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Hi there! I’m not sure if this question has been asked, I’m sorry in advanced if it has. Me and my friend were debating Lestat’s love interests and she swears that given the chance he’d choose Nicki anyday over Louis. I believe that Louis has been around long enough to be someone he cannot live without. So I guess two questions in total: Is Louis his absolute one true love and in the case of a “what if” universe would Lestat really prefer Nicki? Thanks a bunch!!!

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I don’t think I answered this before and anyway I love an excuse to post yummy fanart so here ya go:

Nicki & Lestat by garama:

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Louis & Lestat by garama:

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garama‘s fanart is a great illustration for this answer bc when you compare these two relationships, there are similarities, but you can see very clearly that there are almost 4 characters here: mortal!Nicki, mortal!Lestat, vampire!Louis, and vampire!Lestat. The 2 pairings physically resemble eachother, but there’s alot of deeper stuff going on that’s described by those poses. 

Anne Rice was answering Fan Questions for Lestat as Lestat at one point and she said: 

“…but if I did have to choose, the companion would be Louis. My longest most enduring friendship and love affair in this world was with Louis. And though his limitations can be maddening, they can also be as inspiring to me as his virtues… the best choices we make are not always the wise choices. Sometimes they are intensely emotional choices. And I’ve always had a deep Romantic respect for emotion. My love for Louis transcends wisdom. And I may need the pain as much as the consolation that an eternal relationship with Louis would involve.“

I’m inclined to agree with Lestat on that. Lestat would choose Louis over everyone. They have an inexplicable chemistry that binds them hopelessly together.

Do you really want my full opinion? Hit the jump. 

Nicolas was Lestat’s first real long-term relationship at a time when Lestat desperately needed love and nurturing and wanted to give it back, too. Nicolas is the first person who really listened to him and they both helped each other immensely. 

Lestat was a different person when he was with Nicolas; quite literally! They were mortal lovers, and they were in their early 20s, they went through alot together in escaping from their homeland to Paris, and thrived there. Their relationship was horribly shattered when Lestat was kidnapped from their apartment, and things were never the same between them after that happened. Even aside from that, Nicolas revealed that he had a different mission in life than Lestat did:

“And when we decided to go to Paris, I thought we would starve in Paris, that we would go down and down and down. It was what I wanted, rather than what they wanted, that I, the favored son, should rise for them. I thought we would go down! We were supposed to go down.” – Nicolas de Lenfent, TVL

So even in your Alternate Universe suggestion that Lestat could be with Nicki again, I don’t think that relationship could ever really work, because deep down Nicolas and Lestat always wanted different things out of life.

Lestat was about 31 mortal yrs old when he met Louis, and he had grown and experienced a lot. He was more mature, more in control of his emotions. He saw vampiring as being a great adventure and he saw the potential in Louis to be the companion he always wanted. He was right. Louis has been one of the strongest vampires in the coven, without needing to display it in physical feats of strength, but in emotional ones, and in the choices he’s made. 

Louis consistently chooses Lestat, I might add. 

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First of all I wanted to say your blog is my favourite blog on tumblr, and I find your posts to be hilarious. But let’s get to the question. What book do you think is the best VC book and what book do you think is the worst/most disappointing VC book? I want to read all the VC books. I’m currently reading MTD (which I don’t really like) and I wondered what your favourite book in the series is and which you liked the least. As for myself, I can’t choose between IWTV or TVL being my favourite.

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omg mine is your favorite? *flails* Thank u! If u love this blog, u love the VC fandom by default.

My fave VC changes over time. When I first started, I was definitely more IWTV, I identified with Claudia, and then Louis. It wasn’t until later that I switched over to Team Lestat. Claudia is very nearly the biological daughter he probably would have had deserved, in a mortal Lestat AU!

When I reread the books now, I see different things than before, now that I’m older. I can see the parenting perspective better now, for example. 

I feel like someone just asked me my fave recently and I think I said TVL, bc it’s the one that’s stood the test of time the most for me, probably.

Least favorite also changes over time. I’m a very generous person tho, I can find beauty and salvage elements/quotes/scenes from books, movies, etc, that I otherwise don’t like as a whole. Same is true for VC. Lots of gems tossed in amongst the later canon that you’ll only really appreciate if you excavate them yourself ;]

I wouldn’t call it disappointing per se, but I admit that I didn’t really enjoy Blackwood Farm, I’d say that was my least favorite, consistently. It’s almost a stand-alone novel. Probably the reason I don’t like it as much is bc it’s almost a stand-alone novel.

Ok so like, howwwwww …. does your vampire body know to grow your hair back, and to the same length. Like, you talk about vamps cutting their hair and then it grows back, which, ok, whatever, but then how does your body know when to STOP growing it. Like, uh oh, better add a few more inches for Claudia, but Armand only had a bob when he died, can’t go over that. How would it know?

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merciful-death:

I stopped questioning these things many years ago.  I have no idea why it is that way.  It simply is.

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pic of Santiago non-con petting Louis’ hair bc of reasons

I think the vampiric parasite (Amel) analyzes the blueprint of the host’s body when it’s installed and it then immediately uninstalls the features it doesn’t need (e.g. internal reproductive organs). It then starts converting all the organic matter of the host body into its own substance to “perfect it” into the pure supernatural killing machine that it wants to be. 

In that sense, that initial blueprint probably indicates length of hair, beard growth, muscle shape and position, etc., at time of death, and those are elements that the vampiric parasite program respects and wants to maintain as it continues to “update” its host body. It could be detrimental if a vampire shaved its head and then was stuck like that for eternity. The external appearance of the host body will affect its ability to hunt, and thus, preserve itself. It’s in the parasite’s interest for the host to continue to survive so that it can, too.

However, if the vampire had shaved as a mortal before turning, then that would be maintained.

BTW, about nails:

The nail growth part of vampire mythology seems to stem from how corpses tended to shrivel from dessication in their coffins after death, hence, making it appear that their fingernails had grown longer. Although I think hair does continue to grow for a short while after death? I’m not sure. 

I’m sorry if I sound uninformed or ignorant, but I am confused about some of the characters sexualities. I understand that once they become vampires that sort of thing doesn’t matter, but as humans I wonder…Lestat was stated to be bisexual, was he really? He seemed to have a preference for men and I cant recall there being a relationship significant or genuine enough to really say he was truly attracted to women. What was Louis’ sexuality as a human, I’ve only seen him interested in men too?

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It’s fine to ask! It depends on how much (and which) canon and fanfic you have read, and how much you’ve read between the lines.

#Let’s talk about sex

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I’d say they both defied definitions, but the short answer would be, mortal!Lestat loves who he loves regardless of their physical container, and mortal!Louis struggled with bisexual/homosexual desires.

Spoilers ahead:

Mortal!Lestat: 

I don’t want to try to assign a label like “bisexual” or “pansexual” bc there’s so many labels for orientation now and the definitions are confusing no matter how many definitions I read or how many times ppl try to explain the thing to me 😛

I’d say mortal!Lestat is romantically drawn to someone for their soul first and their physical accessories second. He’s had relationships with men and women, been physically attracted to both.

  • He had a relationship with Nicolas, for sure. They kissed, they slept together, it was all heavily implied. I doubt vampirebaby!Lestat would have been stalking mortal!Nicolas if they had only been Super Best Friends 5ever.
  • Lestat didn’t talk about long-term female relationships as a mortal, but that he bedded the village girls (I can’t find a reference but I’m pretty sure he mentions it).
  • And he bedded one of the actresses in the troupe he tried to run away from home with: “That night, the actress who played my inamorata gave me her own very special and intimate accolades. I went to sleep in her arms…”
  • He might have had a side fling with the female actresses in the Paris theatre, Renaud’s: “Send flowers for Jeannette and Luchina, the girls I had fought with the most and most loved,”
  • In ToBT, mortal!Lestat beds a woman (non-con), and has a short but intense relationship with another woman, and returns to her to prove he was telling the truth about himself. She kicks his sorry butt out the door. 
  • Also in ToBT, Lestat wages a campaign of seduction on David Talbot, who does not give in, despite a valiant effort on Lestat’s part!
  • in later canon, Lestat is powerfully drawn to Dr. Rowan Mayfair and promises he’ll give her the Dark Gift. 

Mortal!Louis 

He really doesn’t talk much about his pre-vampiring life. Claudia asks him about sex and he tells her:

“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.”

Maybe he didn’t want to hurt her feelings, since he knew she could never experience it herself. Maybe he really felt that way.

Personally, I headcanon that Louis might have had a little experience in being with men as a mortal, but Lestat’s the one who really pushed him over the edge. Alot of vampirebaby!Louis’ issues with Lestat could have partly been bc Louis was brought up in a religious frame of mind that meant homosexuality was sinful, so whenever he felt physical and emotional desire for Lestat, he hit himself with a wave of self-hatred 😛

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This gave me such good #honey nut feelios! The good captain used that phrase in another message, which I must add to my fandom vocab ;}

captainthunderbunny​ here has articulated the issue re: the hate Antonio Banderas gets for being cast as Armand. The good captain put it very well, it’s a movie adaption, it’s not meant to be an exact replica of the book. 

There are all kinds of reasons why a movie has chosen to go in a different direction than the book, the director has chosen to work on the film bc they want to put their spin on the story, so if you don’t like elements they’ve changed, consider them AU to your headcanon.

It’s so good to promote such peaceable ppl as the captain ❤ 

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fvckthecullens:

Damn right! Antonio, Anyone?

y’know, as much as some ppl didn’t like him as Armand (and I will defend Antonio 5ever!), I could see him as Santino. Maybe part of the reason they cast him as Armand is that they really wanted Santino. Let’s pretend it’s Santino passing as Armand.

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vagabonddaniel:

vagabonddaniel-recordedarchives:

duendology:

it’s a general observation of mine…

And a probable off-topic here as well but…

The life of the VC vampires became so uninteresting in every book after Queen of the Damned that I became genuinely interested in their lives before they become vampires.

ooc: I feel like for me… it’s just that things have gotten way too easy for the vampires, if that makes sense. TotBT was still ‘Okay WtF is Stat going to do to get himself out of this’. And MtD, while I disliked it at the time, still gives the vampires massive problems. There’s a guy who claims he’s a devil! A ghost of a victim is haunting a vampire! Is there a hell?!?! 

Later books, and especially Prince Lestat--and this was one of my two big issues with that book–sort of take away any of their problems. Suddenly they’re all too powerful for anything to be a real threat. And suddenly being a vampire isn’t even seen as bad! Vampires can have kids via vampire science! Maybe they can drink synthetic blood! The sacrifice for immortality isn’t there anymore and neither is the idea that it’s hard or not for everyone. It’s just handed out easily. it’s like they’ve turned from vampires into transcendent angelic beings or something, and it means there are no stakes. Want to be a vampire? Line right up! Why not! Let’s vampire everyone!

Maybe this is not where you were going, but I understand. I think as a fanfic writer or RPer, I like the cracks in canon–how did Daniel go mad? How did he get better? etc. etc. Because it’s fun to fill in the gaps with fic or RP. But I do wish we’d more of those stories in the books, because those are the stories I want. Not a world where vampires are happy-go-lucky creatures where nothing can harm them, I want to see them struggle with murdering people and wrestle with their own demons. 

So their lives before they were magically super powerful do become more interesting because they weren’t flawless. 

^I very much agree. Vampiring is so easy now. All one needs is a pair of fangs. 

I didn’t watch/read Trublood, Vampire Diaries, or Twilight, and so I can’t really declare an opinion on them however much I want to grrrrrrr

…But at least in VC, yes, a lot has been overcome, smoothed over, dealt with, and I think that’s partly what led to the crackiness we see in later canon. It may have been a need to create some kind of conflict again, but bc the earlier books had already resolved the juiciest issues, later canon came across as less dimensional.  

Again, I haven’t read/seen most of the more recent vampire media, but from what I have seen, my opinion is – and take this with a grain of salt, if you do love this stuff – these vampires seem declawed. Neutered. Their monstrosity has been watered down. Why? I don’t know. But they’re not interesting to me in that form. I can’t help but think that this has influenced Anne Rice in some way. 

Hello! So, I’m currently reading The Vampire Armand and I’ve read some articles that put Prince Lestat next to it on the TVC reading order. Do u think I can read PL after TVA or would it be better to read it after BC, following the publishing order?

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Hello to you! PL is meant as a branching-off of canon… so there are plot points and characters in BC that don’t exist in PL. PL is like an AU, if things had gone in a different direction after MtD.

If you really want to read PL, go ahead, right after TVA!

BUT: PL is not my favorite VC… and there will be characters in the story that you won’t be familiar with. PL tries to give some background on them, but it feels more like telling than showing :- You’ll probably have a richer, more layered understanding of them if you read the books that follow TVA first. 

That’s alot of books to deal with, so if I had to make you read just one, at least read Blood and Gold before PL. 

Hi most beautiful of the beautiful :* I have kinda sorta read that you ship Louis and Lestat pretty hard (and who doesn’t) so what do you say to Anne Rice seemingly forgetting about Louis once in a while? I mean, he’s been on a pretty low profile in many of the books, unless I missed something?

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Why thank u dear, such a lovely compliment! I shall have to post more selfies… unless u are referring to my inner beauty of which I have an abundance *u*

I do ship L/L! Absolutely! However did u guess?? sometimes Louis doesn’t ship them but thats fine bc nobody ships L/L as hard as Lestat ships L/L.

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[fanart by FiestaTB ]

ANYWAY: Why u no write so much Louis, Anne Rice?

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[memeything by vampchronfic]

I don’t remember when exactly, but I think AR did call Louis a “damaged pilgrim” at one point. There’s that.

If you want to cry over Louis, read Merrick, if you haven’t already. He has a lead role in that one ;] But be prepared because your feels will be squarely hit.

Hit the jump for my thoughts on why we don’t get much Louis action post-IWTV.

My theory re: Louis’ low profile is listed below. Because he had served his purpose with his major job (point 1), AR seemed not to need him as much. She kept him around for the same reason Akasha spares him QOTD, because the star of the show, Lestat, loves him.

1. Louis was AR’s vehicle through which to deal with the grief of the death of her daughter. Louis intended to kill Claudia. 

  • Claudia was 5 yrs old, Michele Rice was 5 yrs old. 
  • Claudia and Michele share a birthday (9/22, indicated in her diary entry in QOTD), 
  • btw, Louis shares a birthday with AR (10/4, although I don’t think it’s in canon).

Louis was, in a way, Claudia’s mother: “You became my mother, and my father, and so I’m yours forever.” says movie!Claudia (which, let’s not forget, AR wrote the screenplay).

But more than all that, Louis was the one that AR wanted to interview, “Why did you kill my daughter? Did God, or the Devil, tell you to do so? What did she do wrong? What did we, as parents, do wrong?” Louis basically answered her that Claudia was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; he had no more contact with God or the Devil than AR does, and he was just a hungry animal in the savage garden, and Claudia was just an innocent victim.

2. Louis’ “voice” is rich and structured; IWTV emulated the (I think?) Victorian-era gothic novels (annabellioncourt might know the proper genre) that AR loved. His whole way of being is a quiet intensity, beauty that roils beneath the surface, and that is hard to write. Lestat’s easier, he’s a rollercoaster of egotistical bastard and cowering crybaby. Plus, when Louis is not the POV, you can have pages of other character’s swooning over him ❤

3. AR focused a number of the VC on other characters, and he’s peripheral to their stories. Louis does have some action and has a small section from his POV in PL, though!

I was curious what you thought about this… When I was reading TVL and learning about Gabrielle, I had the distinct impression that she was trans man. All the stuff about how she seemed to resent most of her children and her marriage, her choice to wear men’s clothes, and her desire to keep her hair cut short is what made me feel that way. I just read it last year, but I’ve never seen any other fans comment on that, so I was wondering if it was just me? (I’ve only read IWTV & TVL by the way)

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Gabrielle has some good action in book 3, QOTD, so you might be interested in that. 

I love it when ppl play up both genders in their fanart of her. Especially her miffed reaction to being called Mom still!

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[fanart by hrim]

I’m not really knowledgeable about transgender issues, but it is an interesting headcanon re: Gabrielle. 

But I’ll try anyway a little! Maybe when she was mortal she might have preferred being a man because alot of power and freedom went along with that gender at that time. I headcanon that her marriage was an arranged one, not out of love. She doesn’t seem to have negative feelings about her own body in its femaleness. She wants all the men in town to sleep with her as a power-thing, as an ultimate fuck-you to her ungrateful and unloving husband. 

I don’t think she resented her children so much as she didn’t really reach out to them when they were young, bc so many did not survive to adulthood that, having known them better, their loss would have been more painful for her. Maybe she resented the children that survived because they didn’t feel loved by her, and sided with the Marquis; so by the time they were old enough that she could trust that they would continue to adulthood, they had already become so much like him that she didn’t like them as people, either (Lestat being the obvious exception).

She might have been bisexual as a mortal, too, and felt trapped by her arranged marriage.