past me: canon is sacred I must carefully fact-check everything to make sure it is canon-compliant
present me: canon is a box of scraps in a cave I’m gonna tear that shit apart throw away 90% of it and out of the good bits build something absolutely beautiful and amazing
i am immensely proud of anyone who types out stories they want to see for characters that are not their creation, or their property, but that inspire them to delve into a difficult medium with which they likely have little experience or comfort. i have to be proud of that because fanfic is ultimately a thankless line of work. and it is work. it’s work for people who’re good at writing, trained in it. so imagine how difficult it is for beginners, the impaired, those with even a modicum of self-doubt? in that way, they are no different from any other author.
writing, literature, is an art form with an ugly legacy of snobbery. academics and laymen alike still argue about what sorts of writing should and should not be considered ‘canonical.’ add to that odious environment the level of disdain, apathy, or ignorance most non-fannish people have toward fan works and you have a near-permanent, repugnant shroud of You’re Not Real encompassing the whole endeavor. a shroud under which, miraculously, fan works are still produced with vigor and regularity, and largely without access to agents or editors who’re paid to polish. just as miraculously, these writers often receive, from their friends and peers and strangers, the sort of praise one associates with bestselling authors.
it’s miraculous because fanfic writers have been obliged to believe, from the moment they set finger to keyboard, that what they are doing is a sideshow. at best, they are hobbyists with some talent but no real standing. at worst, they are self-indulgent amateurs, muddying the waters of a true craft. like many authors of original work, fanfic writers will never have a millisecond of calculable fame for their efforts. they may step out of their borrowed sandbox and create original work, or they may not, but there is no scenario in which they emerge feeling like an accepted member of a celebrated tradition. even in the rare instance of pop culture turning its eye on some speck of scintillating fan work, it’s still mocked. it’s still a sideshow, just with a brighter spotlight.
so, yeah, i am proud of anyone who can absorb the reality of all the above…and still write.
for all my brave creatives out there – tappity-tap-tap!
Not a strange question at all! It does affect me, in a positive way 😀
Kids often make me think about Claudia, both for VC casting ideas and also what it would be like to be an adult trapped in that little body (5 yr olds really are small!). I’ve never seen a *~perfect~* kid to play her, though. I think Kirsten Dunst set the bar very high.
Speaking of VC casting – I am always on the lookout for that. There’s a homeless guy I pass by on a regular basis who might be great for Lestat’s dad during the IWTV era. I’d love to share a pic but I feel like it would be rude to take one 😛
My headcanon for the VC characters is often in the back of my mind, and something might spark an idea about one or more of them, useful for fanfic ideas… Here in NYC I saw some older ladies, tourists, petting some huge police horses with policemen in the saddles, looking down and making small talk back at the ladies, and I had a very clear vision of Lestat seeing that as a form of fellatio (the men were straddling these massive animals and the women were flirting with them, practically fondling the horse’s necks and faces!) and finding it pretty hilarious, having to explain why he was laughing to Louis… so I wrote it up: 9TH AVE, BETWEEN 57TH & 58TH ST.
I’ll often slip in quotes from the books in emails or conversation partly bc they sound good but also it’s sort of a feeler to fish out other VC fans. Sometimes it works, too!
It works on bad days, too, I’ll just remind myself that Lestat doesn’t take this kind of crap from anyone, he just dusts himself off and kicks the asses that needed kicking!
This Vampire!Loki x Tattoo Artist!Thor fic is coming together!!!!!!!!!!
This morning parts of my “outline” were “I don’t know what or how this happens”. I just filled in one of the hazy vampire romance dreams and closed up the holes in their third session at the tattoo parlor!
Vampire!Loki’s hobbies include getting tattoos, bachata dancing, and pissing Business Owner!Sif off.
[Pretty sure @ioananix is referring to the post @devilsviolinistwrote on Nicki survival theories here. It’s good! Check it out.]
Yep, AR has brought back a bunch of formerly-assumed-to-be-dead characters in PL, so it’s a real possibility!
…However, is this always a good thing? I still don’t like the way the mysterious musician from IWTV was brought back. @antoineandthepiano makes a valiant effort to make that character more likable in their RP of him, but in canon, I don’t feel like this character being brought back adds much to the story or changes the dynamic of the coven much. More thoughts on him under the cut bc I want to get to Nicolas.
Bring Nicolas back and we might have interesting plot there! So many questions… Did he really intend to kill himself?
Did he intend to fake his suicide? Or did someone try to kill him? Did Eleni know? Was she in on any of this? Is there any possibility of civility between Nicolas and Lestat? The answers to those questions could lead to some great arguments, some great opening of old wounds, some healing, idk, ACTION. FEELS. CATFIGHTS.
There are a bunch of characters brought back in PL so it wouldn’t totally surprise me if AR brought Nicolas back in PLROA… The ones she’s brought back have hardly caused any ripple of conflict in the coven, and some ppl like fluff and peace, maybe some ppl are glad to have their characters back in any form, but it feels like unearned fluff and peace. I’d almost prefer that she leaves characters out rather than bring back such watered-down versions of them.
I feel like that musician character was a draft of Nicolas, and AR forgot about him until PL, or maybe Lestat was so embarrassed by that whole situation that’s why he never mentions him in canon until PL (which, btw, the series was allegedly over with Blood Canticle). “Antoine” comes in all meek and mild, is accepted with hardly any comment, and everything’s peaceful! There’s no real adjustment needed, they’re all fine with the fact that, idk, he tried to kill Louis (and Claudia!) some 150 yrs ago? Too much water under that bridge.
There was a fanfic that suggested the musician vampire rescued Lestat from the swamp and helped him heal well enough so that he could to steal the Dark Gift from him, that would have been a lot more heartbreaking! Taking advantage of Lestat in his weakened condition like that ;A;
The site you’re talking about, if it’s the one I think you mean*, does go down sometimes, but it’s usually a renewal fee for the domain, or the mods are tinkering with the layout.
This is a good reminder that you should always download the fanart and fanfics you like! You never know when a site could go away forever, or an artist/writer could take down their works. That’s part of why I made this blog in the first place, it was just supposed to be my collection of fanart and stuff, but now that it’s become what it is and gets so much attention, my blog is definitely not a safe archive anymore, it could get taken down.
*I don’t want to put the name of it or link out here bc we still keep some fanfic places hidden. As you probably, know bc I’ve mentioned it SO MANY TIMES, our fandom experienced a war on fanfic like no other, and many great works were lost forever ;A; The secret fanfic places that remain, well… you have to earn the trust of someone who knows where they are bc altho AR’s stance has changed (in that she tolerates the existence of fanfiction), it doesn’t mean she wouldn’t change her mind and slam writers with legal action at some other time.
I’d love to just link things out here so that ppl can enjoy them but I can’t :-
The fact that Anne Rice sued people for writing fanfics is so hilarious to me when i think about how much Lestat would love fanfics.
He’d be so delighted to find out he had fans sitting in their bedrooms writing about him.
He’d walk into the living room with a lapto grinning any time his favorites updated, and Louis would try to leave right away. Louis would beg him to stop while he read them out loud.
I told my sister to give me pairings, numbered 1 to 7, and I’d generate a list of 7 words, match ‘em up and write drabbles.
She really liked them so I’m sharing :’D
01. Notice | Louis/Lestat (1980s)
“You need to stop cutting it,” said Lestat, running his fingers fondly through Louis’ hair. Louis shrugged his shoulders, in a gesture of disagreement. He didn’t mind Lestat’s touch, though. The cool fingers on his scalp were always welcome. “It’s not as though it won’t grow back,” Louis pointed out. “Modesty,” Lestat scoffed, dropping his hand. “It’s beautiful when you leave it long. You never used to cut it.” “It attracts too much notice.” “Well, let them notice. They do. It’s one of your finer points. I noticed it.” “Hmm and that turned out so well for me.” Lestat glowered.
(^I’m using this pic again in less than a week bc why not? its cool In case anyone else wants to take a stab at it, this is the scissor fic anon asked me about: Alternate Versions of Lestat’s Piano Scene)
So I think I did read this one before, it’s vaguely familiar, I must have blocked it out. There is a time and a place for scary fic like this, and some ppl won’t be able to handle it at all, others might be at least impressed at the plot points.
The anon wanted my opinion on it and my opinion is not to censor fic, no matter how scary.
Beyond that, I don’t want to critique it, the author didn’t ask me to beta it. Anon, if you have ideas on how to improve it, you could write your own scissor fic! This writer is not the first to use them as a weapon.
To the Anon re: the scissor fic: Thanks for the link, I’ll give it a chance and let u know what I think, altho my opinion is just an opinion. I will say I don’t think it’s legendary bc I’ve never heard of it before… but others may be aware of it.
In general tho, I support everyone in their pursuit of fanworks: as an audience member or in the writing of fanfic, drawing of fanart, RP of canon or original characters, and whatever other fanwork (discussion, etc) they want to do.
Fresh novels and official adaptations are great but fanworks also do their part to keep the fandom alive, and all are welcome.
With fanworks, my preference is a great idea over technical prowess. Meaning, if the writer struggles with English as a second language but their idea is engaging and stimulating, I’d prefer that fic over one that is perfect grammatically but boring as a concept. Same with art, I’d take a great idea or hilarious dialogue in a comic strip that may not be very well drawn over a gorgeous but lifeless portrait, bc talent with drawing can be improved.
Of course if you have a great idea AND the beautiful writing/art, well, that’s obviously great, too! But I wouldn’t want ppl giving up in the beginning just bc their technical skills are not at the level they see others at. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
I-want-my-IWTV 