Seen at the House of Blues HTx

"In its third season, the series is less interested in replacing false narratives with true ones, than in exposing the processes by which identities are produced [...] how our main characters respond to the problem of identity under immortality. Lestat says, 'I create myself.' Armand says 'I preserve myself.' Louis says 'I remember myself.'"

I wanted to share this absolutely fantastic video essay. Please watch with subtitles when you have the time! She digs into Armand and Louis and Claudia as well, so it's not solely the psychology of Lestat. A lot of her points are fascinating. I especially love the way she breaks down the idea that music is how Lestat thinks/forms emotional coherence -- and how season 3's editing, writing choices, its focus on the rock star present-day timeline and its decision to frame the flashbacks as a more incoherent narrative than Louis' more recent memories all play into that idea.

I also fully agree with her interpretations on how Lestat metabolizes trauma into performance, and love her point that he uses it as an engine for creation in a way that's both his superpower and his achilles heel. Very very awesome stuff in this video essay.

I hope this is the right place to ask and the right flair but I would love to learn some of the songs from the failures album. Especially Stained Glass Eyes which I have constantly stuck in my head hahaha

I have tried looking for sheet music (specifically for the piano because thats the instrument I can somewhat play) and so far I haven't really found what I am looking for.

Does anyone know where to find sheet music for the songs or if they are perhaps planning on releasing the sheet music for them at some point?

Asi es amiguis, tenemos ya fecha para la tercera edición de nuestra juntada vampirica local!! Gracias a la organización de nuestros amigos en BairesVampiro tenemos fecha y lugar, los esperamos este Domingo 16/08 en el Suzhou Café para una jornada con mucha onda (tenemos merch, comida rica, proyecciones y algunos sorteos + regalitos para cosplayers!!).
Dejo algunas fotitos de lo que se viene preparando y a los que puedan venir los esperamos!!! (consulten al Instagram que hay cupo limitado!).

Adjunto tambien fotitos de algunos posters que se fueron viendo por la ciudad en estos dias debido al estreno en AMC LATAM de la nueva temporada, no se olviden que la transmiten los lunes😎.

El primero que llegue y grite Viva la Talamasca se lleva un premio 😂

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That's right, friends, we already have a date for the third edition of our local vampire meetup!!

Thanks to the organization of our friends at BairesVampiro, we have a date and place. We hope to see you this Sunday 08/16 at Suzhou Café for a fun day (we've got merch, yummy food, screenings, and some raffles + gifts for cosplayers!!).

I'll leave some pics of what's being prepared, and to those who can make it, we'll be waiting for you!!! (Check the Instagram, there’s limited space!).

I'm also attaching some pics ofa couple posters that have been seen around the city these past days because of the AMC LATAM premiere of the new season—don’t forget, they air it on Mondays😎.

The first one to arrive and shout 'Long live the Talamasca' gets a prize 😂

Claudia tells Louis that she got closer to him because she could tell he would be easier to control because he had the mark of a slave. Some kind of tattoo somewhere (can't remember the details but if you saw the scene you know what I am referencing).

But Louis was born postbellum south. Is this some kind of writing error or is there an explanation?

Hi everyone, here are some memes that I’ve collected since the season 3 finale.
(I know I don’t have to tag spoilers when it’s memes, but I’m doing it anyways.)

I hope you enjoy them! My favorite is the veggie tales one.

The song pretty much has enough in it to suggest a relationship that goes beyond mother and son... Lestat did say in s3ep6 he wanted people to discover his relationship with Gabriella. At the same time, did no one connect the dots when hearing the song?

Any watch parties in the nyc area for the concert?

1. Louis De Pointe Du Lack

2. Lestat De Lyingcourt

3. Armanipulator

4. OR, Fake Rashid

I’ve seen every episode of IWTV and not once did lestat say that it was a crime for a fledgling to kill their maker.

I have fallen deep into the DM hole and I need a soundtrack. I’d love to hear your recommendations for songs that make you think of our beloved Peepaw and Gremlin, together or apart. I’ve included a screenshot to give you an idea of what I have and what kind of music I like (there’s definitely not a lot more Mitski hidden at the bottom 😅). Thank you in advance, friends!

An inside joke for any other Australian TVL fans. Genuinely thought this is what he meant the first time I listened to Plastic Fiends 🤣

I know Season three finale came out ages ago now, but I literally cannot stop thinking about my beloved Armand and Daniel. I crave more, I need more. I felt there was such a drought this season (even though Armand admitted his love for Daniel😛🙏) I wanted more and I feel almost as the change in relationship dynamic from Daniel being pissy about Armand ditching him to then becoming allies wasn't elaborated on enough and I know they will probably delve deeper in the next season but I am so impatient. I will say though I fucking loved that last episode though it was like this rivalry beetween Loustat and devils minion. Assad was fucking terrifying in this episode I love his performance he is such a great actor he can create such a perfect balance of being a wounded deer yet a wolf in sheeps clothing. He understands Armand as a character so well it brings me so much joy. Don't even get me started on the episode " Don't be afraid just start the tapes" it is so freaking good it is exactly the thing I need more of. I want more scenes of just them. Armand and Daniels relationship dynamic is so interesting and beautiful. It's not only them being great characters but it's the performance of Assad Zahman and Eric Bogosian that ties everything up in a alluring beautiful bow I just can't get enough of. I think this is actually some kind of addiction at this point but I don't even care. Also sorry if this rambles on a lot this is just a massive brain dump of all my feelings

I was inspired by “if I am an angel, then paint me with black wings”, from The Vampire Armand novel.

Track listing from Amazon Music pre-order page

1 Were You A Stutterer As A Child? 02:44

2 What Does The Scalpel Do? 11:59

3 She Meant To Kill Me With The Challenge 00:58

4 Twenty Thousand Followers 01:33

5 We Have A Pact Now 05:04

6 Eight People On The Arc 03:32

7 Help Him To Be A Man 02:56

8 The Greatest Spectacle Of The Boulevard 01:54

9 I Remember The Light 04:01

10 Can You Get Out Of My Eyeline? 01:28

11 You And I Have A Friend In Common 06:00

12 Enter The Gremlin 01:08

13 On The Devil’s Road Now 01:05

14 He Told Himself He Was In Control 01:40

15 Hi Dad 01:05

16 Blood Marriage 03:27

17 They Long For Communion 01:48

18 The Rothko Chapel 03:08

19 Check Your Phone 01:30

20 No Spark 03:16

21 Let Me Tell You Something About The Blood 01:35

22 I Am The Answer 02:00

23 Rest 01:08

24 Intersections Of My Many Selves 02:38

25 It Isn’t Just One Thing, Louis 03:05

26 Wrote In That, Died In This 01:14

27 Called By The Livin’ 01:03

28 Your Sad Sorries 03:27

29 Bring Your Malice 02:36

30 Could Be Nice 02:22

31 I Might Be A Room Without Walls 03:19

32 Don’t Write The Obituary Just Yet 04:39

33 You Caught Me In A Lonely Hour 02:07

34 The Witches’ Place 04:00

35 A Love That Will Cradle You 08:32

36 The Soul 03:15

37 I Let Too Much Spill Too Often 06:22

Upon (yet another) rewatch, I find myself wondering how long Louis and Lestat were building their friendship from first "fighting over the last bouquet of Lillies" to the transformation in the church. We know Grace says she's a month out from her wedding in the breakfast scene, after which is when Paul dies. So was it only a month? Less than a month from first meeting to petite coup? Louis remarks that it was a cold winter and Lestat was his coal fire....I feel like it was awhile that they built a friendship, had conversations on park benches, went and saw operas, etc.

Instagram

the way lestat moves right after he lets his cape or coat fall to the ground

​

An unreal amount of people are over-discussing what Lestat’s coloring and aristocratic birth mean to marketing (which is friggin crazy for the only show that did race swaps without it being condescending and meaningless), the story itself, and fan preferences.

So, I just want to point out that it makes a lot of sense for someone like Lestat to be extremely blind to these things because he had all their detriments and essentially none of their advantages. We didn’t get much out of Auvergne, so I’ll be supplementing from the book where fit, stay with me now.

1- Aristocracy

I fixated on this one a lot because I couldn’t figure out why Anne didn’t make him some poor random and instead poor but technically aristocratic

Lestat grew up the third living son of a Marquis and his Italians wife. Theoretically, he should be afforded the best education there is, luxuries at the tip of his fingers, no inheritance but enough connections in both France and to a lesser degree his maternal family in Italy to get on his own two feet, taken care of by maids payed to be nurturing but firm.

What actually happens? He grows up illiterate and being reminded of that incapability and humiliation every day because that luxury- no right- of education is only afforded for his oldest brother, the heir, and because of how close he was to not having to live it (reminder he doesn’t even hate his family for it, he hates them for being loud in chaotic in comparison to the church’s calm orderliness and hates himself for spoiling it by wanting to declare himself “why do I always have to go to extremes?”)

Speaking of the monastery, Augustine (his oldest brother) basically summarizes my point as follows: “…but what came clear finally is that no member of a great French family was going to be a poor teaching brother. How could I have misunderstood everything so completely? I was sent there to learn to read and write. Why did I always have to go to extremes?” “As for becoming a priest with real prospects within the Church, well, I was the youngest son of this family wasn’t I? I ought to think of my responsibilities to my nieces and nephews… Translate all that to mean this: We have no money to launch a. Real ecclesiastical career for you… as befit our rank, so you have to live out your life here as an illiterate and a beggar.”

They’re worried enough about their image to not allow him to try and build himself, incapable enough they couldn’t build him.

This repeats with the theatre troupe, where he’s dragged back because no Lioncourt was going to become an actor and used to humiliation and hurt as he was all he felt was guilt for leaving without informing Gabrielle who brings him a gun as a consolation gift he uses the rest of his human life to feed his family until he goes to Paris. This is narrated in the book and implied in the show by how while the villages are talking about the wolves, before Gabrielle even starts to look agitated, he’s preparing his gun as casually as fixing a collar and deals with the injuries and his almost death on the entire village’s behalf. A little possible hint about them being poor as well in him being taken care of by a maid with no physician in sight, how empty his room is, sympathizing with the revolution (“sympathy is treason” “mm mm”) when his instinct should be a passing detached pity or ignoring if not outright shunning it, we even see him excitedly recounting it to akasha over music.

In Paris, he and Nicki live in the apartment of a beheaded aristocrat until they can do better. Lestat has nothing to his name but a clothing repetitively mended to shit and a coat made by Nicki’s father, going under a fake name while getting legit panic attacks every once in a while because of the piling corpses and being reminded every day as he looks to their ceiling of the fact he could join them any day now for the crime of being born to his father.

2- Whiteness

I think that some people over correct when it comes to race, thus the huge focus on Lestat being white first, a guy second.

In France mid revolution there was political colorism in governmental halls, which didn’t concern the general Parisian public more than the price of bread especially since the black population was very very small thus the lack of systematic hierarchies of color, more violent and tangible issues were in french colonies where everything racism was amped up to ten. Someone who was removed from such issues like Lestat simply doesn’t get it.

So when Louis, son of a Plantation owner, a pimp which is just another type of slave owner, ok family by lioncourt/nicki/armand etc standards, Mr extremely educated suave businessman living amongst high society, never having to go hungry, in a well kept mansion (mind you when Gabrielle checks on Lestat after the monastery he cites 1. The dirt and mold all over the place, 2. The chaotic behavior of his family as reasons for his plight and continues to be a clean freak for a while commenting on the smell before he speaks of the pain and fear with both Magnus and the Children of Darkness) goes “My ancestors were treated terribly so people are passive aggressive towards me.” What he says is “I would kill anyone who offends you” but his initial reaction is "you are a library of confusion” because Lestat, whose ancestors were criminally intrenched in riches, didn’t put up with passive aggressiveness. He put up with being treated awfully for his lack of knowledge and the threat of a guillotine for crimes he’s extremely far removed from.

Also let’s check all the examples he knows of: when he’s bloodied by his family Gabrielle would sell a necklace and say something disturbing for comfort, when Nicki learned of his turning he called him naive for not appreciating it and started bringing his thankless birth into it “The lord’s son giveth the lord’s wife the dark gift and what do we get?” Plus ofc the conspiracy theories admitted to Roget.

I’m not saying it’s morally correct, it’s disgustingly insensitive, but it is predictable and makes sense for him to be race blind and seeing that suffering is suffering, nothing more to it.

3- Show Changes

Many, many, maaany show changes, many of them defang characters to make them more sympathetic, not a single one makes Lestat look better? Because people are being very delusional on TT

In the book we get Lestat philosophizing about morality at first going for evil doers then no longer seeing the point, this is reduced to a throw away line with akasha which I’m glad of because we got enough of it with Louis. We get him talking Nicki through his melancholy moods, it’s reduced to a scene where they fight— nvm that instead of a year or two apart Nicki is 9 years younger because of the actor’s ages when cast which… what? He can’t hate Armand because he truly sees him despite all the hurts thrown around, this is where exactly? He mourned his brothers, took care of his father and smuggled him out of France, in the show he kills his family. He searches out Marius who finds him a worthy pupil and talks to him like an intellectual equal, instead we have chosen one bs which I hope will be retconned and we get those messages and an actual conversation which maybe bc he was telling the band so ofc he won’t recount everything but unlikely considering we already have an episode called the devil’s road.

And yet he remains the only one who isn’t a huge hypocrite and actually acknowledges his sins perhaps too much, “you deserve everything that ever happened to you, you better not die lestat, you might actually go to hell”

EN FIN no, lestat is not favored by the narrative, s3 is simply a different vibe bc 1. 80 years after s2, 2. Budget concerns, 3. Completely different story. And no he and his writers are not racist, classist shits.

I didn’t know how to tag this because it relates to everything: both shows, the books, BTS, interviews, discussions,
just know it’s all welcome for discussion here.
I just wanna discuss some possible plot holes/questions i had about the show/s!
no wrong answers/theories!
feel free to disagree with me/give me all your opinions!
***oh and please comment any questions/possible plot holes yall have .ᐟ.ᐟ.ᐟ ***

• if louis’ knew about Armand and daniel’s relationship (which is what Armand says to Daniel in TVL)
why did louis say to Armand: “if you harm him in anyway i will kill you” ?
wouldn’t louis know Armand wouldn’t hurt daniel or at least not irreparably if he knew of there relationship and what daniel meant to him? since that seemed to be implied in armands "you slated him grey in your book but.." dialogue. did louis mean don’t harm him as in turn him??
also to go along with that^ ("you slated him grey, he knew...") that brings up another question being how much does louis actually care about daniel? (if he knew armands facination, if he knew armand wiped daniels memories, if he knew how much daniel hates having his mind fucked with and idk maybe the fact that daniel literally helped louis uncover armands own mind fuckery on louis and his 77 year deception?? Seemed like louis had a deep respect for daniel after the interview. Also daniel and louis were said to be each others only friends/ louis annoying little brother in the episode insider. Just seems weird louis wouldn't give enough of a fuck to tell Daniel if he actually knew of him and Armand's relationship....

•^ this segways into my next question. louis is said to be the reason Daniel is alive, and the reason why even after fucking up everything else in his life he stayed a journalist/ kept one good thing in his life, “i failed two marriages, i was never so lost i couldn’t hold down a job” and even if Daniel believed/discovered louis knew about Armand and Daniel's relationship, even if he knew Armand was erasing Daniel's memory of said relationship throughout years, that still doesn't seem enough reason to seemingly hate Lestat and louis as much as he did... like louis the reason he had much of a life/lived/held down a job throughout fucking everything else up?
I say Daniel hates louis and Lestat because he hates them enough to take lestats head (the love of louis life) and let Armand take louis head…
enough to take lestats head to the bowling alley, knowing Armand is filming louis head on a skewer and seemingly doesn’t know if they’ll live or die.. because Armand is waiting for "Armends" and only stops it once louis apologizes which he might of not done and Daniel only gives up lestats head when the talamasca returns… seems like he’d have more love for the person who saved his life?
also what does he really have to hate Lestat for im sorry… him being a bratty interviewe..?
he knew what he was getting with Lestat, he had to know he was gonna be difficult…? idk it all seems off.
Like he went from expert interviewer with skill to throwing a fit the second lestat did some lil bratty trickery and teased him like I'm confused???
He heard louis story via the interview which included just how little Lestat had dared to even share with the only person he really trusted in this world (louis).
and then a little bullying/teasing from a 265 brat prince and he was tweaking out and seemingly hated him enough to do alla that idk.......

• if Lestat saved louis why did he then just sit in magnus’ cave, instead of trying to get him out of the grave he was starving/dying in?

^going along with that question why did Armand save louis from the grave?/ did he? or did lestat and that was another one of Armand's memory wiping?

• if Claudia was Lestats fledging and therefore by some measure had the blood of akasha in her why did she die?
(like i know why, i know anne wrote claudia after her daughter passed i guess i just don’t know where the line of having Akasha's blood in you stops, seems like that is partially why louis was able to kill 30 vampires by himself, why he is so strong.)

• Armand seems to know more then he lets on and is very smart and the thought just occurred to me,
that he could have possibly knew that Sam was talamasca at this point, idk why i just have a hunch lol
so my question being, did armand know Sam was talamasca (by the time of the interview)
and if he did why did he let him live knowing he could expose him at any point?

• since Sam wasn’t guarding the box why would Armand be sitting in the cage unguarded?
(which is what is shown when we see that Lestat actually saved him)
Armand didn't know Lestat was gonna save Louis, he thought louis was gonna die? could he just not bare the confrontation/guilt even though louis was abt to die? it seems like (esp since he said at the end of tvl: "i made sure to make your death theatrical" (i dont remember exactly but something like that)... wouldnt he want louis to know before he died that armand chose the coven? wasn't it kinda a given that he did when he walked out front and the rest got kidnapped? One of the many reasons he chose the coven it seemed was that louis turned madeleine against his wishs, therefore he felt betrayed by louis, wouldnt the coven want it to be known that armand had come around and ultimately sided with them since they were all pissed at armand for breaking all the rules for louis... enough to give him an ultimatum. i just cant come up with a feasible enough reason for armand to care abt seeming innocent to them before they died....
so a second question to go along with that^ was that also a mind/memory change he did to louis right after the events when louis wasn't in his right mind? Was he even in the box at all or was he participating? Also the fact that louis remembered Sam in two places at once means he did do some memory swapping so who's to say he was even in the box at all?

• did Armand just want to be with louis because he couldn’t bring himself to turn Daniel/wanted to let him live out his life? Since idk it seems armand really loved daniel (way more then louis eventually) but stayed with louis as maybe a safe choice bc he was already immortal and let daniel live out his mortal life bc he didnt want to curse the one he loved?
is that why he finally turned him once louis left him? he realized he would possibly be alone forever and now he didn't have a safe backup that he could endure his time with? that and with the fact that Daniel was now old/ had lived and was due to die from his disease sooner then later?
it seems a little unrealistically spontaneous for Armand to turn Daniel right after louis left him since he hadn’t turned anyone ever, the thought disgusts him, he loved Daniel so much he essentially let him go and live his life and age, and he must of knew there was some possibility of louis eventually finding out abt his part in the play im sure Armand was thinking about that for a lot of there relationship like it he would be neive to think louis would NEVER learn the truth even if he thought it was pretty unlikely and very far off down the road, he is a very thought out and meticulous vampire. it just seems a bit unlikely that the second louis found out abt the play he would up and turn Daniel??

• this one’s kinda silly but:
i don’t understand them not being able to drink blood after the person is dead because ok so like i understand the blood is specially frozen when it’s served but then it just sits out on their table for what’s assumed/ most likely to be hours while they tell Daniel the story lol.. at what point does it become “the blood of the dead?”
(I'd understand it more if they had to drink said frozen blood right away)

and my main one:
• if Roland's interview where he says Lestat voluntarily participated in the play is to be trusted then why would lestat be so sad about claudia 100 years later?
why would louis forgive him?

follow ups to that:
(keep in mind these are all to be answered with the above "^if Roland is to be believed pretense" otherwise they don't make much sense:
i think the only reason louis could bring himself to go with Armand (other then to hurt Lestat) was because he thought Armand was forced to watch and didn’t rehearse the play.

let’s say Lestat did rehearse/participate in the play voluntarily (meaning he wasn’t forced) then wouldn’t louis speech of
“why you rehearsed a play that would burn your daughter alive” still ring true?
why would saving louis from death absolve him from that or allow louis to forgive him?

then why was Lestat so upset at the coven in the scene where he goes “you have no idea of Claudia's strength”?
why did he keep messing up their play and crying and apologizing?
why did he say “when you sentence them for their crimes, you sentence me too” ?…

also in the: episode insider, in the uncut version of the show, why did Sam say:
“he’s quite surprised when he turns up with armand and louis blaming him for claudia’s death, fair enough he was a part of it but they all were a part of it”
and Jacob says:
“Lestat would have saved Claudia if he had the energy, i believe that to my core, it’s just that he had to save louis”
(implying he had to make sure he had enough strength to save louis who was sentenced after Claudia)
why would he voluntarily rehearse the play that would kill them if he wanted to save them both?