Samhain Marius for Samhain? Happy Halloween!~ đ
My human death was long finished, I was ravenous, and surely my face was no more than a living skull. No doubt my eyes were bulging from their sockets, and my teeth were bared. The white robe hung on me as on a skeleton. And no clearer evidence of my divinity could have been given to the Druids, who stood awestruck as I came out of the tree. [âŚ] The voices were singing in concert around me as the priests placed the flowers in my hair, on my shoulders, at my feet.
Personally, I would always recommend reading them in order of publication, bc thatâs the order AR explored the characters and their stories. And some things may be mentioned in B&G that would spoil TVA.Â
TVA has a lot more of the problematic stuff re: Amadeo/Marius as a ship, so if youâre not interested in that, you might want to avoid it entirely.Â
I admit that I like Armand more as a character than Marius, I enjoy his voice, the framing of that story in terms of whatâs happening with the other characters at that point in canon, and TVA obvs has more focus on Armand, and, I think, TVA is a better story overall, so I prefer that book entirely, but thatâs just me!
Anyone can add their thoughts on this, too đ
Iâm just gonna hop in here real quick as someone who really enjoyed Blood&Gold, and say that it depends on what youâre looking for.
TVA has a rather contained narrative, and focuses mainly on Venice, everything else gets wrapped up quickly. And thatâs totally fine if thatâs what youâre interested in. And TVA is definitely written in a more enticing manner than B&G.Â
B&G does not go into as much detail about the same events as TVA of course so it is a bit like zooming in on one specific detail in a very large picture. B&G offers the picture, and that can get a bit tedious to work through. But it also brings with it a whole array of characters you didnât see much of until then, or didnât know anything about before. You learn more about the history of the covens and the druidic cults, about the Talamasca and just âvampire historyâ in general. It was very satisfying, for me at least.Â
That being said, I would also suggest reading TVA first because what is hinted or implied in that book, gets explained in B&G, so you get a nice âOhh!â moment out of it. It gives you the perspective that TVA didnât get, since it was written from Amadeoâs limited point of view.
Personally, I would always recommend reading them in order of publication, bc thatâs the order AR explored the characters and their stories. And some things may be mentioned in B&G that would spoil TVA.Â
TVA has a lot more of the problematic stuff re: Amadeo/Marius as a ship, so if youâre not interested in that, you might want to avoid it entirely.Â
I admit that I like Armand more as a character than Marius, I enjoy his voice, the framing of that story in terms of whatâs happening with the other characters at that point in canon, and TVA obvs has more focus on Armand, and, I think, TVA is a better story overall, so I prefer that book entirely, but thatâs just me!
Bonjour! Happy very belated NYE to you, too, and Iâm sorry this took so long, to be honest, your first question deals with a potentially very controversial topic.
Iâm answering this publicly so other ppl can chime in if they feel comfortable doing so.
1|2 [How would you say Danielâs relationship with Marius and Armand differ from one another but still hold similarities?]
^[X] I donât know if this is a legit quote from Angelina Jolie (itâs more poignant now that theyâre broken up, if so ;A;), BUT. I think the quote makes a good point.
A real relationship may not always be rainbows and sparkles. Someone seeing you at your worst and still loving you. Itâs complicated. I know of relationships that seem to be all fluff on the surface, but underneath, resentment grows, when someone in it feels like theyâre giving more than they feel is fair, but canât communicate for fear of making it worse. When you confront your loved one with your issues, sometimes it gets ugly. Thatâs healthy, to be able to have those difficult conversations to improve things.
So when we compare fictional ships, like real life, thereâs much that happens off-screen, whether in individual readerâs headcanons, or reported by unreliable narrators. We get info from canon and work with it.Â
Both ships you mention have potentially major controversial stuff about them and this is a blog for entertainment, so I donât want to get deeply into that. But I would say, in my own reading, that I see both ships as having pairings who deeply care for each other, and express that love in different ways, and theyâre not always able to do that smoothly.Â
Without meaning any disrespect to other fans, my own interpretation of these two ships is pretty superficial, as they involve characters I havenât spent as much mental space exploring.Â
Daniel/Armand helped each other in many ways during the time that they were together. Daniel taught Armand about the modern world, gave him a will to live, and Armand was endlessly fascinating to Daniel, not only for being a vampire, but because of Armand himself. I do believe Daniel really and truly fell in love with Armand. Their sass was so complementary! And it was NOT all rainbows and sparkles for them, they had a feisty and rocky ship for 10 years!Â
The beginning of Daniel/Marius isnât as explicit in canon⌠I remember just suddenly finding out sometime after QOTD that Daniel had gone to live with Marius and I was like, âReally?â and it seemed like Marius was in more of a caretaker role with him, as Daniel was somewhat mad, reeling from everything heâd experienced in QOTD, as can happen with fledglings for the first few months/years, and this developed into a legit canon ship between those two. Marius seems to have learned from the past that he canât have a teacher/student ship and expect it to last, at least to my mind, he treats Daniel with the respect of an emotional equal. Maybe weâll get more info on them in the next book.
2|2 [What if Louisâ brother had been turned and not Louis. How do you think Paulâs (( Thatâs his name right? )) story would have played out?]
[X] Yep his name is Paul. Thatâs really tough bc we barely get to know Paul, except that heâs 15, and deeply religious, ppl think heâs gone mad, so much so that he believes he really had visions of St. Dominic and the Virgin Mary. I think the killing-to-live aspect would have been totally rejected by such a religious person. He probably wouldnât want to see his own family in his damned state, ever again ;A; Paul would probably rather go into the sun than feed on animals and enjoy any of the vampiric gifts.
The other way Paul might have gone is in deciding that Lestat was an actual angel, and choosing to redirect all his religious fervor towards Lestat⌠and we donât need anyone doing that! Lestat says he wants to be worshiped, but I think these are the words of someone who was starved for affection in his formative years. He doesnât want the unconditional love of a religious zealot, not really. He wants love that has to be earned, over and over again, and the reward of that love is that itâs genuine and not because heâs just that pretty.
So I think Lestat would tire of such a sycophant and move on, Paul would go into the sun.Â
I was digging around in my archive bc I was SURE I had ONE fanart of Louis and Claudia fighting with the European zombpire, but I canât find it :[ Maybe someone else knows of it?Â
Have this, anyway, at least this creature doesnât have to waste money on lipstick, no lips!: [X]
[Iâm re-reading the original trilogy (IWTV, TVL, QoTD), and I was wondering if any of the later books ever talk about the revenant Louis meets in Transylvania with Claudia? Is it ever explained? What do you think caused it?]
I donât think those European zombpires
are ever explicitly explained in the first 3 books or mentioned in later canon (except in a vague way in TVL by Armand and Marius, quotes further down this post). I might be wrong. If they are mentioned in canon again, I donât think it was explained what they are :-
TL;DR: The Dark Gift is not an exact science. Your theory could be right! Personally, I donât think the zombpires share the same origin story as the conscious vampires in VC. Some fans think AR included the
zombpires
as a way to sort of low-key slam the older vampire mythos, since her vampires are SOOO much better⌠with no issues with crucifixes, having reflections, etc.!Â
I donât think we know enough about the zombpires to say definitively how theyâre made, so itâs kind of up for grabs in that sense. However each reader sees it! Your theory about the mortals closing their minds during the Dark Trick could be the answer!
If a mortal was deliberately closing their mind to a vampire intent on turning them, thus locking the vampiric parasite out of their head/memories⌠that could be a reason for the mortal MIND not accepting the vampiric parasite, resulting in THE BODY turning, but NOT the mind, the mortal LOSING their mind to madness, having lost control of their body, thus, zombpire. Quite possible! Would random mortals know how to do this? Could be an unconscious defense mechanism? Maybe!
Hit the jump for more on this, cut for length and/or spoilers.
[My personal theory is that when a vampire makes someone with their mind closed (the way we know some can do), it results in a revenant, as all the making-scenes in the series describe sharing memories and emotions; it seems pretty vital!]
Thatâs possible, in VC context, closing oneâs mind is smtg you do to protect your mind from being read by others, and it takes practice and skill. Talamasca members seem trained to do it.Â
Refusing the Dark Gift or accepting it, a strong will to live does seem to be a necessary element. Even the vampires who were turned against their will (Lestat, Marius, etc.) actively refused it right up until their last breaths, but that shows a strong will to live, not a closed-off mind. Just in IWTV:
Lestat tells Louis to be still and listen for their blood flow, keep his consciousness during the process: âIt is your consciousness, your will, which must keep you alive.ââ
Learning from this, Louis tells Madeleine to keep her will to live, â" `Hold fast to me when I take you,â I said to her, seeing her eyes grow wide, her mouth open. `And when the swoon is strongest, listen all the harder for the beating of my heart. Hold and say over and over,â I will live. â ââ
And other Dark Gift scenes have some variations on that, I think.Â
In IWTV, Claudia is fascinated by the European zombpires, tries to puzzle them out, sheâs considering how much blood needs to be exchanged and how strong the heart of the mortal is:
âBut Claudiaâs waking thoughts were of a far more practical nature. Over and over, she had me recount that night in the hotel in New Orleans when sheâd become a vampire, and over and over she searched the process for some clue to why these things we met in the country graveyards had no mind.
⌠ â `After all, what does it take to make those creatures?â she went on. `Those vagabond monsters? How many drops of your blood intermingled with a manâs blood ⌠and what kind of heart to survive that first attack?â
But how would his blood get into them? Heâd have to have an open wound, idk, it seems kind of awkward to imagine Louis accidentally turning any of his victims, and it makes him super uncomfortable to talk about it with her.
Later in canon we see vampires giving drops of their blood to mortals to heal them or as a sensual gesture, and those mortals arenât given enough to turn them, so that little isnât enough to make a zombpire.
Claudia seems to think itâs really about the strength of the heart of the victim:
â `That pale-faced Emily, that miserable Englishman âŚâ she said, oblivious to the flicker of pain in my face. `Their hearts were nothing, and it was the fear of death as much as the drawing of blood that killed them. The idea killed them. But what of the hearts that survive? Are you sure you havenât fathered a league of monsters who, from time to time, struggled vainly and instinctively to follow in your footsteps? What was their life span; these orphans you left behind you-a day there, a week here, before the sun burnt them to ashes or some mortal victim cut them down?â
^This seems to fit in line with the needing a strong will to live.Â
The Children of Darkness chose their fledglings with care, and even then itâs unpredictable. Armand in TVL:
But let Armand understand here also that the effect of the Dark Trick is unpredictable, even when passed on by the very young vampire and with all due care. For reasons no one knows, some mortals when Born to Darkness become as powerful as Titans, others may be no more than corpses that move. That is why mortals must be chosen with skill. Those with great passion and indomitable will should be avoided as well as those who have none.
Marius confirms this, still in TVL:
But no matter, only so many children can be made by one in a century. And new offspring will be weak. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The rule of the old covens had wisdom in it that strength should come with time. And then again, there is the old truth: you might make titans or imbeciles, no one knows why or how.
Nicolas might have become such a zombpire, the way he was barely functional as a fledgling at first.Â
By midnight it was clear that [Nicolas] would not speak or answer to any voice, or move of his own volition. He remained still and expressionless in the places to which he was taken. If the death pained him he gave no sign. If the new vision delighted him, he kept it to himself. Not even the thirst moved him. And it was Gabrielle who, after studying him quietly for hours, took him in hand, cleaning him and putting new clothes on him. – TVL
^But he does move when prodded and Lestat thinks Gabrielle can telepathically communicate with him, which makes him more functional than the European zombpires. Lestat is finally able to rouse him with the violin, so was Nicolas just refusing to talk, etc, or was he really unable? We donât know.
I-want-my-IWTV 