I love you, Louis. // I have waited, Louis.

i finally realized what that shot reminded me of help

everybody upset about ep 5 has clearly never seen nbc hannibal’s mizumono and spent twelve hours trying to defend hannibal’s name on tumblr

Acting™

as a long time lestat enjoyer and apologist, I had no qualms with the fight between louis and lestat. in the first book, they often physically fight. and lestat is the stronger vampire so of course he’s going to use that to his advantage. that was all fine to me. I had problems with 1) Claudia’s unnecessary leaving and subsequent traumatizing and 2) lestat mocking her for it… they would have had plenty of reason for Claudia to hate lestat without them throwing this brutal plotline her way. overall though people shouldn’t be upset that lestat was a little unhinged this episode. he frequently is. he’s a little fucked up toxic bitch. and so is louis.

interview with a vampire episode 5 trigger warnings:

- self harm (referenced)

- briefly mentioned genital mutilation

- discussed self-starvation (does not happen)

- voyeurism (older men watching claudia as she uses the restroom is discussed briefly)

- graphic depiction of amputation of ligaments

- rape (implied in a fade to black sequence and discussed by characters)

- sexual assault

- gore

- graphic spousal/domestic abuse (Lestat and Louis beat the shit out of each other)

- emotional manipulation and abuse of a child (Lestat calls Claudia a mistake and berates her, also throws her into a wall)

okay i take back what i said. amc’s iwtv isn’t fun anymore that was one of the most tragic gut wrenching things i have literally seen in years. oh my god. what the fuck

the fight scene was shocking and scary but I did giggle when they just shot up into the sky

hate to be that bitch but dont forget lestat and louis and claudia arent real people and that the exact circumstances of their situation has no exact duplicate in this world. they arent youtubers or celebrities that we have to take sides with or cancel. the sooner we accept that the more quickly we can start dissecting dark fiction in a useful and healthy way.

precisely one of the reasons that dark, “problematic” characters exist in fiction is because we need to process their terrible behaviors in a detached manner. by treating lestat, louis, and claudia as if they were real people, we prevent the filter of fiction from shielding us as we examine evil. instead, we merge this with our real experiences and as a result re-experience our personal traumas.

we must learn to use fiction to contemplate humanity’s worst without turning away or dwelling almost voyeuristically on real human tragedy. we do this by drawing a line between what’s real and what isn’t, and reminding ourselves which is which. yes, fiction reflects reality, but fiction is fiction, and reality is reality. fiction aids us in understanding reality, and reality helps us in understanding fiction; but fiction is NOT reality, and reality is NOT fiction. dont forget that.

Del’s entire response to episode 5 is he’s just running back the raccoon part over and over

“He’s so FAT”

“Look at his chubby FACE”

“Look at his little HANDS”

Also might I add that by making Lestat a jealous possessive person with an enormous fear of abandonment and making his abusive realtionship with the other characters the focus of the plot the centeral theme has shifted from an existential quest for meaning into a theme about navigating toxic relationships. It's essentially a completely different story with a completely different thematic center. And even though I have been through some narcissistic abuse in my family myself, I don't find this an inherently more interesting focus for the plot, especially when it's executed with so little nuance and so much glorified violence.

Let him go. He didn’t do nothin’. Let him go. It’s me you want. Listen to me, and listen very carefully, my infant death.

Let me rewrite episode 5, because they made no sense and only made us mad, reinforce them weird racist dynamic and yeah just unnecessary hurt.

I enjoyed the dialogue, I enjoyed the pacing, but I’d have cut off the politician scene and have them simply see the investigations happening / read it in the paper

I’d not have Antoinette be involved at all, rather have her be a ‘temptation’ but be shut down (or perhaps be there after Claudia left)

I’d have had Claudia leave, seek out vampires and find a clan, watch them from afar and see their ‘evil’ and realized she was better off and safer with Lou and Les. Ex. Witness them torture their prey, eachother or something. The SA was unnecessary and a weird move on their part.

I wouldn’t have 7 years go by, but rather maybe a year. Where Louis does search for her, without luck and is deeply trying to find her. Their house wouldn’t be a mess, but deprived of the light and joy that once made it a home. Louis barely eating fixated and obsessed, resenting Lestat and Lestat trying to keep it together (thinking it’s for the both of them)

Then I would have had her come back, ask for forgiveness as she did, but admit she was only there for Louis and say her piece. There would have been verbal altercation, heated. I would have wanted for Lestat to go to attack her but be stopped by Louis. Les is stronger but his full strength isn’t show till they’ve tussling, pushing and on brinks of a proper fight. Lestat would actually hurt Louis, the first and only time he’s ever done so. Instantly, I’d have the room fall silent, including Claudia who would have been begging Lestat to let Louis go. Shock on all of them, because as vile as Lestat had been, and what he was going to do (or not) to Claudia, he was never going to actually hurt anyone. But Louis is there, blood drawn, maybe even a bruise. Lestat would try to immediately apologize, beg for forgiveness and explains that he’d been pushed too far. Louis would simply hold his hand up, refuse to hear it. They’d speak quietly, Lestat would have his speach, tell Louis he never wanted this but did it for him, ask him why he would not love him HIM ALONE! Louis would get up, head upstairs and Lestat following, trying to have Louis face him but even his touch is unwanted after what he’d done. ‘Don’t fucking touch me’ he’d snap, continuing inside, Claudia closely behind, she may even be repeating ‘I told you Daddy Lou, he’s a monsters-‘ Lestat would try to ignore her, he couldn’t have what happened before happen again. The sun would start to rise and Lestat would plead but with no success. Louis and Claudia would be packed and ready to go, where, doenst matted, anywhere but here. And in the end, Lestat would stand by the door, knowing they would leave because he’d not fight Louis — not again. This was what he (Louis) once wanted and now, Lestat knows he’s ruined it. He tells him he’d never stop loving him, apologize again but as Louis tells him what he wants, ‘let me go’ — that he wants Lestat to move and to never try to seek them out, Lestat would say the infamous ‘anything for you’ and let them go.

The next episode would be an attempt of reconciliation, one where Lestat still attempts to keep away but he’s trying to make Louis and Claudia’s lives easier with what he can (money, power, influence over the town to assure the witch hunt on Louis ends so he can have his business back and do what he wanted to) Claudia would be happy, but know that as much as Louis loves her, Lestat was his soulmate and he’s never truly the same. Months would go by, maybe even a year. Claudia never forgave Lestat for turning her, even if it was for Louis. She’d plot his death, knowing if he still was alive he’d never leave them alone — always watching over them. Louis would read her diary, something he never did again after that last time. By then, he would have secretly been seeing Lestat, short instances where they would sit in silence and Lestat would attempt to mend them. Louis would want him back but never sure if he could ever trust him, forgive or forget. But by the time he felt that maybe he could, Claudia would have done it. Louis wouldn’t be mad, he would simply be filled with sorrow. The love for Claudia would never disappear but he wish things had been different, that her turning and not been how it was but instead a gift like his was (and at this point, he would have accepted what he was, slower with every encounter with Lestat) Lestat would die in his arms, even if he could have saved him, he knew if he attempted he’d loose Claudia again. “Choose me” Lestat would plead but Louis would never have made it. Lestat would have died in his arms and Louis would forever wish he had died with him.

Thé interview would have been in memory of Lestat, it would have never been something to make him be hated or have Daniel think Lestat was a monster but simply Louis love tragic love story — one he never forgot.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is how I sleep at night — creating my own versions and being satisfied to delusion-myself into believe that’s what’s happened / will happen. Wish y’all could read Vivs’ versions, it’s brilliant too! Maybe one day!

I have been made aware of a racoon in IWTV and I would like gifs please and thank you

My new strategy for watching Interview with the Vampire is: if I like the show version of an event, then that's what happened; if I like the book version, then that's what happened. Simple.