We got a question about our headcanon of Louis’ accent in our coffee shop AU collab, and, I thought others might be interested in our answer so here it is!
[^X] My answer: in canon, Louis would have spoken French as his native language, and Creole in NOLA. Being a vampire, he probably began learning English from various people during his travels with Armand after Paris, and then really got the full dose of it when they were living in NY together in the 20th century.
For our AU, I think of him as having moved to NOLA as a child, and his family moved back to France when he was in college or otherwise old enough to be living on his own; or that he still has family in NOLA, and in modern day, people do speak English there. There’s definitely some Creole and a mixture among the natives now so he might have picked up some of that, but I would think he always went to schools where he had to speak English.
When I visited NOLA (I’ve been a few times now) I didn’t notice everyone there having a heavy southern accent. I would think that a bookworm like Louis might have even less, being kind of antisocial and learning his words from books and speaking mainly to his few close friends and family.
As in canon, his French accent should be noticeable but doesn’t mark him as completely a foreigner, just different emphasis on certain letters, a tendency to hit “th” a little like a “d,” for example.
Gaspard Ulliel’s voice is my headcanon for Louis’ accent, although it is a lower register than I think of Louis.
Yep, I pretty much echo what @i-want-my-iwtv says and my headcanon is more or less in tune with hers –
In the fic, Louis comes from a solidly French family from Brittany (I believe we may have stolen this location from @gairid).He moves with them to New Orleans (or its environs) when he is a child, and he learns English whilst there.
However, his accent is tempered by the following things:
a) His family are Francophone and speak French almost exclusively at home; b) Their relatives in Louisiana are Acadian, so there is that dialect of French and/or Franglais colouring his accent; c) The family is upper class
Of course, his English would have the Louisiana lilt to it, but all that above, too.
From my own experience, French people seem to be amongst the ones who most strongly cling to their accent when speaking English. I have worked with and have many friends from France (including from Brittany) who are fluent in English but have that ‘sharpness’ to the consonants that Daniel references in IWTV.
I also have found that every French person I know pronounces ‘idea’ as ‘idee’ (i.e. the French way) no matter how fluent they are. I pointed this out to my French boss once and was told that we pronounce it The Wrong Way because it is a French word. XD
I haven’t actually watched him in anything, I don’t watch him on Eyewitness, but I have seen some borderline NSFW gifs of it on tumblr, and…
I see potential… Can’t quite articulate why, not even being sarcastic. He seems to have the right blend of cockiness and tenderness, and he’s already experienced with making out with another guy on screen, and it would be gr9 to have that in the new VC adaptation.
^He’s also pretty w/o being like, a model. He has a boy-next-door quality. I imagine that some of what drew ppl to him as a mortal was his blend of confidence, shyness, and caring, those are the things that make what would have been a slightly-above-average-looking guy into someone really gorgeous <3. Then vampiring enhanced what he already had going for him.
Following through the comments on my post, there is the idea that “le Russe” is an epithet, that it’s not what Armand goes by, but something Rhoshamandes calls him. It’s only mentioned once in the book, IIRC, by Rhosh. I’d believe that.
Anne APPARENTLY made up “le Russe” in PL. Which I had totally forgotten until I was reminded a little while ago. As far as obviously made up surnames go it’s even worse than de Romanus lol. ETA: I need to do a closeread before I speak lol, it sounds like that’s an epithet rather than a name.
SO LIKE I MEAN, the only part (to my recollection? plz correct me???) where it mentions “Armand Le Russe” is in a Rhosh chapter and that guy is such a salty fuckin tool and I got the impression that he was calling Armand that to be petty and sarcastic? Cause then she started listing the vampires at the end of the books and she still just refers to him as “Armand” without a last name.
“Only the clever ones like Gregory Duff Collingsworth and Armand Le Russe–who could thrive right in the midst of mortals–were undisturbed by the shrinking of the planet.”
YEP that’s what @laurasking pointed out to me too. That’s totally plausible. Also since Rhosh’s experience with Armand relates to coven era BS in Paris (idk if I’m even remembering this correctly but isn’t he pissed that allessandra ++ were forced into the covens) it might possibly be a thing left over from that era as well??
laurasking said: Well, Rhoshamandes calls him that, but no one else.
moral-cipher said: Laurasking – ohhh i forgot that. So it’s probably an epithet, possibly left over from the Bad Old Days. That makes a lot more sense. Thanks!
laurasking said: I thought fanon was that he assumed de Romanus.
@i-want-my-iwtv: ^Re: de Romanus, I assumed that was the name Armand used when he was with Marius, but after he was taken by the Children of Darkness, they changed his first name and I would assume he never used “de Romanus” again, either ;A;
Give new meaning to the phrase “long-term relationship” with these remaining licensed fragrances from Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive, starring the inestimable Tilda Swinton and (recent Golden Globe winner) Tom Hiddleston.
oops, I forgot to list movie, that was part of it.
1. Those wigs gotta go. They….kind of….worked for Eve, making her look like an antique doll with dusty, tangled hair; but looked like a dead animal on Adam, 10/10 horrible mess.
2. the zombie references were annoying, it seemed like such a juvenile thing for a 200 year old vampire to say, especially one that supposed to be so intellectual.
3. Ian didn’t have to melt away in the water/acid, the CGI for it wasn’t that great, and it was a bit of gore that was mostly absent from the rest of the film, and it interrupted the flow of an otherwise very consistent style.
4. I liked that vampires could be killed by drinking diseased blood, but it didn’t have to be played out, it could have just been mentioned/referenced.
5. Tom Hiddleston has the least beleivable vampire smile I’ve ever seen (I have seen a lot) and it ruined an otherwise great closing shot. I understand that we’ve been prying into their private lives the entire film, and having them come towards the camera like that at the end was almost like saying “we can only learn so much and live,” putting us in the place of their victims: we’ve witnessed it, we can’t be allowed to share this. But…ugh…maybe no fangs? Maybe less snarl? I have no idea how to fix that, but I cringe every time I see it. Tilda’s as awesome though, she makes an exceptionally convincing vampire.
bonus: Adam plays the entire No. 5 instead of just a minute of it becuase that solo….daaaaaaaamn. Also pls fuck the whole MARLOWE IS SHAKESPEARE bullshit with a chainsaw. I love this film enough that I can ignore it, but why. Why.
Send me a book/movie/tv show and I’ll tell you five thing’s I’d change/
#Perfect just perfect! For you, @annabellioncourt since u loved it so much lol…
I can’t speak for Daniel’s transition, but from what he told me, what made it into the record that I compiled as the novel Queen of the Damned… he originally wanted the Dark Gift because he fell in love with Louis’ story, and wanted a seat at our table, so to speak. When he met Armand, it became about wanting to be with Armand, made so much more frustrating because of Armand’s struggle to accept Daniel, whether to bring him over.
Then, when that had been overcome, there was Daniel as a fledgling; there are so many physical and emotional changes that happen to a vampire during that time that few of us really experience it as a very “graceful” time. I famously vomited up my own blood and then, in a state of delirium, licked it off the stone floor of a filthy cell full of rotten corpses! Among many other grotesque things that happened in those first nights.* Two exceptions to the awkward fledgling phase: Gabrielle and Claudia, who both bloomed in their own ways, very gracefully, as fledgling vampiresses.
Advice…
One thing is for sure, satisfaction is not guaranteed, ma petite. In every sense of the phrase.
The process itself is dangerous. It’s called the Dark “Trick” for a reason. Your maker has to kill you first. It’s extremely erotic, but extremely painful. They have to actually forcibly pull your life away entirely – and you’ll fight them through it if you want to survive – and then feed a demon, a kind of cancer, into your body and soul. We still don’t know if it’s contamination or evolution. And it doesn’t always work.
There are worse things than death.
//ooc: *@gairid/@vampchronfic has such a beautiful and tragic story about another thing Lestat did in those first nights, that you really should read it, We Are Our Own Saviors (Chapters 15-16). #Damn you and your perfect headcanon perfection ;A;
Lestat continues after the jump, cut for length.
♛The other aspect of being a vampire: Killing. Few people seem to realize how customer-service oriented this lifestyle really is. You’ll have to kill people, or practice the Little Drink (most fledglings have difficulty stopping mid-kill). If you are able to master it, you’ll spend even more nightly time pursuing more victims than just the few that would satisfy you if you killed them. Killing means you have to find fewer, but still, victims. Louis refused to choose, feeling unworthy of making that choice. Could you do it? Really? Or, you can not choose. As he later was able to embrace. Could you do that?
Louis’ practice of drinking animal blood as a substitute for human blood for his first few years, I’m convinced that’s one of the reasons he was so weak for so long. And so cranky! For whatever reason, animal blood is just not as satisfying for us as human blood is, and I would speculate that it has something to do with the difference in souls. Not to say animal souls are lesser; Mojo had more soul than so many humans I’ve met. But there is a difference. So the animal solution is the vampire equivalent of eating fast food, and it takes its toll.
Those are the main concerns, that young naive mortals should consider seriously before they agree to become one of us. There are many more, but these seem to be required for everyone. Should you be offered the choice to take the Dark Gift, your maker would be having these conversations with you, specific to you, and to them, about other considerations.
(ooc; Not sure how serious you are, but, Reminder: if you have already taken something or done something to harm yourself please call 911. If you haven’t done anything and if you’re thinking about suicide, please talk to the suicide hotline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) in the U.S., to find a suicide helpline outside the U.S., visit IASP or Suicide.org. Please read Suicide Help.)
♛My dear, I’m so sorry to read this message. My heart aches for you.
There are times when yes, the loneliness overtakes me. I do feel emptiness at times, moreso in those times I was betrayed by the ones closest to me. Not to revisit that… but the emptiness you are describing seems to be a deeper one than what I experienced. Again, my heart aches for you.
Sometimes solitude is needed, just to get to know myself once again, so that I can return to my loved ones.
Because that’s really the answer, at least for me, time spent with your loved ones has healing properties. Do you have any pets? Or know anyone who does? I’ve found that rolling around with a sizable dog (or several!) can also cure me of many of these gutwrenching feelings, those insidious negative voices that creep in. The healing power of dog cuddles may not be complete but it is still substantial.
If you don’t have anyone you can go to, there are professionals out there who can help. One group is called the
Samaritans.
The Dark Gift is not, generally, a quick fix. You bring yourself with you, and all your own experiences, all your own baggage. It enhances who you already are, for better or worse. I found that out with my beloved Nicki. Knowing what I know now about him, would I still give him the Dark Gift? I desperately want to say yes, but I don’t think it “fixed” him. Not by a long shot. It made him into another version of himself. Purified him. It seemed to release him from his life-long act of being a civilized person, which he detested.
In the absence of everything else I’ve suggested, one other cure: Stories. Read. Watch movies. Listen to music. Eat your favorite foods. Read my first book again, and see how I dealt with obstacle after obstacle, take inspiration from my example. Or, and I can’t believe I’m suggesting this: read Louis’ book. Know that he experienced similar feelings to yours. He survived it.
You are not alone. Get the help you need, or cure yourself, or both! Validate yourself if no one else will. Care for yourself as if you were your own best friend. There were so many times when that’s all I could do for myself, for years. Decades, even. If I had given up, at any of those times, I would not be here to offer you this: I survived. So can you.
I-want-my-IWTV 