small satan [x]
@i-want-my-iwtv (thank u for linking me to the thing ~u~)
I LOVE THIS HE DOESN’T EXPECT IT AT ALL omg i can’t stop giggling
(*´◉◞౪◟◉`) ….
Your blog is so damn perfect. You’re so polite, thoughtful, and insightful. When I had first gotten into VC I had thought it a dead fandom because it was terribly rare that I find anyone who was a fan. I somehow found your blog and then the rest of our family on tumblr, and I want you to know how grateful I am that you have helped bring me and I am sure more into the company of others who are just as appreciative of this series and its wonderful, addictive characters.
Omg *flails* what a wonderful message to receive! “Damn perfect”?! Well can’t confirm or deny that but I FRICKIN’ TRY.
I’m deeply moved. Couldn’t just toss in the usual reaction gif, too cheap, had to give you smtg a little more special. More of a story. You’ve heard it before but maybe this angle, this variation on it, will feel as fresh to you as it does to me. I’m rambling a bit and having trouble editing it back so you get a long post sorries LOOK WHAT U DO TO ME all these feels!
[X]
“I lifted the long wax wick, dipped it into an old flame, and carried the fire to a fresh candle, watched the little tongue grow orange and bright.
What a miracle, I thought. One tiny flame could make so many other flames; one tiny flame could set afire a whole world. Why, I had, with this simple gesture, actually increased the sum total of light in the universe, had I not?…
Because it was
something I could accomplish, like the little candle flame in the church making another flame and still
retaining its own light – my way of creating, my only way, don’t you see? One moment there were two of us,
and then we were three.” – Lestat, Tale of the Body Thief
Why am I quoting this? Like the vampires, we are a “found family” rather than a natural one, bc we draw ppl into this and turn them into one of us, if the addiction can hold! I see that it’s taken hold of you as it has me ;D
It’s not a fandom for everyone, but for those of us who are in it, well, it feels like we almost had no choice, we are hopelessly addicted ;u; When I get messages like yours I can’t help but feel a little like Lestat, like I’ve helped to add a little more light to the world, bringing in fresh blood (pun very much intended!) who might have a new and intriguing perspective on things to share, maintaining the older blood that’s aged like a fine wine, admiring the talent of our fanartists, fanfic writers, meta-analyzers, etc. and encouraging them to keep making more to feed our insatiable need of it! We make great friends within our ranks. Ppl have even met their life partners through fandom.
I also love that ppl shoot me VC news from FB, Twitter, etc., so that I can transmit it out to you so fast that by the time other publications pick it up, we’ve known about it for days already, and have helped each other deal with its impact if necessary, as proper family members should ;]
My closest friends that I’ve made here have been made bc they are as appreciative of this series and its wonderful, addictive characters as I am. Messages like yours keep this blog running and I can’t thank you enough for that *cries*
Hit the jump for moar…
The image above is not a screencap but a manip of a few frames, which I made in Oct. 2013, just a few months after the birth of this blog. I didn’t think anyone would care much for this blog, I expected it would only ever be a place I could indulge my VC addiction privately in public, like someone playing solitaire out in a park. A place to post a few of my graphics, a little of my sense of humor, and gather what little fanworks I could find for my own pleasure. Ppl saw it, ppl responded, ppl wanted to play Cards Against Humanity with me (to expand on the original metaphor, lol), and the whole thing has grown into a conduit through which I’ve gotten back SO MUCH MORE than was originally expected! It brought the fandom I had been looking for, and for the most part given up on finding, right to me!
Because you’re right, our fandom was dead, but only on the surface, driven into hiding by a creator who didn’t understand what fandom was and that it was a normal way to engage with canon. That sharing fanworks builds a community. There were plenty of us out there but few of us could find each other. We protected what little we had and shared it like contraband. She was within her rights and I don’t blame her for her actions, but as a result, I think we’re a much more appreciative group for what we have now than other fandoms who’ve had it easy from the beginning. I hope we are, anyway.
A lot of my sensitivity and care comes from a place of gratitude, and although I am a secular individual, I do try to preach the gospel of gratitude and civility back out to this family we’ve created.
I had ONE Real Life VC friend when I fell into this fandom, and she had to endure the fire-hydrant blast of my VC addiction, at close range, for about 20 years! She’s still my best friend, but let me tell you, she is grateful beyond words that you have all stepped in to take more of the brunt of my addiction now. She’s the one who nudged me to start a tumblr blog in the first place, which I resisted, mind you, so you should all be thanking her, too ;D
Femslash
FebruaryMarch Film ReviewsDay 24: The Hunger
I’ve reviewed a lot of queer female vampire seduces innocent female mortal movies in this series. What makes The Hunger better than all the rest? David fucking Bowie.
If you only care about the queer lady aspects of these reviews, please skip this paragraph because I need to talk about the immortal space traveling lizard person that is David Bowie. David Bowie is great in this. He plays Catherine Deneuve’s mortal lover who is kept young through her blood but his time runs out and he starts rapidly aging in the first act. I’m really impressed with his performance here. Bowie really made me feel this sort of panic of not only his sudden lack of desirability to the woman who he loves who also sustains him but increasingly his sense of impending doom. I give him major props because playing a man confronting aging is a reach for David Bowie who doesn’t age as us mere mortal earthlings do. Bowie gave a really affecting, chilling and emotional performance that’s the best I’ve seen from him. I’m also impressed how he managed to tone down his whole Bowie-ness and not steal the show from Deneuve too much or clash with the tone of the movie.
So after Bowie starts to age, he visits Dr. Susan Sarandon who’s a dermatologist who he hopes can help him. She cannot and Bowie eventually ages so much that he becomes little more than a skeleton though still conscious. One of the creepiest scenes in the movie comes when Catherine Deneuve places him in a coffin in a room full of all her other lovers who have had the same fate. That’s a great addition to the vampire myth and really scary. The idea of being conscious but unable to move or speak is terrifying and it’s made worse by the fact that you’re also stuck in a coffin. For the lovers of Catherine Deneuve’s character Miriam, the last memory they have of her is betrayal.
Once David Bowie’s become not a valid prospect, Miriam sets her sights on Susan Sarandon and uses her vampire seduction powers to enthral her. This plot line is pretty similar to every other queer vampire movie I’ve reviewed. The difference is the ending. Unless most of the innocent mortals, Susan Sarandon does not turn to the dark side of immortality, blood drinking and scissoring but instead fights back against Miriam and what she represents. Ultimately though, the victory belongs to David Bowie skeleton who leads Miriam’s other past lovers in a skele-uprising and ultimately kills Miriam.
This movie is fucking great. It’s got vampires, lesbians and David Bowie. It’s atmospheric and creepy and overall fucking brilliant. The last scene is a bit disappointing because there’s a lame bit of sequel bait but I can live with that because the film overall is so damn quality. Go watch it.
*Care to cheer up an upset mortal that just had a terrible day, Monsieur de Lioncourt?*
♛*stretches out on the divan* I happen to be a professional cheerleader, and I might be of service in this regard… fully equipped w/ pom-poms and several official uniforms, which were given to me, not purchased *smirks*
I assume you didn’t deserve a terrible day? I’ve deserved many a terrible night, but many were undeserved, too. You’ll have to tell me what befell you in order for ~Yours Truly~ to prescribe the proper method of cheering up, as there is a nearly limitless spectrum of options *grins widely* Some involve a uniform, and some, well… do not.
Interview with the Vampire (1994) dir. Neil Jordan
one of the greatest performances ever
I’m in love with this film for Tom Cruise ‘s performance and the fabulous long hairstyle of Brad Pitt.
Definitely one of my fave scenes. There’s so much going on here. Lestat bursts in and immediately looks around to see if he can salvage anything out of this, but knows he can only save Louis, and still has time to have this thorny little exchange bc he’ll be damned if he isn’t going to take this as an opportunity to lay in a little verbal smackdown. “Have us sleeping in the field like cattle!” He has this subtle pain in his eyes, as if Louis was actually trying to usurp his role as the captain of this ship, not that he was in fact trying to commit suicide. It doesn’t even cross Lestat’s mind to remark on the fact that that’s what this was, a suicide attempt. Or maybe it does, and in not giving Louis the choice to go down with his fiery mansion, Lestat has made a renewed internal vow to guide Louis into becoming the vampire he knows he can be.
Lestat could have easily just let Louis burn up with the house. Except that he loves him. Even though this was an act of ENORMOUS REBELLION it only makes Lestat love Louis more, bc only a BAMF like Louis could do something like this, try to destroy everything an apparently materialistic creature like Lestat has ever wanted, and not care about the consequences. But that’s not who Lestat really is, that’s all just retail therapy, hoarding shiny things to fill a void, and they both know it. Having stripped away Lestat’s treasured hoard, Louis’ face is 99% sexual ecstasy, he’s so satisfied with himself here.
Louis didn’t do this to rile Lestat, he did it to win, and finally do away with himself. But seeing his maker there, clearly to rescue Louis, the most precious thing to Lestat in the whole place, had to touch something in Louis. Because he lets Lestat save him without putting up a fight, and he doesn’t run away as soon as he’s capable. He stays with Lestat. As much as he doesn’t like his methods or philosophy, he’s captivated by Lestat. He trusts Lestat.
They’re both helplessly bound together in how much they want and need each other ;A;
Part of what makes them so shippable is how much Lestat wants to own Louis, and how not-for-sale Louis is, but how much he is drawn to Lestat against his own better judgment, like a moth to flame.
No need to tell him what to observe, or what to remember. He always knew such things. Years ago, when I’d done the dark magic on him, I hadn’t had to tell him anything; he had savored the smallest aspects of it all on his own. And later he’d said I’d failed to guide him. Didn’t he know how unnecessary that had always been?
Lestat re: Louis, Queen of the Damned
Can vampires in the VC series be awake/get up during the day? I was watching IWTV and there’s the scene where Claudia gets up (in the day) to get into Louis’s coffin. I can’t remember anything about it being mentioned in the books (other than some ancients) but I know that in fanfiction, once dawn comes they pretty much are compelled to go to sleep.
Ricean vampires, unfortunately, are condemned to enjoy the Deathsleep which renders them unconscious for the daylight hours. The plus side being: no snoring can wake them! Not that they can snore, since they don’t breathe. But still.
Louis, IWTV: “Numbness came over my limbs, and then the paralysis of oblivion.“
Louis, IWTV: “You see, I wasn’t sure then why I awoke each evening when I did, whether it was automatic when the deathlike sleep left me, and why it happened sometimes earlier than at other times.”
In movie!IWTV, yes, Claudia is awake right at dawn and seems fully conscious, as she tiptoes carefully around the sunlight.
^It was too perfect a moment not to include in a movie about lonely ppl, that singular act of a daughter climbing into bed w/ her mommy!Louis (bc we all know he’s the mom) rather than sleep alone! ❤ And purely platonic at that point in the movie.
There is a fic out there that suggests that Ricean vampires do awaken during the day when they are under extreme emotional duress, and it’s a very disorienting state to be in, they can’t function very rationally, as nocturnal animals also act erratically in daylight.
Hit the jump for a bit moar, and spoilers.
(Similarly, Louis seems to be painfully awake as Claudia and Madeleine burn in the sunlight ;A;)
When movie!Louis takes revenge on the Theatre des Vampires, it’s right before dawn, and he is perfectly able to function right up until he leaves the safety of the theatre, and it’s the sunlight more than the fact that it’s daytime that saps him of any functionality. But that was part of the plan, revenge, then suicide.
Ricean vampires can, however, fight in that unconscious state: Lestat says Gabrielle defended herself in her sleep: “And those mortals who did find us during the daylight hours, unless they exposed us to the sun at once, were doomed. For example, outside Palermo she had slept in a cellar far below an abandoned house, and when she had awakened, her eyes and face were burning as if they had been scalded, and she had in her right hand a mortal, quite dead, who had apparently attempted to disturb her rest.”
Amount of sleep needed seems to be related to the age and/or power of the vampire, and Louis, being weaker, needs more beauty sleep than the older and stronger ones.
Even in a place like Alaska in which nighttime extends during the winter months, Ricean vampires are still susceptible and want to fall into a reasonable Deathsleep rhythm.
In QOTD, Akasha purposely chases the night around the world, preventing Lestat from falling into the Deathsleep. Whether it was bc she had too much to do in too little time, or she was purposely using sleep deprivation as another means of controlling him (or both), we don’t know, but Lestat reflects on it:
“We’d been following the night around the world, perhaps, or rather moving at random in it, as Akasha maybe didn’t need at all to sleep.
I needed it, that was obvious. But I was too curious not to want to be awake. And frankly too miserable.”
Akasha tells him, a little bit later, that he requires sleep for his upgrades: “But you must sleep now. You are young still and fragile. My blood’s working on you, changing you, perfecting you.”
Vampires in other media, like Only Lovers Left Alive for example, CAN stay awake during the daylight hours if they feel like it, and they do sleep in beds. Are they trying to imitate mortals? Maybe!
