kettering – the antlers, mean – nicole dollanganger, my body is a cage – arcade fire, high and dry – radiohead, i come with knives – iamx, god knows i tried – lana del rey, in the woods somewhere – hozier, neighbourhood #2 (laika) – arcade fire, black eyes – radical face, something rotten – placebo, have you seen me – nicole dollanganger
Ok but Claudia called Armand Louis’ “companion” and it’s p obvious that Armand wants to fuck Louis and then she asks for Madeline as a “companion” and this is probably a gross thought cause Madeline is like “I want a daughter who can’t die” and Claudia is (in appearance) a child but could she be a lesbian?
I know she pines after an adult body but could it be more than that? Could she want a woman to sleep with?
This is a fascinating idea and I have thought about it myself quite a bit.
Possibly a very unpopular opinionbut: I don’t think they were sexual w/ each other in the mortal sense, but there was more to them than a mother-daughter relationship.
I don’t think Claudia’s pursuit of Madeleine was purely for a platonic mother-daughter relationship. That may have been part of it, and it was how she sold it to Louis because he couldn’t perceive Claudia as more than his daughter or as an adult trapped in a little body who would be capable of being involved in a romantic way with anyone, and she needed him to actually do the work for her since she was unable to perform the Dark Gift herself (and I do think she tried before asking him).
While it may not have been a relationship in a more conventionally romantic sense (I don’t believe they had anything sexual, in the mortal sense, going on), I do think Claudia/Madeleine was a ship of sorts, more of an emotional relationship. Claudia was the one in control, she was comparatively older and stronger in personality.
can I hijack/add to this? I think we can simplify the answer to this question a little if we go by canon, that is: the vampires aren’t actually sexual in the conventional sense, ever. This doesn’t mean that the emotions behind romantic love/sensual love isn’t a factor and I don’t think there’s anything in canon contradicting the idea of the two of them having the kind of sensual relationship the vamps enjoy; sharing blood, kissing etc. However I do think Madeleine was too mad to have any real awareness beyond wanting her daughter back in some form and while Claudia needed an assistant, a ‘companion’, I personally think she was too angry/bitter at this point to have room for Madeleine in her heart at all. If she wasn’t so hurt, I think she could have loved her in the typical taboo-defying way all Anne’s vamps seem to do. There isn’t really any definitive labels you could put on them as it is, beyond ‘vampire’ – as I read it anyway^^.
Just my two cents.
Good addition, good points!
I think Madeleine was fairly mad as a new vampire, and if she had been given more time, she might have regained some sanity under Claudia’s tutelage. Yes, Claudia was a bit angry/bitter herself as Armand had his claws in Louis at the time. Claudia had to rush the acquisition of Madeleine because she sensed that the rug was about to be pulled out from under her.
Over time, Claudia might have gained a sense of peace with Madeleine, in guiding her through things, and then the two of them could have explored the world together. And possibly shared that canon sensuality that Ricean vampires can have, which is free of taboos, as you pointed out.
Ok but Claudia called Armand Louis’ “companion” and it’s p obvious that Armand wants to fuck Louis and then she asks for Madeline as a “companion” and this is probably a gross thought cause Madeline is like “I want a daughter who can’t die” and Claudia is (in appearance) a child but could she be a lesbian?
I know she pines after an adult body but could it be more than that? Could she want a woman to sleep with?
This is a fascinating idea and I have thought about it myself quite a bit.
Possibly a very unpopular opinionbut: I don’t think they were sexual w/ each other in the mortal sense, but there was more to them than a mother-daughter relationship.
I don’t think Claudia’s pursuit of Madeleine was purely for a platonic mother-daughter relationship. That may have been part of it, and it was how she sold it to Louis because he couldn’t perceive Claudia as more than his daughter or as an adult trapped in a little body who would be capable of being involved in a romantic way with anyone, and she needed him to actually do the work for her since she was unable to perform the Dark Gift herself (and I do think she tried before asking him).
While it may not have been a relationship in a more conventionally romantic sense (I don’t believe they had anything sexual, in the mortal sense, going on), I do think Claudia/Madeleine was a ship of sorts, more of an emotional relationship. Claudia was the one in control, she was comparatively older and stronger in personality.
♛Alright, accepted. It was unintentional on your part, but when you invoke him, well… it’s still prodding at sensitive scar tissue. I had a complicated relationship with that man. And anyway, he was stripped of that title during the French Revolution. Neither he nor I ever told Louis to address him that way.
What do I prefer? The title I’ve earned started out as something Marius had to use in order not to beat me to a pulp, then it was gentle derision, and has gradually become a job title *sigh* People seem to expect me to be equal parts “Brat” and “Prince” at this point.
Monsieur is sufficient if you address me by title.
Beautiful Flowers Engulfed in Flames by 蒋志|Jiangzhi
“Beautiful things and objects themselves will ultimately disappear, but
the beauty itself will live on, as well as love. Perhaps this is what I
am trying to express. This series of works is actually just that, a
series of ”Love Letters“.
Beauty, pain, transience and eternity, blossoming and wilting, passion
and grace, dedication, giving and sacrifice … These are all about love.”
— 蒋志|Jiangzhi
It changes over time, I have a place in my heart for all the main characters from earlier canon (mainly books 1-5).
My gateway character was Claudia, definitely my fave when I first read IWTV when I was 11. I could relate to her frustration at not being taken seriously as an adult. She was just the perfect mix of sweetness and icy screamy-ness and had Louis wrapped around her little finger (WHICH btw, I saw as a purely platonic relationship).
Of course I loved Louis after her. How could I not? For his dignified manner, his high tolerance for bullshit, his love for books, his ability to hold back, and his ability to break out a can of fiery whoopass when it’s called for. For his frayed sweaters and how he doesn’t really care about fashion but how good he looks when he lets Lestat or Claudia play dress up with him. Because he probably smells like beeswax candles and jasmine.
He’s also very pretty and his hair feels like silk.
… All that said, Lestat was my real spirit animal in adolescence, and he’s the one that I keep coming back to as my true fave.
Lestat was someone I needed as I confronted the usual bullying in school, the usual seeking my own way into this world and the obstacles that go along with that. He taught me so many things. Most importantly, to have faith in yourself and not be afraid to try new things, meet new ppl. Some ppl will reject you just for being new. Some may reject you because you don’t have good chemistry with them. That’s all fine. You might become very close with some, and fail each other in some way, or just end up growing apart. It happens.
How could I not love him with this combination (and more!) of character traits: Charismatic, mixing silly with sinister, mysteriously hinting at a rich and traumatic backstory in IWTV (which we definitely got later), and of course, lastly, pretty damn good-looking.
And he does make mistakes, tons of them! If you really read the books, that’s where he lays out his mistakes and apologizes in the way he’s better able to do than verbally.
I’ve always loved mean characters, antagonists, monsters… those who were written off as “just mean,” “just evil,” or “just crazy,” these are the ones I want to know more about. Why are they this way? Is this a shield they put up to protect themselves from further hurt?
My grandmother was like this. I broke through her tough exterior and found a kindred spirit. She’s gone now, and I think my radical empathy for antagonists is kind of a search to find her in other ppl, fictional and real alike.
I had it through the blood of my mother, who had come from those people, the daughter of a Keltic chieftain married to a Roman patrician.
Marius, The Vampire Lestat
I just don’t understand how this works? Could she still be a Roman citizen, even if he defines her as a Celtic ‘princess’? Was she a freed slave? ARgh I need answers!
She was not a Roman citizen. If Marius’ father indeed legally married her, she must have been a freed slave. My headcanon is that he probably bought her on slave market, possibly after some successful military campaign in Galia (don’t bother figuring out if there was any at the time, there probably wasn’t). She was proably super expensive and the guy who was selling her surely made a point of her blood status to get a higher price.
Now, did he marry her before she was pregnant or after? He must have married her before Marius was born, that’s certain. Marius was born as a free Roman citizen so his mother couldn’t have been a slave at the time. I assume his father bought himself a pretty barbaric princess, got her pregnant and decided to free and marry her so his child would be a citizen. Did he fall in love with her? Was there any other reason? Who knows.
