The Vampire Lestat : The Story of Armand
New master l Marius de Romanus
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“A love so strong he couldn’t allow me to grow old and die. A love that waited patiently until I was strong enough to be born to darkness.” – Armand, IwtV.
Did you know that the Romans used lead in their food? Also in cups, bowls, and for various other things. Not only was it highly poisonous but it caused hallucinations and (tehe) sexual arousal. Perhaps Marius could go into more detail?
While I appreciate your historical attention to detail, I’m afraid this doesn’t really apply to me, my dear.
What a strange question to ask our dear Lestat. My great city existed well before even his ancestors were conceived, and thus I doubt he would be a very knowledgeable fount on this subject.
The people of Rome knew that lead must be dangerous, as we were not blind to the ailments that seemed to follow those who worked in casting lead. They breathed in the caustic fumes and were left pallid and sickly, and from this we gathered that lead must be rather unwholesome.
Although lead was widely accepted as a dangerous metal, many still believed it to be necessary in some aspects. It was used to line aqueducts and fashioned into pipes–nevermind that clay pipes were entirely more sought after, even by those such as myself who were rich enough to afford otherwise. Medicines and cosmetics as well were made of great quantities of lead, despite the wide belief that it should not be ingested directly if at all possible. Some greats such as Pliny and Columella argued that in leaden vessels was the only way to prepare Defrutum, a sweet syrup used to make products such as wine more desirable.
Many attest that a rise in lead poisoning stemming from the Roman’s love for wine was perhaps a cause of the empire’s decline, though there is little evidence to support this. It is true that lead poisoning would have greatly impacted the sperm count of adult males, or the ability to carry a child in females, and even would have been fatal to the children themselves–as wine was the predominant drink for all citizens, regardless of age–but this means very little when you realize the people of Rome had no interest in rearing children, or even marriage. In fact, it came to a point where the people were so focused on a childless state, that Agustus himself attempted to intervene, much to no avail.
As for the sexual arousal, I can only speak from personal experience. My sex drive was what I assume to be average for a man my age. I sought a wife early on, I sought to make love, and I sought to be loved. I never happened upon any urges that were out of the ordinary, or struggled with a drive for physical contact more mighty than I could handle–though, some of those who read Armand’s poor account of Venice may greatly disagree. Of course, by then my need for mortal sexual intercourse had long been dead, and I base my words solely on the desire for something greater: the sharing of immortal blood.
*mic drop*
Marius, what is one of the best gifts anyone has ever given you? Aside from the Dark one, obviously ;]
Ah, my friend, what an alluring question! And not an easy one, I must admit.
Forget the material possessions, such a fleeting matters are not worth mentioning. Let’s ponder of the qualities of “the best gif” for a bit, shall we?
It would have to be something priceless, something not easily given, something one would treasure, something one truly needs.
It is not easy to pick one gift and not offend those whose gifts will be omitted. But what I believe was the greatest gift I ever received was Bianca’s sacrifice. Her willful devotion to me, in my darkest hour, her selfless love and care. That, my friend, shall be the gift I name as the best.
Someone edited R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” to be in major instead of minor and it is absurd.
That’s me in the corner 😀
That’s me in the spot 😀 light 😀Losing my religion XDDD
Marius: “To be godless is probably the first
step to innocence, to lose the sense of sin and subordination, the false grief
for things supposed to be lost.”
Lestat:
“So by innocence you mean not an absence of experience, but an absence of
illusions.”
Marius:
“An absence of need for illusions. A love of and respect for what is right
before your eyes.”
ooc: btw this is p random but i felt the need to voice my opinion so if you’re not interested feel free to ignore it!!
See, I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about Marius’ personality, not only here, but among good part of VC fans who I’ve came across in the past regarding his book Blood and Gold. I would like to point some things that I find important and that maybe would help you to have a second thought about it.
I reblogged from the source and cut it for length, but give this a read, this is very well-said, and applicable to many of the problematic characters in the VC.
They were human once, they’re not perfect creatures. I think if there was one message AR really wanted us to take away from the entirety of canon, it would probably be: These characters are like us, imperfect, searching for answers, longing to belong, to love, and be loved in return.
Some choices made in pursuit of those things are impulsive, some are well-planned, some had terrible results in retrospect, but hindsight is 20/20. We can only learn from the past and try to make better choices, moving forward… ask for forgiveness for our trespasses and strive to forgive those who trespassed against us ❤
When I read Blood and Gold for the first time, I felt a slight emptiness, and that familiar feeling of disappointment in the pit of my stomach after knowing closely some of his choices and attitudes – and more than that; his true persona, after all. But after a while thinking about it, I realized that no matter how wrong he was by some of his choices, each one of them made who he truly is: selfish, yes, but compassionate, an artist, melancholic, and undoubtedly proud, but good and gentle at heart.
He is far from being perfect even though we enjoyed to believe that he was due to numerous descriptions we had of him in TVA, TVL, QOTD and Pandora. But he isn’t. He commits mistakes as everyone else, and if we were to compare him to Louis, Lestat and Armand, for example, judging by all the years that Marius is alive, I honestly don’t think his mistakes were so numerous. Some of them were intense, and most of them regrettable, yes, but I do not think that makes him a “bad character” or that he is any less of what Lestat, Pandora, Armand, etc, describe in their respective books.
Only because he was described by many as a “sage”, a “philosopher”, etc, it doesn’t change the fact that before he was turned, he was also a human. And Marius, in my opinion, is one of the most “human” vampires among the coven. His mistakes were in it’s majority also ridiculously human, being driven by the impulse of his emotions.
So I think that instead of focusing only on the bad things, you also should remember how wonderful his good side is. How loving, caring, compassionate, intelligent and cultured Marius is.
Marius was not the only one to commit mistakes. And it is good that he did because it’s a nice reminder that not even “immortal beings” are perfect, no matter how godlike they appear to be.
Therefore, my point is: instead of simply judging and saying that he is a shitty character because he was not what you thought he was, give it a second thought. No one is made only by their good sides, nor by their mistakes alone.
To like him or dislike him is personal, though. Yet, to say that his character sucks only because you don’t like it…. it’s hella stupid and makes me hella pissed.
“As they walked along the beach together near midnight, Daniel and Marius, side by side at the end of the waves, Marius listened.” – Prince Lestat
When did you first come across a copy of IwtV? What did you think of it?
I’ve probably read it before Lestat got his hands on it, which is quite amusing when you think about it. It must have been a few years after publication, because I found it in one of the secondhand bookshops that I grew quite fond of. I was looking for some old editions of my favourite classics when a shabby paperback copy inevitably caught my eye – the word “Vampire” shining with bloody letters.
Don’t think I was startled by it, no, by all means no. The stories about vampires were quite popular since late 19th century and most of the time they got everything wrong about us, therefore I saw no danger in them. But out of curiosity I picked it up and after reading the first two pages I decided to buy it. It seemed to be something different.
The nameless vampire and nameless reporter boy. How could I possibly foresee that in a few years I will meet both of them and that the latter will become a fledging of my fledging and now my companion? But I digress.
You can imagine, my friend, that as soon as Lestat’s name appeared on the page I suddenly saw the book for what it was. A very real memoir disguised as popular fiction and very well protected by the modern attitude towards mythical creatures. From this point I drunk every word greedily, looking for other names, for secrets I feared to be revealed. I was both astonished and disappointed.
To see how well concealed Lestat kept the knowledge I shared with him was both comforting and painful. To see how he disregarded my advice and made a mistake of turning a child so young…! I found it outrageous. To see Armand, my dear Amadeo, described by Louis, to see him every bit as charming and tempting as he used to be, and yet so entirely different… It broke my heart. To see my dear Lestat treated so cruelly and suffering so awfully… Oh, reading this book was an absolutely infuriating experience.
But not quite as infuriating as reading Lestat’s novel, I must say.
He started it. I had to set the record straight.
Are Daniel and Marius in a romantic relationship? Because I’ve been under the impression Daniel was romantically involved with Armand. (And even though Armand has a history with Marius, he’s more so involved with Daniel????) I’m so confused. Please help.
It depends where your headcanon stops in canon. If you accept all of canon, according to Anne Rice, “Daniel
and
Marius love each other very much” in Prince Lestat. daniel-james-molloy asked Anne Rice that question explicitly and was answered without a definitive Yes or No:
[source]
Yes, Daniel was romantically involved with Armand in QotD; Armand is Daniel’s maker. So if your headcanon stops at that book, then they are still a couple.
Armand was romantically involved with Marius in TVA and B&G; Marius is Armand’s maker.
Other people might accept all of canon, so for them, Daniel/Marius might be a real ship. They’re living together. Armand is living elsewhere with other vampires.
But the vampire couple in Only Lovers Left Alive live apart and still love each other deeply, so it all depends on what your own headcanon of what a ship is. Can it survive long-distance? Can it survive polyamory? Does it have to be monogamous?
These are the real questions 😉
I-want-my-IWTV 