Not a bother at all, I’m so sorry this message sat in my inbox so long. *facepalm* Sometimes I hoard the nice messages, more than a little too long.
“Burnadette”? Thank you! It’s not my ACTUAL name, but it’s the name I prefer for my fandom life… I was brought up in a time when the internet was new, and we were taught not to reveal much about yourself for safety concerns, and I still feel that way.
“Burnadette” is based on the song “Bernadette” by the Four Tops. I changed the spelling to include the word “Burn,” which is a Louis reference, his pyromania, back when I chose the name I was still making fun of him for that. This many years later, I don’t do that as much anymore, you might say I burned out on that. pfffft.
It’s a very upbeat song, but if you listen to the lyrics closely the singer is basically a guy who has to have ALL OF this poor lady bc apparently she’s already so much a part of him that he needs her more than just out of love, and smacks down the competition as unworthy. It’s pretty obsessive.
My parents and I loved Motown when I was younger, we’d often sing along to this song in the car, so it has a nostalgic feel for me. At that time, I just thought it was a guy who couldn’t help but express himself as to how madly in love he was. Obsession and madly in love, unhealthy relationships… very VC.
(Another ancient ask, sorries, all… I think I sent the reply privately bc I can’t find it on my blog.)
You’re very welcome! I love these kind of stories, how ppl got into VC. Buffy is a gateway drug for many, for sure!
^Louis and Buffy meeting, sorta! Brad Pitt and Kristy Swanson, 1988 (X@vintagesalt). She was Buffy in the original movie (1992) and she’ll always have a place in my heart as Buffy ❤
Did you read Claudia’s Story? It’s IWTV from Claudia’s POV, I think you’d really enjoy it.
Yes, exactly ;A; I headcanon that Louis had this statue made in her likeness, I would think he was wealthy enough to do that, buuuuut it might also just be a generic angel statue…
Pretty sure the portrait Louis burns when burning down Pointe du Lac is of his wife, sort of like, a “Darling, I can’t live without you any longer, I’m on my way, I’ll see you soon…” gesture ;A;
I think they just didn’t have enough time to give us more, the movie is 2 hours long, and in 1994, I seem to remember movies being more in the 1.5 hour range.
But in the script, we get her name, age (28), and the name of the child, at least:
^BTW, I think the wife’s name is “Dianne” bc HELLO “Anne” Rice. “Die, Anne”? Maybe?
I think that’s definitely possible, in the context of the movie version of the story.* “[Lestat] knew me, he knew I would love her more than the waking world.” Very poetic *u*
Expecting a child doesn’t necessarily mean you love kids, BUT, Lestat could read minds, and perhaps he knew just how much being a father meant to Louis. Louis doesn’t speak much of his own father, when he died, Louis had to take over the family business at a relatively young age, so maybe Louis was really looking forward to being a better and more loving a father than the one he had grown up with ;A;
PLUS, it seems like it would have been Louis’s first child, making him a father for the first time. I can’t imagine what that must feel like, expecting to have your wife back in your arms, and a new baby to love and raise, and then get neither back, knowing your wife died in pain?? ;A;
Even if Louis wasn’t a kid person, I mean, how can you not love a super cute 5 yr old angel like Claudia was originally? Scooped out of abject poverty and sickness, someone you could lavish with gifts and who would be grateful for it, having known only the barest no-frills of a life before? Lestat knew Louis would feel protective of her, she could be something to inspire him to learn to live again. You can experience the world anew with them as they learn about it ❤
*In the book version, it’s a younger brother that Louis had lost recently, Paul, a brother Louis was very close to. The death sends Louis spiraling into guilt and depression bc he feels responsible for it (and others, including his own family, blame him for it directly).
When Paul died, Louis says: “my mother told everyone in the parish that something horrible had happened in my room which I would not reveal; and even the police questioned me, on the word of my own mother.”
That feeling of blame in the situation is part of what made that loss so devastating to him, the death was preventable, if only he had had more patience with his brother ;A;
But with the loss of a child and wife in childbirth, I can imagine the husband feeling responsible for that, too. After all, if not for him, well, she wouldn’t have been pregnant (we’re assuming it was definitely his baby!) 😛
You’re so welcome! Sometimes a post/fanart/etc. strikes a certain chord and ya just gotta add more comments than simple tag organization, but don’t want to mark a post with visible comments to it for reblogs’ sake, y’know??
^X (Sorry for the extreme delay in reply to this, I was hoarding this message bc it made me smile ^______^)
Lol he would be the BIGGEST crybaby about that! He’d probably think of himself as deformed in some way and need even more cuddling and ego-stroking to get over it.
Considering vampire physiology, some things are “corrected” by the Dark Gift. All of their senses become enhanced. Gabrielle got a nice rack lift.
It won’t regrow some missing parts, like eyes (Maharet), a leg (Flavius), or a cut-out tongue (Mekare). I’m not sure as to whether vision would be corrected.
Lestat didn’t mention his vision being an issue, and he would have needed good vision to be a good hunter as a mortal, maybe not 20/20, but good enough. It’s interesting to consider, tho!
…And then, he did lose an eye at one point, and I like to headcanon that even though he got it back, that eye was never quite the same.
I’m “kind of an awesome vc expert”? Awww, that’s very generous of you
❤️ I’m not special I’ve just read all these books and talked about them for like 20 yrs ;,D
I don’t think that AR has ever canonically stated what happens if a vampire eats/tries to eat food… I’m not even sure if it’s canon of fanon at this point but I headcanon that they can swallow little sips of liquids other than blood. But not much.
^This is from What We Do in the Shadows, and it’s probably not projectile vomiting like this for Ricean vampires… but it’s hilarious (but GROSS) so WATCH IT (if you can handle the gross). For these and the Ricean vampires, eating people food is bad, but not lethal.
Ricean vampires lose alot of digestive anatomy when they’re turned. So their bodies just can’t metabolize food. Cooking smells are repulsive to them, as Louis describes it in IWTV:
“The slightly nauseating smell of cooking meat… I caught the sweet smell of the spices and the fresh green of marjoram and bay; and then in a wave came the horrid smell of the cooking meat, the blood and flesh decaying in the boiling fluids.“
So if they were to try a bite of a plate of food, it might be like trying to force yourself to eat something inedible, like an old soapy sponge. Unless you’re really determined to eat a thing, you’ll want to spit it out.
I would guess that eating a whole plateful of food would just make them throw it back up, no enjoyment in or out 😛
Not sure about other vampires, like The Vampire Diaries, Tru Blood, 30 Days of Night, Daybreakers, etc.
I seem to recall the Lost Boys vampires were able to eat Chinese food? I don’t remember.
[…and just started wondering if Anne Rice has ever addressed what would happen if a pregnant human was made into a vampire?]
Lestat does have a dream about going back to the Auvergne and turning his whole family into vampires, infants included D-: Other than that, no other mention in canon and not in any interview or book signing I’ve heard of. Maybe my followers know? Interesting question!
My thoughts on it under the cut in case of too gorey for some ppl. But in short, I don’t think that the baby would become a vampire, bc it REALLY couldn’t fend for itself. Claudia was a child but at least she could had mental capacity, could talk, was ambulatory, and had teeth that could be transformed into fangs.
(I don’t think I’ve seen any vampire babies in any other media EXCEPT for the one in Twilight, she had rapid growth or smtg? It was confusing.)
Hit the jump for more, possibly squicky thoughts, but no graphics.
I’d think that any unborn child would be, sadly, dumped along with the other organs and materials the new fledgling doesn’t need or can’t use as a vampire. Even if the mortal is turned before giving birth past/on their due date. If the infant survived that forcible removal, I think it would either (A) still be mortal or (B) die… bc I think the mortal has to be at some level of development for the vampiric parasite to take hold.
Maybe that’s why we don’t have vampire dogs/cats/etc., bc whatever parts they’re missing, an infant would be missing those, too. A brain development thing maybe? I don’t know!
You sweet thing, thank u! Since I’m sort of clawing my way back up to the real world from being sick, this was especially good timing ❤
*~5 things that make me happy~*… in no special order…
1. Retail therapy – not necessarily buying anything, sometimes just the hunt is plenty. But of course, if you find that one amazing jacket/dress/top, you gotta buy it, bc when you’re looking for an amazing jacket/dress/top for a specific event, suddenly no one makes good things anymore!!!
2. 80s and 90s music – mostly the hits, one-hit wonders, and also other songs by artists from that time period that didn’t get as much radio play. I think I love it bc it reminds me of when I was riding the bus to/from school, the idea of being in that liminal space, no seatbelts, dappled sunlight, kids chattering around, the smell of the sunshine cooking the green faux-leather seats, being in transit, clutching a book in my hands, and these songs being so optimistic, even when they were angry (Nine Inch Nails) and/or miserable (Smashing Pumpkins). There was always a sparkle of hope that things could be learned from the darkness. Or maybe that was just my own interpretation.
Among which: I love Duncan Sheik, apparently? Good writing music. I had a friend who was obsessed with his music in high school and kept looking for secret messages in the first letters of the track names, and kept trying to get me to listen to his non-hit stuff, and I just… I think I was refusing to do it, just to keep the game of it up with her. That push-pull. I have to reach out to her and admit that I might be as big a fan now as she was then!
3. My oil lamp – I used to buy candles and that gets so expensive and messy, and it’s wasteful, bc I end up unable to burn through all the wax (unless it’s tealights but those burn so fast), and I hate putting so much trash in the landfills. This is much more efficient bc I can have that friendly little flame and the clear kerosene isn’t too expensive. I like the historical feeling of it, and that ppl had to clean the glass just like I’m doing. I like the smell of the kerosene but some ppl don’t like it.
4. Comfy shoes – I used to have giant pumpkin-shaped slippers and I wore them to their destruction… I wear slippers around the house. I have 3 pairs of slippers now! Not slippers but: my fave black leather boots are comfy, too, and they make me feel like a BAMF. I’ll have to take pics. They fit my calf muscles perfectly, like a hug. Which is special bc my calf muscles are pretty big.
5. Short film viewings/art gallery crawls – I like going to gatherings and meeting new ppl, watch short films, see a bunch of art for a few hours. The variety of it all. I like picking out faves, and meeting the artists and asking them about their process and inspiration.
^I think this last one also applies to my role in fandom, I really love encouraging fanartists and writers, even in other fandoms. I’m not rich by any means, but I scrape together money for commissions now and then. Fanworks are the lifeblood of a fandom and I like to add my applause to the mix. Sometimes I feel like the one in the audience who starts the applause, and that’s fine, too!
I-want-my-IWTV 