Asj!*&fwghulds Thank you! What a lovely thing to tell me you made my day ^_____^
Our fandom has been here, underground, for DECADESā¦ and weāve started finding each other now through this social media platform in the last few years, itās a gift that keeps on giving ā¤
^And then, thereās also the fresh blood (pun very much intended) entering the fandom, which is revitalizing, too.
Itās been on my mind recently, and I just wanted to restate it here: One can spread love about a thing and still critique it, still have a sense of humor about it and even poke fun at it, too.Critiques and less-than-stellar reviews happen even with realĀ people we love, and it doesnāt mean we love them less.Ā
It seems like some people expect this blog to provide unconditional love, blind praise, and refrain from any kind of criticism. NOPE. nope! Itās conditional love, praise given when it is due, and criticism when itās called for. But these are all only my own opinions on a social media platform, Iām not paid by Anne Rice, not officially affiliated with the Vampire Chronicles, and anyone is free to disagree, it can sometimes lead to extremely stimulating discussions!Ā
Awww! Youāve made my day. As for your poor drink-spattered computerā¦ Iāll message you privately (āINCOMINGā could be the code word?) before I post responses from now on, lol.
āI bare my soul to you so thoroughly and so often for so very long and you want to put me on medication *sigh*
[X]Ā My initial reaction is offense, youāre right about that, but I know you meant it in good faith. Perhaps itās because Armand has suggested it so many times as an insult, and I detest that thereās a connotation that anyone āon pillsā or āseeing a shrinkā is somehow lesser for doing these things. Who the f&ck decided that wearing glasses to improve oneās vision was acceptable but needing extra chemicals to improve oneās brain functions was somehow an indication of being some kind of, I donāt know, freak of nature?! Oh right, wearing glasses will get you bullied, too *tosses up hands*
Hereās the thing that I maybe failed to convey to you or that some of you chose to misread.
I grew up with neglect and physical abuse on a regular basis. Directly proportional to any time I wanted to strike out and try to find what any child craves – affection, love, support. I had so little of those things. I starved for them. Do you know what itās like to have to sit at the dinner table and be polite to someone sitting at the head of the table who less than an hour ago beat you to the ground, your face on the cold stone floor, and ridiculed you for crying about it? Youāre wearing bruises from it, you have some bandages, you taste your own blood in your mouth from your split lip with each bite of the food that YOU brought home to this person? Trying not to shake or cry. This person who asks you to play chess with him after dinner as if nothing happened?
this is one perfect, powerful, gut wrenching introspection on the character and thank the Gods for Coven Leaders like @i-want-my-iwtv for being here and giving us posts like this one.Ā
ā¦ Do I say that too much? YOU GUYS MAKE THIS WORTH DOING IT GIVES ME SO MUCH LIFE.
āCoven Leader,ā wellā¦ I just do what I do. I wonāt deny that I like titles in the abstract, but wouldnāt a Coven Leader also have authoritative responsibilities? And have to appoint ppl to their Dark Cabinet, and arrange Dark Events on their Dark Calendar? Wait, I do do that, to some extent (@vcsecretgiftssignups are still open till 12/2!)ā¦ maybe ācoven leaderā in all lower case letters fits better, less pressure. Iām more of aĀ ācoven cheerleaderā bc I am mired in this positivity loop and I love encouraging fanworks.
I want to address smtg regarding my place in the fandom, since weāre on the topic.Ā
Someone* recently told me that as a monolith of the fandom I have an obligation to
acknowledge whatās troubling about canon, breed awareness of who controls the narrative of culture and who that harms. I feel that this kind of analysis is a different kind of fanwork, an engagement done with as much love as in the creation of fanart, fanfic, cosplay, etc. Itās valuable and worth our attention.Ā
OneĀ major reason I havenāt made or promoted much of this kind of commentary is that I donāt want to offend AR and get this blog shut down for an opinion that I may not even agree with. In the not-so-distant past, she has been known to react negatively to any review of her works that had even the faintest whiff of criticism. So when I share these potentially provocative posts w/ you I may choose to do so as a link, rather than reblog the thread itself, so that itās clear that itās not an opinion born from this blog, and ppl can engage with it separately.Ā
TL;DR: As a Coven Leader, I do believe that this kind of analysis/commentary is equally valuable as all other fanworks.
Itās valuable to offer differing opinions to you alongside my own.Ā These posts will be taggedĀ #Deep Cuts of VC Analysis.Ā
*I used some of this personās words blended in w/ mine here w/o tagging them bc idk if they want to be tagged, if they do, Iāll quote them properly, but since I agree with them, I feel like I can use their words. They are also not the first who have suggested this to me.
Re: āCoven Leaderā: While I recognize that many ppl may want to give me a fandom title out of love and appreciation, even if theyāre just being that kind of internet-effusive and not really serious, Iām putting up a lot of resistanceĀ bc Iāve seen ppl put on a pedestal here and then knocked down, bullied off the site entirely. Whether that was for good reason(s) or not, w/o knowing the truth we can only see from the outside that it appeared to be based on jealousy of that āinternet fame.ā That may have been the reason, maybe there were no good reasons. Some ppl just like to watch the world burn. So I donāt need to be singled out and given a title or fame when thatās the reaction it can produce. I wouldnāt want to have to turn off Anons.Ā
I know that there are ppl out there who probably do despise me already bc of internet fame alone, and to them: Iām sorry that you have to see my blog all over the place, Iām sorry if it bothers you, please block me, make your tumblr a happy place for you!
Omg *flails* what a wonderful message to receive! āDamn perfectā?! Well canāt confirm or deny that but I FRICKINā TRY.
Iām deeply moved. Couldnāt just toss in the usual reaction gif, too cheap, had to give you smtg a little more special. More of a story. Youāve heard it before but maybe this angle, this variation on it, will feel as fresh to you as it does to me. Iām rambling a bit and having trouble editing it back so you get a long post sorries LOOK WHAT U DO TO ME all these feels!
āI lifted the long wax wick, dipped it into an old flame, and carried the fire to a fresh candle, watched the little tongue grow orange and bright.
What a miracle, I thought. One tiny flame could make so many other flames; one tiny flame could set afire a whole world. Why, I had, with this simple gesture, actually increased the sum total of light in the universe, had I not?ā¦Ā
Because it was
something I could accomplish, like the little candle flame in the church making another flame and still
retaining its own light – my way of creating, my only way, donāt you see? One moment there were two of us,
and then we were three.āĀ – Lestat, Tale of the Body Thief
Why am I quoting this? Like the vampires, we are a āfound familyā rather than a natural one, bc we draw ppl into this and turn them into one of us, if the addiction can hold! I see that itās taken hold of you as it has me ;D
Itās not a fandom for everyone, but for those of us who are in it, well, it feels like we almost had no choice, we are hopelessly addicted ;u; When I get messages like yours I canāt help but feel a little like Lestat, like Iāve helped to add a little more light to the world, bringing in fresh blood (pun very much intended!) who might have a new and intriguing perspective on things to share, maintaining the older blood thatās aged like a fine wine, admiring the talent of our fanartists, fanfic writers, meta-analyzers, etc. and encouraging them to keep making more to feed our insatiable need of it! We make great friends within our ranks. Ppl have even met their life partners through fandom.
I also love that ppl shoot me VC news from FB, Twitter, etc., so that I can transmit it out to you so fast that by the time other publications pick it up, weāve known about it for days already, and have helped each other deal with its impact if necessary, as proper family members should ;]
My closest friends that Iāve made here have been made bc they are as appreciative of this series and its wonderful, addictive characters as I am. Messages like yours keep this blog running and I canāt thank you enough for that *cries*
Hit the jump for moarā¦
The image above is not a screencap but a manip of a few frames, which I made in Oct. 2013, just a few months after the birth of this blog. I didnāt think anyone would care much for this blog, I expected it would only ever be a place I could indulge my VC addiction privately in public, like someone playing solitaire out in a park. A place to post a few of my graphics, a little of my sense of humor, and gather what little fanworks I could find for my own pleasure. Ppl saw it, ppl responded, ppl wanted to play Cards Against Humanity with me (to expand on the original metaphor, lol), and the whole thing has grown into a conduit through which Iāve gotten back SO MUCH MORE than was originally expected! It brought the fandom I had been looking for, and for the most part given up on finding, right to me!Ā
Because youāre right, our fandom was dead, but only on the surface, driven into hiding by a creator who didnāt understand what fandom was and that it was a normal way to engage with canon. That sharing fanworks builds a community. There were plenty of us out there but few of us could find each other. We protected what little we had and shared it like contraband. She was within her rights and I donāt blame her for her actions, but as a result, I think weāre a much more appreciative group for what we have now than other fandoms whoāve had it easy from the beginning. I hope we are, anyway.Ā
A lot of my sensitivity and care comes from a place of gratitude, and although I am a secular individual, I do try to preach the gospel of gratitude and civility back out to this family weāve created.
I had ONE Real Life VC friend when I fell into this fandom, and she had to endure the fire-hydrant blast of my VC addiction, at close range, for about 20 years! Sheās still my best friend, but let me tell you, she is grateful beyond words that you have all stepped in to take more of the brunt of my addiction now. Sheās the one who nudged me to start a tumblr blog in the first place, which I resisted, mind you, so you should all be thanking her, too ;D
ā„uā„ ONE OF US ONE OF US (Apparently weāre calling ourselves Children of Darkness now, btw)
(BTW our mutual facepalming over Lestat was probably about this post)
Yes yes, memeything/fanart/fanfic/fanwork inspiration is, in actuality, the highest compliment to this blog, bc thatās REALLY what I do it for. When I started this thing there was fanwork but it was (and still is) all over the interwebs, and in my opinion there is not enough of it there is NEVER enough of it, so I wanted to have a collection of it for everyoneās enjoyment/inspiration, and a good resource for the fresh stuff, too š
Wow, your journey to VC is so touching, that our precious Sheeps shepherded you to us, was it this fanartĀ ofĀ
Tonio Treschi?
You read Cry to HeavenĀ –> sawĀ sheepskeletonās fanart of it > sheepskeletonās fanart lead you here > now youāre one of us!!Ā
#I love these kind of stories, and we (Iām sure I speak for others, too) enjoy your presence here. Great url, btw! He is Emperor of the Undead, lol.Ā
I enjoyed Cry to Heaven, I donāt remember it very well, should reread it. I seem to recall that the main character reminded me of Armand.Ā
I-want-my-IWTV 