Sorry for the delay in reply, I was wrapping things up at the old job and starting the new one, wanted to focus on real life for all that.
I’m still sort of on a break but sneaking back on here now and then. I hope you’re doing well, too!
I don’t think I’ll ever be as active as I once was in my more active times here, I’m not as invested in it as I was, but I’m really pleased to see that other ppl have kept the fandom alive, all this new fanart from IWTV and QOTD being on Netflix and the new book coming out, others have taken up the fanworks supportive torch that I had been carrying, I’m happy to see the fandom active!
Hey! I’m really enjoying your VC fanart. Keep it up!
So, spoiling ppl with plot points, that’s one way to drag fresh blood into a new fandom ;D I know I love being spoiled, I want the plot points before I read a book, so if your friends want that info… I have a few timelines, Idk if any are the definitive one, try my #timeline tag.
One timeline AR published is in the Vampire Companion, but it’s not up to date, but it’s through books 1-5 and you might still be able to find it online or on Amazon or somewhere else.
I like being spoiled a lot of the time because it gives me a chance to mentally and emotionally prepare for what might be coming. It also lets me get right in there with appreciating the bits of foreshadowing and seeing how the gears of the plot are turning.
I agree, @audacityinblack, that’s very well-put re: it also lets me get right in there with appreciating the bits of foreshadowing and seeing how the gears of the plot are turning. For me, it’s not as much about the plot points as how a story is told, and so I get something different out of the story every time I go through it.
But I have to know in advance who dies! I’ve always skipped ahead for that.
I get why ppl would NOT want to be spoiled, too. I don’t personally think either approach is better, just different strokes for different folks.
Hey! I’m really enjoying your VC fanart. Keep it up!
So, spoiling ppl with plot points, that’s one way to drag fresh blood into a new fandom ;D I know I love being spoiled, I want the plot points before I read a book, so if your friends want that info… I have a few timelines, Idk if any are the definitive one, try my #timeline tag.
One timeline AR published is in the Vampire Companion, but it’s not up to date, but it’s through books 1-5 and you might still be able to find it online or on Amazon or somewhere else.
I never expected anything from AR really, so I’m never really Shocked. There are things that happened that I couldn’t have ever predicted in my wildest dreams/nightmares. It’s a ride! TBH I’m still excited about every single one, even when I don’t like them, bc I want to see where AR is taking us, on her macadamia nut high lol.
Yep, it IS deeply unsettling to think about how someone’s life could be ruined over a false accusation. There’s something intoxicating about saying you’ve found a monster and want to rally ppl to your cause to go destroy it. That’s been around since long before the internet and will go on in whatever form of communication people have available, whether the monster is a real one or not.
“btw, I’ve talked on private with that blog and it turns out they are a p*******e. y’all know what to do.”
^I feel terrible saying this, but I couldn’t trust this person at face value. Maybe if it was a very close friend, but even then, I wouldn’t mobilize ppl online to attack the accused person. I’m not a police officer, I would probably tell that victim to go to the police. The police have the tools to find the accused, the time and training to build the evidence properly and legally.
Keep in mind, too, that tweets/chats/etc. can be digitally manipulated, like this tweet (although it could be real for all I know, but I would hope not):
Then there’s the thornier matter of people who ARE guilty of offenses, from the small to the large. There are abusers out there who trawl for prey. There are also people who wrote something in the past that they may have apologized for and definitely deeply regret.
I’ve certainly made mistakes and written cruel things I would take back if I could. I can’t apologize enough or genuinely enough for how I’ve hurt people.
[Imagine holding that much authority that you ruin part of someone’s life.]
…And so often they end up with a rabble ready to crucify anyone who doesn’t do as they are told, and that’s when I really run for the hills…
^I’m of the belief that no individual online should have that kind of power, this is why we have a legal system which determines guilt and punishments fairly. No judicial system is perfect but it has to be better than some stranger online telling a mob to pick up torches and pitchforks to attack another stranger online.
Haha, so hard for me to do it! It’s too voluminous😂
But yes, I sometimes enjoy translating VC books into a shōjo manga style in my head while reading them, and there are some scenes I want to draw. I’ll try to do those scenes…someday! lol
And also! I have some silly short-fancomic ideas in my head. I’m going to draw at least one of them during this summer. If you would like to, please take a look when It’s posted here~ (*^_^*)
^this thumbs up from Al Bundy is probs closest to my feelings bc (at least out of its original context) it appears to be approval, begrudging approval, maybe a little sarcastic, but you can tell that he IS glad, too, he’s so tired, but always open to the good in the world… he’s waited a long time, he’s acclimated to waiting.*
IDK much about Hulu and the shows/movies they have, just that they’re often sending out free trial offers and like, it reminds me of drug dealers trying to get new ppl hooked in with free samples, which is standard operating procedure but still makes me wary.
I am, as always, and forever shall be, ~#cautiously optimistic~, and I am glad that someone who’s kind of a big deal showed interest enough that it seems like things are in motion again!
*(As a side note: I always loved ‘Married… With Children,’ and I think it was partly bc as bitter and grumpy as Al was, and as mean-spirited as he could behave at times, deep down, you could tell he loved his wife, family, neighbors, and friends, and had made some peace with his life choices. Maybe I was projecting onto him, but anyway, this was a formative character for me.)(Which is my long-winded example of smne who may appear to be just another unlikable/problematic character in a sitcom, but I found smtg good and substantive in him, which will hopefully be the case with the new VC TV series with all the problematic characters/stuff in it).
“Our old rituals? No. That part of my life is over. I have no wish to resurrect it.
As for ‘fun’, the notion was anathema to our way of life. We permitted ourselves two pleasures: the twin trances of the blood and the Sabbats. I did enjoy those, even if it was a desperate kind of elation that animated us at those times.
After my ascension to the role of Coven Master, I participated less often in the dancing, being expected instead to preside over my flock in their revels. But I would join them occasionally, to reassure them of my faith. There was a kind of innocence to most of them. They truly believed we were all brothers and sisters. For a while, so did I. There was some peace to be had in that.”
This is really hard to answer, and I nearly answered it privately, bc I don’t want to sow dissension in the fandom, it’s something ppl love to scream into the void about. But I see you’ve already started drawing some fanart for the fandom, so I want to encourage you to stay with us!
Some fans would tell you that #4 onwards in canon have certain characters being forgotten or mistreated by the author. I would say that there are storylines that are dark to the point that, even with my very high threshold for Crazy Shit, even I’ve had to close whatever one of these later books and just say, “omgz Aaaaaanne, whyyyy… We didn’t want this, nobody wanted this…”
If you’ve come looking for perfect cinnamon rolls, we only have one, Mojo, and he’s a dog 😉
I’ve heard that the books get worse and stuff and I wonder if I should read all of them or skip some or…?
So this depends on your definition of “worse.” They are a pile of dysfunctional hipster trash vampires, and several characters, but specifically the main character in the books, do some exceedingly problematic stuff, and, arguably, he is not condemned by the author in the text. There are fans who choose to disregard all the books from #4 onwards bc of that, and that’s totally fine.
Your headcanon is your own, and you do NOT have to accept all of canon, and you do NOT have to interpret canon the way any other fan interprets it. Don’t let another fan bully you into thinking their interpretation is the Only one.
PERSONALLY, and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way: back in the old days we called the later books #the Vampire Crackicles (spoilers in that tag) and enjoyed them for the silliness, bc there is plenty of humor still in the darkfic. And there are those, like me, who want to read darkfic, too. We want to go there in fiction, and explore what the consequences of even the most atrocious actions are. Can a character who’s committed X crime ever be redeemed? Redemption might not even be about forgiveness from the victim, but the effort of that character to strive to improve. That can be so cathartic for the reader, whether the character achieves it or not, the inspiration can come from the fact that they TRY and FAIL! repeatedly.
I always recommend that ppl give each of the books a chance, even the most cracky have some good stuff in them.
For the most part I think we’re a kinder fandom than others, since we suffered through our own fandom creator waging war on our fanfic and driving us underground for years.
And the fandom is pretty welcoming, but I’ve found it’s better if you know what happens in canon, and can talk about it with other fans, make fanworks about it, or whatev. Even to criticize.
Like any social media, though, your fandom experience is what you make of it, follow the #vampire chronicles tag, find some bloggers you like, and reach out!
♛Hmmm… *rubs at his lips with two fingertips* I certainly hope you don’t intend to have this portrait drawn on you at life-size, if such a thing were even possible *smirks* It would be too much beauty for anyone. It’s nearly too much for me… *under his breath* such a burden.
I am honored that you’d want my image on your body in such a permanent way, my eyes and lips always pressed on your skin, touching you, but facing the world outwardly with you as well. So intimate…
Now I can’t help but wonder: Would you have me on the tender flesh of your neck? Or sprawled across one of the stronger muscles of the body, heralding your strength, a thigh? Perhaps somewhere prominent, you’d always have your “plus one” if I was on your arm *grins*
..Or, somewhere more concealed, covered by your clothing most of the time, existing in that secluded warmth between skin and fabric, only revealed to those you disrobe for? I could be your little secret.
Wherever you choose to welcome me onto the canvas of your body, I hope my image tells you that I am there to protect and comfort you. Is that not the definition of making one feel safe, after all?
I-want-my-IWTV 