I think AR’s comment could be a little misleading there; she says Gabrielle is “cold and selfish and essentially a bad human being” and then, separately, that Gabrielle is “a bad vampire.“
^Reason enough for AR to dislike Gabrielle. Gabrielle defended him against his father and brothers, helped him run away to Paris, stayed with him for a good decade exploring the world, and then wanted to go off on her own. Idk if I agree that she treated him SO badly, though she could have shown kid!Lestat a little more affection, he was starved for it.
I don’t think AR means that coldness and selfishness = bad vampire. One would think that those are "good” vampire qualities.
(^Catherine Deneuve bc of reasons)
What’s MOST likely is that AR modeled Gabrielle after someone AR is not particularly fond of, thus our dear Gabs was doomed to never be able to bask in the glow of AR’s love ;A;
So who’s an example of a “good” vampire in AR’s eyes? Marius, Lestat, Louis. Vampires who still strive to be part of the fabric of civilization to some degree:
Marius still finds pleasure in painting, socializing w/ the coven members, he studies history, he’s a people-watcher.
Lestat is a sensualist; he wants to crash parties, sample all types of victims, acquire all kinds of toys, be Good at Being Bad, share affection with his covenanyone.
Louis does not in fact want to be left completely alone. Even though he’s a huge bookworm, he also has a deep appreciation for art, and does relish frequent *ahem* cuddles with Lestat, bc who doesn’t?
… Oh right, Gabrielle doesn’t. Gabrielle would rather not be around any vampires or people at all. For legitimate reasons, for sure, but she seems to have little interest in making any connections with civilization, no interest in art or fashion, only a tenuous commitment to her coven,… she wants freedom. Perhaps that’s too lonely and empty an existence for AR to contemplate.
But mostly it’s bc Gabrielle “treated Lestat badly,” and that she doesn’t need or want to be a regular part of Lestat’s family in the way he would love her to be, and since Lestat is AR’s precious bb, Gabrielle’s rejection of Lestat is a rejection of AR herself (which is slightly amusing considering that AR’s commitment to writing Gabrielle in character prevents her from modifying Gabrielle into someone she finds more likable!)(#PROFESSIONAL AUTHOR PROBLEMS)
So. Is fanfiction okay now? Like, I’m sure Queen Anne isn’t still chasing people down with legal papers, but did we get outright approval to post stories? When did that happen?
Short answer: Yes, fanfic is okay now. AR now “ignores fanfiction.” That’s her current stance. We don’t have her approval, we have her tolerance. Not sure exactly when that happened (but there are timestamps in my FB screencaps below).
*~And AO3 has pledged itself as a safe haven* for fanfic writers to post their works!~*
*meaning: AO3 will attempt to defend the writers against copyright infringement claims. The legality of fanfic is nebulous right now, as the courts are slowly defining fanworks under the Fair Use doctrine on a case-by-case basis.
“I got upset about 20 years ago because I thought it would block me,” she says. “However, it’s been very easy to avoid reading any, so live and let live.” – Anne Rice, Nov. 2012.
Aaaaand here are the best FB screencaps re: AR’s stance on fanfic I could find, in reverse chronological order (there’s more, just trying to keep this post from getting too long, emphasized w/ my highlights, of course):
(^Year unknown on that one, old screencap; couldn’t find it again.)
…You want MORE? Hit the jump.
Also this is relevant, from 2014: “A big congratulations to Anna Todd, 25 year old author of One Direction fan fiction, "After” on her new deal with publishing house Simon & Schuster and her movie deal.”
In her comments below, AR seems to compare her inspiration of Hollywood’s vampire movies made in the ‘40s as being similar to Anna Todd’s inspiration re: the boy band 1D. In a way, AR is saying what we all know that writers ARE influenced by outside sources, in various media; Anna Todd’s work cannot be simply written off (no pun intended) as purely derivative fanfiction of 1D just like AR’s work cannot be simply written off as purely derivative fanfiction of Hollywood’s vampire movies made in the ‘40s.
Not that anyone has accused AR of that that I’m aware of, but it might have been an issue raised in 1975 when IWTV first came out.
“Anne Rice objected to fan fiction based on any of her characters (mostly those from her famous Interview with the Vampire and its sequels in The Vampire Chronicles) or other elements in her books, and she formally requested that FanFiction.Net remove stories featuring her characters.[52]However, in 2012, Metro reported that Rice has taken a milder stance on the issue: “I got upset about 20 years ago because I thought it would block me,” she said. “However, it’s been very easy to avoid reading any, so live and let live. If I were a young writer, I’d want to own my own ideas. But maybe fan fiction is a transitional phase: whatever gets you there, gets you there.”[53]
“
[2nd ask sent]– almost entirely just a complete theft of the intellectual property that they started as fan-derivative works of. so i don’t know if half of what op claims is fair? because it’s true that anne rice chased away her online fandom with a broom, but it’s not totally baseless given the circumstances. she’s not just some crazy old lady imo. sorry again, i don’t want to start a fight but i don’t agree.
Okay, so this is a HUGE topic and I could write an essay and a half on all the issues raised, but it DOES sound like you’re trying to start a fight, partly bc you submitted this on Anon (and you started w/ “this is ooc” so it’s clear you’re an RPer, infringing on the VC copyright through RP, which is writing fanfic, for free!) and partly bc of your general tone, which in all fairness I could be misreading.
I’m not sure you totally understand AR’s War on Fanfic in the early-mid 90′s, or the actual points raised in the post you disagree with so strongly, so that’s why I’m taking the time to answer.
However, for everyone’s future reference: my policy has been to answer every Ask I get but that policy is changing NOW. If I get the feeling that a message is provocative in a negative way, I won’t answer it publicly. Privately, I might, if you come off Anon.
^Louis doesn’t really want to get involved in this discussion. It’s ok, just sit there and look pretty, hun, we’ll keep this brief.
asked a question, “Why is there so little Vampire Chronicles fan activity or content?” [X], and then;
2)@the-savage-nymph-art replied to that question [X]. Brilliantly and succinctly, I would add. They even provided one of the purposes of fanfic: to share headcanons. Whether in an AU, or PWP, etc., we’re exploring the characters through storytelling.
What @the-savage-nymph-art didn’t mention is that exploring canon through writing/sharing fanfic (both for-profit and not-for-profit, I assume) predates AR’s War on Fanfic. You can do your own research on that, but here’s a good article to start with, by Ewan Morrison.
Monika Bartyzel: talks about derivative works based on fanfic (it mentions 50 Shades & Twilight, too), but focusing on the Mortal Instruments. The thrust of the argument is that TMI was TOO derivative:
“…But until a story is willing to break through the boundaries of its inspiration and drop the mimicry in favor of its own voice, it will always be as derivative as its origins — no matter how many names you change.”
(^So there is a difference between fanfic that shares headcanons to explore, and fanfic that seems to merely mimic the canon it’s derived from.)
Anon, Anne Rice no longer has an issue with Fanfic. I don’t remember what year this was posted on FB but it was, and she hasn’t mentioned it since, that I’m aware of.
^So really, with that, the argument is kind of over.
But I am definitively saying, I run this blog as respectfully of Anne Rice as I can, w/ just a little light teasing bc we do that even to our own parents! she’s given us a great gift in the VC.
This blog is about positivity and inclusivity, and arguing over whether a derivative work is worthy of being considered worth standing alone as a separate work, that’s for the courts to decide on a case-by-case basis as we define what is a “derivative” work. There are some fanworks that I love so much that I WISH they were canon, that I WISH I could buy as a beautiful physical book to repay the creators for bringing me Such Feels!
Hit the jump for just a little more.
Anon’s argument has 2 points:
A) That fanfic written for fandom and then altered by changing the character names, etc. (aka ”filing the serial numbers off”, “Hermione” becomes “Eloise” or whatever) so that it can be sold for profit, is infringing on the copyright of the original creator. Anon mentions 2 examples that are making tons of money. I’ve heard of those series and the accusations of their beginnings as fanfic. I haven’t read them or followed the reviews about them though, so I can’t comment on whether or not they really are derivative works.
B) That Anne Rice is wrongfully accused of being “just some crazy old lady” in defense of the her VC copyright.
As per Anon’s point A), this is a nebulous thing, copyright law is still being worked out for it. It’s slowly developing on a case-by-case basis, and sometimes it’s settled out of court. Look at the Unofficial Harry Potter Encyclopedia case, for example. Not a fanfic, but still, a fanwork. The judge ruled that the
Unofficial Harry Potter Encyclopedia could be published for profit, in an abridged version of how it was originally intended to be, bc it served as a reference work, so it had value, but in its entirety it would have been
unfair competition w/ a similar work that J.K. Rowling intended to release (and she is still working on, years later).
As for your point B):
Nowhere in @the-savage-nymph-art‘s reply is Anne Rice referred to as “just some crazy old lady.” In fact, it was only you, Anon, who called her “dickish.”
Actually, there are several mocking references in @the-savage-nymph-art‘s commentary to those who write fanfic, in the usual Tumblrland Hyperbole™ kind of way, which is intended to grab your attention and add a little levity to a serious and saddening topic. Don’t you get the joke, Anon? Silliness! Or can you not take it as humorous when smne mentions “your gloriously blushing butt-cheeks” ?
I disagree with you, Anon. Anne Rice has given us an incredible gift. Yes, I have mentioned that she waged War on Fanfic. That’s a fact. It’s actual history.
Fanfic sold for money w/ the serial numbers filed off, (like 50 Shades does to Twilight and the Mortal Instruments *allegedly* does to Harry Potter) well, the creators of the original works have every right to pursue copyright protection! Have they, in these cases? Because the authors of 50 Shades and the Mortal Instruments seem to be doing fine, getting movie deals an all.
Maybe the authors of 50 Shades and the Mortal Instruments were sued and settled out of court.
But maybe, in these cases, the derivative work (as Anon calls them) was sufficiently AU of the fandoms they were adapted from to constitute enough originality to be considered works that stand on their own.
Let’s see what happens when someone writes fanfic w/ the serial numbers filed off based on 50 Shades and the Mortal Instruments!
Oh wait, 50 Shades already has a parody of it, 50 Shades of Black. Let’s get popcorn and see if a legal dispute fires up…
I am aware of them! They’re on the book of Face if anyone wants to check them out. They have some merch, too. I even reached out to one of them at one point and they responded pretty fast. They seem like nice vampires and worthy of the name.
Apparently they’ve been around for awhile now:
I believe they asked AR’s permission to use the name, even though they didn’t have to.
It’s Armand and it’s actually canonand one of my favorite parts to visualize in QotD(although it’s honky-tonk not ragtime, but their styles are related) I mean, just imagine Daniel waking up to that, looking completely DONE.
Queen of the Damned, page 88
It’s update time! You were right
@i-want-my-iwtv in your assumption that Lestat would love it.
Now go ahead and imagine them dancing to these tunes.
#IT GOT BETTER
Thanks for the update, @luthi69! If anyone is in a bad mood, just TRY and keep that mood with this bouncy happy music on, JUST TRY.
And now I AM imagining Lestat, Daniel, and Armand paying a jazz band to play this all night at a club in NOLA, dancing to it w/ people and having such a good time ❤
//Okay, this needs to be answered OOC, because my Lestat would have to answer with my personal headcanon, b/c I think Mater is full of shit.
According to canon and Anne/Mater, her vampires do not experience sexual pleasure with their genitals. In QotD, Lestat calls his cock useless, claiming that it can no longer do what it was intended to, or some shit like that (I have a migraine and I’m not looking it up, but I’m sure @i-want-my-iwtv could give you the precise quote because she’s amazing).
Anne of course (typically) reneges on this when she wrote PL, creates a bunch of faulty science bullshit so that Lestat can jizz for science and create Viktor.
In fanon, it’s generally accepted that, yes, the vampires can have sex. There is some variation on this depending on what fic you are reading or who you are RPing with–but it’s generally agreed upon that vampire sex is 100% about the blood and sensuality, and that, even if they aren’t going to orgasm in the traditional sense, they are still going to get something pretty intense out of the entire situation.
There are some pretty amazing fics out there that make sense of all this, but since Vampire Chronicles fan fiction doesn’t technically exist, I can’t help you find them.
For my purposes, sure, Lestat has sex. Plenty of it. And it’s primarily about the blood. But there is also fun to be had with their bodies, and that’s more fun to write anyway, so there you have it.
ooc: ALL OF THIS. Also like… you can’t tell me that vampire sensation is 10x that of a human and expect me to believe that sensual touch does nothing for them. Maybe they can’t reach climax but that’s what the blood is for. Doesn’t mean sexual acts don’t work as amazing foreplay.
ooc: I’ve written about this before at some point I believe, but that’s very much my take on it too. Especially this: ‘you can’t tell me that vampire sensation is 10x that of a human and expect me to believe that sensual touch does nothing for them’
Hell yeah.
^Basically agreed with all 3 ppl here. Respect #Your headcanon may vary on this topic.
Canon doesn’t directly take on whether their dicks even work until the 3rd book, when Lestat says:
“I studied my reflection … and the organ, the organ we don’t need, poised as if ready for what it would never again know how to do or want to do, marble, a Priapus at a gate” – Lestat, Queen of the Damned
So I’ve discussed this topic at length in my tags for it: #asexuality, #asexual, #sex, #sexuality, #lets talk about sex. So check those out for more discussion on it. Ricean vampires still do feel sexual lust, it’s channeled through the experience of taking/sharing blood, and other sensually physical things.
In fanon there is a wide spectrum of whether they can have penetrative sex, some even speculate that their um… output… would be very bloody.
TL;DR: It all depends on your idea of what sex is. There are human couples who are unable (or do not want) to experience penetrative sex, and they can still be intimate with each other in other ways.
Claudia asks Louis about sex in IWTV, and he replies that it “‘…was something hurried…And… it was seldom savored… something acute that was quickly lost. I think that it was the pale shadow of killing.’”
He could have been lying a little to downplay it, so that she wouldn’t feel as bad for missing out on smtg she would never be able to experience, or maybe bc he truly felt that the experience of killing supercedes mortal intercourse. We don’t know bc #unreliable narrator.
ALL THAT SAID, if you prefer to take AR’s word as the gospel for canon, she has been definitive about it:
I think that reproductive obstacle (vampires are undead, they cannot carry a growing baby inside of dead flesh) is why Anne Rice made the choice that they could BE sexual, but not in a reproductive way.
I-want-my-IWTV 