Ace of 💜s

my brother in christ you cannot be more wrong and I'm so tired. also if you ask a random stranger this in real life, a random stranger who's mature enough to understand the difference between fiction and reality, they will look at you like you speak gibberish.

proship stance = anti harassing real people over goddamned fiction. your kink is not my kink and that's okay. don't like don't read. there are some prompts that trigger the fuck out of me. I don't read it. I don't even like it. but I will defend its rights to exist because

1.) it is fiction

2.) no one in real life is harmed

3.) it cannot harm you unless you go searching for it, knowing it will upset or trigger you

4.) a lot of victims and survivors cope and heal through fiction, a safe and controlled environment

5.) censorship is a fascist tool. once you allow one thing to be censored because someone somewhere doesn't want it to exist, anything and everything can and will be censored.

Plus, they’re furious because, after Claudia’s revelations, Louis didn’t run off to suffer and cry—he started talking about seeing a future together with Lestat. And that basically confirms everything Claudia said about Louis (you know, the things these people claim aren’t true). Yes, he loved her. They both loved her. And they let her down. But they’ve always been each other’s top priority. She came into existence as a result of Louis’s mistakes and his self‑hatred over being a vampire, over his sexuality, and over his love for Lestat. She appeared when his business collapsed, when his fragile relationships with his sister and mother fell apart. Even his relationship with Lestat was on the verge of breaking. So she really became a kind of bandage for their “messy marriage.” Her presence briefly prolonged their life together, and as long as she was obedient and convenient, everything was fine. But in Paris, Louis started to accept himself—his sexuality and his vampire nature. And Claudia became unnecessary. I think there was some truth to what he told Armand about her being a burden.When she was killed, of course, he was angry. He was hurt. He loved her and blamed himself for everything that happened to her. But since Louis has some issues with self‑awareness, he couldn’t allow himself to blame himself. He needed someone else to blame, and he chose Lestat. Not because that’s how he truly felt, but because it felt like the right thing to do. After all, what kind of father would he be if he didn’t blame for his daughter’s murder the man who crossed the ocean and put on that whole show—the one who had a motive? And when the truth came out, he finally had to acknowledge his own guilt and face that realization. That’s where his obsession with Regina comes from. He wanted to fix everything, but there was nothing left to fix. I don’t think he enjoyed hearing what the ghostly Claudia had to say, but it really did help him put a period at the end of that chapter.

No, no, it was a real spirit, not a manifestation.

In the books, Merrick has some doubt afterwards that it was really her though, Louis hasn't.

But then... the whole story with Merrick there is different, because she has an agenda: she put a spell on Louis, and manipulates him to turn her.

Now take this logic and apply it to things like ADHD, autism, clinical depression, and other less visible/divergent disabilities. You cannot think your way out of feeling.

Hey!

So okay, I don't have a theory on the colors of the posters. I truly have no real clue what is going on with that, currently.

But when it comes to the shadows on posters, I very much do have thoughts and theories about that.

So first off, all living vampires have two shadows behind their physical selves. We see this with Lestat, Louis, Armand, and Gabriella's posters:

While all humans, either living or dead, only have one shadow:

Now, the reason all LIVING vampires have two shadows behind them is that one shadow represents their soul/etheric selves and the second shadow represents their vampire-selves, which are connected to either their Makers and/or the Sacred Core/Amel itself.

There is a whole lore thing about subatomic links all vampires have, and how a part of Amel resides within them after someone is made a vampire, and how that works, that is explained in the book Prince Lestat and the Realms of Atlantis. You can read a more detailed breakdown of how it all works, wrt Amel and those subatomic connections here:

Anyway, regular humans only have one shadow to represent their souls/etheric bodies. I explained about the soul/etheric body in this post in my prediction about Daniel's death:

Now, take a look at the posters for Nicki and Magnus:

Each of them, even though they are vampires, only has one shadow, right?

Well, that is because, even though they were vampires, they are both now dead.

When a vampire dies, that severs their connection to Amel and the part of them that is Amel, and made them vampires, is now gone.

The only thing that exists for Nicki and Magnus, in truth, is their souls, their etheric bodies. And while their soul/etheric selves are likely no longer on Earth, they are somewhere. (In fact, in PLatRoA, we learn exactly where Magnus ended up.)

So with all of that in mind, and given everything we know from the first six episodes, take a look at this:

So, IF my theory about these posters is correct? Then TC and Salamander's time as vampires might very well be short-lived, I think.

And, out of all the members of Lestat's band, only Alex will be the one to survive (at least this season).

Yeah. Gabriella's fledgling. Which, given her being all-in on the Great Conversion, and given what Lestat just said to her about Alex in EP306, maybe she'll be one of the reasons why he will.

* * * * *

Now, a few other points. First, Akasha and Daniel's posters:

Both vampires, but both only with ONE shadow. Why?

Well, Akasha, being the one who HOLDS Amel/The Sacred Core within her, and Amel's presence being the thing that made her a vampire in the first place, THAT, IMO, is the reason Akasha only has one shadow.

Because Akasha's soul and Amel's soul/spirit are entwined with each other. That is the specific thing that happened when Akasha lay dying after a failed assassination attempt. As her soul began to leave her body (her Silver Cord having snapped), Amel snatched up her soul, entwined himself with it, and then forced them both back into her dying body.

Amel's spirit/etheric body was deeply infused with the synthetic polymer Luracastia when he did all this, and it is that polymer that was instrumental in Amel making Akasha into the first vampire. With him as the source, the "seed," the Sacred Core of that.

As for Daniel? Well, I have long thought something similar to Akasha is behind him being a vampire, and I already have a long written-up theory about that here:

Needless to say, I do not think Daniel's turning was in any way standard, i.e., that it happened in the same way other vampires are normally turned.

I also think there is a reason that Daniel's shadow-self in his poster is not a mirror image of his primary/physical self, like it is for every single other person who has a poster.

And now, last but not least...

I think a certain someone (Jarda) might just get turned off-screen.

As for Raglan, I think his two shadows are not that he'll become a vampire, but instead a hint about his unique abilities, i.e., his ability to move his soul from one body to another.

Because there is a whole thing in PLatRoA that explains what is going on with souls going into bodies that are not their own, and the tethers involved if their original bodies are still alive and such.

As per the "teams"... Ryan Kattner changed his color to pink in an IG post, indicating the "teams" aspect of it all. Though it isn't really "Team Lestat", more that yellow... are... frauds. Or... do something / are something they are not.

Pretending to be someone else.

Fake Lestat. Jarda.

Armand pretending to do the steps, while having an agenda.

Alex helping Armand behead Louis and Lestat, hiding behind a mask.

Daniel not really/fully a vampire (and sometimes possessed?).

Raglan... well. Is Raglan. The body thief. He has his own agenda.

Regina, pretending to be Claudia. "Fraudia" as they called her in and outside the show.

Now, AKASHA is red, because she is just herself. Uncategorized as of yet, if you so will. A force in and by herself, too.

There's something deeply romantic about it.

Remember in S2? When Louis was highly appalled at Claudia insulting Lestat's blood? (Which given the seance, who knows if that even happened, but for the sake of romance, let's digress. *laughs*)

Anyways. There's something quite swoon-worthy about Louis being consumed and proud and obsessed with Lestat's blood and especially given how it's such a source of shame for Lestat.

Lestat in Episode 5 —

"Let me tell you something about this blood. Let me save you from myself."

"This is the metal sun inside my veins. This is the hell I unleash on all those near me. It cannot be restrained in the moment or tamed over time. It will drag you into depravity and reward you with regret."

Meanwhile, here's Louis tracking down de Lioncourt descendants and almost busting a nut over a mere taste of Lestat's life force —

Because I knew, from the moment I first watched Episode 1x04, when I saw the show gave Claudia more than one diary, that we were headed for the reveal from the book Merrick wrt to them both, taken from this passage from Claudia's diary:

[...]

[...]

So yeah, I knew that this reveal, that we just finally got in EP306, was coming at some point.

I'd been saying so since Season 1, actually.

And because I did, I saw all the signs of it being set up, starting all the way back at EP105.

Yeah, when Claudia walked back into that house and was trying to get Louis to leave with her, I knew right then and there that she'd already come up with part of her plan to try to manipulate him into doing what she wanted.

That said, though? I didn't even guess about the train scene, that it was something she made up to do so -- not until a few weeks ago at least. I already thought it was false, but for other reasons, related to Armand trying to prevent Louis from wanting to end his life.

So yeah, I feel like I owe Armand an apology for that. He really had nothing to do with that scene and Louis' recollection of it. He, however, just knew how ruthless Claudia was, and was -- at least back in 1973 -- just trying to get Louis to open up his eyes to that.

Anyway, I do think Claudia did have love for Louis. Very much so, or she wouldn't have hated him as passionately as she did. Because, as has been said, the opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference.

And Claudia was never indifferent about her fathers.

They failed her. Both of them. And there will never be a way for them to correct that.

And I will honestly never begrudge Claudia and her vengeance against them for it all.

But she did have it. And she acted on it. Because she was ruthless. A true vampire, a killer. She was raised to be such. And so did as such, even, yes, with Louis. Who was always just as culpable as Lestat was for the situation she was in.

Louis is self-aware of his selfishness at this point, as we know from EP305. Yeah, try to work on that fact about yourself, man. It won't ever make things with Claudia right, that will always be impossible. But hopefully it will help as you continue on.

And maybe... if you and Lestat ever have another daughter together (hi Rose!), this time you'll not fail her in the same way you did Claudia.

*sigh* Four years. Four years waiting for this reveal and moment. It really was, like the second thing I most anticipated being adapted after Devil's Minion.

I wish they had just done it back in Season Two, at the trial, and gotten it over with then, but okay.

Y‘all argued for years it was and HAD to be to Lestat, because you wanted him to be this “big bad white abuser“ soooo badly and now… 💅

Only it turns out Claudia manipulated him.

Like THAT.

Book canon, sweetums. Quote below.

Don’t say I didn’t try to point things out, ALSO for years.

Oh, and also: do look at the language used there.

ALSO book canon.

i've already watched this scene like 15 times and i cannot get over it, oh my god. lestat's wheezing, the gagging/choking in between, the immediate realization on louis' face when lestat starts to hyperventilate, the constant "it's okay" - my god. MY HEART

i will be screaming about this for the next week i fear. longer. can't even get into the brutal love scene just yet (THAT WAS EVERYTHING😭) cause then this ask would be a dozen paragraphs longer omg.

also a side note but i, personally, have rarely seen a panic attack portrayed so viscerally, so well, so "not prettily", if you get what i mean? it's messy, it's ugly, it hurts to all hell (i have experience unfortunately) and i love love love sam even more than i already do for portraying this like he did.

Yes. I had a....visceral reaction to it, to say the least.

This is the scene certain reviewers watched and still came away acting as if the abuse was "consensual" or "sexy" or "being treated flippantly."

Yeah, fuck right off with that shit.

Lestat has been hiding this for literal centuries. CENTURIES! He is embarrassed. He is ashamed. There is a part of him that feels it's his fault that she does what she does to him. He hid this from Louis, because he was terrified that Louis would be disgusted with him (because he's disgusted with himself) and the moment Louis finds out his worst "failure", Lestat is sick. He starts throwing up and panicking that Louis is going to leave him again.

The first time I watched this? I was begging Louis to please hug him and comfort him. Louis' initial words were diabolical, yes, but he represented an (unfortunately) real reaction to incestuous sexual abuse. People simply don't understand it and look no further than the ghouls in this fandom and how they've spent the last six weeks blaming the abuse on Lestat and mocking him for it.

But Louis, as I've stressed, is trying and when he finally hugged Lestat, I was sobbing and just saying "thank you, Louis!" over and over. Because at the end of the day, that is all Lestat wants and needs. Louis comforting him. Louis just "sitting with him." Remember in Episode 1 when Lestat was injured, and he was begging Gabs to come find him? She asked if he had any "expectations", but Lestat desperately said "No. Nothing. Just sit with me. Please. I need you."

If you notice, when Louis says the abuse is a sickness, that is when Lestat truly breaks. He tells Louis that he never called Louis' suffering a sickness and points out to Louis that he's been taking care of him during the Regina/Claudia madness frenzy. Something, btw, Lestat coins as "unimaginable", which hints at Louis being even more deep into the psychosis spiral than even Lestat has seen before. He starts listing all the things he's "offered" Louis to help him and care for him, because that's what Lestat thinks has to happen for anyone to just "sit with him." There's a part of him that can't really understand why Louis is reacting like this, right? Because he offered Louis something.

But for Louis? Lestat doesn't need to offer him anything. Louis loves him and the moment Lestat starts wheezing and stuttering, it finally clicks for Louis how serious it is and that it is, in fact, sexual abuse and what does Louis do? He immediately apologizes and tries to comfort Lestat and calm him down.

Louis, unlike Gabs, doesn't have any "expectations." He doesn't need Lestat to offer him anything. He doesn't need Lestat to offer his body up as a sacrifice for crumbs of affection.

Louis freely gives it to him out of love and compassion and concern. Louis will just "sit with him" and this entire scene hammers that home.

Also? It's not lost on me that Louis asking Lestat for his blood in the next scene was a poignant moment demonstrating to Lestat that Louis actively desires his blood — the blood in which we were told in Episode 5 is another of Lestat's greatest shames and another point of self-loathing for Lestat.

But Louis? He wants it. He wants Lestat's blood and that statement threaded within the conversation about Lestat unburdening himself to Louis about the sexual abuse? Directly after we learned of Lestat's shame over his blood? It hits. Because Louis wants all of Lestat and accepts all of Lestat.

"It matters to you?"

Louis can't give a verbal straight answer, but his actions speak much louder than any words ever could, because a little over an hour after this? Louis is planning their future together.

Lestat is his fucking baby.

Alright?

PERSONAL opinion NOT based on ep 7 - under the cut.