otherwise, what the fuck?! GIVE THEM BACK THEIR HEADS! 🤬🤬🤬

Also?

About damn time the real Armand fully showed up!

1000/10! 🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽

Standing O! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Best. Episode. Of. The. Series. 😭❤️‍🔥

[luckshiptoshore]

Dean is blowing up Cas’s phone yet again. he’s so in love he looks stupid.

[sapphicrot]

tumblr is the worst designed website on the fucking planet bro

[gaypeople]

Interview with the Vampire (2.08) | The Vampire Lestat (3.05)