#rarely commented on but still blatant for how encompassing queer love can be

[clowndensation]

louis, lestat, and their single bed as a motif louis puts into his own story, but refuses to explore, is literally one of the sexiest parts of the show. it speaks volumes about a level of fulfillment and freedom that louis feels by being with lestat that he rarely explicitly comments on when he's relaying his story to daniel, which feels extremely relevant to his overall reluctance to examine the parts of his relationship with lestat that he really enjoyed.

because louis is a character who's hyper aware of how he presents himself. he's lived his entire life projecting a certain masculine, heteronormative image, and he's aware of how deviating from that presentation has implications that impact how people view him - from enjoying the opera, to the presentation of his nails. the fact that he moves in with lestat and neither of them ever put a second bed into any room in the house as a level of plausible deniability is so huge and oversight by so cautious a character, it can only be read as deliberate - especially when the conspicuous lack of a second bed is pointed out to them by both antoinette and a literal police officer. in an existence where you don't sleep in a bed, the bed becomes a symbolic object more so than a practical one. it's louis choosing to deliberately transgress against the societal expectations he lives out when he leaves his house, a bit of presentation that actually amplifies his truth as a gay man living with his partner, rather than masking or hiding himself, like he does for the outside world.

#literally imagine the satisfaction and euphoria in having one place where you can purposely present yourself as gay #where you can look at your own personal space and go 'it looks like a gay man lives here' and feel safe and accepted in that #i feel similarly about the way lestat touches louis tbh #especially as viewed through claudia's diaries #there's an openness to the way louis and lestat behave around each other that their status (of being rich and being vampires) #grants them that louis hasn't really gotten the chance to explore before #and they still can't be blatant about their queerness obviously #but they get away with significantly more than louis has ever allowed himself in his human life #there is an incredible amount of relief and joy in having a partner who isn't ashamed to touch you #and you can see louis feel that #it's one of my favorite pieces of the narrative threaded through the entire story #rarely commented on but still blatant for how encompassing queer love can be #iwtv